Yesterday, we got the news out.
Today, we have some news.
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The Newspaper Boy Fell Down
by Marti Fischer
You may have noticed something today.
There was no Catch.
There is a reason.
The newspaper boy fell down.
It’s 3:00 o’clock
There was a time when 3:00 in the afternoon meant something very different to a kid with a paper route.
School was out. The bicycle was waiting. So were the newspapers.
And so was the route.
In John Fischer’s novel, Saint Ben, Jonathan’s workday began at 3:00. There were papers to fold, a bicycle to load, houses to reach and people waiting for the news.
Sometimes Ben came along.
When he did, the work changed. One boy took one side of the street. The other took the other.
And the news went out.
Those of you who have read Saint Ben already know that the paper route becomes much more than a paper route. Those who haven’t read it—I’m not going to spoil it for you.
Not yet.
Because over the next few weeks, we’re going back there.
Back to Jonathan and Ben.
Back to the bicycles.
Back to 3:00.
And eventually, back to five words that have stayed with me for a very long time:
Gotta get the news out.
We chose those words for The Catch Ministry’s 2026 Annual Fall Campaign because somewhere along the way I realized that, in a very different form, we’re still running a paper route.
Every morning, we send out the Daily Catch. But what we’re carrying isn’t a newspaper. It’s the Good News. The news that grace is available to people who don’t deserve it—which, of course, would be all of us.
The news that nobody has to clean themselves up before coming to the table.
news that Jesus didn’t send us out to find people worthy of His love. He sent us to make disciples.
We call it the Gospel of Welcome—Grace Turned Outward. We are in 143 countries.
And there are still streets we haven’t reached.
That’s why, beginning today, we’re setting out again.
Our goal is to raise $20,000 to continue and expand the work of The Catch Ministry. And this year, an old friend has agreed to ride along with us.
Noel Paul Stookey is serving as Chairman of our Annual Fall Campaign.
Noel and Saint Ben go back a long way. When he first read the book, he wrote that he “absolutely loved” it, had been “moved to tears several times,” and called its “honoring of each person’s soul-searching-for-integrity” brilliant.
So when Noel agreed not only to chair this campaign but to bring his voice—and perhaps even some music—to it, Marti and I knew we had the right companion for the route.
You’ll hear from Noel today.
You’ll hear from him again.
But before this campaign is finished, I want to tell you the story behind those five words. Because they aren’t really about newspapers. And ultimately, neither is this campaign.
For now, the bicycle is loaded.
It’s 3:00.
We’ve got News to deliver.
— John
Click here for a special message from Noel Stookey
Click here to participate in the “Gotta Get The News Out” Campaign, and thank you for joining us in getting the news out to everyone, everywhere.
Fragile Clay Jars
We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. (2 Corinthians 4:7)
This is probably the most well-known verse in this new covenant section and the best summary of the entire new covenant in one verse. If you were to teach the new covenant from one verse this would be the one.
It talks about a light shining in our hearts which is the essence of the new covenant — Christ in us, the hope of glory. Not a law or standard to perform to outside of us, but a presence and power inside and a change of heart. But then the new covenant puts all of that in our fragile bodies which Paul calls “clay jars” — a “great treasure” in a “fragile clay jar.” An obvious contrast that is meant to show up our brokenness and God’s power.
It’s really a joke. And when you understand the joke, you understand the new covenant. The contrast is the whole point. Who are we, but ordinary struggling human beings? We are clay jars that break easily. But what do we have inside? Christ, the hope of glory. So that when our lives break down, with the normal pressures and afflictions that affect everybody, something else shows through inside. Make way for the light of the glory of Christ.
Thus there is no confusion as to where the power is coming from. It surely isn’t us. “This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” The contrast proves it.
And if that wasn’t enough, look what comes right around the corner:
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. (2 Corinthians 4:8-10)
Fragile clay jars with the light of Christ shining in our hearts. That’s God’s plan for getting the news out.
‘Will someone please turn on the lights’
For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)
When our eldest son was a child, he came up with his own way of telling Bible stories. One that especially stands out was about the creation story. Once when Marti was going over it with him and came to the day God said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” Christopher interrupted her and said, “I know this part! ‘And God said, “Will somebody please turn on the lights!”’”
Who knows? It could have been something like that. The point is, prior to God creating light it was all darkness, or as Genesis says, “Darkness covered the deep waters.” So when God spoke light out of the darkness, it was a miracle. It was God’s word becoming real. It was God speaking light into existence where it formerly was only darkness.
This, of course, is the point of verse 6. Just as God spoke light into the beginning of creation, so He speaks light into our hearts where there once was only darkness. It’s the miracle of rebirth.
What this tells us is that the new covenant is rooted in something that is impossible. Light can’t come out of darkness without a miracle. One more reason that everything comes from God and nothing from us. We can no more accomplish anything for the kingdom of God on our own than we can make light shine out of the darkness. It just shows our total dependence on God to do His will.
The good news here also is that those mentioned in the earlier verses of this chapter who have been blinded by Satan in their unbelief are not beyond hope. God can speak into their darkness just as He has done into ours, and just like He did in the creation of the world. Somebody turned on the lights for you and for me, and He can do it for anyone. If you know someone who is blinded, don’t stop praying! I watched the light come on in someone’s life who had been a hardened atheist for 43 years. Anything is possible with God.
Agents of the Holy Spirit
Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. (2 Corinthians 4:1-2)
You and I are alive today on this earth for a purpose. We are here to introduced the gospel of welcome—grace turned outward—to everyone, everywhere. That’s a tall order, but that’s why we are students of the new covenant. The new covenant teaches us how we are going to do this. We’re going to do this by relying totally on the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in us. We are not doing this on our own.
How to work really hard and end up with nothing.
We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life. (2 Corinthians 3:4-6)
What can we accomplish for God on our own? Nothing.
‘When I came to the city of Troas…’
When I came to the city of Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord opened a door of opportunity for me. But I had no peace of mind because my dear brother Titus hadn’t yet arrived with a report from you. So I said good-bye and went on to Macedonia to find him. 2 Corinthians 2:12-13
For the next few days we are going to go through some highlights of the most important passage in scripture that no one knows about. Okay, some know about it, but not enough who should, and even if they do, few grasp its centrality to the ministry and how Christ works through us as believers. So if you stick with us for the next four days, you’ll know more about the practical workings that make a ministry successful than most seminary graduates.
See Yourself As Barbara Walters
I love to be interviewed. I love being asked what I think about such-and-such because I love to talk. I even like hearing myself talk. That may be fine for an interview, but that’s about the only time it’s okay. Most every other time, that would not be a good thing. Certainly not a good idea for a relationship.
You’ve Got Options
Your Catch today is an assignment (if you choose to accept it). I would like you to hear the talk I delivered yesterday live at our Church at the Catch on our Facebook site. I believe it’s an important rendering of a passage in Galatians 5 that has to do with life in the Spirit versus what Scripture calls life in the flesh. It’s called, “You’ve Got Options,” and given you have a choice to hear it or not to hear it, it’s totally up to you. I hope you choose well.
Link to facebook.com/thecatch and scroll down until you see a video of me.
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