Preacher Fox's sermons most often were pointed at fornicators, drunkards, thieves and movie goers. Every other sermon he preached was likely to apply to me since I was habitually guilty on two counts of his four favorite sermons. My tender years and fund shortage, I must confess, were all that prevented me from being guilty of all four counts!

There had never been a preacher in my early life who had more impact on my underdeveloped and rarely fed conscience than Preacher Fox. Night after night as I stood in front or the show, where not hearing him was impossible, I squirmed, I sweated and I trembled. Occasionally as I weakened at his onslaught of words, I even considered not slippin' in the show or at least not making a full time career of it. This all passed because of one single event which brought it to a very abrupt end.

The event was made public on a Saturday morning and was one of those which when it happens burns an indelible print of time, objects and places on your memory, like, "The President has been shot." In this case it was, "Preacher Fox has stolen all the Nazarene Church's money and has run off with the chief elder's wife." Totally unreal, totally unbelievable, but totally true. I was indescribably dumbfounded and in a state of shock but worse, far worse, the entire community of 2500 souls (Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians and Episcopalians) was devastated. A deafening silence fell over the community for what seemed an eternity. When the silence broke, the mob mentality kicked in, as it always does in such cases, and the baseness of that community's soul came forth. Many hateful and tasteless remarks were made throughout the town where Preacher Fox's wife and children continued to live without means of support. Headless, flesh and spiritual.

Hell hath no limits when a preacher turns sour, or so it seems. The popular hit tune of that day was "Pistol Packin' Mama" which in part went, "Lay that pistol down, Babe, lay that pistol down. Pistol packin' Mama, lay that pistol down." The community's embarrassment and shame over the event soon turned to a delightful scorn through a spin off of this tune which was, "Lay that chicken down, Fox, lay that chicken down. Chicken stealin' Preacher Fox, lay that chicken down."

Hey, N! What's your point? My point is: Preachers ain't God. Those of us who allow ourselves to think preachers are more than ordinary men called to preach the Gospel are leaving ourselves wide open for disaster as above, or at least "big time" disappointment. My old acquaintance Tom Anderson from Pigeon Forge, Tenn., who was the American Party presidential candidate in 1972, used to say about incumbent politicians, "Don't listen to what they are saying, watch what they are doing." My opinion and advice concerning voices from the pulpit representing themselves to be more than ordinary men or Christian brothers is, "Listen carefully to what they are saying, but watch ever more carefully what they are doing."

Have a good week!