Links and Ministry Resources

 

Judging  Others' Story By Our Cover

 

 

I recently was asked to audition for an audiobooked titled, Unshelving Yourself.  In it, the author says, 

 

I felt myself in the pages of an unread book, wanted and yet unwanted, placed carefully on a shelf, yet never opened and understood.  And why should books be owned if they are going to just sit and gather dust, never feeling important enough to relay the treasure within?

 

We have felt that way, we have made others feel that way.

 

I am aware, as I get older, that others create their own cover art for my life story.  I am an older white male.  Others have their opinion of me based on what they see on the surface and even what they have heard.  I am a book wearing someone else’s cover art and sitting on the shelf.  I have felt my value is nothing more than what I can give to the church and that I can fill a chair and add to the numbers in attendance.

 

I am fifty-five years old and one of the younger people in my church.  As far as I am concerned, my church is like a library full of history, thrilling stories, and mysteries.  The people in the congregation give me perspective on life, they inspire me, they express confidence in me despite my past and my limitations.

 

My son, when he was in college, chose to attend a church where the vast majority of people were elderly.  When he heard me tell of my frustrations of being told our “older” church was a “failing” church and needed to hire a pastor who could reach young families, he responded by telling me that he attended an “older” church because of how they made him feel when he visited.  They wanted to know his story.  They shared theirs.  They welcomed him and valued him as if he were one of their sons.

 

Has our “older” congregation outlived its usefulness?  I don’t think so.  Not if we recognize our value.  We have stories to share.  We have the ability to listen and share the wisdom of experience.  We know that most things young people fret over are really small things in the great scheme of things.  We bring calm, peace, and serenity to those who encounter us.

 

And, we know better than to judge a book by a cover we created.