Today has been a weird day.
I woke up late, then realized I hadn't printed off chord sheets for church today; I've been leading worship for a few weeks at Passage Community Church. I went over to my parents' house to use their printer. They like to see me every once in a while, so I grace them with my presence while I sit in the back office and print out some stuff. I was even able to get a cup of hot cocoa out of the deal. I might be the only one who uses their printer, so it might be the gentleman thing to do and get them a refill on the ink when it runs out.
Next, I get to church and we rehearse the songs. A few revamped hymns and some contemporary stuff including one brand new song which we are all pumped to play. Then service starts. First song in, I break a string. The D string. Most guitarists will tell you that the D is not a commonly broken string. Maybe I was just rocking out too hard. I was the only guitar player, and I didn't have another guitar, and that WAS my spare set of strings. So we finished the song just drums and bass. Worship ended four songs too soon. Really awkward and embarrassing. At least Scott pulled out a good sermon, using some really great verses about loving each other as God loved us.
Church ended a bit early due to a lack of music, as well as an invitational, so I go home and decide to grab a book and read. It's starting to get a bit warmer outside, so I sat in the sun and read some Don Miller while I smoked my pipe. I'm trying out a new pipe tobacco called Foxtrot, it's just ok. It didn't stay lit very long and I didn't have the energy to re-light, so I just put it down. About five minutes later, I see two strangers walking down the street in long dark coats. I knew what this meant. They introduced themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses and asked if I had a moment. I did, so I agreed. They pulled out the "What Does the Bible Really Teach?" book, and opened up to the table on context asking me if there was anything there that sparked an interest or anything I had always wondered about. I took this as a chance to scan the chapter titles to find anything that I could have them expound upon, hoping to catch some heresy action. But alas, the chapter titles were all quite vague and generalized. They gave me the book and asked me if I wanted to meet with them in a few weeks to discuss the book. I said maybe. Mostly cause only maybe will I read it. And only maybe will I want to talk to them again.
After they left and continued walking down the street, I felt bad. Not that I wasn't nice or courteous, but that I hadn't shared what I believed. True dialogue about passionate topics by two well educated individuals is always a thrill for me. I enjoy a good challenge for discussion. Like I said, I felt bad. I thought about what my friend Micah the accountant would've done. He's really knowledgeable about cults like the Jehovah's Witnesses. When Micah's not crunching numbers, or teaching his one year old son how to play hockey, he's arguing apologetics. To be honest, I felt a bit like a failure. I had a golden opportunity to preach the gospel and kinda blew it. The Jehovah's Witnesses are strong willed, highly trained, and wouldn't have been easily swayed, as I wouldn't have either. But it would've been a good discussion none the less. Maybe they'll come back in a week or two. Maybe this day has been weird for a reason. Maybe.
