Reflections from the bus

Partly out of my re-commitment to reduce my carbon footprint I took the bus today. I also took it because it just worked better for our hectic family schedule. I have been a little hesitant to take the bus to the seminary given I often carry my laptop with me. I just can’t afford to lose it. But I am glad I did, as it gave me time to read and reflect on a book called They Like Jesus but Not the Church. The author is: Dan Kimball. Anyway, while written primarily from a North American perspective, I think a lot of the info is very pertinent to many in the global Church. In a section entitled: “The Transformation from the Excited Missionary into Citizen of the Bubble,” Kimball says, “Other than maybe at an office Christmas party that we have to go to, we rarely ever hang out with non-Christian friends or go to movies with them. For the most part, only Christians are in our circle of peers. We begin buying little Christian stickers or put metal fish symbols on our cars, and we even have a few Christian T-shirts . . . We find ourselves regularly using Christian words and phrases and cliches . . . .” How true this is! Despite the fact I am a missionary I am frequently around Christians and now must go out of my way to hang out with people who do not follow Christ. When I worked in Caracas that wasn’t a problem. I worked with street living youth and children. Besides an occasional street preacher, I was mostly around people who were very much caught up in surviving and self-medicating their pain. To be honest it’s a little quiet at the seminary on most days, not that I don’t enjoy teaching and pouring myself into students, I do, it’s just all so predictable. I need more action I guess. I don’t yet know what this means for me, but I hope to be more intentional in spending a little more time outside of the bubble with those who are in need of God’s mercy. By the way, I highly recommend the book! I’ll probably be blogging quite a bit about this book in the days to come, so if this is of interest, please come back and unload your opinions/comments on me.