Developing a Contagious Faith

4/22/2007

The attitude of a contagious Christian is our subject this week. One of my favorite memories from High School was our senior play. I had the honor of playing the Professor character in the musical, South Pacific. The musical is based on James Michener’s short stories. I discovered something about him in my research for this column. Interestingly enough, Michener’s decision to become a writer emerged from a severe personal crisis — a near-death experience, in fact. Michener had dreamed of becoming a novelist for years, but had dragged his feet — not fully confident of his potential or wanting to take the risks involved.

Then a plane he was on crashed, after making three attempts to land on the South Pacific Island of New Caledonia. Michener, a military correspondent with the Navy at the time, went immediately to his quarters, sat down and wrote, “I’m going to live the rest of my life as if I were a great man. ... I’m going to concentrate my life on the biggest ideals and ideas I can handle.”

He began work the next day on South Pacific.

It is important to realize that my contagiousness as a Christian is related to state of my heart. How is my relationship with God and how do I view my neighbor? If you could view your life from finish to beginning what changes would you make and what would you say to your family, friends and neighbors.

Barry C. Dunn

Series: Developing a Contagious Faith

Sermon: “A Contagious Heart”