Talk about a between-the-lines day...
Three days ago I had a bagel with my friend Mike. I asked if he knew of any people who were doing reputable between-the-lines ministry in our area that I should interview for this blog. (Between-the-lines: Christian, maybe just Christian-ish but passionately doing God’s stuff, and not affiliated directly with a particular church group.) He said, “Sure, what are you doing on Friday night?” (Knowing the plan already was to go worship in Dunedin with visiting musician Dennis Jernigan.) Seems his friend Jeff was going to be there, and he was involved in something along those lines.
“Oh, and there’s this guy, Sol Pitchon, you ought to track down sometime; he’s very involved in a number of unwed-pregnancy ministries in the area.”
I jotted down the name, then lost the note. Found Sol on internet, put him on my go-do list. That was Tuesday.
Last night we had a long conversation, supper and prayer time with the near neighbors, something God dropped in our laps in September. We meet with them once a week, about – they can’t make it to conventional Sunday church services due to some really serious health issues. So we have church on our own schedule. Good times.
Anyway, that left me getting to the DJ event quite late, which was ok. My main focus was to meet Mike and his friend, although worship time with DJ is a wonderful thing. A secondary desire was to thank Dennis for thousands of hours of musical companionship, and no I’m not making that up. (I sing when I walk...and I’ve walked an hour a day since 1998. Do the math.) Of course, the DJ handshake might not happen; this guy is world-famous in the Christian music community, and he’s in gigantic churches all the time. Odds were, big crowd, maybe-handshake, conversation unlikely.
I walk in, and there are about 45 people in the room. I count. Wow. Intimate. And just in time for a favorite, “This is My Destiny,” which is an anthem of all the good things God calls you, and calls you into.
After, Mike and I talk in back. Jeff comes up; turns out he’s the guy who made the phone calls to DJ in the first place. Jeff has quite the story, and I hope to share some of that here in the next week or so.
A guy walks up and greets Mike by name, who replies, “I know your face...”
“I’m Sol Pitchon.”
Mike had no idea he was going to be there, in fact, Sol almost wasn’t there, because he’d forgotten and then oops-remembered. Turns out Sol and I have a few things in common: his daughter lives in Huntsville, where we lived until this year. He knows the pastor at our former church up there, Murray Wilton. And he is very much a between-the-lines guy here in the Bay area. We’ll have a go at meeting after the 1st of the year. Stay tuned.
And I got to shake DJ’s hand and thank him for being my walking companion with the Lord for so many years. His transparency about his journey from wounding and sin into God’s grace and ministry is quite the picture, as is his independent (not big Nashville, LA or NY labels) music. For those who think he's just another guy pushing an agenda through your computer/TV screen so you can analyze it at arm's length...I wish you could have had the 5 minutes of face-time with him that I had. His authenticity, compassion and acceptance are impossible to push away.
At the end of the worship time, DJ said, “The question people ask me the most is, did God deliver you all at once, or was it more of a process.” (Long pause and a slow smile.) “I tell them, yes!”
One of DJ's life-changing verses, and one of my themes, is Zephaniah 3:17: "The LORD, your God, is in the midst of you, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing." (WEB translation)
Exactly; "yes." Miracles and process. Mike befriended me, a new guy in town, just 7 months ago. I don’t even remember who introduced us. Probably Dave. Biweekly bagels led to another kiss from God for me last night with four men who are walking the unmarked paths God takes them on. It’s nice to see some others out there. Here’s hoping you see some of your own path, and your own kiss from God, today. Listen, and maybe you can even hear him singing...
