The blam blam time
11/23/2010
boom
OK, we all like expressions. Some of us are known by the certain kinds, for example, “totally” or “boom” or “freak” etc. We use them frequently as a kind of signature, and some of us even try to start a movement with an expression.
One night I pulled a word off of an ancient blues song by John Lee Hooker singing, “boom, boom, boom, I shot her right down.” I wisely left off the last phrase because I did not think that it would be the kind of phrase that would filter into polite society (a society which I had heard about–but to which I had never been invited).
–“I shot her right down?” you have got to be kidding, totally–it would never circulate. Like only a freak would do that.
Anyway, I am officially coining the phrase: “the blam blam meeting.” Most catchy phrases sound stupid until they become a part of the lexicon. Here is what it means. Blam blam means a time where you really get to share deeply. Go heart to heart. You get to express the stuff in your heart that has been inspiring you for years. You get to release all of the juices that have been stored, just circulating inside of you. To someone who not just hears, not just receives, but gets it and runs with it. That is a blam blam time. The exchange of powerful truths that inspire.
So Thursday evening arrived. We are in Masi, in our wooden shack that is pre-fabricated, one that we had delivered 2 years ago so as to accommodate any kind of small gathering that might emerge in our time in Masi.
And after 3 years, we begin to learn a little. We have discovered those individuals who desire to l-e-a-d. Those Xhosa, those Malawians, those Zimbabweans, after all of our convos, all of our meets, all of our fishing, all of our initiatives, those who simply want more of the Spirit of Jesus in their lives. Who want real change. Want real life. Want blam blam. Color me happy.
So we asked them to join us, so that we could share, connect, answer questions, cast vision, light fires, fan fires, launch, catapult, well, you get the idea.
And in Africa, you just never know who is really going to show up. Sure, sure, sure–lots of assents, nods, and agreements, but when it gets down to arrival time, who shows? This time, all of them. All 8 handpicked, proven by experience, 8 folks showed. 8 leaders. 8 who want to pass the light on into dark places. So we shared. We talked. We highlighted. We emphasized. We told them who they were, what they were capable of doing. What their legacy can be. And they got it, they wanted it. They had been waiting for years for someone to say, “You are the one who can make the huge difference in your community. You. It is true– You!” They got it.
And the irony is: kalyn and I were inspired. It was a blam blam meeting for especially us.
Then, last Thursday night, our 3rd meeting. I, like Brian Regan, say to them, “inspire me. tell me a story.” Rodenza (not her real name) says in her way of speaking learned English, “this lady i have seen i have thought about i know i talk to her” (dear, dear reader, welcome to my world). Rodenza continues, “I tell her my story, what happened to me as a teenager. (now, get this, we had worked together with Rodenza to craft and talk about her own personal story, her journey when and how she met Jesus. And how she can use her story to connect to the lost and the hurting). Rodenza tells us about a young Malawian woman caught up in promiscuous living (with all of its sordid details), and how Rodenza spoke to her about her messy, lost life and how Rodenza was rescued as an abandoned, pregnant teenager by an experience with Jesus. An experience that changed her forever.
The next night the hurting, troubled woman calls Rodenza with a sense of urgency and says “can you come over right now?” Rodenza responds. Quickly she goes and she hears the story of this troubled young lady, the story of shame, of darkness, of sadness, and this personal story now leads her to heartfelt confession before Rodenza, her new caring friend. Boom. Her prayer to God for forgiveness is now etched into eternity. The result: new life, new friends and a new spiritual hunger.
Rodenza gets it. She runs with it. Others are getting it. They see the high value of this kingdom-changing life. Their hearts are racing ahead. As they share what they are hearing and receiving to those around them, a vision for Africa unfolds… Can you see it? Can you catch the vision? Picture points of lights spreading up the continent.
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light… Ephesians 5:8
You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 1 Thessalonians 5:5
