The God of Bluegrass

It is safe to say that I was raised in a musical home. It wasn’t a home where my parents played different musical instruments. It was a home where music was constantly listened to. If a chore was being done, music was selected to go along with the chore. If you were going to sit on the couch, then you needed a good album selection to go along with this time. My childhood was filled with music! What I really enjoyed about it was the vast genres of music I was exposed to. I never knew what kind of album would be played next – country, rock, blues, jazz, bluegrass … I just never knew! All I know is that I usually enjoyed most of what was played.
Over the years, I have gained more and more of an appreciation for bluegrass. Now, I know that this isn’t a first choice for a number of folks when it comes to musical styles. It took some time to grow on me! But, I have grown to be a fan of it. One of the reasons why I like bluegrass is because of its organic nature. Bluegrass can be played anywhere! You can find folks playing bluegrass - on the front porch “pickin’ n’ grinnin’”, on the big stage of the Grand Ole Opry, and even in White Oak Hall! Bluegrass just has an organic nature to it – and I think that is why it reverberates with so many folks. It is a music that can be enjoyed at any time, in any place with any number of folks joining in.
Another part of its organic nature is that each part in the group contributes to the whole. Many times in a bluegrass setting, each instrument will add something very important to the song, which adds up to the completion of the song. The banjo, mandolin, guitar and bass all join together to complete the melody. You take away one piece, and there is something missing with the song. Bluegrass is really the musical equivalent of a team effort! It takes all band members to complete the song.
The same is true for Christians. We are all part of an important team – the church. We each play a vital role in the way that the church operates. Not only that, but the church is very organic – we can meet together in a sanctuary, or in a field, or in a gym, or on a front porch. No matter where the church meets, it is still the church. Christ tells us that “for where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." (Matthew 18.20) What is required is that believers gather together for His glory. I have heard from people who worshipped in Africa that their meeting place was a concrete slab – and that is it. Christians in China must secretly gather in houses to worship for fear of what the authorities would do if they were found. Folks in the Gulf Region worshipped in public parks after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their church. However, their main goal was to gather together and give God the glory. Because the church is organic, it only depends on Christ – and He promises that if we gather, He will be there.
As the church, we all play a vital role in its function. There is never an unimportant person in the church – we are all equally important when we are a part of the body of Christ! Either it be through teaching, serving, cleaning, hugging or a simple hand shake – we are all part of the same team, aiming for the same goal. As long as our goal is to give God all the glory, then we will succeed in our role. Being a part of the same team also means respecting each others roles – no one is more important than the other, and no ones work means any less because of its visibility! God has designed the church to operate like a body – and a body needs the eye to act like an eye, and an ear to act like an ear. The church needs each of us to act like the way He has ordained for us to act in our God-given role.
The church is one of the most beautiful gifts God has given to us and to the world. My prayer is that we would each love the church in the same way that God loves the church – which He describes as being His bride! May we long for the greater good of the church, and may we each thrive in our roles, knowing that it is God himself who has prepared us and put us in these roles.

Semper Refomanda – Pastor James