Past Issues

The story of the "Three Little Pastors"

One bright, sunny day, three little pastors went out in different
directions to start their own churches...

                               1

  The first pastor knew that if he would build a beautiful church
with poetic positive sermons, the people would flock to his
church.  He began construction immediately, and soon proved
himself right.  Every Sunday people came from all around to
hear the positive messages and to feel good about themselves.
The pastor was very pleased.

  The second pastor set out to build his church also, but he wasn't
quite as eager to just jump right in like the first one.  He thought
about it for a little while and then decided that the first pastor's 
idea was good, but needed to add things like daycare during the
services, and other perks.  And that's just what he did.  He built
his beautiful church with a positive message, plus fun activities
for the family.  And the people came.
The pastor was very pleased.

  The third pastor wanted to build his church the right way.  He
studied the plans and knew the groundwork.  After everything
was scheduled and ready to go, he began to build his church.
It wasn't beautiful like the other two.  It was modest, but very
structurally sound.  He knew that the people liked hearing the
uplifting messages at the other churches, but he also knew that
it was only part of the message, that more needed to be told.  He
was going to convey the real truths even though it might not be as
popular as the other preaching.  He lined up good children's
activities and classes.  When everything was in place, he opened
his doors.  Some people came, but not as many as he had hoped
for.  For the next few Sundays, the number of people attending
dropped off slightly more each week, while the other two 
churches seemed to keep growing.  The pastor was wondering if 
he missed something or where he went wrong.  The pastor was 
not very pleased.

                               2

  For the next few years, the first pastor was delighted at how his
little church had grown.  More and more people came each week,
eagerly waiting to be fed sweets and reassurances, just like the
big plates of cookies and goodies offered after the services.
Everyone left happy and content each Sunday.  The pastor was 
very pleased.

  The second pastor was also very happy about his church's 
growth.  Every week there were more people than the week 
before. The main church was getting so full that some of the 
classrooms had to be eliminated to make room for more seats.  
The pastor looked around at his tall arches and newly remodeled 
huge sanctuary, and was very pleased.

  The third pastor kept preaching the truth, both the good news
of the gospel and also living within discipline.  The people that 
were there were sparse, but loyal and strong like a family.  He 
knew this was what the church should be all about, but he 
wished there could be more.  The pastor looked around at his 
small church and was a little disappointed, but pleased at the 
same time.

                               3

  One certain Sunday morning, a dark shadowy figure 
approached the front doors of the first church.  With a loud roar, 
he announced that he was going to huff and puff and blow their 
church down.  The pastor didn't recognize the voice and 
considered it to be a hoax, so he ignored it and continued 
preaching his warm and fuzzy platitudes.  Then everyone inside 
heard a huff and a puff, and the walls came down like straw.  
The congregation scattered like birds not knowing which way 
to go.  The pastor was not pleased to say the least.

  The same thing happened at the second church.  The warning
was ignored, and then like the other church, the wooden walls 
came tumbling down.  Most everyone fled, but some of the 
members stayed to fight the intruder.  Realizing that it was too 
late to organize a game plan, they also ran and caught up with 
the others.  The second pastor was also not very pleased.

  The third pastor stood on the steps of his church watching all
the commotion going on down the road.  People were running in 
every direction and nobody knowing what to do.  Some of the 
people were running towards him asking if he could help them.  
He reassured them that he could, and motioned them inside.  First 
just a handful of people came, then more and more people came, 
three and four at a time until the whole church was packed as full 
as it could be.  Some of the people standing by the doors turned 
around and screamed that the wolf was coming up the road 
towards them.  The ushers calmly closed the doors and told 
everyone that they were protected.  Everyone heard a muffled 
huff and a puff, a huff and a puff,  ...a huff and a ...puff.  Then all 
was quiet, and not one brick was moved from its setting.  The
congregation started singing praises to the Lord, and little by 
little, the visitors joined in until everyone was singing their 
praises as loud as they could.  Looking out the windows, 
everyone saw an exhausted and depressed wolf walking down 
the road, knowing that he was beaten.  The pastor looked around 
at his little brick church that was packed full of praise-filled 
people, and was very, very, pleased!



by John Nordberg 

By the way, who or what is the wolf?

                                         

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