Distraction-Filled Discipleship
Our church started to meet in-person beginning in September of 2020, and because a) we do not have an indoor facility (pray that God would provide, by the way!), and b) we were required to meet outdoors, so we made the decision to meet in a public space. For the first few months, we met at a local public park. I’m so thankful for our fantastic California weather because for most months, it’s a treat to meet outdoors. We’d meet outside and sing, hear God’s Word preached, take communion, pray...it was terrific. But boy, was it filled with the normal distractions that come with meeting in a public space. People playing basketball or tennis, families at the playground.
Since January 2021, we have been meeting at Earthquakes Stadium--WOW--and we have new distractions in this amazing space: the constant incoming/outgoing flights at SJC international airport, constant traffic passing by, kids running all over the place with parents right behind them...the list goes on! Right now, this is what in-person gatherings look like. It has been fantastic! And, at moments, it has been frustrating as well.
As a Worship Pastor, one of my aims in the past has been to remove as many distractions as possible from our time together so that people can focus on the person and work of God. In our current venue, that has been...difficult.
Here’s the deal: life is filled with distractions. Just this past week, some bad weather caused our power to go out for a week. You can bet this was a distraction! It threw our schedules, plans, and goals in a blender. I know some of us are wired to handle change, chaos, or crisis well. In fact, some of us thrive in it! For others, steering off the path of normalcy can cause a crippling, disorienting feeling that leaves us feeling paralyzed not knowing what's next.
“steering off the path of normalcy can cause a crippling, disorienting feeling that leaves us feeling paralyzed not knowing what's next.”
I am reminded of a distraction found in Mark 5. Jesus arrives on the scene and is immediately swarmed by people. One of the more prominent people in that crowd, Jairus, finds Jesus, falls to his knees and pleads with him, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” (Mk. 5:23). What does Jesus do? What we would hope from our hero, of course! He hurries with Jairus to see about this dying little girl. Fighting through the crowd, Jesus follows a desperate father who is laser-focused on rescuing his daughter when suddenly...an untimely distraction.
The God/man senses power has gone out from him into someone else in the crowd. His disciples point out the obvious, accounted-for distraction: many people had touched Jesus. This was a socially un-distant crowd after all. However, Jesus took notice and stopped to see this distraction through. A woman who had been suffering for over a decade, and certainly had no desire to be a distraction, covertly (or so she thought) came to Jesus for a drive-by healing. Jesus could have kept going. If we were doing triage on who needs healing most, does not the little girl on death’s door get the nod?
Imagine Jairus! If I were in his shoes, I would be more than livid: “Hello! Jesus, Teacher, Healer! Don’t get distracted from what you were intending to do! My daughter is about to die! If this woman has waited twelve years, certainly she can wait a little while longer.” Jesus engaged this ‘distraction’ (and is not distracted by an anxious Jairus or his disciples, by the way). He sees this distraction as an opportunity to acknowledge faith, dignify a woman who had suffered, and give healing in the midst of an emergency. A capable healer. Calm, and in control.
“He sees this distraction as an opportunity … A capable healer. Calm, and in control.”
I remember hearing a worship leader I respect once saying: “readiness to worship is an excellent quality”. I was trained to create distraction-free environments where people could encounter the living, life-giving God. I do not think those are bad motives! We ought to bring our best and work hard with all our might, mind, and heart with the desire and intent to point as many people to Jesus in a clear and compelling way. There is a place for excellence and intention for God’s glory and the good of his people.
But at the end of the day, as a disciple-maker, I pray we can see and respond to Jesus even in the most distracting moments. I hope that, as the Spirit transforms us by God’s Word, and our nearness to His presence makes us more like Jesus, we are prepared to worship in any circumstance life throws at us. With screaming kids in the backseat, when the power shuts off for a week, when we feel yet another day of living alone, when our futures take a hard turn from what we had planned, and when our expectations are not met. Our lives are filled with distractions...or you could say: opportunities. When any of those things happen, or to my worship team/church friends: when the tech doesn’t cooperate, when people fumble their responsibilities, when a wrench gets thrown in our plans, Jesus never says “Oh no! What are we going to do!?” Praise God that he never says that! He is able to work within, and even by means of His sovereignly ordained circumstances we encounter. What an opportunity that gives us to wonder at what our God can do, and to rest knowing He will receive glory.
Distractions come in all shapes and sizes. They are not going anywhere! I pray will see these distractions as opportunities for God to grow the spiritual muscle of worship within us. That we would use the circumstances that God is forever sovereign over to give Him glory in our attitude, our words, our longing, our hope, our songs, our efforts, our lives!