Danny ChaiThis morning I caught myself absentmindedly singing Michael Bolton’s “Time, Love and Tenderness” loud enough where someone else could hear. What the heck was I doing? I could not be more appalled. It’s not possible.
I’m not that bothered by the shortcomings of Christian leaders. I mean, it’s sad, but I don’t know anything about them, how sincere they are or whatever. What bothers me is the shortcomings in myself. I know I’m sincere. And I still fall short. Bothers the heck out of me. And I feel like I don’t have the authority to say anything ever again, if that makes any sense.
So Fara was in town this weekend for an Asian American IV staff conference and we got to hang out a tiny bit. SN. They were allowed to invite guests to a banquet the first night of the conference, which we went to, and it was crazy how many old Stanford peeps I saw for the first time in years. I didn’t actually talk to most of them, since I’m not a social guy, but I saw them.
Anyway, it was extremely encouraging talking with Fara. Talking to her you get the sense that God is working in the world. Some of the things she was talking about also seemed to reinforce messages I’ve been getting elsewhere, e.g. Cole. That being, the foundation of everything needs to be hearing from God. And that requires less strategizing and talking and more time in the word and praying. Apparently at Ohio State they spend hours praying every day and hundreds of students have come to the Lord just this year. That’s incredible. Anyway, it was very inspiring talking to her.
I was also reminded of meeting up with Naomi and Dave in Houston over break; also a very encouraging conversation. I dunno, there’s just something really encouraging about Christian conversation. I don’t know if that makes any sense. We hadn’t talked in years, but when we got together, there was a certain Christian familiarity to our interaction that left me feeling good.
Conversely, I feel most depressed when I talk to Christians but it feels like I’m talking with non-Christians. I have no idea how exactly to explain that. It’s not like we’re talking about pagan subjects, it’s just normal conversation. But there’s just something about it, a flavor or something, where it feels no different from the world. And that combination, talking with Christians but feeling like the world, like rainy days and Mondays, always gets me down. But anyway.