With poetry by Jerome Washington

 

He said, “Be patient my son for the Journey will be more clear.”

I was like, can you be more clearer?

 

Outreach is not a destination, but a journey. It doesn’t happen in a day, it happens daily. It’s easy to overestimate the event of transformation and underestimate the process of planting seeds of change, and I have to admit, I would rather see people receive Christ in ways that are more dramatic. It thrills me to see people walk to the alter. It’s crazy, but those moments make more sense to me and make me feel like the mystery of ministry is more manageable and controlled by my efforts.

But in truth, the move of God’s Spirit is unmanageable. Our work is less like a manmade pond where mosquitoes fester and more like an influent stream that taps into the fresh river waters of God’s plan. When we develop discipleship relationships and friendships on the fringe, we must embrace the journey and not the destination.

I learned this lesson through my relationship with Jerome Washington, a prolific poet at a popular lounge in Houston. When listening to Jerome, I understood why the Apostle Paul quoted local poets in his sermon on Mars Hill. Through poetry, I was able to hear the cries and queries of the people in a new way. Jerome’s words asked real questions that are often silenced by the vacuum of church walls. Jerome’s poems felt like sermons that had fingers on the pulse of the people. A sea of head nods and a symphony of finger snaps were the choreography and soundtrack that affirmed his intuitive wisdom.

While he was an amazing poet, I felt like something was missing from Jerome’s life. He was an almost-but-not-quite postmodern prophet.  He had a good career as a poet but was falling short of a greater mission as a God’s prophet.

 

The blue lines resembled a cross, I was afraid of the cross
’Cause positive equals accountably and responsibility

 

One day I asked Jerome to join me for catfish and conversation. During our lunch I asked him about his life and he openly shared it with me. As I listened, his story reminded me of the prophet Jeremiah. I told him that like Jeremiah, he was consecrated before being formed in the womb, to speak his words to the nations. Trying to stop the tears in my eyes, I saw a vision of Jerome’s unique ability to infuse uncommon and absolute poetic truth in a nation of common spiritual relativity. I gripped my napkin, through tears, and told him his journey as a poet and prophet was stuck in the womb of his potential.

I invited him into a discipleship relationship and a journey to be birthed into God’s purpose. I knew this was to be his dramatic soul saving event. He was going to cry with me as I led him in the Sinner’s Prayer …

Jerome took another bite, furrowed his brow, and with a blank stare, said, “Hmm.”

 

It was the 11th day when I found out I will soon be a father

Not only a father, but a follower, walking into the unknown blind

Like three mice; me, myself and I

 

Months of silence passed, then Jerome called out the blue to tell me he and his girlfriend were having a baby. He wanted to begin a journey with God, and didn’t know where to start. But he was so sincere, he had already named their unborn child Journey.

Our discipleship relationship began that night on the phone. His commitment would soon be tested though, and after a series of hard times, Jerome grew distant, ignoring my calls.

 

I held my daughter Journey close and held my faith closer

We both where born that day, to fulfill God’s purpose

 

A year to the date from Jerome’s first call, he reappeared. He wanted to tell me something important, that he wanted to receive the life and way of Christ. He asked if I would help him finally come out of the womb, and I couldn’t believe he remembered our conversation about Jeremiah.

You see, our relationship was never about my pond of a destination. For this great prophet, it was always about the influent stream of God’s plan.

______________________

 

CONTRIBUTOR: Marlon Hall Come and learn from this missionary, anthropologist and filmmaker at NOC2010!