November 15 – “Call 9-1-1”

I had a phone call from Josh yesterday.  That is not so unusual.  He calls periodically to compare notes on some situation at church or just to let us know how his boys are doing.  And that’s how the conversation started.  He asked how things were going down here, so I gave him the Reader’s Digest version of events.  “MeeMaw is about the same.  Cailyn is here because she threw up before we could get her to school.  I’ve been working on the teaching for Sunday.”  That last one always tickles his interest, so we talked about Harvest Celebration.  Finally it was his turn.

He shared about a new series he was going to be teaching on Wednesdays.  All about holiness in the Christian life.  And when he mentioned personal holiness, I asked if that was when he was going to start speaking in tongues.  Just a quick background here.  His church is extremely traditional Baptist, so the comment was clearly tongue in cheek.  He didn’t miss a beat, though.  He matter-of-factly said, “Well, we already had someone slain in the spirit this past Sunday.”  OK.  Tongue in cheek just took on a whole new flavor.  He most definitely had my attention.

Seems that during the offertory prayer, just as the “Amen” was about to be uttered, the sanctuary was rocked by a loud crashing sound.  A flurry of activity swept one of the center aisles, and a small gathering of people immediately formed in one particular spot.  Josh made his way to the platform to see if he could spot the source, but his view was blocked.  Murmurings grew louder.  Small children began to cry.  Josh knew he had to do something, so he tried to get the people’s attention and calm them down.  A cry came from the small group, “Call 9-1-1.”  Speculations were running rampant throughout the crowd.  “Did someone fall from the balcony?”  “Did someone have a heart attack?”  “Is someone dead?”  Josh managed to speak into the chaos and called the people to prayer for the obvious crisis that was occurring before them.  After the prayer, he asked that everyone leave the building as quietly and orderly as possible, and to their immense credit, the people responded admirably. 

Josh was finally able to work his way to the scene of the crisis and what met his eyes was quite scary, indeed.  He saw a man lying face down in the aisle in a pool of blood. 

By this time a fire fighter in attendance as well as a former EMT had reached the scene and began administering first aid.  Paramedics arrived within minutes.  And before long the man regained consciousness and was sitting up and talking.  Ever the thinking leader, Josh thoughtfully sent out an email blast to the congregation with the update that the gentleman was doing better and was in good hands.  Josh was commended numerous times for that act of thoughtfulness, and I add my own commendation.  Nice thinking, Josh. 

Closer investigation revealed that the man did not fall from the balcony.  There was no secret sniper taking revenge on Baylor alumni.  He simply passed out and cut his chin open on the pew in front of him.  And it bled.  A lot.  Further reports indicated that there was a medication difficulty involved that had been corrected by his doctors.  All is well on the Waco front. 

I guess this goes to show that you never know what may happen in the next moment of your existence.  It pays to be ready for anything.  Are you ready?

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 says, “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”

Father, thank you for the patience you have shown us, giving us a lot of extra time we really don’t deserve to get ready.  Help us make the most of it.  Amen.