That's right, we launched
Posted By: Zach Hoag
When I was a kid, I went to Cape Canaveral, FL, and the Kennedy Space Center, to worship at the shrine of all things NASA. I had an overall fascination with space, pretty much like any 80's kid would have, immersed as we were in the kid-culture of Return of the Jedi, Space Camp, and ALF.
(For the record, I wanted to go to space camp so dang bad.)
It was interesting on Sunday when my mom referenced good old Cape Canaveral during our "everybody time", in lieu of our official launch into this Burlington mission. It's interesting because the first image I got in my mind as she spoke was not a space shuttle launch at all, but rather the coolest thing I saw when I was at the station back in like '88.
I remember it vividly: We were in one of those dumb theme park tour vehicles, motoring all around the property looking at different stuff. They took us to the launch pad; there was no launch scheduled for weeks, which was a bummer, but whatever. Then they showed us the building where the whole "ground control" thing goes down. At this point, I just wanted to see a shuttle. No shuttle yet. So after that, we went over to the gigantor hanger where they work on the shulttles. Surely I would catch a glimpse of one of the white beauties there! Nope, no shuttles in the hanger either. I was beginning to feel completely ripped off.
The annoying tour guide announced that it was time to return to base camp. Are you flippin' kidding me? I was devastated.
And then it happened.
We came around the corner of a building, and the guide called our attention to the right hand side. And there, in all its blazing white glory, was a bona fide NASA space shuttle on what looked like an oversized trailer behind what looked like the weirdest semi truck you've ever seen. I'm sure I said something like, "Radical!"
"It's on its way to the launch pad," said the guide. And then he floored me: "Because of the sheer size and weight of the shuttle, the most powerful motor vehicle engine can only tow it at a mile or so an hour. It will take nearly a week for the shuttle to get from the hanger to the launch pad."
Heavy.
What a Launch Sunday it was for us at Dwell! And how long-anticipated, with a build-up on par to that long, graceful shuttle journey at Cape Canaveral.
When I look back over the last two years, I realize that at any point along the way it would have been nearly impossible to visualize just where we are right now. I mean, we had vision to be sure, but just like I could not imagine that docile giant shuttle standing upright and booting a flood of fire and smoke out the back end as it lifted off of the earth, in that same kinda way I just could never have seen exactly what Dwell would become, ya know, all the way back then.
I remember when I first met Grant and Rachel, ate lunch at Moe's, then a dinner at our place, then a dinner at their place, over two years ago. I remember when Grant talked about this night that he and Rachel had at the Drive-In the day before they met us. I remember how he said they felt like they were drowning spiritually and needed something to happen - anything - desperately. I remember how he said that meeting Kalen and I the next day was like God's answer to that cry.
Not because Kalen and I are so great, but because they found community in Jesus with us, community that was exactly what they needed. And I remember Grant saying things, crazy things, like "We should just start something!" And then I remember when Chris wanted to recommit his life to Jesus while eating a burrito at Moe's and asked if we would do a Bible study. And I remember going on vacation to St. Augustine, FL that summer and talking to my dad about dreams of starting a church in Burlington, and I remember my dad just drenching me in encouragement to act in faith.
So many things...Cassie came to know Jesus through this little Bible study we were doing! Amazing. Nick and Joy joined the fray and found the community they had longed for, too. Other friends showed up who didn't know Jesus at all, and were digging the whole deal. It was all there in beautiful seed form...man, it was beautiful.
But could I have seen then what I saw this Sunday? Dude, I couldn't even imagine. Because what Dwell is now is something God has done, and he has done it progressively, bit by bit, piece by peice, with such faithfulness, with such acute attention and care, carving it out, whittling away, revealing greater and greater definition and detail and identity, over the span of these last two years.
What does it mean to launch then? For me, it simply means to enter a new phase, and really, to travel towards a new launchpad, where perhaps two years from now we will all say that we could have never imagined what Dwell would become, ya know, way back in 2009.
Here are some pics from Launch Sunday:
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Reply #2 on : Thu June 18, 2009, 18:05:26
Posts: 7
Reply #1 on : Thu June 18, 2009, 23:47:06
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