I’m on the setup team.

I do church at a church in a box. That means every Sunday at 7:00 a.m. we pull up with two trailers full of equipment to a middle school and transform it into a church in less than two hours. Really quite fascinating.

We roll large (and some quite heavy) 5×8 boxes on wheels off the trailers –13 boxes — and fill the gym, cafeteria and lobby with a full church setup. We pull off heavy stacks of folding chairs on dollies, wrestle large carpets, folding tables, speakers, screens, massive portable stages and all sorts of props, backdrops and miscellaneous “trappings.”

I sweat a lot.

I’ve been asked, “why?” I’ve been told that others don’t want to do this because their spiritual gift isn’t setting up chairs. I’ve been belittled for spending six hours on Sunday putting up, tearing down “church,” and sitting through two services (sitting would be nice, usually it’s standing, moving, helping, etc.). Don’t I have something more productive that I could be doing?

How do I explain myself?

Besides the actual worship services, the setup time is probably one of the most spiritual times of my week. I get to pray over hundreds of chairs between two different services and the people who will be sitting in them. I’m blessed to set up an entire educational wing that encompasses cradle to fifth grade and call God’s Spirit to fill it with his presence. I get to put out carpets that seekers and saints alike will cross as they come into the presence of the King. I tape down cables that will carry the message of life to those who are dying. I place pens in the hands of those who want to write down the Words of life and instructions for understanding them better. I am humbled as I put up curtains that will remove distractions from the outside world so people can concentrate without interference.

I guess you could say that in simple service I act as a road sign that helps people find what they are looking for. Or, you could say that I serve as the armor bearer for the King. I think that makes pushing heavy boxes on wheels around a really special job.