A Sign.

It never ceases to amaze me just how God works. Sometimes, I expect big things and its in the still, small moments that I hear Him the most and sometimes I expect nothing and God hits me with boulders that I didn't see coming. Well, today, I wasn't sure quite what to expect.

At our first meeting with Ken & Bob a story came up about how Ken sat in a coffee shop one day with a sign that said "Tell me your God story and get a free coffee." When I first heard this story, I was a little skeptical. First I thought to myself "Doesn't that only attract Christians?". Next I thought to myself, "How can he afford that?" and finally, I thought "What a weird way to get people to talk about God." Well, about four days later as I was sitting in a coffee shop and reading Brennan Manning's "Signature of Jesus" (a book on what it means to be a disciple) I was reading  a chapter about 'celebrating the darkness'. The general jist of the chapter was if you find yourself surrounded by darkness, loneliness and a place void of everything comfortable...then you're probably right where God wants you and desires you to be. Manning goes on to talk about how it's only when we use our faith that we have faith and its only when we enter into the 'darkness' that we push back the darkness and how if we're not intentionally putting ourselves in those dark places, and if we don't find ourselves in the 'dark' a lot...then we're probably not committed to the lifestyle of a disciple. 

As I was reading this chapter, I began to think about Ken's story and I was challenged. What was I doing to intentionally put myself in harm's way for the sake of Christ, others and love? The answer was deafening...nothing. I began to think about Ken's story and how it seemed to be a great way to put oneself out in the darkness. So, I shared my thoughts with Bruce and he and I began to pray about it starting last week. Throughout the rest of the week, anticipation and excitement grew about the idea of doing this "God Story" sign, and we knew that it was something that God was calling us to be obedient to. So, we decided that today, Monday, would be the first day we did it. 

So, we did it. I guess the story of today really started last week and picked up intensely yesterday, Sunday. I began to think a lot more and pray a lot more about what this meant for mine and Bruce's faith walks. We were about to put ourselves out there for people to comment one way or the other about our faith, make faces at us, agree, disagree, love and hate us. For me, it was undoubtedly the first time I'd ever done anything like it...which is pretty sad at the age of 22 (Okay, this coming Saturday I'll be 22. I'm rounding!). My whole last year of college was spent trying to pursue holiness, and what this "God Story" sign thing has taught me is that I was only getting half of the picture of holiness. God's greatest commandment to us is "Love God, love your neighbor.'' My senior year at ASU had been all about the first half, and completely missing the last half. Sure, I loved those around me that were easy to love (most of the times) like family and friends, but if I really think about it...I hadn't gone out of my way to love those that didn't deserve it or that I didn't know needed it. I hadn't put myself out there for the sake of love of others and God. So, today was my first step in the second half of God's greatest commandment. At least that's how I'm looking at it. Don't get me wrong, I in no way think I've got all of the first half of it down pat...but the second half of it I haven't really touched at all. Until today, I never realized how much of God's presence I was missing out on by just being obedient to the first half of God's greatest commandment. This past year was the first time that I really felt like I was surrendering my life to be with God and it was a blessing to be in the presence of God in so many ways. But after today, I've learned I was only experiencing a small portion of God. 

So, let's get down to the logistics of what today looked like. It first started with some intense praying as I lay down for sleep last night. Then, I woke up this morning early to have some quiet time, preparation time and more prayer time. I was nervous as all get out when I woke up, so I knew I was going to only be able to go through the day with two things: God working through me and the prayer and accountability of those around me. So, I sent out a mass text to my prayer support group asking for extra prayers today, got a shower and prayed all morning, and wrote out the sign which eventually said "Tell me your God story (good, bad, believer, or non-believer) and get a FREE small coffee of your choice." 

So Bruce, Kelsey, Storm and I piled into the car and went to Montana Street. We dropped the girls off at Peet's coffee to spend the day. We decided it may look a little weird and be awkward for people there if they saw a group of four people walking up, talking and taking up 2-3 tables while one of them put a weird sign asking for God stories. So, we dropped them off and Bruce and I headed to Starbuck's down the road. We got there and in my prayers I'd been praying for the outside table right beside the door going in. Weather isn't ever an issue (it never rains here) and it was a beautiful day for God to do His work. The table is probably the most seen table and probably the best location to bee seen. So, sure as God is God, we walked up and it was open. I put my stuff down and taped the sign on the back of one of the chairs. Bruce took a table inside. You see, Bruce and I had decided that it would be best if we were both at the same coffee shop while one of us did the sign thing and the other one of us prayed all day for the other person and the people they  would be talking to. So, it worked out that I was the guy with the sign and Bruce was the prayer warrior. 

So I sat down and waited...and waited...and waited...and waited. I definitely got some interesting looks. Some people went so far as to laugh out loud at such an 'obsurd' idea I heard it called. Some people gave the friendly smile. Some people saw the sign from their cars at the intersection, slowed down and read it. Some people gave looks of confusion. And still, others read it and kept on as if nothing was out of the ordinary. These looks kept up for about an hour and a half. Then Surinder (pronounced Surrender) sat down beside me. She looked at me and said "Is that yours?" I nodded. "Why?" My response came from nowhere other than Christ. Its weird really. I couldn't have thought of the answer I gave her, but through the prayers of those at home, Bruce, my teammates, and so on...God began to speak through me. I said something along the lines of "Well, I think everyone has a story and someone needs to listen to it. Someone needs to say 'Hey, I love and care about you, but more importantly so does God.'" Again, the response just flew out of my mouth and I was surprised myself. Not at how good of an answer it was, but how I could feel the presence of God settling on this conversation. 

The conversation picked up and Surinder began to tell me about her life. She is of Indian descent, but lived in Canada most of her life. She followed a guy to LA, broke up with him and found another one and got married. She's been in LA for 8 years now and is still loving it. She's a Sikh follower (http://fateh.sikhnet.com/s/SikhIntro) and her husband is a Buddhist. Due to some life difficulties (death of her mother, back surgery) she's had some troubles lately with starting her business. But, she's hopeful and excited about where it's going. That was pretty much the depth of our conversation. She talked in detail some about her Sikh faith, but if I tried to get into those details on here, it wouldn't make sense. So, check out the provided website. Anyways, after she left I was excited. I'd been praying and I know others were too, that God would send at least one person today, and here one person had come and gone. We had some pretty good conversation, it was spiritual, but it wasn't too in-depth. 

I'll admit, at first I was a little discouraged by the lack of depth to the conversation. I guess I had gone into today thinking that God was going to do VISIBLE great things. I expected tears, I expected salvation, I don't really know actually...but I think I was expecting more than what the conversation with Surinder was about. But, after she left and I began to process, here I was and already in a matter of a 20 minute conversation, I knew about this woman's faith, family, business, and recent hardships. God had far exceeded my expectations and there was no way I should have tried to keep Him in such a box. 

So, after Surinder left and I got over the discouragement, I got really excited. I promise, it's hard to explain, but after that on the sidewalk outside of Starbucks, I knew God was there and ready to do some work. So, I sat and waited for the next conversation. It would be another two hours before another one came along.

In that tw0-hour time period though, there were several more questions of why I was doing this, what was the 'catch' or purpose, and so on. One lady thought I was writing a screen play. When I told her what I was really doing, she smiled sweetly and said "Oh that's so cute. You're so sweet." Except, it was kind of like the "Uh, how do I take this. What do I say now?" kind of thing. Either way, I was encouraged because she'd taken the time to ask. 

So, during those two hours I kept praying "Okay God, I've got one under my belt. I feel comfortable talking about it. Now, just send one more. Just send one more..." then my prayer began to repeat itself. In fact, most of my prayers today were all repetitions of one another. I've never prayed the same few prayers for so long, but never once did they seem redundant. Instead, I found myself feeling like I was communicating with a God who was letting me delight in His presence. 

So, after two hours of praying "Just one more. Just one more, God." Two more came along.

Bruce and I had planned to go at 3 o'clock and it was about 2:00 when the second conversation came along. We'd been at it since 11AM, and here it was 3 hours later and starting my second conversation. It started with a "That's different," comment by one man named Adam. He'd seen the table, read the sign and said "I'll think about it. Let me get my coffee and I'll be back." So, while he was getting his coffee, I prayed "Okay God, speak through me and bless Adam!" When Adam came back, he didn't take a seat but wanted to talk. He and I talked for the next 10-15 minutes about his story. Actually, he claimed he didn't have one. He was an athiest/agnostic (he said he was each one, but never made a clear distinction) with one goal in life: rid the world of all organized religion. His first question was, "So, you must be an evangelical Christian with a evangelical goal in mind?" To this I responded yet again in ways that I don't think I could have normally thought of. "No sir. I'm a Christian, yes. But, I have no purpose here other than to listen and hear your story and let you know that God loves you and I care and love you as well." He paused, and stared for a second. "Wow, I've never seen that approach before." He then commended me on being able to be a Christian but not one who was shoving it down anyone's throat. He'd never encountered such a Christian before. Then he said, "You know, I'd love to sit down but all I could offer is a debate and you and I both know we don't want that. I know I'm right and I know you think you're right." So, I agreed. I didn't want a debate. So, I asked him some more about his atheist/agnostic views and why he hated organized religion. Simply put, he thought it was all hypocrisy. When I said I agreed to some extent, again he was stunned. He asked me some more about the whole "love" thing and if it was real. I said yes, I do love the people around me and do want them to know that God loves them too. From there, he told me his 'message' for me: atheists and agnostics love too. They're not people who hate and are angry all the time. In fact, in order to be a true agnostic/atheist, you must adopt a humanist view of loving your neighbor. After his brief message, he again reiterated his disdain for organized religion, and how his main purpose in life was to get people like me to lose their religiosity. Let me say here that never once, again I say, NEVER ONCE, was this an argument or confrontation. It was two people dialoguing in a respectful manner about their beliefs (or lack there of). So, he told me some more about how he wanted to be an agent of change for the Atheist/Agnostic community and to encourage more love and less religion, in fact that's why he was getting his master's in "that stuff". So, I told him that much like him, I wanted to be an agent of change in the name of God and for the sake of love. Just like he wanted to be the 'different' atheist/agnostic, I wanted to be a new face of organized religion and to show that there are people out there that aren't about steeples, money and politics (those were his lists). At this point in the conversation, he was stunned again. I don't think he expected what I said. So, he again commended me on my non-confrontational manner and idea of 'witnessing'. His closing remarks were "You know, if there is a 'God' or a guy who can be so creative, then he must be pretty cool. If you really can create perfectly the eye of a bee to the design of a sunflower, then he's one f*#$ing cool guy!" My response was "Well, I believe in that God and guy, and you're right...he is one f'n cool guy." He smiled and said "Well, that's alright then." We shook hands, and peacefully parted ways. Thank you Adam!

After Adam left, a man sitting next to me looked over and said "You know, you handled that beautifully. I don't think it could have been better to be honest." He left his seat and sat down in front of me in 'the chair'. He asked a little about what the premise of the sign was, then proceeded to tell me his 'God' story. His name is Jeff and he's a writer. He cares a lot about the wellness of people and just published his first book on it with his brother. So, yesterday in a restaurant a woman and he kept locking eyes and he finally approached her. She said he'd looked familiar but didn't know why. Then he asked her if she believed in 'preminitions' and she said yes. Eventually, their conversation ended with her encouraging him in his new journey of writing and he couldn't help but think that was a Divine sign that God wanted him to do what he was doing.

So, Jeff and I began to talk. I asked him about his spirituality/faith and he willingly shared. He's a part of a faith community out here in LA, Agape, that is a spiritually driven community. Most of their texts come from the Bible, but they share some from the Koran and the Bhagavad Gita and other spiritual texts. He began to ask me a lot of questions on why I was out here, what I was doing, what it meant for me to love someone, what I considered a 'successful' day of showing a Divine love, what I wanted this trip to lead to and so on. I was pretty open with all my answers. I told him I'd come out here with a group of college friends in hopes of starting a church. First and foremost, our priority was to love at all costs and our end goal was to get a church going. He seemed very interested in this idea and how it wasn't about being in a building with a steeple, but a faith community that sharpened one another in the presence of God and encouraged one another through the Spirit. He compared what we were trying to do to much of his faith community. I tried to avoid the comparisons, but he took them there sometimes. Fortunately, most of our conversation was on what it meant to love people, how we experienced God (him through wellness {yoga, proper dieting, meditation, etc.} and me through nature), and how LA was a place in need of a lot of love. So, eventually I got his contact information and have some tentative plans to get together with him again. He again encouraged me in how I approached Adam and in what my team and I were doing, then he went back to his table. Once he got there, we just couldn't stop talking. He gave me some GREAT tips on being a writer and I'm excited about where this new friendship may take me. Already, I've been exposed to a new idea of 'spirituality' out here and tons of new spiritual conversations. 

I'm hoping that Jeff and I can get together again (possibly with some of his friends) and really wrestle over the matters of God together. I know it will be difficult (one of the contributors to the book The Secret is one of their leaders) because while he is kind of the 'as long as love and obedience to God is there, you're doing good' mindset (this including all religions), I'm of the 'Christ and His love matters most" mindset. So, I'm hoping for some more conversations and getting to know Jeff some more!

I could definitely talk a lot more about today. But, I'll close with this: for the first time in my life, I knew what God meant by love Him and love my neighbors. You cannot participate or rejoice in the presence of God by only loving Him and not our neighbors. We're missing half of the picture of God if we do that! So, today was my first step in that direction of surrendering myself at all costs to be in the presence of God by loving Him and loving my neighbors. It was an intense couple of days being in constant prayer, spiritual conversation, and participation in a relationship with God...but it has definitely been a blessed couple of days. I feel like I've learned more about God in the past couple of weeks than I did all year trying to read and memorize scripture, pray a lot, meditate a lot, fast, and 'be holy'. So, I challenge you readers to practice all of the Great Commandment. For if you don't, then you're missing out on all that God has to offer!

So thanks for making it this far in reading. Thanks to those of you that prayed all day long. I want to especially thank my prayer group for being faithful prayer warriors and especially Bruce. I believe wholeheartedly if it weren't for them, I wouldn't have been able to say and act the way I did today. Today wasn't about me doing or saying great things, but it was definitely a group effort of practicing boldness and courage to sit in front of a sign all day...asking for a God story. So, thanks team and I love and appreciate you all!

Some things to pray for:

1 - Another day of the sign: Bruce is going to do the same thing this coming Friday at another coffee shop. He'll be doing the talking with people while I pray. Start the prayers now because the more the better! Pray for openness, obedience, words, wisdom and courage!

2 - Jeff: I look forward to more conversations with Jeff and hopefully some of his friends! Pray that God would bless me with more opportunities to talk with him and share with him!

3 - The Adam's of this world: It breaks my heart to know that organized religion has driven people to the point of making their life goal to disband it. Pray that God would forgive those that forced it on Adam and that Adam would one day meet that ''pretty f#*$ing cool God" that created the sunflower and bee!

(Okay, so I know I said I was done but one more 'praise the Lord' thing. One of the things Bruce and I were worried about was financially being able to pay for an infinite amount of coffee if God brought an infinite amount of people our way. Not once did any of the 3 people or any of the other aside conversation people ask for their coffee. They just wanted someone to listen and someone to love them! So, we've been blessed and have the funds to buy a lot of coffee, but today was not the day that we had to use it!)