THE SKINNY ON BARABBAS

“But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.” (Matthew 27:20-21)

Barabbas is the title of a 1961 epic film starring Anthony Quinn.  Of course, the basis for that film was the Biblical account of Barabbas, a notorious criminal being chosen to live and Jesus Christ being chosen to die.

In my personal devotional reading I’ve just read through the last few chapters of Matthew during the past week.  While most of the 1961 film is total fiction, there is some fascinating stuff we can see in the Bible account about Barabbas that most people miss, entirely!

The “synoptic gospels” (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) state that Barabbas was an insurrectionist and that he has murdered people in his insurrectionist activities.  It has been speculated that he was a Zealot.  The Zealots were a radical group of Jews from the time of Jesus Christ who wanted to overthrow the Roman government’s rule over Palestine.  He may have been a Zealot, but that isn’t stated anywhere.  Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor thought he had a nice little solution to his “problem” of Jesus Christ.   (The Jewish religious establishment wanted him dead, but he still had many, many committed followers.)  Each year at the Passover holiday, Pilate released a prisoner to them.  This would be an easy way out for Pilate.  He would have Jesus scourged (a horrific experience from which some did die), beaten and humiliated, and ask the crowds if they’d rather have Jesus released or Barabbas released.   It seemed like a no brainer.  As far as Pilate was concerned, there was no way they’d ever want Barabbas released, so they’d pick Jesus and everybody would be happy. Of course, to Pilate’s shock, things did not go that way at all.

There are four words at the end of chapter eighteen of John's Gospel which seem to be totally out of place and/or even incorrect.  The words are: “now Barabbas was a robber.”  It’s almost like a throw away line such as, “Now Barabbas had bad breath,” or “Now Barabbas liked Greek women.” Barabbas was in prison for murder and insurrection.  That was his crime.  If he was also a thief or also liked Greek women, or had a mole on his left cheek, well, so what?!

Not so fast!

Do you know that every detail in the Bible is important?!

Now, we’re going to uncover something I find fascinating...the skinny on Barabbas!  Did you ever hear what his name means. (In the Bible, names almost always have significance.)  The name “Barabbas” is Aramaic.  Aramaic is the language Jesus and his disciples spoke; not Hebrew.  If you take the time to check it out, you’ll find that the Aramaic word “Bar” means “son of”.  And, the Aramaic word for father is “abba”.  “Bar-abbas” literally means, “Son of the Father”.  Now, you’ve got to admit, “Son of the father” is kind of a weird name!

Now, do you know what the name “Jesus” means?  The name Jesus is actually the name Joshua or Yeshua.   (Jesus is the English version of the Greek version of that name; it would actually be more correct to call Jesus “Joshua” or “Yeshua”.)  Jesus means “Salvation”...or quite literally: “Jehovah is salvation.”

I’m not done.

In John chapter eight, Jesus has an amazing conversation and confrontation with the Jewish religious leaders.   To anyone who thinks Jesus was a wimp, read that chapter!  He tells them they are not of God but are of the Devil.  In fact, he says something to them that would make them fighting mad.  He tells them Abraham is NOT their father (or ancestor) but that the Devil is their father.  (See John’s Gospel, chapter 8 verses 39-45.)

I’m still not done.

In John chapter ten, Jesus says he came to give life more abundantly, but that the Devil’s purpose is “...to steal, and to kill, and to destroy...” (from John 10:10).

Barabbas was a robber, so like the Devil, he stole.

Barabbas was a murderer, so like the Devil, he killed.

Barabbas was an insurrectionist, so like the Devil, he destroyed (and was bent on destruction).

Pontius Pilate really had no idea of the choice he really offered the crowds that day. They had a choice between “The Son of the father [the Devil]” and “Salvation- the Son of God” and they chose “The Son of the father [the Devil]”.

Bob Dylan’s great song from his 1979 “Slow Train Coming” album says. “Gotta Serve Somebody”. If you’ve listened to that song, you know Bob admonishes his listeners that, “well, it may be the Devil and it may be the Lord, but you gotta serve somebody”.

There’s no neutral.

Whom do you choose to serve?

That's the skinny on Barabbas!

ONE WEEK LATER-REFLECTIONS/THOUGHTS

"I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:
That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.
Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:
Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks , but also all the churches of the Gentiles.
Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.
Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us." (Romans 16:1-6)

In the final chapter of the Book of Romans, the Apostle Paul thanks a number of people who had been a great help to him through difficult times. That is appropriate for this posting.

A week ago, I was emotionally and mentally stressed to what felt like a breaking point when I posted that "Coming Out of the Closet" piece. It's interesting the reactions you get when you post something like that. Frankly the majority of people I know who read my Facebook page and blog were SILENT. I think a lot of times people are silent because they don't agree with what you did but they don't want to get into a big fight over it. (For others, they just plain don't know what to say or how they're supposed to react.) I did hear from some who were critical of what I wrote. I will say the SURPRISE for me was that I heard from several people by e-mail, by phone, and in person who fully affirmed what I'd written. At least one of them really amazed me, for it was a person I thought would have had a major problem with the piece. I heard some very positive comments and compliments on my "Coming Out of the Closet" piece from some very sensible, and level-headed people including some highly respected evangelical Christians. Honestly, I wondered if that piece would bring ANY positive responses from anyone. So, I am most grateful.

Most people don't understand why anyone would open up in public like that. And, I will admit that as open and vulnerable as I typically tend to be, on THAT piece I went WAY BEYOND anything I have ever done or thought I would do.

I will say, I know of at least one Christian speaker who has gone far beyond what I did in this forum. That's the Christian speaker and comedian Chonda Pierce. Chonda Pierce is a HUGE women's conference speaker and comedian. AND, her videos are extremely popular with Christian women. I would hear Chonda Pierce videos on in the background at various times; to me she sounded like some sort of goofy, very feminine, very hillybilly girly speaker that I could never imagine listening to. A few months ago, I had the opportunity to watch one of her videos. It was NOT so much humorous as it was "very heavy". On THIS video, Chonda spoke freely that in her recent past, she'd ended up in a psychiatric hospital; that she'd been suicidal; that she believed her family including her children would be better off without her; that all the "Christian stuff" people told her...("read you Bible more, pray more, sing and praise more," etc.) did NOT help. This was a very gut level DVD. I was frankly surprised at what she'd shared, and I'M "Mister tell everybody everything about himself". I am not sure even I would go that far! Again, she went way beyond what I did last week. Frankly, I know what Chonda did and what I did are typically NOT well received in the evangelical Christian community. As one perky song says, we're supposed to be "in right, out right, upright, downright happy all the time"! People may ask how Chonda Pierce and Bob Baril who are both talented humorists and who can have audiences in stitches laughing and who can be SO confident talking into a microphone in front of a crowd of people could become so helpless and depressed.

Listen, within a lot of very funny and very public people who love to "ham it up" there's a VERY FINE LINE between comedy and seeming confidence and extreme depression and self doubt. Last week, someone wrote to me, "Don't you know who you are in Christ?!" As Chonda would tell you, those kind of communications DON'T help. They make you feel a whole lot worse. When you're in a Chonda Pierce or a Bob Baril totally stressed out situation, you don't need any Job's comforters. You just need real friends who say, "I may not understand but I care and I'm here".

I want to especially thank R.S., E.R., D.R., G.S., M.S., G.K., P.B., E.S, M.A., and a few others who greatly encouraged me over the past week. I mean this: I will never forget you for your very kind and supportive words at a very difficult personal time.
Chonda Pierce came through her horrific personal ordeal. She will probably always be on medication, but she is back cheering up people and discipling them. By the grace of God, that's also my goal for today and tomorrow, as well!

READER'S DIGEST CONDENSED VERSION...

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

(With apologies to Reader’s Digest magazine, this is my “Reader’s Digest condensed version” of the post I have entitled, “Bob Baril Coming Out of the Closet.”)

I was off all day yesterday, which was unusual. I DO have almost every Thursday off from VIP Answering Service, but on such off days, usually I work a few hours at BJs doing promotional work. BJs had nothing for me on Wednesday, and I decided to just make Thursday a day off. I took a long walk...what I call a “prayer walk” in the morning, On this walk as I prayed and thought, I decided to put out a frank e-mail in the spirit of networking stating my employment and financial needs, and soliciting help of from anyone who knows of any desirable employment. I took a few classes at the Employment and Training Center in Marlboro over the Fall. Most of the classes were really not “job training; well, one was; MOST of them were motivational classes about learning to sell yourself to employers, how to ace an interview, how to get an interview, etc. One of the most valuable classes I took was about “networking”. The teacher explained that most jobs do not come through Craigslist, nor through online postings, nor even employment agencies. Over 50% of all jobs that people get, they get through networking. That is, someone knows someone who knows someone who opens a door for you to have an interview and the next thing you know, you have a job.

My friend Jim Spence years ago told me he loved having me on the Board of his nonprofit organization because I “network well”. I do. I had decided to put out a networking blog piece and e-mail stating my needs and asking if anyone knew of any employment positions available that would be suitable for me, AND asking that each person pass this along to friends and family.

Sadly, the church I pastored declined. I did everything I could in my own strength to make it work and keep it opened. I failed. In early 2010, the District closed the church. They graciously allowed us to live in the parsonage for one more year. I got a job at VIP Answering Service through “networking”. I liked the idea that on this job I was sitting, talking, and helping people. It’s just that you really are never going to get rich doing this job. It’s a great supplement, but I DO need to find something with more hours and more pay.

We moved into Webster in March of 2011. Didn’t I know that this day was coming...that I would have to move out or have a much better job? Yeah, I did. I’m also still depressed and constantly exhausted. I feel really good that I shave and shower each day, go to work at the answering service and sometimes work at BJs. I feel like that’s been the best I could do. Maybe I am wrong about that.

I have applied for some chaplain positions with the State. As a matter of fact, today I got a letter from a friend about a chaplain position that is available, and I’m dropping an application in the mail today. I have also applied for some other jobs. I DO belong to some of those “job search” things on-line. Daily I get e-mails about applying to be a manager at CVS or a salesperson at a beauty supply place, stuff like that. These just don’t interest me and they don’t usually pay well.

In 2-3 months we have to begin paying for our apartment. If we cannot, we have to figure out where we will live, and likely what we will do with our furniture.
If you know of any possible positions I might qualify for, please let me know.
If you have any ideas at all, please let me know. Thank you.

BOB BARIL COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

I have to say “right off the bat” that I am not a homosexual, nor do I have homosexual tendencies. I know that a title like “Coming Out of the Closet” will bring that to mind for many people. But I can imagine how difficult it must be for gay people To “come out of the closet”. They risk total rejection and revulsion. They risk the loss of family, friends, maybe even employment. They risk being tarred with a stereotypical brush, and worst of all, being told that God wants nothing to do with them. (Homosexuality is a complicated subject, and a topic for ANOTHER day.) I relate because I am about to share matters in this piece which CAN potentially bring me the rejection of some people. It CAN mean the loss of some family, some friends, and maybe ruin me professionally. So, I do not post this lightly. I originally considered writing this post in two or three installments, as it will be very long. But, for context and continuity, I’m going to do it as one. (I AM going to post a very short “Readers Digest Condensed Version” of this shortly after I post the long one, just because some people will never want to read the long one.)

I was off all day yesterday, which was unusual. I DO have almost every Thursday off from VIP Answering Service, but on such off days, usually I work a few hours at BJs doing promotional work. BJs had nothing for me on Wednesday, and I decided to just make Thursday a day off. I took a long walk...what I call a “prayer walk” in the morning, On this walk as I prayed and thought, I decided to put out a frank e-mail in the spirit of networking stating my employment and financial needs, and soliciting help of from anyone who knows of any desirable employment. I took a few classes at the Employment and Training Center in Marlboro over the Fall. Most of the classes were really not job training; well, one was; MOST of them were motivational classes about learning to sell yourself to employers, how to ace an interview, how to get an interview, etc. One of the most valuable classes I took was about “networking”. The teacher explained that most jobs do not come through Craigslist, nor through online postings, nor even employment agencies. Over 50% of all jobs that people get, they get through networking. That is, someone knows someone who knows someone who opens a door for you to have an interview and the next thing you know, you have a job.

My friend Jim Spence years ago told me he loved having me on the Board of his nonprofit organization because I “network well”. I do. I had decided to put out a networking blog piece and e-mail stating my needs and asking if anyone knew of any employment positions available that would be suitable for me, AND asking that each person pass this along to friends and family. I had planned to clean our apartment for the afternoon. It was not going to be a “perfect” cleaning, but would be the best cleaning some rooms have gotten in three months. Mary Ann and I are both very busy and usually just too tired to clean the apartment. Something like cleaning an apartment is the best thing in the world for me...it’s physical exercise, it’s mindless, and in the end it gives a great feeling of accomplishment.

Mary Ann very much does not want to be mentioned on this blog or in my e-mails. It’s something she feels very strongly about that is nonnegotiable. I hate to do this, but there is no way I can tell my story without putting A LOT out on the table. This may well hurt and disappoint, her. She may well view this as a broken promise and as totally disrespectful to her. As much as that scares me, I feel compelled to to it. To my surprise, Mary Ann came home early yesterday. I will admit, I was disappointed. I wanted to have that time to myself cleaning. She then stated that we have to talk. She asked me some questions that are very difficult for me. I did not know how to answer. I kept saying “I don’t know”. She did not like my responses.

Mary Ann was not being a jerk. She is very concerned about our financial and living situation. Many people do know know the rental of the apartment in Webster has been provided as a benefit for us by the Southern New England District of the Assemblies of God. This arrangement is coming to an end soon. I had thought it was ending in April, and she believes it is ending in March. Whoever is right, it IS ending soon. The problem is, unless I get a much better job or a very lucrative part-time job in addition to the answering service job, there is absolutely no way we can afford to live at the Webster apartment. Even THEN, it’s going to be dicey. Frankly right now, I am behind in several key bills. We’re just not “making it”. In counseling and one-on-one I have been accused of “not caring” and being in total denial. Mary Ann has said over and over, “I don’t understand, I don’t understand, I don’t understand...”. And, I was reminded of the message of the film, :”Courageous” which says the MAN has to be the “provider” and “protector”. (I guess I always thought God was supposed to be the provider and protector.)

And THEN there IS the matter of the Southern New England District. I sat through meetings with the officials looking at me saying, “His wife worked three jobs at times and he keeps her at am arm’s length”. I looked like the laziest, most irresponsible guy. One official told me, “Once the church closed, Mary Ann stayed in touch with us and did EVERYTHING we asked of her. You did NOTHING. You had to be FORCED to do ANYTHING.” And, I did. These were not my finest hours.

That part is strictly the introduction. We have not gotten into the closet at all, yet. Are you ready to go into the closet? Get your flashlights ready, and take a deep breath:

Many of you know I had very different parents and that I got some very interesting sets of genes from them. My father was very extroverted, very confident, and very authoritarian. He was a leader. He was an outstanding public speaker. My mother was a reader and loved history and current events. She read and read and read. I don’t know ANYONE who read as much as she did. She was a diligent person, but she was not at all a leader. The LAST thing she wanted to do was to be a leader. And, she did not have a lot of energy. During the years she worked 40 hours a week, she would literally just come home and collapse. She always talked about how tired she was, how she had no energy, and she was frequently very depressed. I get my public speaking and sometimes impressive outward persona from my father, but internally I am my mother. I also have struggled all through life about feeling like a misfit, but THAT is also possibly the subject for another day.

I had several jobs at Draper Mills in Canton during my school years. I got them from “networking”; my mother was the Draper Mills payroll clerk. They were some tough factory jobs. I did not LIKE them, but I did them. Well, one job I DID like. One summer the janitor had a heart attack. I spent the whole summer as the substitute janitor. I loved that job because I went through the whole mill every day. I was by myself walking through the mill, servicing the bathrooms, etc. During the summer of 1978, however, I had a traumatic work experience at Draper’s. I was hired to work in the “needle room”. I know most of you don’t understand textile mills, and it’s really too much to explain what the needle room does. But I worked with a guy named Ed Keefer. I wrote a whole piece on the blog about that job with Ed Keefer a few years ago. Ed was a slight guy around fifty with glasses, but his appearance was very deceiving. Ed is one of the cruelest individuals I have ever met. He yelled and screamed at me every day. He actually pounded his hand and yelled and yelled about how stupid I was. He told me he’d once worked with a mentally retarded guy who was as stupid as I was. And he HATED working with that guy. But now, I was as stupid as that retarded guy. He had an excuse and I had no excuse. Day after day, he yelled, pounded tables and yelled about how stupid I was; he yelled and insulted me. It was horrible. I was not one to tell my parents anything like this, but finally after weeks of it, I told them and to my shock they told me to quit. My father was doing some major wall and cement work at home that summer and he would use me doing manual labor there, and that’s what happened. But this experience at Draper’s badly scarred me. It deeply shook my confidence and self-esteem.

Just a short time later, I had another bad job experience. During school that Fall, I took a job at the Maranatha retirement center in the kitchen area. The manager of Maranatha at the time was an ex-miliatry officer and Assemblies of God minister named Brother Durham. He was very military and very serious. One evening, he corrected me about something I did. It was NOT being corrected that I minded. It was how he did it. He was demeaning, and he called me “boy”. I know how the Black people must have felt. “Boy”...and being demeaned. I didn’t care that this guy had been a military officer nor that he was the guy in charge. I was twenty-four and had a Bachelor’s degree. NOBODY was going to call me “boy”. I left that job shortly thereafter, and there was another scar.

In the Fall of 1979 in Sharon, Massachusetts I took a job a new K-Mart. The job was setting up the entire store. There were huge cartons of merchandise all over the floor, AND there were metal shelving units in pieces all over the place. We had to assemble the shelving units, then unpack the merchandise. In some cases, we had to put merchandise together. I was working in hardware, and I had to put some work benches together, for instance. They gave us booklets with black & white photos. There were exact photos of what your shelf was supposed to look like. You had to put it together and pack it EXACTLY like the photo. If you think that is easy, well, honestly, it’s NOT. It’s too bad that show “Undercover Boss” was not on the air then. If you’ve seen it, they have things happen like the head of Pizza Hut is working at one of their restaurants and can’t work the cash register correctly, or can’t make the pizza correctly. He’ll get corrected and told he DOESN’T have what it takes to work at Pizza Hut....later they discover he is the CEO! That show would have helped me.

There was a young woman named Donna that my boss loved. Honestly, she was a lot like my wife Mary Ann,except that she had dark brown hair. She put her shelves together flawlessly. She stacked and displayed the stuff EXACTLY as it looked in the black & white photo. She made it look SO easy!. I tried and tried and tried, and my shelf looked like it was done by a third grader. My boss was furious.

“You’re not even trying, ARE YOU??!!” he accused.

Honestly, I was.

I didn’t stay at that job too long. Once again, I left with extremely low self-esteem. I believed I was more than a misfit. I was stupid. I was incapable. Something was seriously wrong with me. I kept these feelings all bottled up inside. I applied for a lot of jobs in those days and I went on a lot of interviews, but I never came across very well. I’d get the “don’t call us, we’ll call you” treatment form the interviewer and that would be it.

David C. Milley who pastored Christian Life Center, Walpole for many years was a complicated guy. He says he was the easiest person in the world to work for, and he really wasn’t. But a big gift of Dave’s was that he saw what people COULD be and he believed in some people that no one else believed in. When he hired me as a full time Assistant Pastor, I did not hold any ministerial credentials and a lot of people thought I was afraid of my own shadow and would never succeed. I actually developed a lot as a minister and as a person there. I became a Licensed Assemblies of God minister in 1981 and an Ordained minister in 1985. In 1987, I assumed the pastorate of First Assembly of God of Framingham. I so enjoyed those days. Mary Ann and I got married in 1982. We had three kids during the 1980s. I developed into a very good pulpit preacher and a very good teacher. I was never good at the business end, but I DID get enough experience that I really got better at it. I was also never much for counseling but many times God showed me what to say and do when I had no idea.

The church was small, but I DID “network” well. I remember that one Sunday on his vacation Pastor Sam Hollo and his wife Esther came to our Sunday morning service. (Sam and I were in a pastors’ prayer group together.) After the service, Sam complimented the sermon and the service. He said, “Bob, you are the BEST preacher in MetroWest. I tell everybody that. I’m SERIOUS.”

Sam has an earned doctorate and was pastoring Westgate Church in Weston, a large, successful church. That compliment meant a lot. I got a lot of other such compliments. Many times I wrote guest columns for the local newspaper. Despite all my deficiencies, I realized I had an amazing gift for discussing very serious issues in a light hearted way, but in a way that people could and would remember. In speaking, I’d have crowds laughing one minute and crying the next. I still have people who contact me and tell me something I said from the pulpit or in a class or even one-on-one to them totally changed their life for the better.

About that business of Mary Ann working three jobs and me not caring: she DID work three jobs at one time for a year or two in the 1990s:  During that time I did all the snow shoveling and all the yard work. I also did 90% of the cooking and laundry. I did all the leaf raking in the fall. If a tree limb fell in the back yard, I’d be out there with a saw cutting it up and hauling it away. I was painting the porch and staining the deck in the summers. My kids say they seldom remember me just laying around. They remember me much more as a workaholic. When my parents died and I received an inheritance, I had Mary Ann take a full year off of all employment.  The next year, she worked only minimal part time hours. THAT year I sold $13,000 worth of stock to make up for the money she would have made. I took her to Cape Cod, bought her a one year old mini van and paid $20,000 cash for it. I paid for us to have a wonderful vacation to Alaska in 2002.

Yes, sadly, the church declined. I did everything I could in my own strength to make it work and keep it opened. I failed. In early 2010, the District closed the church. They graciously allowed us to live in the parsonage for one more year. I was confused and I was furious. Honestly, it took until Sept. 2010 for me to really BELIEVE and GRASP that the church was closed and I would never pastor it again. Mary Ann very much wanted me to become a Pharmacist’s Assistant at CVS. Honestly, I am terrified of cash registers. Terrified. I prayed for a job where I would not have to work a cash register, that would not be too physically taxing, and where I would not be reviled for being “stupid”. The owner of VIP Answering Service and I have a mutual friend, so that was “networking”. I liked the idea that on this job I was sitting, talking, and helping people. Sure sometimes I make mistakes...we take HUNDREDS of calls. We all make mistakes and get corrected, but we aren’t treated like we are stupid or unappreciated. Never. It’s just that you really are never going to get rich doing this job. It’s a great supplement, but I DO need to find something with more hours and more pay.

We moved into Webster in March of 2011. Didn’t I know that this day was coming...that I would have to move out or have a much better job? Yeah, I did. I’m also still depressed and constantly exhausted. I feel really good that I shave and shower each day, go to work at the answering service and sometimes work at BJs. I feel like that’s been the best I could do. Maybe I am wrong about that.

I have applied for some chaplain positions with the State. As a matter of fact, today I got a letter from a friend about a chaplain position that is available, and I’m dropping an application in the mail today. I have also applied for some other jobs. I DO belong to some of those “job search” things on-line. Daily I get e-mails about applying to be a manager at CVS or a salesperson at a beauty supply place, stuff like that. These just don’t interest me and they don’t usually pay well.

It is true that in 2-3 months we have to begin paying for our apartment. If we cannot, we have to figure out where we will live, and likely what we will do with our furniture. AND one of the other reasons this has not been on my front burner is that usually every week there’s some bill I have that I can’t pay and I literally have to pray the money in. That actually happened THIS week with car insurance.

SO, that’s it. I let you in my closet, and I came out.

If you know of any possible positions I might qualify for, please let me know.
If you have any ideas at all, please let me know. Thank you.

BACKGROUND CHECKS...AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

"...for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." (from I Samuel 16:7)

The City of Newton, Massachusetts is reeling this morning due to the arrest of two city employees who had allegedly been involved in serious criminal sexual behavior. Each involves employees who were around children on their jobs. One was a popular elementary school teacher. The other was a library worker. The library worker did not usually work directly with children, but since children frequent the library, he was certainly around them. Mayor Setti Warren is distressed. The City conducts careful background checks of all of its employees, and will continue to do so. So, HOW did this happen and how COULD it happen?

The answer is that there's an inconvenient truth about background checks, such as the CORI checks (criminal record background checks) often done and often required as conditions of employment in Massachusetts: There are still a number of offenders including sexual offenders who can slip through them. Despite all the "sex offender registration laws" and all the rest of it, none of these things can guarantee safety or security. In fact, they can give us a false sense of security.

This is meant in no way as a slap against Mayor Setti Warren. He is a liberal Democrat and politically we are on the opposite side of most issues. But Setti Warren is a nice guy and a very smart man. He is competent. Yet, he's now learning the inconvenient truth I'm writing about here.

The little church I pastored got quite a taste of this in 2000. Tom D., a prominent and much loved Member of the church, was arrested and convicted of child molestation that year. Thank God, the victim was not someone from our church. Tom D. had led a double life for years. Tom D. came into our little church, First Assembly of God of Framingham, in 1989. He had just been hired as a Counselor and prominent staff member at The Bridge House, "New England Aftercare Ministries". (I was a Board Member of New England Aftercare at the time. Their Executive Director was my good friend, the Rev. Jim Spence.) Tom came highly recommended by his Assemblies of God pastor from southeastern Connecticut. Tom passed a thorough criminal background check. A good teacher, and intense speaker, he seemed to be a good fit for The Bridge House staff. And, our little church was thrilled to have Tom D. as a Member.

Over the years, Tom D. served as a Deacon and as a Sunday School teacher. He became an Ordained minister, NOT through the Assemblies of God, but through the Evangelical Church Alliance. From time to time, I had Tom preach at our church. Tom had a much different persona that I do. Tall and heavyset, he looked like a football player. His style was very "macho". He also played keyboard during our worship services. Tom would often give "Prophecies" during the services. "Am I not the Lord?! Am I not doing a new thing in your midst?!" he would begin. He preached like a football coach trying to fire up a losing team during halftime.

"We're gonna TAKE ON THE DEVIL!!" he would shout.

To many of the blue-collar men at our church, Tom D. was a huge hero. To many of these same guys, I suspected I was kind of a disappointment...not particularly macho, and not always completely sure of myself. I suspected SOME thought, "Why can't Bob Baril be more like TOM? Why couldn't TOM be our pastor?!"

Not everyone felt that way. Many of the women did not like him. Tom did not seem to like women very much. He was divorced and had kids, but said very little about his past. One time a pastor friend of mine (at a ministers' meeting) asked Tom, "Tom, you have any children?"

Tom looked like a wild man, glared at him and yelled, "YEAH!!!!"

One guy at our church named Bill S. did not like Tom. After Tom's arrest, he reminded me that he once came to me and said that Tom reminded him of a child molester and that I'd flatly dismissed the comment. I had to dig way back in my memory banks, but I finally DID remember that. At the time, Tom was loved and admired by so many. AND he had passed a criminal background check. AND Jim Spence loved and supported him. So such a thing was UNTHINKABLE to me.

In late September of 2000, Tom D. was arrested. He had been having a sexual relationship with an under aged boy. His computer at The Bridge House was confiscated and authorities discovered he'd been going to all sorts of unsavory websites. Jim Spence was devastated. Tom was fired immediately. The following Sunday, Jim Spence and I sat with our congregation during the service and frankly told what had happened to Tom. We each apologized for putting this guy forth as a leader, when he was obviously not what he appeared to be. This could not have happened at a worse time for me. I buried each of my parents during mid-2000. My father died of cancer on an Alzheimer's unit in June of 2000 and my mother died of bone cancer in August of 2000. For their final year of life, I was consumed with their crises and frankly just going through the motions of being a pastor. In September of 2000, I was emotionally tired and spent. I really needed the church to be like Aaron and Hur with Moses. But now, the church, for the most part, was devastated. Some were devastated because they loved Tom so much. Others were devastated because I'd let them down as pastor.

Over the next eighteen months, almost all of the key families in the church left. In my heart, I feared the church would die a long, slow death. I struggled and struggled to keep the church alive and to make it grow. I tried anything and everything. The mistake I made (looking back) is that I tried to carry and fix the church on my own, and try as I did, I just couldn't. It was closed by the Assemblies of God in 2010, and at that time I was the one who was devastated.

There are all sorts of seminars about the importance of churches doing background checks on their people, especially those who work with children. I'm all for those, but sometimes they don't work. Tom had no official criminal background.

However:

I admit, there were always some things about Tom D. that did not quite add up. He had been a police officer in Connecticut in his distant past. He LOVED to talk about being a cop. It's obvious that he'd LOVED being a cop. My experience is that guys who love being cops don't just suddenly leave the force to become bus drivers and work in transmission shops. But Tom did. He left the force, moved to Florida, and became a bus driver and later worked in a transmission shop. Somehow, years later he came back to southern Connecticut and became involved in a church and in prison ministry. I now believe Tom was caught in child molestation when he was a cop. I firmly believe there was a cover up. It was probably at that time that his wife divorced him. That is why he never talked about his ex-wife or kid, and why he'd react with such hostility when asked about them. Tom had probably agreed to leave the force and move out of the area and then all charges would go away.

Unfortunately, the experience with Tom sort of validates my son Jon's philosophy of "trust no one". Jon, indeed, tends to keep to himself and really does NOT trust anyone. On the other hand is Claire G. whom I've written about on this blog in the past. Claire G. once told me she took every person at face value. She always expected and believed the very best about all people, and therefore could be easily taken advantage of, and she sometimes was.

I guess we all have to function in life somewhere in the middle.

The bottom line, is if you think CORI checks will protect you and that you can guarantee protection from unsavory characters...well, think again.

ON THIS DAY IN 1979

"...I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:" (from 2 Peter 3:1)

Thirty-three years.

It was January 25, 1979, thirty-three years ago today that Rachel and Rebecca Rayburn were born.

Rachel and Rebecca Rayburn are identical twin girls who are the children of James and Debbie Rayburn. I went to Central Bible College with James. James Rayburn and I had some things in common. We each held previous Bachelor's Degrees. I had a Bachelor's in History from Stonehill College and he had a Bachelor's in Physical Education from Georgia Southwestern University. I was just a tad older than many of the kids at CBC; not much older, just a couple of years, but James was six years older than me and therefore around eight or nine years older than many of the students. At the time I was at CBC, there were at least twenty-five students in the same boat as we were...those with previous Bachelor's degrees who were classified as "Seniors" for as long as we were there. The typical "Senior" with a previous degree was there for anywhere from one to six semesters. Many went on to the AG Graduate School after a semester or two (it's now called AG Theological Seminary). Many others stayed and graduated from CBC like James and I did. We each have Senior pictures in the 1978 and 1979 yearbooks, but we actually graduated in 1979. The Rayburns hailed from Dawson, Georgia. If you've seen all those Christian films like "Fireproof" and "Facing the Giants" which were made in Albany, Georgia, you may be interested to know that Dawson is just a short drive from Albany. (I have visited both places.)

I arrived at CBC in January of 1977 and James in September of that year. At first, he was very nervous, wondering if he really had what it takes to be a minister and wondering if he'd fit in and could make it at CBC. I had been EXACTLY the same way during my first semester, so I kind of "mentored" him for his first few weeks at school and we really hit it off. I learned that James had good reasons to wonder if he'd ever make it as a minister. He is divorced and remarried. In the late 1970s, and in fact up until less than ten years ago, if you were divorced and remarried, the odds that you would ever be credentialed as an Assemblies of God minister were pretty much ZERO. Some students and faculty told him to go home; that he would never be an Assemblies of God minister. (That issue is really not what this piece is about, but as a side note, James was given sort of a make-shift credential by the Georgia AG District allowing him to pastor there. When the Assemblies of God changed their policy on the national level, James was Licensed and Ordained. He pastors the AG church in Soperton, Georgia today.) Something we did at school which we are still very proud of is that we started a Men's Fellowship group at the Maranatha nursing and retirement complex which is located next door to CBC. We had both retired missionaries and elderly sinners coming out to our fellowship meetings on Thursday nights. James and I met and knew personally some of the great ministers of the Assemblies of God from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s because of our ministry at Maranatha.

If you think you can't get pregnant while on the pill, think again! James and Debbie lived in Boyd Hall, the complex for married students who did not have kids. In the Fall of 1978, to Debbie's shock, she tested positive for pregnancy. Debbie is much younger than James. He was twenty-nine at the time and she was just nineteen. A few weeks later, it was revealed that she was carrying twins. They were excited about the babies coming, but due to other issues, especially finances, this was overwhelming for them. Debbie worked at a local pizza fast food restaurant. As the pregnancy went on and she began getting more fatigued, she had to leave work and James got a job at a cafeteria. Things got really stressful for them.

I was shocked to learn while on my way to morning chapel service on January 25, 1979 that Debbie had given birth the night before; more than two months early! The babies were at Cox Medical Center. Ironically, Cox was just east of the Assemblies of God headquarters on Boonville Ave. in Springfield. The girls were tiny and were in the neo-natal intensive care unit. Things were a lot more sophisticated medically in 1979 than you might think, but certainly not as sophisticated as today. The tiny babies were in little incubators. The Rayburns named them Rachel and Rebecca. Their prognosis was very much in doubt. I remember James telling Debbie it was very likely the babies would die, and I remember Debbie saying she just could not believe God would allow them to die.

The whole school was praying for the Rayburn babies. This was big news on campus. Ironically, I was not one of the "cool kids" nor one of the "popular kids"...far from it. Yet, I was the closest student to the Rayburns so I largely became a contact person between students and faculty and the Rayburn family. The next thing I have to share is an example I often use when I preach about the Gift of Faith from I Corinthians chapter 12. The Gift of Faith is not "saving faith" nor is it "ordinary faith". It's a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit to believe God and have extraordinary faith in an impossible situation. As the days went on, the condition of the Rayburn babies continued to be "touch and go". Little Rachel was in especially critical condition. Fearing for her vitality, the hospital had her flown to Kansas City Childrens Hospital as a last ditch effort to save her life. I traveled to K.C. for a couple of days with James and Debbie during this time. I remember the hospital being right across the street from the Hallmark Cards headquarters. I have often regretted that as a pastor I was seldom, "God's man of faith and power." One key woman at our church once told me I was full of fear and doubt. When the church was in a terrible time of crisis in the mid-1990s one male Board member told me he looked to me for faith and leadership and found none. Those critiques were accurate. So much of the time, I was just a simple scared guy in way over his head trying to get through from day to day. But THAT is what makes this testimony of the Gift of Faith all the more valid! Despite all the gloom and doom facing the Rayburn babies I had PERFECT FAITH for their TOTAL HEALINGS and I never doubted. I prayed for them, but in complete faith. I would proclaim, "I just KNOW they are going to be perfectly fine." And I DID know that. I now know THAT was the Gift of Faith in operation!

In late April, the babies came home. They were amazingly healthy. The Rayburns were cautioned that there COULD be long term effects from the trauma the little twins had gone through. They MIGHT be intellectually and academically slow in school; there might be other issues. Today, they are celebrating their thirty-third birthdays. They are each married with kids of their own. Each girl did very well in school and in any endeavor they attempted. God brought them to perfect health.

On another side note, today my daughter Amy lives in Springfield, Missouri and works as a pediatric nurse at the much newer and very modern Cox South Medical Center. Some days, she works in the NICU. I still find that amazing.

I remember all this today, and I testify of the goodness and power of God!
Yes, that was a significant day; January 25, 1979! Happy Birthday, Rachel and Rebecca!

"REV. KRAMER" i.e. "OFFICER KRAMER"

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” (Ephesians 4:11-12)

(Yes, my title is a play on the old film title, "Kramer vs. Kramer"!)

This morning (Sunday, January 22) I arrived early for the Adult Sunday School at Bread of Life Church. Glancing at the church bulletin I’d just picked up, I noticed our guest speaker in the morning service would be Rev. Dan Kramer. I hadn’t realized we were even having a guest speaker. (Guess I did NOT read last week’s bulletin very carefully!) My immediate thought was, “WHY do I know that name, Dan Kramer?”

Looking at the next page of the bulletin, I found a “blurb” about the Rev. Kramer and realized I’ve heard him speak before. Dan Kramer is the father Renee Greene, wife of Bread of Life’s Youth Pastor Billy Greene, and music director of the church. Kramer is a most interesting and unusual guy. He hails from Baltimore. It took some guts for a guy from Baltimore to be preaching in the heart of New England on the morning of the Patriots/Ravens game for the AFC Championship. (Come to think of it, the Pastor’s wife, Janis Collette is a New Yorker, and I suppose during baseball season, that takes guts, too!) Kramer has has a long career in law enforcement, and he definitely LOOKS like a cop! (There’s a real camaraderie between all men in blue, and I know my late father would have LOVED him!) Kramer spent twenty-one years as a Baltimore Police Officer. My understanding is that he still works in law enforcement in a different capacity; I THINK with the Baltimore County Sheriff's Dept. Kramer has also become a credentialled minister and has been anointed by God with a powerful healing ministry.

When I heard the Rev. Dan Kramer speak about a year ago, he pretty much gave his testimony of how God has used him to win souls for Christ as a law enforcement officer. I was NOT prepared for the style of ministry Dan Kramer would use today. This was a full blown old fashioned Pentecostal/Charismatic healing service! It was not some phony/baloney kind of thing. Sadly, that has happened quite a bit in Pentecostal/Charismatic circles. This guy moves in the power of the Holy Spirit, and from all I could tell and discern, it’s the real deal.

Readers who were part of Christian Life Center church in Walpole, Mass. back in the 1980s will remember the Benny Hinn services which used to take place there in those days. I was an Assistant Pastor there in those days. This was long before Benny Hinn was nationally and internationally famous. We used to bring him in for services every three to four months. The church would be packed out, and we saw some amazing things happen in those services. This was the closest thing to that which I’ve seen since those days.

Bread of Life is up in Westminster, Mass. near Gardner and Fitchburg. From a lot of places IT’S A HIKE. I drive fifty miles one way from Webster. But it’s worth it. For some of you old time “Walpole” people, you ought to come visit sometime. Bread of Life is not at all your typical 2012 Assemblies of God church and that is a big part of why I drive the long trip to go there. My concern is that many of today’s Assemblies of God churches have moved in one of two directions: They’ve either become very “subdued” and “seeker sensitive” or they’ve become “three ring circuses” with all kinds of “off the wall” stuff going on. Frankly, the subdued/seeker sensitive churches are very common. One doesn’t hear too many sermons on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit anymore. In fact, one doesn’t see or hear the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in operation in many of our services anymore. And, “altar calls”; in many of our churches people would ask, “What are THOSE?!” Bread of Life uses mostly up-to-date music, but most of it is the really good, worship stuff and not the “loud knock ‘em into the other room” stuff. It’s RARE to find an AG church today which has altar calls almost every Sunday morning with the altars packed most of the time.

The bottom line is, Bread of Life was a great venue for Dan Kramer. There was a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit. There were a number of people “slain in the Spirit” and I DON’T mean pushed down! There were a number of genuine healings. I liked that Kramer kept giving all the glory to God. He also stressed the importance of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and the importance of intercessory prayer.

I had plans for the afternoon due to the game, so I left at 12:45 p.m. The service started at 10:15 and was still going on when I left. Whatever happens with the game (and I have it on RIGHT NOW as I’m writing) I experienced something far more exciting in Westminster this morning.

I sincerely hope Pastor Gary Collette will consider having Dan Kramer come to Bread of Life several more times this year, and that he will heavily promote the services.