Kingdom of God Project

I've been reading a pretty cool book lately, and I ran across a couple of quotes I thought I'd share with you. It's called "The Secret Message of Jesus" by Brian McLaren. I started reading it a year ago when it came out, but got sidetracked. I'm back now, and there are some great things in this little book.

We were reading about the kingdom, and this came up on page 78, "The whole kingdom-of-God project, then, began as a community of people learning to love and play the music of the kingdom in the tradition of the Master and his original apprentices" Could anything be more beautiful?

I love the concept, I love the poetry of the statement, I love the idea of a people learning and loving, even when it's not perfect, I just love it. It fills me with hope that maybe there are people out there that really want to find the original intent of the Master, and then try to live like that.

On the next page, we see a fairly accurate description of what I believe has happened in the church. "Frankly, our music has too often been shallow, discordant, or played with a wooden concern for technical correctness but without feeling and passion. Or it has been played with passion but has departed from the true notes, rhythm, and harmonies of the Master."

How truly sad that some of us just follow the rules to be technically "right", and how sad that many of us have decided to follow our own passions and claim that they are the will of the Master. Both ends of the spectrum are equally horrible and not in line with loving and playing as the Master intended.

I took about 12 years of piano lessons growing up and I'm a pretty accomplished drummer (and a slight hack on the guitar!) I think I can tell when someone is playing technically correct and it truly makes people stop and appreciate their correctness. Many people even see that correctness and want to emulate it. What has never happened to me, is to feel the music and actually be moved by a technical player.

However, when a person plays that has some sort of deeper connection to their music, you can tell. You listen, you watch, you may even dance or just sit and wonder, but you actually begin to interact with the music. It brings out emotions in you and stirs memories. It can move you to places you didn't know existed, and you are happy for it. It is also usually impossible to forget a performance that does this to you.

That's the type of Christ-follower I want to be. I don't care if people think I'm being "correct" or not, but I don't want any of them to question that I'm following my Master with all that I am. I hope that as my Master helps me make His music, that people are drawn in and experience Him as we interact. I hope they are inspired to seek my Master's leadership as well. I hope they can never forget how my Master makes me live and move. . .

It makes me wonder what do people remember about me? What do they remember about you? Does your life inspire or leave people with no hope? Will my music truly reflect my Master, or have I corrupted his tune? How do we learn to truly make music together with beautiful harmonies that could never happen when we are alone? These are things I wonder about. . .