A few days ago I sat in a barber chair waiting in line to get my hair (what little of it I still have) cut. The hairstylist was running solo so there were a few of us waiting in line. Normally I wouldn’t have waited as long as I did, but the conversation brewing between the hairstylist and the kid in front of me was so intriguing I had a hard time leaving.

The hairstylist was a nice lady; loud and loquacious but nice nonetheless. Her overly tattooed body gave an impression that the life she had lived so far had been rather difficult. I would soon find out that this was true.

At first the conversation was a bit awkward. The hairstylist was flirting innocently with the young man in her barber chair; awkward but innocent. She assumed he was in college. He wasn’t. And when she found out he was a still senior in high school, the flirting immediately ceased. That was a good thing.

She scrambled and started firing off random questions – anything to move the conversation from awkward to safe. She asked about school. She asked about future plans, careers. Safe. She asked if he was dating anyone. He was. She asked how long he had been going out with his girlfriend. He said he had been in a relationship with the same person for 14 months. But it wasn’t with a girl. It was with a boy.

Back to awkward.

For a moment, I felt sorry for the hairstylist. She was trying her hardest to make good conversation but it seemed that every direction she turned she found herself digging a larger hole. But my moment of pity blew swiftly away when I noticed she was not discomfited. She was no stranger to this conversation. She trooped forward, not missing a beat.

It was then that the conversation moved from awkward to intriguing. She began to explain that she was an “ex-Christian” whose best friend was both a lesbian and a Christian. But not just a “Christian” – she was fully sold out, fully absorbed in God’s Spirit, and fully immersed in God’s word. She began quite an explicit exhortation – quoting the Apostle Paul’s now infamous “burned in their lust one toward another” words, and then posing the question (though more of a statement), “How can those who believe in the Bible, so indisputably, consider themselves a gay Christian? Doesn’t it go against everything that the Bible says?”

I was hanging on the moment. This was eavesdropping at its finest. And I was waiting, with bated breath, to hear what she would say next.

For a brief period of time, the hairstylist seemed that she was on to something. She had posed a biblically reasonable question that begged a response. But it seemed as though she didn’t want an answer. She wanted confirmation.

The boy just sat there. No response. It was evident that 1) Christ was not an important figure in his life, 2) he didn’t know how to respond or 3) he just didn’t want to respond. Even if she was looking for an answer, I’m not quite convinced she would’ve received it from a 17-year-old boy who was more concerned about the presentation of his hair than his eternal destination.

I found it interesting that my empathy shifted from the barber to the young man. He was hearing the gospel being preached from “the least of these” – it was, in fact, coming from someone who didn’t even want to associate herself with the message of Christ. She was, which she previously stated quite eloquently, an “ex-Christian.” I was empathetic but not sorrowful. I didn’t feel like I had to follow up by telling him how some Christians lack sensitivity when promoting the gospel – mostly because the person promoting the gospel wasn’t even a Christian. And she went to great lengths to let that be known.

Mind-blowing.

I was watching an “ex-Christian” explain her biblical views on homosexuality and Christianity to a young gay man. It was bizarre and interesting and confusing – all at the same time.

Just about the time all of this was going on, she was finishing up on his hair. It went from overly intriguing to done in just a few moments. He thanked her for the conversation, paid, and left.

She glanced over at me. Smiled. And said, “You’re up.” I smiled back and said, “I’m looking forward to our conversation.”

Part 2 of this article will be posted on Monday, June 21, 2010.