They Found Dave Dead
By John Ashmen
           
Every night on my homeward commute, I notice more and more houses adorned with colorful blinking bulbs. With Thanksgiving now a memory but Christmas looming large, there seems to be a scramble in the neighborhoods to illuminate lawns and brighten spirits.

Despite the lights and the abundance of public festivities, psychologists tell us that the end-of-year holidays yield the most depressing days of the year for far too many people. The reasons for this are as long as a 10-year-old’s Christmas wish list. For many folks, reflection of loved ones forever gone—at a time when they are yearned for most—and recollections of better days bar the mind’s door, denying entry to the realization that God’s love is complete and sufficient, and the blessing of breath needs to be celebrated here and now.

All throughout the holidays, the physical needs of our guests are great. But those we can immediately recognize and easily handle. However, the emotional needs—not always recognizable—are even greater. And that means all of the people passing through our doors need more time than usual to be heard. They need more time than usual to have someone hold them, weep with them, and admit that even though the mission staff members don’t have all the answers, they know a Savior can soothe wounded souls.

For mission CEOs, this can be a paradoxical season of ministry: We have good news to proclaim to the dispirited poor, but we often don’t have the time because we are busy proclaiming the success (or the needs) of our year-end ministries to donors and the press. Not being available to listen when guests really need to talk can be our greatest dilemma. What do we do? Enter the curse of pat answers. Well-meaning, we pass out the Good News as if it were a one-size-fits-all garment, packaged in our theological wrappings, tied together with a curled smile.

My good friend, Lloyd Mattson, covered in his blog the story of a young man who had all he could take of pat answers. Lloyd writes: 

As you approach Christmas, may you be given the gift of time—and the free conscience to use it—to give real answers to people like Dave and so many others who are filled with gloom in the midst of a season that should be filled with joy. You never know...two extra minutes with a person might make all the difference in the world.

The New Evangelicals (Eerdmans, 2011)
Just off the press is The New Evangelicals: Expanding the Vision of the Common Good (Eerdmans, 2011). Author Marcia Pally reveals a growing movement within Christendom that espouses anti-militarism and anti-consumerism but promotes poverty relief and immigration reform. The book is full of interviews, including Rich Cizik, Joel Hunter, Shane Claiborne, Jim Wallis, Tony Campolo, and yours truly. It’s a must-read for the times in which we live.