Things 'n' Stuff

Yesterday, Christie and I were up at church with the boys. As we were heading out to the car to leave, I saw what appeared to be a large rock sitting on top of our car. That seemed rather odd to me, and as we approached we noticed some glass all over the place. Again, something seemed amiss. As I stepped around the driver's side I discovered that the window was missing, and there was a large rock sitting in the center console, with shards of broken glass strewn all over. Some one had broken into our car. As I looked closer, I discovered that they had tried multiple times to break all three windows on that side by throwing rocks at them. Sadly, they were not very good at this and dented up the whole side of the car. Once they got fed up, they took a rock about the size of a person's head and smashed through the driver's window. Once inside they took out the change drawer and rifled through the glove compartment. Unfortunately for them, all this hard work had yielded them at most a couple dollars in change.

At first, I was mostly just shocked. My window was gone. My car was dented and filled with broken glass. And all this for a handful of change. I laughed at the stupidity of breaking into the car of a youth pastor with a "Twins on Board" sign in the window. Obviously, they don't know what a pastor's salary is like, or have children.

As we began to take hold of the situation, we realized we would have to call the police and should try to disturb the scene as little as possible. I asked our music pastor, John, to call the police while I got whatever the boys would need and called my mom to come get Christie and the boys while I waited for the police.

As I waited with John and talked with a few others, I found something strange. Other people seemed more upset about it than I was. Granted, I hadn't slept much the night before (did I mention the twins?), but still, I felt more saddened and confused. Saddened because the people who had done it were so desperate for something (money, thrill, I'm not totally sure) that they were willing to risk jail time for a handful of change. Saddened that, while they were on church grounds, their thoughts were on crime and destruction, not God. Saddened by the total disregard for another's property. My confusion stemmed from the question of why. Why do this? What's the point? There was nothing of value lying in plain view, and ultimately for them, nothing of value whatsoever, so why bother? My car was certainly not the nicest, nor the newest, but perhaps the easiest, being further from the building than the rest.

The officer who took the report and others were just blown away by the brazen act. They broke in during the middle of the day, and were not exactly efficient and quick. While things are pretty quiet right now, there is still regular traffic through the parking lot. Some were very angry about it, which surprised me, because I wasn't. I'm not totally sure why, but I am still not angry. Sure, dealing with insurance and everything is going to be a pain, and my day was quite disrupted yesterday, but I'm still not angry.

But then again, why should I be? It's just a car. Nothing of significance was taken. Christie and the boys are fine. We are obsessed with stuff, possessions, property. But the Bible says that everything belongs to God and what we have is just a gift given to us to to glorify God. Maybe this was a wake up call for me. Maybe I have been putting too much energy and effort into my stuff. Maybe we don't need that brand new SUV we've been dreaming about. Maybe we need to stop worrying so much about the things we own, and just trust that God will provide for our needs.

One thing that sticks out to me was a comment from a church member who happened to drive by as we were waiting for the police. He suggested that maybe the police could get some fingerprints (they didn't bother) and if these guys had been in trouble before, they could bring them to justice. "That would feel good," he said as he left. Yes, it would be good if they didn't get away with the crime, but wouldn't it be better for them to be brought to grace and forgiveness?

A Brief Manifesto

I figured it would be good to establish why I finally decided to create a blog. The first thing to understand is why I have been so hesitant to even start blogging to begin with. There is a commercial that came out a few years ago, that I absolutely abhorred. It featured a professor telling his writing class the minute likelihood of any of them ever being published. To which a student stood and began to declare that with online publishing, we can all become published authors and blah, blah, blah. What bothered me was the question of whether everyone is worthy of becoming a published author. I never want to perpetuate the mindless drivel that pollutes much of the internet, prattling on about the inane details of their bland lives, boring everyone into a stupor. Please don't misunderstand me. I have many friends and family members whose blogs I visit regularly, and thoroughly enjoy. But that is because they are good writers, and people whose lives are connected to mine.

So why create a blog if I have such disdain for much of the blogging community? Over the past few months, I have felt a growing need to express myself in new ways, to create new avenues of discussion, and a safe place to ask questions. I have been in ministry, paid and volunteer, for more than 10 years now and have discovered the value of questions. So often we try to teach by telling people what they should think or know, but as I have watched people grow (or not) over the last 10 years, the biggest influence I see is questions. The students who ask questions grow. Those who don't often get stuck and fall away. So I wanted to create a blog where I can share observations of life, God, ministry, etc. and ask questions. The questions may not have answers, but I am willing to let them, as long as the question is out there and being pondered.

Now, for the readers, I have a simple request. If you have any feedback, please give it. Let me know if you think I am way off base, or if you agree, or if you have more questions. Also, I never want this blog to become a rant. I despise the blogs that just complain about the world and have no ideas how things can be better. There is no benefit to railing against something with no positive input. It just makes people angry. So please be sure to keep me accountable to my own standard and warn me if I ever have a rant post.

Finally, I hope my writing spurs some thoughts and ideas that are new and interesting. My wish is that through my words and questions, I can encourage others to see things they have never seen before. Enjoy!