No Room!

Adapted from a chapter in Tony Campolo’s book, Let Me Tell You a Story: Life Lessons from unexpected Places and Unlikely People:

A schoolteacher served students from several grades in a small one room schoolhouse in upstate New York, including one child who was euphemistically referred to as “special.”  That particular little boy was what we might call “slow.”

When Christmas season came, the teacher decided to put on a Christmas pageant, and the special needs boy wanted to have a part in it.  He didn’t just want to stand around on the stage; he wanted to have a speaking part.  Part of the presentation was a dramatic interpretation of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. They all knew that he could not remember lines very well, but they came up with what seemed like a viable solution to the problem.  They told him that he could be in innkeeper.  When Mary and Joseph knocked on the door of the inn, he was to open it and say, “No room!”  Mary would then plead with him further, and when she finished her lines he was to say again, “No room!” and close the door.

They thought he could handle this, but just to make sure, they appointed someone to stand near him behind the door and poke him at the proper time and whisper the right words in his ear, should he forget them.  Rehearsals went fine, and all were excited about a good presentation.

The night of the Christmas pageant all seemed to be moving well until Mary and Joseph got to the inn door.  Mary knocked.  When our little friend opened the door he said what was expected of him: “No room!” 

Mary responded, “But , sir, it’s cold.  Have you no place at all where we can stay?  It’s freezing and I am sick.  I’m going to have a baby, and unless you help us, my baby will be born in the cold, cold night.”

The boy just stood there and said nothing.  Mary looked at him and nodded her head as if to say Go ahead, it’s your turn.  There was another long pause.  The prompter nudged him and whispered, “No room!  Say ‘No room!’”

The little guy then turned to the prompter and said, “I know what I’m supposed to say…but I’ve been thinking.”  He then looked at Mary and said “…she can have my room,” and then he opened the door wide for her and Joseph.

To some, loving comes easily and almost without thinking. The rest of us must be more deliberate.  Let us pray that we are open to the leading of the spirit by being more responsive to the needs of others as they come to us.

Tony Campolo and other writers reflect on my book, Embracing the Gray

Along with all of the enthusiastic feedback from readers on Amazon.com about my book, Embracing the Gray: A Wing, A Prayer, and A Doubter’s Resolve, there have also been many positive reviews from other writers.  Here are some of those reflections…

Embracing the Gray provides a description of someone who has shied away from simplistic Christianity. Mark Hollingsworth carries us through his spiritual highs and lows as he relates his journey towards a mature faith and lifestyle. Those of us who know next to nothing about the contemporary music scene can learn much about the messages of what a younger generation devours. Mark understands this world, and artists he has known and been influenced by help give poetic weight as we read through this memoir. He is an excellent storyteller, but the reader should not think that Mark’s stories are only told to entertain. They have layered meanings and lead to thoughtful reflections. Embracing the Gray gets two enthusiastic thumbs up from me.

-Tony Campolo (author of 37 books, world-renowned speaker)

I have known Mark for quite a few years now and his interest and sensitivity have always impressed me. However, Embracing the Gray goes much deeper into the waters of this brave heart. Mark has a communicational style that is both conversational and poetic; a union of the heart and mind that is at once compelling, challenging and inspirational. I highly recommend the book and the man. 

-Neal Morse (Author of Testimony, recording artist, song writer, producer of 11 solo albums, and 12 others with Spocks’ Beard, Transatlantic, and Flying Colors)

Check out the book, Embracing the Gray, by long-time friend Mark Hollingsworth—all-around world-saver and critical figure in the history of spiritual music. We traveled some of the same spiritual search together. I highly endorse it.

-Kerry Livgren (Author of Seeds of Change, primary songwriter, guiatrist, and keyboardist for Kansas)

Listening and Telling. We all have a story; but not all of us have paid much care or attention to it. Mark Hollingsworth has listened to his story well, and he has given us the gift of sharing what he's heard. Humorous. Poignant. Hopeful. Riddled with sorrow in some places and drenching with joy in others, Embracing the Gray is well worth your time. 

-Winn Collier (author of Holy Curiosity, Restless Faith, Deeper Walk, and regular contributor to Relevant Magazine)

The glorious paradox of no-nonsense faith. Anyone who has spent a few hours around Mark Hollingsworth knows his conversational references to culture, politics, the Good Book and the good fight span a really broad horizon. Hollingsworth has also led a truly fascinating life, and has the wit and word-smithing at his disposal to make his journey into a really entertaining read. Embracing the Gray is a delightful, sometimes dizzying account of Mark's adventures that demonstrates his gifts as a cultural commentator and a writer worth reading. Hollingsworth pulls no punches as he rolls through episodes of his life in the music industry and ministry to the poor, rubbing shoulders with rock royalty and desperately at-risk children, and coming of age between Vietnam and Van Halen. Having said all that, I've barely scratched the surface of the remarkable range of subjects Hollingsworth addresses with unflinching honesty-- and then draws a beeline to his faith, and how all that experience helped develop him into a truly authentic, thoughtful Jesus-follower. As pastor of a rowdy bunch of mostly Millennials (roughly 18-30 years of age), I am highly recommending Embracing the Gray to them because it provides them a wonderful tool: an example of how to think about faith, as opposed to simply what to think about faith. And to my Boomer contemporaries? Buy it for yourself. If you're a fan of Jesus, contemporary music, social action, Petra, Rush (the group; maybe not Limbaugh for this book), or needing to know that someone else has been through the pain of helping their parents shed the mortal coil with love and dignity, read this book. Then do your grown kids a favor and give it to them to read. (If you're sensitive to salty language, be warned that it makes an occasional appearance in this book. Thus the encouragement to make it available to your "grown children." But please, put some U2 on in the background and read it anyway. You really won't regret it.)

-Steve Wamberg (author of Pinocchio Nation, Surviving a Prodigal, and more)

Simply stunning. Honestly, Mark's life runs parallel to the film "Almost Famous," only it's more exciting. I won't ruin any of the surprises, but I guarantee you'll have several moments where you say to yourself "I can't believe all this happened to one person."  The only book I've ever read with a meeting with U2, and an incident with a drunken, suicidal gunman live just pages apart. And both are true. Loved it!           

-Seth Hurd (author of Hip Hope and Jr. College, What Becky Didn’t Want, and A Grammatical Corrector)

The most engaging, hilarious, gut-wrenching, and inspiring book I've read in a long time. Thanks!

-Zach Bevill (songwriter, lead singer, guitarist for The Farewell Drifters)

What a wonderful piece of writing!  You are a GREAT writer, Bro!  Funny, inspiring, thought provoking, challenging...these are all words I would use to describe this book. I feel enriched after reading it. I laughed out loud on a few of those stories! I hope this is just the first of many. I think it will sell a ton.  Thank you!

                        -Bob Hartman (primary songwriter, and lead guitarist for Petra)

  
I have known Mark for a few years and have read his blog regularly in that time. I have seen and experienced first hand his own willingness to live his faith in an open, honest way, including not just the good times, but the hard questions and difficult circumstances. If you are looking for happy-go-lucky, pat on the back, feel-good themed book, you may want to pick up one of those fluff books. If, however, you want a book that will affirm your own struggles, is easy to read, and at the same time challenges you to take seriously the concepts of God, spirituality and help you in times where you may feel all alone, I couldn't recommend anything as much as Embracing the Gray. Mark writes from a place of honesty that many of us could learn from; his life has been an example; his words will inspire and challenge.

-Mike Furches (author of The Keystone Kid, and columnist for HollywoodJesus.com)

This book is some very beautiful fruit from some very tough seasons in Hollingsworth’s life. 
                        -Kim Thomas (author of Living in the Sacred Now, Finding Your Way

                        Through Grief, and Even God Rested)

A soulful memoir. This is a bold first hand account of the life (thus far!) of Christian music manager and non-profit marketing luminary Mark Hollingsworth. His 3+ decades traveling the globe with performers, friends, and even a few strangers leave a wake of wild stories and one-of-a-kind exchanges. Each chapter explores the soul of a man wrestling with deep doubts, yet also gnawing convictions. In particular, his account of time spent with the young U2 harmonizes book-long themes of tattered, yet intact faith, parsed against diamond-splitting honesty. A read that will inspire thought, and be a reminder of grace. 
                        -Geoff Little (author of Summers)

Mark and I both kind of march to the beat of our own funky drum kit--which is why I'm excited to promote his new book: Embracing the Gray. Mark is one of those admirable, honest Christians who thinks with his heart and his funny bone both engaged and he's one heck of a great writer! You don't wanna miss this one!
                        -Paul Johnson (Dove Award winning composer, producer, artist)

I read Embracing the Gray and what a lovely trip the read turned out to be!  Not only is Mark a keen observer of every person he has ever met, but with great honesty he opens himself up to observation, too. Mark's insightful use of the lyrics of songs to which this seventy- something lady had never paid attention opened a window into the realm of 'young' music and to a place that happened long after I was grown up.   Finally, I've always known that my world was too black and white (just ask my kids!) and I am very grateful for this sometimes painful yet often joyously lighthearted reminder to embrace, not just tolerate what is, and may well remain, quite gray. I very much loved Embracing the Gray.

-Peggy Campolo (contributor for Sojourners, Youthworker Journal, Wittenburg Door, and more)

Mark Hollingsworth has written an awesome book titled Embracing the Gray. It's got wonderful stories about his meetings with U2, Kerry Livgren (Kansas) and his life's journey. Honestly, I couldn't put it down and I highly recommend it.

                        -Rick Altizer (songwriter, recording artist, producer)

On a lazy American Thanksgiving I read through Mark Hollingsworth's EMBRACING THE GRAY and was compelled by the frank honesty that he brought to both his writing and his spiritual journey. There is something wonderfully liberating in coming to grips with our humanness while we still attempt to connect with the Almighty. I resonated most fully with

Mark on this point, that somewhere in his early twenties he found it necessary to lay aside all pretense and simply be honest about his faith (or, at times, lack thereof). I read somewhere that stories are equipment for living, and I am appreciative that Mark has laid out some of his here. Everyone's life contains scripture, a sacred text of their interaction with the Almighty, whether they be conscious of it or not. And Mark's story recounts the full embrace of life's experiences up against the backdrop of a searching soul desperate to make sense of the sometimes elusive fingerprints of grace. 

-David Disabitino (screenwriter, director of Frisbie, The Outlaw Larry Norman)

Amazing stories from one of my true heroes.
                        -John Thompson (author of Raised by Wolves, and editor of True

                        Tunes magazine)

I read the whole book in one sitting. It is fabulous. Meaty stuff. Funny stuff. Encouraging stuff. Mark openly wrestles with so many things that are common to one seeking a relationship with the Creator. My take away was to stay in the Eternal Now with the Ever Present One.

-Pam Mark Hall (songwriter, recording artist)

Love this book! Mark has written a touching and at times hysterical memoir. In particular though, the account of his brother's troubled relationship with his family was quite moving. These are stories of love, faith, loss, and joy that only a writer as adept and honest as Mark could make so three dimensional as to jump off the page. Well worth your time!

-Rick Elias (songwriter, recording artist, producer)

I continue to be humbled by the response the book is generating.  If you have read it and wish to correspond with me, I always interact with any communiqués.   You can also peruse many reader reviews (97% are Five Stars) at:

http://www.amazon.com/Embracing-Gray-Doubters-Resolve-ebook/dp/B004L62CN2/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Embracing the Gray is still available for a limited time as a 99 cent Kindle download at that same link, or as a free PDF download at my website (donations accepted):

http://markahollingsworth.com/Node

For Those Who Give a Damn

My last blog, “Some of Us Don’t Give a Shit,” really stirred up quite a response. 

Oh sure, we’d read some articles

We knew some people needed help

But social workers take care of that

I mean, why give a damn yourself?

Well, the reason that you didn’t

And the reason that you won’t

Is you think you got a lot to lose

And the other fella don’t

Oh, you give a damn, and so does he

You think the rest of us are just fakin’?

I mean what do you need that you got to give

Less than what you’re takin’?

For those of you who are interested in doing more to help poor kids in the developing world, here are some ideas:

I have been involved with these organizations (some for decades) and can recommend them highly:

Sponsor an impoverished child in a developing nation.  This is one-to-one concern at its best:

http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm

Help build homes for those with insufficient housing:

http://www.habitat.org//

Give assistance to poor people trying to start small businesses in the developing world:

http://www.opportunity.org/site/pp.asp?c=7oIDLROyGqF&b=203866

Assist with antiretroviral drugs for HIV/AIDS patients

http://www.unicefusa.org/site/c.duLRI8O0H/b.25966/k.B283/HIVAIDS__What_We_Do__US_Fund_for_UNICEF.htm

Give your voice to helping reduce poverty, third world debt, and assist economic empowerment to developing nations:

http://theonecampaign.org/

Buy African art/gifts where your money goes back to those who created the crafts:

http://www.globalcrafts.org/

Donate to a fund to help fight global spread of tuberculosis, malaria, and AIDS:

http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/donate/

Administer justice for those caught in forced labor and unjust systems:

http://www.ijm.org/

Donate to help with the global food crisis affecting hundreds of millions, especially children:

http://www.oxfamamerica.org/

Help dig clean water wells in Africa:

http://bloodwatermission.org/

Act to help free children from sex slavery operations:

http://www.freeforlifeintl.org/

Write governments and policymakers about Human Rights abuses:

http://www.amnestyusa.org/index.html

If you go here you can activate a donation from another source to help health care for children in the third world just by clicking:

http://www.thechildhealthsite.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/CTDSites.woa/393/wa/gotoSite?destSite=ChildHealthSite&origin=thstab&wosid=RS4000hw800ao600I&revisionCode=ON_THS_CHS_TAB

Get involved in helping stop the genocide in Darfur, Sudan:

http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/darfur/content.jsp?content_KEY=1282

If you’re interested in finding out more about Tony Campolo’s books, speaking, and outreach to the poor in the U.S. and abroad:

http://www.tonycampolo.org/

No one expects you to do everything…but at least do something…

Where could you go?

What could you see?

What could you do your best?

The book is in your left hand

Your right hand knows the address

Address your questions

Address your money

Address your telephone number

But above all, please address yourself

And give a damn this summer

(Noel Paul Stookey, “Give a Damn,” from Paul And,  1971)

Most of Us Don't Give a Shit

I just attended my 100^th music festival over the past few days.  It got me to thinking about one of the highlights of one of these events that happened thirty years ago this weekend…

Tony Campolo stepped up to the podium on the main stage and gazed out across a hillside throng of over 40,000 people gathered at the Creation Festival in central Pennsylvania.  Christian rock bands had whipped the crowd into a frenzy earlier that evening.  Other speakers had encouraged them to stay chaste for Christ, to not be sucked into the MTV culture, to hold strong against the influences of secular humanism. They had seen family-friendly comedians, heard testimonies from born again basketball players whose free throw percentage had climbed since they started tithing, had observed church-touring magicians….even watched a Christian juggler.  Sanctified T-Shirts were being worn by the thousands with slogans like “This Blood’s For You,” “Air Jesus” (Instead of Air Jordan), “Go to Hell….Satan!” “Rapture Practice,” “Get Right or Get Left,” “Jesus is the Real Thing,” etc.

The outspoken author and head of the Sociology Department at Eastern University was focused as he stared at the crowd…

“Last night, while you were asleep, 10,000 children on this planet starved to death!”

There was a long, awkward pause…

“Let me reiterate: last evening, while you were sleeping in your tents and motel rooms around this festival site, and resting from your hard day of partying in the name of Jesus, 10,000 children under the age of twelve died due to starvation, easily preventable water-borne diseases, or sicknesses they could not fend off due to severe malnutrition.  10,0000!  That’s point number one.

Point number two is:  most of us here don’t give a shit!” 

His words echoed back from the woods behind the huge gathering.  I’ve never heard that many people so quiet, so focused.

“Point number three is: Most of you are more concerned that I just said “shit” than that 10,000 kids died last night…and that’s what I want to talk to you about:  your sense of morality.  Because many of us think that if “we don’t smoke, and we don’t chew, and we don’t go with girls who do” that we are somehow in God’s will.  Being a Christian is not trying to be nice and wholesome.  Being a Christian is best defined as someone whose heart is broken by the things that break the heart of God!”

Campolo then went on to give one of the most powerful sermons I’ve ever heard on the true meaning of the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount.  

After he spoke, over 5,000 of those people committed themselves to getting serious about changing the world by serving those in need. Many of them are now in full-time missions, inner city work, and advocates for the poor around the globe.

Poverty is so hard to see

When it’s only on your TV and twenty miles across town

Where we’re all living so good

That we moved out of Jesus’ neighborhood

Where he’s hungry and not feeling so good

From going through our trash

He says, “More than just your cash and coin

I want your time, I want your voice

I want the things you just can’t give me”

So what must we do?

Here in the west we want to follow you

We speak the language and we keep all the rules

Even a few we made up

“Come on and follow me

But sell your house, sell your SUV

Sell your stocks, sell your security

And give it to the poor”

What is this, hey what’s the deal?

I don’t sleep around and I don’t steal

I want the things you just can’t give me

“Because what you do to the least of these

My brothers, you have done it to me

Because I want the things you just can’t give me”

(“Rich Young Ruler” by Derek Webb from Mockingbird)

Part 2 of Honolulu, Whores, and a Hallowed Moment: Whatever Became of Agnes?

This is the conclusion to the story from my previous blog about Tony Campolo throwing a birthday party for a prostitute at a diner in Hawaii...

A lot of people want to know what happened to Agnes?

Tony became friends with Harry and Jan from that night forward, and keeps in touch with them and whenever he returns to Hawaii.

Campolo continues: “Agnes gave up the streetwalking life shortly after that time. She ended up going to work at that diner. And she, Harry and Jan have turned that diner into a place where people come for help day and night. The word is around town: if you’re in trouble, go to that little restaurant…the people there will listen to you, talk with you, and help you if they can.

After that event, I was at Linfield College, a conservative Baptist college that’s related to Jesus somehow in Oregon to speak at their spiritual emphasis week—you know…“Be Kind to God Week.” It was Feb. 25^th—easy to remember the date because it’s my birthday. The place was decorated with balloons, streamers, banners, and there was a sign that said:

“Happy Birthday, Tony!”

-Agnes (your friend from Honolulu)

She had somehow found out when my birthday was, where I would be on that date, and contacted some officials and students at the college and set this up for me.

This account says a lot of good things. First of all, it says something about prostitutes. It says you can’t judge people superficially. Agnes is one of the good people…kind, caring, and thoughtful. When all the other prostitutes show up it’s because she’s been so good and kind. And when I prayed I asked that God would deliver her from what dirty, filthy men had done to her…making another point that all sociologists knows: that generally every prostitute is somebody who got messed over at the age of ten, eleven, or twelve. When I share this story I always make it clear that Agnes was not an evil person, but she was a victim.

When I tell the story and I say, “I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for whores at 3:30 in the morning” and people laugh, it sets me up for the line: “that’s exactly the kind of church that Jesus came to create.” And I always add, “I don’t know where we got this other one that is half country club.” Down deep inside everybody knows that’s true.

The reason why this story clicks is very simple—it does what Jesus does. It takes Christianity outside of a religious institution—we’re outside of the church—outside of the stranglehold of the religious environment. Once you get the truth of God out of the church, and come up with its bare realities, its impact of loving care rings true to people.

I find that people don’t reject Jesus—they reject the religious institution that is presenting Jesus. If we can just get Jesus out of the institution and into the real world situations, if we can just get rid of the trappings, it comes alive for all of us. That’s what Jesus did in his day. He took the truths of the Torah, most everything that He taught was already in the Jewish Bible—but He takes all of that stuff out of the religious institution and puts it on the street where people live. When that happens, everyone says, “Yes!” Because they agree with the truth. They do not agree with these structures that have hidden the truth, or smothered the truth--that are into a lot of money-making on many occasions. They just don’t seem valid valid. But remove Jesus from “the church,” and people are drawn to Him.

I go to the book of First John—this cuts it down to the bottom line: “God is love.” We all know that verse. I don’t think many people know the verse that comes right after that. “And whoever loves is born of God.” And there is a sense in Agnes’s story that all those prostitutes who showed up that night, and Harry and Jan who ran the diner—that they all were expressing the love of God. Some will ask, “Well do they theologically agree and believe this doctrine, or live by these creeds, or confess in such and such way?” My response is to point to those verses: “God is love, and whoever loves is born of God,” and that’s what I want people to carry away from this story.

This true story was adapted into a short film called The Least of These, which won 27 film festival awards. The link on how to find out more about it is below.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/movies/reviews/2004/leastofthese.html

Honolulu, Whores, and a Hollowed Moment

Sociologist, author, speaker, and Christian activist Tony Campolo shares this from his book, Let Me Tell You a Story:

If you live on the East Coast and travel to Hawaii, you know that there is a time difference that makes three o’clock in the morning feel like 9:00 AM. With that in mind, you will understand that whenever I go out to our fiftieth state I find myself wide awake long before dawn. Not only do I find myself up and ready to go while everybody else is still asleep, but I find that I want breakfast when almost everything on the island is still closed—which is why I was wandering up and down the streets of Honolulu at 3:30 in the morning, looking for a place to get something to eat.

Up a side street I found a little place that was still open. I went in, took a seat on one of those stools at the counter, and waited to be served. This was one of those sleazy places that deserves the name “greasy spoon.” I mean, I did not even touch the menu. I was afraid that if I opened the thing something gruesome would crawl out. But it was the only place I could find.

The fat guy behind the counter came over and asked me, What d’ya want?”

I told him, “A cup of coffee and a donut.”

He poured a cup of joe, wiped his grimy hand on his smudged apron, then grabbed a pastry off the shelf behind him. Now, I’m a realist… I know that in the back room of that restaurant, donuts are probably dropped on the floor and kicked around. But when everything is out front where I can see it, I really would have appreciated it if he had used a pair of tongs and placed the donut on some wax paper.

As I sat there munching on my dry sinker and sipping my lukewarm brew about three hours before sunrise, the door of the diner swung open, and to my discomfort, in marched eight or nine provocative and boisterous prostitutes.

It was a small place and they sat on either side of me. Their talk was loud and crude. I felt completely out of place and was just about to make my getaway when I overheard the woman sitting beside me say, “Tomorrow’s my birthday. I’m going to be thirty-nine.”

One of her friends responded in a nasty tone, “So what do you want from me? A birthday party? What do you want? Ya want me to get a cake and sing ‘Happy Birthday’?”

“Come on!” said the woman next to me. “Why do you have to be so mean? I was just telling you, that’s all. Why do you have to put me down? I was just telling you it’s my birthday. I don’t want anything from you. I mean, why should you give me a birthday party? I’ve never had a birthday party in my whole life. I should I have one now?”

When I heard that, I made a decision. I sat and waited until the women left. Then I called the fat guy behind the counter and I asked him, “Do they come in here every night?”

“Yeah,” he answered.

“The one who was right next to me, does she come here every night?”

“Yeah,” he said. “That’s Agnes. Yeah, she comes in here every night. Why d’ya wanna know?”

“Because I heard her say that tomorrow is her birthday,” I told him. “What do you think about us throwing a birthday party for her—right here—tomorrow night?”

A smile slowly crossed his chubby face and he answered with measured delight. “That’s great….I like it….that’s a great idea!” Calling to his wife, who did the cooking in the back room, he shouted, “Hey, come out here! This guy’s got a great idea. Tomorrow is Agnes’s birthday. This guy wants to go in with him and throw a birthday party for her—right here—tomorrow night!”

His wife comes out of the kitchen all bright and smiley. She said, “That’s wonderful! You know Agnes is one of those people who is really nice and kind, and nobody ever does anything nice and kind for her.”

“Look,” I told them, “if it’s OK with you, I’ll get back here tomorrow morning about 2:30 and decorate the place. I’ll even get a birthday cake!”

“No way,” said Harry (that was his name). “The birthday cake’s my thing. I’ll make the cake.”

At 2:30 the next morning I was back at the diner. I had picked up some crepe paper and other decorations at a store, got some balloons, and had made a sign out of big pieces of cardboard that read “Happy Birthday Agnes!” I decorated that diner from one end to the other. I had that joint looking good.

The woman who did the cooking, Jan, must have gotten the word out on the street, because by 3:15 every prostitute in Honolulu was in the place. It was wall-to-wall call girls…and me!

At 3:30 on the dot, the door of the diner swung open and in came Agnes and her friend. I had everyone ready (after all, I was kind of MC of the affair) and when they came in we all screamed “Happy Birthday!!”

Never have I seen a person so flabbergasted…so stunned…so shaken. Her mouth fell open. Her legs seemed to buckle a bit. Her friend grabbed her arm to steady her. As she was led to one of the stools along the counter we sang “Happy Birthday” to her. When we came to the end of our singing, “happy birthday, dear Agnes, happy birthday to you,” her eyes moistened. Then, when the birthday cake with all the candles on it was carried out, she lost it and just openly cried.

Harry gruffly mumbled, “Blow out the candles, Agnes! Come one! Blow out the candles!” She just kept staring at the cake. “If you don’t blow out the candles, I’m gonna have to blow them out.” And, after another long delay, he finally grew impatient and did blow them out. Then he handed her the knife and told her, “Cut the cake, Agnes. Yo, Agnes….we all want some cake.”

Agnes stared down at the cake. There was another pregnant pause. Then, without taking her eyes off it, she slowly and softly said, “Look, Harry, is it alright with you if I…I mean is it OK if I kind of…what I want to ask you is…is it OK if I keep the cake a little while? I mean is it alright if we don’t eat it right away?”

Harry shrugged and answered, “Sure…it’s OK. If ya want to keep the cake, then keep the cake. Take it home if ya want to.”

“Can I?” she responded. Then looking at me she said, “I live just down the street a couple of doors. I want to take the cake home and show it to my mother, okay? I’ll be right back…honest!”

She got off the stool, picked up the cake, and carrying it like it was the Holy Grail, walked slowly out the door. As we all stood there motionless, she left.

When the door closed there was a stunned silence in the packed diner. Not knowing what else to do, I broke the awkward quiet by saying “What do you say we pray for Agnes?”

Looking back on it now it seems more than strange for a sociologist to be leading a prayer meeting with a bunch of prostitutes in a greasy spoon in Honolulu at 3:30 in the morning. But it just felt like the right thing to do. I prayed for Agnes. I prayed for her salvation. I prayed that her life would be changed and that God would be good to her.

When I finished, Harry leaned over the counter and said “Hey…you never told me you were a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to?”

In one of those moments when just the right words came, I answered, “I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for whores at 3:30 in the morning.”

Harry waited a moment, then he answered, “No you don’t…there’s no church like that. If there was, I’d join it. I would sure as Hell join a church like that!”

Wouldn’t we all? Wouldn’t we all love to join a church that throws birthday parties for whores at 3:30 in the morning? Well, that’s the kind of church Jesus came to create. I don’t know where we got the other one that’s so prim and proper. But anybody who reads the New Testament will discover a Jesus who loved to party with whores and with all kinds of left-out people…the publicans and the “sinners” loved Him because he partied with them. The lepers of society found in Him someone who would eat and drink with them. And while the solemnly pious could not relate to what He was about, those lonely people who usually didn’t get invited to parties took to Him with excitement.

Our Jesus was and is the Lord of the party. That’s what we as His followers should make blatantly clear. We should highlight an often-forgotten dimension of what Christianity is all about: The Kingdom of God is a party!

My next installment will tell the rest of the story—about what happened with Agnes.