Over the past few weeks I have been telling you funny stories from pastor friends of mine. This next story is one I heard firsthand while attending a special banquet during the Christmas Season. Sometimes I hear secondhand stories and before I print them, I always have to go back to the source to confirm them and get permission. In this case, as with a few others, the pastor told this one on himself.

When the function was over, I made my way to speak with Pastor Kerry Shook from Fellowship of The Woodlands church. I introduced myself, told him of my stories in this paper and he said with a smile and without hesitation I could write this.

Being the humans we are, we sometimes become enamored (for all of us Texans that means impressed or awe struck) with the things the eye can see. Do any of you remember the first time you walked into The Harris County Domed Stadium? When you first entered the palace…I mean place…it kinda took your breath away. The sheer size would leave your jaw on the ground and your eyeballs popping out of their sockets. I mean the place was so big that if you were sitting way over on the other side, your momma couldn’t have fussed at you if you had holes in your socks ’cause she couldn’t even tell if you were her child or not!

Well, that is sorta how Fellowship is. It’s big. The downside to this vastness is that sometimes when we church people don’t physically see the need, we tend to forget how important the giving side of church life is. In other words, if everything always seems perfect to the eye, we tend to forget that our gifts are for God’s work and may be used in ways we will never see. On the other hand, however, if we see a spot that needs painting or a yard that needs mowing or we hear a microphone that is bad or see something broken, we tend to remember that this place needs money to operate and we need to give a little extra. Okay, okay, I already know somebody is fussing at me for even saying that, but we know it’s the truth.

When we SEE the need we tend to give better than that sight unseen giving. Well, that happens at probably every church. We also tend to forget that most churches have very, very humble beginnings. One man with a vision and the first members are probably his own family. From that point on, with hard work and God’s blessing, the bottom of the bucket tends to fill and things tend to get better. So it was with Fellowship. With one family, one prayer, one location and God’s help, the place has grown.

After a few years of operation God gave them an opportunity to purchase property. Of course, buying land takes money and soliciting money takes hard work. (Okay, here we go again. Somebody’s fussin’ at me. Yes, I know God gives us the money, but God has a plan in place that you’re not going to get very far if you don’t work for it. Read 2nd Thessalonians 3:10.) Pastor Shook had an idea.

A banquet celebration to kick off the fundraising was planned. Pastor Shook asked someone to go to the new property sight and collect some of the soil from the land. The dirt was collected and brought back to the church house where it was transferred into little glass vials and capped off. A vial of this soil was then placed at each plate on the night of the banquet in a very formal, tasteful manner lying right there along side the napkin, plate and silverware.

As the dining experience began to wind down, Pastor Shook took his place behind the microphone to deliver his heart felt spiritual appeal for money to kick off this new fund raising effort for the purchase of this new tract of land. Speaking to the crowd and trying to elicit a deep spiritual moment to the event, Pastor Shook said something to the effect “now take this small glass vial laying next to your table setting and hold it close to your heart. This vial contains a small portion of the actual soil obtained from our new tract of land and let’s hold it close to ourselves and pray that God blesses this new venture.”

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