HARRODSBURG, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Mercer County pastor says his car was stolen Sunday, while he was in the middle of service. As for the man who allegedly did it, Pastor Nathan Todd says he fed the stranger and gave him clothes but isn't going to press charges.
Pastor Nathan Todd says he arrived to church early, like he does every Sunday. But this Sunday, was different. Todd says he found a man outside the church doors. "I said 'Did you sleep here?' He said yeah. I said, 'well here, come on in, man!' I said, 'it's cold and I don't want you out here."
The pastor says he gave the stranger a cup of coffee, some food, toiletries and even some of his own clothes. Todd was going to take the man to a relative's house, but asked him to stay for church.
"I've got three other people I pick up and drop off for church too. He said, okay. So he hung out for a while. He was here during worship and then noticed him leave about halfway through my sermon. But I didn't think anything about it, thought maybe he was going to the bathroom," Todd says.
But after the service. Pastor Nathan Todd came out and saw that his car wasn't parked where he left it. "I first thought, well maybe my mom or dad's moved it. And my mom hadn't, my sister hadn't, so then it dawned on me. Okay, this is gone."
Todd's maroon Pontiac Grand Prix, along with his new friend, were nowhere to be found. "I wasn't shocked that it happened, I was shocked that someone was so desperate that they felt like they had to do that. When we're more than willing to extend a hand and help."
Despite that, the pastor says he has a message for the man he met yesterday; he is forgiven. "A car is a car and it can be replaced. But love and hope and faith and hard work are things that mean something and they are things that last forever. So, if he can find those things, he can find peace in his life and be a great person."
And as proof of Pastor Todd's willingness to practice what he preaches, he says if and when the man is found, he isn't going to press charges.
