I found it

Ok Bono... I get it.

In his song, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Bono (of U2 if you live under a rock or are Amish) says that he's lived life as a sinner, he's confessed his sins to Jesus, he's spoke with the tongue of angels and ran back to the life of sin. And he still has found what he's looking for.

For a long while I didn't understand what this song meant. I thought it was about Bono wanting to leave his faith behind. But with all my struggles lately, I get it. I feel its more a song about find a place where we belong inside this big world of the body of Christ. Sometime we feel lost and homeless even though we know who is our Master.

I find myself in that location. My church preaches the right message... but the worship so dry. I love the readings and liturgical parts. But the music... OH MAN! I want to jump and raise hands and call out the songs I love. I have tried pole barn mega churches, but many of those are too lightweight theologically. And they don't seem to get grace.

I have good friends at the First AoG in Harlan and at the E-free in Audubon. But the Lord hasn’t leaded me there. I still have so much Lutheran in me… I’m not quite ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

But still I twist in the wind. Never quite feeling like I have found what I am looking for, I continue searching for a place where I fit in. Where is my niche? As a charismatic, evangelical, confessional Lutheran/punk rocker/youth minister/artist-type, find a match has been hard in rural Iowa.

But today that is all different! Today that has all changed. I have big news….

I found it! Praise the Lord! I found it! I found it! Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines has an emergent service on Thursday night called Immersion and it is spot on everything that I try to do and want to do and want to be and want to nurture. The music was rocking and all songs we play or ones I listen to. The message was aimed right at my current issues. It was like the pastor was speaking to me. AND GRACE!!! They preached GRACE! And the Holy Spirit was there. I walked in and felt Him immediately. And I wept in the spirit all night.

Lastly, it ended in the Table. I can leave many of my Lutheran traditions, but I don’t think I can live in this life without my Lutheran Communion. We took the bread and wine while we sang You Alone by DC*B. I returned to my seat and wept and wept and just thanked Jesus for His life-changing gift.

I FOUND IT! I FOUND IT! I FOUND IT! I FOUND IT!