(In the following true account, names and some identifying details have been changed.)

This is my beloved son, in whom I am well-pleased." The congregation shifted their gaze from the handsome preacher in the pulpit to the handsome young man on the front pew. Chris Nelson felt their eyes but focused on his father's words.

"I've had the privilege to preach at other ordination services," the speaker said. "But this occasion is very special, as a father and as a preacher of the gospel. Chris grew up in a preacher's home. For him to respond to God's calling in spite of what he knows about ministry is both remarkable and encouraging."

After the message, Chris knelt at the altar as the ordained gathered around him for the laying on of hands. His father was last to pray. When he called out, "Lord, bless him with a long and fruitful ministry," Chris became choked with emotion.

Lord, may I serve you as faithfully as my father has, he thought.

SNOW-COVERED WINDSHIELD

Four years later, Chris was in his ...