Have I told you about my friend Scott?

Having friends, true friends, is kind of a rare thing, I think. I have been blessed over my life to have some really close friendships. You know the kind I am talking about. While you may not be spending much time together, even if there are months of separation, or lack of contact, you can almost pick up the conversation right where you left off.

One of my more recent friends is a guy named Scott Bane. I met him as I was working for Steve Sjogren over the past couple of years. Scott is one of those unique people who just oozes integrity. He is well-educated, hardworking and knows the Bible inside and out. These are excellent qualities in a Christ-follower, but they are especially good in a pastor.

He’s been going through some physical ailments for years and more acutely over the last several weeks. I really didn’t understand how tough the sledding has been until I read his blog post today. Before you think this is a plea for sympathy, it is not. His post was making the point that most of us need someone who will "just listen" to the stuff we are going through.

From his post:

I am more convinced than ever that one of the greatest failures of the church is our unwillingness to listen to people.  We already know how to fix them so why would we care to hear the unique details of their story?  If you have ears to hear it, you’ll notice the way people try to tell you their story long before you’ve even given them reason to believe you’d listen.  They are so lonely, feeling like no one understands the way they feel, that they will start spilling their guts to almost anyone.  This is a vicious cycle because each person they tell that does not truly listen only perpetuates the isolation and the heartache.  They go through life feeling as if no one knows and no one understands so they begin to believe that no one cares.

Do you see what I mean? That is deep stuff. Well, one of the things I have to be thankful for in 2007 is that I have had a good friend named Scott Bane to listen to me.