Old Shoes

I will be the first to admit that I don’t like to wear socks, especially with my jogging shoes. I would rather have some baby powder and the sense of freedom to stretch out my toes! I met with a good friend yesterday who has been doing urban work for over 20 plus years. He is truly a veteran that has been in the trenches for a long time. We have become close friends since he has decided to transition to doing more of a camping ministry outside the area.

I know that looking back at my life I had this sense of distrust of people that were older and too quick to judge and voice their concern for my actions and positions. Now that I’m that older guy it is easy at times to use my ‘old shoes’ mindset to really think that I’m better than someone else because I’ve been there and done that a zillion times. The challenge in any cultural context is that there is always going to be a tension between the old school and the new school or first generation and second generation.

I was born into a military home with a dad who was an officer and flew B-52’s. It wasn’t my choice to have a dad that was into respect and quick response times. I was raised to believe that the early bird is always going to catch the worm and that those who snooze in for most of the day are going to miss out. Yes, my mom was OCD when it came to cleaning up and being organized. All of this left its impression on me and I tend to think that people that are like me obviously have it together and will succeed.

The interesting point about my veteran urban missionary friend is that he is totally non-tech. He doesn’t do e-mail or surf the web at all. I initially reacted to this a little or maybe a lot but have come to see his legacy that he has left in his neighborhood. He is an awesome dad and father of many neighborhood kids. He also is more of a hermit type that loves the outdoors. I confess that we are both Eagle Scouts regardless of how different we are!

My point of this blog is to say that God uses all types of people regardless of size, looks, tech ability, education or clean shaving. I know that it is too easy for many in today’s world to judge someone because of their circumstances without seeing them as real people. My prayer, which is being answered, is for people of different backgrounds to be slower at judging or making false assumptions. The end results will be new friendships like mine with my urban guru friend!