Marketing or Miracles

Three months ago, Erica one of the marketing directors for the company I work for, came to me with another one of her great ideas.  She was assigned to visit a high end care facility with services for independent and assisted living.  As a hospice chaplain, I had seen patients in this facility and the residents were typically well educated and had lives before retirement, that were usually professional and productive.  Because of that, it’s no surprise that these people would continue to that same kind of life after retirement.

It was Erica’s idea, based on conversations she had had with residents during her visits, that there was a need for consistent Bible study.  Several other providers had been bringing some Bible study to the facility, but they were inconsistent and unreliable.  This caused a fracture in group confidence and resulted in low participation and an unstable group.

Erica and I had worked together on several other projects, and she was a great partner.  I could count on her for support in the form of goodies, handouts, and general fun in our partnership, so I was looking forward to what she had in mind for this care facility.  We were going to step into the vacuum and bring a Bible study to the group every first and third Wednesday of the month.

I was excited about the marketing opportunity.  I had conducted other support groups, some for marketing and some of for community outreach.  One of my favorite experiences had been the three years that I led patient and caregiver support groups at the Huntsman Institute, a highly respected cancer research facility in Salt Lake City.  It consisted of a weekly group for patients dealing with the diagnosis of cancer separate from the group led to support their family members who were dealing with the diagnosis as well.  It’s very different to be the patient from what it is to be the family member.  And yet, it’s very true that cancer is a “family disease”.  After three years, the organization discontinued the group.  Since then, I had conducted workshops on death and dying, healing grief with children, and a weekly bereavement group provided by my organization for surviving family members of our hospice patients.

Up until now, my favorite group had been a partnership with Larken mortuary.  Every month for two years we had gathered in the parlor of the old mansion in downtown Salt Lake City, used by Larken mortuary as their flagship facility.  As a small group, we studied Stephen Levine’s book A Year To Live.  The group was made up of a core community of 4 to 5 members who consistently participated, and, several more various participants who came and went as their needs and schedules permitted.  During this two years, the group had supported members through loss, divorce, career changes, moving messes, and the general mayhem of everyday life.

I knew that this new group, a Bible study, would not be the same as a two-year exploration of Stephen Levine’s book.  Just the same, how different could studying the Bible be I asked myself.  Boy was I in for a surprise!

As a hospice chaplain, the Bible was at the center of my service to my Christian patients.  At Christmas time, I would read to my patients the beautiful words from Luke about Joseph and Mary, baby Jesus and the shepherds .  Throughout the year, I had several favorite devotional sources like The Daily Word from Unity Ministries.  The problem was, I had never really participated in a formal Bible study for a group since my years as a seminary student, and didn’t have a clue how to do this or what to do.

My sister turns to the Internet to find information about everything from how to fix her washing machine to how to replace the brakes on her car.  So, it made perfect sense to me, to look there for how to lead a Bible study.  I was woefully underwhelmed by what I found.  Oh, there were lots of options, examples and templates, they just weren’t very inspiring.

During all of this preparation time, I had been praying for direction and taking action, I just wasn’t very inspired.  Then, one day in my favorite place to shop, The Dollar Store, I found a lonely little book filled with yearly devotionals.  The cover was a soft faux leather.  The pages were filled with a daily call to action.  The top of the page had a Bible reading, then there was a story or message, and it finished up with a poem or affirmation.  It seemed like the perfect format around which to build a group meeting for  an hour to talk about Christian ideas.

Armed with these preparations, I met Erica, armed with yummy cupcakes, and we held our first Bible study.  Little did I realize this was the beginning of a great adventure.  Over the next 90 days, our little group dealt with the frustration of past disappointments when pastors came and went, and we slowly build up trust by consistently showing up.  We dealt with the friction of diverse approaches to Christianity.  One of my favorite conflicts was the argument over whether tribulation came before, after or during the rapture – – a determination was never really made concerning that argument.  During the weeks, various Group members came and went. But, a core of Christians was beginning to form.

Here we are now, a little band of Christians, bound by love of God’s word and inspired by a vision created one week when one of our members.  Connie said, “I started coming because I wanted a place not just to read the Bible, but to make friends.  I wanted to have a group where we became close enough to care for each other, share with each other, and pray for each other.  I wanted a group where Jesus’ light filled our hearts and brought us more peace in this crazy world.”

Yesterday, the group met again for the first time in the New Year, 2018.  Slowly, we had added to our numbers.  We opened with prayer, an inspiring invitation for God’s love to come and be present in and with us.  We read the designated Bible verses, the story about seeking God’s wisdom as if it were as valuable as silver, and finished with the affirmation just as it was formatted on the printed page of my little book from the Dollar Store.

And, then the real worship began.  One member shared her concerns about a teenage family member who was being bullied at school, this opened the door for another to share that her grandson’s college roommate was confused about same-sex attraction, and another shared his gratitude that his son had not face those challenges.  This son, he said, taught a Sunday school class, was married to a woman who shared his walk with Jesus.  He didn’t take credit for how things turned out, but gave all glory to God and just said. “Time and God have a way of working things out in the end.”

Another member of the group reminded us all, that this good comes not from trying to change others, but loving in Jesus his way without ”any expectations” of results or reward.

As our time came to an end, I looked around our circle of members preparing to close with prayer.  Three months ago, these people were strangers.  Today, however, after a prayer for hearts to be mended, Jesus’  love to be extended, and our loved ones to be uplifted, we began to say our goodbyes until next time, with hugs.

I contemplated the contrast between the marketing motives that generated the group, and Connie’s inspired vision that empowered the group.  I also had to smile at my own hubris.  I prepared in a rational organized way to ”teach” a Bible class and ended up with the blessing of being taught instead. 

I sat in my car in the parking lot at the Care Facility and tears ran down my cheeks.

This had begun as an exercise in marketing and now, had become an environment for the miraculous.