Roots

Roots is the name of the latest sermon series at Liquid Church. While the essence of the message today had to do with a person's faith taking root in their lives, the series on a whole seems to be about going back to the roots of our faith, and trying things the ancient church practiced.

I really like both concepts. The church I grew up attending used to hold a "shadows" service on Good Friday with a structure that dates back to the 4th century. A church I attended when my mother first became a Christian and began bringing my brother and me with her played lots of old hymns, which I also heard in the worship service today (with the addition of an electric guitar of course, haha). Although certain ancient practices sometimes become mindless, mechanical tasks (recitation of the same prayer multiple times throughout the day for example), I believe returning to them after a time away can help strengthen a person's spiritual life.

At Liquid today, just before the service ended, churchgoers were welcome to visit different stations so that they could meditate on God and have a private moment with Him in whichever way best suited their needs at the moment. There was a cross, on which they could nail a confession of sins, a table for communion, and a row of candles to "light a prayer for yourself or for another person who may be struggling with their roots." (Did you know "votive" means vow? When you light a votive candle, it was originally to commemorate or honor a vow you have made. Cool little tidbit.) In some ways the set up resembled a Catholic service, but I believe that when something is not routine, it stands out more in a person's mind and can become more meaningful for them.

I really enjoyed the hymns today. I think that if I could find a church with teachings as relevant as Liquid, but which sings at least one old hymn every week, that would be the church for me. But, for right now, Liquid is the place for me until God provides a new place. I have often felt uprooted in my life, so I have begun to feel quite comfortable with knowing at any moment I could be transplanted somewhere.

Which makes the analogy of me as a plant, which brings me to the second part of the Roots sermon today. The Bible references were from Matthew, where Jesus tells the parable of the man planting the seeds. The following conversation never happened, but it popped into my head while Pastor Tim was talking. I feel it is a good way to describe my journey with God.

Person: So, you've heard my wonderful/exciting/miraculous/180/conversion testimony about that moment when God was like, "BAM," so real to me, and I was like, "Whoah," and right then and there on Friday the nth day of X month in that year, at 3:42 pm and 45 seconds, I became a Christian. Tell me about your conversion story.
Me: (as I usually answer) Uhh, from the time I was 4 my mom told me things which I believed the moment she told them to me, and then as I grew up I just believed.
Person: So, you never like, converted?

Me: (what popped into my head today, as I should start answering) When a person plants a seed, it goes underground, right? You can't actually see it the moment it begins to germinate, and sometimes you don't even know that a tiny plant has emerged from the ground. When it is finally a full grown plant, sometimes you can say, "Wow, how did that get there?" But it has actually been there all along. You can't see the roots because they are underground, but you can see the fruit that it is bearing. When I was 4 my mom planted a seed, when I was 11 I had that "Wow, how did that get there" moment and when I was 16 I began to see fruit.

And since most people don't understand me, the person would probably still say, "So, you never like, converted?" But at least I would feel like I tried to describe my story a little better.