A Modern Day Pied Piper

Once upon a time a certain man entered a village and took up residence. He was a God fearing man and quickly sought out the only church in the village. He introduced himself to the pastor and he was warmly welcomed into the church. The man attended several church services and enjoyed them immensely until one Sunday as he was listening to the pastor he became uncomfortable. Something about the sermon bothered him. The pastor was telling everyone that if they followed Mark 6:38 and gave their money to God, it would be returned to them with great increase. As the collection plates were passed around, people scrambled to empty their pockets of the money they had and the collection plates were soon overflowing. He had witnessed this type of behavior before and knew it was incorrect. After the collection the pastor started talking again this time telling the people that if they wanted to be saved and not have their eternal soul burn in hell for all eternity they must follow all of the teachings and beliefs of the church. The man sat there as the pastor belittled the people by telling them they must give one tenth of all their income to the church and some were failing in this rule. The pastor told them they were giving God what was left, not what was right. People cowered down in the pews, afraid to face the pastor. The man sat there in wonder and was shocked for he could tell that the church was being dragged down by legalism. The pastor was holding the congregation in bondage by imposing rules and regulations that must be met in order, according to the pastor, to be saved. The man was determined to talk to the pastor after the service but to his surprise the pastor left the building as soon as the service was over. People were grumbling about how they had been talked to but since the pastor had said what must be done it had to be the truth. A pastor would never give out false information. The man overhearing their conversation returned home and wrote a letter to the pastor asking that they meet soon to discuss the sermon. The man waited for a reply that never came. The man sent a second and then a third letter, which were ignored just as the first one had been. The man being a devout Christian continued to go to the church each Sunday and as he listened he began to realize that the people in the congregation really didn’t know the truth about salvation. They only knew what the pastor had told them. The man quickly realized he could not just ignore what was happening but he didn’t know what to do about it so he prayed to God for an answer that would tell him what to do. He knew that he was only one person and had no idea how he could get people to listen to the truth about salvation. The man discussed it with his wife and told her of his predicament and she said just wait, God will show you the way. The man argued how could he, just one person change the thinking of so many people that knew nothing but the legalistic ways of the church. It was all these people had ever known. He knew just how the people in the congregation were feeling because he was once just like them, lost in the world of legalism, believing everything the church said and that the church was right about everything.

He had followed their rules and paid his tithes. He did all that was asked of him but it seemed like no matter what he did it wasn’t enough. The more he did the more that was demanded of him. He believed that he was assuring himself a spot in Heaven. One day the man heard about God’s grace and mercy and upon finding that his salvation was not by anything he could or would ever do, the man left the church never to return and depended on God’s grace and mercy of his total salvation. Now the man was faced again with the legalistic ideas that he had left behind. These people needed help but how?

One day the man was strolling through the village and he came upon an empty building and he knew instantly what he had to do. He had to start his own ministry to help free those that were trapped by legalism. With the help of his wife the man started his own ministry and he promised himself that he would help those that were oppressed. Weeks later after the building had been cleaned up, the man advertised that a new church would be opening and all were invited to attend. The man named his ministry The Natural Facts. He wanted a name people could relate to because the message was not going to be complicated and it would come directly from the bible. When the man held his first service only a few showed up to hear what he had to say but word spread throughout the village that a different kind of pastor was in town, one that wanted to share God’s love and grace with them and not make demands on them like their old church and pastor did.

Before long most of the village was attending his services but there were still those that believed that they could do enough to earn their salvation and would please God so they could enter Heaven. For many years the man preached the good news about grace and mercy and how the only way to salvation was to receive it from Jesus and not by doing works. The man is still in the village today preaching about God’s grace and mercy, reaching as many people as possible through his radio programs, online church and many other resources’. There are now thousands of people who have been freed from the rules and regulations of the church because of this one man’s preaching and beliefs.

In the year 1284 a man, later known as The Pied Piper entered the village of Hamelin and led all of the children out of the village. The man in the story above could be considered a modern day Pied Piper, not because he leads children out of the village but because he leads people out of bondage, following a simple motto: grace alone, faith alone and Christ alone. Who is this modern day Pied Piper? The name of the person who works so tirelessly to bring us the good news about Jesus Christ and His grace and mercy, giving all the glory to God is Craig Albright.

This is a purely fictional story and any events or names associated with any religion or person is completely coincidental.