As most of you likely already know, I wasn’t always a pastor.  Before I felt the call to ministry, I worked in the restaurant industry as a cook and then as a chef.  And while I ended up in that profession somewhat as a matter of happenstance, I did really enjoy it.  It wasn’t the actual work which led me away from commercial kitchens, rather the hours.  Something about always coming home after midnight just wasn’t good for my soul.

            But I will tell you, I still love being in a kitchen.  But working at home to cook meals, while enjoyable, is by no means nearly as fun as working in restaurant kitchen can be.  I remember one night at the Lamp Lighter in particular.

            It was already going to be a busy night.  During the Christmas season, we had lots of diners PLUS a ton of corporate banquets upstairs in the restaurant.  Then, when we arrived to work, we discovered some troubling news.  The reservations staff had booked an extra party of 50 without telling us.  Now, not only were we booked out, we had 50 extra folks coming for dinner.

            Long story short, we made it through but it took everything we had.  No kidding, when that night ended, I probably looked like the chef-equivalent of a soldier coming off the front lines.  But we had so much fun.

            We were like a intricately designed machine, turning and scooping, flipping and frying.  Each person did their job flawlessly.  When you got a clear order board, you just knew that someone else was getting slammed, so you tried to help them until your orders started rolling in. 

            It was a fun night.  Triumphant, really.  When we left on that cold December night, we were tired but content.  We had met the challenge and triumphed.

            There were other nights, to be sure, that were quite different.  Nights when matters didn’t progress so smoothly.  Some nights, even though staffing levels are right and you’ve got everything you need, turn out to be a real chore.  Arguments and mistakes characterize the service.  When you’re done, you’re so grateful that the bad times have passed.

            I mention my experience in the culinary industry because now, I’m in a different line of work.  And you know what?  Even though the two businesses couldn’t be more different, there are a lot of similarities.  Sometimes, it seems easy to get through the work presented.  On other occasions, it’s a real grind. 

            Take, for example, one of my first encounters in ordained ministry.  One of the congregants called me up and told me they needed to make an appointment.  The tone of their voice indicated two things.  The matter was pressing and they were annoyed by whatever it was.  We set up a time and I waited…anxiously.

            When the congregant came it, we exchanged some cool pleasantries and then the reason for their appointment revealed itself.  Being new, I assumed that her consternation must be coming over some theological matter within the church or perhaps some Biblical question needed my assistance.  Imagine my surprise when these were the words which came out of her mouth, “If you remove that couch from the Youth Room, my husband and I are leaving the church.” 

            Needless to say, this was not quite what I was expecting. 

            Now, not being quite the astute and experienced pastor that I am now, I have to tell you, I took the meeting in the wrong direction.  I laughed.  A couch?  What could possibly be so special about a couch that this person was willing to leave a church where they’d been baptized over 60 years ago.