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Blues, Beer, and the Kingdom of God

Recently my friend Lisa invited me to join her at the weekly Blues Jam held in a local bar. And so late that Thursday night, I headed down to the bar expecting to hear some good blues in a not-quite-a-dump / not-quite-a-dive bar, meet some new people, and enjoy a beer. My expectations were met. The bar was a nautically themed hole in the wall hovering above dive status by a hair situated in a strip mall. The blues was hot. The beer enjoyed. I met a number of new people. However, I was greeted by another experience that far surpassed all that - the kingdom of God.

First of all, I was shaken into reality by the realness of the people and community in the bar. Having slowly slipped into a world of mostly "church" people and middle class isolation the past few years, I had forgotten the down to earth feeling I had known years past in bars. I watched people come in and be embraced by other patrons. The servers had personal interaction and knowledge of their customers that was closer to clergy than bar maid. All around the room the defenses were down that many of us Christians put up to make people think we are perfect. Stories were told, burdens shared, and care for one another poured out. It was people caring for people in a way the church has long ago forgotten in its rush to provide slick programs and easy answers while making everyone sure that they must look like they have it together in order to fit in. ...

...I reflected more on this situation as I sat in church Sunday morning (I’ll admit it I was thinking about this during the sermon). Here is my conclusion: The Kingdom of God is like the Blues Jam. It is a place where the reality of the human condition is not covered up by a set of un-written rules that keep us from sharing our real lives like in many churches today. Everyone is free to be who they are. Real care is displayed for each other. It is not a place where the standard answer to “How are you doing?” is “Fine.” You’re more likely to get an answer in language that would not be fit for a PG rated movie but is soaked and dripping with the real issues and messiness of life in the human condition. The Blues Jam is a place where a person like Bill can be ‘salt & light’ to Big Jim and his family. If Jesus were alive today, I expect I would find him down at the bar more regularly than at church.

My friend Lisa relayed to me that she was recently asked if she would rather hang out in a bar or at church. Her answer was that she disappeared from church for 6 months and only two people called her to see how she was doing (a fact that saddens me deeply), but if she missed Friday night at the bar her answering machine would be full of people asking where she was and seeking to find out if she was okay. Boy that certainly sounds like the Christian community that we all need....