I heard this song today while listening to Pandora and it caught my ear.  This song is inspired from Isaiah 1 and Amos 5.  I've been preaching on Amos and this song really fits.  Enjoy!  I put the lyrics down below.

Lyrics for Instead of a Show by Jon Foreman

I hate all your show and pretense
The hypocrisy of your praise
The hypocrisy of your festivals
I hate all your show
Away with your noisy worship
Away with your noisy hymns
I stomp on my ears when you're singing 'em
I hate all your show

Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show

Your eyes are closed when you're praying
You sing right along with the band
You shine up your shoes for services
There's blood on your hands
You turned your back on the homeless
And the ones that don't fit in your plan
Quit playing religion games
There's blood on your hands

Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show
I hate all your show

Let's argue this out
If your sins are blood red
Let's argue this out
You'll be one of the clouds
Let's argue this out
Quit fooling around
Give love to the ones who can't love at all
Give hope to the ones who got no hope at all
Stand up for the ones who can't stand at all, all
I hate all your show
I hate all your show
I hate all your show
I hate all your show

Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show
I hate all your show

Remember when everyone told you that you're wedding day would be a blur.  That great advice to take in as much as you can, because it will be over before you know it.  Well, if you're married, then you know that those who told you that, were right.  I did my best to soak in as much as I could during the day, but following our pictures after the ceremony all I can grab onto about the reception is simply blurry glimpses.  We kind of rushed through our reception in some ways because we had to be out of the church building by a certain time.  I don't think we even got any of the food except for the ceremonial feeding each other the cake thing.  We took some more pictures talked with different people and ran out to the carriage.

It seems that every Sunday for the past 18 years has been that for me.  There is something about being a minister and for Leah, the minister's wife, that the day becomes just a blur.  I soak in as much as I can but in the end it goes faster than it came and I'm using the rest of the day trying to remember what just happened.  I have a policy about Sundays.  If you want me to remember something you said to me (meaning if you ask something of me) then you need to email me that week to remind me of our conversation.

I promise I'm not trying to be rude or that something isn't important, it's just that it is a big day for me (my biggest of the week) and there are so many people vying for my attention.  There are many Sundays that I think back to people I was talking to and worry that I may have cut them off or ended our conversation abruptly because I was interrupted by someone or something else.   I really am in the moment of every conversation.

After this long I really don't know what it is like to just come to worship and really just soak in everything.  And probably if I did, it would feel truly uncomfortable for  a while, like I was suppose to be doing something and wasn't.  The blur of a Sunday really isn't all that bad, it reminds me of something really crucial to my life on the journey with Christ.

Sunday is not all there is to being a disciple.  James the author of one of the books in the New Testament calls our life a vanishing mist.  What he is saying that time flies here on Earth and it is a blur compared to eternity that comes afterward.  If my life is a blur, then I want to use it as thoughtfully and purposefully as I can.  That is how I approach each Sunday.  I use those days of the week as intentionally as I can.  However, if Sunday is a blur, then Monday through Saturday means a lot to my life of discipleship.  It gives me adequate time to think on the mission of God and His heart and how I can journey with others and join God in what He is already doing.

You know the wedding day is such a blur.  But the marriage is where we get to slow down and truly put in the work, love, care, and joy towards our spouse and our covenant with one another.  Monday through Saturday is that for our life of discipleship.  And as we blur through our entire life, we find that when we soak up God in the most powerful ways, we begin to understand the idea of eternity so much fuller.  

On September 1 I began a 6 week sermon series on Amos and the idea of social justice.  As I have prepared and delivered these sermons, I have become more aware of how sheltered I am.  I have done this to myself for the most part.  I am now more aware of some of the injustices in the world.  I am more aware of how I haven't cared enough about how people around the world have been treated or are being treated right now.  I am aware that the church is movement of God and if anything good should come to the world that hurts and is in despair it should come from God through the church.  I am aware that it feels safe to deal with what color the carpet should be, what songs we choose for Sunday worship, and how creative I can make my PowerPoint, rather than think about the girls around the world who are being manipulated and sold into brothels or children who have been born with HIV or boys stolen to fight in Kony's Army in the Sudan or the millions who drink dirty water that is not only gross, but fatal.  And as I prepared what I might say this year based on the theme of "Illuminate:  Sharing the light of Christ by serving others" I asked the question about justice:  Is it justice to think of only just us?  I have had 9 months to ponder that question.  But it wasn't till I began to prepare each sermon and read, re-read, and dwell in Amos that I have been convicted and at a loss all at the same time.  I was convicted of how by not being a small part of the solution, by hiding my head in the sand I have become part of the problem.  I was convicted that the Lord cares for ALL people, not just those who call Him, Lord.  I was convicted that I traded issues here in my local church that seem solvable for world issues that seem to grand to tackle.  I was convicted that I would stand up every Sunday speaking to my congregation and knowing that I am no further down the road than they and that we must travel this path together and that not only am I the preacher, but the listener as well.  

I have been at a loss as well.  As I began to preach these sermons the conflicts in Egypt and Syria were heavy on the news.  How can the church help in those situations?  What can I personally do?  Will there ever be any hope in a world with such desolation?  How can I communicate the need for our church in Conway, AR to think, pray, and act as a measure of grace to people hurting at the other end of the world? 

I'm still not totally sure what all should be done and what we could do.  I'm hoping that as a church and as I present these messages that an awareness, a conversation will begin that will draw upon the gifts of many to come up with some action of grace and mercy and love.  I'm praying for a world away that God will be made known and help us to be his representatives.  I'm preaching a message of justice for the world that goes beyond thinking about just us!  And let's face it, the world doesn't need our government, our rules, our economy, our smiles, our care packages.  The hurting of the world, those who are treated unjustly through oppression need our Savior.  Give them hope through Jesus and while it may not take their oppression away, it will give them a new life and new sight for a day when God redeems the world and restores all of creation.  Come Lord Jesus!

Dear Teacher,

Thank you so much for being a teacher!  I consider it a great ministry to take Kindergartners under your wing and shower them with rules, order, learning, fun, and love.  I know that in the next 11 years of my boys education they will consider you their hero.  What you do is a calling and it is very difficult work.  So first, I just wanted to say thank you for all that you have done in your career, what you are doing now, and your continued future as a teacher.

As you welcome Brody and Dylan into your classroom I must say that there is some anxiety in my heart.  They are such great boys and very kind, compassionate, and innocent.  I know that as they grow and are surrounded by a diverse student body that they will learn new things, different cultures, and their eyes will be opened.  Some of the things they learn will be just what I was hoping they would learn.  I hope they learn that not everyone in our world has white skin, lives in a nice home, and has two or more cars.  I hope they learn that not everyone attends a church, knows about Jesus, or holds compassion as one of their highest values.  I hope they learn to read, write, and listen to their teacher.  Of course there are things I wish they wouldn’t learn.  I know that I cannot control these things and that its just part of life.  I hope they don’t learn that people should be judged by the color of their skin, wealth, or social status.  I hope they won’t learn that others will make you feel bad about yourself so that they can feel good about who they are.  I hope they don’t learn foul language, that fighting is acceptable, or that this world is a cruel place sometimes.  However, with you as their teacher and us as their parents I know that we can work together to shape the good and bad of what they learn to be a healthy, maturing process.

I’m sure that in your almost 23 years of teaching that you have seen many sets of twins.  I’m also pretty sure that our twins are unique in some ways, but not in all ways.  I thought I would share a little about them to help you understand each boy and maybe give a little insight into how we treat and parent them.  I’m not expecting you to do what we do, I just thought this could help with some insight into who we are as a family.

Ever since we learned that we were going to have twins, we have really tried to enjoy the uniqueness that this brings to our family.  We dress them the same.  I apologize if this makes things difficult, but it makes it easier on us and we like living the twin thing up.  When the day comes that they communicate to us their desire to not dress the same, we will honor that request.  We try hard not to refer to them as “the twins.”  They are twins and they know it, but we also want them to know that they each have their own personality, character, and life.  They love spending time with each other because they are best friends.  While we want them to find others as friends too, we still want them to be close.  In fact, we push for them to get to know other children and make friends outside of themselves. 

Dylan is a great kid who loves to be independent and a leader.  He was born first (by 1 minute) and remarkably acts just like you would think a first born would act.  He likes to learn, to talk, and to show you what he knows.  He seems to be a carbon copy of me which gives me great honor and drives me crazy too.  He loves to be noticed and affirmation.  However, he is confident even without those things.  He loves to laugh and enjoys Legos, GI Joe, and Star Wars.  He also loves to be outside and do sports.

Brody is also a great kid (I’m their dad of course I think they are great).  Brody loves to be around other people, even though he may be shy at first.  Brody is really good at making other people happy and laugh.  However, unlike Dylan he doesn’t really like to be noticed.  He loves to love and be loved.  He is extremely creative and can build the most amazing things out of Legos.  He is great at art as well.  He loves to do those things along with GI Joe and Star Wars.  Once Brody learns something, he no longer feels the need to prove it again or seek the attention of the crowd for it.  He loves to be outside and uses that time to create through his imagination and coming up with exciting games.

Dylan and Brody love their baby sister.  They take turns babysitting her (with our supervision of course) and making her laugh.  They give her hugs, kisses, and my favorite is when they talk “baby-talk” to her.  We couldn’t ask for better big brothers for our daughter than these boys.

Our family has a deep-rooted faith in Jesus Christ.  For several generations both sides of our families have been people who attended church regularly, planted churches, preached, and were elders for different congregations.  We take our faith seriously.  We believe that God has given us many gifts and it is our responsibility to use them for His glory.  We aren’t the kind of people who force our faith and religion on other people, but we won’t hide our light either.  I say that for two reasons.  First, we hope that our boys’ ultimate hero is Jesus Christ.  Secondly, we cannot help but be in constant prayer for them and those that are with them on a regular basis.  We have been praying for you for years and we will be praying each day for you as their teacher and their entire kindergarten experience.  You are the blessing that we have been praying for since they were born.

So, again, thank you for your kindness, love, experience, sense of justice, and time.  We know how important this first year of school is for our boys and how important every year is for you as a kindergarten teacher.  We are grateful for you!  God will lead us all in this journey.  Have fun with Dylan and Brody and their entire class this year!

Sincerely,

Michael Mercer