A Needed Reboot

A Needed Reboot

by John Upton, BGAV Executive Director

I love to sing; I really love to sing. I sing all the time by myself. I sing in the office, at home, in the shower, in the car, even at the grocery store with my granddaughter—while holding a stalk of celery. You can be grateful you weren’t there, though our rendition of “Let It Go” was amazing.

Even though I sing by myself, I think it’s better music, and I like it better, when I sing with others. I love the harmonies, the beauty of the blend. I love putting my little voice in the power of other voices and the feel of all of us being carried by the big wave. I like the “familiness” of it and the fun of it and the size of the sound we make together.

I will always sing by myself; I can’t help it. But it’s better music when I sing along with you. And I think I even notice that I sing better alone after we have sung together.

I also love to eat. I probably didn’t need to tell you that. I’m someone who doesn’t mind eating alone. With my travel schedule I’m often alone, so it doesn’t really bother me to be at a table by myself. I’m fortunate I don’t have to do it much, though, because the food really is better if someone else is there, isn’t it? When you surround food with faces, it brings out the flavor. Add conversation and laughter, listening and love, and it’s like spice. The bread really tastes better if somebody passes it to you.

I don’t mind eating by myself. I can do that, but it’s better— and it is only a feast—if there are other faces around me.

Like food and song, our spiritual walk—both as churches and as individuals—is most often done alone, because in so many ways we find ourselves alone with God. But like food and song, our spiritual walk is most powerful and most fully at home when someone else is with us. It is better for each person when we are an “us.”

Why do you think that whenever Jesus sent his disciples out into the world with the gospel, he didn’t send them as individuals? He sent them two by two, paired as partners, because it’s more fun, more real, and more faithful. Who can face the world in which we live without a spiritual partner or partners to walk with? That is true of individuals and churches.

That is why I constantly celebrate the BGAV. We have found soul partners to make the harmonies, to taste the feasts, to be touched by the power of the Holy Spirit. We learn from Acts 2 that the corporate gathering of believers is not just an option; it is our Pentecost.

If we have been walking it alone or in isolation, we need a reboot. Rebooting means starting fresh, getting back to the basics of what makes us healthier, saner, growing children of God. Maybe it is time I stop being just an “I” with God, you stop being just a “you” with God, and we finally become an “us” with God. I think we will notice we serve better alone after we have served together.