Not far from where I live is the famous South Mountain. Last summer I bush-whacked up the side of the mountain in search of a particular tree, the chestnut tree, an important part of United States' eastern woods until the early 1900s.
Today a blight has virtually wiped out the tree. The disease keeps spreading to new shoots that come up from dead trees. We no longer enjoy Longfellow's "spreading chestnut tree," a source of beautiful furniture for generations.
A couple of years ago I was trying to find a new way to the top of South Mountain by following a logging road recently constructed in my area. Convinced it was not going to get me to the top of South Mountain, I started pushing my way up the mountainside with the help of my compass.
As I climbed up a steep slope, I found myself suddenly looking at chestnuts! Spiny fruit lay scattered on the rocks. On the tree above were chestnut leaves! The trunk was about seven inches in diameter. The tree did not seem to be diseased, although I could not tell for sure. "This is important!" I said to myself. I made mental note of a few landmarks so that later I could return to the tree.
Months passed. I was looking through one of my tree books. Under "chestnut" I noticed the suggestion that "Someday a blight-resistant specimen may occur, from which a new strain could be developed."1 That tree I saw may be significant, I thought. I must find it again!
Last winter I started the search, going up just as nearly as I could remember to the place where I had seen the tree. I went every weekend I could find time, tying markers to indicate areas where I had looked.
One summer day, as I was searching, I thought, how hard I am searching just for one tree! Am I willing to work this hard to find a soul that is lost?
That moment I started to pray more earnestly and think more diligently than ever before about the "soup and salvation" program I felt would be good for our church to offer. To me a "soup and salvation" meant providing a meal so that people could come directly from work to church and afterward participate in their choice of classes that we would offer. I had in mind one particular family for whom I had prayed for years. I hoped they and others might be drawn into the nonthreatening setting I had in mind.
Taking interest in people's needs
After coming down from the hike, I asked two of my fellow church members to join me in brainstorming about "soup and salvation." We prayed and generated ideas with enthusiasm. I took the results to our church Personal Ministries council. There, too, enthusiasm developed. Since we were planning satellite TV evangelism in November and early December, I thought we might need to wait until the first of the year. How ever, our pastor asked, "Why don't you go ahead on the five Wednesday evenings in October?"
All right! With God's blessing, things began to take shape. We replaced our code name "soup and salvation" with "food and friendship." The Pathfinder leader volunteered her organization to prepare and serve the food: what a blessing! The elders agreed to lead a group in "basic, practical Bible study." I considered the needs of my "target family," Ginger and Tom Roberts2 and their three daughters. Since their 17-year-old had run away from home, I asked our pastor and his wife to offer "parenting teenagers." They agreed. Our pastor's wife has a master's degree in family life.
Because of suggestions of the administrator of Williamsport Retirement Village, where I am chaplain, another group was put together to handle "self-reliance and dealing with domestic violence."
Could we get someone to care for young children? Julie Lyles was at the time eager to start an adventurers' club. She offered to take the children "from 0 to 12." We just about had our program together.
As Ginger, the mother in my "target family," sought my counsel at work in the complicated matter of her runaway daughter, I told her about the "parenting teenagers" group we were going to offer on Wednesday evenings in October. Her first response was, "You know I can't commit to anything." I continued to pray.
A week later Ginger asked if she could bring her 15- and 13-year-olds. This made me want to offer something especially for teenagers. David Byrkit accepted that responsibility. We were all set!
Food, friendship, and group meetings
I appealed to church members to attend, not only for a blessing of their own but also to make the program seem alive for any nonmembers whom the Lord might see fit to bring.
The first Wednesday evening in our fellowship hall we had a splendid group of people eating and visiting happily together when Ginger walked in. I greeted her, talked her into eating, and introduced her to several people, including the pastor and his wife. At group time she went to "parenting teenagers," the topic that had been thought of with her in mind! She didn't bring her daughters that night.
Two vanloads of children from a city housing project came in; they were fed and taken to the teens' and children's groups. The mother of one of them came along and attended the parenting class. The inner city people and Ginger constituted our nonmembers in attendance for that evening. We were happy!
Ginger came to each of the three Wednesday evenings. Donna, her middle daughter, came once; Laura, the youngest daughter, is still coming and loves the teenagers' group. As Ginger walked through the foyer leaving the church last week, she called out cheerily, "One day I'll be with you!" I don't know exactly what she meant, but it sounds encouraging, doesn't it?
Today, at Ginger's request, I got her in touch with the pastor's wife to set up an appointment. Yesterday at the nursing home fall festival, Ginger pointed out where her husband, Tom, was standing. I went over and spoke to him and renewed our warm friendship. God is in the process of answering my many prayers for Ginger, Tom, and their family.
How relationship develops
Let's go back and review how it was that a relationship developed between this family and me. Ginger and I became acquainted when I volunteered to conduct a stop smoking plan at Williamsport Retirement Village four or five years ago. She didn't manage to kick the habit, but we became friends.
Not long after that I started work as chaplain at the Retirement Village. When the mother of Ginger's husband, Tom, passed away unexpectedly, since none of the family had any particular church connections, Ginger suggested that I be asked to conduct the funeral service. I talked and prayed with Tom, his father, siblings, and other family members.
In less than a year's time Tom's dad died, and I was asked to conduct that funeral also. Since this opportunity to minister twice in crisis, I've felt a spiritual responsibility for that family!
At work Ginger comes to me frequently for counsel. She did stop smoking! When our church brought in an evangelist about three years ago for meetings in a local school, I gave her invitations. Tom, Ginger, and the three girls came one night; Ginger and one of the girls came another night; but that was all. Evidently it wasn't what they were looking for at that time in their lives.
Ginger has been talking to me recently about problems with the oldest daughter, Heidi. She is an attractive, likable teenager who is in rebellion. This brings you up to date in my relationship with Ginger, Tom, and the girls.
Long-term relationships
Two other people with whom God has brought me into long-term relationships are Barb and Carol Ann. Barb attended a weekend cooking school that our church sponsored and to which I invited her about four years ago. I had only recently gotten acquainted with her, when I became chap lain at the Retirement Village.
When Barb showed up for the Sabbath morning eleven o'clock service that was part of the cooking seminar, I went to sit beside her to help her feel welcome. Reading through the announcements in our church bulletin, Barb turned to me and whispered, "Do you have any good Bible study groups going?"
"No," I replied. Then quickly I added, "But we may be starting one soon."
The next week I searched for suitable material. At the Adventist Book Center I found a set of lessons on the book of John, which I showed to Barb the next time I saw her. She thought it looked interesting, and we agreed to try meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays at my church.
I enlisted the head elder and his wife to help me conduct the class and announced it in our church bulletin. Barb invited friends: Of those who responded, Carol Ann attended the most faithfully. Barb told us, "It was because of what Carol Ann said to me that I found Christ!" The group was never large but held up well.
We were spiritually blessed by our study and prayers together. When we finished studying John, we continued with Acts and then Galatians. Occasionally we had differences of understanding, such as "once saved, always saved."
One night Barb and Carol Ann reported in class that they had been attending Net '95 meetings at another local Seventh-day Adventist Church. We exclaimed, "We're having those same meetings here in this church!" Obviously we hadn't done a very good job of communicating.
Carol Ann and Barb attended a good number of the satellite evangelistic meetings in our church. While on a trip down south, Barb took the list of locations with her and attended other Net '95 meetings on her journey!
At the end of Net '95, I believe both Barb and Carol Ann were convicted about the truth and blessing of the seventh-day Sabbath. They sat in our Bible study group and talked about changes that keeping the Sabbath might make in their lives.
However, I did not calculate on the fears that these friends apparently had of joining a Seventh-day Adventist church. Instead of coming to our church the next Sabbath morning, they visited a Christian Jewish congregation. Their interest began to wane considerably.
Not too long after this, our Bible study group broke up, but I maintained friendly contact with Barb and Carol Ann.
Barb gave me a book on dispensationalism. With a smile she said, "That just about answers everything, doesn't it?"
I spent some time with the book and found that it contained what to me were unusual interpretations of the 2300-day prophecy of Daniel 8. The Sabbath was as signed to a "dispensation" other than our own. This, more than anything else, I sup pose, led Barb to feel "free" from the conviction she had experienced earlier.
I could see that Barb's interpretations could not be answered by glibly citing a few key texts. My own knowledge of dispensationalism was limited. I therefore began a study of the Bible relevant to the topic. After studying for perhaps six months, I offered to share some of what I had found in my studies, and we started the group again. Carol Ann didn't attend, because she was keeping her granddaughter on Wednesday evenings. Barb and her friend Frank came a couple of times, and when they did, they stayed for our regular prayer meeting after ward. However, they did not attend regularly.
When "food and friendship" was about to start, I told Barb about it and took a schedule by her home.
Neither Barb nor Carol Ann showed up for that first Wednesday evening of "food and friendship."
The next evening Carol Ann was involved in a terrible highway accident. With her in the car were her daughter and grand daughter. Carol Ann's spleen had to be re moved; she suffered a broken femur, a concussion, and numerous spinal fractures. Her daughter had several crushed vertebrae and her granddaughter a broken thigh.
The next evening I visited Carol Ann in intensive care. Her face was swollen. She did not speak but showed some response by opening her eyes. I repeated Psalm 23 and offered prayer.
A week later I found Carol Ann moved out of intensive into progressive care. She was able to talk with me! I read Scripture and prayed with her. As I was leaving, Carol Ann said softly, "I miss doing things with you, Josephine." What music to my ears! The next day she had a setback. It was uncertain as to whether Carol Ann would recover. With many others, I continued praying for her.
A few days later when I entered the hospital room, Carol Ann's eyes were closed. I was not sure I should disturb her. Finally I touched her hand softly. She immediately opened her eyes and smiled. I showed her the garden bouquet I had brought her. "They're beautiful!" she said softly. I told her how much she means to me and prayed for her and her family. She thanked me warmly.
A plan of action
Year after year, the Lord Jesus leads me to people whose study of the Bible results in baptism within six months to a year. Then the Lord also blesses me with contacts such as Ginger, Barb, and Carol Ann. I hope one day to be able to say that we have found the chestnut tree and that Carol Ann, Barb, Ginger, and other family members have committed themselves to Christ and be come part of the church. God alone knows how that will all work out.
In the meantime, I have a plan of action. As for the tree, my family has agreed to search for it with me after frost cuts down the weeds. As for Ginger, I plan to invite her and Laura to come to Sabbath School soon. As for Barb and Carol Ann, when God has blessed Carol Ann with health enough to study again, I plan to flat-out ask them to come see what I've been studying about God's dealings with His people through all the dispensations. How ever, all these plans are subject to God's guidance day by day.
Just as I will continue to search for that lost chestnut tree until I find it, alive or dead, so I will continue working for the people whom God brings to me to love and serve through long-term commitments. Jesus waited years for Nicodemus to step out publicly (John 3:1-17; 19:38,39). Then what a valuable person Nicodemus turned out to be! 3
These friends I'm working with also have the potential to be exceptional leaders in Christ's work.
1. George A. Petrides, A Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1972), p. 265.
2. Some names have been changed to protect privacy.
3. See Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Nampa, Idaho.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1940), p. 177.
