Scripture
10 “Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. 11For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 14:10-11
Observation
So many of the best lessons of Jesus happen around a table. It’s not just because Jesus is a big fan of meals, but culturally the the table was a boundary marker for the Jews. Who you had around the table was accepted and who was not invited was rejected. This show of status also applied to where a Jewish person sat at the table. As Jesus observed, everyone was vying for the top spot closest to the host. This preamble to the Last Supper and the washing of feet would make it clear that Christ followers are to approach the table in humility rather than hubris. We aren’t in the room to be seen, but to serve. We aren’t in the room to be promoted, but to promote Christ. Notice that Jesus gives each disciple the choice- humble yourself or be humiliated.
Application
For most of my ministry I had pastored normal sized churches and so I had no idea what a “Green Room” was. It wasn’t until I became the campus Pastor of New Hope Oahu, a three thousand member church, that I discovered the purpose of the Green Room. There are so many moving pieces in a large church that the program will have the worship team, teaching pastor, announcement team, dance team, etc meet in the Green Room just adjacent to the main stage so there is no lag time between elements. For expample, after I would welcome people to the service I’d walk off in to the Green Room and the worship team would be walking on. It’s quite practical actually and helps to make sure everyone is where they need to be when they need to be there. The longer I was there though I noticed that the Green Room had became an escape for the teams and a symbol of status. It was easier to sit back there and talk with each other than to be out with the congregation. Now, keep in mind, we had five services, so one reason for this was to rest up before the next one. While most on the teams were incredibly servant minded and were there for the right reasons I did begin to see more and more time being spent in the Green Room rather than the main room. When I addressed this there were even some who were offended that I would ask them to spend time with the ones they had come to minister to. There was room for improvement for sure. Then, I was invited to another church for a conference and they had what I call an “Extra Green Room” for all the VIP’s who were speakers and special celebrity musicians that covered all the fliers for this Church conference. The Worship teams were in the regular Green Room sitting on plastic chairs eating chips. I was invited to join this next level of greenery with gourmet food, posh drinks and plush couches. It was designed so that no one would actually have to spend time with anyone in the congregation if they didn’t want to. They could stay there, go out on stage and then return to the safety and luxury of their Extra Green Room until the service was over. Just in case it isn’t clear, Jesus makes it clear here and in many other passages, there’s no room for the Green Room in the Church! As Pastor Todd Agnew writes, “When a worship team isolates itself from the rest of the congregation, detachment can kill it. Not only will it kill the team’s dynamic, but it will also kill the team’s effectiveness regarding its impact on the congregation. You will have minimal impact where you have minimal presence.” In contrast to this, I sat in an amazing "thank you" lunch this past Sunday with Brent Helming, our TFH Frontlines worship team Director. As he talked to a room of servant hearted people he reminded us, “Say “No” to the show. We are here not to serve ourselves, but to serve what The Holy Spirit is doing in the room.” This is coming from a musician and recorded artist who has seen more than his fair share of Green Rooms. Brent's stomach was turned by that as much as mine was and we are both determined there will be no Green Room culture in The Father's House. Brent said, "The first thing I noticed when I came to The Father’s House was the genuine heart of everyone on stage to point people to Jesus." We aren’t entertainers, the church is not an audience and this is not about a performance. We are here to lead people to the feet of Jesus and to wash the feet of His people!
Prayer
There’s only room for one guest of honor at this table Jesus and it’s You! I’m so very grateful for all of the amazing servant hearted people You’ve drawn to The Father’s House. They say no to the show and set their hearts to show You instead! Jesus, I humble myself before and repent for every area where, out of pride and insecurity, I’ve tried get people to look at me instead of You. If they look at me nothing will change. If people look at You everything will change! I choose to show You!
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