In Other News
I heard this week that (of all things) Liberty University has a women’s hockey team. Yes, poodles, **that** Liberty University. What will the Baptists think of next? In fact, one of the young women that I know is thinking of attending Liberty so that she can play on their hockey team. Her quote? “Yeah, I don’t go to church much, but I wanna play hockey.” I said, “Well, you’ll be going to church AND playing hockey if you go to Liberty.” She shrugged and indicated that wouldn’t be a big deal. Alrighty then. Hockey really can be a mission field.
I’ve been reunited with a long-time and dear friend. We first met about sixteen years ago or maybe more. I can’t remember now. I know I’ve known her since before her daughter who will be sixteen in July. Our girls are six months apart and played together from the moment they could play. They were practically inseparable until they were about 9 or 10. And then we fell apart. Nothing major happened. There was no falling out. We just sort of drifted. Life happened. Our family left the church and it was hard.
Recently both girls joined Facebook and found each other there. They started chatting away again. Then they made arrangements to meet up at a homeschool event one Friday morning. My friend came too. What a joy it was to see her sparkly eyes again; to talk and laugh and cry with her again. The girls are talking and laughing together again just like old times too. Although … they are all grown up now and we must remember that [rolls eyes].
I found out that their family left the church as well. Different circumstances, similar reasons … pastor had developed hearing loss. Or perhaps a case of arrogance. Whatever the case may be, I was struck by the author of “Pastoralia” who quoted from Luke 3 “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”
Well, I wanted to know more, so I went to read more from Luke 3 and this is what I found:
John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.”
Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”
(Luke 3:7-13)
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance - what is that? It’s not pride, John warns. Share, collect only what is due, and be honest and content. Ultimately, that was why we had both left that church. Too many of those who were there were proud of their father Abraham and no one was willing to share their spare tunics. There was no fruit in keeping with repentance.
She told me about the church they go to now and I was astonished. It’s the local Baptist church. Large and imposing. But she gets to spend two nights a week teaching English as a second language (the county we live in has one of the largest Hispanic communities on the East Coast). And she works in their food pantry. As she said, “Now when someone comes to me asking for something to eat or something to wear, I don’t have to tell them no. I can open the door and smile.”
And the youth group that her daughter is part of? Well, they go into the low rent townhouse neighborhood that our former church shunned (right across the street) to hand out food, make friends and meet needs.
I’m thinkin’ what is up with the Baptists? First a hockey team, now this? I may end up back in church after all. 
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