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Occasionally, the poker guys and I set the yuks aside to deliberate on some pretty deep theological, societal and political conversations.
Once you get beyond our silly sides, the group is an extremely wise, experienced and intelligent group of men. Even despite my low averages in all said categories pulling the aggregate score down.
For instance, the other night, we broached the airy topic of evil in the world. You know, some light conversation before bedtime.
This all began when I mentioned to the guys that I was still heartbroken over the loss of a dear friend in a senseless automobile accident in recent weeks. The details are too lengthy to mention, but let's just say that there is a 19-year-old that made some poor decisions, and my friend paid with his life. Tragic in all the ways you can imagine.
One of the poker guys, the one I've actually known the longest and who can write circles around me, shared that he's convinced that there are simply bad people in this world. Categorically, just people who for whatever reason care not for others or their precious lives.
Being a bit of a provocateur, my friend, I mistakenly thought he was baiting me. As you can imagine, the pastoral background can be a bit of a target among guys who give each other a good friendly professional ribbing now and then.
But, no, he was serious. He's convinced that there inherently is evil in the world, and that as such, there are just some folks who are unreachable, who couldn't give a lick about humanity as a whole.
The stance really did make me pause, and later to spend some time in reflection.
I am under no illusion that evil doesn't exist. After all, there are scriptures that describe how evil came into this world. But I found his strongly held convictions interesting, as he and I belong to a similar Christian tribe, and I've never believed anything of the sort in my heart, brain or soul.
In fact, the first chapter of Genesis also tells us that in God's process of making Creation, that God calls it "good" and even eventually "very good."
We humans are a part of that creation, which I believe to mean then, that in essence, each of us is "very good."
I don't believe this to mean that factors such as environment, trauma, injuries or others can't change a person's personality, behaviors and beliefs. And that these factors can contribute to actions that are harmful to others.
But I firmly believe that in our fibers, each of us was created in God's image and as such, we are "very good." Interesting topic, anyway one thinks about it.
I suppose that my friend and I will pick up debating this again next month. But he should remember that any discussion you have with a pastor friend who writes a weekly faith column may just in fact become fodder on deadline. Amen.
Devlyn Brooks is the CEO of Churches United in Moorhead, Minn., and an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America serving Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. He blogs about faith at findingfaithin.com, and can be reached at devlynbrooks@gmail.com.