When I met Clay I was on an….. extended break from church. I was done with The whole thing after 20+ years of going to baptist and catholic churches and seeing hypocrisy and ignorance and stupidity I was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo D-O-N-E !!!
So imagine my reaction to this:
One afternoon Clay, myself and my friend Luke were sitting at Steak n Shake and we were talking about something to do with church and i was talking about how done i was with the whole religion thing. I never really gave up on God. BUt I was done with hypocrite telling me what and how to do shit. And i believe i was probably ranting about my dads current pastor and his daughter…. Oh my God pastors kids so freaking snobbish, and annoying, and high n mighty. UGH !!!!
Clay then turns to me and says….. I did tell you my dad was a pastor….. Clay and I had just started dating, and I really liked him…… And when those words came out of his mouth… I'm telling you I almost DIED !!!! I believe the EXACT words that came out of my mouth were “I think my head is going to explode!!!”. The guy I liked, the guy I was dating, the guy i was veeery quickly falling in love with… was a….. he was… he . he . he. was a … PASTOR'S KID…. Ooooooh fuuudge no !!! this was noooooooooooooot happening. I honestly considered breaking up with him for that alone. Cause if he was a pastors kid.. There was no way in hell his parents and I were going to get along. It was a bucket of trouble….
When I met Roger for the first time… I still punch Clay in the arm for this… Let me tell you that FUN little story…….
So anyone who knows me, knows I'm sarcastic. I had a TON of smart ass and in some cases inappropriate sarcastic t-shirts. One day Clay needed to go to his parents house to pick something up. I got worried cause i was wearing my peace sign necklace, torn jeans, flip flops, and a shirt with this image:
Clay swooore that his parents weren't home. When we got there the garage was open and a car was in the garage…. I told Clay there was noooooooooooo way I was going in there. But he bugged me until i did. We get inside and Roger comes up from the basement. I'm standing there with my arms over my shirt. Was trying to cover something I KNEW would grossly offend a pastor… Especially with me dating his son. So Clay introduces me to his dad and then…. Asks his dad what he thinks of my shirt…. I … Could have…. KILLED him….. Roger walks over moves the peace sign stares at my shirt for a minute looks at the peace sign and then at the shirt again.. Steps back… And says.. “Looks like she hasn't made up her mind yet..”..... I'm telling you my jaw about hit the floor. I was expecting a lecture, anger, assinineness (is that a word lol), I got… a silly smirk and a joke… Was Clay sure his dad was a pastor… What the hell.
The first time I met his wife I had the same preconceived notion that she was going to be a typical pastors wife. I will never forget the first time I had dinner with the 2 of them they joked about everything, themselves, Clay, Rogers time as a pastor.
It was Roger and Michelle who introduced Clay and I to The Crossing, the church I currently attend. It was his awe of the lessons/messages given by Greg that got us to drive from South St. Louis to Chesterfield to go to Church.
In the 6 years I have known him, he has been the example of the Pastor I wish I would have grown up. While until today I have never heard him speak in a “pastorish” way, I have heard him talk about the bible etc. But its not that I always looked for in a pastor. His character, the way he treats others, the way he is with his wife.
This morning when we sat down to open presents. I noticed he had 2 bibles next to his chair…
And I knew something was going to be different. He started talking about how Greg's message this weekend had stuck with him.
He said:
Imagine you are having a birthday party and lots of people come and they are jovial and happy and they are giving gifts and at the end of it all. everyone has gifts but you , that is what is happening to Jesus. Which I think is true, we celebrate and worship Jesus and are all excited about his birth, but in the end all the “presents” are for family.
As part of Greg's message this weekend he asked what it was that was keeping you from focusing on Jesus, what was it that took your attention from that.
In Rogers house on a shelf so to speak there is a 3 piece candle holder set that spelled J-O-Y. From the kitchen when you look at it, it says J-O-Y, but looking at it from the living room it says Y-O-J. He said he was taught that J-O-Y stood for JESUS first, OTHERS second, YOURSELF last. And it is when you look at it from the wrong angle that problems come.
He went on to talk about the least of these and helping them and God's promises to those who do. He then gave everyone in our family an envelope and a “mission” to use the money in the envelope to do some good, use the card in the envelope to document and to get together again to share what we had done.
I wish I could have captured the whole message. I started taking notes, and then in a moment of DUH realized i had TWO cameras in my hand. Seeing Roger preaching today gave me a glimpse of what kind of pastor he probably was years back…. I am in awe of this man who had a big part in bringing me back to the church and in some ways back to God. He has been an amazing part of my life, an awesome grandfather to Joey. And even with the coming divorce I am blessed to be able to count on his continued presence in our lives.
