Do You Know Who My Father Is?

I was talking with one of our board members not long ago, and she mentioned that I seemed to feel comfortable “marketing” NDFA. She thought it was great that I didn’t hesitate to ask ministry partners for financial support, legislators for votes, public policy leaders to speak at our conferences, etc. I thanked her but had to admit to myself that sometimes it was hard to “get going” on these things. However, she was mostly correct, and much of it now comes naturally. I have my parents to thank for that.

When I was young, I had to work to get money for things I wanted to buy. There was no allowance or way to work at my dad’s place of business to earn money, although, in the interest of full disclosure, he would give me a little money for filing his sermons and notes each year (he subscribed to the pile method of filing). Nevertheless, Mom and Dad wanted me to earn my own money. How did you do that in the 1970s? By selling door-to-door.

Keep in mind that this was before parents recognized the potential dangers of sending their child into the wilds of the neighborhood unaccompanied and without means of electronic tracking. Then again, we also rode without seat belts, settled arguments with fist fights at recess, and drank from the garden hose on hot summer days. What can I say? It was either a time period marked by tougher kids, less informed decision-making on the part of parents, or maybe some combination of those.

So off I went at the ripe age of 9 to sell various items door to door, and I sold the most diverse items you can imagine. At one time or another I sold greeting cards, wrapping paper, light bulbs, air fresheners, 5-gallon buckets, jewelry, corn, and many other critical household items I no longer remember. However, one item was particularly unique: the Psalter Hymnal used by the Christian Reformed Church.

My father, a pastor serving one of the local Christian Reformed churches, thought it would be a good idea for me to peddle hymn books. While this might seem strange, it actually made some sense. We lived in a small town, populated with families of Dutch descent who were members of either Reformed or Christian Reformed denominations, so it was a pretty good bet that their church used the hymnal. Nevertheless, I can understand today why some households didn’t want to own their own precious copy of the hymnal.

Selling door-to-door taught me many things, but two critical things were: how to face rejection, and how to turn rejection into an opportunity whenever possible. If the person at the door declined to buy a hymnal, I would casually ask them, “Do you know who my father is?” I sold an unprecedented number of hymnals that way, snatching a refused sale from the jaws of defeat. It worked great, until my parents heard what I was up to. The hymnal sales ended abruptly, and I was told sternly to move on to selling other items.

That little phrase, “Do you know who my father is?” was like sending in the cavalry at the last minute before defeat. Nobody wanted the news to get around that they didn’t buy a Psalter Hymnal from the preacher’s son. Looking back, I can only imagine all the hymnals in people’s homes covered with a layer of dust as evidence of being blackmailed by a 9-year-old. To all who bought a hymnal, thank you. For those of you who bought one out of guilt, I really thank you.

While talking with my board member, that phrase, “Do you know who my father is?” came to mind. As I reflect on it, I was indirectly telling them that my father was going to hold them accountable in some way for not making the purchase (Poor seats for the service? Higher tithing levels?).

My father passed away a number of years ago, so today the question would mean something very different. It would be asking, “Do you know who my Heavenly Father is?”  That’s the more important version of the question.

As with much of life, public policy gets at the values held by those practicing it. In NDFA’s case, that’s biblical values. Asking who our father is explains who has our back. The one who protects, encourages, and disciplines us. The one who pushes us on to greater things and challenges us. For NDFA, that is our Heavenly Father. He would not want NDFA to purport to represent biblical values, but then twist someone’s arm to donate, speak at a conference, attend events, or anything else we do. We know who our Father is, and trusting His care is what matters.

So what happened to those leftover Psalter Hymnals? I honestly don’t know. They were probably lost in one of our family moves, but I hope that someone out there found a dusty box with a few hymnals in it and decided to page through one of them. I hope it made a difference in his life. But perhaps best of all, it was free, compliments of my Father.