I spent Labor Day weekend in Mississippi. Hanging out with people I love. Meeting new people to love. Drinking cherry limeades from Sonic. And meeting God in unexpected places. Like Kentucky Fried Chicken.
We were supposed to have a cookout Friday night. Instead, we had torrential rain. So, we met at KFC for dinner. And a little music. Johanna, Barb, Mahesh and Janna, my new friends from California, sang and played for us--it was incredible. We had our own little worship service right there in the middle of the restaurant. Other customers came in--some stayed to listen to the music; some didn't.
A couple of men came in and sat down behind where the women were standing-they were both listening intently to the music and applauding. One of the guys in our group went over and sat down with them and started talking to them. We were singing "Freedom Reigns in This Place". And something happened. I felt it...before I even knew what was going on.
I had an almost palpable sense of the presence of God--the atmosphere was super-charged and seemed gelatinous...I could barely move against it. I looked at the 3 men in the corner--they were praying, hands joined, heads bowed...as the ladies continued to sing "freedom reigns in this place; showers of mercy and grace falling on every face...there is freedom". Words can't do it justice...and almost seem to defile the holiness of the moment.
One of the men, Phil, is a former minister who walked away from God a few years ago...and he's trying to find his way back.
I spend a lot of time asking God "But why?" over the closing of GKK...I still don't understand why he allowed that to happen. It's not a COMPLETE answer (or maybe it is), but I know that what I experienced at KFC was the church doing what it's supposed to be doing--taking Jesus with us wherever we go. At GKK (or like most churches), people had to come there to be served, to see God's hands and feet in operation, to hear encouragement. But we took Jesus with us to Kentucky Fried Chicken...and maybe Phil took him home.
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4 comments:
It was probably just indigestion from the KFC.
thank you for sharing this. i don't think any holy moment was defiled as i have had similar experiences of god in the unexpected moment, and this was one of them. i could see it clearly.
i am glad you and your friends were willing to be transparent in the world with your worship rather than feeling like it is a thing that needs to be hidden. this is a great example of what can happen when we realize that church is everywhere, and not just a specific time and place.
As I was reading this post and reflecting on what I have seen God do in strange places here in Vegas I am in awe of the thought that maybe there are churches closing and others leaving churches for the same reason that many were scattered from the church at Jerusalem (their scattering came from persecution)...because some us have a hard time venturing out to where we need to be so sometimes, for the sake of the world and His Son we have to be pushed out...what a glorious God we serve. I believe we are on a fantastic journey and the KFC's of this world are Jesus' new stomping ground...
wow - what a cool story! that's really amazing. thank you for sharing this. who knew KFC could be holy ground? :) God truly is amazing.
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