Members of the Family

The names for this post have been changed. The prayer request on the email prayer chain said, “John Doe just called to let me know his son Junior was just in an accident and is in surgery. John said Junior will likely lose an eye.  Please be in prayer for Junior, the surgeons, and Junior’s parents.” I’m quite disturbed by the way the request is worded. The facts are that John Doe is church elder, Junior was once a deacon and once the son-in-law of the preacher. The wording of this prayer request has relegated Junior to the position of just being John’s son. Similarly, Jesus went to his hometown and taught the people in the synagogue. They said, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him” (Matt 13:55-57 NIV). Junior Doe, by his own standing, is a member of the church family and known by the church family.