Pastor's Corner December 7, 2003 |
2nd Sunday of Advent |
Heroes Come from All Backgrounds
On November 26th, I attended the annual Markham Prayer Breakfast with twenty
parishioners. The event was organized by a committee formed by many Christian
organizations in Markham and was supported by Markham's mayor, Donald Cousens.
The keynote speaker at this prayer meeting was Dr. Tony Campolo, a famous American
speaker. He is a sociologist and a minister with the Baptist Church.
He started his talk with a story about a former Tennessee governor who came from an
unenviable background. His mother lived a life of recklessness and indiscretion; she did not
even know who her son's father was. The young boy grew up afraid of going to school
because of his classmates' awkward stares. Religion was a subject that held little interest
for him.
Some time later, his church was taken over by a new pastor who was known for his
wonderful sermons. Out of curiosity, the young governor-to-be began to attend church, but
he continued to keep a distance from everyone else.
One day, as everyone was leaving after a service, the pastor came to him and asked,
"Where is your father?"
The question hit his most critical weakness; he was left speechless and wanted to crawl
away and hide! The pastor, almost as though he could read the young man's mind, said
with firm resolve, "We all have one common Father, our heavenly Father."
This strong and resolute belief changed the life of this future governor.
As long as we dare to dream and dare to believe, there is nothing we cannot overcome.
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