Among the Wolves

Today I got my haircut by a hefty gentleman who had a thick beard, nose wring, and two full sleeves of tattoos on each arm. My initial thought was "This is the most bad ass, gay guy I have ever seen." I think I've been in Hollywood too long (already) because I just assumed that any man who cuts hair for a living in an upscale salon does so because he fits in well with the overwhelming amount of estrogen pumping through the veins of just such an establishment. I soon came to find out that this man had his AA in Theological Studies and was recently married, to a woman. He also plays bass guitar for the Nazarene Church that he attends. The only reason he cuts hair is because his best friend's parents owned a salon when he was growing up and he took a job there as a receptionist for extra cash as a kid but was eventually trained to be a hair stylist. Now he cuts hair to support himself while he plays guitar for a (Christian) punk band. Who woulda thought? Not me, that's for sure. But I'm learning everyday.

Me and Sean quickly hit it off as I told him what I was doing for work and how I wanted to implement my passion for the entertainment industry alongside my love and/or calling to ministry. To look at us, one clean cut, all-american, 150lb, boyish looking man and the other a 220lb, tattooed, pierced, hardcore member of a rock band, you would think that we would have nothing in common. However, our ministries and life experiences could not have been more similar. He uses his music to break into a scene where most people use their instruments and voices to rage against "established entities" such as religion or God in general. I use my looks (not at all trying to brag with that statement, I look like I'm 16) to get on sets where people have run to from all over the world to find hope, love, and acceptance in what they see as the all-powerful, healing affect of fame and fortune. We work in broken worlds where people come to use and be used themselves. We work among the wolves.

As I was trudging through Matthew I found a verse that I have come to embrace with all my heart. It's Matthew 10:16 and it says, “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.” There's a balance in that statement that is so profound that only someone like Jesus could have said it. I think too many Christians walk through this life acting far too naive to ever do anything truly meaningful for the Kingdom of God. We are to be cunning, astute, perceptive, insightful, and wise as we march down the path God has laid before us. I am convinced that we are far too concerned with being harmless than being shrewd. We must be shrewd for most of today's wolves come dressed in sheep's clothing...


But I digress. My original point was to comment on how lovely it is that Jesus has always been about being the odd-man-out. He's the only righteous one at a table of sinners, He's the only working class guy among the high-class, religious leaders, He's the only Jew talking to a group of Samaritan lepers, He's the only man talking with woman in public, He's the only grown man playing with children in the streets, and He calls us to live in exactly this way. I'm beginning to feel that if we are not finding ourselves in situations where we are one of the only good people doing something positive for Christ in a place surrounded by those who are nothing like us, than we are not doing our jobs as Christians called to minister to every dark crevasse and corner of this earth. In other words, if you don't spot some wolves from time to time than you never really left the pasture and you are certainly not ending up with the rest of the heard alongside the Shepard at the end of the day.