so... what do you do?

I've been meaning to write this post for some time now and am finally getting around to it. Since being in Auckland there's been one question that keeps haunting me, "What do you do?" When people hear our accents it's quite obvious that we're not from around here and one of the first questions they naturally ask is, "Why are you guys here?" or, "What do you do?" This is generally a normal, ordinary, safe question to ask someone. However, when I tell people the truth it's usually a conversation stopper.

"So what do you do?"

"Well, I'm basically a pastor."

"Oh... uh... that's um... interesting."

Now, I actually understand and appreciate people's hesitation when hearing my response. In all honesty I'm usually a bit hesitant myself towards the type of people who eagerly introduce themselves as pastors (which is why I usually don't do it very eagerly). Whether it's a fair stereotype or not the fact is that many people in Western cultures assume that "pastors" are different than normal people. Pastors are stern, pastors are super-spiritual, pastors are hypercritical, pastors tell people what to do, pastors are sappy and unthinking, pastors are judgmental, pastors are do-gooders, pastors are out of touch with reality, pastors are fanatical moral zealots, pastors are just... different. There are tons of different thoughts that people have about pastors that basically lump them into the category of "other" which makes people, particularly non-church people, reluctant to have a normal conversation with them. In all fairness there are a lot of pastors out there who lend credibility to these different stereotypes. Anyway, take these normal hesitations and place them in an extremely post-Christian society that is naturally skeptical (to say the least) towards Evangelicals and the result is that it's been a bit hard to get to know people when their first question to you is, "What do you do?".

I've tried to think of other things to call myself to remove the initial suspicions that people have. Unfortunately, the only other things I've come up with could be seen as misleading or sound even more weird (and cultish) than "pastor." So, part of my mission is simply to live out my faith transparently and authentically before those I meet in hopes that I might be able to break some of the stereotypes and dispel the suspicions that many have about people in my role.

On the flip-side, there have been a few humorous conversations stemming from what Brooke and I have come to call "The Question." There's an Italian cafe owner down the road who asked "The Question" and upon hearing the answer assumed I was a Catholic priest. I assured him I was not. On another day I was talking briefly with a guy who works in the office next to mine and he asked "The Question" but before I could answer he told me that he had "heard a couple different things." When I asked what he heard I did (slightly astonished he'd heard anything) he informed me that someone told him I was a Private Investigator!!! I have no idea wher that came from. Finally, while out for a walk with Brooke and Sophia yesterday we stopped at a local pub to get a coffee before heading home. While there we struck up a conversation with the guy working behind the bar. Inevitably, he asked "The Question" and here's how our conversation went:

"So what do you do?"

"Well, I'm basically a pastor."

"Hunh, really?"

"Yeah, really."

"Oh, well... you look like you're probably one of those cool pastors who smokes weed with the teens."

"Uh... ?"

I assured him I didn't smoke weed with the kids and Brooke chimed in to let him know I stopped smoking weed a long time ago. I'm still trying to figure out if he was complimenting me or not?