Shelby Moore placed her McDonald’s breakfast burrito and coffee on the table, looking across at her good friend Frankie Frasier. Shelby kindly interrupted one of Frankie’s classic humorously woven tales to say, “Frankie, would you like to pray for our breakfast?” Frankie, being slightly hard of hearing, nodded at Shelby and continued to blaze through this unscripted, yet brilliantly worded story. Another attempt from Shelby to refocus Frankie, “Yes, but Frankie, shouldn’t we pray over our breakfast?”
Watching this scene play out felt like watching an episode of I Love Lucy. Frankie all too well resembles Lucy’s antics and courage, while Shelby’s sweetness and kindness more than resembles Ethel. They talk like sisters, arguing about anything from what so-and-so really said to arguing their points of view on predestination. They have a sense of light-hearted fun about them, but also seem to carry the precious burden of accountability and life-on-life living.
After Frankie finally voiced prayer over our $5 breakfasts in the CUBE atrium, my questions began. I was eager to get to the bottom of just why serving alongside friends was so important to them. “It started when we were just talking one day about how we don’t really do anything at the church,” started Shelby, “I’ve never been a part of a church where I didn’t serve in some way!” On that day, Senior Adult Pastor Willie Keys happened to overhear the ladies’ conversation and, after a few suggestions, encouraged them to try joining the Home Team.
Council Road’s Home Team serves the church through opening doors on Sunday mornings and helping guide and encourage newcomers. As someone who helps lead this team, I was so proud to hear both Shelby and Frankie talk about the smiles on Home Team members’ faces when walking into church. They bragged on people like Matt McLain, Micah White, and Denise Keys for the kind interactions they would have on Sunday mornings. The two ladies were delighted to get to join the team—especially together.
“It’s so fun when we serve together,” said Frankie, “We’ve gotten to where we know some of the people we’re opening the doors for on Sunday’s. We call them our friends, and we love to see them coming up to the church doors.” The two haven’t been friends for all that long, but serving has brought them closer together, even in spite of initially feeling nervous about serving.
“It’s just like starting anything new. You feel a little bit nervous, especially volunteering and serving,” said Frankie, “But you’ve got to try it! It is fun and you meet a lot of good people. After all, we should really be doing more to serve. I just sit around and watch Judge Judy—she scares me, I think I’d rather just go right on to prison… but anyway… Just try serving with friends! It’s real fun!”
After recovering from laughing, I posed a question: “What would you two want to say to those who choose not to serve anywhere in the church right now?” Shelby sat back in her chair. “Get into the Word,” she started, “When you get into the Word, it just comes natural to want to serve.” This struck me. “How different would our lives be if we really delved into Scripture more and lived that?” I replied. “As a church, we would give more. We would serve more. We would love more. We would confess more.”
As our conversation over breakfast continued on, the ladies each shared how they came to Council Road, snippets of their life stories, and moments of sweet encouragement and laughter. It was humbling to see their joy in each other's presence. This joy is not unfamiliar to me, however. I get to witness it, as many others do, every Sunday morning before the 9 a.m. service as the ladies greet and welcome people into the church.
Hebrews 13:16 says, “Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” It’s amazing how the local church, especially Council Road, is set up in a way that we can not only “do good” but also do good alongside friends and so fulfill the “share with others” portion. How can you and your friends get involved?
Meet the Author!
Hammocks, hot tubs, Spotify, close friends, campfires, poetic journal entries, and well selected fonts are all contributions to Hannah Hanzel’s ideal day. She can be found pining over these in her lamp-lit office at Council Road Baptist Church, serving as the Creative Director. She enjoys conversations that include dad jokes, travel plans, theology, art, and struggles with faith. Feel free to reach out: hannahhanzel@yahoo.com.
