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by | 16 April, 2006 | 0 comments

By Becky Ahlberg

The sermon had just been completed, and the bulletin noted that “Circle of Friends: A Drama Group” would be next. There was some shuffling down front, and what looked like a group of unorganized teenagers began to stand and move forward. Not a terribly smooth transition, was my first thought.

It quickly became apparent, however, that this was a group of special-needs teenagers making their way to the stage with the help of a very patient teacher. Halting gaits, spastic movements, and unsure glances accompanied their trek. She gathered them around her and gave them some instructions. With a hand finally caressing a few chins as she spoke, she sent them out onto the stage.

Some recorded music began to play and several teenagers made their way past a large box and pulled out thin pieces of flowing material. Each began to wave his or her material in the air as the music became more lilting. All of them were enjoying the moment as the music continued to build.

Suddenly the music turned sinister. One of the bigger boys, dressed in black, put a black hood over his head and went from teenager to teenager grabbing each strip of material and using it to bind their hands. In a very short time, they all were standing there, hands bound. The boy in black looked to the audience and awkwardly thrust his hands over his head in a sign of victory. The sinister music continued.

Next the boy in black, assisted by two others, brought out another tall boy with Down syndrome. His robe was white, and he seemed a bit uncomfortable as he pulled at it. Quickly they mimed nailing his hands in a cross position and left him there center stage, standing very still, arms extended, head down.

The music became very somber, and the boy in black came to him, lowered his arms, and from the back took him and laid him down on the stage.

He went over to the big box center stage and pulled out a large piece of shimmering red cloth and laid it over him, covering his whole body. This time the boy in black put his foot on the chest of the shrouded “corpse” and raised his hands over his head, again in another sign of victory. He left the stage. We were all riveted.

The music softened, two smaller girls dressed in white came out (after a little prompting) and began a slow dance around the body. They circled it three times as the music began to build again, this time with the anticipation of celebration. The “angels” pulled away the red material and “Jesus” popped up with a huge smile beaming on his face. He extended his arms over his head in a triumphant sign of victory””the music soared.

With sheer glee “Jesus” ran to each of the bound kids and untied their hands. The “angels” stood nearby with the red material held up across the stage. Jesus took each “freed” person by hand and led him “through” the material. When they got to the other side, he gave them a huge hug and a stalk of wheat. The process continued until all had passed through and been given the wheat. Then he sent them out.

With joyful abandon””and I mean abandon””they pulled the seeds from their stalks of wheat and threw it out as if planting. They continued for several seconds as the music rose to a thrilling climax. The worship leader sat down at the piano and began to sing while the celebration continued. At the end of the song, all of the kids stood across the stage and thrust their arms up into the air.

Well, we were all a mess””and I mean a mess. We were not just quietly weeping, we were sobbing and grinning from ear to ear all at the same time.

Surely the presence of the Lord was in that place.

All Things New

He was 35 years old and had severe cerebral palsy. Every Sunday he sat in his wheelchair in the front row. He sang lustily with every song and was fully engaged in the worship experience. His spastic body didn”t deter him in the least. Even though he had to be fed Communion, he wouldn”t have missed it.

But, this day was very special; he was going to read Scripture. For an outsider, the process could have seemed quite painful. It took forever. He insisted on standing at a microphone on the floor. Just the process of getting him up took probably a full 30 seconds. He apologized.

“Take all the time you need, John,” I told him. I had to hold the Bible for him. His speech was slurred and slow””barely intelligible at times””and punctuated with jerky, uncontrolled movement. But he made it through.

“Behold I make all things new.” That day Scripture was accompanied by a joyful standing ovation.

Surely the presence of the Lord was in that place.

Such a Relief

It was time for the Communion meditation, and the bright, enthusiastic 11-year-old made his way to the microphone. I had helped him write down his thoughts and listened as he practiced earlier that morning. He was ready. He was dressed in his best and his hair was probably as neatly combed as I had ever seen it.

And then he opened his mouth.

“You know I”m supposed to read what”s on this page.” My stomach jumped. “But well, it just seems kinda weird to me . . .” How fast can I just grab him? “I mean why would Jesus do this? Die, I mean. It just doesn”t make sense.” I”m about to pass out. “Do you think it makes sense?” Long pause . . . my heart is pounding. “And then, I got to thinking, I guess it doesn”t matter if it makes sense. He asked us to do this, so we better do it. Let”s pray.

“Dear God, I don”t know what you were thinking when you killed Jesus, but I”m glad you did. It”s such a relief for the rest of us. Thanks for that. Amen.”

Stunned silence followed that amen. It took a minute for the music to begin and the ushers to move.

Surely the presence of the Lord was in that place.

Messy, Anointed Moments

I was at a symposium on worship recently when I experienced that scene with the special-needs kids. It was a riveting moment for me. It brought back memory after memory of the “messy” moments throughout my ministry that have been among the most anointed.

Here I”ve shared just two of dozens I can remember. They are signature moments for me; they remind me of the most important part of my calling as a worship leader: to facilitate the praise of God”s people””all of them.

In a time when seamless, polished, professional leadership for worship is the stated goal of so many, please take a moment to check if there is room in your worship planning to include those who, admittedly, may make things a bit messy. None of the examples I used were haphazardly done. They were all planned. They all included practice and preparation and purpose. They were not planned to manipulate emotions or fabricate “a moment.”

They were opportunities for participation by people who had something to offer to the body of Christ. My job was to help them prepare to make a worthy offering.

There is no excuse for things done sincerely but poorly. But I believe with all my heart that our worship is poorer if our primary goal is perfection. The mantra around our place is, “We may not be perfect, but we will be excellent!” It”s something we all can attain.

We all come to worship with our imperfections””some more visible than others””to seek God”s presence among us. In our desire to put our best foot forward for a world that needs to know Christ and experience his presence, may we present his church as a place where excellent worship is also inclusive and authentic . . . and, yes, sometimes a little messy.


 

 

Becky Ahlberg is worship and family life minister at Anaheim (California) First Christian Church and executive director of the National Church Music Conference, April 25-28, in Plainfield, Indiana.

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