Invitations and Change
November 2, 2009
The number one drive-time radio disc jockey in Detroit thirty years ago was a woman named Liz Curtis. She was so starkly abrasive that even Howard Stern reportedly told her, “Liz, you have got to clean up your act.” In 1981, she moved to a station in Louisville, Kentuckyand became known as “The Big Blonde.” Sometime later, she met two co-hosts named Tim and Evelyn. They invited Liz to attend church services with them. Because she was new in town and looking forward to lunch with the couple after church, she accepted. The preacher talked about Ephesians 5:22-24 on the day Liz attended. She was uncomfortable with the notion of being submissive to a man, but then the preacher explained how husbands are to be loving and sacrificial like Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:25-29). Upon hearing this, Liz leaned over to Evelyn and said, “If I ever met a man who would die for me, I’d marry him in a minute!” To that, Evelyn responded, “Liz, a man has died for you.” Each week the Kelly’s invited Liz to go with them to church, and each week she accepted. She even got plugged into the congregation and was energetically involved — though not a member. After several months, the invitation song was being sung. It was I Have Decided to Follow Jesus. Liz went to the front of the auditorium, and that is what she told the preacher. She was baptized that day and later wrote, “I was delivered . . . from the gates of hell to the gates of heaven.” The life of Liz Curtis (now Higgs) has been eternally changed — all because someone invited her to church. Think about it, West Broad: we work with people, eat lunch with people, are in class with people. These are lost people who need Jesus, and a simple invitation could be the difference between eternal doom and delight. Now, whom will you invite to worship services next week? —JLNJR (Resource: Bob Russell, When God Builds a Church)
