It's OK, you can swear!

I’m back. I’ve been away for a little bit, and plan to keep posting here. But in the meantime kiddies you can sit back, grab a coffee and read on, dear reader.

I’ve sustained a jogging injury which I’ve had for a few years now, and decided for my next plan of attack to visit a chiropractor. While I was lying face down on the bench, having the chiropractor poke my stiff muscles, he called in his assistant to do the massaging.

Now when someone massages me (and I’ve had a few) my preference is to at least meet them. But alas, I was not afforded this opportunity since, as I said, I was lying face down.

The girl just came in and just started massaging me as she was chatting to me. We were talking about muscle groups and the Bay run, among other things. She also studied anatomy at NatureCare, where I used to do some casual teaching so I could pay the bills whilst at Bible college. The funny thing was how at ease she seemed to be. Her talk was casual and unguarded. She was swearing like a trooper as she talked to me. She was saying ‘s&^% yeah’ to this and ‘effin’ oath’ to that. The conversation was quite jolly. Obviously she had done this many times. And then she asked me ‘so what do you do?’

I knew the conversation was about to change.

‘I work for a church’

‘Really?? What do you do there?’

(After all, maybe I mowed the grass and trimmed the hedges)

‘I am a minister’

I could hear her brain thinking back over all the expletives that she had used within the last five minutes.

‘That’s quite a change…’

‘Yeah’ (me agreeing)

‘What made you decide to do that?’

Now before I continue, can I just admit that I’ve never come up with a clever answer to this question? I mean, an knock-out answer which will make the best use of having a good gospel conversation. Once I said to a whole church (answering the same question) ‘because there is a heaven and there is a hell, and everyone is going to one place or the other’. I also once said to a hairdresser ‘so I can help people know about Jesus’. And this time? Well I paused for some moment. (Put it down to the massage I was clearly enjoying).

‘Because I want people to think through the big questions in life. About knowing God’

She politely agreed.

The conversation didn’t really go anywhere after that.

But it made me think that the world really does put us ministers into a different box than everyone else. I feel as though they don’t know what to do with us. Sometimes even I don’t know what to do with me! But it’s interesting that the world feels the need to stop swearing and behave around me! Perhaps they feel judged, or guilty. Maybe even unholy.

Whatever it is, I wished she felt as though she could be herself. I wanted her to keep swearing at me! I wanted her to be at ease. I wished the conversation could go on. I wished she could know I’m just like her- I’m a sinner in need of grace too! I wanted to stay in the same box as her, and not be put in a different box.

Stay tuned, I'm going back on Monday.

In the meantime, help me out. What would you say if someone asked you ‘what do you do?’ and you are seeking to share the gospel with them?