The Knowledge: Why Christians Should Be Like Taxi Cab Drivers

On my way back from the opera (a wonderful Aida with all of Verdi’s best tunes) on a very, very slow train which caused me to miss all the night buses available. (Gotta love public transport which doesn’t work for the public). I had to get a taxi* back to be safe. Bah! My need caused my taxi driver delight as he had been waiting since 7pm without a fare… His kindness and delight in a fare (finally) and pleasant chattiness made me think about the comparisons between taxi drivers and Christianity.

Wait and see where I’m going with this… I’m not on a hot takes brand promotion like Matthew Pierce!! (Nor can I achieve what his brand does with AI).

Nor am I, given the current horror coming to light in the Church about hidden abuse and abusers, seeking to make light of or trivalise mis-use of power or the pain of others.

Safe People, Safe Places

Christians and the churches they form a part of, like licensed taxi cab drivers (and black/yellow Hackney Cabs with their ‘knowledge’) should be safe people and safe spaces. I appreciate that with taxi cabs this doesn’t always happen (and the same for churches and people calling themselves Christians). However, this is what should be (and what we who claim to follow Jesus should work towards)

Chatty Not Creepy

A good taxi driver can talk to and with anyone about anything, they’re interested in the person being given a lift. Christians should be like this too (and for free, not because we’re being paid or our brand promoted!) Rather than being a club with heaps of rules and regulations or people like us nimbies or nice to see you to see you nice, Christians should be people who can chat to anyone. We should aim to make them feel welcome, comfortable and be able to chat naturally about Jesus, why we believe what you believe and what being a Christian really means — on the street, in the hallway, waiting for the lift, in the park, at a match, cliche (in the pub, coffee shop or cinema). The chat should just flow out of us, although it will look different for each one of us, ‘cos Jesus doesn’t call us to be a clone army.

Some of us may want to be the taxi driver who just drives or turns the music up or drives from a to b in stony silence, or who is desperate to talk about who they had in the back of their cab (and won’t let the passenger speak during the journey or flee the cab when their stop is reached). Whilst being appropriately alongside, listening and giving space is great, let’s not be creepy or offensive for the sake of offending as many as possible to prove our own rightness.

The Fare and the Wait

A Christian and a taxi driver see the opportunities, those divine appointments or God things, the fare, the passenger! My poor driver had to wait for my fare from 7pm until nearly 1am! Sometimes/often we can look around, wonder where God is and what he’s doing. Is he asleep? Indifferent? Cold? Busy elsewhere with some secret alien planet? But the opportunities, the conversations that God gives you, the person or people are worth waiting for.

Sometimes It’s Tough Work

Being a taxi driver and a Christian can be tough, hard work. In certain places, the state** legislates against your very existence or worship practices. Or the state embraces you and turns you into a political tool neutering speaking truth to power, cos you’ve got the power! (and the power of the state has got you). Or you’re a media cliche, a joke to be wheeled out in every comedy skit. Or you have to preach at a presidential inauguration! Or you’re in a place where there are few resources, lots of suffering and small, life-long gains. My taxi driver told me horror stories of how stones used to be thrown at taxis waiting outside homes for customers in certain areas, although this doesn’t happen now. Other taxi drivers experience people not willing to pay, vomiting and worse, bad behaviour and insults.

Ode to Joy and Joy Bringers

Seeing a taxi , unlike a delayed train or a late-running, overcrowded or cancelled bus, brings joy. Maybe not the fare or when you get stuck in traffic; but in theory…Christians too should bring joy not groans into the vicinity. Not everyone will want us around or like us, ‘get us’ or even listen to us, but we should bring good things to those around us, the ultimate vibes — because we are the children of a good, good Father as the song goes. Not because we’re amazing or super spiritual, but because we model and identify with the ultimate source of goodness.

Beautiful Feet, Mouths and Minds of Those Preaching The Gospel of Peace

And like the fare tariff monitor and lists, honestly, we should bring goodness with truth into the room. Not to be harsh or cruel, or even confrontational for the sake of shocking jocks, but we have to be honest, truthful, honourable and trustworthy (as much as any human can be). So no fake ‘happy happy joy joy’ but real emotions and real feelings, and sometimes sitting with the grieving and hurting in silence and just being. Because there are no words.

Tagging

Transparency — the most trustworthy cabs are licensed. They clearly display their credentials. they’re marked up with a livery or company name, you know who they belong to and what they’re about, you can see how much you’re going to pay. Whilst things can still go wrong, you know who they belong to and who to complain to if it does. Equally, Christians and churches need to be transparent about who we belong to, what we stand for and what and why we believe what we believe, and why we do what we do. We also need utterly transparent and independent safeguarding systems in place for the if and when things do go wrong.

You can, to an extent, rely on a taxi — it does (in theory) get you from a to b, where you want to go to. It’s not like a train or a bus scheduled by others and whose fate is ultimately determined by age of trains and carriages, structures and leaves on the line, or some kind of transport disaster — traffic, break downs, staff sickness, passenger illness, capacity, road works. Christians should be reliable and consistent, even if it sounds boring or old news. We really should aim to be people whose yes’s are yes and no’s are no, people of conscience.

‘Taxi!’

Just like someone spotting a taxi cab outside a railway station, you should equally be able to spot a Christian and perhaps hail one, for a chat or to find out more about what Christianity is all about. (No fare or ride jokes here please).

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*The ‘cabs under discussion here are taxi-cabs, hackney carriages* Don’t @ me about the ins and outs of mini-cabs or private-hire vehicles*.

** For state, also read local/regional power structures too**