The title of my sermon today comes from a song that some of you may know. It was a hit song recorded by Bonnie Raitt several years ago, and it still gets air-time. The song is about a flirtation between a man and a woman that others are observing and talking about. In essence, Bonnie Raitt is saying, "Let’s stop flirting, call this what it is-- a serious relationship--and really give them something to talk about."

The phrase "something to talk about" also reminds me of the 150^th Anniversary that we are celebrating at Pine Street throughout this year. Last week was our big kick-off event. It was a great time of food and fellowship and fun. There was a great energy and spirit in the church as well. We look forward with great anticipation to the other events that the Committee has planned for us. Debbie McKinley, former Associate Pastor and first woman minister to serve at Pine Street, will be here to preach on Sunday, October 14^th. Others former pastors and guest speakers are scheduled throughout the rest of the year. This celebration will give us all "something to talk about" for years to come.

But the phrase "something to talk about" also reminds me of the Christian faith. "Something to talk about" implies a narrative, a story that one tells about one’s own life. In the Christian faith we tell the story of Jesus, of his life and his teaching and his death and his resurrection. And from the very beginning Christians have told the story of how Jesus has changed their life. Sometimes this is said quite briefly, as in the case of the blind man who Jesus healed. When asked who healed him, the blind man simply replied, "One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see" (John 9:26). Other narratives are more elaborate, like the one that is found in Colossians 1. In some of the most exalted language in the New Testament the author describes the person and work of Jesus Christ and his place in God’s cosmic plan. He says that Jesus "is the image of the invisible God. . .for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created. . .In him all things hold together. . .He is the beginning [and the end]" (Col. 1:15-18). Surely, his own encounter with the living Lord caused him to write these lofty words. And as he testifies in this same passage, he "became a servant of this gospel" (Col. 1:23) that changed his life.

I love to hear stories about how people come to faith. And yet we Presbyterians are not all that comfortable in sharing those stories, even though those stories fill some of the pages of best-seller books. One of my favorite best-sellers is a book by Anne Lamott entitled Traveling Mercies. In that book she talks about her conversion to Christianity. She explains that she had problems—and lots of them. She drank too much, used illegal drugs, had one-night stands. On Sunday mornings, recovering from a Saturday night hangover, she found herself walking by a church near her home, a Presbyterian church, as it turned out. She heard music and singing floating in the air from the open doors. She walked and even stood in the doorway to listen to the music and singing, but she would not walk into the church. She did this week after week. People in the church would greet her and try to hug her and invite her in, but she refused to go in. Then one Sunday morning she was so hung over that when she walked into the doorway, she couldn’t stand, so she sat in a pew. She sat for the whole service during which she felt "something" wash over her, and she started to cry. When the service was over, she ran out the door and ran all the way home. At her front door she stopped running, hung her head (and I paraphrase here), and said, "Forget it; I quit. I’m tired of running away." She took a long, deep breath and said out loud, "All right, Jesus. You can come into my life." And that was her "beautiful moment" of conversion to Christianity. She has become a deeply committed Christian of the Presbyterian variety, and her literary works are widely read by Christians and non-Christians alike.

Sara Miles, an Episcopalian, writes in her book Take This Bread about how she walked by and into an Episcopal church one Sunday. She wasn’t a Christian; she wasn’t even religious; she was a secular humanist. But for reasons she couldn’t describe she felt to walk into this church, walked into the communion line, took communion, and realized that she was hungry. Communion turned out to be an unexpected encounter for her. She writes, "I couldn’t reconcile the experience with anything I knew or had been told. But neither could I go away: For some inexplicable reason, I wanted that bread again. I wanted it all the next day after my first communion, and the next week, and the next. It was a sensation as urgent as physical hunger, pulling me back to the table at [that church] through my fear and confusion." Against the inclination of all of her non-Christian friends and family she followed that hunger into the Christian faith (Christian Century, 7/10/07, p. 40).

For the author of Colossians it was a profound experience that prompted the writing of his lofty words. For Anne Lamott it was the singing and the music. For Sara Miles, it was the celebration of Communion. For others it is the Prayer of Confession and the Assurance of Pardon. For others it may be the proclamation of the Word. For me it was being welcomed by strangers. As I have told you before, I awoke one Sunday morning to find my parents fighting. I got out of bed, got dressed, walked out of the house, and, even though I had never been in a church before, I walked into the nearby Baptist church where I was welcomed and included. For the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged.

But all of us have stories to tell about how we came to faith, whether it was instantaneous or gradual, whether it was dramatic or quiet, whether it was a long time ago or rather recently. We all have "something to talk about" when it comes to our faith. And these stories and affirmations of faith can be a source of real inspiration to others who hear our stories. As part of the process for being a commissioned lay pastor, a candidate has to present to the Session a statement of faith. Our own elder, Craig Kegereise who is undergoing commissioned lay leader training, gave such a statement this past Tuesday evening. He began and ended his statement with the words, "Jesus is the beginning and the end." Here Craig bears eloquent witness to the fact that Jesus was with him from the beginning of his life and will be with him until the end of his life, when he rests in the everlasting arms of God.

In November I will teach an Adult Forum (or two) entitled, "Something to Talk About," where we will learn how to talk about and share our stories of faith with others. Our personal stories can encourage and embolden others, and for that reason we cannot keep those stories to ourselves. As we look to the next 150 years of ministry our future depends on our willingness to share our life and faith with others. After all, if we don’t tell the story, then who will? Amen.