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Carl has written and spoken extensively on Christian living. A synopsis of his book "Father Hope Comes to Town," is presented below. Following this is an outline for a keynote speech on Christian behavior: "How To Be A Christian in a World That Seems To Be Going To Hell." ________________________ Father Hope Comes to Town - Chapter Synopsis
Chapter Two - Death Where is Thy Sting? This chapter addresses the question of how the living deal with the death of a loved one. Peggy and Dan were a special couple – married for twenty-five years when Dan passes away. Peggy has trouble dealing with life asking the question – “why?” Why was her partner – a good loving husband, father, and devout Christian taken away? Father Hope puts things into perspective and brings a smile back to her face again. He reminds us that we are born to this life only temporarily and that the true reward is to go to heaven to be with God. He tells her that mourning for a loved one is natural and should happen, but don’t be sorry for them, as they truly have gone to a better place. This is the true essence of our faith. We all need to work toward being ready when our time comes not to dread it but to accept it. Chapter Three – My Angel Carol. The message in this chapter is we all have guardian angels and we should pray and thank them for their intercession on our behalf. Father Hope gives a talk on angels and how they look after us. He cites scripture on the existence of guardian angels and examples of their events. He challenges all of us to name our own angel and keep praying to them for help and guidance. Later, Father Hope is invited to the pastors’ home for coffee and Danish (his favorite that he never turns down.) The pastor tells his story of his special angel – Carol. The pastor meets his angel in a hospital where he is working. A patient who is near death says she will always be there for him – her name is Carol. Father Hope says we all have to face life’s problems and one of Gods’ blessings is the help of our own guardian angel. Chapter Four – New Faith. Ruth’s son Mike had stopped going to church. She had tried everything to get him to come back but nothing worked. The chapter points out as a youth we go to church on “borrowed faith” from our parents. Later in life we must make our own decisions. Mike is having trouble deciding and his mom’s insistence is driving him away further. Ruth is at her wits end until Mike goes through a traumatic experience with a close friend. Ruth then tells her story about how she got her faith. She looses her sister and almost has a nervous breakdown. It is her faith that saves her when she is ready to give up everything. Mike sees what he has been missing through the encouragement of Father Hope. A happy ending and another event caused by Father Hope’s arrival. Chapter Five – Miracles. Ron and his son Aaron both have cancer. The first miracle is Ron’s cancer is cured. It could be a mistake on the x-rays but everyone knows a miracle has happened. Aaron is not that lucky his cancer is here to stay, but their trip to Medjugorie in hope of a cure is another story and another miracle. In this place where miracles happen often, there is a meeting of a new friend – Ian. Ian’s story and what happens is yet another miracle. If that’s not enough, then on the way home, still another miracle on the plane as a rosary turns to solid gold. This chapter gives evidence that miracles do happen! Chapter Six – Jordan Comes Home. This chapter is based on an actual story of a seven-year old boy that suffers and dies of brain-stem cancer. There is remission and hope, a trip to Disney World and the courage Jordan shows in the face of the inevitable. The real story is about his mother – Cecelia and her profound faith through the entire time. Her praying to the Blessed Mother and the courage she gets from Her as well as her son Jordan are a message to all of us in time of tragedy. Father Hope enters in the end to help Cecelia bring closure. A heart-warming story that can give hope to anyone in a similar situation but also a lesson to all about faith and what it can do for you. Chapter Seven – Church – a Community of Believers. This is not a chapter about the loss of faith but rather, “why go to church?” Why isn’t just believing and practicing your faith at home enough? Pete is a religious person and practices his own religion at home with his family. He says prayers every night with his children, they read scripture and discuss the Bible. It’s very difficult to argue that he is not practicing his faith. His response when asked why they don’t come to church is, “I don’t need to come to a church to pray or practice my faith, I do it in my own way.” He comes back to church as a present to his mother and hears Father Hope and everything changes after that. Pete and his family learn just how important church is in their life and come back. They hear that it is a community that needs the faith of everyone to survive. A church is a group of believers that rely on each other and help each other in difficult times. The same way you come to visit your family you should also show the same respect for God especially after all He has done for us. Father Hope strikes again and the wonderful things keep on happening. Chapter Eight – Generosity. John was a loner and considered by many as “a grouchy old man.” It seemed a “dark cloud” hovered over him with all his troubles. “He never got a break,” was his favorite expression. His sister is taken ill and this adds still another burden in his life, then it happens, he wins the lottery. There is the usual temptation about what to do with his windfall. What he does with his newfound wealth –especially after a talk with Father Hope is the essence of this chapter. A good lesson for anyone who might have his or her dream come true and be tempted with such an event. Chapter Nine – Let Go – Let God. Easy to say and hard to do is the favorite expression. We all want to be in charge of our own destiny. We want the satisfaction of achieving success on our own merits and talents. But, there comes a time when we can’t do it alone. “Letting Go and Letting God” is probably one of the most difficult things for anyone. Paul finds himself in such a situation. He is desperate his business is failing and finally turns to God for help, after Father Hope gives him some direction. He is given a new direction in life that makes him a new person. Not only does he start anew, but his wife joins in as well and they become closer as a result. A happy ending, it does work out in the end. Chapter Ten – Together For Life. The chapter opens with an encounter with an older divorced woman who is helping at church. Father Hope finds about her story and a change happens in her life. Meanwhile a young couple has grown apart – going their separate ways and heading for divorce. They call for an appointment with the pastor, and he switches with Father Hope claiming he is too close to the situation. Father Hope talks to the couple and asks them what brought them together in the first place. He tells them to go home and relive their wedding and honeymoon to find what brought them together. He reminds them that they made a commitment to God to be as one and gives them an assignment to save their marriage and begin to communicate with each other. This leads them to a marriage encounter and a meeting with a very special couple. They share stories with each other and wind up helping each other and become fast friends. The flame is re-kindled and a happy ending is had for the couple. Chapter Eleven – Money is the Root of All Evil. Money is the second most talked about subject in the Bible. (You have to read the chapter to find out what is number one.) The pastor has to ask the congregation for their annual pledge to fund projects. Father Hope has the mass and talks about “The rich man who didn’t want to give up his wealth…it’s easier for a camel to pass through a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.” The lesson is money should not be the center of your life – God should be. Ted a wonderful business man, gets a lesson on what he should do with his wealth and what he’s been missing by chasing after it. Money and possession were controlling his life and he gets a lesson on what his priorities should be from Father Hope. He helps him put his life back into perspective. He finds out why money is so important to him and how wrong he is with this kind of attitude and what it is doing to him as well as his family. This chapter talks about the many different ways each of us treat money and the dangers we face. We can each one fall into one of five different categories all of which can lead to potential disaster. A lesson we all can learn in this materialistic society. Chapter Twelve – The Return of the Prodigal Son. This chapter is another based on an actual event. Mark is a recovering alcoholic. The story of how he became an alcoholic, what happened to him as a result, and his road back to recovery make some profound reading. His drinking habit gets him fired for absconding funds, divorced, and sleeping on a park bench. His bus trip back to his aunt to start a new life, praying for help, and waking up sober with no “DT’s” is a miracle and eventually leads him back to the faith. The important ending to this chapter is what the wonderful things he does with his life afterwards. A true happy ending that makes you realize how God works in all of us. Epilogue. It had to come to an end. Father Hope has to leave and move on. No parties, no long goodbyes were allowed. He just says goodbye. A man comes later to ask to talk to him. The pastor sadly says he is gone. The stranger says he thinks he is the same one he heard about in another town. He hoped he could catch up with him some day to meet him. The pastor says, “I hope to catch up with him someday myself, but wherever he goes I know wonderful things will happen.” Watch for “Father Hope Returns” in another story-filled adventure. ____________________ The following is a synopsis of a keynote speech on Christian living by Carl Huffman: How to be a Christian in a World that seems to be going to Hell.
I. Introduction - Examples of people
acting as Christians II. Three ways to be
a Christian in a World that seems to be going to Hell.
III. Family
IV. Christianity at Work
V. Act out our Christian values in our
everyday life.
VI. Over all this put on Virtue - "Knowing Gods
Truth and applying It to every situation. ____________________
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Chapter
One – Meeting Father Hope. This chapter introduces the main character –
Father Jesse Hope. A local pastor is sitting in his rectory when a doorbell
rings. He is frustrated at the sound but when he opens the door there
stands Father Hope with an offer to help him with his duties. They strike
up a warm relationship from the very beginning and wonderful things start
happening. (Each event is a story in itself and a chapter to follow.)