Dear John Letters

On Tuesday night, my high school sponsored an "Authors Night" for those in the District that have published a book. I had my suspicions that turn out would be low and it was. A massive rainstorm and general apathy dampened the crowd. 

One of the lessons of life that I have learned is that I am being called to be faithful. Not successful, faithful. So, in regards to the scant attendance, I tried to, and was able to, keep a positive attitude and not disrespect the others who came out to share their books--and to those in the audience who attended. They didn't deserve disappointment. I also kept in mind that one never knows the power of reaching one person...as the adage goes, "One can count the amount of seeds in an apple, but one cannot count the amount of apples in one seed."

We forget that Jesus spent most of his ministry in the company of twelve men, one of who turned out to be a Betrayer. If we go by the 12 person model of ministry, pouring our lives deeply into a small number of people, and they in turn do the same with 12, and then that group does this with another 12, we are already at 1,728 reached with a radical exponential factoring in place. Just like compound interest, compound ministry concentrates its resources yet invests deeply and over the long haul.

I have been listening to podcasts on various topics and one that has my ear is the Motley Fool which is an investment company. They have the best track record on Wall Street with picking stocks. The counsel typically is along the lines....find good companies that have untapped potential, invest, and then stay invested over the long haul. Ride out the short-term highs and lows and stay the course. The results of this strategy consistently places Motley Fool at the top of the pyramid in terms of stock performance. People are no different. We need to find those with great potential who demonstrate teachability, humility, and responsibility and then invest in them.

There is a time to go after the one lost sheep, because all of us are lost, yet there are sheep who get lost and have seen where it has taken them and they know they need to turn-around and be found by the Master Shepherd. Then, there are those who are lost and continue to pursue destruction despite the mounting evidence that danger is all-around. I have had to make some difficult counseling decisions in my career about giving up the chase on kids who just won't listen to correction despite the circumstances that they have found themselves trapped in because of the path they have decided to follow. In the end, people have to want to be changed before they will be changed. That is just the way that it is like it or not. Some have rebelllion deep in their hearts. 

I am not saying the strategy of investing in "winners" works either. We get all excited when a prizefighter who just knocked the crap out of another human being thanks Jesus that he prevailed in the ring. Or wrote a nasty best-selling rap song about rape and misogyny. Or don't even say the words at all. Many of these type of people don't think they need God. They are doing pretty well in wordly terms of success. Their potential is dedicated to pursuit of the world and usually the only condition that gets them off this trip is a realization that all of the gold can't fill the abyss of an empty heart 

Tullian Tchivdjian states "Failure and desperation is what typically gets people to consider church. But sadly many churches outlaw failure and desperation." 

At the Authors Night there appeared one young man, a high schooler, who came on his own accord. His parent was not there. He came because he loved books. I didn''t know him because he is not on my caseload. I hoped when I saw him enter that he would stop by to talk to me and he did. We had a wonderful conversation about words and the beauty of books. We must have spent close to a half hour talking about my work and words in general. He had brought a copy of Hunter S. Thompson's book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It is a harsh but entertaining read crammed with sentences like this: "

• Sympathy? Not for me. No mercy for a criminal freak in Las Vegas. This place is like the army: the shark ethic prevails-eat the wounded. In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.

            
My book is considerably more uplifting than this. Yet, I am all for the young to read dark works as long as they have a moral framework. Too often we over-scrub books like kitchen counters with cleaners that leave them unprepared for the ugliness and unsanitariness of the world. John, his name, carries around a composition book where he writes down quotes that he hears and reads. That is a very good practice. I was blessed to see him write down some of the things that we discussed. 

His first name, so commonplace, reminded me of the Apostle John (the one that Jesus loved, a statement that perplexes me to some degree. Didn't Jesus love everyone? Even Judas?). John was the only Apostle not martyred for the faith. At some point in his life, he wrote the Book of John, his three Epistles, as well as the Revelation. At the end of the Gospel of John, he concludes with the words: (John 21:25)

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Dear John, may you continue to love letters and the words of truth that they convey.