Ron Herman (standing, 2nd left) and his wife, Charlene (seated, far right)
Neal Pollard
Kathy and the wife of one of our deacons in Virginia were studying with a sweet woman who was eventually baptized and who remains faithful to this day. The woman lived in an apartment in a higher crime area. In the midst of one of their studies, her huge, heavily tattooed, and obviously drunk nephew came downstairs weeping openly and profusely. Apparently he had been eavesdropping on the study and felt, perhaps aided by the large, nearly empty bottle of liquor, a need of God. Up to that point, Kathy and her co-teacher was unaware this nephew was in the apartment. It turns out that this young man faced stiff legal problems as a convicted drug dealer who would not leave that lifestyle. He was miserable, frightened, and utterly directionless.
The girls were able to leave Donna’s apartment safely, and the young man attended on a Wednesday night not long after this incident. After a brief devotional and the extending of an invitation, this young man responded. Knowing only his Catholic background, he went up to the very front and knelt right in front of the pulpit. It seems that nearly all of us were frozen by this unexpected move. It was unorthodox. As he made the sign of the cross repeatedly, it was uncomfortable. No doubt several wondered, “How should this be handled?” While we all stood and sang, mired in perplexity, Ron Herman, one of our elders, walked up to the young man. Perhaps many of us thought, “Good, Ron will escort him to the front pew to the ‘scriptural’ place for handling responses.”
No. Ron immediately modeled Christ in a most compassionate way. Ron knelt beside him, putting his arm around this big, burly young man. He quietly, gently discussed with him the nature of his problem that moved him to respond. Ron was affirming, smiling, and empathetic. After the song, Ron informed the congregation that this young man wanted us to pray for him.
So far as I know, this young man has never obeyed the gospel. In fact, soon after his public response, he was incarcerated. But I learned a lot about what matters most that evening. Ron was a professional educator, serving in school administration for his long, illustrious career. Oh, how much he taught us that night. He was a shepherd exemplifying Christ to the flock (1 Pet. 5:3). Too often we get uncomfortable when we need to get unseated, and we get embarrassed when we need to get encouraging. So many among us are hurting and are unsure of what to do. They are unsure of how we, the church, will respond. Let us have the love and courage to respond just as Christ would. Just as Ron did!
The Preacher Pollard Blog 
You are so right Neal. Handled beautifully. All that poor guy knew was that he desperately needed help and that was the only way he knew to ask for help. Instead of being embarrassed, our hearts should be touched that someone has reached out for help as best they know how. I can’t imagine Jesus giving him the cold shoulder because he didn’t know the “proper” way to respond. He may be incarcerated, but it certainly isn’t too late. Perhaps because Ron showed him compassion and understanding rather than humiliation, he will still follow through, learn more, and become a Christian someday. Thanks for sharing this!
I’ll never forget one Wednesday night class at Bear Valley in the auditoreum. Denny Petrillo’s class was interrupted by a drunk woman who stumbled in and sat right up front. Denny smiled at her and never missed a beat, despite her exclamations, fumbling loudly with the song book, etc. All of us students were watching (and learning) by how Denny reacted. He made it through the class and when it was over, the REAL teaching began. Denny zipped past the usual gauntlet of handshakes and pats on the back to get to this woman. He introduced himself and talked with her for a minute. He eventually walked out with her into the foyer where she tearfully admitted her need for Jesus and forgiveness. She wasn’t baptized or even involved in any further study (to my knowledge), but I never forgot how Christ-like Denny was in handling the situation. How many of us would have been offended at her rudeness and gladly stared daggers at her back when she finally left?