The Fight Club

You ever had one of those days where you wonder as it continues to unfold, "Boy I didn't know it was gonna be like this today"! Well today was like that for me. I did what I normally do, drop off two of my squids at school and head off to the church. This day was going to be a busy one. I had to pick up paint for our painter who is painting our children's area, meet with a future bride and discuss wedding plans, attend a meeting with local pastors over lunch and still fit in some final preparations for the Mother's Day and a late season turkey hunt!

As I was driving to the church, I noticed in town a woman who was being chased by a man down the street. I pulled over in the turning lane to observe him catch up to her and push her to the ground. I then watched as he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to his truck. I quickly turned into the parking area where I then saw him continuing to yell at her and shake her by the arm he was holding. I then did something that a lot of us DON'T do...I got involved! Immediately I thought of the ABC News show titled " What Would You Do?" where people are secretly videoed to see how they would react in a certain situation. I didn't wanna be like some of those people I've seen. I yelled out my window "You better leave her alone" and then he decided to yell some things at me that let's just say Jesus wouldn't have said them!

It was at that time where she said something to him which led him to then punching her in the face. I then thought as Popeye would have said, "I've had all I can stands, I can't stands no more" so I got out of my jeep and headed to the altercation. I then was greeted with a nice, swift left hook that contacted my right cheek. I then hoped at that time that all of those MMA matches that I have watched along with some of my son's WWE wrestling moves will finally pay off. After he made contact, his momentum carried him to the place where I simply got behind him, placed a choke hold and fell to the ground to hold him until the police arrived thanks to a lady who had witnessed the entire thing. As the police handcuffed him, I thought as I dusted myself off about how quickly things unfolded. One minute I am on my way to a busy day at work and the next minute I am defending a helpless lady. I could've chose to ignore it and drive on by but on this day, May 5, 2011 I decided to fight. What if Joel our student pastor had been with me today instead of sleeping on his day off? Would I have passed it onto him? I know he thinks he is tough but really all he does is wear his sisters shirts to make him look buff but that is another entire story! As I left the scene, an overriding thought came across to me...how many times have I as a Christian decided to walk on by issues, pass them off to someone else or ignore things that were not mine for lack of time or fear of hurt or pain. Today as an almost 42 year old pastor I decided to fight for someone who needed fighting for. It hurt a bit, it caused a scene and cost me some time. I guess what the real question is...who are you fighting for?