So, what do YOU do?

You know, It’s funny…Since I became a pastor, conversations with strangers have never been the same as they used to be. Time was, I’d meet a stranger and they’d ask, “so, what do you do?” I’d then answer, I’m a Customer Service Manager for an international electronics manufacturer. “Oh,” they’d say, “that’s interesting,” and then the conversation would move on to other topics.

Now, things are different. Today, when I meet a stranger and the question comes up, one of two things seems to happen:

Scenario # 1: “So, what do you do,” they ask. “I’m a pastor,” I answer… Uncomfortable silence. They then quickly exit the conversation as soon as they can find an excuse to go away. Maybe they think I am going to thump them with a Bible or ask them some uncomfortable question.

Scenario # 2: “So, what do you do,” they ask. “I’m a pastor,” I answer… “Well,” they continue, “you know what I think…” Uh oh. I say that because the words, "You know what I think..." are always followed by some theological or philosophical belief that they hold very strongly about the apocalypse, or the Da-Vinci Code, or what they believe about all religions leading to heaven, or some story about how someone at a church somewhere in the past offended them or about how God failed them when their dog died even though they prayed about it. This might be sound like the best scenario, because then I can talk to them about God, but, in my experience, these people already have all the answers and don’t want to be bothered by silly things like facts, rational thought, evidence, or logic. These are usually the people I would like to thump with a Bible (or a large stick) and it’s really fun to ask them uncomfortable questions, though it rarely does any good.

For the record, I don’t thump people with Bibles and generally only ask uncomfortable questions if you ask me to speak into their lives.

I think that I am going to change my answer in the future.

So, what do you do,” they’ll ask. “I’m a technical support person, I try to help people with problems by pointing them to the manual.”

So, what do you do,” they’ll ask. “I’m a janitor, I come in and try to help clean up messes that other people make.”

So, what do you do,” they’ll ask. “I’m in construction, I try to rebuild things that have been torn down”

So, what do you do,” they’ll ask. “I’m a mechanic, I work on stuff that is broken because it hasn’t been maintained.”

So, what do you do,” they’ll ask. “I’m Google ™. I don’t have all the answers myself, but I can point you to some places to find them.”

Maybe I should try something different:

So, what do you do,” they’ll ask…… THUMP (sound of me hitting them with the largest Bible I can find.)

So, what do YOU do?