April 24, 2016 Acts 11:1–18

Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea 

heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God.

 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, 

“Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” 

Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, 

“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. 

There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, 

being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. 

As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals,

beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. 

I also heard a voice saying to me, 

‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ 

But I replied, 

‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 

But a second time the voice answered from heaven, 

‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ 

This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. 

At that very moment three men, 

sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. 

The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us.

These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 

He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, 

‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; 

he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ 

And as I began to speak, 

the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. 

And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, 

‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 

If then God gave them the same gift that God gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” 

When they heard this, they were silenced. 

And they praised God, saying, 

“Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

***

I remember freshman year of college and my first year of seminary, when in the beginning few weeks of school, people pal around in giant groups, not having discerned with whom they will become close and with whom they will stay merely acquaintances, knowing each other on the periphery. Ultimately, what begins to separate the large bands of students are decisions. Which dining hall should we go to? Do you want go see the hockey game? and then, over time, the people who say, “yes,” and the people who say, “no,” became cohorts. 

Its kind of like our church, we have said a collective yes to feeding people, from our mission programs to meals provided for funerals. We have said a collective yes to caring for creation, from ranchers and farmers to forest service employees, to hikers to hunters. We have said a collective yes, to caring for one another, from the plethora of cards sent to the sick, or groups of congregants showing up at youth group members sporting events and concerts. But as is natural, overtime we when say yes, we are also in some sense, saying no. 

For instance, In the paragraph above, I said, “we feed people with our mission programs,” instead of saying Open Door and Backpack, because I know Open Door and Backpack are insider terms. That every time I say one or the other, I need to explain Open Door is a program where we feed breakfast and spend time with Middle School Students every school day. Backpack packs and delivers a weekend’s worth of meals for food insecure students and a backpack isn’t actually a backpack at all, but plastic bags placed discretely in kids backpacks by their teachers before the weekend. Earlier, I said, “cards sent to the sick,” instead of Sharing Cards, because if you walked in our door this Sunday you wouldn’t know what Sharing Cards were. Likewise, I don’t say PYGs for our youth group, nor PYGlets for our little ones, because those too need to be explained. There is a way when we say, “yes,” to something we are always pushing something else out. It is natural, these things we do are some of the best parts of who we are, but how do we speak in a way that is open instead of closed? 

There are studies which show that congregations who often feel their church is very loving and welcoming are not viewed as such by those visiting because there are ways the church body is so inwardly focused. 

I did a couple of these on accident last Sunday. I made a joke that I didn’t know why we call the acolyte candles (point) the “light of Christ,” when there are three of them, representing the three Holy Trinity, God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost. I continued that I think the top candle on the acolyte candles should be for whatever part of the Trinity the acolyte (or person lighting them) finds paramount. The joke was that most people would assume that God, the Father, was on top, or maybe Jesus, but I like the Holy Spirit so would put it on top. It was an inside joke and a regular attender asked about it. They also asked about the Doxology which is printed in what is considered inclusive language in the bulletin, because it doesn’t refer to God as, “He,” and instead refers to God as, “God,” as is more Biblically accurate because God is a non-gender pronoun in the Hebrew, the original language of the Old Testament. It is considering more welcoming to use God instead, because it allows for multiple images of God rather than a white-haired old man, which can be problematic for some worshipers. But, it isn’t very inclusive if I have one thing in the bulletin, and the majority of the congregation sings the more traditional, “He”. It makes a visitor stand out as a visitor and not an insider.

I have heard similar feelings of unwelcome from visitors through things such as the shaking hands greeting, where congregants not only shake hands but catch up, leaving visitors, who do not know people, to stand awkwardly alone. I have heard the same about Prayers of the People, which has been revered to as, “Glorified Gossip Hour,” which like gossip, makes sense to those who are in the know and is confusing to those who are newer. I have heard more than once, the ways the same people are always asked to help with the same projects and others are forgotten or ignored. Another example, is we used to do this thing where when we had visitors we would have them stand up and introduce themselves. We did it once, and I as one of the biggest extroverts I know, thought, I would never come back if I was singled out to introduce myself. I use that word singled out, because when you have to introduce yourself as a visitor, it means you are just that, not a part of the community. It feels welcoming to those inside, but like a name badge, it says, “You are new, you are different,” and this is what the Jewish believers are upset about. 

Notice that the Jewish believers are not upset that Peter has preached to the Gentiles. Peaching is about welcoming people to be like you. The Jewish believers are upset because Peter has eaten with them, and this means he has become somewhat like the Gentiles, who are considered unclean. It puts into question whether the clean will have to let go of some of their traditions in order to accept those different from themselves. Conversion not only changes the person, it also changes the whole, the community will be different. 

I think about this drastic change and the courage it takes. An older preacher the other week, who regularly complains about the lack of my generation in the pews was telling me about my friend’s church in Boise where once a month they worship on Saturday and have all of Sunday to really have a Sabbath. So I shared, that I have always had this little idea in the back of my head about Sunday evening worship. I think about our young families and active congregants traveling so much over the weekend and that they might be back in time, I think about how since it would be around dinner time we could share meals together. I realize this would mean, especially in winter providing rides to older congregants. I realize as I say this, older congregants are freaking out because 10:30 on Sunday is when we worship. It would be a huge change, and would take a lot courage and listening. As soon as it was out of my mouth, in front of the older pastor, it was ripped to shreds, and I thought, that unwillingness to listen and explore is why there aren’t young people in the pews. This might not be the time to try a change that drastic once a month, but it might be the time to listen, to start asking questions about what is welcoming, and what isn't.

Last week I also watched something happen in our own Fellowship Hall that made me sad. People took their usual seats by the people they knew, and a regular visitor sat alone. I understand that Fellowship Hour is that time where people catch up, but First Presbyterian, it is also the time where we are to be Christ in the world, and that means going out, from the table you always sit at, and talking to someone haven’t yet. It means welcome beyond your comfort zone. It means likewise if a parent is waiting for their kid in Sunday School, you sit and have coffee with them, learn about them. Afterward, you can invite them to your Sunday School, or ask if they want a tour of the maze is this church, but first, like Peter, you eat with them. It may mean you miss out on a story of your closest friend’s week, and that is important, but you have time for that, you can call them later, you probably are going to lunch with them after, but that visitor, they are here now, and we don’t have their number. 

Peter was welcomed to eat with the Gentiles, and it changed everything. What would our church look like, if we named being a welcoming congregation as something we valued; it wasn’t named during our visioning sessions. Would Outreach Committee be a Committee more than a chair? Would we have events that welcomed new members and visitors. Where do we want to be on that spectrum of staying a close knit church or being a welcoming church? 

When it comes to the scripture, God is asking the Jews to be welcoming, not close knit, but I want to look at what happens. Not just the Jews, but all people are touched with the Holy Spirit and I want us to remember that each new person who walks into our door, has been touched by the Holy Spirit. It is our job to eat with them, and to find out how they have been touched. As we do, God lowers a sheet from heaven and on it is the entirety of creation. As Peter looked at it closely he saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air, and I wonder if this, this panoply, this multitude, this abundance, rather than our separate groups, is the vision God has for us. This vision follows the dream of diversity, of age and race, and creed, and country. Perhaps our closest image, is of Open Door, where kids from all walks of life, sit at table together with adults likewise of all ages and backgrounds. This is the image of heaven God is showing us, but it’s not just in this space but everywhere where meals are shared. Not when we are not sitting among our close friends at the fellowship hall tables, but instead with a group like giant freshman dorms parading around from everyplace under the sun, eating together filling the next seat at dining hall tables discovering in one another where the Holy Spirit is touching down. This is the image to which we are called, and this is the image that leads to life. May we, First Presbyterian, have the awareness and the courage to live likewise. Amen.

April 17, 2016 Acts 9:36–43

Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 

Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 

Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive.

 This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

***

Like Tabitha, there was a disciple whose name was Monument Presbyterian Church, in Monument Oregon, and she was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At some point, a dozen years ago, she became ill, and recently, the Presbytery of Eastern Oregon, the church’s regional governing body, declared her dead. They vulgarly washed her body as hurried strangers to the deceased, and with the formality of finances laid claim to everything from her steeple to her sidewalk. The Presbytery told her beloved to sell off their memorials, like an inheritance they wouldn’t receive after her last Word.

But four disciples, from the congregation in Monument, came to Presbytery with a request, “Please come to us without delay.” So a handful of us, both pastors and laity, got up and went with them. We woke early and drove roads few of us had traveled, winding farther and farther from inhabited places, to spaces so stretched out we imagined hours of school bus rides to join a mere classroom of children. We saw the winter’s thaw turning grasses green and smatterings of flowers challenging the season to turn back cold. We went, some of us without expectation, some with, but I believe in all there was a hope, a hope to find life, and a prayer that Christ was abundant in that church.

Driving into the village of less than two-hundred everything in Monument seemed old, from the boarded up restaurant on the corner, to the well groomed lawn and its twisted lilacs vines beside a tiny house. On the hills and the edges of town larger homes spoke of the profits of ranching that happen over generations, and you could see in that valley, where the life and death both laid their claim. 

We pulled up to the church, whose simple white structure and black trim echoed the places where God speaks in language so classically American and Christian, it is as elementary as the flag and the cross. In like manner, we were received with handshakes and introductions, and history as alive as a man in his nineties with two canes, standing up for his church with a smile of welcome as big as the roughness of his hands, which, with others, built the wooden church fifty years ago in this former lumber-mill town.

We, the new delegates from Presbytery, walked in like family, not first to the sanctuary, but through back door - propped open which lead into the kitchen and to a table - set with red checkered material and bright yellow cloth daisies as a centerpiece. Behind the table, gherkins and tuna salad, sandwiches and coleslaw, peaches and brownies were spread next to a bowl of ice and a pitcher of cool tea, as coffee dripped warm in the kitchen. I thought, the dead don’t cook like this, they don’t set tables, they don’t welcome you with the firmness of a handshake from his ninety or the church's fifty years. Maybe Peter, noticed something like that. That Tabitha too, breathed with the Spirit.

They took us upstairs to the Monday school room, where after the elementary was let out children used to run down and form a line to ring the church bell before Bible stories. In this same room, Don, a man now older than my parents, once sat on knotty pine benches, at knotty pine tables, in a knotty pine room and still years later could recite not only Bible verses but those stewards of his faith, the teachers of his youth. In the doorframe hung a mobile of what looked like the solar-system made with paper-plate, yarn and foam balls, a specimen from last summer's Vacation Bible School run by the church who uses the Presbyterian building. From my work doing crafts at Vacation Bible School, I knew, if the church was dead, these Crayola paint projects would be easily tossed but instead, I too have held on to construction paper lizards and watercolor cards months past their prime. Likewise, this little solar system, hung there for that kid, or their parent, to find it and take it home. There was hope and life hanging in that doorway.

The sanctuary was immaculate, with that same knotty pine and old rectangular windows seeping in the spring green and blue sky from outside. In the chancel, music stands were placed evenly as Christian soldiers. Flanked by a grand piano and a projector they commanded a space for Sunday singing, a chorus of witness that would not die. Don opened the sanctuary door, as I imagine he's done on so many Sundays, and stepping out, hand comfortably resting on the railing, he looked out toward fresh cut grass and newly poured sidewalk which mimicked the dining table's welcome. The dead don’t mow their lawn, the dead don't pour new sidewalk. The dead don't swing open their doors. 

These few congregants, like Tabitha's widows, were afraid we had come, like those before, to declare her dead and make arrangements. But like Paul, our sheer coming was a prayer expecting life. "Tabitha get up!" "Monument Church get up." You were never dead. 

Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, and seeing us, she sat up. We stretched out our hand and began to help Monument Presbyterian up. The congregants rose with new ideas of hosting a fellowship hour for the current church, of hosting a community event for the young people who have so little to do in the town, of quarterly worship in homes with communion and an invitation to the Presbytery to moderate session, they dreamed of baseball games out on the lawn, and moments where her children might come in once again ring the bell that signifies life. 

Paul, calling the saints and widows, showed Tabitha to be alive. Likewise, we will go back to Presbytery, and we will tell them that we found her, Monument Presbyterian Church, to be alive. Tabitha’s raising became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. And I imagine, years from now, the faith of those congregant widows, the prayers of Presbytery’s Peter, and the strength of Tabitha - Monument Presbyterian Church will be known throughout the whole valley, where they will continue to open their doors, and do good works and acts of charity.

April 10, 2016 Youth Sunday

Youth Sunday Worship and Sermons

Explanation of Service Kourtney Lehman

For today’s service, we will be paralleling this passage from John with the youth group’s journey as the church went through many financial changes. For our presentation, the role of Jesus will be represented by the congregation, and similarly the role of the disciples will be portrayed by the PYGs. Our hope is to clarify the youth groups support of the final decision made concerning our future.

John 21:1-5 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. 

Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” 

They said to him, “We will go with you.” 

They went out and got into the boat, 

but that night they caught nothing.

 Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; 

but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 

Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” 

They answered him, “No.”

Sermon Bryson Smith

Much like the disciples, the youth group felt lost, hopeless, and in need of guidance and support. The disciples were unsuccessful at catching fish as was much of our youth group during this time of confusion. 

The financial changes and budget discussions were hard for everyone, especially the youth group. We felt torn about the situation because we understood that within our budget, something needed to change; however, it was hard to accept because we had become accustomed to such a great program and youth director like Luke. 

He has given us so many amazing opportunities from our life changing mission trip to Hollywood, to supporting us in during hard times in our lives where we were in need of a shoulder to cry on. He has truly been a blessing in all of our lives, so you can imagine why we were upset that we may not have the same youth program that we have been fortunate enough to have the last three years. 

As a youth group, and a family, we understood that something had to change, even though no one, including our supportive congregation, wanted it to. Similar to the disciples who needed someone to show them a new way of fishing, we needed a reminder as to why our youth group is so successful; not because of the way it is structured, but rather because we work together as a family, and a church, to serve the Lord. 

John 21.6a New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Jesus said to them, 

“Cast the net to the right side of the boat, 

and you will find some.” 

Sermon Evan Bigler

When the disciples hadn’t caught any fish Jesus told them to cast their nets to the right side. The disciples didn't know it was the Lord. When we were told we might loose our full-time youth director, we were also unsure. We worried the congregation didn’t know what the youth group did, besides youth group dinners. We had no idea what the congregation had in store, therefore we had to trust in the congregation  like the disciples had to trust in Jesus. 

John 21:6-10 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” 

So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. 

That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” 

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, 

for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. 

 But the other disciples came in the boat, 

dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.

When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there,

 with fish on it, and bread. 

 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”

Sermon Spencer Smith

The scripture represents the youth group feeling as if we were taking a chance by the changing of the youth director. We weren’t sure what we wanted to do with the new youth director position because we wanted everything to be the same. We didn’t want change and this is similar to the disciples. They had been fishing the same way for a long time and it had worked, but when Jesus told them to fish to the the right side, they weren’t sure if they should do it at first. They weren't comfortable with change. As a youth group we didn't want change either. 

Once we realized how much effort, you, the congregation, put into supporting us we decided to trust you and your decision for the internship. You have shown us your support at the visioning meeting with the pile of sticky notes with the youth group’s name on it, plus all the meetings you guys had. You showed your support through the debate and conversation trying to save our budget and the youth director position. You have shown your care and support by coming to our sporting and school events. With all of the care and support you gave us we decided we should trust you guys too and fish to the right side by accepting the intern position. 

John 21:11-14 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. 

 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” 

Now none of the disciples dared to ask him,

 “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, 

and did the same with the fish. 

 This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Sermon Sam Hamilton

Jesus said "Come and eat.” This was an invitation for the disciples to be taken care of. In the same way, this congregation has invited our youth to be cared for and loved after a time of confusion and miscommunication. 

We all feel the care you show for us in different ways however, I think we could all agree that seeing members of the church at our games and school activities helps us realize that church extends beyond a building on Sundays... 

None of the disciples dared to ask Jesus who he was because they knew it was the Lord. Similarly, through the tension and conflicting ideas we never felt forsaken by the people around us. The love that the disciples felt from Jesus is the same as the love we feel from the people of this church each and everyday.

John 21:15-19 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” After this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Offering Sermon Calli Ward

Around the room you will see our youth group members putting up posters. These posters tell some of the ways that we serve you, our congregation, and others in the world. In the scripture Jesus was there to support the disciples in a time of need, just as you all were there to support us during our recent budget conversations. We offer you these things to tell of our love for you, just as Simon Peter did with his love for Jesus. Our gifts to you include…

Vacation Bible School

Raking Leaves

Bread of Life Food Bank

Mission Trips

30 Hour Famine

Serving on Committees and as Elders and Deacons

Visiting

Backpack Food Carrying

Souper Bowl Sunday

Youth Sunday

Mission Trip Sunday…

Benediction Carl Martell

Just as Jesus said to his disciples Follow me, we invite you to follow Jesus. Amen

April 3, 2016 Acts 5.27-32

When they had brought the desciples, 

they had them stand before the council. 

The high priest questioned them, saying, 

“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, 

yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching 

and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.” 

But Peter and the apostles answered, 

“We must obey God rather than any human authority. 

The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, 

whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. 

God exalted Jesus at God’s right hand as Leader and Savior 

that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 

And we are witnesses to these things, 

and so is the Holy Spirit 

whom God has given to those who obey God.”

…

A beloved colleague of my father’s isn’t hired for a promotion at the University for which she has worked longer than I have been alive. She posts a, “heartbroken,” note on Facebook to which dozens of students write letters to the administration demanding, “justice for Dr. E.” While she is endeared to her students, the university, and in effect the hired candidate, are villanized. What is absent from the one-sided debate is why she was not the right candidate and someone else was. It’s not a question the university can publicly answer, nor one she or the students seem willing to pose. I watch the posts and wonder for what is she hoping, what good can come of this? It’s like telling the Council they are not the chosen leaders, and demanding the apostles to stop spreading the news. In fact, when people take up sides, and conversation ceases, it is a sure sign issues are entrenched.

Similarly, Trump makes one of his remarks, this time about punishing women who choose to have an abortion and my normally more measured pastor friend writes an article for the Huffington Post linking Trump’s comment to everything from gun violence, to lack of healthcare, and poverty. My friend makes remarks in a battery of unconnected unquantified* sentences that read like the disciple’s list of complaints to the Council. The disciples say, essentially, “you aren’t following God, you have gruesomely killed Jesus, you are not the correct leaders, you need forgiveness, you must obey our God. It’s not the type of disarming approach that convinces or endears one side to the other. It’s not going to help the Council understand Christ, nor does it do anything but deepen the chasm between belief systems. 

It seems to me that even though the apostles are beginning to understand Jesus’ message, they are still struggling to put it into practice. That while the apostles feel compelled to spread the news about a humble Savior who offers forgiveness, they don’t emulate that humility, or extend that forgiveness to the Council in a way that continues Jesus’ witness. The disciples are engaged in a power play when Jesus would have gone to a garden for prayer. The disciples are putting up a fight when Jesus would have put up a parable. Jesus attempted to make people think about their position from outside their position, in a way that offered an alternative unreconcilable with their original views. And this worked and still works today. 

There is a great ThisAmericanLife radio podcast entitled, The Incredible Rarity of Changing Your Mind where they explore when people do an about face on issues to which they once felt strongly opposed. Here it begins,

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/555/the-incredible-rarity-of-changing-your-mind?act=0#play

555:

The Incredible Rarity of Changing Your Mind

Transcript

ORIGINALLY AIRED 04.24.2015

Note: This American Life is produced for the ear and designed to be heard, not read. We strongly encourage you to listen to the audio, which includes emotion and emphasis that's not on the page. Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio before quoting in print.

© 2015 Ira Glass

Prologue.

Ira Glass

OK. Take a second right now and just think about this. When it comes to the big hot button issues-- I mean climate change, and gun control, and abortion rights, and school vouchers, and affirmative action, and Obamacare-- OK. Do you know anybody who has changed their minds? Who firmly was on one side of the issue, and then they read a story in The New York Times or they heard something on Rush Limbaugh, and now they are firmly on the other side? I'm just going to guess. Probably not, right?

In fact, the opposite happens. There's this thing called the backfire effect. It's been documented in all kinds of studies. It shows that when we're confronted with evidence disapproving what we believe, generally we just dig in and we believe it more. And the rare times that people do change, it's slow. You don't just have an argument with your uncle over the invasion of Iraq over dinner, and then at the end of dinner, one of you goes, OK, I no longer believe what I did, you're right. People just don't flip like that, which is why this video is so incredible.

Voter

Hello.

Richard Joludow

Hello, sir.

Ira Glass

OK. So there are two men standing in a driveway. There's a canvasser with a clipboard. And he's talking to a California voter about gay marriage and it's 2013. And the voter leans against his truck for a lot of the conversation. He tells the canvasser that on a scale of zero to 10, where 10 is definitely vote for gay marriage and zero is definitely vote against, he's a five.

Voter

You know-- you know what bothers me is gays that are flaming. Flaming are the ones that are just so damn goofy and all that.

Ira Glass

He sort of flips his wrist as he says this.

Voter

I worked with one for probably like five or 10 years. He was my father's wife's brother. And I didn't even know he was gay. But he was just really-- he had five sisters. And I just thought he was feminine. And finally he came out and he said he was gay. When they act like that-- to me, I don't care if they do it to other people-- but don't do it to me. Because I don't-- you know.

Ira Glass

At the same time, this guy says, he thinks it's only fair that gay people get the benefits of marriage, and they can get on their partner's insurance. And he knows other people who are gay that are perfectly nice, even that flaming guy. Perfectly nice. They're just regular people, he says. They talk for 18 minutes.

And the guy with the clipboard-- he's not a pollster. He's been sent out specifically to change people's minds on this issue. To try to flip them into voting for gay marriage. And so part of the conversation is just about the issue itself, like the pros and cons of gay marriage. Does the voter think it'll have a bad effect on children? What are his concerns about it? The voter explains.

Voter

The religious thing would hold me back a little bit. Just because.

Richard Joludow

OK.

Voter

I believe in God strongly. And I believe in his ways.

Ira Glass

But a lot of the conversation is just them talking in this totally honest way about themselves, and their attitudes about homosexuality, and the voter's experiences with homosexuals. The canvasser-- his name is Richard Joludow-- is gay himself. Not flamboyant gay, by the way. Silver hair, goatee, a contractor in the construction business. And here's just how real and free-floating this conversation is. At one point, the voter feels comfortable enough to ask him--

Voter

At what point did you realize you were gay? How does a child realize they're gay?

Richard Joludow

You know, that's a hard-- I could think back to third grade. And I had a crush on a boy in the class. And it wasn't sexual. I didn't know what that was. But I can still remember kind of what he looks like. I'm pretty sure I remember his name still. And I remember being heartbroken when he left early in the first part of the semester there.

And some people think that being gay is a choice. I was talking with a voter and was telling me he thought it was a choice. And I said my choice was to accept being gay. And of course, I tried to be straight. And that just wasn't working.

Voter

Well, yeah. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. [LAUGHS]

Ira Glass

And then at that point, the canvasser, Richard, very skillfully brings them back to the topic at hand.

Richard Joludow

So your vote has a lot of influence on how my life goes. I'm with somebody now that I'm hoping to get engaged or go and have a full-out marriage. So your vote would be very important to-- it would affect my life.

Voter

Your life and a lot of other people, too.

Richard Joludow

That's correct, that's correct.

Voter

That's a lot to think about, too. Cause after meeting you, you're a hell of a nice guy.

Richard Joludow

Thanks.

Ira Glass

Then Richard asked the voter for a second time, OK, on a scale of zero to 10, what's the chance that he would vote for gay marriage? His answer the first time was five. Now it's eight. Barely 14 minutes have passed.

Voter

You make a really good presentation.

Richard Joludow

Thank you, sir.

These conversations happened in 2008 all over California after Proposition 8. “At the time, gay marriage was officially legal in California-- had been legal for half a year. Then opponents of gay marriage gathered signatures, put the issue on the ballot. Not the gay organizers were worried-- in fact, anything but. Polls had them solidly ahead but they ended up loosing.”

The podcast goes on, Ira Glass speaking to Dave Fleischer. 

“He's a political operative that the Los Angeles LGBT Center flew in to figure out what in the world they were going to do after this defeat. It was his idea to go out and do something that apparently is just never done.

Dave Fleischer

Let's go to the neighborhoods where we got crushed and talk to the people who voted against us and ask them why they did that. And when I suggested the idea, Ira, to be totally honest, I didn't know if those voters would talk with us. I'd never done anything like this.”

And as you saw in the podcast it did work. People changed their minds because they talked to someone who shared their personal story. The podcast goes on to explain those these changes were lasting, and worked for a number of issues when the canvasser had a personal story to share, be they gay, or had an abortion, etc. for not only liberal ideas but also conservative ones. But this process is slow, the podcast points out it is far easier to fire up those who will already vote for you and far cheaper to publish a massive smear campaign against other candidates. But I just don’t slanderous press, or even debates is how Christ would try to convince any of us. What he did during the Easter season was show up to his disciples, like Thomas, or like those on the road to Emmaus. He made believing personal. 

We like to think that the success of Jesus was and is measured by the number of followers. What if instead we measured, how people have been touched by Christ, the ways our life has been touched and changed because of his message, his healing, his serving, his humility. It is a slow process, one those took Jesus and ourselves going door to door, town to town, hearing about needs, hearing the stories of people’s lives, and sharing our own. I wonder how differently the apostles tell the story of Jesus when they are outside talking to the people. I doubt it sounds anything like how they speak to the council. Instead, I have feeling it sounds a lot more like the canvasser and the voter than the politician or the publications we hear and read. And so, I remind us, even with convictions as strong as the apostles, that Jesus would have done it differently. May we likewise. Perhaps like Gary Yeoumans said, meeting with people and sharing our stories. May we in this day, when we want to pick sides, when we want to fight hard for what we believe remember the power of a parable, remember the power of our own personal story of Christ among us.