The question is not if a crisis will come, but when.
—Gary L. Gulbranson

The day I candidated at Glen Ellyn Bible Church, following the Sunday morning service, we were having lunch at the home of the chairman of the board of elders.

Suddenly, in the middle of the meal, the phone rang, and when our host returned, his face was pale. We immediately knew something was wrong.

He quickly gave us the facts: the son of one of the church families, a college-age man who had attended church that morning, had left the service before my sermon, gone home, and apparently taken his own life.

We dropped our forks and drove together to the grieving family's home. As others gave comfort to the family, I listened, offered what I could, and avoided treading on their grief.

As the afternoon went on, my thoughts turned to the evening service. What I had planned to preach would now be out of place. This was a crisis not only for the immediate family but for the whole church.

After we left their home, I spent the next ...