‘Gotta Get the News Out’
**CAMPAIGN NEWS**
We are so honored to have Noel Paul Stookey as Chairman of our annual fall campaign Gotta Get the News Out. He is a good friend of the Catch and a big fan of my novel, Saint Ben, which is the story behind this campaign. Be sure not to miss his video message below and other messages from him coming your way.
We want to send out a big thank you to Pat, Tami, Mike, Laura, Lisa, Kristin, Linda and Joanne who have all gotten us closer to matching our Founder, Peter Herschend’s lead gift of $5,000. Let’s keep it going!
John Fischer
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‘Two Are Always Better Than One’
The red and white ’56 Chevy rumbled away up the street it’s custom muffler job firing backfires around the neighborhood. Jonathan’s new newspaper dealer faded into the distance as Jonathan cut the wire around his first stack of 54 editions of the Pasadena Independent Star-News — the local afternoon newspaper.
“Wow,” said Ben, picking up the first paper off the stack and skimming over the front page headlines. “Just think, we’ll be bringing the news from all over the world to people’s front door.”
“What do you mean ‘we’ white man?” Jonathan said, trying to calm Ben down. He wasn’t so sure he wanted to share his new route with Ben since he was a little nervous about going out the first time. “I think I should take it myself at first until I get used to it.”
“Nonsense,” returned Ben. “How many sides of the street are there?”
“Two.”
“Well, there you see? You take one side; I’ll take the other. That way you won’t have to cross the street and get run over.”
“What makes you think I’m gonna get run over?”
“Jonathon, I just looked over the route instructions. You’ve got a lot to remember. You not only have to know which houses to throw to, but where to throw it — on the porch, in the driveway, behind a parked car … 323 Sequoia wants theirs in an urn at the end of a long driveway. You’ll be looking at your route card and looking up for the next house, and then cross the street, looking down at your route card, and looking up at the next house. If nobody runs into you, before you know it, you’re going to run into the back of a Pontiac station wagon!”
Ben was getting worked up again and Jonathan knew he had no choice but to let him come.
“But I only have one route card.” Jonathan knew it was a weak argument, but he threw it out anyway.
“No problem. I’ve already got mostly all of the odd numbered houses memorized. Anyway,” Ben said, confident that he had won, “two are always better that one.”
The Great Commission, where Jesus asked his disciples to go out and make disciples, doesn’t only belong to pastors, writers, missionaries, or professional ministries. It belongs to disciples. Disciples make disciples. There’s nothing professional about it.
Discipleship happens to all of us as we walk along with people in our circle of relationships. You don’t have to have a plan, a format, an outline or a notebook. The disciples didn’t have any of that. But what they did have is what Jesus gave them: the Holy Spirit — the same gift He’s given us.
Marti and I have one side of the street.
Noel has a side.
You, reading today’s Catch have a side.
But the important thing to remember is: nobody runs the route alone. Someone has to take the other side of the street.
Ben was right: “two are always better that one.”
