On Becoming That Guy

Yes. I have not held up my end of the bargain in terms of the frequency of posting. My digital “Mein Kampf” is, of course, the title tagline. Note the ‘…months later…’ remark. I know. I do not intend on letting slip months of time before my words appear here, but just so you know. For a person like me it seems my ideal is always higher then my own physical reach.

Having a vision always seemingly longer then my actual reach continues to be one of those things that shadows all of the ‘good’ things ‘I’ have done. But that leads us astray from the topic at hand.

The piece of writing after the jump, is part one in an envisioned three part series. Several factors stirred my initial brooding (or brainstorming as some might call it). Occasionally I ponder about the fates of those who I have lost touch with – sometimes I hear that they are alive, well, engaged in the local church, and still loving God with their heart/soul/mind. Other times, I hear that they are down, out, and as far from church and a loving relationship with God as can be. These external ponderings gradually turned inward as I considered the state of my own soul. Hit the jump to read on…


Over the course of my time in the church, I’ve come to know and befriend a great many people. Many people who, in their times and in their ways, have proven to be profound influences on my development as a person and as a fellow believer. Along with those people who I have associated the type of warm fuzzy memories that one normally associates with a stuffed animal, are memories of people whose lives, for good reasons or ill, have gone astray. And by astray, in this context, I would mean that they have left what Paul would call the ‘good fight of the faith’. Discussions about such people occasionally will crop up in conversation and frequently begin with:

“Hey remember so-and-so?”

“Oh yeah! I remember that guy! He was great! What’s he doing nowadays? Haven’t seen him in forever!”

“I don’t know man. He kind of just dropped off the radar.”

That guy. It’s a somewhat emotional topic for me. There are plenty of that-guys that I can look back and recall. Perhaps you can recall similar people in your own life? These people were good people who I knew, and it never ever occurred to me to blame them for their lapse in church attendance. Of course church attendance in and of itself is by no means the only barometer of someone’s spirituality, but it is a more along the lines of a canary in coal mine situation. These were people who weren’t too terribly different from me, yet somehow they are in very different places then where I might have envisioned them five years ago.

The story of that guy, to perhaps my/our constant detriment, seems to be one that is universally experienced. And so perhaps it was with mild shock that I recently woke up and thought to myself in the shower, “Have I become that guy?”

Have you become that guy?

Part one of a three part series on That Guy.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Odd Findings

Review: Wrestling With An Angel

What Counts