Espresso at a Gas Station?

I just came from Starbucks. Say what you want about the company and how they charge a ridiculous amount for their coffee, but I will say I rarely go for the coffee. It is a good public meeting place. I believe I am on record as saying this before. I love watching people, and there is hardly a place more interesting to watch people than at a local coffee shop. Every time I go, I see the same few people as if they are always there. I wonder if they see me and are writing a blog about this guy who is always there. Probably not. I see lots of people but a couple characters stand out.
The first is this woman I call Betty. I have no idea if her name is Betty but it should be. Betty is about 50 years old and dresses like she is 14. Lots of cosmetics. I am no doctor, but I would guess that there have been a few cosmetic surgical procedures along the way.  She is always happy. She usually seems like she has come from somewhere important, and is headed to another important place. This is her pit stop on the way. She knows everyone. Well, sort of. She says hello to everyone. She likes to be seen. I wonder if she would say hello to the same people if she met them in the grocery store. Out of her element.
The next character is an older man who drives a very nice Cadillac and parks in the handicap spot. He has a tag that allows for that, but he seems to walk okay. This is my observation, not a judgement. His name should be Mario. I noticed him because he always wears the same shoes. Expensive-looking dress shoes. Shorts or pants, same shoes, no matter what. Actually it wasn't the shoes that caught my attention. It was how high he had his pants pulled up. The belt was just below his chest.  He comes in alone every time, orders the same drink, sits in the same spot to wait for it, then leaves after putting milk and sugar in it and stirring it with a wooden stick. Most people would miss him in a crowd. Nothing really out of the ordinary. Except he comes all the time.
Then it occurred to me. This is like church. Making comparisons of Starbucks to church is nothing new. I have read many articles on the same by clever pastors and writers. Not that part. It is about our behavior. I like to watch people. That doesn't change when it comes to church. I notice many things about our parishioners. I can tell you what people drive, where they park, where they sit, the type of clothes they tend to wear, etc. All of these things could make me like an FBI profiler.  Except that I really just seem to be interested in people without motive. Observing to me is like wanting to know more about someone, but not in a creepy stalking way. It also explains why I am frustrated with superficial relationships. The church is just as guilty of this as is Starbucks.
We have many Bettys. They come to church dressed nicely and always seem happy. We expect happy in church. Most of us were trained as young kids to put on clothes you only wear to church, and come to say a bunch of stuff we only say in church. Read that book we only read in church. And don't forget to be friendly and smile at everyone. Why is this stuff we believe reserved for only one place? Betty doesn't order coffee at a gas station. She could, but that's not the place.
We have lots of Marios. They come in alone, or as a couple, or a family. They come not to be social; in fact they leave before most people would notice them. We have no idea why they come. They are the ones who come every week but nobody knows their name. Every church has these people.
I can see that being an observer of people is no better than being indifferent to the people around us. It's not good enough to say "I asked them one time to come [to something] and they didn't show up. I called but they didn't call me back. I tried to reach out to them."  My mantra for the week (and going forward) is "our mission is not to try...our mission is to do"! And you can quote me on that!

The Mafia, Punctuation, and the Anglican Church

A bear walks into a pub and says "I'll have a rum.................and coke." The bartender looks at him and asks; "Why the big pause?" ("paws" for my foreign friends who don't get American puns humor)

I have been in an Anglican church my entire life. My parents took me to church at an early age and I actually have fond memories of church. The thing is, I never knew it was an Anglican church. It was an Episcopal church. I learned much later that most of the world knows of the Anglican church. It is recognized as the official church of England. The church of Kings and Queens. Where all the royal weddings take place. Apparently in America we resent the fact that the church was founded in England so we changed the name to the Episcopal church. Can we do that? I guess some people thought we can. Episcopal means Bishop, which means the church is headed by Bishops. No Pope. But it really is Anglican.  Now, in America, my church has split from the Episcopal USA church and we are back to the Anglican roots and name. But the Episcopal church is also still Anglican. Confused? So am I. A bit of church history here on the blog for you. It really isn't what this post is about, but it helps set the stage.

Back to me. Since I have been sitting through the same Sunday service for more than 40 years, I have most of the service memorized. I could play the part of the priest if called upon. I suppose that would never happen, but if it did, I would be ready. I am the perfect understudy for this role.  I know the lines and the hand motions.

On Sunday mornings our opening declaration is the same for most of the year. After the first song or hymn, the priest stands in front of the congregation and says "Blessed be God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." Notice the punctuation. Semi colon after God. (History and then English lesson? What the heck is this?) This means we say God, we pause, then we clarify what that means to us. Three in One. Think of all the great sales pitches out there. Two for one. Buy one get one free. This is way better. Three in One. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All the same God. The explanation of this is for another time. This is about punctuation.

The priest always says "Blessed be God" then a pause, then "Father, Son and Holy Spirit". We then respond but that part isn't important here. I have always heard it like this. For the first time in my 40 years a priest stood in front of our church, and in one breath said the whole thing with no pause. Big deal you say? Well it is a game-changer to me. He said "Blessed be Godfather, Son and Holy Spirit." Godfather? I suppose I should have had images of the people that stand there at Baptisms and say they are the "Godparents" of the child. But I saw the movie version instead. Marlon Brando was now in our service and somehow we were wishing him to be blessed alongside his Son and the Holy Spirit. Good thing the Holy Spirit got in there, but it's no longer a three-in-one deal.

I know I should probably never admit to these things. Somehow people want their worship leader to be thinking of things other than Marlon Brando. I can assure you it was just a passing thought. We went on to worship God who is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Making It Up As We Go

I know the importance of translation.  Messages can be mixed up so easily with incorrect words that are only one letter off.  I learned that lesson in Uganda which I talked about in a post last year "Are You Talkin' to Me?" It is still one of my favorite missions stories. But this post isn't about that story.
There is a song called "Wonderful" that I liked when I first heard it. The song is written by Malcolm Baxter who comes from our friends in the Vineyard church. I don't actually have any friends in Vineyard churches but I know some people who used to be.  Anyway, it has a great feel to the song and the lyrics in the verses are great. The chorus, however, contains a word I had never heard of.  The word is Humbai.  The phrase goes "Humbai Jesus, Humbai Yahweh" and repeats several times.
I knew that when I brought the song to the congregation they would want to know the meaning of this foreign word.  And of course I wanted to know as well. I started with Google. It brought many references to India, although no translation.  I spent many weeks investigating the origin of the word. It became my pet project.
I looked up the author of the song, Mr. Baxter, and decided to try and contact him. After several weeks I found an email address, sent my question, and received a response. I know the suspense is getting to you and you probably already looked ahead to see what it means, and now have come back to read this part. Welcome back.
If I had to guess, I would have said it means something like worship, or holy, or some dignified church word. Nope. The response I got back was it is not a real word. He made it up.  Why?  Because he needed a word or phrase to go there and it sounded cool.  Okay, the sounded cool part was my paraphrasing of his response, but basically that was it. Not a real word. Seriously? We can do that? I guess when I hear songs that have la-la-la-la in them this creation of Humbai is somewhat genius.
So many times we use words that are unfamiliar. Even unfamiliar to us. But because we know the context we use it by guessing the general meaning of it.  And besides, if it is used in a song, it must be a real word.
I wondered how many churches use that song without knowing the meaning of the word, or insert their own definition.  I say "I wondered", but really it was more of a passing thought. "Wondered" sounds like I spent time on it and I didn't.  I was just happy to get a response from Mr. Baxter.
By the way, I substitute the kinyarwandan word "Imanashimwe" for Humbai Jesus.  Yes, it is one crazy word for another, but I know the translation.  The meaning is "Praise God".