I sometimes receive emails from readers telling me that they love my columns so much that they read them to their Bible study group.
That's a nice compliment, but on the other hand, I'm working hard to write this column about spirituality in everyday life, not just life in Sunday school.
I want this to appeal to those who are unconnected or disconnected from the church. And for this reason, I encourage editors to place me on the community pages or in the Living section and off the church page.
And please keep me as far away from the fashion pages as possible. I'm definitely not a fashionable guy.
But if I were writing a fashion column, I'd tell you about my trip last week to the St. Louis airport where I saw men of different ages dressed in, well, I don't know what.
I saw a young man with pants low enough to allow him to enter the plumbers union. I have seen old men wearing pants high enough to serve as a mask. And sure, there are enough middle-aged men who wear sweatpants to accommodate their growing bellies.
Fashion didn't improve much on the plane, where I sat across from a girl with nails painted traffic cone orange. She was pre-wired to her phone and didn't notice me.
With so many fashion-challenged children of God, the crowds at the airport make a good transition. Locate the Bible study.
That’s because the airport crowd reminded me of the one Jesus likely encountered as he entered a city looking to recruit a band of brothers who would change the world.
Like me, he's an observer of people, but not as smug as me. Go figure.
Unlike me, he had a keen sense of the quality of soul rather than the quality of fabric, of the cut of a man's character rather than the cut of his shirt.
This is how Jesus used to quickly spot an enthusiastic young recruit named Phillip who was following him without even blinking.
Excited at having been chosen, Phil found his friend, Nathanial, and begged him to come meet the professor from Nazareth.
Nazareth? Nat rightly exclaimed, you're kidding.
Come see for yourself, he said.
Upon meeting Nathanial, Jesus quickly said, “Now here’s the real deal. Not a false bone in his body.
Nat, not very sensitive to flattery, asked: Where did you get this idea from? You do not know me.
Nat was partly right. The two had never been formally introduced, but Jesus had observed Nathanial on several occasions as he sat under a fig tree, deep in thought.
It was obvious to Jesus that there was something different about Nat. what was that?
The best translation of Scripture says that Nat was a man without guile. This means he didn't try to hide who he was. He showed no pretension in his choice of clothing, friends, or manners.
Well, it wasn't because he was inherently happy with who he was. He knew he wasn't fully accessorized, so he was ready to undertake a fearless inventory of his soul's closet.
And I think it was his awareness of really lacking something that made him a prime candidate for a first-round pick for a follower.
In that moment, Nathanial discovered the deepest truth of all: God is always able to set us apart from the crowd. But he sees us better when we put aside our pretenses and all the religious fashion that goes with them.
Next week, I return to regular programming in the daily life sections. And, just to be clear, if this were a fashion column, I probably wouldn't be the author.
Readers: I'm returning to Honduras next month to help create the 86th Chispa Project Library. To date, the library is not fully funded.
Can you help us reach our goal of creating six new libraries this year, reaching over 4,000 students and 200 additional teachers, and purchasing 9,000 new books? Each $100 donation will provide access to the library for four children.