Had Collin not come with her to attend Sunday school while she was in the worship service, Stevie would have slipped out during the pastoral prayer and gone home. Unable to do that, she was open game in the foyer after the service. On her way to pick up Collin, the pastor was suddenly in her path.
"Stephanie, it's good to see you today," he said with unimpeachable sincerity. The pastor lowered his volume discreetly. "How is Shawna doing?" Stevie didn't want to get into it. She was sorry she had mentioned Shawna's email problem and departure to the pastor when it happened. When she'd first called him to tell him about it and got the answering machine, she should have left it at that. Instead she had called back later, requesting prayer for the situation. Now he knew, and she could not very well avoid the subject. She answered in as general terms as possible: "All right, I guess. She's with Jon—probably driving him crazy." Had she spoken her true feelings at the moment, Stevie might have said, "My daughter doesn't want to live with me and I'm very upset about it. So far I've lost a husband, a son, and a daughter while attending your church. Perhaps I'd better leave while I still have Collin."
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
The World Is Going Crazy
This is madness. The world is going to blazes around me, and my kids are going down the drain with it. The school and the community only seem to make things worse. Whatever happened to teachers and administrators and legislators who care about their constituents? Why isn't a government commission monitoring email to prevent dirtbags like Rik from electronically molesting girls like Shawna? No wonder Shawna made wrong choices. The moral fabric of the community has been reduced to shreds, and nobody will take responsibility for it.
The litany of social ills and failures nagged at Stevie. She wondered if the nicely dressed saints around her had any idea how angry she felt.
And what is my church doing about the collapse? They're wrapped up in a drive for new pews and choir robes. Where was the youth pastor when Dougie was silently crying out for help? Where were the camp leaders and counselors when Shawna was plotting her escape from camp? And I wonder if the pastor Schofield ever gets out of his library to see what is going on in the world.
The litany of social ills and failures nagged at Stevie. She wondered if the nicely dressed saints around her had any idea how angry she felt.
And what is my church doing about the collapse? They're wrapped up in a drive for new pews and choir robes. Where was the youth pastor when Dougie was silently crying out for help? Where were the camp leaders and counselors when Shawna was plotting her escape from camp? And I wonder if the pastor Schofield ever gets out of his library to see what is going on in the world.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Is Church Relevant?
As the pastor transitioned into his third point, Stevie considered the irony. My neighborhood is a war zone, my kids' schools are cesspools of drugs and immorality, my family is falling apart, and I'm supposed to care that the high priest's tunic typifies the purity of Christ.
What does my church have to do with real life? Guns are in all the schools, and gangs rule the city at night. Marijuana is legal for 21-year-olds, hut any junior high kid can get it. Condoms are distributed by teachers in the hallways, and gays and lesbians are free to recruit followers in health classes. Right and wrong are regarded as vulgar and archaic concepts. Tolerance for virtually any value system, lifestyle, or truth-claim—pure or perverted—is backed by the courts. And my daughter can legally call the cops on me and leave home at fourteen because I "abused" her by entering her room and removing her computer monitor without her permission, destroying it in the process. (To Be Continued)
What does my church have to do with real life? Guns are in all the schools, and gangs rule the city at night. Marijuana is legal for 21-year-olds, hut any junior high kid can get it. Condoms are distributed by teachers in the hallways, and gays and lesbians are free to recruit followers in health classes. Right and wrong are regarded as vulgar and archaic concepts. Tolerance for virtually any value system, lifestyle, or truth-claim—pure or perverted—is backed by the courts. And my daughter can legally call the cops on me and leave home at fourteen because I "abused" her by entering her room and removing her computer monitor without her permission, destroying it in the process. (To Be Continued)
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Doubting God
Stevie shook her head to clear her thoughts. Such negativity toward God must surely border on blasphemy. And it wasn't that she didn't believe God's Word, but. . . how was she to reconcile it with what was taking place in her life?
It had been so different in those early years. She and Jon had truly been in love—with God, with each other, with their children, and with life in general. Every sermon had been exciting, every Scripture personal.
The events of the last four years, however, had markedly influenced her view of the church's relevance in her life. All the sermon notes she had scribbled down had not prepared her for Dougie's overdose and her second child's shocking deceit and defection, or the unexplained drive-by shooting that could have taken her own life and the life of her third child.
It had been so different in those early years. She and Jon had truly been in love—with God, with each other, with their children, and with life in general. Every sermon had been exciting, every Scripture personal.
The events of the last four years, however, had markedly influenced her view of the church's relevance in her life. All the sermon notes she had scribbled down had not prepared her for Dougie's overdose and her second child's shocking deceit and defection, or the unexplained drive-by shooting that could have taken her own life and the life of her third child.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
A Future and Hope
Stevie was getting nothing out of the sermon. It had been this way for several Sundays. Not that the pastor was boring or ineffective. To the contrary, he was one of the most insightful and engaging Bible teachers Stevie had ever heard. He was the main reason she and Jon began attending the church as new Christians hungry to learn about God, faith, and the Bible.
But that was when Dougie and Shawna were small and Collin's existence was still under discussion. Her favorite Bible verse in those days was Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'" She almost laughed out loud as she thought of those words now. What future and what hope? she mused silently. Is this it, the best I have to look forward to?
But that was when Dougie and Shawna were small and Collin's existence was still under discussion. Her favorite Bible verse in those days was Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'" She almost laughed out loud as she thought of those words now. What future and what hope? she mused silently. Is this it, the best I have to look forward to?
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