"We are one in the Spirit ..."

The body of Christ is a wonderfully diverse entity. I was reminded of this Saturday at a Christian music festival in my town. They called it the Little Festival on the Prairie and it had a very hippie flavor. The organizer is a young man who comes to our church now and the main set of performers is touring together this summer.

But back to Saturday in the park. Clay Center hasn't seen anything like this in -- well maybe ever. The music tended toward folk and rock, but there was country singer and hip-hop act. The performers included a fellow with the longest dreads I've ever seen on a white guy. There was a drum circle. There were long, free-form praise jams. There was an older guy with the tour who reminded a bit of Jerry Garcia.

But what was cool -- at least to me -- was that all the very normal conventional townsfolk listening and all the hippie freaks on stage (and I mean that in a nice way) were brothers and sisters in Christ. We worshiped together, we rejoiced together at the testimonies of lives changed by God's grace, we prayed together for this town. It was beautiful. Little kids and old folks and everyone in between seemed to enjoy it.

It's easy to be suspicious of people who are different, especially when all you rely on are first impressions. You have to spend time with people to see how much you have in common. I hope that two very different groups of people left the park Saturday evening with a sense of their common bond in Christ. I know I did.