Outdoor Sermon

Today, during our opening worship set, all the lights turned on automatically, the door lights began flashing, and loud beeping noises began to sound. The fire alarm was triggered, and we were all forced to evacuate the auditorium. We smelled smoke, and we didn't know where it was coming from.

Pastor Cliff quickly directed the whole congregation to the play yard, Tristan played a song to calm the crowd, and I went up to give a message. During this time, I made a few observations:

We all sat down on small elementary school benches, and as far as I can recall, this was the first time I've seen my church all bunch up together. It was so refreshing to have a service outside, away from any modern technologies (except that plane that flew over my head). I had prepared a few slides to accompany my sermon, but I had to trash that and find a way to accommodate for the new setting immediately. Kelvin Uyeda came up to me and said, "Hey, Jesus fed the multitude, didn't he?" and pointed to the congregation. That calmed my nerves and helped me put the situation into perspective. As I spoke, the message felt as if it was flowing off my lips, and the outdoor winds were carrying the words to each person in the crowd.

It was like... we rediscovered real church again. It was fresh. After church was over, people stayed to talk and hang out. All the kids played together, rather than splitting off into their segregated groups. The adults were laughing (even though it was a rebuking message) and sharing their reaction to the fire alarm. People felt less constrained during our worship set outdoors. Ricky, one of our special needs brothers, cheered aloud for Jesus!

Praise God for interruptions.