I was appointed as the pastor of the Ardmore Church of God in 1985.

I had been doing my ministerial internship at the church when I won the appointment,

so I was familiar with the church, and it's, shall we say, peculiar stories that

surrounded it. The pastor's residence was a 28-foot-by-28-foot apartment attached to the north

end of the church building, and that became home to me, my wife, and our three children.

The residence was separated from the church

sanctuary by a large combination dining hall and kitchen that was used for church functions.

A classroom lay between the kitchen and the sanctuary, and between the dining area and the sanctuary

was my office.

The departing pastor and his wife reported that the big room had a creepy feel to it.

They avoided the room whenever possible and especially in the dark.

They were very strong Christians, so why did they not investigate the source of their feelings,

or why were they afraid?

It remains a mystery to me.

Perhaps that's not saying much for the Christian faith, but we don't all live up to the perfect

ideal, especially when we are scared.

But what can I say?

My own wife and children refused to enter the room after dark,

and it took a great deal of coaxing to get the kids to go in there at all.

There were times they exited the residence and walked around the outside of the church

to go into the sanctuary.

They said the room was haunted, and it felt like they were being watched by unfriendly eyes.

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