My Neighbor, Chris
Chris Erdman used to live next door to me. Then he sold his house and moved. Now he lives two houses away on the opposite side. The weird thing is that I don't talk to him now as much as I used to because of that one house separating us. But when I do, it is pure joy.Chris is the minister at University Presbyterian, the church around the corner from College. He is a terrific family man (he literally wrote the book on family...no seriously, I've read it), a deep thinker, a theologian, a great speaker, and an all-around cool guy. He loves the Old Testament. But he also loves The Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars. So you can see why we get along.
On Sunday morning he was driving home right behind me. We got out of our cars and chatted for 20 minutes or so, deconstructing our sermons together, the reaction to them, and talking about the movement of the Spirit. I have learned everything I know about the unity of the church during the past year and a half, and it has all come from my Emmaus walk and from Chris.
Last night we talked music for the first time. He had just seen U2 in concert (his first concert ever) and wanted to share the experience. He gave me chills as he told me how they ended the show singing "Psalm 40" with 25,000 people singing along, praising God whether they knew it or not. We talked about their latest CD--which I love go out and buy it right now run don't walk--and how spiritual it is. For crying out loud, the last song is entitled "Yahweh." Kind of hard to miss the meaning. Then I brought up the new Green Day CD and found out he was crazy about it. We talked about the language (raunchy but not gratuitous) and the message. It's such a Godsend to find someone who is so on the same wavelength.
Lisa and I have been so blessed with the people got put in our neighborhood. Today, I'm just particularly grateful for Chris.
posted by Thurman8er @ 8:55 AM
1 Comments:
It is amazing to see the face of God is so many unsuspecting places -- even in U2!
Granted, he may have always been in some places and we are just now maturing in way to recognize his presence.
How about that! I used the words "we are" and "maturity" in the same sentence in a positive way!
I'm glad you have that kind of friendship with a fellow believer on your block.
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