Tomorrow I’m going to the Longcreek Youth Corrections Facility in South Portland to perform at their 9:00 chapel service.  This is always one of my favorite shows, and we have been going there two or three times a year since 1987!  The chaplain, Dan Mercer, has been their almost all of this time. There’s just something about seeing troubled youth laugh and enjoy a show like any other kids, as well as wrestle with the big questions of life.

This morning I read an entry in “The Encyclopedia of American Crime (From Blackbeard to Jeffery Dahmer)”.  This very thick, hard-covered   book  is, believe it or not, one of my favorite bathroom  tomes.  Anyway, today I read about the Biddle brothers of Pittsburgh. (Read about it here:   http://www.popularpittsburgh.com/pittsburgh-info/pittsburgh-history/notorious-pittsburghers.aspx )  It was 1902, and Ed and Jack Biddle were awaiting their execution just 12 days away.  The jailer’s wife, Kate Soffel went in to visit them, as she often did with prisoners on death row.  Her desire was for them to place their trust in Jesus so their souls would be saved before they met their maker in less than two weeks. 

Instead, she fell in love with Ed Biddle, and they began to plan an escape.  Being the jailer’s wife, she had access to the keys, so that part was easy.  She proceeded to drug her husband, arrange play dates for their four kids, and plan an escape route from the city.  The initial part of the plan went flawlessly, and they even stole a sleigh from a local farm for the final leg of their flight.

Once Mr. Soffel came to and realized what happened, however, he arranged a posse, and the brothers were eventually caught and killed on the spot.  As Ed was dying, Kate begged him to shoot her so they could die together.  While he did shoot her, she survived, and served a short jail term.  Both brothers died. 

Kate Soffel lived the rest of her life alone.  During her lifetime a popular play about the incident was produced entitled “Capture of the Biddle Brothers”.  No doubt Kate Soffel saw posters around the city advertising the show, and may have even read reviews of it.

While I doubt anything like this will happen while I minister to the kids at Longcreek, the story does make it clear that anyone in ministry must guard their hearts at all times.  We are, as Scripture says, only dust. 

This story also reminds me of another biblical truth, “There is nothing new under the sun.”  Sex scandals in the name of Christian ministry, and a public that exploits the scandal as a topic for popular entertainment.  I Can’t wait to go to the bathroom and read the next article.