Hey guys,
As my wife and I found ourselves preparing for a time of transition from our church family "Mosaic" to the vaguely revealed place that God would lead us, it seemed like a good idea to pick up a part time job to help with moving expenses and the unknown.
Pizza Place has always been there for me in times of transition and uncertainty, so I applied. I landed a job as a delivery driver with the plan to stay there until we found renters for our house. 5 weeks later our place was rented and we were off to Alabama to live in a trailer, teach music lessons, and wait on God. Here is what I learned in another 5 weeks delivering Pizza.
I decided not to let the folks at Pizza Place know I had a degree in Theology from a Bible college, even though having a bachelors degree might heighten my chances of getting the job. I wanted to love my fellow employees first and earn the right to speak into their lives, before they knew I was a follower of Jesus and a pastor. No one wants to be themselves around a pastor. Until this paradigm shifts I have decided its more important for folks to see how I live and who I am before they know why I have made those choices.
In the past I have felt like if I didn't "share my faith" right away I was unfaithful to Jesus' command in Matthew28. However, in most cases I have found that talking about spiritual things and what matters most in life is something that is intimate and sacred, not to be forced but rather to be shared among trusted friends. Talking to someone too soon about spirituality can be like breaking into someone's house instead of waiting for a dinner invite. Real relationships take time and no one wants to talk about the most personal and meaningful aspects of their life with a stranger. However, there are things that can be done to speed up the process. Love.
People trust people who love them. There is an old cheesy and true saying "no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care". The thing is, love's only agenda is to love, all actions and decisions flow from that source. If we want to share our faith with someone but we don't love them, our motives will be quickly found out! Burglars and dinner guests have very different welcomes when their presence is discovered at one's home!
So I love Lezbos! I love them not just because Jesus does, but because I got to know them at Pizza Place. I got to know them not just as people with a sexual preference but as "real" people that have problems, things that make them happy, families, favorite foods, complicated lives, and opinions and questions about faith. My lezbo friends are not just "lezbos", they are people with names, stories, desires, dreams, who are worthy of love and bear the likeness of the same Jesus who put air in my lungs.
Strangely enough almost everyone I worked with at Pizza Place spoke openly about their lesbian or bi-sexual orientation. The first conversation I was brought into about it really wasn't about sexuality but about whether or not I would accept them. I was able to show them kindness without affirming their sexual choices. After my friends understood that their world view didn't prevent me from loving them, a lot of trust was built. We talked about things that mattered.
As trust was built my friends began to ask me spiritual questions. Its funny what conversations are sparked when changing a friend's tire.
In just a few weeks this short season of life at Pizza Place was up. My friends genuinely were sad so see me moving on but where excited about opportunities for my wife and I. I realized that they had at times looked to me for guidance as a pastor though they would have never used that terminology.
Here is how one of my last conversations went: "So what are you interviewing for, what do you do anyways"? "Im a pastor. I help people find peace with God. A lot of times I use music to do that", "really? no kidding?" "yea Jesus changes everything" "I have been thinking about going back to church but just haven't done it" "Jesus really cares about you and is all about offering people peace and hope".
The hardest part about leaving Pizza Place was leaving these relationships behind and trusting Jesus to bring more friends into the employees lives to love them and share the love of God with them through an honest trusting relationship. I will probably never get to see all the fruit from my time there but I trust Jesus to continue the good work he started there and send others to water where I have planted.
Genuinely caring for people is what Jesus is about. Love was the cornerstone of his ministry, the reason he came incarnate in the first place and the reason he gave his life away. Now is one of the strangest times I have ever experienced in my life. Amanda and I cannot say with certainty where we will end up living our lives in the future. Right now we find ourselves in such a challenging transition in the purgatory/provision (depending on our attitude haha) of a small country town in Alabama! One thing is certain however: there is no going back to the old way of doing "church", "evangelism", and "friendships". I want to see people as Jesus sees them and love them as he did, regardless of how different their belief system and world view is from mine. I want to earn the right to speak about spiritual things and then I will tell them the story, whether I'm in a trailer in Alabama, a suburb in New York, or an apartment in Seattle!
So what do you think? What are some ways you have loved people different from yourself in the workplace or other places you do life? Do you think its a good idea to let people know you are a Christian as a first order of business, or a minister if that applies? How does the way you perform your duties at work speak about what matters most to you? How are some ways you build trust in a relationship with love as the agenda? Weigh your thoughts in and lets learn from each other!
Gods Peace
+walker
