This showed up on my Twitter feed a few days ago, and I can’t stop thinking about it:

Yes. Absolutely. Unconsciously- which is really the problem here- it never occurred to me to think otherwise. By the grace of God, and by my growing attention to and awareness of the unplumbed depths of spiritual and religious diversity, I have experienced an awakening and uncovering.

Or, to use another analogy, I have been eating off of a very tiny menu. I just had no idea how much good ‘food’ there was out there to try. I liked what I ate; I knew what I was getting; it always tasted the same. I still like that food. It still tastes good to me. But I have stumbled upon a world of new food, some of it odd, some of it delightful, to excite my palate.

Waffle Church has been my introduction to these new and exciting flavor profiles, necessarily, because Waffle Church is a buffet, not a prixe fixe.

Some very good things I’ve learned:

• Don’t assume that you need to preach a 15-20 minute sermon to impart an abiding message about how we know and experience God.
• Don’t underestimate the power of ‘margins’ in a liturgy– meaning, it’s OK to have longer transition times between worship elements. The larger margins invite more natural progressions.
• MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. Music is NEVER a filler between ‘word-ed’ parts of worship. Music is the message, the prompting, the exuberance, the keening.
• Use your hands, or just watch someone use theirs. Maybe you’re crafty; maybe you’re not, but using your hands in worship is a bit like brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand- it forces your brain to create new pathways.
• Fellowship isn’t coffee at the end of the service; fellowship is our encounter with the living God. It happens always and everywhere.
• Intergenerational worship is the very best kind of worship. EVER.
• There has never been anyone like you in the history of the world, and there never will be again. Because you are made in the image of God- unique and irreplaceable- you have something to give that no one else can.
• Short theologians (aka children) will call you on your bulls&*t when you use ‘pat’ answers, and they will make your brain explode with new insights. And they will make you laugh.
• Outsiders are the real insiders.
• You can worship God just as faithfully with a mug of hot coffee in your hand.

Next Waffle Church is October 18th. Maybe there will be a reprise of the newly-coined Waffle Church Jam Band…