Worried

(Rev. Tom Are)

The preacher joined his friend for a cup of coffee, as he did most mornings.

“You look worried,” his friend said. “Is everything okay?”

“Just a problem at church. Some of the deacons are a little upset with me.”

“What happened?”

“Well, one of the first things I noticed when I was called to my church was that very few people attended the Wednesday night service.

I tried everything to get people to come. I tried to make them feel guilty for not fully supporting their church. We tried having a covered dish meal right before the service. I even brought in guest preachers and musicians. But nothing worked — only a handful of the congregation ever showed up.

“So finally, I just gave up and canceled the service altogether. Now — a year later — some of the deacons found out I canceled it, and they are really mad.”