A Moment at 30,000 feet
While sitting on a plane headed to Portland this past week the flight attendant called for Mary & Larry to come to the front of the plane. Most of us remained oblivious yet curious as to why they were standing in the flight attendant galley. A few minutes later Larry took the microphone and proceeded to pledge his love and devotion towards Mary as he sweetly told her that he feels in the clouds when he is with her and he couldn’t imagine a more perfect place than at 30,000 feet to declare his love to her and asked her to marry him.
She of course said Yes!
The plane, filled with complete strangers all broke out into applause – the pilot came over the loud speaker and congratulated the newly engaged couple and bought them a drink to celebrate. Someone on the plane recorded the proposal on their phone and posted it on you tube so that we could all go back and experience it again.
It was a sweet moment. You could feel the joy and happiness in the air. Businesswomen put down their laptops for a moment to participate. People dropped their papers for a moment so that they could experience the rush in the air that rang of hope and future and love. Larry & Mary were smiling and hugging in front of a full flight of complete strangers applauding their love.
But after the moment passed – Mary & Larry headed back to their seats in economy class, people went back to their laptops, books, and papers, flight attendants starting pouring drinks and the moment was gone. This magical thing that we just corporately experienced did not MOVE any of us anywhere. We went BACK instead of going FORWARD.
The moment did not move us.
What if somehow in that moment we could have all decided that we should at some point in our lives take a risk and publicly declare to another human being how much we love them. Can you imagine the ripple effect?
What if somehow in that moment we could have all decided that we should celebrate when someone else is feeling joy or mourn with those that are experiencing pain . Can you imagine how that might change relational dynamics?
What if we would have each grabbed a note card, sent a quick e-mail, or made a phone call to someone that is in need of hearing some loving encouragement. Can you imagine how that might brighten someone’s day?
At Soul City Church, we are deeply committed to extraordinary moments. In fact, it’s one of our Values. Here’s a brief description taken from our Website.
We look forward to our weekend gatherings where the Vibe is refreshingly casual.
The experience is creatively engaging. The Music & Worship is excellent with both a local and transcendent feel. The Teaching is all at once helpful, conversational, reflective, authentic, and atavistic. The Focus is always around what God has done, is doing, and what’s next. Our kids are safe and protected, actively and creatively engaged, and challenged to take what they experience here and live it out everywhere else. We are excited about creating excellent, inspiring, thoughtful moments – but what is more important to us is what happens when we move. When we leave our space. We long for movements to emerge as a result of our moments together. This is how the world will finally know us by our love -through Moments that lead to Movement.
So to Mary & Larry – Congratulations! It was a joy to share in your proposal on United flight 0667. Thanks for allowing your moment to remind me how powerful Moments can be, and that they are never the POINT, just a PART of the puzzle.
The Value of Moments that lead to Movement
I love a great Moment. I love experiencing it, love co-creating it, love sharing it. However, so often, Moments stay just that – Moments – Singular events that happen – are great – then gone.
What if the Moments we experienced together on Sunday were actually coming FROM other moments that happened all week? And what if the moments we shared together on Sunday sent us OUT to greater moments with God, each other, and our neighborhoods? AND what if the moments that Kids experience, and Parents experience, and Couples experience, and Friends experience are Intentionally Created to push us all in the same direction?
That’s what Soul City Church is trying to figure out – How Moments lead to Movement.
We believe that something unique and transcendent happens when people gather together in one place seeking God. We do all we can to create moments that are not only memorable, but transformational. Moments that move us forward together. Soul City Church is committed to creating excellent environments and experiences where people can encounter God and take steps in their relationship with Him.
- So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
- James 2:17
