Moving from the "What" to the"Who"

Reggie McNeal // Moving from the "What" to the "Who" from Todd Rhoades on Vimeo.

The Next Generation

Perry Noble has a great article on his site about the next generation and his attitude toward it. Click the title "The Next Generation" to go to the article.

"What do you do?" - A Waitress and Tatoos

Last night we went to Burbank to eat at a well know eatery named Granville Cafe. All their food is organic and very tastee. Our waitress, Kristy was just delightful. She made us feel welcomed and at ease. As we got ready to leave I asked Kristy how long she had been working there and what she ultimately wanted to do. She said she, like many, aspired to act. Then she asked me what I did. I gave my now standard response to that question, "I follow Jesus." She gave me a big smile and said something like, "Oh wow." Then I added, "and I make my living as the pastor of a church." With a big smile on her face she pulled away a wrist band to reveal a tattoo with a verse from the Song of Solomon. I then showed her my tattoos on my wrists. She said, "you are the first pastor I've ever met with tattoos!" We then talked about where she went to church and where our son Justin attended (she seemed very interested in Justin).

Why am I telling you this? A couple reasons. One is to help you see how answering the question, "what do you do?" with the answer "I follow Jesus." can lead to all kinds of interesting conversations and encounters. The other reason is that when I posted a brief version of the story above on Facebook I got this response from a person I met at Galewood Tavern: "I truly think it's cool that you can break out of the 'big religion' mold. We'll have to talk candidly about THIS subject soon." To my knowledge this person has no religious affiliation, but clearly has some ideas about church/religion. We will have a candid conversation. While I certainly don't know how the conversation will turn out, I do know it came about, at least in part because of the way I answered the question, "What do you do?"