Awe came upon everyone.... -- Acts 2:43

I grew up in the Forty Fort United Presbyterian Church near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Though the church has been around for over 200 years, I'm its only son who became a pastor. They even have a picture of me hanging near the back door under an exit sign. Despite my mom's assurances, I've always wondered why it ended up there.

That suspicion aside, Forty Fort U-P did more than any other in shaping my life and ministry. That's where I met Jesus, kissed a girl for the first time (I always liked youth group!), received a call to ministry, learned the church at its best is about loving like Jesus (invitationally, inclusively, and unconditionally), and met the most influential woman and man of my adolescent years.

Grace Blanchard was 104 when she sto…