I don't know Reverend Crawford

personally but appreciated her sermon on kindness.

Reverend Carolyn Crawford is

known throughout Southern California for her topical and powerful sermons,

but speculation on what she would say was unusually high one particular

week just after the holiday season.

As is customary each Monday,

the topic for the Sunday sermon was posted on a sign outside the church.

This week it read: "The Gospel According to Nordstrom."

Members of the congregation

were no strangers to upscale Nordstrom department store. They just couldn't

conceive of what a merchandising mecca had to do with the gospel and its

lessons.

Some thought perhaps the talk

might be blasphemous. Others felt the unlikely theme might be stimulating.

One thing was certain: This unlikely title created quite a stir in town.

With such interest, often the

reality can't match the hype. On rare occasions, it "hyper"

ventilates and goes even higher!

The church was packed that

Sunday. The hushed congregation awaited Reverend Crawford's sermon. She

began by telling of her recent visit to the bustling, luxurious atmosphere

of a marbled Nordstrom store during the holiday season.

She recounted the delights

throughout the store: the abundant decorations; the holiday music expertly

performed by an elegant, tuxedoed piano player; the potpourri and expensive

perfume. Flocks of charmed shoppers swarmed in and out laden with finely

wrapped gifts.

But then she said the shared

atmosphere of the department store revelry was shattered. A bag lady,

hunched over, clad in torn clothes and filthy with stench, walked through

Nordstrom's doors.

Curious, Reverend Crawford

decided to follow her, certain that security would take care of this woman

promptly as unwelcome as she was incongruous. The Reverend thought she

might have to intervene when security arrived, so that she could soften

the blow to the woman's dignity when she was asked nicely, but firmly,

to leave.

Yet her original interest in

this interloper would soon change. Though Reverend Crawford saw the stark

contrast of this woman to the gracious abundance of the store, Nordstrom

employees must have seen something else.

No one tried to stop the bag

lady as she shuffled through the store. She reached the most elegant and

pricey Special Occasions Department, where she was greeted warmly and

professionally by a smartly-attired saleswoman.

The Reverend was incredulous.

What did these people see? Reverend Crawford stood nearby and eavesdropped.

She listened, astonished by what she heard.

The salesperson's responses

to the customer were solicitous, not patronizing; respectful, not pitying.

When the customer asked to try on evening dresses, the salesperson brought

over one gown after another, asking for her most discriminating opinion.

The lady inspected each gown,

trying on several. With infinite patience as an hour slid away, the salesperson

carefully evaluated which gowns she felt were the most flattering and

appropriate for this customer.

The bag lady decided she was

finished. She left the fitting room, thanked the salesperson, and walked

out of the Special Occasions Department.

This woman looked different.

Her head was held high, her gait seemed smoother, and there was a new

light in her eye. She'd just experienced Nordstrom.

Reverend Crawford was dumbfounded.

She approached the Nordstrom saleswoman. Uncharacteristically at a loss

for words, the Reverend simply asked why she'd spent an hour with this

bag lady, helping her try on thousand-dollar gowns at a store which religiously

measures employee sales per hour!

The composed Nordstrom saleswoman

looked Carolyn Crawford straight in the eye, answering as if the question

was as simple as asking for the time of day: "This is what we are

here for: To serve and be kind."

The Reverend closed her sermon

ourselves as churchgoers? As human beings? That we are here to serve and

be kind?"

This was far from the end of

this particular sermon. News of the message spread beyond one Sunday morning

at one church. Churchgoers retold the story to friends and associates.

The New York Times highlighted

the incident. Demand for the sermon became so overwhelming that the church

eventually sold audiotape copies.

Nordstrom salespeople were

both humbled and challenged when they heard the story. In a culture that

asks employees to give their best to customers under all circumstances,

the bar had been raised.

Each time this very real story

is told, each time it's shared, its truth grows within and without. May

we all have the opportunity and the grace to serve and be kind.

As the young Anne Frank said,

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before

starting to improve the world."

The Rev. Dr. Knox Herndon is

the pastor of His House Community Church (SBC), a substitute school teacher

in the Fayette County School System, and a former Army chaplain. The church

is currently meeting in the American Legion Log Cabin in Fayetteville

but will be moving to its new location near Senoia soon. Dedication service

at the new location will be Super Bowl Sunday, Jan. 28. The prayer line

number is 770-719-2365, and the e-mail address is [email protected] .