2nd Opinion: Advice to ministers– Pass the mate

Pope Francis shares some mate with Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner

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Christianity Today magazine interviewed evangelist Luis Palau concerning his close relationship with Jorge Bergoglio, now known as Pope Francis. Both are from Argentina. Both are seen as men of faith. Both are known for their humility. Both acknowledge each other as friends—a popular international evangelist who has been called the “Billy Graham of Latin America” and a Jesuit priest chosen to be the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church.

randy marshall200U.S. Air Force Reserve lieutenant colonel Chaplain Randy MarshallIn the interview, Palau describes a conversation between the two: “One day, I said to him, ‘You seem to love the Bible a lot,’ and he said, ‘You know, my financial manager (for the archdiocese of Buenos Aires) … is an evangelical Christian.’ I said, ‘Why would that be?’ And he said, ‘Well, I can trust him, and we spend hours reading the Bible and praying and drinking mate.’ People do that with their friends, share and pass the mate. And every day when he was in town, which was often, after lunch he and his financial manager would sit together, read the Bible, pray and drink mate. To me, he was making a point by telling me that trust and friendship” make a difference. 

Mate (mah-TAY) is a hot beverage known as the national drink of Argentina. Mate is like an herbal tea, and everywhere, at all times of the day, friends slow down and share mate. Drinking mate is as much a social experience as it is a way to quench a thirst. The drink is shared from common gourd-shaped cup and passed around with everyone drinking from the same cup utilizing a bombilla, a metal or bamboo straw. Culturally, drinking the mate is more than just sharing a hot drink; it is connecting with your friends.

Coffee works, too

I never have tasted mate. However, as a pastor and military chaplain, I have sipped and gulped many cups of a popular American social drink—coffee. For me, drinking coffee, whether at the local Dairy Queen, church fellowship hall, hospital waiting room, military chapel, deployed location or countless other gathering places, always has been a social experience.

Although I drink coffee out of my own cup, as opposed to a shared cup of mate, the connection to friends is the same. The simple act of drinking coffee with friends has provided an opportunity to sit, talk, listen and engage with one another. In my experience, topics of discussion have included everyday subjects—weather, sports, politics, etc.—as well as intensely personal and spiritual discussions—family struggles, difficult decisions, ongoing troubles and the daily stressors of life.

Conversation as ministry

Early in my ministry, I regarded coffee conversations as something to do while preparing for actual ministry. I soon realized, however, God was showing up in the midst of these conversations. He was using this time, even through some of the mundane ramblings and meaningless trivia, for his glory. Just as coffee must brew and percolate before it is enjoyed, meaningful conversations require the same process. Friendships were established, trust was won, hearts were opened and Spirit-led conversations flowed.

I discovered this social experience was not preparation for ministry. It served and continues to serve as a staging area for true, authentic ministry.


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So, share the mate or pass the coffee—or your hot tea. Make it a priority. Close your books and get out from behind your desk. Turn off your laptop and shut off your tablet. Go down the hall or across town and join the mix of people God has called you to serve. Make new friends. Strengthen old relationships. Intentionally seek to talk with people outside your social, political and, yes, theological circles. See the Spirit of God work through a framework of friendship and trust.

In continuing to speak of his friendship with Pope Francis, Palau notes: “It doesn’t mean (evangelicals and Catholics) will agree on every angle; that should be said. He is the Roman Catholic pope, and there are issues that need to be talked about, prayed about and looked at the Bible about. … Those differences in doctrine are there, but when there’s a proper attitude toward one another and to the word of God, and you take it seriously, light comes from the Lord.”

Time to slow down

In a world that seems to be increasingly divided, friends from all across the spectrum should slow down and share the mate or pass the coffee. As you sip and share, also laugh, learn and grow while building friendship and trust in your corner of the world.

Friends, even casual friends, can experience the intense value of sharing life together. These times can be life-enriching and world-changing as fluorescent-lit conversations become engulfed and illuminated by the light of the Lord.

So, share the mate or pass the coffee. Who knows what the Lord has brewing.

 

Randy Marshall is a Texas Baptist-endorsed chaplain, U.S. Air Force Reserve lieutenant colonel, serving at the United States Southern Command, based in Doral, Fla., and longtime Texas pastor.

 


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