I am horrible at taking time off as a pastor. I am usually running at full speed, always thinking about what’s next. I’m always thinking about next Sunday’s sermon and the folks I need to visit or I haven’t seen in church. Resting is something that I don’t do enough of and I need to. I know this about myself. It’s an area I am learning about. I recently talked to a respected friend who does spiritual direction on the side and offered to be my spiritual director. I am realizing this is something I should have in my life especially as I continue to be in ministry as a pastor. I of course said yes!
While away this past weekend I had an interesting experience happen to me while cruising the streets of Folsom after a happy dinner with family and some friends.
The kids were walking about a half block ahead of us. As I approached the corner I noticed a guy standing on a crate and a couple of folks huddled around him and I noticed that our kiddoes had stopped with their buddies to listen.
As I approached the crate dude and his buddies, I looked over at my older kid and he says, “My dad’s a pastor as he’s talking to crate dude and he points his finger over to me.” I knew exactly what the crate dude was doing. He was preaching.
Now this corner he had chosen as his platform for proclaiming, “good news,” was a very quiet corner. No one was around. As I walked this particular street I had noticed that there were three or so small restaurants and at least two very loud bars about a half city block away.
He was a very nice guy and did a good job being a witness to Christ’s love, but I found myself feeling a little impatient. “I was on vacation I thought to myself and here’s some guy trying to preach to my kids and their buddies.” The crate dude looks at me and says, “who is the most hated man on earth?” I said Jesus? He smiled and continued talking to the kiddoes.
As I stood listening, one of his huddled buddies leans over to me and says, “are you offended by what he’s doing?” She says, “Is he doing something wrong or saying something wrong?” I said, “no, he’s doing fine.” I did say though, “You know you guys are on the wrong corner. You should be at the bar up the street.” She looked at me with an uncomfortable smile and I walked away and got some toffee at the candy store. I kind of felt bad for my comment and thought, “nice come back Wahe, you nerd!”
The couple of friends we were walking with are people who I think are very cool. They’re not your typical church folk. As a matter of fact, they kept walking while the kids stopped and listened. I wondered why they kept walking? Was it the dude standing on the crate that turned them off? Was it his presentation of the gospel? Was it because he was standing above us, looking down at us?
As I processed this experience I wondered to myself are people looking for pastors to be genuine and real? Pastors who actually care and take a moment in their busy lives to step down from their crates every Sunday morning and actually take an interest in the people they’ve been called to shepherd. This is something I have continued to learn about in my growth as a pastor. People are looking for pastors to be genuine and real. Pastors who actually care. As the kids came into the candy store, we did talk for a moment about the crate dude and his buddies. One kid showed me that they were giving tickets out to go to heaven. Literally tickets they had printed up with little Bible verses on them.
Maybe its me. Maybe I’m just a nimrod and I’m jealous that the guy can stand on a crate and kick into full preaching mode on a street corner. Who knows. The experience did make me think about my preaching and my heart for preaching God’s love. I couldn’t help but think about Paul’s words from Romans, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel.” Am I ashamed sometimes?” Do I treat every moment I have as a pastor to preach God’s love with passion? I still love what one of my preaching professors once said to my preaching class in seminary, “sometimes the gospel is offensive.” Do I use every moment in my life for being a witness to Christ’s love even if the truth sometimes is painful to hear? Should I be crate dude? Or should crate dude throw his crate away and take a seat in the bar next to someone who needs someone to be real with them? Someone to love them as Jesus loved the brokenhearted? Someone to step down from the crate and actually care?
Maybe crate dude was there for a purpose that night and the Spirit of God was convicting my heart about my preaching and what I need to work on in my ministry as a pastor especially when it comes to preaching every moment given to me as a pastor.
My favorite vacation moment? Watching our kids enjoy being with their friends and watching t-bone try to figure out how to skip a rock on a river.
Now back to our regularly scheduled vacation time.
Flew solo tonight leading my first Ash Wednesday service at church. It was a special service in so many ways. The church hadn’t had a Ash Wednesday service for several years. It was an honor to lead this service and to help folks get ready for the Lenten journey we all walk as followers of Jesus. We even tried something new. Communion by intinction. Very moving and powerful for me to witness God’s grace in community. 
