CPR in Preaching

It was one of those moments in time. I was preaching that morning on the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. The preparation in study and prayer was completed to the best of my ability, the message was going well and I was beginning to wrap up the message and bring it in for a landing to give the people an opportunity to respond to what God was saying to them. I became aware of a commotion to my right about a third of the way back in the sanctuary. A few people were responding to some issue that was developing and the congregation was being distracted from my "wonderful message" on the Holy Spirit by something, I knew not what.

As I observed, while attempting to continue to preach, one of our deacons communicated to me that "Betty," an elderly lady and longtime Sunday School teacher, was having a problem. She was slumped over onto the person next to her with no color left in her face. An EMT and a nurse were sitting close by and were there to assist in the emergency. Betty's heart had stopped, there was no pulse, and she was no longer breathing. As far as we could tell, she was gone. I had another emergency! Was my preaching on the Holy Spirit relevant for today or was it just good preaching?

One thing I have learned through the years is that when in doubt, pray. The congregation began to pray even while the ambulence was being called. We prayed! I prayed! "God, how could you let this happen while I am preaching on the Holy Spirit?" My apparent lack of faith was overcome by my desparation for Betty. The ambulence arrived, put her on the stretcher and was preparing to take her out of the church. Betty began to respond! She was asking what was happening. Where were they taking her? She remembered nothing of what happened except that she knew people were praying. She was fine. Actually, they admitted her to the hospital, did a series of test and dismissed her the next day. She left on vacation two days later.

I will never forget that day! Neither will I forget the lesson the Lord burned into my spirit. CPR means one thing to the EMT's. To me it reminds me that our preaching must be done with Clarity, Passion, and Relevance. Sometimes God provides an object lesson, but the power and presence of the Spirit are available if me choose to stop and pray and seek His intervention in our lives and ministries. Sunday's coming! Expect the unexpected!

Steve Tourville