Hello,
One of my sons spent his high school years marching in a competitive
drum line. Never having been in a
drum line, I was quite unaware of the complicated nature of drumming, and the
terminology they used. One of the
terms that he and his drum line spoke of was the word “clean.” “Clean”, I came to learn, meant that
all the snare drummers, whether two or ten, were striking their drums with
their sticks in perfect unison, a very difficult feat given the rapid sticking
that they did. “Clean” was the name
given to perfect percussion, “dirty” was the name given to a snare line that
was not in precise rhythm.
During my stint of unemployment, I have had the chance to worship in
numerous churches. Recently, I was
at a church where the service opened with an anthem by the children’s
choir. Their song began with a
slow melodic tune, gently flowing out of the mouths of the couple of dozen
lower elementary aged kids who stood in the front of the church. But then, as if struck by the Spirit,
the piano suddenly jumped into a New Orleans jazz beat, and the children perked
up and their song was transformed into a bouncy and snappy tune, supplemented
by mild swaying and vigorous handclapping, a transition to a tune more attuned
to the restless nature of such aged children.
As I sat in my pew with a smile on my face, my drum line attuned ears
picked something up…..their clapping was not clean….far from it. It had little synchronization, and
sounded much more like popcorn being popped than a rhythm being clapped
out. As I heard it, I thought to
myself, “what a wonderful message these children are making in front of our
eyes and ears as we begin worship”.
The message of course was, the church is not a place only for “clean”
people, as a matter of fact quite the contrary. The church is actually a place for “dirty” people. What an incredible message that those
children gave us about who was welcome to come into the presence of God and
worship him.
So, if your life is out of rhythm…if you ears are deafened by an
unrelenting voice of guilt…if you find yourself teased and put down because you
march to the beat of a different drummer….if your hands are clumsy when it
comes to holding on to the drum sticks of faith… if you aren’t very good at the
marching of walking the walk and talking the talk…simply put…..if you aren’t a
very good drummer …….then ……there’s a drum line for you. God’s drum line. The drum line that those kids were
clapping in. The drum line that
began with a march to the cross by
a dozen “dirty” drummers following their drum master in a cadence of
forgiveness and mercy, and that same drum line that took up the cadence of new
life as they followed that same drum major out of the Easter tomb. A drum line that has never really
become perfectly clean. A drum
line, however, that never gives up, gathering every Sunday and inviting anyone
and everyone to join in the drum master’s life giving march.
I always found it amazing how my son’s drum line became cleaner and
cleaner, coming closer to pounding out a synchronized beat as it practiced and
practiced, week after week. In a
world that is pretty good at beating people down….maybe even you…. Let me
invite you to be part of this drum line, God’s drum line, that seeks to pound out a clear beat of
hope, mercy, grace and peace. You
don’t have to be clean to join in.
But you will be amazed, I am sure, that as Jesus, the drum major works
with you week after week, you will find your heart and life filled with a
cadence that beats with the pounding nails in a cross and the grinding of a
tomb sealing boulder….a cadence like none other in the world, and a cadence to
carry into the world.
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace,
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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