POST by JED: Filling His Church

It´s December and the weather is changing. We´ve come from wearing shorts and singlets, to wearing three-quarter-length-pants (capris) and t-shirts. The rain has changed. In June there are relentless torrential downpours, whilst in November it’s lighter, sporadic rainfall.

Our days are also changing. We´ve just celebrated Thanksgiving (a special time for those North Americans, a raw and PAINful time for the British (ha ha), and a non-event to the rest of us Commonwealthers – unless… of course… you’re married to a Brit, and then it’s doubly PAINful…) and Christmas is right around the corner.

My family is changing. We’ve gone from “going to Church” a couple of times a week, to regular attendance, front row, four times a week.  Our little Pentecostal Church has also been changing. Numbers have doubled since the Brien invasion of a few months ago. There has been a sudden, and noticeable change in the demographic profile – more teenage boys! (courtesy of our teenage girls I think…)

The funny thing is, in Australia I had all sorts of techniques for getting people to Church. They ranged from “friendship evangelism”, which took FOREVER but sort of worked for me. In the worst case scenario I´d always end up pouring my heart out to my newfound friend, telling them all about my financial problems, marriage hiccups and questions surrounding my faith – truly, a champion among champs! I´d expect you to start taking notes right about here…

Then there was the cold call. Walking up to the person in their moment of complete and utter destitution, slapping them across the face and telling them that they needed Jesus. Whilst this may have worked for an initial visit, I had little more to offer them, once they were through the front doors of our Church. I would hope and pray for an alter call, and then I could dust my hands and race around the corner to be first in line for a double mocha latte, on soy, with a few granules of sugar and a dusting of cinnamon – gosh God is gewd! Problem: I don’t think I had enough faith in myself to just open up and share my faith.

Then there was the old evolution versus creation debate. I hated, LOATHED ENTIRELY, this approach. It is one my brother would run in to meet. I would do the opposite. As soon as it would start, I would clamber away. At Qantas, in Canberra, my colleagues would start. I used to work for Qantas Airways – the Spirit of Australia (anyone got keys for work? Ha ha). I usually worked in ticketing or on the service desk.

On one particular morning it had been very, very busy. And then at 9am, with the jets come and gone, we sat around, drinking coffee and having a chat (as was customary), laughing hysterically at the people who´d raced through the door, with bag half packed, lipstick looking like that of Batman´s Joker, curlers still in hair, and coat hangers galore - stuck in the their suit jackets. Oh yes, they´d always give some lame excuse about rotten taxi drivers, flat tires, lousy Telstra wake-up calls, etc. But we knew….

Anyway, the POINT of my story. They (my colleagues) started on about evolution and creation this one cold Canberra morning. I literally got on my hands and knees, crawled over the baggage belt, across the front counter, and around the bend, into the tincey-wincey ticketing office. When they saw me crawling, there was more hysterics (especially when the little swinging gate whacked me on the bum), but they soon learnt that I didn´t like to “defend” my faith in God. I just didn´t feel compelled to argue. Some people just want to lock horns, I am not one of them. I believe that faith is believing without knowing…

Then there are those who live as good examples. I could never do this one. Because I am bad, VERY bad… If I don´t live my life honestly, talking about my issues, my struggles, my victories, my triumphs, then what kind of witness am I? Not a very good one. Again, back at Qantas, I´m in the ticketing office and the ticket printer has jammed. Well I´m on my hands and knees with my bot-bot in the air (again my bottom features!!!) – I´m cursing and cussing, ink is going everywhere, and then I hear “Jed, is that you?” My response, “Oh Lord, you´ve heard my cries and have come to rescue me!” Nope, it´s the airport manager. DING-DANG-DOOO!!! No extra holiday time this year…

And so, back at the Church in Nicaragua… The people are coming because I´m telling them to come. I know it´s a wee bit difficult to understand, but the benefits of being non-Nicaraguan and non-American here are amazing.

The youth pastor´s son wasn´t coming to Church and so I told him “Hi Juan Pablo, you don´t go to Church. GET YOURSELF TO CHURCH OR ELSE!!! Now would you like a second bicky with your coffee?”

The mother of a teenage girl who attends Church was SO excited to have us to her house for lunch (with the pig, some dogs, lots of chooks, a turkey and a parrot), and I asked her why she didn´t go to Church. She prattled on in Spanish and I sat politely and listened. To be honest I did even kind of drift away… At the end of her long speech I simply said (in my very broken Spanish) “go to Church” and she said, “okay”. Then we laughed hysterically and I do not know why… But on Sunday morning, who was at Church? The woman with lots of animals and a big, beautiful smile.

Then the youth pastors dropped in to our house with a teenage boy. I was extremely surprised to find that this lad had a wife and baby. He looked so young. I asked him a thousand questions (it´s easier when learning a language to ask a question and then sit back and listen) and then told him that he needed to go to Church. 

On Sunday, he was there. Him, his wife and their cute little bub. I noticed them standing in the door of the Church, dazed and looking around, a bit stunned by the screams “Gloria A Dios!” And possibly bedazzled by our lead singer (she´s got quite the pipes on ´er). So I hustled to the door and then led them in, by the hand, to a couple of spare seats (front row, you can imagine the looks…).

So my point in all of this? Find your calling and get on with it. There´s too much jibber-jabber, says me jibber-jabbering, about coulda, shoulda, woulda. God has a plan for your life, and a part of that plan is sharing your life with your fellow human beings. Cause Christ is in You and You are in Him!