I just got back from a lunch with Pastor John. Usually these are pretty routine - once a month, talk life, talk church, talk people... head back. Just a good time to connect. Familiar rhythm.
And this one started the same way. We met up at Beck's on University. Booth near the back. A couple of college-aged girls were sitting in the booth behind us. Waiter takes our drink order. We start talking about LeBron's block that was a replaying on some of the TVs around us.
Then Gus walks in.
I know his name is Gus because it says so on his shirt. Gus is a big guy. Gus is a biker. Gus sits at the bar.
But none of that really gets either my or Pastor John's attention. It wasn't until Gus sat at the bar, ordered a shot at 12:30, and then took it over to the booth behind us to "strike up a conversation" with the two girls in the booth. That's what got our attention. In fact, both of us struggled to stay focused on what we were talking about. We were dialed into what was going on behind us.
I can't really relay to you how the conversation went between Gus and these college girls. Suffice it to say: Gus was on a mission, and these two girls were the target.
About 15 minutes later, after much giggling, number exchanging, and not-so-subtle innuendo, the girls leave laughing, and Gus heads back to the bar.
Now, this is what I love about our pastor, Pastor John - it's what comes out of his mouth about Gus.
Strike that. I'll get to that. What I love about Pastor John is what doesn't come out of his mouth about Gus.
He doesn't say, "Can you believe the language that he used?"
He doesn't say, "How can someone be drinking this early in the day?"
He doesn't say, "I guess that's just what this world is coming to" and then ignore Gus' loud outbursts at the bar until we leave.
Here's what Pastor John says:
"Dude... we gotta talk to Gus."
Yes we do.
So I figure out a way to worm into the conversation he's having with the bartender, and then Pastor John slaps the seat next to him and gets him to sit down. And for the next 30 minutes, Gus talks about his life, his exploits, his women, his life in Hollywood, and all in vivid detail. He even showed us a few pictures on his phone that we wished he would've kept to himself.
But in between the more colorful parts of his story, he also told us that he hasn't slept in 4 days, that he drinks all the time, and that drinking doesn't help him anymore. He told us that his dad wasn't ever around. And he told us that, just a few days ago, he drove down University Avenue at 120 miles an hour, potholes and all, surprised that he made it home alive. He didn't know why he did that. Just sat in his house afterwards and cried.
Now, those were footnotes to what he really wanted to talk to us about - women, booze, whatever. And he was way too far gone to really have a meaningful conversation either way.
But my whole point in telling you this story is this:
Everyone has a story.
It's usually not the story they are projecting.
Usually it's under a lot of mess. You're going to get a little dirty if you want to uncover it.
But if you do, the story is pretty familiar. It's pain. It's confusion. It's self-medication. It's a little self deception. And it's a desire for wholeness.
Now, maybe it's not the big biker guy who walks in the bar. Maybe it's the guy a cubicle over.
But it's the same story.
And unless you allow God to insert you into their story, they may never know God's story.
So:
Who's your Gus today?
Time to slap the seat next to you and start listening.