After giving his sermon, a pastor was greeting church members in the lobby. One young man walked up to him, shook his hand, and simply said, “The answer is yes. Now what’s the question?” The pastor was visibly confused. Again the man said, “The answer is yes. Now what’s the question?” The pastor smiled and asked the man to explain.
He said, “Pastor, six months ago, I was in an adulterous relationship. My life was spiraling dangerously out of control. I was at risk of losing my marriage and my family – even my job. In the middle of the mess I had made, you preached a sermon about Christ’s power to change a life. It seemed like every word you preached was for me. That evening I agreed to go to a small group with my wife. I was terrified everyone would see right through me. But I was shocked when they embraced me. They invited me to meet the same Jesus you described. That night I invited Christ to change my life – and boy, did he ever! Today my marriage and family are better than they’ve ever been before. Jesus changed my life and he used the church to help the transformation.”
He took a deep breath and said, “So, Pastor, that’s why I want you to know my answer is yes. Whatever Jesus needs of me, whatever the church needs, whatever you need – anywhere, anytime – my answer is yes. Now, what’s the question?”
Imagine how your life might change if you were willing to say to Jesus and to His church, “My answer is yes. Anything, anytime, anywhere. I am all in!”
– Dr. Tim Thompson
Dr. Tim, the small group experience this story posits was repeated at Frazer about four years ago. My wife and I began attending Frazer in, what was for us, a dark spiritual time. At first we only attended worship, some Sundays we would go to the Contemprary service and then to the Traditional service; Contemprary replaced Sunday School. After some weeks of this, we picked up the Connections Magazine and prayerfully chose two classes. We peeked in the window of the first class and immediately determined it wasn’t for us. We went to our second choice, the Listeners. This proved to be God working in our lives. I joined Frazer with the personal intentions of being a pew sitter but God had other plans. The Listeners embraced us from the start. Before we even joined Frazer, the class ask me to teach one Sunday. Reluctantly, I agreed. Within two years, God moved again. I was asked to co-teach. Then my wife and I went on our first international mission trip. We’re hooked or ALL IN . . . whichever! There are church things I don’t really want to do but I’ve learned to let God show me. I know for sure God is alive and working on and in lives at Frazer UMC.