Bink … September 15, 2013

Jonathots Daily Blog

(2007)

He came rolling up on a Harley Davidson motorcycle, dressed all in leather, with a black curly beard that lay on his chest as if it was resting from priestly duties. He climbed off, walked over, shook my hand and told me his name was Bink.

I was a little intimidated, so awkwardly, I asked him if Bink was short for anything. He explained it was the nickname his little nephew had given him because the tyke didn’t know how to say “bike” and instead, called him “Bink.” It was so cute and silly that I normally would have made fun of it, but looking at the motorcycle and the intimidating tattoos, I passed.

I began to wonder how I ended up with my two female cohorts at this particular gig. it was 1973 and I was only a couple of years out of high school. The dampness behind my ears was still drying. I had driven all the way to Detroit in my beat-up van, inserting a quart of oil every 100 miles ritualistically–just so the engine wouldn’t blow up.

The two girls with me didn’t know what to wear, so they each brought a prom dress for the occasion. Seeing Bink, I realized we were a bit overdressed. Matter of fact, some of the teenagers who were arriving for the evening bare-footed and in blue jeans began to peer at us and laugh.

Bink put an arm around me and led us inside, helping us set up our equipment. So when it came time for him to introduce us to his rather Bohemian brotherhood, he said the following:

“Listen, you scoundrels, I don’t want you laughing at these folks. They’ve come a long way to talk to us about Jesus. Maybe you don’t think they’re cool, but maybe you don’t know what God thinks is cool. So maybe you oughta just shut your mouths up, sit back and let your minds be blown. Because you know me–I’m Bink. And I’m tellin’ you … they’re beautiful dudes.”

With this, he held out his hand and welcomed us to come and do our thing. The gathering of young humans burst into applause, welcoming us. It was an amazing night–our girls in their prom dresses, hugging young women in the audience in hemp blouses, sporting long greasy hair.

I thought about that tonight as I made my way to Mount Clemens to set up for tomorrow’s gig. I thought about how civilized we think we have all become by finding compartments for every little piece of our lives, alienating off anything that doesn’t quite fit into the box.

I don’t know if a guy like Bink could exist today. Maybe he would be too specialized in his work and ministry to ever accept some fresh-faced novices from Ohio. But if that is the case, we’ve lost something.

And until we find it, we’re just a bunch of cynics on a fruitless search …  for an open-minded God.

The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity

Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about personal appearances or scheduling an event

Middlin’ … September 14, 2013

Jonathots Daily Blog

(2005)

I was sitting in the left lane on my drive over to Chesterfield, Michigan last night to share at Grace United Methodist Church, backed up behind a bunch of cars, wondering why someone had created a light that only stayed green to give enough time for three cars to turn. It was a curiosity.

I also watched carefully as some cars passed me, trying to get further up in line and stick their noses in to make greater progress. I felt my human ire rise over their presumption. And then I realized that I had departed in plenty of time, that I wasn’t any better than anybody else and that everyone was having to wait their turn–and though I saw a number of cars in front of me, when I looked behind me, I saw there were even more cars to my rear.

I was in the middle.

That’s where we spend most of our time. Usually we don’t win the race; we’re not first place. Fortunately, we’re usually not in last place, either.

We spend most of our lives … middlin’.

If we would learn to enjoy that, deal with it and find great comfort in being surrounded by fellow “middlers,” we might just end up becoming more pleasant and easier to get along with. But we live in a society that pushes us to be first place and tells us to cover up our mistakes if we end up being the caboose.

So we never enjoy where we are.

I’ve had a fantastic week, meeting amazing people. It’s been my great excitement to write jonathots to you everyday.

Yet yesterday a friend of mine asked what I planned to do to expand my work. You see, friends are not always friendly. They think they’re being ingenious when they pipe out the sentiments of our culture, which basically tells us that “we’re all good” while simultaneously applauding only those who gain notoriety. Here are the two things I know to do:

1. Find a place where you can do what you’ve been called to do, perform it excellently, don’t hurt anybody else and relish the people around you.

2. Don’t be afraid to try something new if it comes your way–but don’t be frustrated if beautiful things continue to happen, yet they don’t seem to be terribly expansive.

There you go.

Tomorrow I go to First United Methodist Church in Mount Clemens. It isn’t, by the way–I mean it isn’t the first United Methodist Church ever, and it certainly won’t be the last. The truth of the matter is, it’s the Middlin’ United Methodist Church, filled with middlin’ people, who will have great lives if they learn to enjoy their surroundings and the folks standing next to them … as they wait for their turn in the road.

The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity

Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about personal appearances or scheduling an event