Preaching Lessons: Jesse the Former Satanist in a Minneapolis Bar after Midnight

Being out of town for the first time on my own since having my daughter, I'm taking advantage a bit of having my evenings free. And so, last evening found myself and my classmates at a great joint a college friend recommended called Donnie Dirk's Zombie Den, which was an awesome place with awesome people, and awesome house-infused liquors. Go there if you are in Minneapolis. You may have to use your phone GPS to help your cabbie get there, but it is worth it. A fun time was had by all, but when we returned to the hotel, I wasn't quite ready for bed. And so, my friend Paul and I made our way to the British pub around the corner for a pint and some more conversation.

It was here that I befriended Jesse and his friend Craig. If I'm being honest, I'll tell you that I approached Jesse to bum a cigarette. He said he'd be happy to give me one in exchange for a joke. Because it was the best joke I could think of, I told him I was a seminarian, a person studying to enter vocational ministry. He laughed, too, but then said, "Actually, we're Christians, too! We don't go to church, but we love Jesus." He then showed me his "Saved by Grace" tattoo on his forearm, and a friendship was born. Paul and I joined their table, and the next hour of conversation was some of the best, most probing theological conversation I've had in a while. (Of note: they asked how old I was, and when I told them, they seemed genuinely excited. "You just don't see many people our age going into ministry," Jesse said. "That's awesome.")

Jesse shared his story of having been a Satanist, of having worshiped Satan for years. And of coming to a point in his life when he realized grace was more powerful than any force out there...but that he would have to step into that stream. We talked about pluralism, about love, about monogamy, about salvation, about suicide and patricide, about all our homicidal tendencies, really, and we talked about God's love poured out in the person of Jesus Christ. We talked about mystery. And we talked about parenthood. We talked about the Bible, and Jesse could quote it like nobody's business. Far better than me.

His friend Craig was more reserved, more willing to let Jesse use up most of the word count, but when asked a question, he shared such insightful, thoughtful answers. He and I became Facebook friends before the night was through, and I think a more longer-term friendship may unfold from there.

But as the night wound up, Paul and I walked home. And I said, "Jesse preached. Just as well as the rest of them." We agreed, we had encountered something special, something sacred in that pub.

But I also felt like I brought my preaching self to the table, too. Though I wasn't the only one talking, I think it was more of creating this space where we could all ask questions and think out loud. And could that be preaching? Not trying to give the answers, but at sitting at the table our literal or remembered Bibles open before us, teasing things out, knowing at the end of the night you might not have THE answer, but that the conversation will have had some saving effect anyway.

I wrote in my oral examination reflection that in many ways, I don't feel like I've found my field to preach in yet. My Wesleyan roots ground me in a tradition that values preaching outside of the church an of experiencing the Word in conversation. And as we walked home that night, I had the same feeling I've had after a good day of preaching: not of certainty that what I said was heard and integrated, but of certainty that each of us was walking away with a sense of God's truth that we hadn't had previously. Pretty awesome.