I'm A Groupie. Maybe?

Someone called me a "groupie" this week. Twice, actually. It didn't bother me, but I've been thinking about it. It was in reference to me and some of my friends propensity to attend concerts and speaking engagements by Christian artists. Who is coming? When are they going to be here? How much does it cost? Where are they going to be? And so on. When we hear of these events, we share them with each other. We get excited about it, we talk about it before hand...and then we discuss it at length once it's over. We compare speakers, musicians, our favorite things, what we hated...sometimes we argue. Mostly we just have a good time.

But that's not what I really want to talk about. What I'm really thinking about is this "groupie" thing. When I think of a "groupie," I imagine a sixteen year old, following around a rockstar or band, hoping to meet them or at least get an autograph. So when this person referred to me as a "groupie" (okay, I'm gonna stop putting it in quotation marks now) it didn't really seem like the right term. I don't follow a specific speaker or band, and I definitely don't try to meet whoever it is I'm going to see (ok, I did meet David Crowder, but that was by total accident, and I made a fool of myself with non-stop talking).

So who is it I'm following?

Who is it I want to see?

I guess it's Jesus. I never thought about it before. But I look forward to the music because I want to sing about Jesus and worship God. I want to hear the speakers because I want insight into things I don't know about the Bible, and I want the encouragement to live more like Jesus did.

I read Matthew 4:19-20 this morning: "Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him."

At once. Really? At once.

Maybe I don't have what it takes to be a groupie. When Jesus called His disciples, in this case, Peter and Andrew, they were ready and they went right away. That seems scary to me. I'm proud to be a Jesus Groupie, but I live this comfy life where I can work Jesus in mostly as I see fit. In my heart, I say, "God, I'll do whatever you ask me to." But it's the "at once" that I get stuck on.

There was a Friends episode once, where they "made plans to make plans." This is really funny to me, because I do that all the time. So I guess it the case of being a Jesus Groupie, I'm at least willing to be willing. Will that work for now?