Clamorously Foolish

I've been pretty quiet over the last couple of months, but I've been working on something big. Writing a book has always been a dream of mine, and it's finally happened. Say hello to Clamorously Foolish.

As a treat to you, for reading my blog, I'm giving you the preface of my book so that you can decide whether or not you want to read it before you buy it. :) Enjoy.

Two years ago, I went to a worship conference where Darren Whitehead, a local pastor, talked about the seven Hebrew words for worship. Each one embodies a different aspect of worship. My favorite is halal, which is the stem of hallelujah. Halal means "to rave or to be clamorously foolish." This description of worship intrigued me. The idea of worshiping God in a way that looked foolish was completely appealing to me. Knowing the background to worship has changed the way I worship over the last two years.

According to Webster's Dictionary, clamorous means "noisily insistent." Foolish means "having or showing a lack of good sense, judgement, or discretion." This means that we should worship in a loud way that shows a lack of sense. Basically, we should be crazy.

But when I started thinking about it, I realized that the idea of being clamorously foolish applies to all areas of life, not just to worship. Following God in a way that is a lifestyle. And that lifestyle begins with a call.

God calls all believers to something. He has a purpose and a path for each person. Sometimes this call looks absolutely, 100%, off-the-charts crazy. The Bible is full of people God called to do crazy things, and to the outside world, these people look foolish. To a world full of sinful people who have never seen rain, I'm sure Noah building a giant book looked foolish. 90 year-old pregnant Sarah probably looked a bit weird. Joshua walking around the walls of Jericho with thousands of people probably looked pointless. The guy who claimed to be the Son of God hanging on a cross probably looked helpless and crazy.

The point is that God calls everybody to do things that might seem foolish, weird, pointless, or crazy. God called me, a quiet introvert who has always been afraid of public speaking, into church ministry. When I first felt called two years ago, I thought, "God, surely you don't mean this for me. I can't be a pastor." But here's the thing I learned: to God, there is no "can't." The word doesn't exist for him. He isn't contained by our small minds. That should comfort us more than anything else we read in the Bible. God has bigger plans for us than we could ever think possible.

Clamorously Foolish explores four specific instances in the Bible when God's call seemed absolutely foolish. Times when people were caught off guard or even completely blindsided by a calling. It is my hope that this book is able to help you when what God has called you to isn't quite what you had in mind. I hope that this book is able to show you that God's call is never too crazy, never misguided, and never without help. I hope that you are able to run toward what God has for you at full speed, holding nothing back. I hope that you chase after God in a way that is clamorously foolish.

Sidney Hauk

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