A “May I Tell You a Story?” BY DICK DUERKSEN
s he listened to the request, he thumbed through his appointment calendar. The caller was a very good friend, and it would be good to spend a week with him at the school where he was principal. But the calendar was already full—too full for adding an entire week of sermons at a distant boarding academy. “Ken, I know you’re busy, but God keeps bringing me back to you. I feel He wants you to accept speaking for our Week of Prayer this spring. Our kids need to hear about God straight from your heart.” The appeal was compelling, and by moving three committee meetings he could accept the invitation. Though he knew other things would come up, he wrote the appointment in ink and told his friend to plan on it. Now he had to tell his wife and prepare 12 new sermons. Academy Weeks of Prayer were his most difficult assignments. It was like riding a bucking bronco for the first time. Anything could happen. He chose to talk about God’s character. “God loves you,” he scribbled on the first page.
“Everything else is secondary.” The sermons came together slowly, mostly retelling Bible stories as ways to get to know God. Some stories about girls and women, others about men. Priests, soldiers, judges, winners, and losers. Real people who stumbled and fell. Failures who felt God’s loving arms embracing them. Sinners who heard God speak forgiveness. Examples of what God would like to do for the students who would be listening from their assigned chapel seats. He prayed much about the week. During committee meetings; at lunch; with his wife; often. *** The first meeting was the hardest. It’s good to be a friend of the principal, but not too close of a friend if he wanted the students to trust him. He was too old to play sports with the kids, so he would have to trust conversations over meals, around campus, in the dorm lobbies, and after classes. He prayed constantly and spoke carefully. They listened, relaxed, and responded warmly.
The Trucker Photo: Nick Brookenheimer
