Reverend Johnson showed up early...
Illustration
Reverend Johnson showed up early in the office for his first day as the minister of Third Presbyterian Church. He spent a quiet morning unloading books and organizing files. Around 11 a.m., Paul Mercer poked his head in the office door. Paul was 81 years old and had attended Third Presbyterian all his life. He was a bit of a local legend because he had the largest collection of Sunday school attendance pins in town. No one could beat Paul's string of 75 straight years of Sunday school.
"Could I steal you for about ten minutes?" asked Paul.
"Sure," said Reverend Johnson. "I could use a break."
Paul led Reverend Johnson over to the education wing, down a flight of steps, and into the large gathering area where all the Sunday school classes met for opening exercises.
"I just wanted to show you a little something. See that wall? We've got a picture of every Sunday school class for the last fifty years up there -- all the way back to 1954. And I'm in every single one of them. These are the people who made this church. They rebuilt this place after the fire in 1959. They cleaned up the town and served dinners here in the church after the river flooded in 1973. And when little Joannie Davis needed a kidney transplant, it was those people right there that raised $100,000 to help pay her medical bills. Good people on that wall. Good Christians."
"I suppose that's your own Faith Hall of Fame, isn't it?"
"I guess you could say that," chuckled Paul. "Anyway, I just wanted our own heroes of the church to meet our new pastor."
"Could I steal you for about ten minutes?" asked Paul.
"Sure," said Reverend Johnson. "I could use a break."
Paul led Reverend Johnson over to the education wing, down a flight of steps, and into the large gathering area where all the Sunday school classes met for opening exercises.
"I just wanted to show you a little something. See that wall? We've got a picture of every Sunday school class for the last fifty years up there -- all the way back to 1954. And I'm in every single one of them. These are the people who made this church. They rebuilt this place after the fire in 1959. They cleaned up the town and served dinners here in the church after the river flooded in 1973. And when little Joannie Davis needed a kidney transplant, it was those people right there that raised $100,000 to help pay her medical bills. Good people on that wall. Good Christians."
"I suppose that's your own Faith Hall of Fame, isn't it?"
"I guess you could say that," chuckled Paul. "Anyway, I just wanted our own heroes of the church to meet our new pastor."
