It's All Heart
Stories
Contents
What's Up This Week
A Story to Live By: "Soul Food" by Gregory L. Tolle
Good Stories: "It's All Heart" by Constance Berg
"Commercial Break" by B. Kathleen Fannin
Scrap Pile: "Faithful Accountability" by Chuck Cammarata
What's Up This Week
Modern living can be incredibly stressful -- and the ways we find to cope aren't always the healthiest. From the extra pounds we put on by eating poorly, to working ourselves into exhaustion in a neverending struggle to "keep up with the Joneses," to the pain caused by an adulterous relationship -- our stories this week spotlight the physical and spiritual toll of the choices we sometimes make in a futile attempt to fill the ache in our souls. But no matter how dire our situation, as Constance Berg reminds us in Good Stories, God is concerned with the state of our hearts -- and He feeds us with the "heart-healthiest" food of all... Jesus, the Bread of Life.
A Story to Live By
Soul Food
by Gregory L. Tolle
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you."
John 6:25-27b
When I started college, I carried 140 pounds on my 5'7" frame. Somehow I avoided the dreaded "freshman fifteen" -- the additional 15 pounds gained during the first year of college. I was lucky and maintained my weight. Then I slipped and became a sophomore slob. I started developing love handles. I discovered I couldn't eat a full breakfast at 9:00 a.m. and turn around at noon and tackle the all-you-can-scarf lunch buffet. After adding 15 pounds, I decided something had to be done. So I changed my eating habits and graduated from college weighing about 145.
I maintained my weight for three years -- a direct correlation to my wedding date. Now, you're probably thinking one of two things. But I did not gain weight because I let myself go after locking my wife into a lifetime deal, and I did not gain weight because my wife was a great cook. (She only had one dish she knew how to make.) No, the two biggest reasons were that, now that I was married, I stopped playing basketball with the gang and I started seminary a year later. I eventually peaked at 173 pounds. Fortunately, I lost 20 pounds and maintained that weight over the past few years.
We struggle with keeping our weight within "normal" ranges in America. I do not have this on the authority of God or scientific research, but I think I know why based on personal experience. We like to eat -- and ministers are the worst. Anytime there is gathering of clergy, I see a lot of pudgy preachers, mountainous ministers, and fat friars. I heard it said among clergy friends that "fried chicken is the official food of the United Methodist Church" and that "the church pot-luck is the unofficial third sacrament."
This is a nightmare for dieticians and insurance companies. Instead of encouraging us to eat less, it encourages us to eat more. And since more than 30 percent of Americans are 20 pounds or more overweight, we don't need any encouragement to feed ourselves -- at least, not our stomachs.
But Jesus reminds us that we have a need to feed. In John 6:24-35 a crowd follows Jesus across the sea, and Jesus doesn't mince words telling them why they followed. Not because they saw signs or thought he was special. No, Jesus knew they followed -- because they wanted a free lunch.
But more than feeding their stomachs, Jesus wanted to feed their souls. Just like the grain group is on the base of our food pyramid, bread was the basic food of Jesus' day. Earthy. Accessible. So Jesus calls himself "bread." He essentially says, "I am the basic thing you need -- earthy and accessible. But I'm not stomach food. I'm soul food. The bread of life. The bread of heaven. The bread that will fill your soul forever."
As I look at our country, I see people who are gluttons with Snickers, Big Macs, and pizza. At the same time, I see people who are starving for the Bread of Life.
In his best-selling book Fast Food Nation, author Eric Schlosser tells of the rise of fast-food giant McDonald's. He writes: "The impact of McDonald's on the nation's culture, economy, and diet is hard to overstate. Its corporate symbol -- the Golden Arches -- is now more widely recognized than the Christian cross."
This is a depressing thought. I still have mental images of starving children from the developing world -- sunken eyes, exposed rib cages, and bloated bellies. If we know Ronald McDonald better than Jesus, then this unhealthy image is also true of the spiritual state of our nation. But the good news from John 6:27 is that Jesus offers himself as "the food that endures for eternal life" to all starving people.
The problem is that too often, we just don't get it. Now, Big Macs and Snickers we understand, but metaphors can be too abstract; so we miss the point. The people Jesus addressed in John 6 didn't get it. He talked of the bread of life, and they wanted a concrete sign -- like when Moses gave food to their Hebrew ancestors in the wilderness. But Jesus reminded them that Moses didn't feed them. God had fed them, and food from God nourishes more than just the stomach. It feeds the souls of people lost in the wilderness. It goes past a rumbling tummy to the true emptiness in our lives.
Gregory L. Tolle is the senior minister at First United Methodist Church in Durant, Oklahoma. He is the author of three volumes of the CSS series Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit.
Good Stories
It's All Heart
by Constance Berg
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10
Vocabulary changes with life experience. "No, no," "Mommy," "Daddy" are typical words for a two-year-old. "Hang out," "cool," "tight" are words a teenager might use. "Tight budget," "gas money," and "deadlines" resonate with college students.
Jason's vocabulary changed when he was 36. He and his wife were celebrating their tenth anniversary when he leaned over to kiss her and had a heart attack. It wasn't a very romantic thing to do, but his blood wasn't reaching a certain part of the heart and it complained. His heart just... stopped.
"Abnormal heart rhythm," "atrial fibrillation," "cardiac episode," and "stent" were introduced in a cruel way into his repertoire of words. Even the word "tight" took on a completely different meaning.
Jason heard, saw, tasted, reacted, thought, and lived in a radically changed way once he recovered. Everything changed from that moment on. He ate differently, prayed differently, looked at his family differently, and even learned to breathe differently! He felt he had a new lease on life. He had been given a second chance and was so grateful.
When the pastor talked about a "broken and contrite heart," Jason wept with sadness about past errors. When he heard that the "pure in heart are blessed because they shall see God," he prayed that he would be among them. When he was worried, he focused on advice from the gospel of John: "Let not your heart be troubled." His heart was at the center of his being, and he paid special attention to it so that it would continue to beat evenly.
When Jason and Karen were married 28 years, they celebrated their wedding anniversary along with their youngest daughter's marriage and their son's college graduation. Life was good that summer. Jason's heart was strong, they were looking forward to retirement in a few years, and the kids are out of the house and on their own.
Life indeed was good that year -- until the fall, when their older daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer... stage IIIB breast cancer... stage IIIB inflammatory breast cancer: the kind that gives few signs, few symptoms, yet grows so quickly the images change almost daily.
Jason was shocked to the core -- so he turned inward, to the heart of the matter. He learned all he could about IBC. "Metastasis," "sheet," "lymph nodes," and "radiation therapy" entered his vocabulary. Each morning when his wife handed him an orange, he would think of a new phrase: "peau d'orange." Although he new what "biopsy" and "bone scan" meant, he didn't want to have to consider what they meant for his daughter. Still, he armed himself with information so he could be strong.
He armed himself with God's love so his faith could be strong. Through daily devotions and study of the scriptures, Jason was able to cope with the intense schedule of testing and treatment his daughter was subjected to. He watched as Karen struggled to survive, fought depression, and endured surgery after surgery. He learned about forgiveness as he asked God to walk with him through the journey of her illness, all the time struggling with his own doubt and fears. Little by little, Jason came to trust completely in God for the outcome of the disease that had invaded his daughter's body. Jason concentrated on the fact that although the body has several parts to it, the heart is what God wants -- a heart completely surrendered and trusting of God.
Jason opened his heart to God. He allowed God to wash compassion and unconditional love over him as he wailed in grief over his daughter's illness. And after six years, Jason learned about God's unfailing love and mercy as he watched his daughter get stronger and stronger.
Jason and Karen celebrated once again -- this time for 34 years of marriage, for two grandchildren, for their daughter's survival. They still had a long way to go, but God had allowed both Jason and his daughter to go ahead with life and breathe in God's blessings. Thanks be to God!
Constance Berg is a former missionary to Chiapas, Mexico. She is currently based in Bakersfield, California, where she serves as the director of 18 nursing homes for handicapped individuals. Berg is the author of three volumes of the CSS series Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit.
Commercial Break
by B. Kathleen Fannin
"Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you."
John 6:27
Like the product it advertised, the commercial seemed to keep going and going. He wished he had such endless energy. As it was, he wasn't sure how much longer he could continue. He knew he shouldn't be watching television with so many other things demanding his time. That was why he was doing it, to escape. For this one hour he wouldn't have to make any decisions, settle any arguments, or concern himself with how they were going to pay for the kids' braces if he couldn't continue to keep up with the demands made by two jobs and a growing family.
He always did this when things got overwhelming. The television offered a few moments of mindless escape -- except during the commercials, and this one seemed endless. Commercials tended to jerk him back to the very reality he was trying to avoid: Consumerism! It was consuming him.
He had really believed in the fairy tale, the one in which a man grew up, took a wife, had children, and supported the family on an adequate income from an enjoyable job with regular hours which left him plenty of time for recreation. What a joke!
He worked non-stop, and he came home exhausted to find the children ready to tear each other limb from limb for no apparent reason beyond sibling rivalry, in the midst of which his wife, exhausted from work herself, was trying to get dinner on the table so they could all sit down to "a nice family meal."
As the commercial droned on he felt the all-too-familiar shortness of breath and racing pulse that preceded panic. "No," he told himself, "not this time. I'm not going to live like this anymore."
The sudden sound of his own words startled him. He was too surprised to notice that the commercial had finally ended. Lost in thought, he considered the possibilities. For too many years he had been functioning automatically, avoiding thinking, filling his days and nights with too much work, trying to make ends meet.
But did braces for the kids really matter? Did the family really need a house this large? He began to look around the room, seeing its furnishings from a new perspective. A familiar book on the end table caught his eye. He hadn't bothered to open it in a long time.
As he picked up the Bible, he realized thinking was not the only thing he had been avoiding in his life. When he'd taken the second job, church attendance had been one of the first things to go. He couldn't remember the last time he had bothered to pray.
Somehow his priorities had gotten confused, and his family was paying a high price. He knew it wouldn't be easy to change. He had become used to a certain standard of living. But he was dying in the process of maintaining it and hardly knew his family because he didn't have time or energy to spend with them.
Tonight he realized with a degree of certainty he'd not experienced in years that there was more to life than these material things he had been so intent upon possessing. "God," he thought tentatively, "it's me, Sam. We haven't talked in too long..."
B. Kathleen Fannin is the Chaplain at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, and is an ordained pastor in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Her sermons, articles, and poetry have appeared in a variety of publications, and she is the author of Cows in Church (CSS).
Scrap Pile
Faithful Accountability?
by Chuck Cammarata
This week's passages emphasize the importance of holding one another accountable in the Body of Christ. Paul encourages it in Ephesians 4:1-16, and Nathan exemplifies it in 2 Samuel 11:26--12:13a.
* * *
For weeks the whispers were racing around the congregation. Our youth pastor, a much-loved and very devoted Christian man, was having an affair! When the rumors reached me, I agonized over what to do. This man was a good friend of mine. He and I had been through many battles together. The teenagers and their parents thought the world of him. He had made our youth ministry a powerful force in the church and the community.
There was a part of me that just wanted to avoid the whole issue. I thought, "Maybe this affair will just fade away and I won't have to do anything that might cause a rift in our friendship or lessen the momentum of our youth ministry." In addition, I went through all the usual rationalizations. Who was I to judge him? Remember... "Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone." That certainly wasn't me. I was not without sin. And maybe the affair was understandable. After all, I had known for a long time that his marriage had been rocky. There wasn't much love in that marriage anymore. My friend was just looking for some love -- nothing wrong with that, right?
But in the end, none of my rationalizations could quiet the voice in my head that told me the issue must be confronted. If one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins (James 5:19-20). Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently (Galatians 6:1). Speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). These passages, and others, could not be escaped. It was clear that my job, as pastor of the church, as a friend in Christ, was to confront my brother with his sin. I was to be Nathan to his David. I only hoped that he would respond as did David, with repentance.
I prayed for several days before finally gathering the courage to do my duty. I called and made an appointment, then arranged for another good brother in the Lord to go with me -- and off I went to a meeting I did not even remotely look forward to. When I arrived I told him straight up that there were rumors floating around the church about his affair. I did not give him the chance to deny it. I simply stated that I believed it was happening and that it was going to destroy him and his ministry if it continued.
At this point my worst fears were realized. My friend told me that it was none of my business -- in fact, he said, it was no one's business, and that I (and others) should just stay out of his life. Besides, he believed that God wanted him to be happy, and this woman made him happy. I wanted to pray with him. He wouldn't allow it, and he asked us to leave. I was heartbroken. I was pretty sure that I had just lost a good friend, and that the tsunami of repercussions for our youth program were about to hit.
This all happened four years ago. I would like to tell you that my friend came to his senses, we have reconciled, and all is well in our church. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Our youth ministry survived, but it is still recovering from the loss of leadership -- and a number of young people and their families felt betrayed by their leader. The church also went through a time of conflict regarding how I handled this situation. My friend eventually divorced his wife and married the other woman. He left our church. He and I rarely talk these days. He does youth ministry in another church. He is successful again, at least in terms of the number of teens in his program.
And though I questioned myself for a long time regarding my actions in this situation, in the end I decided that the results should not to be the basis for evaluating the action. The results were not in my hands -- all that was up to me was the decision to be faithful to my God and my friend. I believe that I acted faithfully. My friend was living in sin, and I was called to speak the truth to him out of my love for him. I did that. The rest was, and is, in God's very capable hands.
Chuck Cammarata is the pastor of Fairview Presbyterian Church in Fairview, Pennsylvania. He is the author of the CSS titles Lighting the Flame and Lectionary Worship Workbook, and editor of the funeral resources anthology Life Everlasting.
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How to Share Stories
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StoryShare, August 6, 2006, issue.
Copyright 2006 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
What's Up This Week
A Story to Live By: "Soul Food" by Gregory L. Tolle
Good Stories: "It's All Heart" by Constance Berg
"Commercial Break" by B. Kathleen Fannin
Scrap Pile: "Faithful Accountability" by Chuck Cammarata
What's Up This Week
Modern living can be incredibly stressful -- and the ways we find to cope aren't always the healthiest. From the extra pounds we put on by eating poorly, to working ourselves into exhaustion in a neverending struggle to "keep up with the Joneses," to the pain caused by an adulterous relationship -- our stories this week spotlight the physical and spiritual toll of the choices we sometimes make in a futile attempt to fill the ache in our souls. But no matter how dire our situation, as Constance Berg reminds us in Good Stories, God is concerned with the state of our hearts -- and He feeds us with the "heart-healthiest" food of all... Jesus, the Bread of Life.
A Story to Live By
Soul Food
by Gregory L. Tolle
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you."
John 6:25-27b
When I started college, I carried 140 pounds on my 5'7" frame. Somehow I avoided the dreaded "freshman fifteen" -- the additional 15 pounds gained during the first year of college. I was lucky and maintained my weight. Then I slipped and became a sophomore slob. I started developing love handles. I discovered I couldn't eat a full breakfast at 9:00 a.m. and turn around at noon and tackle the all-you-can-scarf lunch buffet. After adding 15 pounds, I decided something had to be done. So I changed my eating habits and graduated from college weighing about 145.
I maintained my weight for three years -- a direct correlation to my wedding date. Now, you're probably thinking one of two things. But I did not gain weight because I let myself go after locking my wife into a lifetime deal, and I did not gain weight because my wife was a great cook. (She only had one dish she knew how to make.) No, the two biggest reasons were that, now that I was married, I stopped playing basketball with the gang and I started seminary a year later. I eventually peaked at 173 pounds. Fortunately, I lost 20 pounds and maintained that weight over the past few years.
We struggle with keeping our weight within "normal" ranges in America. I do not have this on the authority of God or scientific research, but I think I know why based on personal experience. We like to eat -- and ministers are the worst. Anytime there is gathering of clergy, I see a lot of pudgy preachers, mountainous ministers, and fat friars. I heard it said among clergy friends that "fried chicken is the official food of the United Methodist Church" and that "the church pot-luck is the unofficial third sacrament."
This is a nightmare for dieticians and insurance companies. Instead of encouraging us to eat less, it encourages us to eat more. And since more than 30 percent of Americans are 20 pounds or more overweight, we don't need any encouragement to feed ourselves -- at least, not our stomachs.
But Jesus reminds us that we have a need to feed. In John 6:24-35 a crowd follows Jesus across the sea, and Jesus doesn't mince words telling them why they followed. Not because they saw signs or thought he was special. No, Jesus knew they followed -- because they wanted a free lunch.
But more than feeding their stomachs, Jesus wanted to feed their souls. Just like the grain group is on the base of our food pyramid, bread was the basic food of Jesus' day. Earthy. Accessible. So Jesus calls himself "bread." He essentially says, "I am the basic thing you need -- earthy and accessible. But I'm not stomach food. I'm soul food. The bread of life. The bread of heaven. The bread that will fill your soul forever."
As I look at our country, I see people who are gluttons with Snickers, Big Macs, and pizza. At the same time, I see people who are starving for the Bread of Life.
In his best-selling book Fast Food Nation, author Eric Schlosser tells of the rise of fast-food giant McDonald's. He writes: "The impact of McDonald's on the nation's culture, economy, and diet is hard to overstate. Its corporate symbol -- the Golden Arches -- is now more widely recognized than the Christian cross."
This is a depressing thought. I still have mental images of starving children from the developing world -- sunken eyes, exposed rib cages, and bloated bellies. If we know Ronald McDonald better than Jesus, then this unhealthy image is also true of the spiritual state of our nation. But the good news from John 6:27 is that Jesus offers himself as "the food that endures for eternal life" to all starving people.
The problem is that too often, we just don't get it. Now, Big Macs and Snickers we understand, but metaphors can be too abstract; so we miss the point. The people Jesus addressed in John 6 didn't get it. He talked of the bread of life, and they wanted a concrete sign -- like when Moses gave food to their Hebrew ancestors in the wilderness. But Jesus reminded them that Moses didn't feed them. God had fed them, and food from God nourishes more than just the stomach. It feeds the souls of people lost in the wilderness. It goes past a rumbling tummy to the true emptiness in our lives.
Gregory L. Tolle is the senior minister at First United Methodist Church in Durant, Oklahoma. He is the author of three volumes of the CSS series Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit.
Good Stories
It's All Heart
by Constance Berg
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10
Vocabulary changes with life experience. "No, no," "Mommy," "Daddy" are typical words for a two-year-old. "Hang out," "cool," "tight" are words a teenager might use. "Tight budget," "gas money," and "deadlines" resonate with college students.
Jason's vocabulary changed when he was 36. He and his wife were celebrating their tenth anniversary when he leaned over to kiss her and had a heart attack. It wasn't a very romantic thing to do, but his blood wasn't reaching a certain part of the heart and it complained. His heart just... stopped.
"Abnormal heart rhythm," "atrial fibrillation," "cardiac episode," and "stent" were introduced in a cruel way into his repertoire of words. Even the word "tight" took on a completely different meaning.
Jason heard, saw, tasted, reacted, thought, and lived in a radically changed way once he recovered. Everything changed from that moment on. He ate differently, prayed differently, looked at his family differently, and even learned to breathe differently! He felt he had a new lease on life. He had been given a second chance and was so grateful.
When the pastor talked about a "broken and contrite heart," Jason wept with sadness about past errors. When he heard that the "pure in heart are blessed because they shall see God," he prayed that he would be among them. When he was worried, he focused on advice from the gospel of John: "Let not your heart be troubled." His heart was at the center of his being, and he paid special attention to it so that it would continue to beat evenly.
When Jason and Karen were married 28 years, they celebrated their wedding anniversary along with their youngest daughter's marriage and their son's college graduation. Life was good that summer. Jason's heart was strong, they were looking forward to retirement in a few years, and the kids are out of the house and on their own.
Life indeed was good that year -- until the fall, when their older daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer... stage IIIB breast cancer... stage IIIB inflammatory breast cancer: the kind that gives few signs, few symptoms, yet grows so quickly the images change almost daily.
Jason was shocked to the core -- so he turned inward, to the heart of the matter. He learned all he could about IBC. "Metastasis," "sheet," "lymph nodes," and "radiation therapy" entered his vocabulary. Each morning when his wife handed him an orange, he would think of a new phrase: "peau d'orange." Although he new what "biopsy" and "bone scan" meant, he didn't want to have to consider what they meant for his daughter. Still, he armed himself with information so he could be strong.
He armed himself with God's love so his faith could be strong. Through daily devotions and study of the scriptures, Jason was able to cope with the intense schedule of testing and treatment his daughter was subjected to. He watched as Karen struggled to survive, fought depression, and endured surgery after surgery. He learned about forgiveness as he asked God to walk with him through the journey of her illness, all the time struggling with his own doubt and fears. Little by little, Jason came to trust completely in God for the outcome of the disease that had invaded his daughter's body. Jason concentrated on the fact that although the body has several parts to it, the heart is what God wants -- a heart completely surrendered and trusting of God.
Jason opened his heart to God. He allowed God to wash compassion and unconditional love over him as he wailed in grief over his daughter's illness. And after six years, Jason learned about God's unfailing love and mercy as he watched his daughter get stronger and stronger.
Jason and Karen celebrated once again -- this time for 34 years of marriage, for two grandchildren, for their daughter's survival. They still had a long way to go, but God had allowed both Jason and his daughter to go ahead with life and breathe in God's blessings. Thanks be to God!
Constance Berg is a former missionary to Chiapas, Mexico. She is currently based in Bakersfield, California, where she serves as the director of 18 nursing homes for handicapped individuals. Berg is the author of three volumes of the CSS series Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit.
Commercial Break
by B. Kathleen Fannin
"Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you."
John 6:27
Like the product it advertised, the commercial seemed to keep going and going. He wished he had such endless energy. As it was, he wasn't sure how much longer he could continue. He knew he shouldn't be watching television with so many other things demanding his time. That was why he was doing it, to escape. For this one hour he wouldn't have to make any decisions, settle any arguments, or concern himself with how they were going to pay for the kids' braces if he couldn't continue to keep up with the demands made by two jobs and a growing family.
He always did this when things got overwhelming. The television offered a few moments of mindless escape -- except during the commercials, and this one seemed endless. Commercials tended to jerk him back to the very reality he was trying to avoid: Consumerism! It was consuming him.
He had really believed in the fairy tale, the one in which a man grew up, took a wife, had children, and supported the family on an adequate income from an enjoyable job with regular hours which left him plenty of time for recreation. What a joke!
He worked non-stop, and he came home exhausted to find the children ready to tear each other limb from limb for no apparent reason beyond sibling rivalry, in the midst of which his wife, exhausted from work herself, was trying to get dinner on the table so they could all sit down to "a nice family meal."
As the commercial droned on he felt the all-too-familiar shortness of breath and racing pulse that preceded panic. "No," he told himself, "not this time. I'm not going to live like this anymore."
The sudden sound of his own words startled him. He was too surprised to notice that the commercial had finally ended. Lost in thought, he considered the possibilities. For too many years he had been functioning automatically, avoiding thinking, filling his days and nights with too much work, trying to make ends meet.
But did braces for the kids really matter? Did the family really need a house this large? He began to look around the room, seeing its furnishings from a new perspective. A familiar book on the end table caught his eye. He hadn't bothered to open it in a long time.
As he picked up the Bible, he realized thinking was not the only thing he had been avoiding in his life. When he'd taken the second job, church attendance had been one of the first things to go. He couldn't remember the last time he had bothered to pray.
Somehow his priorities had gotten confused, and his family was paying a high price. He knew it wouldn't be easy to change. He had become used to a certain standard of living. But he was dying in the process of maintaining it and hardly knew his family because he didn't have time or energy to spend with them.
Tonight he realized with a degree of certainty he'd not experienced in years that there was more to life than these material things he had been so intent upon possessing. "God," he thought tentatively, "it's me, Sam. We haven't talked in too long..."
B. Kathleen Fannin is the Chaplain at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, and is an ordained pastor in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Her sermons, articles, and poetry have appeared in a variety of publications, and she is the author of Cows in Church (CSS).
Scrap Pile
Faithful Accountability?
by Chuck Cammarata
This week's passages emphasize the importance of holding one another accountable in the Body of Christ. Paul encourages it in Ephesians 4:1-16, and Nathan exemplifies it in 2 Samuel 11:26--12:13a.
* * *
For weeks the whispers were racing around the congregation. Our youth pastor, a much-loved and very devoted Christian man, was having an affair! When the rumors reached me, I agonized over what to do. This man was a good friend of mine. He and I had been through many battles together. The teenagers and their parents thought the world of him. He had made our youth ministry a powerful force in the church and the community.
There was a part of me that just wanted to avoid the whole issue. I thought, "Maybe this affair will just fade away and I won't have to do anything that might cause a rift in our friendship or lessen the momentum of our youth ministry." In addition, I went through all the usual rationalizations. Who was I to judge him? Remember... "Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone." That certainly wasn't me. I was not without sin. And maybe the affair was understandable. After all, I had known for a long time that his marriage had been rocky. There wasn't much love in that marriage anymore. My friend was just looking for some love -- nothing wrong with that, right?
But in the end, none of my rationalizations could quiet the voice in my head that told me the issue must be confronted. If one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins (James 5:19-20). Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently (Galatians 6:1). Speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). These passages, and others, could not be escaped. It was clear that my job, as pastor of the church, as a friend in Christ, was to confront my brother with his sin. I was to be Nathan to his David. I only hoped that he would respond as did David, with repentance.
I prayed for several days before finally gathering the courage to do my duty. I called and made an appointment, then arranged for another good brother in the Lord to go with me -- and off I went to a meeting I did not even remotely look forward to. When I arrived I told him straight up that there were rumors floating around the church about his affair. I did not give him the chance to deny it. I simply stated that I believed it was happening and that it was going to destroy him and his ministry if it continued.
At this point my worst fears were realized. My friend told me that it was none of my business -- in fact, he said, it was no one's business, and that I (and others) should just stay out of his life. Besides, he believed that God wanted him to be happy, and this woman made him happy. I wanted to pray with him. He wouldn't allow it, and he asked us to leave. I was heartbroken. I was pretty sure that I had just lost a good friend, and that the tsunami of repercussions for our youth program were about to hit.
This all happened four years ago. I would like to tell you that my friend came to his senses, we have reconciled, and all is well in our church. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Our youth ministry survived, but it is still recovering from the loss of leadership -- and a number of young people and their families felt betrayed by their leader. The church also went through a time of conflict regarding how I handled this situation. My friend eventually divorced his wife and married the other woman. He left our church. He and I rarely talk these days. He does youth ministry in another church. He is successful again, at least in terms of the number of teens in his program.
And though I questioned myself for a long time regarding my actions in this situation, in the end I decided that the results should not to be the basis for evaluating the action. The results were not in my hands -- all that was up to me was the decision to be faithful to my God and my friend. I believe that I acted faithfully. My friend was living in sin, and I was called to speak the truth to him out of my love for him. I did that. The rest was, and is, in God's very capable hands.
Chuck Cammarata is the pastor of Fairview Presbyterian Church in Fairview, Pennsylvania. He is the author of the CSS titles Lighting the Flame and Lectionary Worship Workbook, and editor of the funeral resources anthology Life Everlasting.
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StoryShare, August 6, 2006, issue.
Copyright 2006 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
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