Daily Devotional

You can tell a lot about a person by the spaces they inhabit. Let me give you a tour of one of my spaces—my office here at Maple. It’s nestled in the back corner of C Building, down a few doors from JARON Ministries. I joke that Campus keeps its missionaries and youth ministers in the back of the building because those people are WEIRD.

As you enter my office. the first thing you’d probably notice would be my desk. It’s messy, the product of a mind at work. The surface is interspersed with papers, a book or two, a random assortment of Sharpies and whiteboard markers, a framed photo of my lovely wife and me. Remnants of recent projects are scattered about (today, it’s a cassette digitizer: long story). In the middle is my crowning productivity tool: a custom dual-monitor setup. I do a lot of my work digitally, and it’s SO much easier with three screens.

Look above my desk and you’ll see a grayscale canvas print of the world map. For me, it’s a reminder of several things: God’s heart for the nations (Jonah 4:11), our call to be witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8), and that whatever problems arise in this space, God is at work around the world. (I’m also just a fan of world maps, a byproduct of my global travels.)

Opposite my desk is a set of four bookshelves. Call me old-school, but I like books; I’m just old enough to have done most of my schooling with physical books instead of digital ones. Scanning the shelves, you’d see several commentary sets (huge thanks to Pastor Jim!), Bible study tools, works on Christian living or apologetics, and an outsized amount of history books (my major in undergrad). It’s a little more academic than you might expect from a junior high director, but then again, I’m something of an academic myself.

So far, nothing too surprising. Most of these items could be found in the average minister’s office. The usual framed pieces of paper are there, too: a bachelor’s degree from Hillsdale College, a license to the ministry from Campus, a completion certificate from Men in Action. If you looked carefully, you could probably deduce what type of ministry I do as well: a dodgeball here, a tub of paper goods there, a box of VBS supplies in the corner. This is a youth minister’s office for sure.

But take a second look, and you’ll notice a few things that are... unusual. The largest would be the Pack-N-Play crib just off to the side of my door. Lauren and Lottie are regulars in the youth offices, and Lottie sometimes takes her afternoon nap here. But beyond the practical considerations, the Pack-and-Play signifies our desire to be a “ministry family.” Lauren and Lottie don’t just support me “behind the scenes;” we actively try to connect with junior high students as a family. Lottie gets so excited when we tell her we’re going to see “junior highers,” and I’m pretty sure Lauren is more beloved by our students than I am.

Look again, and you’ll see various evidences of my nerdiness as well. An Avengers: Endgame poster in one corner, a replica Captain America shield in the other, Lego figures of Star Wars characters and even a Minnesota Vikings football helmet. In addition to adding personalization and self-expression to my office, these represent common interests that help me connect with my junior high students. As Paul says, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).

Then there are the objects with emotional significance. An engraved sword hangs above one wall, the very sword used in my coming-of-age knighting ceremony. A brass compass rests on a shelf, given to me by my high school mentor to remind me to stay focused on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). There are even a few items gifted me by students: a landscape painting and a pet rock.

The last and most important feature of my office is the open door. With a few exceptions, when I’m in my office, my door is open: I want to be available to my students, my staff, and my fellow church workers. For me, the open door is a symbol that my calling is not so much to run a program as it is to shepherd people. That means being interruptible.

That’s my office: a place to work, to study, to display my interests, to remind myself of what’s important, but most importantly a space where I can tell people about Jesus. What would people be able to tell about you from the spaces you inhabit: your office, your home, or even your car? Orthodox Jews, following Deuteronomy 6:9, often have a box on their doorpost called a mezuzah that contains verses from the Torah; what might that look like for us as Christians? I don’t think you need to HobbyLobby-ify every space with Bible verses and inspirational Christian quotes... but if Christianity were illegal, would your office or your home be enough evidence to convict?

"English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers."