Back when he came to the inevitable fork in the road, church member John Kramer opted for business school. That explains the Merrill Lynch logo on the business card he handed me after Sunday morning’s service in Francis Chapel.

But the fact that he stood at the front of the magnificent chapel moments earlier, urging us to grasp the enormity of Jesus, proves that life is grand enough for more than one path, more than one adventure. Way back when, John chose business school over seminary. But because he could never get that “little voice,” as he calls it, out of his head, he had the privilege of making his preaching debut at 11:15 a.m.

The pleasure, and pride, was all ours.

That little voice has been whispering to John, 56, for some time, encouraging him to live out his faith in all the ways possible. On a recent mission trip with John to Lithuania, Rev. Shane Page added his voice of encouragement. With a virtual choir of “Go for its!” pushing him on, John began lay speaker training through the Western North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church. Then came Sunday. While the rest of us were digging into turkey and dressing over the long Thanksgiving weekend, John was digging into Scripture, preparing (and praying) for his 15 minutes of faith in Francis Chapel.

With a nearly packed chapel hanging on his every word – Wow, does John have a lot of enthusiastic family and friends! – he took a sip of water and launched into a lovely sermon about devoting Advent to grasping the significance of the Word becoming flesh. In this season of “expectant waiting,” as he called it, grasp Jesus.

When he was done, when the last word at least on this Sunday was spoken, John seemed spent but content. “I told somebody I was wrestling with an angel,” he said, thanking Dr. Howell for providing the wisdom and counsel that helped carry him to this morning. To this pulpit. To this opportunity, which should remind us that the work of the church is best done by clergy, staff and laity together.

All across the landscape this Advent, we will heed the lessons of the season from men and women who heard that little voice telling them which fork in the road to take.

John Kramer heard it, too.