I think I heard this story at a preaching conference, but I don’t remember who told it, or the name of the young man, even though I think I’ve written about this before. Talk about memory loss in old age! The thing about a good story, though, is that it is usable, even if the details are lost. This time, I’ll call the teller Fred and the young man Roger Jenkins.
Fred was a relatively famous preacher who was often invited to do a week or so of “special services” at some church somewhere. He was finishing up such a series on a Sunday morning. He was tired and wanted to get on the road to home, but some layman in the church was worried about a young man named Roger Jenkins, and he insisted that Fred and the men of the church needed to pray about Roger before Fred left. The layman led the prayers… It was one of those “just” prayers…
Oh, Lord, we just pray for Roger Jenkins. Roger Jenkins is just so confused, Lord, Oh, I’m just afraid Roger Jenkins will just up and leave his young wife and young children, Lord. Oh, Lord, we just ask you to restore Roger Jenkins to his family and home and just…
It went on and on. Finally, though, mercifully, it ended, and Fred hopped into his car and headed off. A few miles out of town there was a young man with his thumb stuck out. Fred pulled over to give him a ride. They talked. The young man told of how he was confused and he knew he shouldn’t leave but he just couldn’t stay…
Fred slammed on the brakes, made a u turn and headed back. “Hey,” the young man said, “what are you doing?”
“You’re Roger Jenkins,” Fred said, “and I’m the answer to a prayer. I’m taking you home.”
That would not happen at the church where a friend of mine goes. They have given up all prayer lists and concerns, either vocally in worship, or printed, in bulletins or newsletters, “for privacy reasons.”
When did privacy become more important in the church than prayer?
I think I understand that, sort of. Some churches overdo the sharing of prayer needs. Like the church in Cleveland where daughter Mary Beth worshipped when she lived there. It was so bad that I once heard a man whisper to his wife after a particular prayer request, “Was that the left ventricle or the right ventricle we’re supposed to pray for?”
But is the church not supposed to be a fellowship of concern? How does that work if we don’t know who has a special prayer need? Is privacy that important? After all, in that same local church where my friend goes, when a person is mentioned in print, their pronouns are printed after their name. Isn’t that the opposite of “privacy,” the desire to be totally known, right down to gender specificity?
Well, for now, Roger Jenkins, until we just get this figured out, nobody is going to be the answer to a prayer about you. That worries me… I'd better pray about it...
John Robert McFarland
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