By Jim Henderson

[photopress:jim_sign_looking_lost_person.jpg,thumb,alignright]I was recently in Nashville with Off The Map. As many of you know, part of our presentation involves interviewing non Christians (a.k.a. “The” Lost). Our motive is to ascertain how we’re coming across in our attempt to convert them. I had a very edutaining experience I want to tell you about.

That Bible Belt is Tight
Three months before we headed to Nashville I put the word out to several of my contacts in Nashville so we could find 3 lost people to interview. For one reason or another they were not able to find any lost people who were willing to talk with me about their lostness. Hmmm, I knew this was the Bible belt but I’d underestimated just how tightly that belt was cinched.

I asked several young people – van drivers, waitresses, etc if they were Christians- O Yes!! (I sensed they were lying but didn’t have time to break them down). In Seattle a random young person would almost never self identify as a Christian., Here in the Bible belt I suspected that these folks were really identifying as members of the Christian culture rather than as practicing Christians. On I went in my search until I finally asked my daughter who had lived in Nashville if she had any non Christian friends. She led me to the person I would ultimately interview – my one lost person interview.

The One Lost Person Interview
[photopress:idl0506_kathyinnashville_bb_lost_1l.jpg,thumb,alignleft]Kathy is 34 and works as an oncology nurse. She was raised in a Christian home (Presbyterian) and accepted Christ at church camp as a kid. She continued to go to church and follow Christ into early adulthood, never marrying. She now attends a Unity church because she finds it more accepting.

As I began the interview with Kathy most people in the room were wondering why I was talking with her, after all she sounds like a Christian, talks like a Christian and in spite of my assertions that she was lost – she self identified as a Christian (just like almost everyone else in the Bible belt)

Christian or Not?
[photopress:idl0506_kathynashville2_BB_lost_2l_1.jpg,thumb,alignright]Then I asked Kathy to tell me about her issues with church not being accepting. At which point she dropped the bomb. “Well”, “I’m gay”! The room fell silent as everyone rapidly retreated in their heads trying to figure out how they had thought she was a Christian in the first place.

She then went on to describe how hundreds of gay people were attending church in Nashville, never revealing their gay lifestyle. “They have those signs that say, Everybody Welcome” she said – but I don’t know if they really mean it”. She recounted the painful experience of overhearing “on fire” Christians at her work (who don’t know she is gay) talking together about how the primary cause of all of the problems in the United States is homosexuality.

I then asked Kathy to tell us a little more about her work. She said, “I hold peoples hands as they’re dying and I pray for them, I really believe Jesus has called me into this kind of work”. “I feel very close to Jesus.”

Pastors Want to Know?
[photopress:idl0506_kathynashville3_bb_lost_1R.jpg,thumb,alignleft]The Q&A time was even more fun. A mainline pastor wanting to differentiate himself from the more narrow minded evangelicals told Kathy that his church was considering marrying gay people and asked what she thought about that. “I’m really not into all that gay rights political stuff” Kathy responded “I really think that marriage is still between a man and a woman.”

Finally a young man in his twenties wrapped it up by telling the Kathy and the audience this story. “When I came in here I was not really paying attention, I thought this was supposed to be an interview with a lost person but you didn’t sound lost to me. Then when you said you were gay, everything changed. Now I was even more confused. Then I had this thought – If you had stood up and said “I’m a porn addict and a Christian” I would have said – Yea that works for me. But when you said you were gay I couldn’t make the same allowances. I repent, I’m sorry for not giving you the same kind of mercy I would another person. I still don’t know if you are or aren’t a Christian (and I don’t know if I am) but I do have a lot to think about.”