You got my back? 
Have you seen Napoleon Dynamite? Great movie!!!! As I was watching it (for the second time) last week, one scene particularly struck me. After Napoleon and his brother return from a karate class, Napoleon is at school talking to his new friend Pedro. As they are sitting in the bleachers during their P.E. class, Napoleon asks Pedro, "Do you got my back?" The first time I saw this scene, I just laughed; however, the second time something clicked. That question was what Napoleon desired deeply...it was what he needed most. He needed someone to get his back.
It is also what the Church needs today.
One of the problems that exists in the Church today that is birthed out of how we live our lives is that the desire for independence is growing. Independence essentially says that it is my responsibility to meet my needs...to serve myself. However, it seems to me that this is diametrically opposed to what God desires of the Church. He wants us to be dependent upon one another. Being dependent upon each other is about realizing that this being involved in community thing isn't just about my gifts and my desires. It is about using my gifts to serve someone else. It is about setting aside my desire for the benefit of the community. It is about laying aside myself for the benefit of someone else.
When we depend on one another, we realize that I have your back, and you have my back. Thus, the Church really is about getting one another's back.
This idea is exemplified by Jesus when He says, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).
Paul also tells us in Galatians 5:13 to serve one another in love.
When I have your back and you have my back, we look out for each other, serve each other, intercede for each other, love each other.
So, let all of us stop trying to get our own backs and start looking for someone else's back to get.
Monday, September 20, 2004