Salted by fire, seasoned by grace

By Tony W. Cartledge

BR Editor

Sam and Sharon Gore were attending a bivocational minister's conference at Caraway Conference Center when they heard the news. Their son Sammy had died in a one-vehicle automobile accident not far from their home near Holly Springs. The date was July 22, 1995, and they will never forget it.

Sammy, who was 16 at the time, was driving his older sister Lisa's car. Lisa, then a student at Gardner-Webb University, was doing summer ministry at Olive Chapel Baptist Church in Apex. The cause of the wreck was undetermined.

Gore, who worked as a construction estimator in addition to being pastor of Collins Grove Baptist Church, said, "I became angry with God and for a period of time it was very difficult to preach about His love and protection when I was not so sure of it all anymore. As I wrestled with these questions, I was confronted with the realization that I was angry and resented God."

In time, Gore made peace with God, but began to notice others who were harboring unforgiveness toward God. That unforgiving spirit is binding, Gore said.

While "it is permissible to question God about things we don't understand and even confess our anger and disappointment to Him," believers can discover that God is greater than grief, Gore said.

That conviction led Sam to resign his job as pastor after 10 years at Collins Grove. Together, he and Sharon founded "Salt & Grace Ministries" in Holly Springs. They based the ministry's name on Mark 9:49, which describes the trials of being "salted with fire," and Colossians 4:6, where Paul told the Colossians to, "Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt ..."

From a small office in Holly Springs, they provide food and clothing for the poor in the Holly Springs area. They also offer grief counseling and lead conferences for those who are coping with grief.

Craig Hamlin, pastor of East Taylorsville Baptist Church, said the Gores' conference was very helpful to his church. "Their compassion was unparalleled as they spent time with individuals working through their pain and with many trying to learn more about helping people through the grief process," he said. "They became for us the loving arms of Jesus."

The conference included breakout sessions that participants described as "very helpful" and "intensely practical."

Sam Gore said the ministry grew from a clear sense of divine calling that he received while writing an as-yet unpublished book to share their experience with others. "I sense that God wants me to know that His grace has sustained me and I am to share His grace with those inside and outside the family of God," he said.

The Gores and others will lead a conference called "A God Greater Than Grief" at Caraway May 7-8. For more information, contact Gore at (919) 577-0790, or visit the Salt & Grace web site at www.saltandgraceministries.org.