One summer while Max Lucado was in high school he worked laying pipe in a West Texas oil field. At lunch time the workers in the oil field would tell jokes and play cards. "For thirty minutes in the heat of the day," Max says, "the oil patch became Las Vegas ” replete with foul language, dirty stories, blackjack, and barstools that doubled as lunch pails."

One day during lunch a supervisor walked toward the workers. Did he have a job for them that couldn't wait? They wondered.

"Uh, fellows," he said.

The workers turned and looked up at him. "I, uh, I just wanted, uh, to invite..." The workers could tell he was uncomfortable with whatever he was trying to tell them. "I just wanted to tell you that," he tried again, "our church is having a service tonight and..."

"What?" Max thought to h…