Last night our neighbors came over and introduced themselves. Inevitably the conversation came around to this question, “So what do you do?”

Seriously, I’ve struggled with how to answer this question. I’ve thought about lying and saying, “I’m a contractor.” Or hedging the truth and saying, “I’m a teacher.” On airplanes, in restaurants, etc. I don’t like to answer that question so much BECAUSE so much baggage comes with the word “pastor.”

Often, when people find out that I’m a pastor they:

• try to tell me everything they know about theology
• try to justify all their sins by saying, “… but I’m a good person”
• begin pouring all of their problems on me when all I want to do is play with my kids in the backyard
• write me off as a religious wacko who is bent on proselytizing them

So now that I’m on the ground I’m thinking, what do I tell people when they say, “So what do you do?”

At this point I’m saying, “We’re here to start a new church. A church that will change the way people think about church.” And if they begin to give me any of the responses listed above, I’m going to say, “I’m just kidding. I’m a construction worker.”