Long story, but this is what keeps me going in ministry (not just the ability to tell long stories, though thats a bonus): this is my 10th year in ministry. Not long after arriving in Englewood, I got a call from Beneranda Rivera-baez that a co-worker of hers, a young woman in her 20s, had been critically injured, hit by a car. She didnt know if the family had a church. Benny gave me her name and I went to Hackensack Med Ctr where she was unconscious in ICU. The patients father asked why I was there, and I said Benny Baez sent me. He said, Who is Benny Baez? I realized that most parents wouldnt know the names of their childrens co-workers. I prayed at her bedside. Months later, just before our contemporary worship, in walks a couple with a young woman in a wheelchair who had suffered some brain damage. They looked familiar, but that incident was not top of mind. So I said, You look familiar. Youve come to the morning (traditional) service, right? The father said, Ive never been in this building before. Then after a moment, the light bulb came on. He said, You were the one who came to the hospital! So why were they there if they hadnt remembered who I was? Because another member of my church, R.Linsy Farris, knew the womans mother. She used to work for him (hes a physician). Linsy ran into her somewhere, and asked how things were going. She told him how hard things had been, that her daughter had almost been killed, faced a long rehab, etc. And Linsy said, Sounds like coming to church could help? And he suggested Crossroads, our contemporary service, as it is smaller, livelier, etc. So there they were. Over the next couple of years we watched as she recovered her speech. Stopped using the wheelchair. Climbed steps again. As life would have it, the family moved to Atlanta, where this incredible young woman - who has recovered remarkably (she really put in the effort) - started attending my favorite church: Buckhead Church (part of Andy Stanleys North Point Ministries, and my favorite campus of the bunch). Shes involved in a small group, etc. And then a couple of weeks ago she shared on Facebook: this Sunday, at Buckheads 11am service, Melissa K. Algreen will make her public profession of faith and be baptized (North Point comes out of the Baptist tradition and does not recognize infant baptism). We spoke a few days ago and she gave me permission to share this story. Absolutely nothing makes me happier than to have been a part of her amazing journey of resilience and faith, and watching the guiding hand of God using so many different people. Ill be telling this story again at prayer time this Sunday. If Benny hadnt called me, if Linsy hadnt invited the mother to church - maybe things turn out differently. If YOU get that little voice nudging you to talk to someone about your faith, DO IT.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 00:43:28 +0000
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