I am on a spiritual kick right now with my blogging.
In the past, I feared going into the bars mostly to protect my preacherly reputation. While in my heart, I wanted to be there and hang out with people. Now, as my regular readers know, I go in and sing and drink and fellowship.
This evening, as Teach99 was wrestling with students at the first shift of a school lock-in, I was hanging out with a co-worker over a Shiner, potato skins, and Buffalo wings! It was delicious. As we were socializing, we went over the weeks mishaps. We have many mishaps at our inner-city school. We shared about friends and family and without pretense, I could say hey, I started going back to church. He knew I used to be a preacher and actually did not know that I wasn't going.
We have been good friends for more than two years now. During my first year, we were neighbors and he was assigned to be my mentor. He is old enough to be my dad but acts younger than I do. We do duets together at Karaoke and counseling sessions at various bars. I would love everyone to see us jump on stage to "Takin' Care of Business." It is loads of fun.
I have seen him through good times and bad times and he the same with me. He is one of my "beer buddies" that I have acquired over the past year or two.
What is the point of all this? I noticed a situation that occured today at our after school incerveza (play on the word inservice). After we had our first round, I ordered water. I know he drinks a lot sometimes and after I ordered water, he had the opportunity to pause (because the bartender was flighty and ran off before my friend could respond) and think for a second and said, 'I will have water too.' That was awesome to me and made me think more of the isolationist view that people have at some of your more conservative evangelical churches...
The "us and them crap" that is propigated by most evangelical conservative preachers and serious church members is just crap and haughty arrogance that gives them an excuse to look down on others and feel better about themselves. It is all just "us." We are all in this mudhole together trying to find significance, meaning, and peace in life.
If my stepping out there and saying "water" instead of "beer" helped him to do the same and get home safely, then I am doing better ministry in darker places than any pastor of a mega church who may look down their noses at "those lost sinners who hang out in bars" and put on their big show on Sundays. What good are they doing for those in the darkest places. I doubt they will show a TV broadcast of the favorite preacher at a local pub.
What real good would I be doing if I were a preacher on a Sunday morning preaching against bar patrons and alcohol except to achieve job security for myself becuase I tow the line? The only way that the church can reach lost people is to be with lost people. This experience (as well as some others) has caused me to see the value of genuine relationships without the objectification of human beings for the purpose of propigating the gospel. When you have a good relationship, the gospel will happen naturally.
While I used to preach loudly and impatiently, I see how maybe just maybe I can lead silently instead and end up being a lot more productive.
