Awhile back I wrote a blog that started, “Sometimes Christians suck”, and this is one reason why that statement is true. I have been hearing reports about Christians being bad tippers. Now, I have seen varying studies that show that it is not totally true, but come on. Jesus, your servers, and quite frankly other believers deserve better.

Let’s start with the concept that kindness is supposed to be at the core of the life of a Jesus follower. We should treat people the way we would like to be treated, right? Most servers make very little in salary, and they depend on tips to supplement their income. Poor tippers can cause a concussive effect on a person’s livelihood. How is stiffing them on the tip kind? What would you want someone to tip if it was you or your child?

The fact that some restaurants expect their Sunday post church service crowd to go cheap is sad and wrong. That means that they are expecting those who say they love Jesus to not show that love to them. Shame! I understand that everyone doesn’t do this, but there seems to be enough of us doing it to make the national news.

There are numbers of fast food places that don’t have gratuity as a part of their pay. Frequent as many of those as possible, rather than hurting people and your Christian witness.

I understand that we don’t always have the money to tip well. I have been there. Sadly, I have had moments where I didn’t have more than 1% tip to give. The guilt in those moments was incredible. I felt ashamed of myself. It would have been better if I had simply gone to a restaurant more suited to my financial ability.

What do the people serving us think about our God based on our treatment of them? I think about that in my interactions. I frequent several eating establishments, and I have come to know the workers. Many know that I am a Christian, and some know I am a pastor. When they see me I (although not fair) represent all the faithful, and how I engage with them speaks of this God that I say I serve.

“As it is written: God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” Romans 2:24(NIV) This scripture shows us that we have the ability to give God a bad name, by our actions. People who work hard should be paid for their work. So, if this is you, my brothers and sisters, DO BETTER! If not willing, then don’t go out to eat after church, don’t wear crosses, open a bible at the table, or do anything that would cause people to think that you are one of us. I love you, but if you are a bad tipper and a Christian, you suck!

http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2013/january/why-are-christians-such-bad-tippers.html?start=2

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/tennessee-church-christians-horrible-tippers-article-1.1715155

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/10/sundays-are-the-worst-christian-tipping_n_4934418.html

I don’t watch zombie, vampire, and monster movies. It’s just not my thing. I must admit that I do like sci-fi, and I am quite fond of hobbits (don’t judge me). Not, zombies. While on a long flight, with nothing to do, I found myself watching a zombie movie called, Warm Bodies. In my defense, the confined space and constant hum of a long flight has caused many to watch things I would not otherwise. This movie is currently in constant rotation on cable.

The basic premise of this movie is a young zombie is just drifting through death without any quality connection. The only time we see him move fast is when he is pursuing his passion (food or humans, us). This is pretty standard for a zombie.

We actually get to hear his thoughts as he is trying to make sense of his existence. We see a shift in him when he falls for a young girl (who is not a zombie), and he slowly begins to come to life. Not only that, every zombie that he comes in contact with starts to come to life as well. The love that these two, the human and the zombie, have is spreading like a virus, and the dead are coming back to life. Pretty cool, huh?

I, like many pastors are prone to do, saw the spiritual connections (I know, real “preachery” of me). But, come on, this one was so easy to see. We are all like zombies at some point. The Bible says,

“As for you, don’t you remember how you used to just exist? Corpses, dead in life, buried by transgressions, wandering the course of this perverse world. You were the offspring of the prince of the power of air—oh, how he owned you, just as he still controls those living in disobedience.” Ephesians 2:1-2 (Voice)

I remember my zombie days. I would just shuffle from place to place trying to make sense of my existence. The only time you would see real movement from me was when I was pursuing pleasure like food, sex, affirmation, significance, etc. I was the walking dead. The lights were on, but no one was home. I used to be the living dead.

The cool thing is, when we come in contact with love we come to life. God is love! Once our heart lights come on, we become infectious. Everybody around us has the opportunity to go from death to life. I remember people telling me that I would eventually calm down or that this new life thing I was experiencing was just religious zeal that would fade over time. But, no, I was dead, now I am alive! I never wanted to go back to that old dead way of living.

This is what happened to me,

“But God, with the unfathomable richness of His love and mercy focused on us, united us with the Anointed One and infused our lifeless souls with life—even though we were buried under mountains of sin—and saved us by His grace.” Ephesians 2:4-5 (Voice)

What I saw in the movie, Warm Bodies, was similar to the same process that brought me to life. This is the same process that we all must come to if we are going to experience life, real life! We who are dead must encounter God and His love, which is displayed through the cross of Jesus Christ. Allowing him to infect us with life and spread that life to others. Then, and only then do we experience life, abundant life.

I have been on a blogging hiatus. I’ve had to focus on the work that we have been doing at Vertical Church and writing my second book. This is a reintroduction for some and an introduction for my new friends and followers. Hello, my name is Damian. Occupationally, I am a pastor, speaker, leader, and a writer. It’s funny because all of those different categorizations have embraced in my story except Writer.

I truthfully have a hard time calling myself a writer. All good pastors are at some level writers, as we have to write messages for our weekend gatherings. But, the average person will not read those notes. I have been writing pieces that are intended for broader audiences. I’ve even struggled with that designation as a blogger.

This is probably because I was mostly illiterate until 3^rd or 4^th grade. I was slow to grasp the power of the written word. I hid it well as to not give my friends’ fuel for jokes (which they could do well). Reading aloud almost gave me panic attacks. My older sister and I were recently talking about how bad my reading and writing was. It’s interesting how painful experiences can transport you back to those specific moments in time. Even in college, I wrestled through the thought of writing papers. I was always shocked to receive high marks for my writing. I still have some lingering technical issues, but it’s become amazingly clear that writing is apart of my life’s work.

So, outside of regular messages and blogs, I have written my first book, College Impact: Empowering Collegiate Christians for Campus Impact (click here).  Last year the sales have gone crazy, and we were pleased, relieved, and surprised. A student from a local college campus read it and came to tell me how much she enjoyed it. I felt like a writer that day.

A couple years ago, I wrote about our challenging experiences starting a church, in a book called Sifted. I recently completed an essay in a new book called, Dads of Disability (click here), chronicling my experience as a father of a special son who has significant disabilities. Add to that I just finished the first draft of a book written for a large eBook publisher (more details to come).

I am settling the fact that I am a writer. I, like many others, have to overcome my past to embrace my future. Just because I once was illiterate doesn’t mean that I can’t be a writer, like because I was poor doesn’t mean I can’t be wealthy. Too often we allow our former challenges and failures to inhibit our current and future possibilities. Allow my story to encourage you to become who you need to become. I can say, I am a writer…what are you?

I have to share just a few updates about the GREAT things God has been doing in our lives. We are simply blown away at His grace and favor toward us. I have had my hands full through the summer. That is the reason that I have not been able to blog lately. To all of the regular readers of my blog, I apologize for my absence, but after reading this you might more fully understand why.

As is our regular rhythm my wife and I took the month of June to reconnect with one another and our son. I had the opportunity to teach at a youth camp in Kentucky. This is something I have desired to do for years. It was amazing and I discovered that I loved the youth camp culture. I am already on board to do it again next summer. Kentucky Christian University was so moved by my speaking that they had me come to teach for a week. I even received an offer to teach at the school. (I am honored, but I must do the work that I am doing.)

In July we went to China. It was a powerful trip. We went to support some people we sent to Asia teach conversational English. We ate some incredible food, connected with good friends, and made connections we hope will last a lifetime. We are looking to both send more next summer and to set up some opportunities for us to head back. Look below to the previous blog to see the music video of our trip. 

I have had the opportunity to speak at some powerful churches both in the city and outside. I love traveling, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the story of Vertical Church. Things have been so busy that I have only had one weekend off since our sabbatical and that allowed me to celebrate my wife’s birthday. Speaking allows me to supplement my income, which is a blessing as I lead a church in a underresourced community. I also have been able to talk about College Impact, which is now on kindle. Click here for College Impact Kindle Edition

Writing so many messages for churches has kept me very busy. Add to that, I am writing another book! I am writing an e-book about the failure of “missional” churches (and “attractional” churches.) I am half way through it. So I have been challenged to find the space to blog during this season. 

Here is the crazy news… While speaking at a church a person was inspired by my message and the work we are doing in the city of Atlanta and requested a meeting with the simple phrase, “I want to get behind him”. After a brief time, the person committed the largest donation the church had received. This was incredibly encouraging.

I took someone on a community tour, and the person was impacted by our story as we care for our son who uses a wheelchair. The person then did what was unimaginably and bought us a wheelchair accessible truck to more effectively transport our son. No more lifting and twisting to place my 60lb son in his car seat. It was paid in full! Hallelujah! Not only is it functional, it's nice… leather interior, low mileage, and a "tricked out" kneel ramp function that allows my son to more easily get up and down the ramp. Add to that I spoke at another church this past Sunday, and they heard about our new vehicle. They collected over $1,200 in gift cards to help us with gas. Just wow! God has been so good to us. It would have taken us years to save enough money to get a van/truck like this. We with tears in our eyes are singing, “How great is our God!” 

China 2013 music video from Vertical Church Extras on Vimeo.