The old gray-haired Bapto-Appalachian-American preacher continues to ponder Brother Paul’s admonition that a church leader should not be a new convert while recognizing that there are some things that enthusiastic and willing new converts can do as they grow in grace and knowledge.  

Many years ago, a Church of God pastor told me this story from his experience. A man who had recently professed faith in Jesus and been baptized drove a school bus for the county school system. The church needed a driver for the church bus, which picked up people from a nearby trailer park.

This newly baptized man had the class of license required to drive a bus and had passed the required background check to work for the school system in that capacity. The trailer park was on his regular route five days a week, so he was a familiar and trusted face to the children and their families.

He volunteered to drive the church bus. He checked the oil each week and did a walk-around every Sunday to make sure all of the lights worked, as he did with the bus he drove for the school system.  

Sunday by Sunday, the number of people riding the bus to and from church— adults and children — grew. One Sunday, a sibling group of African ancestry boarded the bus with their mother. 

This man welcomed them warmly as he did the others. Of course, somebody had a dying duck fit.

The angry man complained about “those people” coming to “our church” to this newly baptized bus driver who was eager to serve. The Church of God pastor said he was about to defend the church bus driver dealing with a chronic complainer but he didn’t need to.

The brother handled it calmly, replying, “Next week, I’ll only pick up the ones Jesus died for.”