John Courtney's phone call

Forty years ago in Louisiana, I was pastoring my first church. That church had been in serious decline. Then the Lord sent me there and it was rescued. But soon trouble erupted. A deacon named John Courtney led a conspiracy to remove me as pastor. He became offended with me after I baptized a black child who had invited Jesus into his heart.

John stirred up strife to unseat me. Without me knowing about it, he met the black family outside the church and told them they would be happier at a church down the street. The boy and his parents disappeared but I didn't know why. That wicked man was successful in his conspiracy. Although the church grew dramatically under my leadership, it was forgotten due to my "trespass" and I was dismissed as pastor.

I grieved for the new believers I'd won to Christ and now had to abandon. My dismissal felt so unjust. Because I was rejected and felt wounded, I made an inner vow. "I'll never let a church hurt me like that again!" I was done with organized religion; or so I thought.

I left and moved to Texas. I served with a team of pastors at a new church where the elders were in charge, not the people. After ten years, I sensed it was time to be sent out but to where? I decided to fast and pray. Doing that, I was home alone as I ended my week-long fast. I had sought the Lord with this request: "Lord, shorten the time and show me the place."

I was walking to and fro, saying to God, "Lord, my times are in your hand." I allowed my Bible to fall open. Its pages fluttered to 1 Corinthians 7, the chapter on celibacy. I celebrate God's gift of sex, so I don't have that gift. I think the best sex in the world is in the marriage bed between a man and a woman in covenant who are Christians. So I don't read much in 1 Cor. 7. But a verse leaped up off the page like it was highlighted. I saw, "the times have been shortened." I began to thank the Lord, realizing the Holy Spirit was speaking to me through the scriptures. God had heard my prayers and shortened the time! Then the telephone rang.

When I answered it, a voice on the line said in a soft drawl, "This is John Courtney. I'm calling from ___, Florida. I'm a deacon in the ____ Baptist Church. I'm supposed to talk with you about you coming down to preach and maybe being our pastor." As he was speaking, the Holy Spirit whispered, "That's the place!"

Fast forward to today. Lana and I are back in Florida this week spending time with Papa John. His wife of 58 years, Miss June, has slipped away into eternity. The family had all gathered. We cried, hugged, prayed, and then we praised the Lord for His great salvation. I'm so grateful to the Lord for adopting us into His family of faith. The spirit of adoption is the best cure for the spirit of rejection. And Christ's gift of eternal life can free us from the fear of death.

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Ron Wood is a writer and minister who lives in northwest Arkansas. Contact him at [email protected] or visit www.touchedbygrace.org. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Editorial on 10/19/2016