In the oft-misinterpreted book of Revelation, John has a vision in which Jesus instructs him to write letters to the churches in seven different cities. These are some of the words to the church in Pergamum:
“I know where you live – where Satan has his throne.”
Pretty strong words. I wonder if you could find them on a bumper sticker in the local souvenir shop. Imagine: “Pergamum – where Satan has his throne.” That’s probably not going to be very good for tourism…
[Pergamum was the ancient capital of Asia, and as such, it was the official center for emperor worship in Asia. Jesus’ strong statement in John’s vision is probably referring to this oppressive situation in which the church found itself.]
Sometimes I feel like people identify Seattle as the place where Satan has his throne. At least, they refer to it as “The None Zone” because when people in the Northwest are asked to identify their religion, more claim “none” than any other part of the United States.
When other Christians hear that I moved to Seattle to plant a church, they often say something like, “They really need churches out there,” or “I hear Seattle is the most un-churched city in the country.” Now these observations, which I’ve even made myself, may be true, but they don’t exactly capture the Seattle that I see.
The Seattle that I see is hopping with non-profit organizations that build up people and communities. The Seattle that I see cares deeply about the environment (although the daily I-5 traffic jams seem to say something quite different). The Seattle that I see ranks among the top-5 metropolitan areas when it comes to volunteering.
So Seattle may be “un-churched”, but it is concerned about lots of the things that the church should care about, right?
What is happening here?
A few weeks ago Cherie and I went to the Experience Music Project (free first Thursdays, 5-8pm) We saw some cool guitars and explored the story of Seattle’s own Jimi Hendrix, but my favorite exhibit featured the history of music in Seattle. As I relived the grunge days of Seattle (Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam), I was amazed at how this thing exploded locally and was subsequently exported all over the world – the music, yes, but even its flannel shirts appeared on fashion magazine covers and catwalks everywhere.
That’s when it hit me.
The Wild Goose was honking at me again.
And it sounded something like this:
“If it can happen with grunge, it can happen with the gospel of grace.”
Seattle will be known as the city where the Lord Jesus has his throne (which, by the way, he already does everywhere. It’s just that at this point in history, it’s sometimes hard to see).
Seattle will be known as the place where the church is thriving in the power of the Spirit as it announces God’s great rescue plan for the human race and for all things…
People will say, “Those people in Seattle – look at how they love God, look at how they love each other, look at how they care for this gift of a world!”
The non-profits, the environmentalism, the volunteering, etc. signal to me that this city is ready to hear some really good news. That this city’s heart is beginning to beat more and more like God’s heart. That this city will flourish when it lives in response to God’s grace in Jesus rather than under the burden of some sort of karmic cycle.
That this city is ready to awake – and when it does – well, the one who supposedly had a throne in Pergamum better look out.