Everybody Down!

I was pastor of West Maple Street Baptist church for three years. It was my first church, a seminary church with some great people. The church had at one time been a First Baptist but the church as a whole moved to a new location and left behind a small group of people to keep the church going there. Shortly after First Baptist left, the city closed off the street and made it a dead end. Once a major thoroughfare now it was a dead end traveled only by those who were going to the Elementary School beside the Church and who lived on the street. The building was old and literally falling in. there was no air conditioning and in the summer we fanned ourselves with hand held fans compliments of Koonst Funeral homes.

On any given Sunday we would have to ask people to move for fear the ceiling over them would fall in-literally. Many times we would clean up some fallen ceiling before service.

One Sunday night I was preaching to a pretty good crowd. Among the congregation was Miss Cleo. Cleo was in her seventies, a delightful lady. She had what I would call a beehive hairdo, rising at least a foot atop her head. It was summer time and the windows were open and most wanted near one to catch as much of a breeze as they could.

I was really getting into my sermon when Miss Cleo jumped to her feet and hollered at the top of her lungs “Everybody down! There’s a bat flying in here and don’t let it get in your hair or you’ll go crazy!”

Everybody began to scramble and people were hitting the floor. I stood there a moment in total disbelief. Then I spotted it a small bat swooping and flying like it was crazy. I hit the deck behind the pulpit. There we were a room full of people all sprawled out on the floor with hands on our heads hoping the bat didn’t find its way into our hair (yes I had plenty then) and cause us to go crazy. I had heard my Grandma say that once when I was a kid throwing rocks up in the air watching bats dive toward them. But here I was, a husband, Father, and Pastor curled up on the floor fearful of my sanity with a hundred others.
Finally someone from underneath a pew yelled for one of the Deacons “Hiram, kill that bat before it bites one of us!”

Hiram got up and left. He came back with a broom. While we were all laid out, there was Hiram trying to swat a sonar directed bat. Finally he knocked it down and reached down with a gloved hand and picked it up. It couldn’t have been two inches long and six inches in wing span. He took it out and let it go.

Everybody began to get up and dust themselves off. There was such a sigh of relief. Needless to say service was pretty much over. We all laughed a nervous laugh had a prayer and dismissed. One little boy said to his Mom as they were leaving “Mom I didn’t know Church could be so much fun! Can we come back next week?” One man said as he left “Preacher there’s not been this much excitement in this church in twenty years. Maybe we need to turn a squirrel loose next week!”

What a night, what excitement, what fear, hearts beating fast and grown men and women lying on the floor hoping to keep their sanity. It was quite a night. Oh that we would today experience excitement, fear, hearts beating out of our chests, men and women grasping there heads in total wonder as we let the Holy Spirit have His way in our lives. Give me the Holy Spirit any day. Then again maybe a squirrel…. God bless you!
Father help us to get excited out of our heads over You and Your love for us. Let our lives be filled with fear, filled with awe in the light of who You are. Help us to experience You in a way that will cause us to say. “I didn’t know it could be this way! Can we come back?” To you be all glory and honor. In Christ’s Name. Amen