Born Again
Stories
Shining Moments
Visions Of The Holy In Ordinary Lives
Kathy Raines
Larry lived across the street from the church in a low-income apartment complex. Several years before my husband and I came to the church as pastors, Larry had been in a very bad motorcycle accident. It wasn't certain that he would even live, but he did survive -- with extensive brain damage. He learned to walk again, and most Sundays he would hobble across the street, with a bow-legged walk, to church. He'd climb the stairs and come into our adult Sunday school class, which met an hour before worship.
Many in the class were leaders of the church. Most of the owners of the town's Main Street businesses were active members. Some had been coming to the church for over fifty years. The Sunday school class members were literally doctors, lawyers, car dealers, and other prominent business men and women. Larry could not read and could barely write his name on the attendance pad. His sole subject of interest for conversation was motorcycles. I don't remember the topic at Sunday school that day, but we had veered into a discussion of worship. Then Larry blurted out, "I come to church because God saved my life."
Larry lived across the street from the church in a low-income apartment complex. Several years before my husband and I came to the church as pastors, Larry had been in a very bad motorcycle accident. It wasn't certain that he would even live, but he did survive -- with extensive brain damage. He learned to walk again, and most Sundays he would hobble across the street, with a bow-legged walk, to church. He'd climb the stairs and come into our adult Sunday school class, which met an hour before worship.
Many in the class were leaders of the church. Most of the owners of the town's Main Street businesses were active members. Some had been coming to the church for over fifty years. The Sunday school class members were literally doctors, lawyers, car dealers, and other prominent business men and women. Larry could not read and could barely write his name on the attendance pad. His sole subject of interest for conversation was motorcycles. I don't remember the topic at Sunday school that day, but we had veered into a discussion of worship. Then Larry blurted out, "I come to church because God saved my life."
