A PASTOR'S WIFE OPENS THE SERVICE IN TEARS AND IT'S ALL GOOD!

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Galatians 6:14)

In certain situations, a pastor's wife standing at the pulpit and opening up the Sunday morning service in tears could be a very bad thing. It could mean that things in the church are very bad; that her husband is about to resign; that a major fight or (even worse) a major church split has just taken place. It could mean that she's reached the end of her rope, to use a common expression. Yes, it could be a very bad sign. Well, the pastor's wife did open up the service in tears today at Bread of Life Church in Westminster, Massachusetts this morning, but this was not a bad sign; rather, it could not have been better news!

In all fairness, Janis Collette is not only "the pastor's wife". In fact, she is Ordained- she's The Rev. Janis Collette, and she's Associate Pastor of the church. And, she was crying tears of joy and appreciation this morning! I am really pleased to write this piece today because I'm at a unique vantage point to do so. A pastor or member of a pastoral staff really can't write a "puff piece" about the church at which they minister. This is because is appears they're just trying to promote themselves, their ministry, and the church where they minister. A church Board member also really can't write such a piece without being accused of practicing very subjective promotion of their church. While I'm a church member at Bread of Life, I'm not on the pastoral staff, nor am I a Board member there. But I am an Ordained minister and I do have a number of years of pastoral experience. Let me tell you, Janis and the leadership at Bread of Life indeed have reasons for shedding tears of appreciation and joy! Janis opened up reading a portion of the New Testament about the various ministries of the Body of Christ and thanking the church family for all their hard work this week in preparing for the church's annual Thanksgiving outreach dinner. She was moved to tears in thinking of how much work and love the church members have poured into this event. Listen, this dinner is really an impressive event. It takes extraordinary work and commitment from scores and scores of people in the church to make it happen. This year's dinner is taking place tomorrow in two seatings in the late afternoon and early evening. One seating is for Veterans. The other seating is for Senior Citizens. People do have to sign up in advance- strictly because the church can only handle about one-hundred-twenty per seating. But that's all the guests have to do is sign up. The rest is a gift from the church to the community. It's a way of thanking and honoring both Vets and Seniors. This morning, many "turkey roaster ovens" were seen at the side of one of the church's corridors. I remember that my mom had one of those turkey roaster ovens years ago, as did my grandmother. I honestly did not know they made them anymore. I haven't seen one in a long time, but I guess they do! A lot of turkeys have to be cooked for these dinners! In addition, teams of church members have showed up in various shifts over the past few days to peel potatoes and get all sorts of other food ready. There's a whole serving crew and a whole clean-up crew for tomorrow's dinner. Of course, there will be all sorts of kitchen workers, etc. It's a monumental undertaking. Honestly, I've felt guilty that I have not really been involved in a "hands on" way with this dinner. My wife and I live just outside the Boston city limits in the heart of Boston's suburbia. It's sixty-five miles one-way to church at Bread of Life. That can be difficult at times. I would love to be more involved there; and in many respects I do wish I lived within ten miles, or so, of the church facility. It wasn't much but I was glad to help an energetic group of mostly (but not exclusively) men "take up" the chairs after the service and roll out and set up the tables for the dinner. So many were working at this that it only took about twenty minutes to do!

I know. You're probably wondering why we attend church so far away. It's a long story, but when the church we pastored in Framingham closed in 2010, my wife suggested we attend church at Bread of Life in Westminster. It was forty miles from Framingham, but we very much liked Pastors Gary and Janis Collette, and we liked the fact that it was a very healthy and vibrant church of well over two hundred people. From our first Sunday there I've really loved the church. There were some weeks that for various reasons we visited other churches, but most Sundays we're at Bread of Life. Let me tell you, Bread of Life is not typical of most of today's evangelical churches. Many of today's churches have gone to music that is so loud it's unpleasant and you leave church with an earache! In many cases, it's so loud that you can't understand the words of the songs being sung. If the words of the songs were not projected on the screen you'd never know what they were! At Bread of Life, most of the songs we sing are quite up-to-date and there are several singers and musicians, including a drummer; but the music is never too loud! The worship teams also do a great job leading the church family into praise and worship. There's a trend today of pastors "dressing down". I'm showing my age of fifty-nine right now because I don't like that! I really respect the fact that Pastor Gary usually dresses up in a nice suit and tie. I see that as respectful to God and to the church family. There is not a "dress code" for the church family, however, and I think that's great. You can come all dressed up in fancy clothes, or you can come pretty casually dressed. Everybody is welcome! When I first attended an Assemblies of God church as a young adult, the big thing was the "altar service". It was not unusual for half of the people at church to come up to the altar area after the pastor's sermon- not only for "salvation" but for all sorts of reasons. I was not used to altar calls like that at the Baptist church I'd previously attended, and I loved it. Today, in most Assemblies of God churches it's like pulling teeth to get people to come up to the altar and spend time seeking the Lord in prayer. Some pastors will announce "the altars are open" and everybody kind of says, "that's nice" and goes home! I was stunned to see what I'd call "1970s style" altar calls at Bread of Life when I started attending there- and if anything they've gotten even better!

Gary and Janis Collette came to the Westminster church in 1992. The church there had been closed up for awhile. Under their ministry, it was opened up with only a couple handfuls of people. All I can say is, God has really blessed their church and ministry. Many Sundays there are close to three hundred people present, and it's growing. Now, please don't misunderstand me. No church is perfect. Churches are made up of imperfect human beings. We all have our "issues". We all make mistakes. Bread of Life Church is not perfect. But, Bread of Life is a church in which the people are very hungry for God and very obedient to God. Associate Pastor Janis Collette had a good reason to shed tears this morning. I stand in agreement with her and I rejoice in what God is doing at Bread of Life Church, and I only wish it were possible for me to be present for the dinners tomorrow!

IT HAPPENED ON FRIDAY NIGHT

"And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." (Ephesians 2:3-5)

My last blog posting from a couple of weeks ago indicated it is likely I will be posting on my blog much less often in the future and that if and when I post, it will be pieces I feel are of importance and which are not likely to cause me embarrassment later on. This is such a piece. There is no question that what's on this post will seem irrelevant and foolish to some readers. I suppose they have the right to their opinions, but I make no apology for what I post here. We live in a day and hour which many have described as "post Christian"; that is, a day in which subjects such as God, the Bible, eternity, and right and wrong are mocked, laughed at, and scorned, and in which filth in speech and living is seen as not only perfectly O.K. but impressive and desirable. I absolutely reject the "post Christian" attitude and values of our day! At Bread of Life Church in Westminster this morning, we heard a truly great sermon by the Rev. David Arnett, the new President of Northpoint Bible College (formerly Zion) in Haverhill, MA. I'm not one to take sermon notes, but I made it a point to write down the exact words of one of his sentences:

"I want to walk in and not just talk about God's presence; I want to experience God's presence."

Arnett was lamenting the professionalism, predictability, and mediocrity which is the norm at services in many (most?) evangelical and Pentecostal churches in America today. I am ashamed to admit that I led many a service that was characterized by professionalism, predictability, and mediocrity. Granted, not all of them were; but too many services I led were this way. And, too many services I've attended are similar. (Thank God, services at Bread of Life are not typically of this fashion.) I want to be so careful how I write this because the last thing I want to do is to try to exalt myself. I will say I smiled as Dr. Arnett spoke those words, because as hard as it may be for some to believe, the kind of service where God is experienced DID happen on Friday night in downtown Framingham. I was most privileged to be a part of it. Did it happen because I was there? No; it happened possibly in spite of the fact that I was there, but a small group of people really did experience a powerful move of God in downtown Framingham on Friday night.

The service was a service of prayer and unity planned and promoted by "Churches United in Christ Ministries". That organization is very small at this point. It's the vision of Bob Gill of Framingham. Bob is a good personal friend of mine. An ordinary blue collar worker, Bob came to Christ in the 1990s. Bob felt called of God to the ministry and in 2001 began taking correspondence courses toward ministerial credentialing from the Assemblies of God's "Berean College of the Bible". It was a hard road for Bob, but in a couple of years' time he completed his ministerial courses. Today he is Ordained by a group headquartered in Alabama and he's a member of New Hope Church (Assemblies of God) in Marlborough. For several years, Bob has had the vision of getting pastors and churches together and seeing God move as a result of the prayer, humility, and repentance of diverse Christians from diverse churches. It's been a very slow and difficult road to get churches and pastors together, but on Friday night at the Brazilian "Philadelphia Baptist Church" across the street from Dunkin' Donuts in downtown Framingham around thirty people came together for a prayer service. The speakers included Pastor Murillo DaSilva who leads Philadelphia Baptist, Pastor Rob Woods of New Hope Church (Assemblies of God) in Marlboro, Pastor Dan Condon of the fairly new Meeting Place Church (Assemblies of God) in Framingham, Pastor Jesus Munoz of the Spanish-speaking Celebration International Church in Framingham, Pastor Gary Lee pastor of a small predominantly African-American Church in Randolph, Pastor Rob Paiva of Living Water Church in Marlborough, and me. Honestly, considering the fact that I pastored a church which closed and that my reputation has suffered, I questioned whether I should even have been included. I did share from Acts chapter twelve about the power of prayer and it seemed to be well received. I would be remiss if I did not mention another speaker who was layman Ron Sebastian from Faith Community Church of Hopkinton (formerly First Congregational Church). Ron has a heart for pastors and a tremendous burden to see a genuine move of God in our area. The impressive thing about the service was not the speaking, however, although each speaker was very good. The most impressive thing was the prayer time at the altar. The sense of God's presence was very powerful. Some of us have read from the history books about what revival services were like decades and centuries ago. A friend of Ron Sebastian's named Brad told me after the service that the second he walked into the building on Friday night he felt God's anointing there. It's controversial in some circles but several people were prayed for and were "slain in the Spirit" or as some say, "fell down under the power of God". I know that a lot of this behavior in other services and venues has indeed been forced and phony and I know that a number of people are skeptical about it, but all I can say is THIS WAS THE REAL THING. I have since learned that a couple of people have testified of genuine healings after having been prayed for on Friday night.

True, there were only around thirty people at the service, and it did not make the newspapers or television, but (no kidding) I saved my notes and printed order of service from Friday night because I believe it will be looked up in the future as having been such a significant event. Pastor Jesus Monoz boldly proclaimed (regarding revival in the MetroWest area) "It starts HERE TONIGHT!" I agree.

Pastor Rob Woods from New Hope Church in Marlborough posted this comment on Facebook on Saturday: "I thank God for the way He used Robert Gill to lead the Churches United In Christ service last night at Philadelphia Baptist Church. Praying with fellow pastors from different denominations and experiencing the power of God touch people was amazing. Father, do more! I pray for all the churches represented to see the move of God in their services like we saw His presence fall last night!"

The next "Churches United in Christ" prayer service is scheduled to be hosted by Living Water Church at 204 Main Street in downtown Marlborough on January 24 at 7 (snow date is January 31). You ought to mark that down on your calendar!

THE FUTURE OF THIS BLOG??

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:" (James 1:19)

It has been over two weeks since I have placed a post on this blog. Many of you know that's a pretty long time for me! I typically post something on the blog at least once a week, and I prefer to post something about every three or four days, if I can. I've got to tell you, I'm going through quite a time of deep soul-searching. I have considering stopping this blog all together- even considering deleting some or all of the posts. A lot of the "whys" of what I'm saying here are quite private- but I am struggling with the fact that I am a very, very emotional person and I can be a very, very impulsive person. Some have counseled me that at times I'm really "out there": way too open and way too candid. Let's face it; if you think of the famous "Emperor's New Clothes" story (which I think was written by Hans Christian Andersen) I would be they guy to say "You don't have any clothes on!" There wouldn't have needed to be a little boy to say that! I can be very blunt. During my years of pastoring, I found that very few people were neutral about my style, personality, and ways. Some found me very refreshing and absolutely loved the way I am; but many found me inappropriate, insensitive, self-absorbed and offensive. That's also true of my writings which include this blog.

My posts on the blog actually only get an average of 1, 2 or 3 comments apiece, and many get none. But I DO get comments e-mailed to me and spoken to me. As with my pastoring days, some are very, very positive, encouraging, and even exhilarating. But many are very negative and stress the danger and damage of, well, my inappropriateness, insensitivity, self-absorbtion and (in the opinion of some) foolishness. From my earliest days, I have "marched to the beat of a different drummer". I used to describe myself as "eccentric" but even that definition was viewed as very unwise by some so I toned that down to "unconventional". Now, if I had all of these characteristics that I have and yet had been used of God to lead and build a "decent sized" and relatively successful church, I guess I could say to people, "Well, look, there's a lot of merit in being the way I am!" Instead, the past few years of loss and embarrassment admittedly have caused me to do a lot of questioning about what I guess could be called "the way I am".

Things in my private life have come to a point in the past couple of weeks such that I've STOPPED, prayed, and reflected about this "stuff". I used to put out an informal personal "newsletter" to around twenty or so people every week. A couple of weeks ago, I did not put it out. Last week I DID, but saying I may not write any more of my newsletters and that if I do, it may only be a few times a year. I also have done a lot less on Facebook and a lot less e-mailing than I usually do. The ultimate decisions of what I will do about all of these matters has not been fully decided. I will say that it's likely I will post less often on the blog than I used to. At this point I don't think I want to stop it totally, but I do think I want each piece to be something important, edifying and meaningful and not something I'd be ashamed of later on.

I started "The Blog of Bob Baril" as an AOL Journal in early 2006. I was committed to treat it just as I would if I wrote a newspaper column. I posted three times a week. If I posted more often, I'd mark the post "Extra Entry". Only about a third of my posts in the first couple of years were "spiritual" or "religious" in nature. Most were secular, a few were political, and many were light-hearted. I got a lot of feedback in private that as a pastor I should be writing more pieces that were "Christian" in nature, so it has gotten to the point that probably 70% of my posts from the last five years could be described that way. AOL discontinued their Journals feature in late 2008; at that time, I switched the blog to Google/Blogger. We got a new computer in 2008 and around that time I had a problem posting properly. There are a number of posts from 2008 in which the font is WAY TOO BIG and very difficult to read. Somehow, this got straightened out by 2009, but there are still a number of posts from '08 that are too big and difficult to read.

Anyway, that's what is going on. I've also been working more hours per week in the past few weeks than I usually do, and that's given me less time on line than I had before. (Incidentally, I have not had a computer at home since March 2010 and I do not own a smart phone so every time I post it's at a library or on someone else's computer.) So, for what it's worth, that's what has been going on!

THE GUY WHO HUNG THE DOOR WRONG

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

"You can lean something from every person!" I can still hear old Pastor Lloyd Westover preaching that with intensity from his pulpit back in 1976. "And that guy digging a ditch, you can learn something from him !" How right Pastor Westover was! (I'm calling him "old Pastor Westover" but at the time he preached that, he was probably only about six or seven years older than I am now!) Some of us would like to think it's the great intellectuals- the highly educated and accomplished people that have lessons to teach us and important things to say to us; sometimes they do. But, many times, it's the most ordinary blue-collar person who makes a statement that impacts you to the core of your being and you never forget it. That's true of Jimmy Peters (not his real name) and the example of the guy who hung the door wrong.

Jimmy Peters was only a superficial friend of mine, at best. Really, he was an acquanitance of mine. Ironically, I knew his parents first, and I knew his parents much better than I knew Jimmy. Jimmy professed to be a born-again Christian, but he was certainly not your "garden variety" evangelical! Jimmy came from a Roman Catholic background. He parents "got saved" when he was around twenty-three years old. Jimmy was big, a muscular guy. He would be described as "macho". He sported several tattoos and he was not a person to walk away from a physical confrontation. He tended to be proud and opinionated. Yet, Jimmy was very intelligent. I'd guess he certainly had a higher I.Q. than I do. He experienced a lot of tragedy and pain in his life. I don't want to write too much about that as it's possible someone reading this who knew him or his family could be deeply grieved by this. I don't know for sure, but my understanding is that Jimmy Peters died several years ago. He was married and he had a son and a daughter who'd each be over thirty today.

As I write today I'm going back in my mind to a Sunday afternoon about twenty-five years ago. Jimmy, his wife and his kids, had come to visit our church's Sunday morning service and we had them back to our home for Sunday dinner. As dinner was being prepared, Jimmy and I were standing and talking near the back door looking out to the yard. Jimmy was doing most of the talking and I was listening. He began to share some observations and disappointments he had about life. It really bothered Jimmy that people, both Christian and non-Christian, almost always focus on the worst points about a person and define a person that way. Jimmy worked in construction, so he used this as an example:

"Let's just say I become a really good builder, and I mean a really good builder! I built all kinds of fantastic buildings. In fact, I'm such a good builder that I put up a building comparable to the Taj Mahal! I won't be remembered as the guy who built the building that's comparable to the Taj Mahal, though." Jimmy lamented. "Now, let's say I'm just having a bad day- for whatever reason. A lady calls me up and asks me to do a simple job; to come and hang a door for her. I'm just having a bad day. I'm not myself. I go there and I hang the door wrong. I will never be known as the guy who built the building comparable to the Taj Mahal. I will be known for the rest of my life as 'the guy who hung the door wrong'!"

I don't remember what my response to him was. In fact, I don't think I had much of any response. I have often thought of that quote. I have often played Jimmy's conversation from that Sunday afternoon over and over in my mind. The sad thing is, he's right. That's how we tend to define people. That's how we tend to remember people. In the way sharks go after blood in the water, we zoom in on people's faults and we magnify them. We define people by their worst flaws. I wish I could tell you that I have never done this, but the fact is, as I think about my adult life, I have often done this. It's so destructive. It's so wrong. And it's so not like Jesus!

I am so ashamed of all the times I've been the one critically characterizing a person as "the one who hung the door wrong!" The factor that's made me really sad and disturbed about this is not that I have done it to others, however. I am very ashamed to say that the factor that's made me really sensitive to this is that it's been done to me. When it's you that's "the guy who hung the door wrong", it's just not very funny.

I read a friend's Facebook post today which exhorted the readers to not sit wallowing in regrets but to "move on". Of course, that post is correct, and it is good advice, but when you're constantly reminded that you're "the one who hung the door wrong" it can be very difficult to "move on". Yes, we sometimes make it very, very difficult for other Christians who are trying to "move on".

In my forty-three years of being a "born-again Christian" I don't think I've ever been more aware of what a flawed person I am (and that I have been) than I am right now. I realize I am nothing without the Lord, Jesus Christ. Nothing. Yes, at one time there was the pride in being "Pastor Bob Baril" and having professional and social recognition. I loved that. I guess I felt like I really deserved it. I know differently, now. I wish I could promise here that I will never make a blanket statement or judgment about another person, essentially labeling him or her as "the one who hung the door wrong". I know I'm flawed. I know in a moment of stupid inattention and pride, I may well do that. I just hope that as soon as God brings to my attention the wrong judgment I have dished out, I will get on my knees and quickly repent! And, I hope and pray I will more and more recognize "Taj Mahal builders" and less and less see and point out those who have "hung the door wrong". Thank you, Jimmy, for your very wise words.

THE LEGACY OF A LITTLE PLASTIC PEN AND PENCIL CONTAINER

"But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:" (Ephesians 4:15)

It's strange and amazing that brief and seemingly unimportant conversations and life situations can profoundly affect a person. That is the case regarding a little clear plastic pen and pencil container. The story dates from the early 1960s- I'm guessing 1962. I was about seven-years-old at the time. My father and brother Eddie were both outstanding mechanics and outstanding handyman. Both Gene and Eddie could repair anything. Not only did each have great mechanical ability, but each had the mind of an engineer. Now, as for me, I had almost no mechanical ability whatsoever, and I still am very challenged in these areas. When he wasn't functioning as a uniformed law enforcement officer, my father was most frequently found in work clothes doing some project around his house and property in Canton, Massachusetts. He built a wall- most of which is still standing today. He built an outstanding custom made wooden fence with the most solid cement and stone base (which holds up the metal posts to which the wood is attached) that I have ever seen. My Aunt Milly used to say these projects would go on to be a "memorial" of him; and indeed, they have.

It wasn't only big projects that Dad did, however; there were small ones, too. One day he called all of the family into the kitchen. There, he pointed out a small project he'd just completed. Dad had taken a small clear plastic pen container- it was, perhaps, five inches by two inches- and had screwed it onto the side of the wooden cabinets in the kitchen. I must say a word about these cabinets. The house was built in 1958. I am not sure where Dad found the cabinetmaker, but the kitchen cabinets were custom made by an outstanding craftsman at the end of his career. The guy actually died just a short time after he'd built them. The sight of the plastic pen holder attached to the side of the wooden kitchen cabinets looked, well, tacky to me! I loved my father, but there were also some great differences between Gene and his son Eddie. Eddie had a gift for knowing aesthetic beauty. Eddie was very masculine, but could have been an interior decorator. He knew just what furniture looked right; just what colors looked right; just what materials looked right. Eddie knew what looked classy and what looked, well- tacky! Dad sadly had no such gift. His taste in furniture and colors and materials and things like that was, well, to use a word I used about myself in this piece "challenged"! When he bought a brand new 1963 Dodge Dart station wagon, Dad installed the cheap metal tissue holder he'd previously had in his 1951 Plymouth sedan and 1948 Chrysler convertible. I don't know how old that tissue holder was- it looked like it was from 1937! It looked terrible. Yet, he installed it under the dash- just below the glove box area of the '63 Dodge Dart. Yes, Gene Baril did things like that! Did a cheap clear small plastic container containing a couple of pens which was attached to a classy custom made kitchen cabinet look much better than that tissue holder in the Dodge Dart? Well, not much better!

Dad called the family in because he was very proud of what he'd just done.

"What do you think?" he asked excitedly, "Now when you need a pen to jot down a phone number or a message, you can just open the case and there's always a pen there!" As I recall, everybody else liked it.

"NO," I said definitely, "I really don't like it."

I don't remember exactly what my father said to me, but as I recall, it wasn't pleasant! From my point of view, he was asking for an opinion, and I gave him an honest answer. I thought that was what he was looking for. Of course, that was not what he was looking for! It was a stinging and embarrassing and uncomfortable experience for me. As you can tell, I never forgot it. I learned to, yes, lie many times when people asked me things such as, "How do you like my new car?" or "Doesn't this haircut look great?" or "Isn't this the best restaurant you've ever eaten at?" Why do we do that? We ask people, "What do you think about this?" or "How do you like this?" but if they answer honestly, we are hurt and angry. Honestly, this is one of the toughest areas to deal with in evangelical Christian circles. "Nice" Christians lie all the time about matters like this. On the one hand, you don't want to hurt people, but on the other hand, you don't really want to lie! That incident with the little clear plastic pen and pencil container attached to the cabinet in 1962 was a defining moment for me- it was sort of a rite of passage- that of learning to "play the game" or be ridiculed and rejected, and it really doesn't make me feel very good writing about it even now.

My father wasn't all wrong, here! What I did not tell you is that attached to that wooden cabinet end, as well, was a 1958 red Bell telephone wall mount phone! My parents hadn't had it mounted on the actual wall, rather, it went on the cabinet. That was also a bit tacky, I suppose, albeit quite functional. The little plastic pen container only lasted about a year or two. There was a tendency for pens to easily fall out of it when it was opened up. There was also, of course, the tendency to lose the pens and leave the container empty. My father ended up getting a round pen holder- about the size and dimension of a "medium hot coffee cup" at McDonald's. This container could easily hold about fifteen pens and pencils, and if jammed, it could probably hold about forty. It was made of a cheap metal, and covered with some sort of imitation leather, as I recall. There was a brass hook that you attached to the cabinet, and then a hole in the container to hang it onto the hook. That container was there for at least thirty-five years! My sister now owns the house and she's done a magnificent job remodeling and updating the living space. There was no need to get rid of those magnificent custom cabinets, so she had them refaced. The wall phone and pen holder were eliminated! Today, there's a modern cordless phone on the counter. I'm not sure how my father would react to these changes, but I think my late brother Eddie would approve!

I wonder if you've got any "Legacy of a Little Plastic Pen and Pencil Container" stories from your own life, and I wonder how you deal with the, "What do you think?" and "How do you like?" questions.

MEMORY FROM THE FIRST GRADE

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." (Proverbs 18:21)

Yesterday morning, I posted this little story on my Facebook page. It brought seven comments within thirty hours. I have been very busy (TOO busy!) over the past few days to post my my blog, but I decided to post this one on the blog, too. It reminds us that we really need to stop and think about how we impact young children, and about the people who teach young children! Incidentally, my first-grade teacher left that particular job after that year (1960-1961). Over twenty years later, her son was tragically killed. After reading the story, I got her address (I don't remember how I got it) and I sent her a condolences card and note. I never received any response from her. I guess I was not too surprised. Here is my story of a memory from first grade:

When I was a first-grader, I was a very skinny and very shy little kid. At the November parent-teacher conference, my teacher, Miss A. expressed concern that I NEVER raised my hand in class. My father later gave me a big "pep talk" about this. He COULD be very strict, but on this one, he wasn't. He gave me a really encouraging talk about the need to raise my hand in class. This was very difficult and very challenging for me. The next day, the teacher was giving a lesson which called for a LOT of class participation. Many kids were raising their hands and responding. This was my big moment. At one point, it took all I could muster to get my hand in the air, and then to give my response when called upon. At the end of that lesson, Miss A. said the following, "You ALL did VERY WELL with that- EXCEPT Bobby! He only raised his hand once; he might as well have NOT raised it at all!!" Something happened recently which brought that memory flooding back to me. It's one of the most stark memories of my childhood. Bottom line, we need to really THINK about what we say to people and how we react to them. There is a Bible verse which speaks of "life and death" being found in the tongue...in the words we speak. In a way, sharing this is almost as hard for me as was raising my hand on that 1960 day, but it's just something I felt I needed to do today...

UPSETTING ENCOUNTER ON ROUTE 27

"And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live." (Ezekiel 16:6)

One of my favorite films is "The Apostle" starring Robert Duvall. I think it was released in 1997. It's about a very dynamic evangelical preacher who commits murder, flees to another state, successfully starts a church- encouraging and inspiring a group of mostly poor and minority folks in a small community; and who ultimately is arrested and imprisoned. My fellow "born-again Christians" typically are very divided in their thoughts about this film- half absolutely loving it, and half absolutely hating it. I love the film. In an early scene of the movie, the Rev. "Sonny" Dewey (played by Duvall) and his mother (played by June Carter Cash) are traveling outside Ft. Worth, Texas in an impressive Lincoln when they come upon the scene of a bad automobile accident which has happened probably no more than five or ten minutes earlier. One car is off the road. Inside is a young man and his wife- both are badly injured; the wife appears to be dead or very close to death. Dewey pulls over, grabs his leather bound Bible, walks down an embankment to the car, and quotes the above Bible verse from Ezekiel. In what may be the most moving scene of the entire film, Dewey gives a very short "pep talk" to the couple, urging them to "accept Jesus Christ as Personal Savior" and become "champions" for the Lord. A police officer tries to stop Dewey from doing this, but he persists. Upon getting back into the Lincoln, Dewey and his mom begin driving away, praying for the couple. Instantly and unexpectedly, we're again shown the interior of the injured couple in the damaged car; the woman who appeared to be dead is moving. The viewer is left to believe that the preacher's bold declaration of Ezekiel 16:6 and exhortation was honored by God who brought life back into the young lady! I have heard actor Robert Duvall speak about this. He said he knew of a devout Christian woman who literally used to proclaim that verse from Ezekiel to victims of catastrophic accidents and pray over them. He based that scene on her actual actions. I was so moved by Duvall's words that I memorized Ezekiel 16:6 determined to do the same thing in the event of encountering such a horrific accident situation.

Yesterday, in the late afternoon, I was driving along a rather rural section of Route 27 in Medfield, Massachusetts about a mile from the Walpole town line. Suddenly, I noticed cars stopping in front of me, and several cars pulled to the side of the road on each side of the roadway. Then, I noticed something on the highway itself. Actually, there were two "somethings". There was a damaged bicycle in the middle of the road, and to the left of it, there was a man- probably in his forties, laying in the roadway. To my surprise, there were no emergency vehicles or personnel present. This couldn't have happened any more than five minutes earlier. I immediately thought of Ezekiel 16:6. I rolled down my window. My daughter is a nurse, so when she encounters accidents like this, she stops and renders aid. I'm proud to say that she has truly been a hero in her actions at several bad highway accidents. I was instantly debating whether to stop or not. I reasoned that when Amy stops and gets out, she does so as a nurse who knows exactly what to do. In my case, I have no idea what to do medically for an injured person! Yet, I thought of Robert Duvall in the film. I realized I could pull over, walk over, quote that verse, and pray for the victim with God's love and authority. Then, like Duvall in the movie, I could drive off and pray in the car. As I drove directly by the man, I saw that his head was injured and there was blood. It was not a pleasant scene. I heard one woman telling someone she had called 911 for help. I came within the proverbial sixteenth of an inch of stopping. Part of me really wanted to pull a Robert Duvall here. Part of me wondered if I'd just get in the way and cause a problem- if I really wanted to help this guy or if I was on a ego trip. I was already "praying in tongues" softly. I was slowing up, and about to stop. Next thing I knew, I didn't. I kept going. I did quote Ezekiel 16:6 aloud in the car and I did pray fervently for the victim. I fully expected to see emergency vehicles coming, but to my surprise, that did not happen. I suddenly realized that I was almost into Walpole and that the ambulance and police cars would be coming from the opposite direction.

I do not what the outcome of yesterday's accident was. I did an on-line search and could not find anything about it. Ironically, today in Bill Shattuck's Adult Sunday School class at Bread of Life Church, a guy in class pointed out that we tend to be much too shy and reserved about just praying out loud in public and that we really should not care what people think about it. I know there's a balance to this stuff. There is that whole thing about "don't cast your pearls before swine" that comes from the Synoptic gospels. We have to use wisdom. But the guy's comment really made me think. Did I do the wrong thing yesterday? Should, I have stopped, quoted the Scripture, and prayed a short prayer aloud? In retrospect, I absolutely think I should have. This is kind of scary to put out there in public because I know God will hold me to it, but the next time I encounter a situation like that, I will get out of the car and do what I should have done on Saturday!