Paul's Coming This Weekend!

I am the pastor of a church in our community. On several occasions I've told our church a story that I've shared with all four churches I've served since I received my first full-time assignment 32 years ago. One Sunday in that first setting a woman came to worship with her children. She was a single woman, having suffered through an unfortunate and unanticipated divorce. In seeking a place to worship she and her children had felt ignored or even ostracized in the congregations they had visited. When she brought her kids to our church for the first time, she sat them down in a pew that had been occupied by one of our veteran saints and his wife since about two years before the invention of baseball. However, in spite of pronouncing, "That's my pew!" this old gentleman willingly and graciously yielded his seat and row to the newcomers.

One of the children the young lady brought to worship that day was a boy named Paul. Paul is now a dedicated, gifted, and talented follower of Jesus. He is on the ministry team of one of the most dynamic, growing congregations of our particular denomination in our state. This weekend our church will have the unique gift of having Paul present in our worship services to help lead us God-ward. This is a real blessed moment for me. Paul and his story are an inspiration to me, and I can't wait to put a face and a person to one of the testimonies that has helped shaped my faith journey and that has given me great joy to share.

You never know when a moment and an unplanned act can plant a seed, set a direction, or even change a life. It can be the difference between, "That's my pew," and "That's all right; you're just welcome to sit there.