"Dog Gone It!"

Carpentry has a way of bringing out the "worst" in you. I am generally able to keep a decent reign on my tongue but hard physical labor will cause you to mutter some things that you wouldn't normally. Hammers and flesh sometimes meet in a wonderful symphony of melodious tunes and phrases. After resigning from a church plant three years ago I went to work with a home building company - something that I did through my twenties. I remember a guy named Bernie saying to me, "Preacher, you are the one guy I know that can make saying 'Dog Gone it!' sound like a swear word." As he walked off laughing and feeling good about himself I remained with my thoughts about that.

He was right - who was I fooling?

Chuck got me to say S_ _ T! in a confrontation. He wore the badge of getting the preacher to "swear" with a high sense of pride. He reminded me and everybody else of this honor at every company party.

My discovery was this that - yes - I had moments of "failure" (there were many others.) however, the moments did not "galvanize" me from relationship with the guys - it helped open it up. Chuck and I were a great construction team from that moment. Something I was learning was the guys that I worked with could see through religious attempts to be "perfect". The people of this world are very good at seeing through "fake" spirituallity as a means of appearing to have it all together.

I do my best to be the man of goldy character that I can be - we all should. But the way into the hearts and lives of men and women that need to find Christ is through a real relationship with them - to be real - the good and the bad. I do not mean get involved in "sin" so that we are accepted by lost humanity - it simply means be You. It was OK with them to see the "cracks" in Mike's "armor" - it made me approachable and they were willing to hear the good news because I was just like them - a guy needing a savior.

I now recognise that a forgiving God can use me as I am in my process of growth - the good and the bad - in his plan to reach a lost humanity. I am good with that.