I like the picture that Rob Bell paints in the beginning of the book “Sex God” about “This physical thing-this picture, trophy, artifact, gift-is actually about that relationship, that truth, that reality, that moment in time.  This is actually about that.”  A great version of this analogy is what “the cross” means.  For some it means salvation from sin…for some it means that God identified with our suffering.  Whatever it is, the cross is not about the cross itself or the substance that makes it up.  It is symbolic of deeper realities that we all can share.

If you read my biography below, you will see that I am living my life in the direction of planting a Church.  I am spending time, resources etc…towards that end.  I also think that it is important that you know that everything I am doing in the present moment, I think, is preparing me for planting a Church precisely because this “thing” I am doing now is not about this “thing” I am doing now, but is rather about that “thing” which just happens to be Church planting.

So let me tell you about this thing I am doing right now: 

I work for a non-profit company that provides guardianship services for people, mostly the elderly, who have been abandoned by their families and/or society.  We help them get the best medical care, living situations, social interaction etc…  Basically we “love” them and care for them because no one else will.  Last week we took over the case of a young man who had been abused and neglected by his family, was being taken advantage of, was left for dead at times, and had found himself in the last few months living in the County Home. 

Finally, it seemed as if someone was going to love him enough to seek his best and then we found out he had liver cancer, and was going to die.  He entered the hospital hospice wing and just started to fall apart physically.  I actually just met him a little more than a week ago as I write this.  When I first went to visit him he asked me for three things:  Olives, a jar of pickles, and 80’s music CD’s. 

The next day I arrived to visit him I brought him some music.  He asked me to put some music in the CD player and turn the volume up a little.  Within seconds he fell asleep with a smile on his face.  The day after that I showed up with a jar of olives.  He was asleep but woke up when he heard the jar of olives being sat on his nightstand.  His eyes opened and he looked at them, smiled, said thank you, took a deep breath, and then fell asleep again with a smile on his face.

The last day I saw him alive I went to visit him and brought a jar of pickles.  He asked me to help him sit up, and then asked me to open up the jar of olives, the jar of pickles, and put in some music.  He sat there, smiling at me, and very slowly ate one olive and one pickle.  He took the tiniest of bites, and spent nearly 30 minutes eating…one olive…and one pickle.  It was the only thing that I, or the nurses had seen him eat in over a week.  He asked me to help him lay back down, then smiled at me and said thank you and again fell asleep with a smile on his face.  Within 12 hours he had died.  When they found him in his room he was holding onto a CD of 80’s music, a jar of olives, and a jar of pickles.

In his last days, he taught me a “this is really about that” lesson:  The stuff that I brought to him was not about hunger, or enjoyment, but about celebrating life, savoring the simple things, and ultimately grace.

This CD of 80’s music…

This jar of olives…

This jar of pickles…

Were about a life, a discarded life, an abused life, and a neglected life that still found time to be grateful about the simple pleasures in life. 

Death, I think, brings out the essence of who we are and forces us, or rather brings us to this place where we finally gain perspective.  In this last state in which we find ourselves on earth we are refocused towards living in grace and embracing the simple things.  All the things that we have complicated life with, all the things that we have used to blind us from being present in the simple things are pushed aside so that we can finally live in grace.  The sad thing about all this is that death is usually the only thing that refocuses us in this manner.

So what does this have to do with planting a Church?  Well, in the last few years of my life I have had profound instances when I felt close to death.  I have observed people dying, and I have actually wished that my own life would end just so that I could leave some complication behind.  In facing death, and being taught these simple “this is really about that” lessons, I have been impacted by how destructive and confusing the consumer driven church culture has become.  I have literally felt sick to my stomach over how misguided the Church has become, and hence how they have led people down misguided paths taking them further and further away from grace. 

Church, the Church that Jesus founded, is not about lights…loud music…fancy programs etc…But is instead about sitting up slowly, listening calmly to the music around us, and being present…totally present with each other as we share an olive and a pickle and the compassion that comes with those simple pleasures.

Gary Davis is a free-lance loser and captain of the Olympic Duck-Duck Goose team…Seriously, Gary is a budding writer, teacher, thinker, former youth pastor (ask about that later) and someday Church Planter who lives in LaPorte Indiana with his wife Trista and dog Zoë.  You can read more from Gary at http://transformission1.blogspot.com/