Among the many things that I enjoy about hardware stores, one has become a bit of a game to me. I like to call it, “Stump the Hardware Guy.” I know, it’s a bit sexist. Ace Hardware changed their jingle from “helpful hardware man” to “helpful hardware folk.” But “Stump the Hardware Folk” just doesn’t have a good ring to it. Besides, it’s my game, so I get to name it whatever I want. In the spirit of gender-equality, I do try to stump all hardware folk equally.

The game goes like this: go to the hardware store looking for help with something for which a solution has not yet been made. Ask for help. Watch them scratch their heads. Leave empty-handed. If it doesn’t seem fruitful or fun to you…make your own game! I enjoy this one. What I especially like is that often, while we’re walking the aisles, I find something that I can make work to do what I want.

OK, so you want an example. I have been missing a knob on my car stereo for years…like, at least 9 years. I decided it was time to fix it, so I went to the hardware store to buy a knob. Did they have one? No. So the game began. As I walked the aisles, I noticed two things that I might be able to make work. One was a nylon tube that I figured I could cram on to the knob holder thingy and it would be easier to grab and spin than that thin piece of metal. I also found a cork. I figured I could cram that on to the metal piece and spin it. It worked…or a day. Then it stripped out in the middle.

Anyway, I thought I would let you in on the fun…but at my expense rather than the hardware folks’. So, here’s the game: throw me a question that you would like to have answered in a sermon. It could be a passage that you don’t understand or a parable that leaves you scratching your head. Perhaps you’re baffled by a concept (grace, justice, the rapture, etc.) or are looking for advice in an area of your life. Take your best shot!

How can you get your questions to me? Well, go to pastorcal.com and leave a comment, for one. Or send me an email. If you want a low-tech solution, there is a box currently labeled The Power of One on the table as you come in the front door. Drop a question/note/comment in the box and let me help you wrestle with the concept in a sermon this summer.

One caveat: the questions are due on or before May 7. The following Wednesday, the Worship Planning Team will be meeting and they’ll want to know what is coming up in order to plan worship services.

As the old Pat Benatar song went, “Hit me with your best shot!”