Saturday, September 5, 1998

There are plenty of folks trying to do the right thing

By Ken Garfield

Knight Ridder Newspapers

You glare at the driver in the next lane, rush past a colleague at the end of another long workday, and it's easy to miss the light that shines in others.

Those aren't people with aspirations and the guts to live them out that you're ignoring. Amid the pressures of life, they're just the ones holding up the checkout line the supermarket. Faces in a frustrating crowd.

Maybe that's why I set out on the road one recent morning to seek the truth about people. It was my official Day Out of the office, and the bosses wanted me to break the routine, perhaps bring back something to help the paper.

I'm not sure I succeeded on that count, and I know it doesn't matter now. On a day away from voice mail, I brought back something better, something I had lost in the tumult: An awe for how many people out there are chasing rich dreams, doing the right thing, living noble lives.

I started at Reformed Theological Seminary, where they've turned the old Carmel Baptist campus into a center for learning. Many students take a conventional route to the pulpit. Then there's Garnett Slatton, who was on the fast track until he heard a call to get off. The former Boston banker and front-office boss of the NBA's Washington Bullets is now a seminary senior, praying some Presbyterian church will ask a 42-year-old father of three to lead it.

Some wise congregation is about to get a guy who heard a whisper and listened.

I drove to Carolina Place Mall in Pineville, where I met Angie Keller at the Lamb Christian Bookstore. She taught biology and physical science at Sun Valley High until her mother took ill. Now by day, Keller, 50, sells Bibles. By night, she goes home to Stallings to care for her mom, Dollita. The two share a home, and a new life.

Susan Wilson, 34, was browsing in the store where Angie works. Her husband, Jon, coached women's volleyball at Duke University for 15 years. But then he, too, heard the whisper: "God just put a dissatisfaction on our hearts. He said, 'I have something else for you to do.' "

The Wilsons -- Jon, Susan, Andrew, 9, and Erin, 6 -- are moving to Tanzania, where he will translate the Bible into a native language. They're not sure where they'll live. Electricity isn't guaranteed.

Terrorists just exploded a bomb at the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania. In an update to friends, the Wilsons wrote that God sent Jon these words from Joshua after the bombing -- "Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness."

The Wilsons will work for Wycliffe Bible Translators. They leave this week for their great adventure.

My head was full of whispers of the heart, daughters devoted to mothers and missionaries devoted to God. It was time to grab a bite, buy some shoes and head home.

Joseph Wilson, 34, waited on me at Father & Son Shoes, which isn't unusual considering he was working 90-hour weeks because he couldn't find sales help. A born-again Christian -- God arrived on May 17, 1974 -- his schedule has kept him from worshiping much at Candlewyck Baptist.

But it's not all bad. His job is to travel the country, opening new stores for the company. He likes sales, especially selling shoes. We shared memories of our moms taking us to buy new shoes when we were kids. He laced mine up as we chatted. They don't do that in the chain outlets, he said.

Single, though he'd like to meet someone, Wilson is content with life. He spends his days meeting the customers' footwear needs, meeting customers.

"It's kind of like an opportunity to open up to people, learn more about 'em," he said. "I like people in general."

After a day cutting through to the truth, I like people, too.

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(Ken Garfield is the religion editor at The Charlotte Observer. Write to him at: The Charlotte Observer, 600 S. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28232.)

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(c) 1998, The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.).

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