Whistle

"You need to talk to him NOW and make his stop yelling cat calls and whistling at women out the front door of the church."

Such was the greeting that began my Sunday morning.

I set aside the sermon notes and put the prayers on hold so I could have a talk with him. The talk included the requested directives.

From there we had a talk about why this behavior was bad. The top two reasons were 1.) it had the opposite effect of the women he was interested in; and 2.) it made the church look bad in a scary way.

Since I had a captive audience and knew I wouldn't get to that last review of my sermon notes anyway, he and I spent some time coming up with better plans. We thought of ways he might be able to make himself more attractive to women. These included being kind and respectful to all women, whether he was particularly interested in them or not, and to work on being friends with people rather than simply seeking out physical relationships.

It was a good talk, at least for me. I needed to hear it because of the way I sometimes approach evangelism.

Sometimes the people I'm most interested in as potential members of the church are people who come with lots of skills, lots of energy, and who already have their lives put together pretty well. Leadership potential is especially attractive.

I've come to learn, though, that many of the popular methods used by churches today aren't very effective in reaching them. Even ones that seem kind and loving "on paper" seem manipulative to the person on the receiving end. These methods and strategies often have the opposite of the intended effect and make the church look bad in a scary kind of way.

Jesus showed kindness and respect to all people no matter who they were. He became known as a friend of "sinners" while still being invited to dinner at the home of "respectable" people. He built friendships with and provided ministry to people who would become disciples as well as those who would betray Him.

Some people came to see Jesus just for the show or the healing or the free bread & fish. But some received much more than they expected and then used what they had been given as raw materials for building God's Kingdom.

Evangelism, like human love, has its ups and downs and and twists and turns. It has no guarantees. Perhaps if I became more motivated by Jesus' love than my personal desires for people to join the church, some might respond out of dignity and curiosity rather than being repelled by my bad behavior.

Be they Zealots or tax collectors or fishermen, lifelong disciples or here just for the show or healing or free bread, all are loved by a God who is calling their names. May I help them hear that calling rather than drown it out with my own whistle.

Jesus, help me see as You see, serve as You serve, love as You love.

Boards

Fresh new boards covered the windows and doors of the house. The old boards had been there a long time.

I remember when we were looking for a place to live in the neighborhood seeing this house. It was boarded up then but still appeared in good condition. It's on the quietest street in our neighborhood. The houses on either side of it are in excellent condition. It's the only house on that block that I've ever seen boarded up. The owner was not interested in selling it back then and must not be wanting to now, either.

So there are fresh boards on the house. Though they're better than the old boards which had begun to rot, the house is still a board-up.

It's hard for me to understand why someone would keep a house boarded up for so long. They could live in it or rent it or sell it. Certainly there's something useful they could do with it rather than just reboard the windows and doors every couple of decades.

Then again, I do understand a bit about keeping things boarded up.

I have places inside me that I don't want to deal with that I've kept boarded up for years. There are dark corners full of grime and pain and resentment and things I've completely forgotten about that I don't want to see. Even when I get a chance to go in and try to clean things out I prefer to instead put new boards up and move along to more pleasant areas.

And I want God to respect the boards, too. Yes, I know that the Spirit will bring new life to all areas I let Him in. But I've had Him work on so much of me that I know His remodeling projects can take a long time and are often painful. Though I am absolutely sure the results of His presence will bring life, I just don't want to deal with the process.

So guarding the boarded up doors becomes as important as the boards themselves.

There are no signs from the city on the house. Yet, for all practical purposes, even with the new boards this house is condemned. John 3:18 reminds us that I don't need to have someone spray paint the word "condemned" on the parts of my life where I lack trust in the Savior; that message is self-inflicted.

I fantasize that God would work like they do on the television show "Extreme Makeover - Home Edition." I could invite Him in, He'd send me to Disney World for a week, and then I could come back with all my old junk removed and a new life in front of me.

But He want me to pick up a hammer, too, and take ownership of the process.

When I've done so in the past -- when I've taken down the boards and let Him remodel other areas of my life -- I've received nothing less than an abundance of joy and peace as a result.

So somewhere deep inside me there's a hope that I'll work up the courage and strength to remove the boards on those portions of my life that I haven't yet given completely to Him. Then, by His grace, we'll enter into the next episode of "Extreme Makeover" in my life.

Let your mercy and grace flow, Lord. Let your light shine in my darkness and let me live in the fullness of Your presence.

Keys

The keys were just hanging there. Apparently, someone had unlocked the door and left the keys in the lock when they went inside. All their treasures -- the house, the car, and who-knows-what else -- were now available to strangers just for the taking.

I happened upon this scene when I was delivering fliers one morning. I'm sure the keys hadn't been in the lock very long because some people, casually loitering across the street, seemed to be looking for a clearing in foot traffic so they could take advantage of the opportunities for treasure those keys provided.

So I knocked on the door. No one replied. I knocked again. Still nothing. I knocked harder. Cussing came out but the owner didn't. I knocked again.

The door flew open and I was in the shadow of a very large, angry, burly man. He was not happy and proceeded to loudly tell me so. (The collar I was wearing, I believe, saved me from some even more colorful language than what I was already getting.)

Without a chance to get a word in I just pointed at the keys. He glanced at his door. Then he LOOKED at his door and quit talking.

He took the keys out of the lock and looked across the street at the loiterers who were now casually dispersing.

He started talking again, only these were words of thanks and relief from fear and panic from what might have happened had I not been persistent or had he not come to the door.

I wish I could say that I didn't know how this guy felt. I do stupid things all the time. Yes, I've left my keys in the door, though it was when I lived in Iowa so it was a much less risky error than if it happened here in da 'hood. But I'm oblivious to many of the mistakes I make and would be horrified if I recognized the consequences.

And so I need to be open to having someone knock on my door and offer correction. Honest, thoughtful correction isn't the enemy; it's just a friend I might want to yell at.

Now, just because someone knocks on my door doesn't mean they have my best interest in mind. People knock on my door all the time looking to sell me meat out of the back of their truck. Or it might be someone at the wrong house looking for my neighbor. Or it might be someone asking for money. Maybe you don't have this problem, but I have an abundance of people who have wonderful plans for my life if only I would do things their way.

But when honest correction with my interest at heart comes knocking, I best look at where it's pointing. It will show me the keys that I didn't know I was missing that unlock the treasures God has in store for me.

Thank you, Lord, for loving me enough to not leave me as I am. Correct me and help me to accept and implement Your wisdom and truth in my life.