Last summer we replaced our deck that had come down from heavy snows the previous winter. I started thinking about chairs for the deck. Adirondack chairs in particular. I started doing a search on the internet for Adirondack chair plans. I never knew there was such a variety of Adirondack Chairs. I searched through pages and pages of chairs. There were short stubby Adirondack chairs. Others the arms were too narrow. Many had the flat back variety which I did not like at all. I just couldn’t seem to find one I liked. After almost giving up, I found a site with the type of chair I wanted. It was a sloping seat with the rounded high back in a fan shape. Just what I was looking for – now I just have to get the plans and build them.
I wanted Joy to have some nice chairs for the deck instead of fold up chairs. Adirondack chairs caught my attention. This search brought back memories of when I was a kid. My Uncle and Aunt lived next door to us. They were really my Dad’s Aunt and Uncle, but we always called them Uncle Aldus and Aunt Ruth. He was a finish carpenter by profession. She played the piano in church. I remember my Uncle always marching in the memorial Day parade as a Navy Veteran. They lived in an old New England cape. The house was neat and pretty basic. They never had kids of their own so they enjoyed our coming by. The house and garage was connected by a breezeway. On the breezeway sat two gray Adirondack Chairs. The chairs matched the color of the porch flooring on the breezeway. Those chairs were my introduction to Adirondack chairs – in fact the only Adirondack chairs I knew of at the time. On a summer day we would sit out there on those chairs with a cold drink in hand. Many times it was a glass of lemonade, fresh made and always poured from a glass pitcher. Even now, there is something warm about the memory. Isn’t it interesting how an outdoor chair ties you to relationships and emotions. It seems building and having those chairs will tie me to past relationships – good times, and the hopes of future relationships/good times.
All this research on Adirondack chairs turned my mind to making disciples (helping people follow Jesus). Far too often we create a one size fits all plan for helping someone grow and follow Jesus. This type of process loses people. They don’t fit the program. I think disciple making is more like an Adirondack chair. There are all kinds of designs for this one chair. The chair I like is about preference. I like the curved back, sloping seat. Others prefer a flat backed model. Some like the fence look to the seat back and some like the clam shell look, or fanback style. I have even seen Adirondack chairs where the seat and back were made from snow skis! There are all kinds of people, personalities, learning styles, etc. And our discipling of individuals need to allow for these preferences. Discipling is like making an Adirondack chair. You help someone follow Jesus by the style they are comfortable with, not your own preferences. After all, they are the ones sitting in the chair!
So, I’m looking forward to a couple of Adirondack chairs on my deck of a specific style that suits me. And I am looking forward to an Adirondack chair approach to help others become more like Jesus. I want to help others find a style of chair they want to sit in – for life.
Looking forward to those chair,
JT
