Poker Nights and Community
"You are a child of God.""What the f*** does that mean?"
Huh. That's funny. This was a dialogue between two of my roommates last night over a long game of poker in the basement. I love these small poker nights not for the cards or laughs, but for the intense conversations that occur as a result of close friends sitting around a table for hours on end, influenced by the angry sounds of Nickelback and the elixirs of Captain Morgan. These nights transcend anything poker and hit straight to the heart of our individual needs for community. On these nights we open up as a group of dudes. We are real with each other. We are vulnerable with each other. We laugh. We cry. We are us.
"Fine speech. Now what?"
"Just be yourselves."
That's the root of why we are so deeply moved by these evenings. In the middle of a discussion on theology and identity somebody can say "What the f*** does that mean?" to the classic church cliche of "You are a child of God." That cracks me up just thinking about. Can you imagine the look on "Sister Grey Hair Sunday School Teacher's Face" if asked that question by one of her students? Now granted, I'm not exactly going to say that to one of my students when they give me a Sunday school answer to some tough question - but how do we be the catalyst to a culture where it is okay to be ourselves? What is it about those basement nights that lets individuals, myself included, feel comfortable to open up? And it has to be something greater than the Captain Morgan.
Every Thursday night is our traditional poker night. We usually end up having about a dozen of us playing. The core of the group consists of 4 missionaries, a youth pastor, a church intern, and the guy on the couch. However, some of the regulars are not who you'd expect in a small social setting with six full time ministers. Most are Christian, but not all. One is the ex-wife and single mother of two kids of one of my roommates. She bring both kids every Thursday night. Another has struggles with homosexuality - and brought a "buddy" this past Thursday night. And of the many people who have ever walked through our door - none have ever felt unwelcome. In this house they are loved for the individuals that they are. They are loved as the children of God that they are. They are free to bring their struggles with them. They are free to say, "What the f*** does that mean?" when they don't know. They are free to enter into community - where it is okay to be who they are, where they don't have to be thespians on the stage of life, and where they can be loved simply because they are.
posted by Devo @ 2:05 PM
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