Ed and Patsy now live in Athens, Alabama and are members at the Pepper Road church. As administrator of this blog, he enjoys sharing thoughts about spiritual maters. Not only his thoughts but good articles from other authors. He is also thankful to have been able to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ for over sixty years.
Many years ago, while working with a local church, there was man who occasionally attended Sunday services with his wife and son, who were faithful members of the congregation. I will call him Mr. XL. I’d had a few very pleasant conversations with him in the vestibule during the few months that I had been there. I knew little of his religious background, only that he leaned toward the traditional views of his forefathers. One Sunday morning I preached on the gospel plan of salvation (I forget the exact title) and Mr. XL was present. As he came by after the service, rather than the usual pleasant demeanor, he was obviously upset. He was in no mood to exchange pleasantries, but just mumbled some inaudible sounds. I was informed by a brother standing nearby that Mr. XL will not be back. You need to apologize to him.
Now, as Paul Harvey used to say, the rest of the story. Given his state of mind, I decided to wait a few days to let things settle down before going to talk with him privately. The following Thursday, his son phoned me and said that his dad wanted to talk with me ASP. I nervously drove to his house. (At that time I weighed about 140 lbs. and he at least 240 lbs., with muscles reflecting his many years as a blacksmith.) As I cautiously stepped upon his back porch I could see him sitting in his den. He spotted me, waved, and shouted, Come on in here, Preacher. As I recall he did not get up from his recliner, but motioned for me to take a nearby seat. Immediately he brought up Sundays sermon. He had deduced from the sermon that I thought that he was going to hell because he had not been baptized. Then he wanted to know if that was what I believed. I pointed out that since God is the judge, it didnt really matter what I believed, but what God says, in the Bible. Mr. XL agreed. But he was persistent. He still pressed me to answer, yes or no, whether or not I thought he was going to hell. I asked him what he thought. After a moment of silence, he said, Well, I guess I had better do it, can you baptize me today?
I did within the hour.
What is the point of my telling the above true story? Frequently we hear and read stories of a visitor coming to the services of a congregation, and because of what someone from the congregation said to them, never visited again. In a case like this, it might be good to defer placing blame until more time passes and more facts are known.