Gimme That Ol' Time Religion

My husband is in the beginning stages of church planting.  As part of this process, we have meetings every 2 weeks with the ragtag band of misfits (don't take that as an insult, they fit right in with us) who have committed to support this effort.

One of my husbands strongest attributes is his ability to network literally anywhere and everywhere he goes.  The kitchen he works in was recently renovated, and new equipment was part of the make-over.  Having received and installed the new pizza oven, the old model was sold to a local small business owner.  Mikey's Late Night Slice is a whole in the wall pizzeria in the Short North of Columbus that caters to the night owls of OSU campus and the Brewery District.  And they have rockin' pizza.

Due to its eclectic atmosphere ~ and awesome pizza ~ we decided to have our last meeting at Mikey's.  Considering the target clientele, our posse arrived early in the night, so we were able to snag the large table in the indoor eating area ~ which backs up to Studio 83, a gallery of local artists.  At 8:30 on a Friday, the Short North is just waking up, but there was plenty of activity to be seen through the front glass windows. 

We sat eating for a short while, just catching up on the happenings of the past 2 weeks.  Then we progressed to the study and talk of church, with almost an entire pizza still sitting in the box on the table in front of us.  At some point, a man had come into the dining area and was simply standing at the end of our table.  Being the man he his, my husband said hello and asked what we could do for the gentleman.  The man replied, "I was just wondering, if y'all were finished eating, if you would be willing to give the leftovers to help out a homeless man?"  Without hesitation, my husband handed the man, who did look very much in need, the box of pizza that was missing only a single slice.

Confession time.  I was more than just a little uncomfortable with the situation.  Having been mugged by a man pretending to need directions, my first reaction in this type of scenario is to withdraw ~ tuck in anything that might possibly be latched onto and back away.  Had the decision been left to me, I'm not so sure the guy would have gotten to box of pizza.  Thank God the decision was not mine to make.

While on the topic of confessions...

To add to the already odd dynamic of having a church meeting in the hopping section of the Short North and being solicited my a homeless man, one of our misfit supporters felt the need to make a confession.  At a more conventional church meeting in a more traditional setting, this confession would have been met by wide-eyed silence and judgement.  Here we talked through what was going on, reassured our misfit that they were loved none-the-less for feeling the need to be real and transparent.

Hands down, this was the strangest church meeting I personally have ever attended.  God moved that night in ways I never would have seen coming.  And just when I think I have seen it all, I know he's going to do it again.