“Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”
While sharing a parable about who will enter the Kingdom of God, those were the words spoken by Jesus in Luke 14:23 (KJV) when the master of the house encouraged his servant to scour the land for anyone willing to freely come to the banquet table; so, they may also inherit eternal life.
That was the Scripture verse which my father – the pastor of Ellwood City Assembly of God – referenced when he met with the deacon board for an impromptu meeting to discuss the church bus ministry following a Sunday night service.
“Our community outreach program can undoubtedly reach new heights,” announced the blond-haired minister as he shared his vision for the future. “Since the diesel-powered locomotive sitting outside only picks up a little more than a dozen people each week, we need to canvas the neighborhoods throughout this city and fill it up.”
“With that in mind, I’d like each one of you to be the first ones on that yellow submarine this Saturday morning when we fill it with every Sunday school teacher and children’s church worker along with anyone else who has a heart to win lost souls for Christ to go into those highways and hedges to start bringing in the sheaves,” he added with a shout of joy followed by the Holy Ghost two-step.
“That sounds like a capital idea,” declared John Swan while the men of faith had a come-to-Jesus moment right there in the church board room. “Considering I’m married to the Women’s Ministries president, I’ll have her contact several ladies in the church to plan a light lunch for all the volunteers after the Lord’s work is concluded.”
God willing, this house of worship will be filled to capacity next Sunday!
Not only was this mild-mannered sixth grader enthusiastic about climbing aboard the cavernous metal transit on wheels to participate in the evangelistic endeavor, but he was also excited to be sitting in the back seat with a couple of his intimate friends while crossing over the Fifth Street Bridge which was a vague reminder of distant memories from another life and time.
It would be totally gnarly to fly over a set of railroad tracks right about now!
“You’re living in a fantasy world,” proposed Donald Streckheisen when relaying sad facts of the hopeless situation. “Due to the fact that this municipality only has over and underpasses, we don’t ever get to experience the school bus bounce in these parts; but you could encounter the unique phenomenon in a couple of nearby towns.”
That’s too bad, because we could fly halfway to the ceiling.
Shortly after pulling into one of the many Pittsburgh Circle neighborhoods nestled between the two bridges spanning the Connoquenessing Creek, I was assigned to Bill Arkwright – the Royal Rangers Senior Commander – and his teenage son Dirk upon disembarking from the large mode of transportation; whereupon we received detailed marching orders before visiting the first house on the block.
Upon spotting a pretty girl from his high school taking out a bag of trash through a side door of the aforementioned house, Jimmy Bubb, Jr. decided that it was in his best interest to ditch his prearranged commission to tag along with us once stepping up to the front porch.
Aren’t you supposed to be with your mother and younger sister Debbie?
“They’ll get along fine without me,” implied the high school sophomore prior to joining us at the main entrance of the home. “After hearing there are three potential new recruits for Royal Rangers living here, I thought it’d be a little more fun if us boys stick together; so, we could tell them all about our camp outs and other exciting activities.”
We’ll just see about that!
Following a very warm welcome by Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Pellicano when entering the two-story colonial, we were quickly introduced to five of the middle-aged couple’s six children – Aaron, Saul, Rachel, Benjamin and Sarah – as they came down the staircase one after the other; after which we spotted Maria entering through a side door off the kitchen.
Suddenly, the smooth operator’s presence became very clear after meeting the oldest child of the Pellicano family – a “real life” Brady Bunch without the four-legged pet and a housekeeper named Alice.
After some meaningful interaction with the half-dozen youngsters – each of whom bore a Biblical name – during our well-received visit, they were genuinely excited about climbing aboard the giant yellow transit the next morning to find their niche among the plethora of activities offered at the “lighthouse” on the north side of town.
“Three new recruits for Royal Rangers, my foot,” quipped the church board member with a hearty laugh upon walking down the steps to the cement pathway leading to the painted asphalt. “Need I remind you boys, that you’re not eligible bachelors on the Dating Game vying for the attention of the hidden female contestant; and my name’s certainly not Jim Lange.”
“I don’t have the foggiest idea what you’re talking about,” professed Jimmy after putting a little slip of paper in the hip pocket of his blue jeans. “Since there were three girls involved in the conversation, I felt obligated to mention things that might interest them, including the church choir; so, I don’t know what all the fuss is about.”
“You’re such a jive turkey,” grumbled the Riverside middle schooler shaking his head in disbelief at the unbelievable luck of his lifelong friend. “In all the years that we’ve known each other, you’ve never once expressed any interest in joining the church choir; and for that matter, I don’t think you can even carry a tune in a bucket.”
I’m clearly the winner of this competition since I’m the cutest; so, there’s no need for the two of you to argue about being the runner-up.
If Maria thought you were the cutest, then why did she give her telephone number to me?
Shut the front door!