Howdy, Folks!
One of the exciting things about the CLASS Christian Writers Conference is the opportunity for faculty and attendees to participate in a conference book project. Attendees meet in small groups with a mentor, who helps them shape their story into a 750 word gem that is then included in an anthology.
Last year’s project, Transformed: Renewed and Changed by the Power of God, is available online at Winepress.com and Amazon.com.
Here is a description of the contents:
Transformed! God uses everyday events and circumstances to change lives. He will intervene through life situations, incidents, and experiences. He will use encounters with relatives, friends, casual acquaintances, and even strangers to help you be renewed and changed. He will help you see His Word in a new practical way. Your life can be renewed, renovated, and replenished. The stories in this book will show you how God reached into the lives of ordinary people to revitalize and redeem. Read it and discover the life changing messages confirming the words Paul wrote in Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-His good, pleasing, and perfect will.”
I have taken part in this project as both a mentor and a mentee, and I learned a lot and was blessed by both experiences. In the coming months, we will feature a story from the book; this week, I offer you my own submission, “The Church of Oscar.”
Enjoy, and if you found the information in this blog helpful, please share it with a friend!
Lawrence
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Writer’s Corner
The Church of Oscar
By Lawrence J. Clark
“Two Big Smokies, extra onions on one, no mustard on the other . . . one Mrs. Smokie extra pickles!”
The cashier shouted her order in a thick southern accent that I could barely understand. Two weeks earlier I had moved to Knoxville, Tennessee on a whim.
I was 19 and single, and with my Choleric/Sanguine personality it sounded like a fun thing to do. And I was a hard worker, so I found a short-order cook job at the Smokey Mountain Market, where I met my new boss, Oscar.
“You need to get yourself a coat,” he announced as I stood shivering in the damp, pre-dawn air. “Let’s get you some coffee.”
“Sounds good, eh,” I said.
“New England?”
“Ayuh—Maine.”
“Thought so–welcome to the real America, Yankee Boy.”
His broad smile disarmed me, and Oscar soon taught me everything he knew; I learned to cook food I had never even eaten, like grits.
“Blech!!” I said, spitting them back out. “How can you eat this mush?”
“It’s an acquired taste, Yank,” Oscar laughed, slapping his thigh through his gravy-splotched apron.
One morning, while rolling out biscuit dough, my curiosity got the best of me.
“Oscar, how come you’re working here? When I’m your age, I plan to be a millionaire living on my own island.”
“Good question. I wasn’t always a cook; I was once a bank president.”
“C’mon . . .”
“I’m serious–worked my way through college–got promoted and married the day after graduation.”
“Cool.”
“Came from a mining family–I was the first to graduate college.”
“Good for you—bank president, wow . . .”
“Working that hard is stressful, though–started drinking every night. I made life miserable for my wife and kids. Soon I was out of control, but somehow kept getting promoted.”
“Cool.”
“Maybe–I had the money, the company car, the country club . . .”
“I want all that!”
“Everything has a price, Yank. My wife and kids despised me. The bible tells us that the root of all evil is the love of money.”
“You believe all that bible stuff?”
“Yes, sir–didn’t always, though. I went to Sunday school, but after college Christianity lost its relevance–just a way for politicians and corporations to keep ignorant folks dreaming about a better life in la-la land while they laughed all the way to the bank—my bank. I laughed, too, and treated the “little people” like peasants.”
“I can’t imagine that.”
“Thanks, but I didn’t change on my own. One night, after several cocktails, I had a severe heart attack and slammed into a tree. The Doc said I’d die within a year if I didn’t quit my job–I realized power or money wouldn’t do me any good six feet under.”
“So what happened?”
“Drove straight to my boyhood church, sat for a long time, and thought about what a mess I was. I then tried to ask Jesus for forgiveness, but all I could do was cry. Afterward, though, a giant weight was suddenly lifted.”
“I get that,” I said, then told him about the time a year earlier when I was selling vacuums door to door. One night, after I finished my sales pitch, a guy got his bible and explained how everyone’s a sinner, but God sent his Son to die so we could be free.
“But I don’t see you going to church now, Yank,” he observed. “And spending your time in clubs down on the strip isn’t exactly the life Jesus wants for you.”
“But that’s where all my friends are, Oscar. You old guys can hang out in church, but that’s not much fun for us.”
“There are other ways to spend time with Him. I pray every morning at work–one of the things I love about this job. People leave me alone, for the most part.”
“Except me, of course.”
“Ah, you’re alright, for a Yankee, anyway,” he grinned. “Now enough of this chit-chat—we’ve only got fifteen minutes to finish these biscuits.”
We shared many conversations after that, and Oscar taught me many lessons that I remember to this day. I started attending a young adult bible study, and a year later earned a scholarship to a Christian college where I continued my transformation into the likeness of Christ, a process that continues 30 years later. And I will never forget my very first church–the Church of Oscar.
Transformed: Renewed and Changed by the Power of God, is available online at Winepress.com and Amazon.com.
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| About CLASSEMINARS |
| CLASSEMINARS, Inc. is the premier full service agency for established and aspiring Christian speakers, writers, leaders, and publishers. A one-of-a-kind organization, CLASS provides the complete training ground for tomorrow’s spiritual leaders worldwide. For more info on CLASS, please visit http://classeminars.org/. |
The CLASS Christian Writers Conference blog is managed by Lawrence J. Clark, an author, speaker, and songwriter, who frequently speaks and performs in schools, churches, and libraries throughout the United States. He is co-founder, with his wife Kristen, of HisWitness.org and NewBeginningsMarriage.org, for which he writes a regular column based on personality theory, marriage and relationships, men’s issues, and Christian living.
April 19th, 2012 
admin 
Join Florence Littauer and the CLASS Faculty for the 2012 CLASS Reunion. The reunion will be held once again at the beautiful Doral Desert Princess Resort in Cathedral City, CA. (Palm Springs). We are all looking forward to gathering our CLASS family for a weekend of excitement, encouragement and empowerment as we explore the 2012 reunion theme together.
Featured Keynote Speaker
