Pastor Paul’s story continues
Former Post-Star editors to appear at Saratoga Book Festival
By Ken Tingley
There is a responsibility when you tell someone’s story. Sure, you want to get their words right, but it is more than that. You are more than just an editor of their words, you are an arbiter of the weight of those words, a single juror deciding their worth and the context that will give the story its ultimate meaning and truth.
Paul Mead tested me in that regard.
He told me his horrific story of drug addiction and life in the gutter for the first time 14 years ago.
He told me of the phone call on December 4, 2002 to Teen Challenge in Syracuse that began his road to recovery. And of course he remembered the exact date. We all know the day we were born.
He told me his inspirational story of recovery and welcoming Jesus into his heart and becoming the lead pastor at the Gospel Lighthouse Church in Kingsbury.
And it seemed too impossible to be true.
“It is a perfect metaphor, one usually delivered from a pulpit by a professional preacher who can spin the tale in a revival tent for a big turn on the collection plate,” I wrote in March 2008 in a description dripping with cynicism. “But this is Easter Sunday so perhaps we need to cut him some slack because the absolute reality is that something made him change, something lifted him out of the gutter, so maybe we should all listen closely.”
I was balancing my prose on that delicate line between fact and hyperbole.
Maybe, I was hedging my bets because I wasn’t quite sure if Paul Mead was the real deal. I wasn’t sure I was a believer.
A year later I wrote about the writing experience. I had rededicated myself to telling the stories of local folks in my community and Paul Mead was the first. An avalanche of stories piled up one after another and I wondered if that was because of Paul.
Ten years later it crystallized further. Paul invited me back to a church that had been resurrected as well for a celebration of his 10 years of service. Community leaders and more than 200 members of the congregation stood in witness.
Along the way Paul Mead had become a community leader, a counselor and a cheerleader for the people in his church. More importantly, he was just someone they could talk to about their problems.
And when they were done telling him about the tragedy they had made of their lives, I wrote in December 2017, he would turn and say brightly, ”You know, I think you are doing a lot better than you think you are.”
And I learned something else then. That first story about Paul Mead was just the beginning.
So there I was yesterday morning back at Gospel Lighthouse Church for another chapter to a story that shows no sign of ending anytime soon.
Paul had invited me.
It was his last time preaching there.
He had accepted a job as the CEO/President of New York State Adult Teen Challenge in Syracuse. Yeah, the same organization that helped pull him out of the gutter 20 years earlier.
Talk about life coming full circle.
“When that phone call came in February, I knew it was the time to say yes to something new and ultimately good,” Paul told the congregation Sunday. “No doubt in my mind this is where god is calling me.”
And the story continues. After all, Paul is just 60.
He could have talked about his accomplishments Sunday, thanked the people who helped him along the way and left it at that, but Paul insisted on planting one more message that might make a difference. He asked us to slow down, to lend a hand, to help a neighbor and love our fellow man a little more.
Not a bad parting message.
“Most of the time we are going 100 miles per hour and we are not enjoying the journey,” Paul said.
“The busier you get, the less loving you will be doing,” Paul predicted.
“The slower you go, the more you will see,” Paul added.
“One of these days is none of these days,” Paul reminded us about putting things off.
It resonated with me and my own lifestyle.
Maybe he was speaking directly to me.
That’s the thing about Paul. He always seems like he is speaking directly to you and no one else.
Five years ago, I ended by third story about Paul by saying simply, “Paul, you done good.” I didn’t realize that until after I got home Sunday and read the old column again.
Five years ago, Paul told the congregation, “I needed you more than you needed me.”
He repeated those same words Sunday, then said, “What Jesus did for me, he will do for you if you let him.”
When the service was over, I approached Paul, shook his hand and thanked him for trusting me to tell his story.
We hugged and I whispered, “I’ve told you this before, Paul, you done good.”
Saratoga Book Festival promo
The Second Annual Saratoga Book Festival will be held Oct. 21-22. I’ll be speaking about my books “The Last American Editor” and “The Last American Newspaper” with former colleagues Mark Mahoney and Will Doolittle at Cafe Lena in Saratoga Springs.
The Post-Star produced a lot of great journalism over the past two decades and so much of it was because of the great work of colleagues like Mark and Will.
WAMC host extraordinaire Joe Donahue will be the host for the event.
Book outlets
Beginning today, you will be able to buy your copy of “The Last American Newspaper” in three places locally - Ace Hardware in Queensbury, Battenkill Books in Cambridge and The Chapman Museum in Glens Falls.
Indeed he has done good, LOTS of good! I wish him blessings and great luck in his future.