I met up with an old friend last night...

My buddy Andrew came in from Washington, DC to visit. He's a something-or-other for the State Department. I really have no idea what he does, but I know he does it in a tie and it usually involves lots of limousines and trips to Europe. I think he's pretty darn important out there, but it's hard to tell, because I work at a church and most people who wear ties look really important to me.

What really struck me last night, apart from how bizarrely compatible Warsteiner and Diet Coke can be when sipped in quick succession, is a story that Andrew told me about meeting the Pope. Now, I'll give you, most stories about your friends meeting the Pope are memorable. Especially when they're more Catholic than India is crowded. But this one struck me for more than just it's characters...

Andrew told me that the Pope was supposed to meet the President and about a dozen important Washington mucky-mucks, and that it was Andrew's job to help coordinate the thing. He said that all of the mucky-mucks went up to the Pope as a couple dozen Bush staffers and a whole bunch of media folk looked on, snapped pictures, etc. When everybody was through the line, they were supposed to close up shop...but the Pope said he would like to meet everybody else in the room. That meant that Andrew, all of his fellow Bush folk and State Dept. folk, and even the camera guys, boom operators and sound techs all got to go up and shake the hand of Pope John Paul II.

Can you IMAGINE how busy the Pope is? I struggle to get my videos back to Blockbuster on time because "I'm just too busy." I struggle to mow the lawn on time because "I've just got so much going on." This is the freaking POPE, and he stopped to let anyone who was interested come up and meet him. Have you ever thought YOU were too important to stand around talking to somebody? I know I have, and I'm ashamed of it. Every week after church Dave Workman stands on stage and listens to and prays for anybody who wants to talk to him. After every show the good folks of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones sit at the edge of the stage for as long as it takes for every interested fan to come up and talk to them for as long as he or she pleases. And now, I learn that the Pope has time to sit and meet the American camera guys and State Dept members who will forever remember this once-in-a-lifetime encounter.

At the Vineyard, part of the mission statement is that we run a place where "everybody gets to play." Sometimes I get frustrated because I get "interrupted" by people who want to hear more, learn more, stand around and talk. Dave once said that people are NEVER an interruption...that we are in the business of people, and that changed lives are our only dividend.

It's yet another thing to add to the list of things that the Pope knows and that I have yet to really learn.

Peace,
Justin