Sacred Digital: Chuckk Gerwig

This weekend I was in Southern California conducting a wedding for my old friend, Melinda. Melinda used to be a high school student from our ancient history at a church I served at in Newbury Park California. This last Saturday was Melinda’s big day at the altar. It is a real privilege to stand on a platform with people you love and say words like "I now pronounce you man and wife”. We had a big time seeing a bevy of old students and reflecting on some of the best days of our lives. It’s fun seeing our “kids” getting bald, comparing pictures of their babies and complaining about the high cost of their California mortgages. It hasn’t been that long since they said things like, “the new Pearl Jam Cd rocks dude”, “I drove over here by myself Chuckk” and “hey turn off the cabin light let’s light our farts on fire”. (A small story is in order: One of the guys at this wedding once accidentally lit his pubic hair on fire performing the “blue flame” at a camp). Ah, youth ministry.

The day of the wedding my best buddy Bob Dillon, (no not that Bob Dylan) THIS Bob Dillon
and I went to the local Harley Davidson shop so we could test ride the new 2007 models. I rode the new flat black Night Rod
and Bob rode a Road Glide. The girl at the shop commented how my pal Bob didn’t look like Bob Dylan. I told her I was Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin she said I looked a little different in person too. When the girl at the shop scheduled our test ride times I mentioned we were in a rush because I was officiating at a wedding later that afternoon and it would be no bueno if I showed up at the church late. The girl at the counter asked “you're doing a wedding?” - Bob said “ yeah he’s the pastor” she replied “uh oh I better watch my “f’s”. I hate it when people feel they can’t just be themselves because I’m a pastor. I love it when people feel they can be real - then they can see Jesus because they’re not so busy trying to behave a certain way. Why is it that religion so often makes people feel they need to hide reality instead of be real?

Well, we had a nice test ride we didn’t crash their shiny new motorcycles and I even made it to the church on time.

By the way here’s my review of the New Harley Davidson Night Rod: I didn’t like the weird seating position on this bike, you sit high up on top of this model - I felt like a big hairy monkey hunched up on topside of a small, low flying airplane. Life is a unique cocktail of strange events served a in funky glass --if you are lucky.