Date: 4/29/2008
<br>Author: Devin Pickard
<br>Title: Mr. or Mrs. Anonymous
<br><br>Joe Biddle, sports columnist for The Tennessean, will occasionally write an article that brings us up to speed on the lives of local sports figures of the past.  Recently, he wrote a very sad article detailing the demise of the lives of many of the members of the successful Memphis Tiger basketball team of 1985.  VH1 has its “Where Are They Now?” television series that catches the adoring public up on the lives of all of the “one-hit wonders” of days gone by.  Major magazines are no exception.  Every now and then they will run their own “whatever happened to” editions to get the present dirt on stars of the past.  Having said all that, I thought it would be interesting to run our own “whatever happened to?” version of the Provider.<br><br>I bet none of you remember the name, Sharon Daniel, but I am sure many of you would remember her as the lady from Reyno, Arkansas who in August of 2006 wrote Fairfield a letter addressing her concerns about our use of Children’s Church and puppet shows.  In her letter, Ms. Daniel states her disapproval of such things and also encourages us to repent from our involvement in them.  Even though I had to “agree to disagree” with this concerned sister in Christ who I had never met, I still developed a great deal of respect for her.  You see, she had a problem with us, and she addressed US.  Not only did she Biblically (Matt. 18:15-20) handle the issue, she also told us who was handling said issue by signing her name.<br><br>I have heard some say that if a congregation of the Lord’s Church is not occasionally getting some “conflict mail”, then they may not be doing enough work in trying to extend the borders of the Kingdom.  There will always be those people who will find fault with almost every thing you do in any area of life.....and the work of the Lord is certainly no exception.  Fact of the matter is, Jesus Christ was probably the most criticized individual who ever walked the face of the earth.  I recently received one of those “please accept this as it was intended” letters, from what I would assume was some well intentioned brother or sister in Christ.  This person wanted to express their concern about our bike rides and “skipping services” at the church building.  Their opinion was that “where 2 or 3 are gathered” was too often mis-used as a reason to justify missing worship services at the church building (an issue I will try to address at a later time).  By the way....did you catch the part about me having “to assume” who wrote the letter? <br> <br>The Hickman County Times, as well as most other newspapers, has a policy that it will not publish any unsigned letters to the editor.  I’m sure Bradley Martin has gotten his share of anonymous letters in the past from folks who want to blow off some steam about something and I’m just as sure that most of ’em probably found their way into the bottom of his cabinet marked “File 13”.  The letter written to me though, did not meet the same fate....in fact it is sitting on my desk right now.  I appreciate the letter and the person who wrote it.  Their opinion is certainly just as valuable as mine.  But, how could I ever have any personal dialogue with this kind-hearted soul if I don’t know who they are?  I am really not sure why they did not sign it in the first place.  It was neither mean-spirited nor hateful.  I do feel like the letter was written with love and the best intentions for my soul and the souls around me.  The tone of the letter was that of a concerned verbal hug......and yet, I don’t know who to hug back.<br><br>Sometime ago I received an email from someone who had an issue or two to take up with me.  This person made it very clear where they stood and how they felt.....and they signed their name.  Do you know that I now have a very special friendship with that person?  We have become very good buddies over the last several months and we talk to each other regularly.  I know that I would not be able to call that person “friend” had they not let me know who they were.  As it turns out, I think we actually agree on most everything.  So, if you are my anonymous friend and you happen to be reading this, I want to say thank you for the concern and love that you have for me and the Fairfield Church of Christ.  I would like to tell you face to face if only you would tell me which face to tell it to.<br><br>Go the extra mile - Devin  <br>