Embodied Belonging

” If any in the congregation wish to receive the peace of Christ for themselves, to rest assured of the hope of heaven, come now; come as you are as we stand and sing this song of invitation.”

No one came, of course because the “congregation,” was an  ironically appropriate conglomerate of misfit stuffed animals, salted backyard slugs (which I repented about before services began), and my dog Bama.

With the burning evangelical fire of a thousand suns, I proclaimed the word of the Lord to his ragtag bunch of sinners, my 6 year old body swaying back and forth in this, my first pulpit: a back yard double swing that you could sit or stand in.

I’d spent my entire little life watching the pros on my parents missionary team preach, and during the week I would take these biblical truths back with me to my stuffed friends; a missionary in my own right, you could say.

I even baptized them when the time felt right, offering them communion and preaching to them faithfully to nurture their spiritual growth.

I wanted to be a bringer of truth to the world.

Even then, I also knew that the truths I wanted to share were the exclusive right of dads, brothers, grandads and uncles. 

Moms, grandmoms, sisters and aunts of course had their place in sharing the truth – Sunday school and child-rearing.

Through the years, my faith grew and my pulpit shrank.

And then, as unexpectedly as a rogue snowball to the face in a friendly winter game of “battle fort,” I got a pulpit.

A real one where I stood before real congregants in a real church, with a real truth to share.

To this day, 4 years later, that church remains one of the most influential on my spiritual growth; that day behind the pulpit one of the most treasured slices of my life.

A little over a month from now, I will stand in that church, behind that pulpit, and I will preach on the 12th anniversary celebration. Of Cornerstone church.

With the burning prophetic fire of a thousand suns, I will proclaim to them hope and a future.

For pulpits big and small and the diversity that fills them, thanks be to God!