Outside The Lines

Coloring outside the lines is forbidden on that first time the new box of crayons is opened and the coloring pages are handed out in school. The picture is of a duck wearing a raincoat and carrying an umbrella as if a first grade child is not smart enough to know that'll never happen. The teacher walks around and watches. The minute you color outside the lines, that's the minute she pounces. She scolds you for your carelessness and though it would probably not happen in today's classroom, there was a time, I know 'cause I was there, when she would hold up your paper in front of the class as an example of how NOT to color a duck in a raincoat with an umbrella. Such is the life of one who "Colors outside the lines".

When I was just a small child I wanted nothing more than to be a cowboy, much to the puzzlement of my parents. In their defense, they were good parents, but they were well-educated, and to many, more sophisticated than you would think a couple would be to end up with a cowboy for a son. Jokes about switching babies at the hospital have been often used, sometimes by myself, but for them and their frustration, as well as mine, such is the life of one who colors outside the lines. All through high school and college, though I had friends and a bit of popularity, the old-timey guy who wore boots and a big hat and played the guitar and wrote his own songs, some of them not so good I will admit, was definitely "outside the lines". I'd rather have tried my hand at riding a bucking horse or stand in front of a thousand people and sing than to face the terrifying prospect of sitting in that desk at school and taking an algebra test. You can only imagine how out of place I was on church staff among other youth ministers and pastors, so it was no surprise when my wife Donna and I stepped out in faith to begin a ministry to ranching and rural communities almost thirty-five years ago, that people thought we were crazy and that we were coloring outside the lines. After over three decades God has done amazing things that can only be explained if you believe in Him, His son Jesus, His grace, and mercy. Today, I'm still coloring in the same way as always. Never held within the confines of the conventional. My music, though we sell a lot of CDs, is not fully accepted in any particular genre and though I've been blessed with accolades and awards from time to time, I sometimes still feel like that old guy riding up, getting off his horse, and looking with surprise and dismay at his first strand of barbed wire, closing in like the wall of a dark dungeon on a innocent man wrongfully imprisoned. The traditional church with its beautiful hymns, stained glass, and steeples seems foreign to me now though I grew up there. For all that is good about it, I am afraid they are not sure if I really belong in their world. The emergent church, though exciting and vibrant at times, still feels like a whole new world I'm watching through a wall of glass but can't quit get in there either.

I know, you're thinking, "How depressing." But before you get too melancholy on my behalf, understand that I say none of these things out of anger, bitterness, or hurt. Nor are my feelings in any way cynical. Understand that I have found my place in this world. It is a place that is somewhat unknown to the masses. It is like a secret world if you go by what you hear on the news and from the depressing internet posts of people searching for their place in the world of those careful little artists whose pictures were held up to show the class for just the opposite reasons as were mine. In this world are those I love the most. My family, immediate and extended that have come to accept my somewhat careless looking coloring style are with me there, at least from time to time. In this place I am content to stand on a small stage or in the outdoors, be it an arena or branding wagon, in front of a small audience and share story and song or preach from God's word. I am there with my dear wife, our children and precious grandchildren and we encourage self-styled coloring. This place in the world has been hidden from view by the cookie-cutter world we live in that would force us into single file. It has been found by some but few. Those who reside here are my people. No better than others but different. Some of them serve The Lord, but some don't, though we are constantly trying to be used of Him to help change that. Some spend their days, weeks, months, and years horseback and raising their children to do the same. Some stand on stages both big and small in front of similar sized crowds and tell their stories in song. Some choose to teach their kids at home and out in the vast beautiful world God has created. All of them have one thing in common. That one thing they have in common with me. We have realized that though you may be singled out, laughed at, or even thought to be crazy, you will often be misunderstood. But we who live in this place in the world have realized one very important thing. There is nothing wrong with coloring outside the lines. In fact, that's where we feel most at home.