This week at All Staff Conference, Phil Peters (BFA’s interim director) talked about the time Jesus fed the 5,000 men that came out to hear him preach. He examined the story in such a way that gave us a new perspective.
He speculated that the disciples probably looked at the little kid’s lunch and imagined dividing it among the crowds. Just dividing it among the disciples might leave one with half a Brötchen (German word for roll) and a fish tail. That disciple would take it to his assigned crowd and begin to hand it out – “Now don’t take to much – you can get a breadcrumb . . . and maybe a strand from this fish tail.”
Without Jesus, that’s as much sustenance as the crowds could have gotten from that boy’s lunch. Jesus changes everything. Instead of getting a couple measly crumbs, the crowds ate until they were fully satisfied!
Phil left us with an easy way to remember that God is working even when things seem impossible. Here it is: M&M – Means and Might. We are the means, God is the might.
Last night I was praying for the orchestras and wondering what they would look like this year. I realized that when I stepped into BFA last fall, God handed me a small Brötchen and a piece of fish, my two lovely orchestra girls first semester. I looked at them and wondered how I could call them an orchestra, just as the disciples wondered how they could call that a meal for over 5000 people.
We had 5 kids second semester (plus 2 more who came when they could). That was the beginning of growth.
This year we have 3 orchestras. Each one may be small, but it looks to me like Jesus is taking that little lunch and turning it into a feast for the crowds.
The crowds may have come to satisfy their own bellies, the REAL reason Jesus fed them was to show them that He is the Bread of Life. He alone can provide eternal food. It is my prayer that these orchestras will not merely be places of musical growth, but of spiritual growth.
Furthermore, as people see these orchestras grow, I pray that they will not think “Wow, look at what that music teacher did” but “Wow, look at how God did the impossible at BFA.” Feeding 5000 people is not a magic trick; it’s God’s might working through the means of the disciples and the boy’s lunch. Creating an orchestra is not something that I can do. I trust that if God wants me to be His means, He will be my might.
I’m willing. Pass the Brötchen!
