Practicing the Power of (Unhurried) Presence
Recently, I had a remarkable experience that repeated itself twice in the same week:
First, I was having lunch with Saul, the guitar player that I spend a lot of time with and have mentioned in previous newsletters. Saul is a world class guitarist, and has played or toured with many of the bands I grew up listening to (Great White, Warrant, Ted Nugent, Van Halen, and as I found out recently…. Styx). So Saul has a fascinating backstory, but that is not where we (mainly) spend our conversations. We talk about marriage, and his struggles in that area. And politics (he’s surprisingly conservative for a musician). And parenting. And we talk about his shame / guilt reflex (and rejection) that comes from years of Catholic school in his childhood. And, over the course of our conversations, I have been able to naturally, organically ask him more spiritual, evangelistic exploring questions (“Where did everything come from?” “What do you think about God?” “Who was Jesus?” What happens after we die?” “If you could ask God one question, what would it be?”). From that, we have had some fascinating, even profound conversations as I listen to his answers and his thoughts. Saul knows what I am about as a pastor and a follower of Jesus. And honestly, he thinks it’s pretty ridiculous – “Following Zeus or some fairy in the sky,” as he puts it. But we have also become very close friends here. We talk almost daily, and spend time together weekly.
And so it was that, as we were together recently, amid a conversation that was ranging to everything from Hamas and Israel to Taylor Swift, Saul suddenly stopped me and said, “So, what is this Jesus thing all about to you?”