When The Storms Come

Yesterday when Sarah and I drove into church, it was one of those beautiful, clear, though hot and muggy, summer mornings. I have a habit each week of keeping an eye on the Sunday morning weather because, well, we have a unique worship location. Everything looked great. Another clear Sunday.
During the first service, Sarah’s phone started ringing. It was our boys, who were biking to church and had gotten caught in a rainstorm.
A rainstorm? There was literally nothing on the radar. That can’t be right.
Then, when I walked out of the 8:30 service, I could feel the temperature dropping. Suddenly there were clouds gathering in the distance.
But still, nothing on the radar. Must just be some weird little popup storm.

We started the second service, and honestly, it was lovely. Nice breeze. Beautiful morning.
Then, not long into service, the lights flickered. The power went off and on. Fire alarms started going off. People got rained on.
You know…all the things everyone loves during a worship service. Especially while the pastor is preaching.

It reminded me of several years ago when I was officiating a wedding.
During the very brief ceremony, people’s phones started going off with weather alerts. Thunder was roaring outside, and I remember thinking, I have one job right now…get these two married before the heavens open up.
The ceremony finished. Family and friends headed to the reception, an outdoor affair under a tent in town, while the bride and groom stayed behind for pictures.
Then came another alert.
The storm was intensifying, and everyone needed to take shelter.
So here this bride and groom were. They had literally just gotten married, and now they were sheltering in place at The Chapel.
After the storm cell finally passed, the planner called ahead to give the reception a few minutes to recalibrate.
There was water and mud and chaos. Wet hair. Streaked makeup. Soaked flowers. Shoeless wedding guests.  You know, exactly what every little girl dreams about for her wedding…
There were a hundred reasons for the bride and groom to believe this wasn’t the wedding reception they had hoped for.
Then the planner gathered everyone together and said something like this…

“This is up to you. You can make sure this bride and groom has the night of their lives, filled with incredible memories…or you can make this a disaster that only remembers everything that went wrong. This is your call. What are you going to do?”

The next day I talked with several people from the wedding, and universally they all said the same thing, ”It was incredible.”
Friends and family rose to the occasion. They took a waterlogged reception and somehow turned it into a beautiful wedding banquet where people celebrated covenant love together.
I was thinking about that yesterday.
We had our little electrical glitches. Things got disrupted. But honestly? No big deal. Our team stepped up and made it work.
And when that severe storm hit that wedding years ago, their community stepped up and made it work.

We live in a world filled with storms.
Chaos. Disruptions. Unexpected, unanticipated, not-on-the-radar moments.
As followers of Jesus, I hope we are like our team at The Chapel and like that wedding party. I hope we don’t assume it’s someone else’s responsibility, I hope we don’t complain, shirk responsibility or blame others.
I hope we remember our calling, to participate in proclaiming and embodying the Kingdom of God here and now.

I was recently reading about a study where groups of people were shown two obviously parallel lines and asked whether they were parallel. They clearly were.
But there were a few people in the room intentionally planted to sow doubt. And remarkably, many participants eventually denied what they could plainly see because of the influence of others.
We have more influence than we realize.

Our words matter.
Our attitudes matter.
Our presence matters.
Our actions matter.
We can sabotage some of the greatest things, or we can lift difficult situations.
We can lead people astray, or we can lead people toward life.
We can tear down, or we can build up.
We can love, or we can hate.
We can give, or we can take.

Jesus regularly walks into storms, both literal and metaphorical, and brings peace.
And at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, He says,
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”

A few things about that verse.

First, the word blessed is less about receiving blessings and more like saying, “Congratulations!” or “Isn’t this wonderful?” Jesus is saying, “ This may surprise you. It may challenge your assumptions. But this is truly good news.”

Second, notice He doesn’t say, “Blessed are the peacekeepers.”
Not the conflict avoiders.
Not the peace supporters.
Not those who simply stay out of the way.
He says, “ peacemakers.”
Those who enter difficult, chaotic situations and participate in bringing peace.

Third, “children of God” carries the idea of heirs, those who bear the family likeness and carry on the family name.

In other words…
Congratulations. Isn’t this wonderful? You who make peace, who do the difficult work of reconciliation and healing in chaotic places, you look like your Heavenly Father. You bear His image. People will see your life and recognize the family resemblance.

As followers of Jesus, there will be discord and division, storms and suffering.
Yet the Scriptures continually point us toward a great heavenly banquet, a wedding feast celebrating the union of heaven and earth. And our calling between now and then is to proclaim the Kingdom, to live the ways of Jesus, empowered by the Spirit, embodying the ways of heaven for the glory of God and the good of others.

We can make this life all about ourselves.
We can obsess over everything that has gone wrong.
We can become bitter, frustrated, disappointed.
Or, to paraphrase that wedding planner…

“This is up to us. We can participate in something beautiful and meaningful…or we can make this a disaster that only dwells on what didn’t go right. This is our call. What are we going to do?”

I want to reflect the image of God.
I want to live the ways of the Kingdom.
I want heaven to rule and reign here and now.
I want to sit at that great heavenly banquet one day and know that, by God’s grace, I did my small part to make this world look a little more like heaven.

The day after that rain-soaked wedding, I ran into several members of the wedding party walking through town after church. I stopped them and thanked them for stepping up.
One of them smiled and simply said,
“It ended up being amazing.”

I hope we step up too.
Because storms will come.
The radar will miss things.
Chaos will interrupt our plans.
But some of the most beautiful moments in life happen when ordinary people decide to bring peace, joy, hope, and love into the middle of the storm…you know like Jesus.
That is one of the surest ways to live a beautiful, meaningful, impactful, and amazing life.

The storms will come either way. The question is, when they do, will we add to the chaos, or will we help prepare the banquet?

I hope you will prepare for the banquet with us.

A few things you need to know about stuff coming up here at The Chapel.

Tuesday Prayer – We have the lights at The Chapel being worked on this week, so there is NO TUESDAY NOON PRAYER this Tuesday, July 14th.  We plan to return next Tuesday the 21st, but if our lighting project is delayed, we’ll let you know.

All Church Bible Study – We have our last summer All Church Bible Study this Wednesday, July 15th at 5pm.  If you haven’t been yet, it’s awesome.  Just 5-6:15.  This week we are teaching through the book of Philemon.  You will be blessed by this time together.  No matter your age or gender, you are welcome and I hope you join us.

Guest Preacher – This coming Sunday, I am excited to welcome Pastor George Robertson to preach.  He is the lead pastor at 2nd Presbyterian in Memphis.  He’s a great guy, and I’m excited to welcome him here.

A few other things looking ahead:

Back to School – Back to School Sunday is August 9th.  We’ll be blessing our kids and students heading back to school.  Join us for this special Sunday.

Fall Bible Studies – Bible Studies kick back off on Wednesday, August 19th.  We will return to our morning schedule of Men at 8 a.m. and Women at 9:30 a.m.  If you can’t join us for those times, please check out the podcast, Chapel Study Notes, where Sarah and I recap our Bible Studies.

Youth Ministry – Youth Group will kick off weekly on Wednesday nights starting August 19th from 6:30-7:30 p.m. This is for all 5th-12th graders.

Nursery – Beginning August 9th, we will offer regular nursery for our families each Sunday at the 10 a.m. service. Nursery is provided for birth through 4-year-olds at The Assembly Hall.  This is the building just east of the school across the Lyceum, just about a block or so from The Chapel.  To participate in this, you have to register ahead of time for us to make sure we have people in place.  Simply email sarah@thechapelatseaside.com so we can get you connected.

Kids Church – We also have Kids Church on Sunday mornings for 5th-5th graders at the 10 a.m. service.  Check in at The Chapel. Our leaders will walk over to the school where they will have an age-appropriate lesson during that hour and then meet back at The Chapel when the service gets out.

Chapel Women’s Retreat – We are going to have our first official Chapel Women’s Retreat the weekend of October 15th-17th.  To sign up and get more information, click here.

25th Anniversary – The Chapel will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary on Sunday, October 18th.  We’ll have more details about that morning, but I hope you will plan to join us for a time of celebrating what God has done in and through this place.

Parking – As you know, parking is limited at The Chapel, so we encourage you to park by the school on Smolian and use the linked parking passes. This link should cover now through the rest of the summer.  These passes are good for Sunday morning worship until noon and for our summer Wednesday evening Bible studies.  You can also park in the county lot between Seaside and Watercolor. It’s a lovely short walk from there to The Chapel.

Okay, that is it for now.  Lots of other great things coming up.  We look forward to seeing you this week at Bible Study or this Sunday at The Chapel for worship at 8:30 or 10 a.m.  Please let me know if you need anything.

Blessings.

Andrew