Tonight I went to my first “church activity” while in Dallas. I just started out at Watermark because I have a group of friends that attend there and I appreciate their community. I’m not typically a megachurch type (Fort God as my sister-in-law calls them) but I figured I’d give it a shot. I went on my own, which isn’t that intimidating to me, but this group was like 1000 strong so I was a little out of place. The last thing I wanted to do was judge something before being a part of it, so I went in. I was totally prepared to be lost in the crowd, but I was really there for the community worship, so that’s all that really mattered.
It wasn’t five minutes before Michael came to sit down beside me in this huge theater. I could tell he was the type of guy that preferred the smaller groups anyway, so it was really easy to talk to him. I found out he was in the Navy for six years and stationed in Southeast Asia for four of them and actually spent a ton of time in the Philippines. It was quite the fun fact to bond over and for once I didn’t have to start a conversation. I learned that Michael works full time and this is his community. He told me he didn’t really fit in with most of the people there, but he loved it and felt welcomed. He didn’t have a section of friends that he sat with, and he came alone, but he just wanted to be a part of something bigger than himself.
I think if we push away our selfishness long enough, we’ll realize we all really long to be a part of something bigger than us. We want people that accept us for us and allow us to be real or just be a part. With a crowd that big, I don’t know if I’ll catch Michael again, but it was nice to make that crowd a little smaller by connecting with someone. It was also good to see someone else come alone. I don’t feel like I’m brave enough to do that sometimes, so it was a blessing to have backup.
