West Cocoa Chat

Be Still

2010-06-24T17:19:00.000-07:00

Psalm 46:10 - "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the Earth."

Steven taught the Men's Class on Tuesday and BTW - there are all kinds of "cool" but seeing your son who is a young man teach is really cool. He did a great job in facilitating discussion and had great timing with his humor. Sorry, I'm bragging now.

Any way, his class was on being still before God. Does anyone else beside me find that difficult? As the kids say, "I'm not going to lie," I'm a worrier, a planner, and a frustrated logistical planner. I find it hard at times to turn my brain (I'm sure some of you wonder if it's ever on) off, be still, pray, and listen to God. In education its popular to say that we're preparing life long problem solvers. Trouble is as we all know, there are some problems that we cannot solve. Its at those times as Phillip Yancey said in his book on prayer, that we pray so that we can include the mysterious in our lives.

That requires us being still and knowing that God is the Lord of this Earth and our lives. Its something I'm working on as we speak.

On the last day of Trek two years ago, we were directed to find a spot away from everyone and be alone with God in His creation for three hours. This was my view from my spot. When I think about being still before God this is the image that comes to my mind.

This is the rock that I used as both a pillow and a seat. You can see my Bible, a pair of glasses, my day pack, and my water bottle. There are times when I want to run back to that spot.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Start Blogging

2010-06-21T07:13:00.000-07:00

Well, to my legions of adoring blog fans, I'm back. Feel free to send money if you missed me. This past couple of weekends have been very eventful. Two Sundays ago, we had a rare Sunday evening service. The occasion was a "Dinner (done by Barb) Production (done by Lee) Fund Raiser" to benefit our trip to the Mid-Ohio Valley Work Camp and our week of Bible Camp. It was a night of skits, testimonies, and worship. Steven, Sabrina, Matthew, Mark, David, and some of Matthew's friends did an outstanding time in leading our worship. Pictures at the bottom of this post.

Last Saturday, "Hurricane Chuck" and his daughter, Janel, took Steven, Kristin, and myself out to the beach on the Kennedy Space Center property. We were their for about a half hour and then it started.

"Bonnet sharks" started feasting on our surf casted menu of crabs. There is an interesting sequence of events that happens when one lands a shark. Of course the first step is bringing the shark up onto the beach. Usually one will venture out into shallow water to assist the angler by grabbing the shark's tail. They usually respond to this type of treatment by thrashing, urinating (I can only imagine the puns here), and at times throwing up.

Once the shark is secured one must remove the hook, hold up said shark for the obligatory picture, and then do an imitation of an Olympic hammer throw. Yes, we return the sharks back into the ocean so as to lessen our carbon footprint. Hey, anyone want to body surf? I didn't think so. O.K, thanks for reading and here are the pictures:

Steven singing and leading our worship.

Matthew and David playing.

Steven's shark.

My shark.

The time honored practice of the "shark throw." Notice air-borne shark in the upper right hand corner of the picture.

Bring the Rain

2010-04-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help but be caught up in some irony today. As I was driving in to work it started to rain. As it was raining, "MercyMe's" hit song, "Bring the Rain" was playing on the radio.

As all of this is going on, President Obama is preparing to give a speech at the Kennedy Space Center on his double talk / going back on his "word" version of the "non-future" of our country's manned space program. Unlike one of his Democratic Presidential (President Kennedy) predecessors, he is dismantling the Space Program and allowing other nations to take the lead or in Russia's case, charge us millions of dollars to fly to the International Space Station of which we financed the great majority of it.

While all of this is going on we are less than 24 hours away from Florida's Governor, Charlie Crist, signing or vetoing SB-6 which will tie teacher's salary and employment to a 2-day event better known as high stakes testing.

Yet, what is even more frightening to me is the thought of praying the prayer in the MercyMe song, "Bring the Rain."

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You Jesus, bring the rain

I'm not there yet guys but if you are, God bless you. Pray for me and my heart.

P.S.
Governor Crist of Florida decided to veto SB-6
If you check out the link you'll see what is wrong with both our Republican and Democratic representatives - they do not listen to their constituents.
A line from the article:
"It generated protests by teachers and parents across the state and had scant public support.It generated protests by teachers and parents across the state and had scant public support."
http://www.wftv.com/news/23160848/detail.html

Coincidence?

2010-03-30T05:51:00.000-07:00

It was during the 1980 upset a medal round Ice Hockey game between the USSR and the USA when Al Michaels coined the phrase, "Do you believe in miracles?" Well, do you believe in coincidences? I don't.

This morning we had our usual 6am prayer time. At the end we usually go to the same restaurant for breakfast but today, Javier suggested we go to a different place. It was a "mom and pop" coffee shop on Merritt Island. Javier told us this place was owned and operated by a Christian couple that saw their business as more ministry than business.

After we had been there for a few minutes, the "mom" came over to our table to talk to us. She told us the story of their business and how they looked for ways to use it for outreach. She began to tell us the story of how God had send a lady to them who was running a local inner-city ministry. This lady was using cooking as a tool of instruction and outreach to kids. The story and the lady sounded familiar so I asked, "Would this lady's name happen to be (from our church) "Lee?"

She said, "Why yes, it is." All of us raised eyebrows and smiled when we told her she was from our church and that we (4 of us) were the elders and preacher of her church. She told us how she told Lee they would donate high quality boarshead meat to her efforts. O.K, are you ready for more?

At that very moment our preacher's phone began to ring - uh huh - it was Lee. As Don put her on speaker phone she began to excitedly tell him how she had found this Christian run coffee house and how they were going to donate "boarshead" meats to the Crestview ministry. As we began to laugh out loud she asked Don, "Where are you at and who's laughing in the background?"

Coincidence? Nah - I'd like to think of it as "confirmation" and perhaps God giving us a little peek into the unseen spiritual world around us.

Runner

2010-03-26T06:54:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the movie, "Logan's Run?" A classic, yes? I know, not really. I'm glad I don't live in Logan's world. If you remember, when one turned 30 they went to a "graduation ceremony" which was really a mass killing of all of those that turned 30 in an effort to control the population. It is shocking to think someone would object to this procedure but according to the plot of the movie, they did.

As you can see in the picture when one turned 30 a red light would begin to flash in their palm to remind them and everyone else it was time to "graduate." When someone decided to forgo their graduation they became known as a "runner." It was Logan and his associates' job to catch the runner so they could keep their appointment with death.

I had a runner on Wednesday. During my 2nd Period class we had an evacuation drill. No matter what period of the school day we're in, students are to go outside on our track, find their homeroom teacher, (we have assigned areas that the kids line up on) and fall in line. We take roll, send a (pun intended) "runner" with our absentee to the "Command Center" and wait for the all clear or the coveted, "You guys get to go (has happened once in my 30 years of teaching) home," signal.

As this day would have it, I had a stray student in my line. I yelled, "Young (they are all young BTW) lady, you need to go to your line and get out of mine." She didn't move. I walked back to her and in my "I'm trying to be nice but you're hacking me off" voice I said, "Look, you need to go to your homeroom teacher's line." Her reply was succinct:

"I'm not in your line!"
Shocking I thought, perhaps I've entered a dimensional shift, a parallel universe, a rift in the time continuum, or perhaps I have a demonstrative "A-type" personality / someone who needs a lot of love in their life middle school age female. I didn't come to any of those conclusions by the way.

I took another step towards her and said, "Look, I don't want to make this into a big issue but you have to get out of my line and go fine yours." Her reply:

(with hands on hips and eyebrows and voice raised) "I'm not in your line!!"
Darn I thought, what we have here is a failure to communicate so I said, "Come with me," as I signalled to our Dean to come my way. What did she do - she took off - running! Yes, the predatory instinct did rise up in me but I decided just to walk fast and keep her in my sights.

She went into the opposite (kids are now being dismissed and are walking back into the building) part of our building and I wasn't too far behind. I made a quick search of each room but didn't' see her.

I had to return to my classroom to let my kids back in the room. Now this is what you call "bad kid karma." As I walked up to my door I peeked into the room NEXT TO mine thinking, "No way it could be this easy," and you guessed it - there was our runner!

The look on her face conveyed a sense of "rut-row" as I peered inside the room and said, "Hey, remember me?" "Surprisingly" her teacher told me, "Debby (name has been changed to protect the stupid, I mean innocent) never reported to my line during the drill."

Results were as follows:
1. Discipline referral written.
2. One day suspension issued.
3. Look on my face when I found our runner - priceless.

The Smell

2010-03-18T07:02:00.000-07:00

Smells were on my mind (and in my nose) this morning. Now for those of you who read and are from locales north of us, please try to hold the laughter down to a small roar - it has been a long stretch of "cold" weather for us here in Central Florida. When I opened our garage door to start my day I was hit by the smell of "cold." There is a certain crispness to the air when its cold. Most years, by the time we get to March the crispness of cold air is a passing memory. This is a picture of the alpine forest that we hiked through 2 summers ago on our way to the summit of Mt. Tweeto in Colorado. There is a certain smell that an alpine forest emanates when you enter it. As you know, smells are a powerful memory trigger. When we entered that alpine forest and the smell hit me, memories of being in college and bumming around Colorado in the Summer came to me as well as a 9 mile hike that Greg, my Mom, and I went on (Panorama Trail) in Yosemite National Park.If I get the chance to smell that (alpine forest) natural fragrance again, the memory of hiking with our youth (Steven - in black sweat shirt - 4th in line) group and Steven will come to my mind. That smell will remind me of a group of teens and adults who persevered through exhaustion, blisters (some had double digits worth), lack of oxygen, fear, and the constant reminder of why the "Rocky" Mountains have that name to reach a goal, the 13,700ft summit of Mount Tweeto.

I wonder if "smells" came to Paul's mind when he went from place to place, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and seeing the lost saved. Maybe that's what he had in mind when he wrote the following in 2nd Corinthians 2:

12Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.

14But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? 17Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

Institutionalized

2010-03-11T12:14:00.000-08:00

The "Shawshank Redemption" is one of my favorite movies. For the past couple of weeks, the character of Brooks has been on my mind. You probably remember how Brooks after decades of incarceration is finally paroled. Despite efforts to re-engage with life on the outside, he eventually commits suicide.

When news gets back to his buddies in prison, they are all confused as to how this could happen to Brooks. The one seemingly burning desire in all of them is the dream of getting out of the walls of their institution. All of them are confused except Red.

Red waxes philosophically when speaking of Brooks he says, "... these walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, it gets so you depend on 'em. That's institutionalized."

I have some "Brooks" that have passed through my life. There was a time when I was a "Brooks" as in institutionalized by the seemingly impenetrable walls of my denomination. Those walls took various forms such as -

1. Believing the Bible taught freedom in worship but dumbing down my belief for the sake of a denominational view.

2. Believing the Kingdom of God is far larger than our little tribe but only working within our denomination's sectarian framework out of trying to hold the peace and partly out of fear.

Our denomination professes church autonomy but yet some of our para-church organizations will threaten God-fearing / long serving individuals who serve their organizations with removal and the always "popular" "un-invitation" for things said or done at their home churches.

Yet,not all is lost! There are many now that are discovering that if the "brotherhood" ejects you, they eject you into a far larger fellowship of Christ -followers. It has been our experience that there are many in other denominations that are tired of being "institutionalized" and are ready to roll up their sleeves and come together for the cause of Christ!

I guess I'm writing this for two reasons. First, to God be the glory for the journey our church has taken! I love worship at our church because praise just flows from our people as they engage in ministry in our community.

Second, to those of you, church leaders and lay members who are institutionalized, fear not! There is a much larger world out there just beyond your walls! May God give you a spirit of courage as a world around us dies from being lost.

May the spirit of Christ bless you all.

Come You Know What or High Water!!!

2010-03-09T05:12:00.000-08:00

Today is the first day of our wonderful State's highstakes test, the FCAT. All kidding (which wasn't much considering I just typed one sentence) aside, I would ask that you pray for my students as they take the FCAT this week and next. Their highstakes is the right to choose their own electives in High School or have the State choose it for them in the guise of remedial reading and math courses. For us, funding or the lack thereof is the carrot of choice.

This year the State has instituted a new protocol should we suffer an interruption in testing due to severe storms. I thought I'd share it with you so that you could see how serious Florida takes high-stakes testing. You might want to adopt this policy for your State, family, or business.

Severe Weather Testing Protocols During FCAT Testing

Should a severe weather situation occur during testing, please remain calm. To display any kind of anxiety would be a testing irregularity and must be reported.

Please do not look out the window to watch for approaching tornadoes.You must monitor the students at all times. To do otherwise would be a testing irregularity and must be reported.

Should students notice an approaching tornado and begin to cry, please make every effort to protect their testing materials from the flow of tears and sinus drainage.Should a flying object come through your window during testing, please make every effort to ensure that it does not land on a testing booklet or an answer sheet. Please make sure to soften the landing of the flying object so that it will not disturb the students while testing.

Should shards of glass from a broken window come flying into the room,have the students use their bodies to shield their testing materials so that they will not be damaged. Have plenty of gauze on hand to ensure that no one accidentally bleeds on the answer documents. Damaged answersheets will not scan properly.

Should gale force winds ensue, please have everyone stuff their testbooklets and answer sheets into their shirts being very careful not to bend them because bent answer documents will not scan properly.If any student gets sucked into the vortex of the funnel cloud, please make sure they mark at least one answer before departing and of course make sure they leave their answer sheets and test booklets behind.

You will have to account for those. Should a funnel cloud pick you, the test administrator, up and take you flying over the rainbow, you will still be required to account for all of your testing materials when you land so please take extra precautions. Remember, once you have checked them out, they should never leave your hands.

When rescue workers arrive to dig you out of the rubble, please make sure that they do not, at any time, look at or handle the testing materials. Once you have been treated for your injuries, you will still be responsible for checking your materials back in. Search dogs will not be allowed to sift through the rubble for lost tests. Unless of course they have been through standardized test training.

Please do not pray should a severe weather situation arise. Your priority is to actively monitor the test and a student might mark in the wrong section if you are praying instead of monitoring. I'm sure God will put war, world hunger, crime, and the presidential primaries on hold until after testing is over. He knows how important this test is.

He's Back / It's Built / They're Leaving

2010-03-05T06:23:00.000-08:00

Hi there,

My unofficial blog break lasted roughly 720 hours but who's been counting or reading for that matter. Speaking of being (as in 1/3 of the title) built, the construction of the International Space Station is almost finished. Click on the link to see the construction in BT or as we like to call it here in the office, "Blog Time."

http://i.usatoday.net/tech/graphics/iss_timeline/flash.htm

Here's some comforting thoughts concerning our subject:

1. President Obama has for all intents and purposes, killed our manned space program and the Kennedy Space Center.
2. We will now being paying the Russians (I'll use a term from mathematics) a "gi-normous" amount of money to fly to the Space Station that we mostly funded.

Oh, the "They're Leaving" part of our title - that represents the estimated 23,000 people that will be laid off in our County due to the President's Space Program.

Now, I don't want to come off as being bitter because God is certainly in control. So I will leave you with my new favorite Psalm that our Praise Team / Band is now playing for our church and it has become a favorite around here. God's blessings on all of you.

1 How long, O LORD Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

6 I will sing to the LORD,for he has been good to me.

Cecilia You're Breaking My Heart??

2010-02-03T17:05:00.000-08:00

Hey there.
Things are going good here. Yesterday was priceless having the day "off" with Barb as she used her spiritual gift which is serving and spoiling (or at least me and Steven) people. She went back to work today so I was alone with our 2 cats. I can tell you they enjoyed the electric blanket and my lap a couple of times today.

A good friend of mine is covering my classes this week. He picked me up for church tonight and told me how great my classes are. He then had to confess that in having some fun with one of the classes, he told my students that I was home, recovering from surgery, that is, "sex-change surgery."

I need someone to cue up Simon and Garfunkel's, "Cecilia." :)

Cereal Killer

2010-01-30T12:57:00.000-08:00

Its been an interesting week leading up to my surgery. There was the insistent person from the Lab conveying upon me the high priority for my Doctor to write orders for an EKG. When I informed this person that I had orders from my Doctor for lab work and silly old me, insinuated that perhaps this Doctor put orders for an EKG in said orders, I was told that almost never happens. I don't have to tell you that it didn't inspire a lot of confidence.

By the time I was able to call my Ear,Nose, and Throat (ENT) guy, their office had already closed. I was able to get in touch with my family physician and discovered that I had an EKG down back in June. I had to take off early from work to make it to their office to get a copy.

The next day when I boldly and proudly rolled into the Lab with my "lab orders" and my EKG, I was told they didn't need the EKG. All was not lost because early that morning, I had saved an urine sample and was now the proud bearer of it, in a "to-go cup," as it rested in my hand. When I told the Receptionist of my fortuitous move, she smiled and said, "We will not be needing that this morning."

Ah, when do you ever go to the Lab, have lab work down, and not have to give a urine sample?? You might say at that point I got p---, nope, I didn't say that however, there isn't any way to look "cool' when you're holding a "to-go cup" of your urine in public, for that matter, an unwanted to-go cup of urine. The kind receptionist did help me to a medical waste container to give my to-go cup the heave ho.

Now you might think I might be in a bad mood but nay, I am not. You see God can take, ah, lets say "lemons" and make lemonade. On the way home I came across a homeless guy holding the following sign:

Cereal Killer
Need money for milk!

In the midst of despair - humor. I asked the guy if he was hungry and he said, "Yes!" I told him to hang on as I drove over to a nearby Burger King, bought a whopper meal, and drove back to give it to him. When I gave him the meal he said, "God bless you." I told him, "No, God bless you my brother for it is in the name of Jesus that I give this to you."

I pray that God uses that whopper - it smelled good.

God's blessings to all of you.

2010-01-08T06:55:00.000-08:00

Uh, where is Al Gore when you need him? If he shows up here in Central FLORIDA, part of the SUNSHINE State he'll find this forecast for Saturday - SNOW! Yes, we actually have a snow / sleet warning for tonight and tomorrow morning.

Usually we have to break out blue tarps and extra water for possible hurricanes. Does any of that stuff work in snow and sleet??

Kudos to Alabama, you made my Dad proud (13th National Championship?) again last night.

Kudos to a couple of girls in our youth group who had their Senior Night soccer game at Merritt Island last night. One of the girls had a MRI on her knee a couple of days ago and was told not to play. Not only did she play but she actually did some nice slide tackles on some of her opponents.

The other girl who usually plays goalie played forward last night and had several shots on goal. These two girls are God's girls who happen to be a couple of warriors. It was a pleasure watching them last night.

Well, got to go and purchase a snowmobile. Have a blessed weekend.

Here's Your Sign

2010-01-05T17:36:00.000-08:00

I guess one sign is the fact that I'm blogging again which can only mean vacation is over and I'm back to work. It doesn't make sense but Greg was the one that pointed this out to me on the phone tonight and I have to concur with my good friend.

Here in Central Florida, the high did not get out of the 40's. To top that off the heat in our school wasn't working. Well, it was "blowing" but unfortunately the air was cold. The room temperature never read higher than 60. My Principal who is a great guy, promptly called our District's Maintenance Department to rectify the situation. In the meantime I resorted to putting math books on top of the a/c / heating unit to stem the onslaught of cold air.

Yes, there is an "Off" button on our units but that wasn't working as well. A few minutes later a Technician with the Maintenance Department walked into my room. She immediately walked over to the heating unit, looked at me, and "did" it.

Many of you might know of Bill Engvall and his famous, "Here's your sign" comedy routine when someone states the obvious. My "HYS" moment can when the tech asked me, "Are those books on top of the unit because its blowing cold air?

I couldn't resist, I said, "No, we're getting ready to fry an egg." I don't think she appreciated my humor but my first period had a good laugh.

That is all from the land of frigid Room 409.

Reasons Not to Run!!

2009-12-24T06:34:00.000-08:00

I think we all know there are many benefits to starting a program of running in one's life. Of course we know that when you get to "our" or "my" age of 50 plus years, there are some drawbacks. Can you name them?

How about:

1. back pain

2. pulling what ever muscles you have left

3. knee and joint pain

And of course -

4. Wearing something that makes you look hideous to others!

Yesterday I discovered a new reason. I'll give you the setting - It was in the high 60's along the Indian River Lagoon. I was on the return leg of my 5K that I run along the River Road. I was probably within a half mile of our church building so I started my "51-year old kick" so to speak. I was running on the sidewalk passing one of the houses that face the river when: ?????

Feel free to take a guess. Unlike yesterday I'll give you the answer in this post but before you read it below, take a guess. If you want, tell me what you're first guess was in your comment.

O.K., ready? Guess -

O.K., what did you guess. Yes, if you guessed a bee flew into my mouth and stung the back of my throat before I could (as my kids would say) "hock" him up, you're the winner! BTW - That puts me in the same category with "Bear Grylls" of the Discovery Channel Show, "Man vs. Wild." In all the things he's faced on that show, a bee sting near his eye almost cancelled the "whole series" if you know what I mean.

O.K., back to me. Well I felt it although I was pretty sure that I'm not allergic to bee stings but your throat is your throat. My first dilemma - do I run or walk back to the church building. I know, you guys are going to think, "He's dumber than dirt," when I tell you I chose to "run." Barb was finishing up on the preparations for our church dinner so she was somewhat occupied. She also gave me one of those "you've got to be kidding me - again" looks when I told her what happened and asked her to look at my throat.

It was hard to swallow but I didn't feel like my breathing was restricted. So we called son up to ask him to bring some Benadryl from home. He couldn't find any so I decided I would drive to a local convenience store. In the process I left my cell phone with Barbara. This was a cause of some stress on hers and son's part.

Due to the "convenience" (which wasn't very convenient to me) store not having Benadryl I had to drive to CVS. I'm sure I was gone for 30 minutes and in the mean time Barb and son are on "Red Alert" for Dad because they haven't a clue where I am and they can't get in touch with me.

Long story short:
1. I made it back to the building.
2. I was severely chastised for going off without my cell phone.
3. I was hugged for still being (dumb) alive.
4. I went home.

When Barb came home, I was able to pull the stinger out of the back of my throat with her help. So, as we hurdle into Christmas and the New Year, I'm reminded of Albert Einstein. When asked what was his formula for success he replied:

A = xyz

He defined his variables as:
"x" = the proper amount of work in one's life.
"y" = the proper amount of play in one's life.
"z" = knowing when to keep one's mouth shut!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.

A "Snapper" of a Solution

2009-12-23T08:06:00.000-08:00

Well, Donna was the closest in guessing "CE's" (this family's version of Cousin Eddy) solution for the unanticipated "upright leg." CE's solution was to break out the family riding lawn mower and mow over the upright leg to "level the playing field" so to speak.

A Leg Up

2009-12-22T07:29:00.000-08:00

A good friend of mine relayed this story to me as it was told at their recent family get-together for Christmas. In the same light of the movie, "Christmas Vacation," seems that this family was discussing who was their "Cousin Eddy." The following story was presented as "proof."

A horse was on his last (pun intended) legs and was close to death. Two of the brothers wanted to put this horse out of his misery but couldn't bring themselves to kill the horse. They quickly deduced that the brother in question would have no remorse in putting a small cylindrical (bullet) object into the horse's (head) cranium. The Cousin Eddy (CE) brother shows up with a firearm and the horse is positioned next to a recently dug hole for the horse's remains.

CE takes aim and discharges the weapon causing the horse immediate and critical trauma which results in the horse falling over into the pre-dug hole. As the brothers engage in covering up the remains, a problem quickly arises. It seems that the horse has fallen in an unanticipated angle resulting in one of the legs being exposed above the ground. The dilemma, what do we do about the upright leg on the now permanently prone horse?

How would you handle this situation?
How do you think CE handled this situation?
If you'd like, post your answers and I will give you CE's solution in the next post.

The Pressure is Off

2009-12-17T05:43:00.000-08:00

A former student came by for a visit yesterday after our students were dismissed. It reminded me of the dichotomy that takes place between teacher and student, pre and post enrollment into one's class. When I had this particular student last year, well, to put it mildly - he was a pain! In these days of high-stakes testing and teachers evaluated almost purely on the basis of "this year's" test scores, I didn't appreciate his frequent need for as we might say, jocularity.

Now don't get me wrong, I can be as "jocular" (is that a word?) (I guess it is now) as the next guy. But, there are times when we have to buckle down and get down to business in Algebra and this particular kid just didn't seem to have the same level of concern as his teacher. So what else is new, right? Any way, when I saw him yesterday our visit was pleasant and flowed easily. It brought forth an image (among many) I have in my mind.

The day after Steven had played in his last game as a Senior in his final District Tournament, I witnessed something. I was up in the Press Box getting ready to announce that night's game. I happen to look down the left field line where a small set of bleachers sits just to the side of our Home dugout. Sitting on that bleacher were Steven and his Coach. The Coach had his arm around Steven and I could tell they were enjoying a light moment together. It occurred to me then as it did yesterday.

The pressure was off, there wasn't a win or a test score to endeavour to attain. There was just the relationship without the competition, the rules, and the expectations and to borrow a line from Genesis, "It was good." I see that in my walk with the Lord. So often in the past, the "rules," the dogma, and the endless and winless task of not ticking someone (or church or para-church organization) off based on how they think "church" should go kept a lot of joy and ministry out of my life.

Praise be to our Father, our abba who wants to sit in the bleachers next to us, put His arm around us, and just enjoy the game. I love David's words in Psalm 51:12

"Restore to me the joy of your salvation....."

May your day and your life be filled with joy.

Do My Words Match My Face?

2009-12-15T11:00:00.000-08:00

I've always wanted to be in the top 5 of something and I think I've accomplished it. After the incident that I'm going to describe to you in a moment occurred, I realized that I am one of the 5 oldest members of our staff! I remember when I was the "young pup" of the staff but alas those days have passed and I digress.

I was walking down the hall earlier with our newest teacher. He is fresh out of college and seems to be doing a great job for a first year teacher. Having been involved in Bible Camps, youth groups, and still having a son in college I feel that in some ways (although they are a fleeting) I can connect with folks who are much younger than yours truly.

So, we're walking down the hall conversing back and forth, I'm feeling good and engaged when this thought dawns on me:

I don't think my words are matching up with my face!!
Or, I don't think my words are matching up with my OLD face!

As my kids would say, do you "feel me?" Where are my vitamin E tablets??

To Focus on the Solution

2009-12-11T08:49:00.000-08:00

Thank you for the comments on my last post and please accept my apologies for not bringing part 2 sooner than today.

You guys made great points. I think Greg identified the struggle between "focusing on the problem" vs. "focusing on the solution." There's this fear that if I focus more on the solution rather than the problem or in my example's case - giving a pencil to a student without making a big fuss (which BTW is where the coach / disciplinarian in me wants to go) , when or does it ever perhaps become enabling the offender? Is there a charge to "teach this kid a lesson" / "if I give you a bloody nose you'll think twice about doing that again" so to speak?

I think Paul explores that to some degree in Romans 6 when he writes:

1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Paul seems to focus on the "solution" rather than the "problem" which in his case seems to be what some would see as the danger of teaching on grace might cause one to say, "I can just keep on sinning because I will always get grace."

What do we tend to do in churches - focus on the problem or the solution? Now trust me, my default programming is to be a "rules / draw a line in the sand" kind of guy. How ever the more I live the more I am coming to understand the following:

1. I don't understand as much as I thought I did.

2. All of us have problems / baggage.

3. All of us need the ultimate solution - God's grace in the guise of Jesus Christ.

4. We cannot "operate" or "run" our church's in fear of someone abusing grace.

Paul seems to say "trust in yours and others new life in Christ." There is nothing we can do about the past - it is the past. But we can focus on the here and now as well as the future and perhaps lead a fellow human from "the problem" and to the "solution," Jesus!

God bless you guys.

The Solution

2009-12-08T09:55:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago, I attended an inservice for Mathematics Teachers in our County. I decided to attend one of the one hour sessions with the title, "The Joy of Teaching."

The fellow math teacher was a former Presbyterian minister and I thought he had some good things to say, even to a 29 year veteran teacher. The point he made that made the most impact with me was this:

"What has helped me in the classroom to deal with students, fellow teachers, and parents is this notion - I choose to focus on the solution rather than the problem."

The way he illustrated the idea was to ask our group of teachers, "What do you do when a student comes to your class without a pencil?" Immediately a guy, at least 20 years younger than me, launched into a tirade about students being irresponsible and that his students knew better than to come his class without a pencil for they would face at the very least, a detention after school.

Our instructor responded by saying, "I choose to focus on the solution rather than the problem. The solution is the kid needs a pencil. I don't waste energy or class time engaging in the same kind of lecture you (the young teacher) just gave us. I give the kid a pencil and we move on to the important things."

What do you think?
If anyone answers, I'll give you my read (without slamming yours) and also tell you how I'm trying to apply that to shepherding our church.
God bless.

"I'm as mad at Hell and I'm not going to take this anymore"

2009-12-04T09:18:00.000-08:00

Minus one word, this is the famous line from the 1976 movie, "Network." Our "Final Jeopardy" category is, "The Word in this Quote that was replaced." You have thirty seconds.

Ding-ding-ding-da-ding, ding-tha-ding

Did you get it? How much did you wager? Correct! I changed the word "as" to the word "at" to keep our "PG" rating. This line and its alteration came to me last night after I had dinner with our Preacher Don. As I mentioned in my November 2nd post entitled, "Another Phase," Don and another Preacher of a non-denominational church, have been busy forging a coalition of churches in our city to combat our growing drug and poverty problem.

To date their number is around 30. They have had several meetings and one inter-denominational Thanksgiving Service. Don told me they have had not one single rejection from any of the pastors they have approached. What they have had is two common responses:

1. Almost all of these preachers of denominational churches have expressed frustration with their denominational leaders in the area of dictating to them how and who they will work with.

They see the needs in our city and realize that this problem is going to take a concerted effort of Christians of all flavors.

Ready for #2?

2. Almost all of them have expressed a collective towards Don, "What are you doing here?" As in, we never thought we'd see the day that a Church of Christ preacher would want to work with folks outside the CoC denomination.

Don't get me wrong, they're happy to see Don but what does that say about our tribe? The baggage we've laid on church members and preachers is shameful not to mention the impression we've left with the "outside world." I thank God that in our city (and again, we're not perfect by any stretch of the imagination) these preachers have found a Church of Christ preacher (and hopefully a church) that's "mad at Hell and we're not going to take it anymore."

Gator Game Pics

2009-12-03T10:33:00.000-08:00

51 year old eyes update. We had to go to the "Replay Booth" for a ruling on the third picture. The "caption" under the third picture has been overturned because it's actually Gamecock quarterback, Jeff Garcia being sacked by the Gator Defense.

In keeping with my current theme of "backwards blogging," here are some pictures I took at the Fl. Gators vs. the South Carolina Gamecocks game.

My friend Bob, on the right in the white shirt (we've be friends since 3rd Grade) tailgating before the game with his Gamecock friends. They were great folks.

We had great seats which afforded me the opportunity to get on the field level and take this picture of Tim Tebow warming up before the game. He is arguably the most dominant player in all of College Football. You can't knock his very public walk with the Lord as well.

Tim Tebow being sacked during the game.

The salute to our Nation's Veterans and a beautiful sunset in the background.

Retirement

2009-12-02T05:55:00.000-08:00

0-11, 1-10 and 3-8; do those numbers mean anything to you? Those were the records of FSU's Football team the 3 previous years before Bobby Bowden arrived in Tallahassee in 1976. "Pathetic" would be an understatement (or would that be an "under-word?") and the "improvement" to a 3-8 season was accompanied by an infamous incident known as the "Chicken Wire Scandal." Seems the previous coach had a "cage" built out of chicken wire to "toughen" up his linemen and to teach them "proper" technique. Hey, I wonder if that would work for church members? :)

BTW - the programs at Florida and (The U) Miami were just as bad in those days.

It is well documented that Bobby Bowden was a gentleman before he arrive at FSU courtesy of the movie, "We Are Marshall." If you remember the movie, Marshall's Football Team had been decimated after the Team Jet crashed following a game with East Carolina. A new Coach is hired who must build the program literally from the ground up.

Much to the surprise of his Assistant Coach, he decides to pay Bobby Bowden, the then Coach of West Virginia, a visit to ask him if he would teach them or tell them about his "new" Veer Offense. His Assistant is even more surprised when Coach Bowden gives them complete access to his playbook and game films.

Bowden's record at FSU is almost without match:

28 straight Bowl appearances.
2 National Championships.
14 Straight seasons with at least 10 wins.
14 straight seasons of finishing in the Top 5.
12 ACC Championships in 14 years.
15 Consecutive New Year's Day Bowl Games
11 Consecutive Bowl Game wins (14 if you don't count the 1984 tie with (17 - 17) Georgia)

It is the end of an era and I wonder if there are any coaches out there that will stay at their universities as long as Bowden has with FSU.

Bobby's record has it's blemishes and hick-ups. I don't think one can be at an institution for that length of time and not have chinks in the armor show up whether real or imagined, unintentional or intentional. I know you'll find this hard to believe (not that I'm comparing myself with Bowden) but there are some folks out there who think I'm incompetent or even evil.

Any way as I digress, my hat is off to Coach Bowden. As a long time Floridian I can say this with a very clear memory:

I remember what it was like back in the 70's, we were pathetic until you arrived and turned FSU around. Is there another Coach Bowden out there? I hope its Jimbo Fisher.

News Flash!

2009-12-01T09:30:00.000-08:00

My fellow ( I haven't used this word in a while so if Randy is still reading, forgive the use of the "e-word" :) ) elders and I have been meeting once a week at 6a.m. to devote time to prayer. Our meeting place has been down by the Indian River near the historic downtown area.

A little caveat here, I don't publicize this to say, "Hey, look at us religious elders." Rather, like many of you I'm sure, we realized our prayers lives are at times, shallow at best. So we've started a journey with each other and God to attempt to be more consistent and deeper in our prayer lives and hence, the subject of my post today.

As I drove up to the downtown park on the Indian River, a news van from our local "Central Florida News Channel" was parked and had set an "on the scene" broadcast area on the riverfront. Now you know me, I couldn't resist having some fun with theirs and our presence.

But what ever I said did not top what my good friend Javier came up with. He pointed at the news van and said, "Hey everyone, news flash - elders are actually praying and we have evidence of it."

It was funny but at the same time sad but true. I do not mean this as an indictment on any one but I do wonder how many ministers and church leaders neglect the all important Christian discipline of prayer. I know I did. We're trying to be better and if you find time to pray yourself, feel free to mention a group of ragtag guys who are trying to lead their church in prayer.

I Am the Leaf But You Want the Vine

2009-11-23T08:14:00.000-08:00

My wife is a very special woman. She has taught kindergarten in public school for 29 years. She has been at one school for her entire career which is almost unheard of in these times of over a 50% dropout rate among new teachers after 3 years on the job. Barb is nothing short of a deaconess (she would die if she knew I just typed that) at our church. She provides each Wednesday's meal for our "Dinner and a Devo." She ramrods many of our special events for our kids including our kid's Christmas Party and the Fall Festival. It also goes without saying that she gives our church a special gift each Christmas, our Church Christmas Party.

O.K., are you impressed with my wife. She is the epitome of being "sweet" if you will. Yet, this calm, loving, and gentle demeanor can be changed into a raging rampage at the sight of one (unfortunately not me) thing - Fall leaves!!

A couple of weeks ago we were in South Carolina for the Gator game. On our way home on Sunday and while still in S.C., my sweet / kindergarten teaching wife spotted some Fall leaves on some trees in the parking lot of a small strip mall. Being the dutiful husband, I pulled into the parking lot of the strip mall, just a bit nervous about "pulling leaves" off some one's tree. I figured that a few leaves shouldn't make any shop owner too mad if we were observed.

The trees were on a bit of a berm so I told my wife to stay back as I bounded up the "dangerously steep" berm to be hers and her Kindergarten class's hero. I delicately pulled about 4 different leaves off of one branch to give her class the full variety of colors that I could see. The reaction I received from my wife wasn't what I expected.

As I handed her the leaves she looked at me and said, "That's not nearly enough." Before I knew it, my sweet wife bounded up the same berm, grabbed an entire branch, and proceeded to tear off the entire branch off this tree. Before I could utter what I was ("Are you crazy / we're in stinking South Carolina and I'm unarmed!") thinking she came off the berm and shouted, "There's (as in complete branch) another!"

She sprinted across the parking lot before I could throw her in our Expo. I grabbed the down branch, threw it in our Expo, did my best "Starsky and Hutch" imitation as I burned rubber backing out of the parking space, drove over to where she was now dismembering another tree owned by this strip mall, jumped out of the still moving car, and said, "Baby, you're going to get us shot. Please get in the car."

She looked at me and said, "Silly goose, its only TWO branches." I love my wife but she's an animal around Fall Leaves. Zeesh!

Mail Call

2009-11-19T12:30:00.000-08:00

We've been praying for one of our brothers that is going through Army Basic Training. Josh sent me a letter the other day giving me a description of how hard "BT" was. He wrote, "Climbing Mt. Tweeto (the 13,700ft peak we climbed in Colorado a couple of years ago) was a cakewalk compared to what I'm going through now."

Josh has asked for letters but he has also asked that those of us at church follow his instructions to the (no pun intended) letter. It seems that if one doesn't follow "envelope" directions (no fru-fru colors, not putting a "1" with a circle around it on the flap, ect) Josh's Drill Sargent like the famous R. Lee Emery of the History Channel's "Mail Call" show, will tell him, "Drop and give me 25 pushups maggot!"

I was sharing this letter with the brothers at our Men's Bible Study when one of the men shared his "Mail Call experience" when he was going through BT. It seems that he had a girlfriend who lived in San (can you see this coming?) Francisco. She was good about writing him and would send him 3 to 4 letters a week.

The trouble was that he started dreading these letters because when his platoon gathered for Mail Call, his Drill Sargent would see the San Francisco address and yell out, "Hey, (name changed to protect the innocent) Smith's homo boyfriend from San Francisco just sent him another letter!" As I listened to his story and read Josh's letter I have to say, those of you who have served in the military are special people who deserve our respect and all the plain white envelopes we can find!

Rooster Crows for 3 Quarters

2009-11-17T12:42:00.000-08:00

This past weekend recalled those days of yesteryear or in this case, the movie, "Animal House" as we made a "road trip" to see our good friends Bob and Shelby in South Carolina. Bob had tickets to the SC (that would be the east coast version) vs Florida game. Barb graciously decided to make the road trip with me. She and Shelby spent Saturday exercising some "RT" or retail therapy as you ladies like to call it.

Bob and I spent Saturday amongst the pageantry of College Football, SEC style. The buddies that Bob tailgates with are great guys and girls. They were very open to this Florida Boy but that was probably due to this FSU Seminole wanting someone to knock off the Gators.

For 3 quarters that wish was in sight. The rooster was crowing loudly over the Sound System and the Carolina fans were rocking the house especially when one particular song was played. The stadium was literally rocking as the Gamecock fans were jumping up and down and waving the Veteran Day Flags that had been given out before the game. Then there was third and 2.

The score was 17 to 14 in favor of the Gators in the 3rd quarter. However, "Old Mo" better known as "momentum" had swung to the Gamecock side. Carolina was driving for at the very least for a game tying field goal and a possible go ahead touchdown. Inside Gator territory with one a third and 2, Steve Spurrier decided to call for a pass over the middle. The receiver bobbled the ball into the air and into the hands of a Gator defensive lineman.

As Keith Jackson might have said, he rumbled, bumbled, and stumbled down to the SC ten yard line and ended the crowing of the Gamecocks. College football, there's nothing like it.

Memories Sept. 30th Post Pictures

2009-11-10T16:24:00.000-08:00

Well its about time - no wonder I'm one of the "leaders" in our church. It takes me forever to get around to doing something. That was a joke BTW - come on guys - don't leave me "hanging."

Any way, my Sept. 30th post, "Memories," was about the day that yours truly, Hurricane Chuck, Tim, and Bret went out in the channel of Port Canaveral looking for some red fish. We found some (of the fish type) blues, some "big ones" that stole our bait, and a show put on by copious schools of mullet (not of the hair type) and the dolphins that were looking to dine on them. I took some pictures and as promised some one and a half months ago, here they are:

Enjoy.

Tim's at the end of the boat ramp leading out into the channel.

Tim at the wheel with Bret holding the boat steady. The ship in the background is "gambling / casino" ship that is out of business. Too many winners I guess.

A huge and very top heavy looking container ship as we headed out into the channel.

Looking over the front of Tim's boat as we headed out past the jetty. To the right are older Cruise Ship terminals. To the left is the Air Force side of the Kennedy Space Center as well as a submarine basin.

"A 3 hour tour, a 3 hour tour, boom!!" Sorry, I couldn't help but think of Gilligan's Island when I saw this picture. From left to right - Hurricane Chuck, Tim, and Bret.

Now we're past the end of the jetty and actually fishing facing the AF side of the beach.

We tried to anchor as close as we could to the jetty's without becoming "jetty bait" by the wave action that wanted to push us into the jetty. You can see another group of lucky guys fishing a few yards in front of us.

I tried to catch the mullet jumping by our boat as they were being chased by a pod of dolphins. The little discolored "shimmers" is the closet I got.

The last picture - Hurricane Chuck and Bret fishing off the stern of the boat. What a day.

Fall of the Wall

2009-11-09T11:50:00.001-08:00

My good friend Brady (http://evendays.org/) reminded me today that this is the anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Who would have ever thought as late as the late 1980's the Berlin Wall would come down, the Iron Curtain would fall, and freedom would reign again in Germany as well as eastern Europe.

I was having a similar conversation with 2 members of our church. They had been at our church when a wall of legalism divided many from the freedoms we have in Christ and the working of the Holy Spirit. We marveled at how "our wall" came down and this by no plan of any man but by the working of the hands of God. Too many events had occurred not to ascribe it to the working of God's Spirit.

We're not a perfect church by any stretch of the imagination but there is a freedom to endeavor to be Christ-like in our walks and to freely confess when things go awry. God is good, all the time.

Another Phase

2009-11-02T17:14:00.000-08:00

"Oh, he's just going through a phase." Have you ever said that about your kids, your spouse, or (if you're into talking about yourself in the third person) yourself? Do churches go through "phases?" I think they do if our church is any proof of that.

This past Saturday we past through another phase on our journey towards being truly non-denominational. Our preacher Don, has been forging a relationship with a mostly African American inner-city (this is a mouthful) non-denominational church, "Celebration Tabernacle." This relationship took another step as we held a joint Fall Festival at our church.

Our parking lot was awash with kids and adults of various ethnicity's. There was a spirit of fellowship that transcended the fact that we are citizens of the same city as there always is when the people of God get together.

Someone said they heard their pastor remark on how amazing it was that just a few months ago, many of us drove by each other buildings and never gave getting our churches together a second thought. Going through phases as a church isn't always pain free but I can tell you this, the doors God will open far outweighs avoiding the pain. To God be the glory.

Pray Hard For the Money

2009-10-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

What I heard and read when I had breakfast with "the boys" this morning made me think of Donna Summer and her "hit" song, "She Works Hard For The Money." The waitresses of the country diner we eat at on Thursday mornings are aware that our group all attend church together. One of the waitresses brought by today's edition of our local newspaper with one of the ads highlighted.

She asked us for our opinion. The ad stated, "Calls for Prayer - $10." It gave a local phone number for this "pay as you pray" service. When she stated her one word ("So?") question again I said (pointing to the brother who had just prayed for our food), "Looks like we owe Don $10."

What do you think, should we call the number?

Geezer Smack

2009-10-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

As much as I'd like to say this is a cool picture of me slamming a spike during a game of beach volleyball (and I know many of you out there will be shocked that it isn't) I cannot. But for over a year, some of our best friends and my son's college roommate parents, have invited folks over to their home on Sunday afternoons for fellowship and beach volleyball. There are times when the makeup of the crowd is mostly teens and college age kids and then of late, its been some teens and young families.
There are times when this 51 year old's body feels 25 again. Yesterday was one of those days when not only was I playing my area or "space," I was invading everyone else's "play (Remember Johnny's admonition to Baby, "This is your dance space and this is my dance space.") space. Someone even asked Barb if she could "control me?" She smiled and basically said, "When he gets like this you just have to let him go until he exhausts himself." :)

As the light was waning yesterday with the advance of night, 8 of us played one last game of 4 on 4. Our four consisted of one guy in his mid-30's and the rest of us were my age or (sorry Monty) older. Our opponents were 21 or younger. They quickly jumped out to a 13 to 6 lead and the game was to 15.

Jim Rome who has radio and T.V. Sports Talk Shows uses a word that basically means "talking trash to your opponent and that word is "smack." Lets just say that at this point, the smack starting flowing from the youngsters such as:

1. Let us know when you're going to hit the ball back over the net.
2. Since you guys are old and blind, we'll tell you when to "listen" for the ball.
3. From the movie "Christmas Vacation," "Hey, isn't it time for you geezers to eat something so you can take your back pills."

Well as luck would have it, yours truly started serving at 6 to 13. Now I would like to say that the number of points we began to win were mostly due in part to my devastating serve and you know what, I think I'll say it, "We began to win point after point due to my devastating serve." O.K., with that out of the way lets also factor in that it was really getting dark at this point.

When we scored our 7th straight point tying the game at 13 to 13, the "smack" began to reverse direction. My good friend Bret got off the best smack salvo with, "Hey, isn't it time for you kids to take your medicine and go to bed!" We ended up serving out the game and won 15 to 13 - one for geezers everywhere!

Now I'm a realist and I realize that the day of smack talking flowing away from me to younger folks are steadily declining but for one night in West Cocoa, it was good to be a geezer! Ouch, I think I just pulled a muscle.

Tuesday Night Lights

2009-10-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

In the poster for "Friday Night Lights," 3 guys are suited up getting ready to do battle on the football field. They hold hands as a sign of solidarity and brotherhood as the lights burn bright above their head. I was thinking about this and the verses that follow:

James 5:13 - 16

13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 (emphasis mine)Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Where do we go or rather, where do I go to be healed? I think it goes without saying that God's grace given to us in the form of Jesus at the Cross is the engine behind the healing that we all need as we struggle to live in this world but not be of it. I think James gives us the conduit for God's saving grace to work healing in our lives. When I read verse 16 I see:

1. The need to say it as in, the sin I need healing from.

2. I need a community of faith to be able to say it to someone.

3. I need that group so they can pray for me to be healed and I need to be available to be able to do the same.

4. Without knowing the timetable I should expect healing.

You've heard of the phrase, "Friday Night Lights." Besides the movie it also refers to communities like the one I was in last week, that seem to suddenly increase in population when the lights of the football field are turned on for a high school football game. At our church I feel like we have "Tuesday Night Lights." I've alluded to a "Men's Bible Study" that meets on Tuesday nights at our church in the past.

It is nothing short of powerful, as bright as any high school football field lights on a Friday night. Everything that I mentioned above (#1 -4) occurs there. There are men who come forward and confess sins that one can only receive true healing from by doing what James mentions in verse 16. Like the poster these men are warriors. Some of them have been victorious in the Lord and others need a "Hail Mary pass" to just get through the next day without a drink, a drug, or an outburst. Like the poster, these men hold hands, they pray, and they even cry as the light of the Lord burns bright in the flames of confession and healing. I am amazed at the ministry that takes place there.

I pray that you have a Tuesday Night Lights in your life. I know I need it in mine.

S.C. Road Trip / 1st Set of Pictures

2009-10-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

I have always been a "road trip" kind of guy. We had promised my good friends, Bob and Shelby, we would come to South Carolina and watch their son play. Nathen plays offensive tackle for his high school football team. I was impressed with the sophistication of their offense. They run the popular "spread offense" of which their version is "no huddle, " everyone looks at the sidelines for the plays to be signaled in, and then they look on their wrist band for the corresponding play, and run it. It was unfortunate that Nathen's team came up on the losing side of the game but if I had been grading the lineman, I would have given Nathen the highest grade.

These are strange times for us. With Steven away at college this was our first trip to see our friends without him being with us. Then seeing a kid who I knew from when he was a baby who is now taller than me playing a great game of high school football, well, life moves on doesn't it?

Our good friends, next door neighbors, and fellow church members, Monty and Sally made the trip with us. It was great to have company on our trip and we were all ready for a spell of cooler temperatures. Central Florida recently set a record for number of days in October with the highs at 90 or above.

Friday morning saw the ladies head out for some "retail (as I hear you ladies call it) therapy" while the guys headed for 18 holes of "out in the middle of nowhere" golf. That night was our version of "Friday Night Lights" as we attended Nathen's game. The pictures that will follow was courtesy of one of their traditions. Win or lose, after the game parents and friends gather on the field to greet the team. They're were lots of hugs, "I'm proud of you son," and friendly / now that the game is over welcome back into the "real world" greetings.

Saturday morning saw more retail therapy for the ladies and an occasion for me to use "dam" language. When we got up to a nice breakfast made by Shelby, I knew that the guys were going for a walk across Lake Murray Dam. So I got things started by walking into the living room and greeting everyone with, "I need a good "Dam" (as in Lake Murray Dam) walk today." I can't even begin to count the number of puns that were made with the word "dam" after that. There's even a restaurant close to the Dam called, "Best Dam Restaurant."

Saturday afternoon and into the evening was quality "family time" as we sat around the T.V. and watched college football. At least the guys did. I think the ladies were watching reruns of Oprah or the "W.E." Channel. Actually, my wife watched most of the Fl. Gators vs. Arkansas (sorry Terri or Mr. Riley) game. She loves Tim Tebow.

I'll leave with some pictures:

From left to right: Me, a smiling Nathen, and Monty.

Bottom row: Barb who is obviously freezing in 50 degree weather, Sally who looks just as cold, Shelby - Nathen's Mom. Back Row: Me or just to top part of my head, Nathen, and Monty.

Bottom row from left to right: Barb, Nathen, Sally.

Back row: Me, Bob - Nathen's Dad, and Monty.

Josh

2009-10-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

This is a picture that I took at about 13,000 ft. when we were in Colorado in the summer of 2008. The rocks that we're resting on are the reason the "Rockies" are called the "Rockies." Sitting from left to right are Mark, Steven, Daniel, and Kristin. Standing in the forefront with "professional" walking sticks is Josh.

I really got to know Josh on this trip. We spent a lot of time in the back seat of a 15 passenger van together. Seems he and I were in the minority when it came to folks who get "car sick."

Sidebar - I wonder what the percentage is of the people who say they get "car sick" and need to sit in the front of a vehicle who actually get car sick? Come on, if you're one of these fakers, cough it up, in a Christian way of course and definitely figuratively.

Josh was very knowledgeable on our trip hence the cool gear. Josh has a great sense of humor and I could share an exchange we had in the van concerning some Nuns and a "man purse" but will leave that for the ages or perhaps the "aged."

Josh has been a regular attendee of our Sunday afternoon beach volleyball group. His sense of humor and his impossibly long approach to serving has made him a favorite among our group. This past Sunday was his "last" for sometime because Josh is going into the United State Army.

Josh should be on his way to Basic Training at I type. I ask for prayers for Josh as he starts this new phase of his life and as he enters into the honorable profession of serving his Country. We'll miss Josh and we look forward to the time that he returns.

Institutional Activity

2009-10-07T19:11:00.000-07:00

"Institutional Activity." That was a phrase I first read in Rubel Shelly's and Randy Harris' book, "The Second Incarnation." If memory serves, Shelly and Harris warned against mistaking "institutional (going to church, going to church picnics, teaching Sunday School, etc.) activity" for having a genuine relationship with God. I guess you could say if one had too much "I.A." in their life, perhaps one would need to be institutionalized. :)

I guess one could say I have a fair amount of "I.A." in my life. This past week saw me at church doing:
1. Monday - Weight Watchers
2. Tuesday - Men's Class. God is doing some powerful, powerful things in this group of guys that I'm starting to connect with.
3. Wednesday - Our night for what we call, "Dinner and a Devo." Barb always does the cooking and tonight I gave the devotional.

I'm reminded of George C. Scott's line as Patton as he scans a battlefield. There is carnage all around him of a recent battle. He looks at the Captain who is his aid and says something like, "War is terrible but God help me, I love it."

Now, I'm not trying to equate "I.A." with war but I do love it. There is so much the Holy Spirit is doing in the lives of our people I want to start jumping up (must not wake up sleeping wife) and down and shout, "Hallelujah, praise God."

Yeah, I'll take this kind of "Institutional Activity" anytime.

God's blessings.

The Gym

2009-10-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

I just came from watching "our" boys from my middle school play a school that I taught and coached at in the 80's and early 90's. Kids love it when you come to see them play or cheer. I get lots of, "Hey Mr. Walker, you came to the game," or , "Hi Mr. Walker."

This particular gym was once my gym for most of my "pre-Steven" days. Then I was called "Coach" more than my "teacher name" although I still taught then. This particular gym wasn't air-conditioned in those days as it is now. In fact, I ran into the guy that I coached with during that time.

We hugged each other and speculated how much longer we might have coached if the gym had been air-conditioned back then. He's retired now and hopefully, hopefully, I might be just a few years behind him. We both still have a love of kids and basketball but younger (or some might say dumber) guys do it now in our stead. He subs once or twice a week and I'm still in the classroom.

I have to admit that when I walked into that gym I experienced some "warm fuzzies." Will it be like that in Heaven when this life is over? Walking into an air-conditioned gym and seeing folks who knew you then and smile, grab your hand, and give you great big bear hugs as joy explodes from relationships renewed.

I bet Jesus gives the best bear-hugs.
Signing off here and feeling good.

Memories

2009-09-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

There are days in our lives that we experience pain, fun, or memorable events that etch themselves into our memories. I wish I could show you video (some would have had to have been shot in night vision) or pictures that would do justice to what I witnessed yesterday and last night. I did take some pictures but they won’t convey what is etched on my brain.

We were chased off by an advancing thunderstorm around 7pm. We took shelter along some slips near a marina at the Port. Once the storm moved off we headed back to our spot on the north side of the north jetty. The Jetty is actually on the Space Center Reservation and can only be reached by boat. Of course, stepping off the boat and onto the jetty or beach itself would probably result in a swift response from KSC Security Personnel.

As with many storms in our area, it’s passing turned the water into glassy calmness once the storm had moved out into the ocean. We anchored our boat about 30yards off the jetty. We were surrounded by the biggest schools of bait fish I have personally ever seen. With us were a school of dolphins knifing through the bait fish. They were so close that we could see and hear them clearing their blow-holes as they surfaced.

The bait fish were not going down without “flight” and when they did, “flight” or run that is, the ocean would literally boil with movement, displacement of the water, and sound. As the half-moon started to come out with the receding sun, the boils became almost luminescent. You couple that with cloud to cloud as well as cloud to ocean lightning off in the distance, manatees and dolphins swimming around us, the light of the Kennedy Space Center, and 4 friends fishing and laughing, well, we could have made a great commercial.

Makes me want to break out into a chorus of, “I love you man,” (or woman) depending upon the sex of the reader.

Something New

2009-09-29T11:14:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the jetty and fishing pier at Jetty Park in Port Canaveral. I've lived in the Cocoa Beach area since the mid-60's and have fished on and around the jetty. But today courtesy of my good friend those of us at church know affectionately as, Hurricane Church, and another good friend, Mr. Tim, for the first time I'll be fishing from a boat just off the north jetty which is to the left of the one pictured.

Of course one must work as I am, teaching the future of America, your children. Then bless their little hearts, they better get out of my way as I make a bee-line for my car to hook up with my fishing buddies. :)

HC and MT say the reds are running so I'm looking forward to some fish in the freezer or perhaps on the grill. I'll leave you with another picture.

I guess I'm not leaving yet - this is looking back from the jetty down the channel. This channel is used by cruise ships, freighters, military ships and trident subs.

Coming Through

2009-09-28T12:50:00.001-07:00

Have you ever needed a weekend from your weekend? That's where I'm at as I type another award (I give out the awards) winning post. This past Saturday at Parent's Weekend, I ran in the "Family Fun Walk / Run." The distance was 2.2 miles along the Intercoastal waterway. I figured the "run" would mostly be comprised of parents. I figured wrong.

The Basketball Coach decided to use this event as a way for his players to meet some parents as well as get in a little morning conditioning. As the race was about to start, one of the college officials asked all the "runners" to move towards the front of the (probably had about 50 folks there) line.

I somehow ended up near the front and just behind the basketball players. As we started running they began to set a very, very, non-51 year old pace. I don't know if this makes sense but my pace was not theirs and neither was it mine for I found myself almost in as much of a sprint as my "splints" will allow.

At about the 3/4 mile mark I began to reel in some of the basketball players. It was at that point that I experienced a so-called "mini-runners high" as I caught up with some of the big (and I mean BIG - one guy was 7ft 4in tall!) guys and then had to yell out, "Coming through," as I passed between them.

What could have been their possible thoughts?

1. Who is that geezer?
2. I didn't know they made "roids" for geezers?
3. Who's going to do CPR on the old guy at the turnaround point?
4. Maybe that's why I'm on the bench?

What do you think?

Prayer Request for Ashley

2009-09-24T09:50:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: Spoke to Steven last night. Ashley was released from the hospital and actually ate dinner with him and his classmates. I didn't know this until last night but apparently he was sitting next to her when she started to convulse. He told us he literally "caught her" as she started to go down to the floor. Now that's a play you don't want to make an error on. :)

Thank you for your prayers and have a good weekend.

Steven called from College today to request prayers for one of his classmates, Ashley. He said she started having seizures in the middle of one of his classes today. Steven said the entire class gathered around her and prayed for her until she was taken away to the hospital.

He is trying to get as many people as possible to pray for her. I guess this is one of the many benefits of attending a Christian University. The other one is that he got to hear Francis Chan, the author of “Crazy Love,” speak at chapel yesterday.

2009-09-23T07:10:00.000-07:00

I'm sure many of you are or are going to read Francis Chan's book, "Crazy Love." I'm currently reading it so I thought I'd drop a few gems that have hit me on my journey towards having a "crazy love" for God.

In one part of his book he writes about what our lives should be about. He illustrates this by reminding the reader of "the brevity of life." He writes that somewhere between 45 and 125 billion people have lived on our planet. If you're into numerals it looks like 45,000,000,000 and 125,000,000,000. Another way he illustrates the brevity of life is by stating that in roughly 50 years (give or take a few decades), no one will remember you. You will be dead and so will most of those who would have remembered you.

Chan asks an obvious question, "Are you ready?" Remember Matthew 10:32- 33

32"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

This may seem like a dark (duh!) post. Hang in there and get the book if you haven't already purchased it.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

2009-09-18T09:15:00.000-07:00

You guys (and girls) with the "sickness" (a highly unusual affinity to possess, play, and display guitars) we'll die when you hear this. My last class before lunch just left. I thought playing the theme (Danger Zone) from the movie "Top Gun" would be appropriate. You know this to be true if you've ever had to move from point A to point B in a Middle School during class change, much less the change before lunch.

As the song was blasting out of my room, a kid walked by my room and said, "Mr. Walker, great music. I can play that on my guitar." I asked him what kind of guitar he had and (okay Greg, Randy, son - get the hankies ready) he said, "Oh, I have a Les Paul!"

Any one want to be adopted by this kid's parents? :)
Have a blessed weekend.

What is That?

2009-09-17T12:18:00.000-07:00

I shared this incident on Facebook but I'll share it in a blog. This past Monday I did a 5 mile run from our building, down the River Road which runs along the Indian River Lagoon to Hwy 520 in downtown Cocoa, and then back for the return 2.5 mile trip. I wish I could take some video of my runs for it is not unusual for me to see dolphins chasing schools of mullet in towards the shore as well as Manatees feeding on sea grass.

There is usually a nice breeze along the River Road which helps with the massive amount of humidity, some. Monday had a bit of the edge off the humidity but it was high (warning - reason for an excuse coming) nevertheless. When I returned to the building I took off my shirt, head band, and wrist band that I wear over the area that had some skin cancer. As you can imagine (or maybe you don't) these items, shall we say, were "glistening." I used my church key to go inside and get a drink of water for the trip home.

On the way home I decided that I deserved a bit of Mickey D's unsweet tea so I pulled into the drive-thru lane of our local McDonald's. My rout to McDonald's took me up U.S.1 with a speed limit of 45 and over the "Bee-line" (Hwy 528) which we're now being told to call the "Beachline." The speed limit on the Bee / Beach-line is 70 and at one point I do believe I was sucked into a "lead car draft" that propelled me just a bit faster than the advertised speed limit of 70. I surmised that one shouldn't mess with the aerodynamics of multiple vehicles travelling at high rates of speeds but then I digress.

So, I'm sitting in the line at McDonald's when a nice lady bangs on my window. Now, this is not an everyday occurrence with me so I felt compelled to roll down my window and listen to her inquiry. She must have gotten a sniff of the contraband that was attached to my rear bumper because she said, "Sir, there is something on your back bumper." For a moment I wanted to answer, "Yes, that would be the finest plastic Ford can obtain," but I refrained and thanked her.

I got out of my (using my best imitation of Rizzo on the T.V. show, "M.A.S.H.") "motor vehicle" and what did I find on my back bumper? Yep, the sweaty shirt, headband, and wristband that had been part of my person a few minutes earlier. They had survived speeds of up to 70 (cough, cough, something) mph for about 3 miles.

Do the math on that problem! I wonder what people thought as they passed me? What would have come to your mind?

Oh, my excuse - an overheated 51 year old!

Diversity.

2009-09-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

Diversity.
We were swimming in it at our church yesterday and I love it! Our "blended" service of instrumental and acapella just keeps getting better and better. We had a visitor from Greg's old church (Long Beach) who told me, "You guys have the right combination." I couldn't agree more.

Our day of diversity included a former professional wrestler, covered in tattoos, and working on an addiction problem being baptized into Christ! His coming to Christ is a direct result of a phenomenal men's program that allows men to share their struggles, hold each other accountable, and be blessed by the fellowship of a diverse group of men, all on a journey.

His baptism was made all the more sweeter by the attendance of his mother, family members, and guys that he works with. I could not help but think these would be the guys that Jesus would hang out with.

Then to top off our day of diversity, we went bluegrass. We sang an old Church of Christ favorite, "To Canaan's Land," but as our Worship Minister said, "We say we're about diversity around here. Well, you're getting ready to get some diversity, bluegrass style." The church belted out that song, then watched the birth of a new brother in Christ, and finished off the day with a energetic singing of "I Belong to Jesus."

It's good to belong to Jesus.

2009-09-11T07:09:00.000-07:00

Make sure you check out Greg's (http://gregengland.theobloggers.com/) blog for some thoughts and a stirring picture with respect to the observance of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I have to tell you that I felt like "Cousin Eddy" last night from one of my favorite movies, "Christmas Vacation." No, I wasn't wearing a bathrobe, a "Russian type winter hat," and drinking a Meister Brau beer. No, if you had been spying on me last night you would have seen an almost 51 year old man on his back patio around 10pm, in shorts, a t-shirt, and crocks, sweating profusely in the Central Florida humidity, vacuuming his pool. Oh, I forgot the other part of my attire. I was wearing a head lamp as our pool light is out.

I get tickled just thinking how I must have looked. Oh well, let that image sail you into the weekend.

Respect

2009-09-10T08:27:00.000-07:00

I'm not a Yankee's Fan and this isn't a blog about baseball but a moment in baseball (http://www.newsday.com/sports/derek-jeter-ties-lou-gehrig-in-career-hits-1.1434725?localLinksEnabled=false) history I think helped me to crystallize some thoughts that have been rolling around in my soon to be 51 year old head.

Derek Jeter, famed Yankee's short-stop tied the most career hits record for any Yankee player, tying the great Lou Gehrig. Jeter is famous for his disdain of individual records over team accomplishments. When he hit his record tying single in the 7th inning of the Yankee's game with the Tampa Bay Rays, Yankee Stadium broke out into a standing ovation that lasted for one and half minutes. Jeter was noticeably embarrassed by the attention but acknowledge the crowd with a tip of his hat. Even the Ray's players were applauding him for his efforts. In a time of in your face / win at all costs sports, it was refreshing to me, to see an opponent acknowledge someone on the opposing team accomplishment out of respect.

I did not vote for President Obama and I do not support many of his policies. Nevertheless he is the President of our Nation and that alone should call for times of respect. I was taken aback at the firestorm that preceded the President's address to school children. This is the same President who could send my son off to war to defend our country and yet, some did not want their children to hear this country's President talk about doing well in school and setting goals.

Then there was the outburst from Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina in the middle of the President's speech to a nation-wide audience in which he called the President a liar. My friends, I do not advocate rolling over and playing dead in opposition to some (if not all) of the President's policies. But I believe and let it start with me, we must find our way back to some level of collegiality when it comes to those we oppose.

There are many things that I'm proud of when it comes to my heritage in the Churches of Christ. One thing that I'm not proud of is our reputation among many outside our fellowship for the same kind of in your face / lack of respect / (or as Trey http://www.treymorgan.net/) Morgan in a recent post) being a jerk attitude to people that we oppose. Many of you have felt the sting of what I just described.

Respect does not necessarily signal agreement or weakness but lack of it will lead in my opinion, to anarchy.

Readings

2009-09-08T09:46:00.000-07:00

My son told me about a book, "Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God" by Francis Chan. He said one of his suite mates bought extra copies of the book to share with friends in response to how the book had impacted his life. I've never heard of the book or the author but I ordered it so I can read it with Steven.

I also ordered the book Mike (http://preachermike.com/) Cope promoted on his blog, "The Unlikely Disciple" by Kevin Roose. You can read Cope's summary of the book on his blog.

So here's to reading, getting one's monthly B-12 shot, and going for a 5K after school. Cheers.

Beltless Non-Denomination Part 2

2009-09-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a question - Can or does God work in the life of a shredded serpentine belt on a bus? I think He did for us. First - in the timing. As we rolled into a gas station after being fed by the good folks at Crossroads Baptist, Chad who was driving the bus noticed a sudden loss of power steering and power brakes. When we popped the hood it was evident that the 151 (this number would come back to haunt us again and again) inch long serpentine belt had shredded. God was truly with us in many ways.

First, we (that would be me) had just come from driving on I-40 (or as you SoCal folks say, "The 40") in the mountain passes, tunnels, and 45mph curves of North Carolina. If we had lost power steering and brakes on our 35 passenger bus, in many places along parts of I-40, the results could have been disastrous.

Second, the belt went just as we pulled into the parking lot of a convenience store to get diesel for the next day's return trip home. Being just a few miles from Bob's church, we were able to park the bus (this would have been Sunday night around 8) and shuttle the kids to the church building. Bob was sure that we could find a belt in the morning, put it on ourselves, and be on our way to Central Florida.

Now, remember this phrase, "I have it in my hand." This phrase would become almost as infamous as Britain's Neville Chamberlain's, "Peace in our time."

Columbia, South Carolina is the state capitol, home of the S.C. Gamecocks, and numerous G.M. Dealerships. We figured between this fact and a number of Recreational Vehicles outlets, surely (and don't call me "surely") someone would have the belt we needed.

I could walk you through each step of our belt quest but I won't. Suffice it to say that as we journeyed for 4 hours all over Columbia, S.C., the scenarios were the same. Someone in Parts would say, "We have the belt," only to discover that our belt was made in Canada and therefore was 151 inches long, not the 149 inches that the belt would have been if it were a die hard American made belt.

The other scenario that played out in our 6 or 7 stops was someone in Parts would say, "No, we don't have that belt but let me look it up on our computer." This PP (that "Part Person") would then give us a false sense of hope by saying, "Here it is, it's at Store blah-blah." To further rub salt in our "belts" they would then call "Store blah-blah," ask them to check for the belt, and then tell us that the PP on the other end of the line was saying those immortal words, "I have it in my hand."

We went to what ended up being our next to the last stop having been told by a female PP those immortal words. We thought for sure God was going to come through before lunch time. As we walked into this dealership's Parts Department we could immediately tell, the belt "in hand" wasn't the belt. We said, "Madam PP, that isn't the belt and the guy told you it had to be 151 inches!"

Madam PP was at a loss for words but to explain to us that she was right she took the belt, put it under her foot, and stretched it until it was even with her head. She then said, "Look, I'm 5ft, 6in," as she was stretching the belt. I wanted to slap her in Jesus as I said, "Madam PP, 5 times 12 plus 6, doubled, does not come out to be 151 inches."

We had several adults and kids that had to be home that night. One was flying to Turkey the next morning. So as we drove off I took out my cell phone in the quest to find a rental van. My friend Bob who had graciously shuttled us all over Columbia told me to put my phone up. I explained to Bob that we were out of time but he insisted that I put my phone up and that we try one more place.

By chance we pulled into an Auto Parts Store. We had passed this store several times in our 151 inch quest. We told the PP what we needed and his first answer was, "We don't' usually carry something like that but let me check." He did, he smiled, and then he said, "Somebody is looking after you today." He walked back among the parts and returned with a 151 inch long belt. He told us that someone had ordered that belt 2 weeks earlier but had failed to pick it up!

Do you think God sometimes gets a good laugh out of our efforts, our plans, when He knows how He is going to work it out? Either way, it was a God thing.

Beltless Non-Denomination

2009-09-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

Most of you know of our church's journey towards being truly non-denominational. This journey was played out in our trip up and back from Cincinnati.

We stopped on the way at a former member's home just outside Atlanta. Shane and Teresa not only shared their home with us they also shared their church. We met a group of their members along with one of their ministers at a community pool in one of the member's subdivision. They provided drinks, food, and their minister led the kids (their youth group and ours) in some games and a devotional. These folks belonged to a local Community Church.

On the way back we were taken care of by my good friend's, Bob and Shelby's church, Crossroads Baptist. These folk unexpectedly bought all of our meals at a local Fuddruckers Restaurant. When we tried to talk Bob and his church out of doing such a deed, he insisted that they wanted to be part of our mission work in Cincinnati.

I had approached Bob a couple of months earlier about staying in their church building on the return trip to Cocoa. Bob said when he approached his fellow deacons about our request and told them of the mission work we were doing, he said to a man they all insisted that they would buy our dinner as the least they could do in coming along side a fellow church doing mission work in the name of the Lord.

How about that - a Community Church and a Baptist Church helping out a bunch of folks from a Church of Christ. In some ways its a shame that I would write that previous sentence as if such a practice is an exception rather than the norm. 3 different group of folks who love the Lord - helping each other - now that should be a common practice and perhaps one day it will.

I will get to the "Beltless" part of this post in my next posting. Its a story that demands its own space.

"The Flaming Word"

2009-08-31T09:33:00.000-07:00

This is the 3rd in our series of posts on our trip to Pat Pugh's church in Cincinnati. As I said earlier, my part of the VBS was portraying the Apostle (hence my new nick-name at Central with our Teens - "AP") Paul in prison. Each night the kids came up the stairs into our un-airconditioned dungeon, they found me, "Paul," chained by the wrist to my personal Roman Guard, "Flavius Maximus." The other guard who is now down at PBA did not have a name in the skit so I hung the moniker, "Gluteus Maximus" upon him.

Each night the kids came up to my dungeon, the lights were turned out, the windows covered by black construction paper, and our only light were some tea-lights on an old rickety table that Maximus and I used to hide our scripts. Also on this table was a rolled up piece of parchment paper that I would unrolled each night to show the kids a new part of "Romans" that I had written the previous day. As the kids would walk in with their "Family Leader," I would stand up still chained to Maximus, and welcome them to my dungeon.

One night I was a bit too gregarious in my greeting because as I stood, I unknowingly bumped our rickety table which caused the rolled up parchment paper to roll into one of the tea candles. As the "Bible" began to go up in flames, yours truly was oblivious to this "holy fire" as I continued with my welcoming the kids to my dungeon. It wasn't until one of our teens who was one of the family leaders yelled, "The Bible is on fire," that I took noticed of the situation.

Now if I had been on my game I might have said in my best Shakespearean / Paul voice, "The Word is like living flame" but the only thing that could come to my brain was, "Crap, just a minute my friends." As luck would have it there was a sink within "throwing distance" (not to mention within reached of my chained up hand) so I grabbed the burning word and threw it into the sink. Before I could turn the water faucet on the smoke alarm went off but was quickly turned off by one of the teens who grabbed a chair and stood on it.

Oh, the kids while we were in panic mode just sat there, quiet, and unmoving. I guess when you live in the "hood" a little fire just doesn't register on the radar screen. I will never forget that week of being chained to David, hanging out with "Gluteus Maximus," and almost literally bringing the house down as the Apostle Paul.

Hanging Out With CUMO and the Community Center

2009-08-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

Pat Pugh's church is called "C.U.M.O." which stands for "Cincinnati Urban Ministry Organization." CUMO sits in the middle of "the hood" as locals refer to it. As with many "hoods," drugs, alcohol, gambling, and crime are your next door neighbors, even the church. Every day that we drove up in our church bus, in the morning, after lunch, or in the early evening hours, there was always a group of guys smoking weed and gambling literally on the steps of the church. Can you think of a better place that needs Jesus or where He might hang out.

The guys were always respectful of our space and would usually walked down the steps and a couple of houses down from the building. One day I was driving the community kids back to their community Center in our church bus. As I tried to get away from the church, several law enforcement vehicles flew in from all directions causing me to try and get a very large bus out of the way as they converged on the same house that our "guys" were using as a hang-out.

Officers with guns drawn and drug sniffing dogs swarmed the area in what appeared to be a major drug bust. I was amazed at how much respect Pat and his wife have in that community. It was apparent as he walked among the gathering crowd with the way he was greeted, "Pastor Pat."

Our days started at the Millvale (http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/crc/pages/-36131-/) Community Center. There was a Summer Recreation Program taking place that we were allowed to participate in and literally play with the kids. These kids were starving for attention. Some of the younger ones physically clung to our teens, getting piggyback rides, and playing games with them.

Now I know some of you will have a hard time believing this but yours truly was somewhat of a "Rock Start" at the Center. My part of the VBS was to play the Apostle (check out my picture on Facebook) Paul in prison each day. Each day I showed up at the Center I was greeted with a chorus of, "Hey Paul." There were also questions such as how could I be hanging out at the Center if I was in Prison? Most of the kids seem to be O.K. with my temporary pardon to hang out with them and invitation to come back to "Pastor Pat's church" to see me back in chains and in prison.

I tell you, the men and women who work at "the Center" are providing a service that you can't put a price on - safety, stability, love, and fun. Sounds like a good call to ministry, yes?

"Shed"-ing Tears Over Cabins

2009-08-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is the next post about our trip to Cincinnati to do a VBS for Pat Pugh's church. After driving 800 miles we rolled in to what appeared to be a very nice campground. The "Camp" was complete with beautiful one and two story brick homes. As Chad and I approached one of the "Cabins," Chad remarked, "This could be really nice."

Something deep in my youth trip soul said, "I wish he hadn't said that." We were met by one of the "Cottage Parents" as we quickly found out that the nice brick "cabins" were actually part of a "Christian Home." The kind lady pointed across a field and told us that "our cabins" were "over there." As we walked back to our bus I told Chad, "I don't see any cabins, just a row of "sheds."

Those sheds turned out to be our cabins. Now, they were relatively new as the plywood above my head in my bottom bunk read, "2007." The sheds, I mean cabins were small with 4 bunks / 8 beds and an air-conditioning "unit" which turned out to be a box fan in one of the windows held into place by a bungee cord. But despite all of that it turned out to be one of the best campground experiences I've ever had so please, don't "shed" any tears for me after you read this post. :)

Can't Make It Because????

2009-08-20T12:15:00.000-07:00

Hello there - my followup posts will have to follow up after this one. A group of us are planning to take our college kids out to their favorite restaurant before they all head off to college. When the plans were announced all of the "kids" and their parents gave an affirmative save for one family.

They said there was a strong probability they would be unable to attend due to:

1. Death in the family? No.
2. Catastrophic illness? No.
3. Family coming in from out of town? No.

O.K, are you ready? The reason they might miss this fun event - poor gator hunting! Yes, you know you're a redneck when you can't make a dinner engagement because the gator hunting hasn't been as productive as you had anticipated.

How many places in the world could poor gator hunting be used as a, "I'm sorry, but ....."

Cincinnati

2009-08-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

After getting back from Greg's and SoCal, we had a couple of weeks for a "break" before we (as the Beverly Hillbillies Theme song kind of said) "loaded up the bus and headed for Cincinnati." That is, we headed out for Cincinnati with our Youth Group to give back to Pat Pugh and his church. I say "give back" because Pat has given so much to our church, kids, and week of Bible Camp for the last 3 years.

On a personal note, I feel that some of our "kids" desires to enter ministry is partly a result of seeing Pat in action, keeping it real for Jesus as he might say.

Our task was to put on a VBS for his church in inner-city Cincinnati. Now, since we're heading into the weekend and I like to end on a light note, I'll save some details of our trip for later but I'll end on a story that will give you some insight into my sometimes "O.C.D." mind.

We stayed at a Bible Camp in the rolling Ohio farm land outside the City. My bunk mates in my "Cabin" were Chad, our Youth Minister, and two of our college kids. On the second or third night at the Camp, I had the occasion to be the last man into our Cabin. Chad and our college guys were still awake but already in bed.

As I began to go through my "preparations" for bed, the college guys would periodically burst out into laughter. Now, without giving you an unwanted mental picture, I wasn't even close to being "undressed" for bed which understandably could have generated laughter from a couple of punks, I mean young brothers in Christ. After the third outburst of shaking beds and uncontrollable laughter, I had to ask, "What?"

The college guys first said to Chad, "Chad, you're a prophet." This brought the same question from me, "What!?" Then Chad proceeded to explain that having "slept" (in a Christian way) with me in Colorado, West Virginia, Louisiana, and now Ohio he was privy to my "getting ready for bed madness."

You see, when the college guys laid down in their beds and said, "Man, I'm tired and ready to sleep," Chad told them it was too early since I wasn't in the Cabin yet and they would have another 10 minutes of my apparently very discernible, repeated, and comical routine of talking to myself as I methodically undressed, emptied my pockets, put everything in a certain place, laid my next day's clothes out, and made preparations for having to get up in a moment's notice in the middle of the night. All of this according to Chad, while I talked my way through it. I could have been mad or perhaps embarrassed but the sad truth is, it's true!! Now I know why Barb asks almost every night, "Are you coming to bed?" I use to think that was a redundant question but with Chad's help I now know it's been a 28 year old plea for, "Would you hurry up so I can sleep!"

I'll end this post here because by my calculations now that I know I'm weird, I have to start getting ready for bed.

Upcoming Posts
"These Aren't Your Cabins"
"Hanging Out With CUMO and the Community Center"
"The Flaming Word"
"Beltless Non-Denomination"

Summer Catch-up

2009-08-12T02:47:00.000-07:00

With the start of school I asked my kids to share what they did on their summer vacation. Since I took a summer blog break - I'll share with those of you still reading and I'll pick up from my last blog before I went on "B.S." That would be "blog sabbatical" by the way.

As you saw in the last photo I posted, just a couple of days after "sleep deprivation week" better known as Bible Camp, we headed out to SoCal and Greg's. That was such a sweet week as we renewed our friendship with (http://gregengland.theobloggers.com/) Greg and Janice. Our son spent a lot of time with Greg's son, his wife, and their very young family. Our son who heads off to a Christian College soon, became enamoured with the young ones. In fact, he has a photo of the 2 year old on the dash of his car. He also put the twins picture on our desktop computer. My joy was increased seeing how he enjoyed the little ones.

We had a lot of fun with Greg and Jan while also developing an interesting phenomenon. It seemed that everything centered around the Mortuary. One day my son said, "Hey Dad, I need to meet Josh at the mortuary." In a milli-second he stopped his conversation, looked at me with a surprised look and said, "I never thought I'd use that word (mortuary) so casually."

So, if you ever make the trip out to SoCal to hang out with Greg and Jan, be prepared to spend lots of time at the "Mortuary" which by the way, has some great people working there performing ministry in a powerful way. O.K., there you have it. More to come.

Cry Out to Jesus

2009-08-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

So I'm back. I took an unannounced blog break this summer. My summer was full of fun, blessings, friends, mission, and pain. The first four were comprised of Bible Camp, hanging out with Greg in California, seeing my friends Bob and Shelby in South Carolina, and going on one of the best youth trips I've ever been on- doing a VBS for Pat Pugh's church in Cincinnati.

There was pain as well. On the personal side, I had my first visit to the Dermatologist. Most of it was good news with a return visit scheduled for late August to finish up a little "scraping and burning" as the nurse describe to me today.

Pain also involved a number of deaths with the last one being very tragic. The Third Day song, "Cry Out to Jesus" as been on my computer and in my mind. I'll leave with the lyrics and the hope that someone will be blessed in a time of pain. God bless.

To everyone who's lost someone they love
Long before it was their time
You feel like the days you had were not enough when you said goodbye
And to all of the people with burdens and pains
Keeping you back from your life
You believe that there's nothing and there is no one
Who can make it right

Chorus
There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
Love for the broken heart
There is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus, Cry out to Jesus

For the marriage that's struggling just to hang on
They lost all of their faith and love
They've done all they can to make it right again
Still it's not enough
For the ones who can't break the addictions and chains
You try to give up but you come back again
Just remember that you're not alone in your shame
And your suffering

Chorus

When your lonely (when you're lonely)
And it feels like the whole world is falling on you
You just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
To the widow who suffers from being alone
Wiping the tears from her eyes
For the children around the world without a home
Say a prayer tonight

Chorus

What Is It?

2009-06-18T16:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, its been a while. Since my last post we've had Bible Camp and are now here at Greg's in Temecula, CA. This week of Camp may have been one of our best! Pat Pugh was outstanding once again not to mention all the in between sessions of counseling he does with the teens. It was a week of growth and healing. It was also a week of Pat catching not one, but 3 sharks the Saturday after Camp. Now for the subject of today's post:

Steven and I had the pleasure of accompanying Greg on a one hour trip to San Diego in his beautiful Jetta. We later found ourselves in a Target Parking lot in which the following conversation occurred between my good friend and Co-Coordinator, the Puckster and myself courtesy of celluar technology:

Puck - What are you up to?

Me - I'm standing in a Target Parking lot in San Diego, guarding a "blank" that is sticking out of the back of Greg's Jetta.

Puck - Really?

Me - Yes, Greg is inside procuring some bungee cords to secure the "blank" whose size we underestimated.

Puck - Really - you two knuckleheads need to get a picture of that!

Hence - here is the picture - feel free to guess - and read the explanation at Greg's (http://gregengland.theobloggers.com/) blog.

Thursday - The "New" Lord's Day

2009-06-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

Ramping up for Bible Camp these last few days. Keep us in your prayers. Not part of my ramping up is cutting the grass at our Building with "the boys." It was my first time weed-whacking with the boys since last summer. Are you weird if you state that you've been "looking forward" to weed-whacking? I guess I'm weird because I love the mindless pursuit of those dastardly weeds and grass that can't be cut by a riding lawn mower.

As I've said in the past, "the boys" get together every Thursday to cut our church lawn. Thursdays always begin with breakfast at 07:30 hours but if you arrive at our local diner any later than 07:15 hours, the boys consider you late and open for abuse.

Today one of the "regulars" was missing. When our former Sargent Major of the Army asked our preacher where "so and so" was, Don told him he was working at a part-time painting job. With the most incredulous look on his face, Glenn said, "Doesn't that turkey realize that Thursdays are the Lord's Day?" :)

Of course, in this context "Thursday / grass cutting days" are something not to be missed even if you have a paying job. His comment broke up our table and it was a good way to start a "mindless" morning as I head in to a very mindful time of Bible Camp.

Angel Food Mixed Message

2009-05-30T10:58:00.001-07:00

My weekend started off at 4:30a.m. as today was our "Angel Food" pickup day. Me and a number of other wackos, I mean committed (who may need committing) Christians headed down to Eau Gallie for our 5:45a.m. pick up of our Angel Food orders. I love the camaraderie of hanging out with the fellas and the gals who seem to not lack for sleep.

As the Sun came up we noticed a guy driving out of the Church Parking lot with 2 bumper stickers. The one on the left side read, "I Love My Wife."

Now, in this day of "friends with privileges" / throw-away relationships you have to admire a guy who publicly says to the world, "I'm a committed husband who loves his wife." Only, he had another bumper sticker on the right side of his bumper that read, "Pray Without Ceasing."

Maybe that's the secret to a good marriage? Can't hurt. :)

A Failure to Communicate

2009-05-28T06:45:00.000-07:00

Many of you may remember the famous 60's film, "Cool Hand Luke." One of the most often quoted lines from the movie was spoken by the Warden towards Luke when he said, "What we've got here is a failure to communicate."

We had a guest at "breakfast with the boys" today. He was invited by the "head" of our "yard cutting crew," Glenn, who as I've said in the past was a former "Sargent Major of the Army," the highest ranking enlisted man in the Army. John told us how he served under Glenn initially during the Korean War. We asked John if he and Glenn were friends? He laughed and said, "No sir, I worked for the Sargent Major from a distance and I tried to keep it that way." This wasn't a slam on Glenn more than it was the old adage, "If I'm doing my job then the boss doesn't need to "notice" me to chew me out."

John told us years later his path crossed with Glenn at our local Air Force Base. John was wrapping up his military career by working in Base Operations. He said he was sitting at his desk when the former Sgt. Major of the Army walked in to his office. John said his desk moved about 2 feet as he rose and snapped to attention.

It seemed a certain Staff Sargent was giving Glenn a hard time about getting a base I.D. for retired personnel. John said he told Glenn, "Sgt. Major, what we have here is a failure to communicate." He then took Glenn to the Staff Sargent's Office and communicated to the gentleman who Glenn was and that a man who had served in the Korean and the Vietnam Wars, who was the Sgt. Major of the Army, and who is still called upon from time to time to consult at the Pentagon, should not have a problem getting a base I.D.!

Have you ever been on both ends of this problem? Have you had times (duh?) where you "failed to communicate" or could not be recognized for who you are? How about this for recognition- being recognized as "fellow citizens of God's people" and you won't need a base I.D. to prove it:

Eph. 2

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

2009-05-25T08:29:00.001-07:00

We have some great friends at church, Bret and Sharon. He is (as I've alluded to in the past) our Youth Deacon and unofficial "M.O.M" or in this case, "Minister of Mohawks." It was 3 or 4 years ago that Bret rewarded my son for helping him move a chicken coup with a Mohawk haircut.

Bret and Sharon have a regulation beach volleyball court in their yard. For almost a year now, there have been a group of us from church comprised of (as some say in the South) "add-dults," college, and high school kids that have met at their home on Sunday afternoons for fellowship, food, and beach volleyball. Their yard is truly a melting pot of generations as young kiddos come as well to play in their huge yard and swim in their pool. Those who do neither (volleyball or play) may be the most intelligent of our gaggle as they sit by the court and enjoy what appears to be a reasonable facsimile of beach volleyball.

Yours truly continues a tradition that has been part of my sports competitiveness since my younger days. I was always known for being the "dirtiest" player of the bunch and that doesn't refer to any comparison to former Detroit (anybody remember the "Bad Boy" teams) Piston, Bill Laimbeer. No, if the game is played on grass or in this case dirt, there would invariably be more of that material on my person than any other player on the field or in this case court.

In fact, one of Steven's good friends coined a phrase that is usually used when they're on the court with me, "E.D." Yes, usually when I step on the court Zack will usually mutter, "Hey, looks like we have "E.D." again." BTW - "E.D." stands for (sorry Randy if you're reading) "Elder Diving." How about that for a moniker?

I don't know how many "E.D.'s" I have left in this ever aging body but I do know this - when they end I'll still have fun just being with "the Body" on a Sunday afternoon, just as the early church enjoyed and looked forward to times of fellowship.

I hope you had a great day of fellowship with your church family even if you didn't get as dirty as I did.

"They Haven't Been Here!"

2009-05-22T10:48:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning after Game 2 - I knew it - its my fault through writing this post that Lebron hit Cleveland's version of "The Shot" win Game 2.

Being a old school "superstitious sports fan" I almost hesitate to post this but I'm typing with my toes crossed. The Orlando Magic gave the Cleveland Cavaliers their first playoff loss of this season in Game One of their Eastern Conference Series the other night. "King James" and the Cavs had swept their 2 previous series 4 games to zip with most of the games being blowouts.

Game 1 of the Magic series started off the same way with the Cavs well on their way to a blowout over the Magic. The Magic had just finished a 7 game series with the defending NBA Champions, Boston Celtics, winning the Series in Boston and making history. The Celtics had NEVER lost a Game 7 win leading a Series 3 games to 2 in 17 straight series. To say the Magic had been tested in the NBA's version of "war" would be an understatement and it prompted the title of today's post.

As the Magic were coming back on the Cavs in the decisive third quarter of Game 1, going on a 30 to 18 run, Cleveland called time out in an attempt to slow the Magic's momentum. In the Magic huddle, the Head Coach, Stan Van Gundy exhorted his players by saying, "Keep it up - they haven't been here and we have!" Van Gundy was reminding his team that they had been tested and inferred that the Cavs had not.

Is there a lesson for all of us in those words? Through his statement Van Gundy was reminding his players that they had been tested in their 3 losses and their 4 wins against Boston. You know the time between the loss of game 5 which put Boston up to an insurmountable / historic lead of 3 games to 2, and Game 6 in which the Magic won forcing a Game 7 in Boston, must have seemed like a million years for the Magic players. There was plenty of time to reflect on their 3 losses and for doubt to creep in, heck, even history was against them. But if you know the story, the Magic came back to win two straight games, Games 6 and 7.

Wait - can "losing" build strength and fortitude for the future? Can being behind in a game or life build perseverance for the future? Van Gundy believed it so and apparently his players did as well.

James had something to say about having "been there" when it comes to being tested. In James 1 he writes:

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Joy is not the first thing that comes to my mind in the middle of a trial and shame on me for not understanding that. Maybe I "haven't been there" yet or if I have, I need to call a timeout and remember.

Skillet Cheesecake

2009-05-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

The tickets had been bought for weeks. 15 of our high school and college kids were celebrating the beginning of summer by going to the Skillet Concert at the Northland Church in Orlando this past Friday. Barb and I along with 4 other adults drove our church bus from Cocoa to Orlando. The concert was sold out so the kids were unanimous about leaving as early as possible to get a "good seat." We pulled out of our parking lot at 4:30 and arrived in front of the huge Northland Church around 6pm. The kids were excited as we dropped them off and they were able to get near the front of the line. The tickets were "open seating" which should have been their first clue.

We drove 8 miles to the Cheesecake Factory Restaurant in Winter Park. If you've never been to a Cheesecake Factory Restaurant there's almost too much to talk about - the 20 something page menu, the variety, the ambiance, the huge portions, and the multiplicity of cheesecakes!

We had a great evening of a/c, good food, quiet and dark ambiance, and plenty to eat.
The teens, that was a different story - when the 7pm show ended at 10:30pm, they came out of the Northland Church drenched in sweat. Seems the A/C couldn't handle the overflow crowd of people and open seating meant no seating and 3 and a half hours of standing.

Yet, who do you think was more excited about their evening? The teens could not stop talking about how good (yes - there were girls in our group) the concert was as well as sharing the experience together. Do we lose something as we get older?

I know, some of you will say they're "young and dumb" but are they or do we get to a point in life where standing for 3 and a half hours, praising and sweating for God just loses its luster? I guess its why I like hanging out with our young people, of course, provided I can have my cheesecake.

Handle the Truth?

2009-05-14T18:38:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite movie scenes involves Tom Cruise (Lt. Daniel Kaffee) and Jack Nicholson (Col. Nathan Jessep) in the movie, "A Few Good Men." The scene in the military courtroom pits Kaffee, a Navy Lawyer trying to get this tough Marine Colonel to admit that he ordered a "code red" as part of a barbaric form of discipline that led to a Private's death.

Col. Nathan R. Jessep: You want answers?

Lt. Daniel Kaffee: I think I'm entitled.

Col. Nathan R. Jessep: You want answers?!

Lt. Daniel Kaffee: I want the truth!

Col. Nathan R. Jessep: You can't handle the truth!

A few years ago, a colleague had sent me an email during class asking for my opinion on a matter. When the bell rang signalling class change, this fellow teacher and I walked out of our rooms at the same time, made eye contact, and reenacted that scene in front of unsuspecting (aren't they always :) ) middle school students who thought two of their teachers had lost their minds.

Losing my mind is where I would go when I heard John 4 used to back up one's point by point doctrine or to point out that there was no allowance for deviation from that person's "sound" doctrine. Doctrine is the farthest thing from Jesus mind when he tells the Samaritan woman the following:

21Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will (emphasis mine) worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

The Hebrew concept of "truth" in this case has nothing to do with a point by point doctrine but rather something that I and many of us have trouble handling - being truthful to each other and to God. We tend to be able to discuss, debate, and mediate over points of doctrine at times but taking my mask off before my fellow brother and sisters in Christ, and doing that with God is tough to handle.

But to quote one of the ending lines from the 1970's version of the movie, "Brian's Song," where the narrator reminds us about Brian Piccolo's life, when we worship the Father in spirit and truth - oh how we'll start to live!

I'm so proud of a group of guys who have made it their passion to worship in spirit and truth. they meet every Tuesday night and as my good friend Pat Pugh would say - they "keep it real." It's not an "in your face" "real" but rather a come and join us for we're all "messed" up without the Messiah "real" and we want to start being truthful with Him and each other.

May God bless you with opportunities to "handle the truth."

Pepperdine 2

2009-05-14T02:57:00.001-07:00

When I was going through my pictures from the Pepperdine Lectures I discovered that all my pictures was taken off campus! Have I now entered the "Greg and Randy / That Tree Gave a Great Keynote" Zone?" :) Steve aka "the Puckster" at Paradise Cove. The restaurant in front of this dock is the old "Sand Castle"of the T.V. series "Rockford Files."

Same dock, different (and better looking?) guy (myself) at Paradise Cove.

Steve with his old friend that is now a good friend of mine, Mark Smith.

Myself, Steve, and a good friend from church, Tim standing in front of the hills that surround the Pepperdine Campus. The satisfied looks are courtesy of our meals at "Coogies."

God works in mysterious ways - Pat Pugh and myself at a Catholic Monastery near the Pepperdine Campus for try #2.

Mysterious because "men" worked so hard to keep Pat away from out kids, church, and Bible Camp. As most of you know Pat has been coming to our Bible Camp for 2 years now and will return for a 3rd time in a few weeks.

Try #2 as we were booted off the grounds the previous afternoon by a man with a dog larger than Greg's Cujo, I mean Chipper. It seems the folks there really believe that 6pm means, (as John Candy said in the first "Vacation Movie.") "Sorry folks, the park is closed."

Pepperdine - 1 - "Stumping with the Stumpsters"

2009-05-12T17:10:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe this time last week I was on the other coast at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures. There were many highlights of last week from hanging out with the Puckster, Pat Pugh, Mark Smith, and a good friend from our church, Tim Bryant. Rick Atchley's class with his Ast. Minister on ministering to "post-moderns" was outstanding. Rick's classes over the years have usually been the most useful as to things that I can bring home and use.

But the best class without a doubt was Josh (http://www.stumpedblog.blogspot.com/) Stump's class on writing, recording, and singing your own music at church. Josh has a humble spirit that puts one at ease and his wife Tanya is a sweetie. Its somewhat weird when you meet a blog buddy for the first time. You know them but you don't yet, we hugged as if we were old friends.

Josh was joined by as he called them, "Good friends who happen to be talented." They formed his impromptu Praise Team as he introduced some of the music that he had written for his church. Through Josh's presentation you could get a sense of the goodness that was his Dad. I was moved, entertained, and blessed throughout his class.

Josh and Tanya - great folks.

Now for some obligatory pictures:

From left to right as if you need to know - Tanya, Josh, and me. Looks like we were popular in that hall-way. Its probably my legs. :)

A closeup. I liked what Josh said as he introduced his wife, "The woman in the "coat of many colors" is my wife, Tanya." I just love folks with a great sense of humor. If you ever (including myself) get a chance to visit Portland, Oregon, you need to check them out at their home church.

At Greg's

2009-05-07T22:22:00.000-07:00

This is the first installment of pictures on our Pepperdine trip. These were taken at Greg's.

Brady - I told your Dad and Mom "hello from son" in the Fieldhouse after the Keynote Address a few hours ago. They were very appreciative and Lee was easy to spot with his Cowboy hat.

Greg's wife, Jan, and I at the Chorus Church.

A group shot of (left to right) Jan, Greg, me, and Steve aka "The Puckster.

One of the several wineries we visited in the Temecula Valley just a few miles from Greg's.

2 generations of "Stoogelovers" unless you count the psycho-puppy lounging by Greg's pool

Here are we at the San Diego Padres' PETCO field. No, the food did not taste like "dog food." :)

The view from our seats down the first base side.

2009-05-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

The “Spectrum” includes a blurb about being out here with Greg and Jan in Temecula.

First – Grandbabies are cute as advertised by Greg. My hat and anything else I can take off in good taste is off to Heather, Josh, and the Grandparents on both sides for helping with such a momentous task – taking care of 3 kiddos under the age of 2.

Second – It has been so good to be with Greg and Jan again. We’ve walked under the stars, sat (with clothes on) in the Jacuzzi, and visited wine country.

Third – Traveling doesn’t get much better than traveling with my good friend, Steve, aka – the Puckster.

Even though I wasn’t at my home church yesterday I must share this with you. My wife who I miss “bunches” as well as my fellow elder, Javier, relayed the “spectrum of faith” that was displayed at our church yesterday.

Sunday School was taught by one of our dear ladies who has written a book on parenting. Her testimony alone would make a good sermon series – growing up in an abusive home, sent to an orphanage, almost being killed by her ex-husband which left her legally blind, and then becoming a counselor.

The sermon was delivered by one of Steven’s good friends, Zack – 18 years old. From all accounts it was powerful.

Our communion comments were brought by one of our “older men.” He is a pillar of faith and passion for the Lord. He mentors many of our young men as he battles cancer.

Steven and our worship minister, Mike, sang a duet during communion that Barb said brought tears to her eyes.

I was blown away by the spectrum of people, male and female, young and old that led our people in praising and learning about God.

I love it out here.

I can’t wait for Pepperdine.

I can’t wait to get home.

The Spectrum.

Where Were You In 1992?

2009-04-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

The year was 1992. Here are some 1992 facts:

My son was 2 years old.

For you Tide fans:
NCAA Football Champion - Alabama 13-0

NBA Champions - Jordan's Chicago Bulls defeat the Portland Trailblazers 4 games to 2

Top 5 Movies:
1. Home Alone 2. Batman Returns 3. Lethal Weapon 4. Sister Act 5. Aladdin

Most Popular T.V. Shows:
1. 60 Minutes (CBS) 2. Roseanne (ABC) 3. Home Improvement (ABC) 4. Murphy Brown (CBS)5. Murder, She Wrote (CBS)

O.K. - Why the 1992 love affair? 1992 was the first year I attended the Pepperdine Bible Lectures. I kept that streak running for 16 straight years until last year when my son graduated from High School (Mama thought I should be home for that) and we planned a trip with our Youth Group to go on the Wilderness (http://www.wildernesstrek.org/) Trek in Colorado.

My first Pepperdine Lecture gave me a sense of identity as to our larger fellowship. I did not grow up in the Churches of Christ and so I was largely unaware of our Christian Institutions. I remember standing outside of the Smother's Theater one night as a crowd was coming out of an evening worship service. The night was cool and the sky was clear. I remember thinking, "So this is who I am."

As good as that experience was I was also in need of healing and inspiration. Greg had left our church to go to "the Beach." Our church took a turn into traditionalism that ended up introducing me to the parts of our heritage that I reject. Its the parts that has taught some of our people that we're the only ones going to Heaven, you must do worship in this manner and in these steps or you'll bust Hell wide open, and to use any means, no matter how despicable to eliminate, banish, and squash anything or anyone that falls outside these norms. I was dying spiritually but I wanted to continue with my walk. Each year Pepperdine gave me hope in the glimpses that it would give me of the best of our Fellowship. I owe and my family owes a huge debt of gratitude to Jerry Rushford.

Fast forward to 2009. My son is completing his freshman year of college. The church I attend has the kind of inspiring worship that in the past was just a dream. We claim the best our Fellowship has to offer while trying to be an autonomous / non-denominational group of known sinners who have been made holy by the blood of Jesus Christ. We like to say that our church is on a journey. Boy, that's an understatement! :)

But since 1992 I have been on a journey and on Saturday I will make another journey west. I won't be alone as I'll be travelling with my good friend, Steve (aka "the Puckster") Puckett. I will renew my "every-day friendship" with Greg, Janice, and Josh. Of course Josh will be a bit busy now that he is married to Heather, running a business, and has 3 kids under 2! Jessica will be unable to see us this time but she will be there in the sweet spirit that she possesses. I will miss seeing my good friends at my "western church home," the Long Beach Church but I look forward to going to Greg's new church.

Finally, this will be my first Pepperdine Lecture where the evening worship will not be at the top of my list of things to do. It seems that things at my home church really connect with me. Oh, I'll go to some of them but I might try to find that tree that Greg and Randy used as their "Lectureship Central." :)

Out of Step?

2009-04-29T07:09:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about our recent belligerent guest. I went back in my mind thinking about my personal and 2nd party experiences along these lines. I discovered an interesting correlation.

Disgruntled / Rude Visitors:

People Claiming to be Members of a Church of Christ - 100%

People Not Affiliated with a Church of Christ - 0%

I pray that when our folks visit your churches they're nice. If they're not, let me know. :)

And the Answer Is .....

2009-04-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

Good morning,

I actually typed, posted, and then withdrew this post yesterday and then two things occurred that prompted me to re-post this post.

The first was a call from one of our members. He was in full agreement with me about this past Sunday at our church - powerful! Our Worship Minister filled in for Don who is on vacation. He delivered a powerful sermon on "doubt." Because he preached our worship was all acapella. I love that part of our Church of Christ heritage and I know I'm being a bit partial when I say that I think we "do it" to a high degree of enthusiasm and energy. There are so many things to be, I'll say it, proud of our American Restoration heritage. Then there are other things -

(Judy, if you're reading you might want to skip to the next paragraph due to your love of cats.) On the way to work this morning I witnessed depending on your perspective - something amazing and, or quite vicious. I take a country back-road on the drive to work that is mostly woods and horse farms. As I was driving I saw a bald-eagle, seemingly larger than my car, swoop down and gather up a cat in its claws and carry it off. I'm sure the cat had no idea what hit him.

I think that's how this member felt after being confronted by a visitor from out of State. He had greeted this gentleman before services and ended up sitting in the pew in front of him. When our service ended, he asked this visitor what he thought. Like that eagle, this visitor proceeded to launch into an attack on our worship minister, our church, and our service. He said we should take the name "Church of Christ" off the sign. You're probably thinking what I am, what would he have said if we had our usual "blended service?" This is the part of our "heritage" that disgusts me. I cannot ever imagine any situation where upon visiting a church and attending one of its services, that I would feel compelled enough to tell one of its members what this guest did. I might think it but never would I feel I had the right to do what this gentleman did.

To our member's credit and also being caught off guard by this guest's tone, he wished him a blessed day and invited him to come back again. Sounds like something Jesus would have done.

Here's my question - How would you have replied? If you were on your game and not completely caught off guard, how would you answer? Have you been in this situation before?

I am convinced of one thing - we must be doing something right. It seems Jesus elicited those types of responses from the religious "know it alls" of his day.

Beauty and the Beast

2009-04-24T08:56:00.000-07:00

I know most of us live in places that in relatively short periods of time, we can be amidst God's Creation. Still, it always amazes me when I can leave work, drive about 20 minutes, and stand on a beach in the shadow of our Nation's Space Center, and fish. Yesterday was one of those days. The sky was clear, the breeze coming off the ocean was cool, and there I was with 2 good friends from church fishing for what ever lurks in the water. I did have some success. Here is a picture.Any one buying that? O.K., so we didn't have a crane! :) Actually, a more accurate picture would be this one:

He was about 3 feet long "bonnethead shark" and for some reason wasn't too happy when we brought him on shore. My buddies were more than happy to help me dislodge the hook from his mouth and then "throw" him back into the ocean. It will be a time and day that I won't soon forget.

Do you think Jesus had days like that were everything seem to be "in the zone?" You know, great weather, doing something fun and mostly relaxing, and good friends to share it with. I'd like to think that he had a high need for fun. He certainly stood out at wedding parties and even funerals. You didn't invite Jesus to a funeral if you wanted everything to be copacetic.

There you go - your marching orders for the weekend. Be like Jesus and have an "un-copacetic weekend.

Don't Give Up The Baseline

2009-04-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

In my 28 years of "touching (code for teaching Middle School) the future" I have noticed a phenomenon that occurs this time of year in my students. Usually right after their return from Spring Break they will start to engage in behaviors or practices that were prevalent back in August or September. Being the seasoned educator that I am, I always attempt to stop or modify these behaviors and as with most years, I've usually accomplished this with some level of success.

But then the little darlings go home for a week for a much deserved break. Upon their return it sometimes seems like we're starting over again with some of the things they say or do. Then I will usually make this speech, "Class (or dirt bags if you prefer :) ), you are now regressing instead of progressing and that is something that to be honest, is irritating." Of course, that statement in of itself is buffoonery since Middle School students enter a stage in life when sometimes their very existence is meant to be irritating but I digress.

As a coach "regressing instead of progressing" was a pet peeve of mind. In basketball my preference was always to play man to man defense. As vigilant as I am about my Algebra students showing their work I was just as vigilant about players not "giving up the baseline" to an offensive player. I tried to teach my players to use the baseline as a"second defender" and to force their man into the middle if need be where supposedly our players on the weakside would make the adjustment and give help. We would work and work on that in practice and yet halfway through the season I would have kids who would act as the "Welcome Wagon" for an opposing guard driving the baseline for an easy lay-up.

Have you been there - regressing or doing things you know you shouldn't or should do after having a period of success? Been there, done that, and bought the t-shirt. Apparently so did Paul. Look at Romans 7:14 - 20

14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

I know when I do something or not do something that is out of character for the son of Cecil Sr. and Jean, a college graduate, a father, an elder, and most importantly, a Christian I feel like dirt. So did Paul if you look at the first part of verse 24:

24What a wretched man I am!

But then there is the end of Romans 7 and the blessed start of Romans 8:

24..... - 25 Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! 1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

That was on my heart this morning. Have a blessed day.

Pledge?? Part Answer

2009-04-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

Good morning, good morning.

Are you (all 5 of you) ready for the answer to yesterday's blog? Why would one such as myself being some what of a "Renaissance man," have need of purchasing a can of "Pledge?" Before we get to that here (I feel like Ryan on American Idol) are your answers:

Greg: Knowing my penchant for golf Greg said, "Polishing up the drivers in my golf bag." With today being Earth Day Greg also expressed a concern for the misuse of my Pledge and the effect it would have on the environment / our drain field at home.

Donna: Donna had the shortest but succinct answer when she said, "Polishing up a pew." There are many ways to serve in the Lord's Army.

Phil: Phil was the first of our missionary friends to answer and despite his proximity to the International Date Line, he had the most practical answer since I'm doing next week's Wednesday devotion at our church when he said, "I'm guessing it's a illustration for a Wednesday devotional."

Brady: Our missionary friend from the other side of the world seem to read between the lines when he said, "Brain a bit dusty?" Brady also said, "Going to eat some fish, need some lemon," and " I don't have a clue..."

Judy: Judy went to the answer that I'm sure my wife was wishing for when she said, "You were going to help her with the housework?" Her other answers would have been helpful as well:

You're going to polish your shoes?

Use it to kill ants?

So thanks for playing but now its time for the answer. Here's the visual:How do you like the time lapse picture of me working out? Not buying that? I don't blame you. Here is the answer - I've been working out with our P.E. Teachers at school in the mornings. This is our latest play toy, a "slide board." The "Pledge" is to keep the board shiny and slick as you perform your best imitation of a speed skater. So there you have it, impressed?

Pledge??

2009-04-21T06:27:00.001-07:00

Monday took a little twist from its usual routine of work, run, Weight Watcher's Meeting, and the obligatory celebratory meal there after. On the way home from our meal of blackened mahi-mahi my lovely wife asked me if I needed anything from Wal-Mart? My response, "Oh yes my sugar plum, I need some "Pledge cleaner."

You would have thought the bald spot on top of my head had instantaneously filled back in to it's 1980's thickness by the way she looked at me. I could see the wheels spinning as it does in most marriages when such responses are offered to what seems like a very innocent question.

1. What could he possibly want with "Pledge?"
2. Do I dare ask?

That's where I'll leave it with you, the home viewer. Any takers? Why do you think I needed to purchase Pledge? Remember, I'm "fragile" ( :) ) so be kind.

The answer tomorrow.

You're On My List

2009-04-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

I’m sure many of you remember John Wooden, the fabled “Wizard of Westwood” who’s UCLA Basketball Teams won 10 national championship, including seven in a row from 1966-73. His teams set an NCAA record of consecutive wins (88) over a span of four seasons. He is the only coach to have four 30-0 seasons. And during his time at UCLA, his teams were 149-2 at Pauley Pavilion. Those numbers in all likelihood will never be duplicated again.

During this unprecedented run, Coach Wooden was once asked if he had a secret or method to scouting opponents. His answer was fairly succinct. He said, “We don’t worry about what the other team is doing. We work on what we’re going to do in a game and let our opponents worry about us.” This quote came to mind when I was thinking about our subject today.

Recently it came to my attention that our church had been listed on a list that someone had posted on the internet with respect to fellow Churches of Christ not doing things exactly as this particular brother believes things should be done. I suppose his intended purpose was to embarrass those on his list as well as warn others to tow the line or they’re church could end up on his list.

I'd like to be like Coach Wooden in this regard. We will pray, teach, plan, and coach our body of believers that comprise our “team” and not worry about the opposition. It seems they are doing enough of it for all of us. I will say this as I’ve tried to say in the past, our church nor any of the others on that “List” are perfect nor are they any kind of model to be emulated. I suppose they are full of flawed, known sinners who by the grace of Jesus Christ are on the only list that matters, the one you’ll find in the “Lamb’s Book of Life.” So we’ll continue to be a non-denominational Church of Christ.

One final comment about “the list” – As I heard a brother once say, “Jesus didn’t get nailed to two boards by playing is safe.” I’d say that would include “lists” as well.
God bless.

Real Men Love Jesus

2009-04-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

This was relayed to me last night by our Preacher who I think won't mind if I relay it to you, the "home viewer." Besides, I can fire him, right? That's a little "elder humor."

Any way, our minister, youth guy, and our worship minister were having breakfast at one of our favorite diners. Don said for an hour and a half they discussed how to move our members closer to being transformed by Christ in their lives. Don said near the end of their conversation, a mother and her adult daughter got up from their table and started to leave.

The mother stopped by their table and introduced herself. She then with tears in her eyes told our guys what a blessing it was to listen to "men" discuss Jesus with boldness and passion. Her daughter made the same comment.

Pardon me if I throw in some "Klingon Theology." One of my favorite characters of the T.V. show, "Star Trek the Next Generation" was "Warf." He was a Klingon Warrior now working for the good guys. In one episode Warf is trying to be persuaded by a fellow Klingon to return to his "warrior ways" which include killing indiscriminately for the "glory of the Empire."

In the end scene Warf rejects his plea and tells him that for the Warrior, the real battle is within ourselves and that words like "duty" and "honor" mean more to the Warrior than killing.

Does that sound familiar? How about Paul's instructions to his young warrior in the Faith, Timothy, in First Timothy, Chapter 4:

7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

Christians - Successful or Faithful?

2009-04-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

I just watched an interview with Dr. James Dobson on "Hannity Live." Hannity asked Dr. Dobson for his opinion concerning President Obama's liberal legislation concerning abortion. Dr. Dobson responded by saying that a great deal of the work that "Focus on the Family" had done in attempting to limit the availability of abortion was being destroyed by this legislation. Hannity asked Dr. Dobson how he felt about the situation and Dr. Dobson responded with this:

"As a Christian we're not called to be successful, we're called to be faithful."

I don't know if that is an original saying for Dr. Dobson but nevertheless, I was struck by it's meaning. In looking at my own personal journey with respect to where our church is today, for most of that time I felt very unsuccessful but I tried to be faithful. There were times when I wanted to give up and I doubted that I any influence what so ever.

I still have those feelings at times when it comes with trying to minister to folks but I was encouraged by what Dr. Dobson said. I hope you are too.

God bless.

Middle School Hell

2009-04-14T10:13:00.000-07:00

There is a debate about Hell which I guess would make that debate one #%*!! of a debate. Is the "fire that consumes" one of "ever lasting damnation" or as some such as Ed Fudge propose, a once and forever "whoosh" and your soul is "dead" forever? As Ed Fudge said in his class at Pepperdine, which ever belief is correct still means a very, very bad end for those not in Christ.

What is your "version of Hell?" Mine happened today in a "Middle School" kind of way. My 2nd Period class was about to end bringing up my planning period. With 5 minutes to go we were told over the intercom that 2nd Period was being held due to a line of storms that were passing through our area. No sooner did the announcement occur than the power went off and it stayed off for 2 hours.

I know, there are some of you out there who will think, and, or write, "toughen up big boy" and maybe I need to do so. But 2 hours with the same group of kids with no power - oll vey!

What is your version of Hell?

"Spring the Blog Break"

2009-04-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

It looks like my Spring Break turned in to a blog break as well. We had a full week with work and play. We took time to get our pool and patio back in shape. With my solar heat turned on, a brand new solar blanket for the pool, our pool temperature is now in the low 90’s. Any body for a swim?

My friend of over 40 years came down with his son from South Carolina. We ended up playing 27 holes of golf and with the help of 2 good friends at church; we got in a round of surf fishing on the Kennedy Space Center beach. We caught a few blues which we used for bait, hooked in to a couple of sharks but were unable to land them, and we brought in one huge sting ray.

We took one day out to visit the campus of Palm (http://www.pba.edu/) Beach Atlantic University, a non-denominational Christian College that Steven and 2 of his friends are considering attending in the Fall. PBA is a beautiful campus on the inter-coastal waterway in Palm Beach.

Perhaps the highlight of the week (other than all of you, friend and foe missing me) was a late night that went to 1:30 in the morning. Two very passionate about their faith young men, asked if they could sit down with me and study a subject that those of our tribe tend either to avoid or quickly shut down – healing. We sat in our living-room with open Bibles and discussed this subject and others as well. I was reminded of two verses in 2nd Timothy:

2nd Timothy 2:22 - Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

2nd Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that all God's people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

May we all pursue Scripture with the passion of youth.

Sore, Sore, Sore

2009-04-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I have "Bugs Bunny" in my mind yelling as he did so often in some of his classic cartoons, "You'll be sorry!" My wife has a version of Bugs that she like to say, "Remember, you're not in your 20's anymore." For a while I felt like I was.

We had our church picnic at KARS Park this past Saturday. KARS is located across the Banana River Lagoon from the Space Center. KARS has a huge campground, athletic fields, pavilions, tennis courts, basketball courts, and boat ramps. Any employee of the Space Center can rent the park for activities such as our church picnic.

So, this 50-year old Weight Watcher took advantage of my weight loss / conditioning to enjoy some basketball, softball, and as you folks (Brady http://evendays.org/) across "the Pond" like to call it, "Football." My fellow elder from Venezuela shook my hand after our game and said, "Now you play a man's sport." I will say this, I will never complain about running 6 (and especially when I consider Trey http://www.treymorgan.net/ running a marathon) miles again. I kept waiting for our team to huddle up, call time out, or throw the blasted ball back to the Pitcher but no, all we did was just keep running!

Yesterday we got together at our Youth Deacon's home for several games of beach volleyball. I'd like to tell you about those games but I can't remember them. You see, I didn't wake up until 9am this morning! Lets just say I slept like an over sized baby.

So, what did you do this weekend and can you still walk?
Have a blessed day.
I will.
We're on Spring Break!!!!!!!!!!!

How He Loves

2009-04-03T08:31:00.000-07:00

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

"How He Loves" has become my song of choice when I crank things up in my class in the morning before school. My favorite version of it is sung by Kim Walker. When "The Pulse" performed this song at our first "C-4 Concert," Steven's back-up vocals really came through loud and clear. I love the lyrics:

"He is jealous for me - loves like a hurricane - I am a tree."
It communicates to me how God always makes the first move to us. He moves towards us with the amount of passion generated by the emotion of jealousy in the form of a hurricane. I think that sometimes in the "act of doing church," we forget about a loving, jealous God who desires a relationship with us. "Us" despite the fact that He and each of us individually know only too well our faults and the sin that should otherwise keep us separated from God.

Remember this my friends as you go into the weekend, He is jealous for you and me. Rejoice and take heart.

"Ah, Bach!"

2009-04-02T10:11:00.000-07:00

In one of my favorite episodes of the T.V. series, "M.A.S.H.," Radar comes down with a crush on one of the nurses who happens to be from a classical background. As was his mode of operation, Radar goes to Hawkeye and Trapper to ask for advice. One part of the advice they give Radar is to utter the phrase, "Ah, Bach," if she were to confront him with something (which would have been all of it) from the classical world he was unfamiliar with. I still use the phrase today with close friends at church or at school when someone presents something that seems to be a bit out there or is too good to be true.

For the past few days, I've been playing classical music (Bach's "Prelude," "Sarabande" to name a few) when my students have been working. Today they are taking a test with Mr. Bach in the background. There is some educational research that states some classical music (no Greg, not Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" :) ) will put the brain in a certain wave that is condusive to learning.

At first my "Hip-Hop / Gangster Rap / Country Music" students laughed and made fun of "Mr. Walker's music." However, as each class progressed, there were less objections and almost to a student, each one was on task. Today when my students entered my room to take a test before Spring Break, they all asked for "the music."

Hey, maybe that's why some of our CofC church fights have been so ugly in the past. We should have been playing Bach when our members entered our Auditoriums. Just imagine, if one of our preachers during a sermon stated its O.K. to clap during worship, before the first you can't do that / Noah built the Ark out of Gopher wood / the strange fire of Nadab and Abihu arguments could come out, someone would stand, put their index finger on the side of their face, and in the grandest tradition of Radar O'Reilly say, "Ah, Bach!"

When You Know Its Coming

2009-04-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

For some reason today reminded me of a whitewater raft trip we took down the New River in West Virginia when Steven was in 7th Grade. We were "fortunate" to have a "part-time" guide due to the size of our group. She took us into a rapid called "Surprise" in a path that no other raft in our party took. Just before we started she uttered these immortal words, "There's our video photographer - this will look great on the video!"

My good friend Bret and I were in the front of the raft being the heaviest and only adults on board besides are dim-witted rookie guide. As we started down this hole it becomes apparent that we now must navigate up the hole and over this huge wave. I remember having 2 thoughts:

1. This reminds me of the scene from the movie, "The Perfect Storm."
2. We're not going to make it.

As the wave broke over us I tried to do a duck dive into it but instead of going forward, me, the raft, and everyone inside it were catapulted backwards. The point, I knew it was coming but it didn't help.

Sidebar - To add insult to injury, the video photographer ended up being another Raft Company's employee and after all of that - we didn't make the video!

April 1 / (Fools) always bring the anticipation of pranks. You know its coming and in most cases you're not fooled. However there have been times when I knew it was coming and was had any way. A very good friend and fellow blogger has been (including his sweet wife) the author of most of those times. To be fair I've done a little "had-ding" of my own but we won't go into detail to protect the "innocent."

So, I hope you were able to avoid to being had and perhaps did a little "had-ding" of your own.

The Spectrum

2009-03-31T03:04:00.000-07:00

Whats the one thing that can happen to you on the way to work that can absolutely ruin your day? I'll throw out some possible answers while you engage in this cognitive exercise.

1. Krispy Kreme runs out of doughnuts.
2. You decide to take a shortcut to work that turns out to be a log jam of traffic.
Here's one for the "sickness boys" -
3. As you're driving by the local Guitar Center you see a "Going Out Of Business" sign on their front door which begs the question -
Will there be a "GC" in the "Eschaton?" :)

Although all of the above would cause one (or most of us) to start one's day off in a negative fashion, they were not part of my morning reality. However, if you guessed (insert Rizzo's voice from the T.V. show "M.A.S.H.") "Ve-hick-le accident," then you chose wisely. Yes, I was sitting in line at a traffic light when I felt as Keith (http://kdavis777.wordpress.com/) describe in his latest post, a "disturbance in the Force." In this case it was a lady bumping me in the rear with her 88 Olds Royale which desperately needed a brake job.

When I got out of my car I did restrain my "Restoration instinct" in me that wanted to tell her the only way she would be going to Heaven would be if she got "re-baptized" to cover such an egregious sin. To her credit (which I hope is good) she immediately got out of her car with her insurance card in her hand, apologizing for her faulty brakes. My damage will most likely be less than my deductible.

We exchanged information and I asked her if she was O.K.? I then did a commercial for an auto mechanic that attends our church. I gave her his name and phone number and told her she really needed to get her brakes fixed before something serious happened. I told her to let him know she had hit me, to use my name, and ask for the same discount he usually (I hope) gives me. We parted ways and I arrived at work in less than a happy mood.

Later that day I received a phone call from the guy who announces baseball games with me at our local high school. Since Steven graduated he has been doing most of the games. He called to ask if I could do that night's game. I really didn't want to do the game since I had my running clothes with me and I was all set to do my 5 mile run on the way to our Weight Watchers meeting and then enjoy a meal out with my WW crowd. I agreed to do the game and wondered afterwards what else was going to happen to me to keep the car wreck karma going.

I did enjoy seeing everyone again at the ball field and watching the team narrowly win 12 to 11. As I was closing up the Press Box after the game, one of the opposing player's (kid went 5 for 5 with two HR's) mother walked in to talk to me. She told me her son was a senior and this would be their last (I know the feeling) visit to our field. She said she always appreciated how I announced the game, gave out statistics, and gave praise to the play of players from both teams. She gave me a hug and I walked away with a tear in my eye and recognizing like most of you, one day's experiences can certainly run the spectrum of bad to good but its all to the glory of God.

Have a blessed day.

A few more Pics

2009-03-30T10:57:00.001-07:00

Is it Venice? No - its beautiful downtown West Cocoa following T.S. Fay's 20 plus inches of rain. Our house is the blue one of the left.

This is me in the middle of our river, I mean street. Anybody buying that? Actually this is my son which I'm sure most of you had that figured out. I was going to say, "Hey, isn't Weight Watcher's amazing!

2 lazy cats - Cloe on the left and Buddy on the right.

This is the master of the house. No, not Buddy, me - the 2 legged animal. If you'll look (well, maybe not) real close I have a death grip on the T.V. Remote in my left hand.

Now - for all of you folks who think cats will not be in Heaven, how about that mug? This is Buddy in our Christmas Tree Box. What do you think, does he have a chance?

Attractive Blog / Warm and Inviting / Pics Update

2009-03-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

Trey Morgan (http://www.treymorgan.net/) recently asked folks to comment on what attracts them to a particular blog. Its a great question and it received many responses. Most folks stated something about blogs being attractive to them if it was "visually appealing." That probably leaves me out. I was the guy in College that died a 1000 deaths when the Professor stated something along the lines of "all projects need to be creative." I think I can get creative occasionally with what I write or say but making something visually attractive just isn't me. Heck, you should see me every Sunday afternoon after a few games of Beach Volleyball. Not only am I the oldest guy playing but I'm probably the dirtiest when all is said and done.

Be that as it may, I will make an attempt to make today's post as my wife would say, "Warm and inviting." Here are some pictures that have been in my camera for a while. May you feel warm and invited.

Another shot of Steven at the Pulse's first C-4 service.The church worshipping with the Pulse. That's our worship guy, Mike, in the front.

This might have been during the singing of "Let God Arise." Steven was really in the moment, worshipping God. Closeup of Steven.How about a pre-concert shot courtesy our our Game Room on top of our pool table. Yes Greg, that is his new guitar. Does the boy have the "sickness" or what? :) Is this the effect of instrumental music on people? They turn into cats who are completely satisfied. :) Actually, these are (this is for you Judy http://meowmix.org/) our cats, Cloe on the left and the alpha "thinks he is a dog) cat, Buddy.

These are pictures that we're in my camera from Christmas when "Hurricane Chuck," a good friend at church, took Steven, me, Bob (from Gilbert S.C. Philip http://www.themurphylife.com/), and his son Nathen fishing on the Space Center Beach. Steven with a nice Red and Bob flashing the "hey, I'm a rabbit" sign. :)

Bob in front of the Atlas Launch Tower. Steven and his South Carolina cousin, Nathen.
Some of the 40 something teens, college kids, and adults that crashed in our living room floor for our annual showing of the movie, "Christmas Vacation."

Here is the author of this madness. I took this one myself - does it look like it? :) I hope you feel warm and invited - have a good one.

Wow! The Pulse at C-4

2009-03-24T05:18:00.001-07:00

Wow - I don't know where to start without drying my eyes when I think about "The Pulse's" debut this past Saturday night at our church. No, my eyes are not watering due to the fog / smoke in the picture. :) BTW - Steven is in the white shirt playing bass and singing backup.

My tears are tears of joy and thanksgiving. When I was introduced to the fledgling world of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) in the early 80's, it touched my soul. It gave me a way to worship God in song in the music that reached me. I often dreamed about a day where I would be at a church that would allow, encourage, and promote CCM as an event in it's confines. Of course chances of that happening at a Church of Christ seemed remote.

I remember going to the first "Night of Joy" held at Disney World. It was the early 80's and the Park was being closed and then reopened for a night of CCM. Amy Grant was one of the performers. We were driving to Disney when I made one of my famous predictions. I said, "The place will be empty. How many people are going to go to Disney World to listen to Christian Music?" You know, God must get a real kick out of me because that first night was sold out!!! Shoulder to shoulder, Christians from churches across Florida were worshiping over and over again! As I sit here listening to "How He Loves" I'm still amazed.

Can I digress on my blog for a moment - this seems to be a recurrent theme with me. Something I think is impossible God must look at, smile at me, maybe even laugh, and then know that He is working out His Plan in His timing. I could go on and I have in the past.

Our timing with scheduling C-4 wasn't very good as we realized later in the week that Cocoa was holding an event in it's downtown park by the river called "Praise-Fest." It went on all day Saturday with activities for the family and numerous local CCM Bands playing throughout the day. Nevertheless we had about 100 people show up for our first C-4 Service.

Steven's Elementary School Music Teacher came to hear the band. She is also a worship leader at a local church. She had attended Praise-Fest earlier that day having heard several CCM Bands. After the concert she told us "the Pulse" was better than anything she had heard that day.

One of our former members who has been in a CCM Band for years told our worship guy that Steven's backup vocals with his harmonizing in his opinion were outstanding. It was good to hear some praise for the boy after the tough year he has had.

Even better was seeing how all of these guys were engaged in worship to THE God of Creation as they engaged. They had put in hours and hours in an act that can only be described as a gift to our church and to our community in the name of Jesus! I tell you family I'll take being "voted off the island" any day of the week to see and experience what the Pulse brought us into Saturday night.

I cannot thank enough our worship leader and the lead singer of the Pulse, Mike for all that he does. He is very demanding but he loves our church and the kids of the Pulse. Kudos have to go to the other members of the band - Craig on guitar, his brother Trevor (who suffered a baseball career ending knee injury that he is recovering from) on drums, Vaughn on keyboards, Matthew on lead guitar - that boy has the quickest hands, and Steven who played bass and sang backup vocals. Mike's wife, Teeva also sang on a few songs and did an outstanding job.

Only God knows what's next for our church and the Pulse. It was good to be there at the start.

"The Pulse" at "C4"

2009-03-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, our church has been on an interesting journey. That journey hasn't been without some lows which I have chronicled in the past. But as low as some of those lows have been the "highs" have been above and beyond anything I could have imagined or had been praying for with respect to a "Church of Christ" in Central Florida. I do not say that by the way to hold us up as some model to emulate or strive for, for our individual churches' journeys will be as they were in the First Century - flawed attempts to be the "Bride of Christ." I say flawed because of the evidence of Paul's corrective Epistles to churches to as he told the Ephesians, to get both feet back into Christ. Sometimes those folks as we do at times, were hanging on by one toe.

One of best "highs" we've experienced has been the freedom to allow those that are talented musically, to use those talents for the glory of God. I have spoken about the folks on our Praise Team and our Praise Band in the past. They put in countless hours of prayer, practice, and patience as they strive to do something that is so, so subjective. That is to worship themselves as they facilitate worship for the rest of us, to do it with excellence, and to do it so that it doesn't look self-serving or as we tend to say in our fellowship, "entertainment."

Sidebar - I must confess to you that I struggle with the "entertainment" label. If I take it to the "preaching arena," how do you determine if you think you need to, when "really good preaching" that is engaging, moving, and even funny at times, crosses some line into "entertainment?" I'll confess (looks like I've been listening to too much "Catholic Radio" :) )to you that I might not be the best guy to throw out the (this is for you Randy http://www.randywray.com/ :) ) "e-word" on someone or something. My default program tends to go to appreciation first when it comes to folks who put in hours at church either teaching, preaching, singing, or in our case now, playing. That's not to say I'm naive enough to not know there are times when you need to throw in a "positive sandwich" such as:

"I sure appreciate the way you played your guitar this morning.
You know I think you might want to tell the sound guy to turn your volume down just a bit.
Thank you for all that you're doing for our church."

How was that? That was one long sidebar!

A part of this special group of folks came up with a dream to have a Saturday Night Praise Service at our church. This would be tailored towards those of us (of which I are one) who like Contemporary Christian Music from "Mercy Me" to "Skillet." This is a dream in more ways than one.

As some of you know, my son did not make our local Community College Baseball Team. A part of his life that was so much him and to some degree us, has stopped. His music, our worship guy, Mike, and this Band has been a dream come true to him and us. He has taken the energy that he used to throw into batting practice and has now thrown himself into this band, his walk with the Lord, and our attempt at a Saturday Night Praise Service.

The other part of this dream aspect comes from an unexpected source - my wife. You see, my wife teaches Kindergarten, she is as Mike (http://preachermike.com/) Cope once blogged about, our church's "food lady," but she isn't one who dreams about bands and their names. That is, until a few weeks ago. Barb woke up one morning remembering a vivid dream about Steven, Mike, and their Praise Band. She said they called themselves, "The Pulse." In the dream there was a video playing of Jesus, his arms outstretched, blood pulsing out of his wrists but instead of it being red, it was the name of nations and people as if Jesus is the pulse (or should be) of the World. She said she could hear our drummer beating his drum in rhythm as a beating heart drives the pulse in our bodies. All of this from someone who does not dream about Contemporary Christian Rock Bands.

My wife sweet wife who doesn't have a demonstrative / aggressive bone in her being, felt compelled to tell Steven and Mike about her dream. If you knew her you might say that part of this story is a dream. Well, they heard her story and they adopted the name. So this coming Saturday night at 6:30 at what was once a very improbable place, our church, "The Pulse" will present a concert / service that they're calling "C4." C4 stands for the four "C's" in our name, "Central Church of Christ in Cocoa" and as I'm sure many of you know, "C4" is also explosive used by the military.

Isn't that what God's Word and putting on Christ in our lives acts like - explosive? Sometimes old things need to be "exploded" to allow the new and righteous to enter and take hold. The Pulse has already been an answer to prayer and in many ways, a dream that has come true. If you get a chance, pray for these guys. If you can, fly on down and hang out with us on Saturday.

God bless.

A Century Ahead

2009-03-17T17:52:00.000-07:00

There are times as a teacher when I am on my game. You mean being able to convey the wonderful world of Algebra in an engaging and relevant manner so as to improve (how’s that for educational jargon) student performance? No!

I’m talking about keeping the middle school kids off balance when given the opportunity as we say in the South, “To mess with them.” As always, the names have been changed to protect the ignorant, I mean innocent.

John is one of my better students and he actually gets my humor, most of the time. John was paying attention during an inspiring lesson on “Slope Intercept Form of an Equation.” When it came time to post the assignment on my screen John’s attention began to wavier. After a few minutes he “came back to us” and he began to copy the assignment down and start it.

I was inputting some grades into my computer when John came up to my desk, book and paper in hand, and a puzzled look. He said, “Mr. Walker, I don’t get number one?” My standard answer is usually like Steve’s (http://intentionalwalk.blogspot.com/) in that I tell students to take the first 10 minutes on their own, struggle, and use the notes we just took in class, etc, etc.

That started to come out of my mouth when I noticed his problem. The assignment was on page 289 but John had written down “page 389!” Yes, he was a full “century” ahead of us and he had no clue and better yet, he was worried. To make it better, I had him!

Looking at John with one of those “disgusted teacher looks” I said, “John, give me a break. Number one is easy. Just look at your notes.” Then I asked the class who didn’t realize the 100 page problem, “Is number one hard?” Of course to John’s distress they gave a collective “its so easy a caveman could do it” response.

You could see John’s brain processing the situation with thoughts such as, “I don’t have a clue how to start number one and so-and-so is already on number 10! What is going on?” So John turned around and started heading back to his desk. I stopped him after a few feet and said, “John, look at the screen and then look at your paper. Do you see anything different?”

It only took a few seconds for John to realize he had been had to which he said, “Mr. Walker, you’re good!” Thus I fulfilled one of my philosophies of teaching that has gotten me through 28 years of teaching Middle School which is, “Get them before they get you.”

Trust me, as I get older this mantra gets harder to live out. Feel free to try this at work or home.

Going Home

2009-03-17T11:03:00.000-07:00

A Monday night at home does would not be my Option A on most Mondays. As Greg will attest I am a “fun-a-holic.” I’m always up for a road trip, ball game, let’s go help someone move blah-blah, or excuse me while I run a 5K or 6 miles. I just seem to have this need to always be doing or planning something.

Mondays usually involve, going to work, running 6 miles, weighing in at WW, and then going out to eat (WW and going out to each sound somewhat oxymoronic, yes?) with our WW gang. That was until yesterday. Wife had a long day and as I chronicled yesterday, it was our last day of FCAT Testing. She called to say she was exhausted and heading to the house. For once (I must be getting older) in my life I said, “Sounds good.”

We hung around the house, ate dinner, watched (where do they get these categories?) Jeopardy, and were in bed by 9pm! Trust me that is way early for our family.

Don’t worry; I went back to my old ways this morning. I met some of my colleagues for a little 7:30am work-out before school this morning. And so it goes.

FCAT Done

2009-03-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, our version of high stakes testing ended around 1:15 today. Students had two 80-minutes tests on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week followed by two 60-minutes tests today. The schedule had students going to just two classes following testing. It would be wise of the D.O.E. to make testing days early dismissal days but then that might make (sarcasm warning) sense and be good for kids.

One thing our school does for kids is to play a G-rated movie that teachers have the option of showing to their classes. My favorite part is to watch these kids who are growing up way too fast, for a moment turn back the clock as they enjoy the movie.

"Why We Want To Kill You"

2009-03-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

I’m sure you’re wondering about the title of today’s post? Could this be a series of lessons propagated at a neighboring church concerning our church? Just a little joke in an otherwise serious topic.

I have wanted to blog about this for the last few days but I have struggled with how to present the topic. I’m sure you’re thinking I’m a little off in my calendar, as we tend to keep it light on Fridays. Let me open by stating what our speaker stated in the very beginning of his lesson to our church. He said something to the effect of, “What I’m about to say, two-thirds of you or more will not believe me.”

Our speaker was a former PLO Terrorist, Walid Shoebat. Walid is now a Christian and he goes around the world speaking about the threat of Islamic Fundamentalism. His website is http://www.shoebat.com/ He has written several books including one that I borrowed for today’s title as well as “Why I Left Jihad.” Walid has been a guest on CNN and numerous other news shows.

He speaks from the perspective as my kin in Kentucky might say, “I was one.” In eloquent fashion he contrasted some of the differences between the hate of Fundamental Islam and the love of Christianity.

Christianity------------------ Islam:

Love your enemy-----------Kill your enemy.

Be truthful in all things-----It is O.K. to lie to the

infidel if you can gain

an advantage.

Love your wife as

Christ loved the

Church---------------If your wife steps out

of line, beat her.

He also spoke about his early indoctrination into the way of hate with the end goal of destroying the Western World. He even voiced concerned over the latest decision to close the Prison Camp at “Gitmo.” He cited his own experience of having been arrested, released, and then going on to commit an act of terror in Israel.

In making such a statement that some might say is “politically charged” he told our church that he found it ironic that when he was a terrorist of the PLO, the news media considered him a freedom fighter fighting for the independence of his homeland. He said once he became a Christian and began to speak out about the threat of Jihadist terrorists to our country and the western world, he was labeled a racist.

So, why do we need to hear such a message and especially in a church? Here are some reasons that you may or may not agree with:

1. Walid said it himself, there are Jihadist living here in the U.S. He said for many years I was one of them, living among you, smiling to your faces, and hating and plotting when your back was turned.

2. For the protection of our young women. Walid said you never see an Islamic woman marry a Christian. To do so can bring a death sentence. However, Islamic men are encouraged to date and marry American women. Even the more so to bring them “home” to an Arab country were they will find themselves little more than slaves to their husband and his family.

3. Muslims and their beliefs are being pushed into our society. There will be and is great pressure for Christians to not speak up about the threat of fundamental Islam.

As a final thought, I do not agree with some of the conclusions Shoebat has drawn with respect to Biblical prophecy and current day Israel. Nevertheless, he has a message that you should hear and read about in our changing society. Sorry about the heavy subject but I thought it was worth sharing.

Oh, as a “final / final note,” not everyone at our church would agree with what I just wrote. There were a wide range of varying opinions on what Shoebat shared but then he said it would be so.

Have a good weekend.

Praise Him in the Storm

2009-03-11T11:54:00.001-07:00

So where have I been? Reading your blogs, doing some commenting, and administering Florida's version of high stakes testing with the Nation's 47th level of State funding for education. Florida's motto apparently is, "Accountability with less money." O.K., enough of that.

I am so excited about our week of Bible Camp that will take place in June. Our theme is borrowed from the popular Casting Crowns hit song, "Praise You in the Storm." Our theme is appropriately for our times, don't you think? This theme is special to Barb and me since it arose out of our annual Planning Meeting in which my son took a very active part for the first time. Its great to see how our legacy of "Bible Camp" is being passed down to our kids who are now young adults.

I cannot do a post about Camp without mentioning my good friend Steve (aka "the Puckster") and the Melbourne Church. Throughout our quarter century together (some with the Stoogelover himself, Greg http://gregengland.com/) Steve and the Melbourne Church have stuck with us through the good times and the challenging times. This year will mark the 3rd time that Pat Pugh will be our main speaker throughout the week. Pat was recently honored in the Harding Grad School (http://www.hugsr.edu/info/bridge.php) publication for his work in inner city Cincinnati. I'm not sure which edition he's in but I'm sure the Puckster can tell us.

What can I say about Camp (http://www.cob-net.org/camp/ithiel.htm) Ithiel which has been our home for going on 3 years. In our time of need God threw us together as we fulfilled a need for them. Mike, the Camp Director is always pleasant, spiritual, and willing to meet needs when asked.

I'd ask that you pray for our incoming camp staff and campers as we hurtle into the summer.

Love is in the Air?

2009-03-05T12:03:00.000-08:00

Or is it misunderstanding is in the air? I think that particular malady was in the air yesterday. Based on “Ben’s comment” on yesterday’s post, I can’t tell if he misunderstood what I wrote or if I misunderstood his response? I’d say that was going around yesterday based on the following.

In the wonderful world of secondary school, teachers will stand in the halls during class change. On the first level this is a responsibility on our part to supervise the Halls and to ensure that students are being respectful and courteous to each other. A “weggie” in the middle of the day can potentially disrupt the learning process.

On another level, this particular facet of our day gives rise to the occasional “adult” conversation that can take place in the span of 4 minutes save for the obligatory, “May I go to the restroom / Did we have homework last night / may I use the phone / I forgot to do my homework / and Are we doing anything today” questions / statements. As it would have it, there were 3 of us in the halls yesterday and the “misunderstood you bug” hit like this:

Teacher #1 – Did you hear the latest?
Me – No.

Teacher #1 – “John (he uses the first and last name) did (not a very nice thing) this to “Joe.”

Program Note – Teacher #2 and I commit the cardinal sin that we’re always slamming the kids for – we only heard half of what he said or in this case – the last name which happens to be the same last name of a fellow teacher.

Me – No way!
Teacher #2 – No way (for emphasis) way!

Teacher #1 – Yes and can you believe he is still here?
Me – (trying to remember the formula for tar and feathers) You have got to be kidding me.
Teacher #2 – (grabbing the wall for support) How is he still teaching his class?

It was at this point that Teacher #1 realized we had mistaken the perpetrator as being a teacher rather than a student.

Teacher #1 – No, no, it wasn’t (you morons) Mr. blah-blah. It was a student!

It was at that point that I was able to both breathe and look at Mr. Blah-blah without contemplating the formula for tar and feathers.

2nd Program Note – The supposed “offense” turned out to be milder than first reported.
I think I’ll stay in my classroom for now own. J
Have a good day family.

Definition – Christ

2009-03-03T12:41:00.000-08:00

Would the title, “Lets Keep the Music Going” be in poor taste for this post? For some reason I’m stuck on thinking about my fellowship and what seems to be a growing wealth of nonsensical information on churches that choose to empower their gifted members to facilitate worship accompanied by people playing instruments or how about the acronym “WABPPI.”

I say nonsensical because of this article (http://www.christianchronicle.org/article2158686~Richland_Hills_among_churches_removed_from_directory) in the Christian Chronicle. In this article, "Richland Hills Among Churches Removed From Directory," Carl Royster, who is identified as "the volume’s compiler" says this, "“The one unifying constant that defines whether or not such a congregation is included in this document is the practice of a cappella worship services..."

Let me just say this for everyone - "Wow!" Maybe that is why in the same issue is another article (http://www.christianchronicle.org/article2158685~Church_in_America_marked_by_decline) entitled, "Church in America Marked by Decline." I'm not making that up.

Please feel free to read both articles and draw your own conclusions. I'll draw mine:
1. Is instrumental music a guarantee that you will grow? No.
2. Does instrumental music guarantee a church will not act with legalism? No. I know many of you and I have personal experience in this area.
3. Should every Church of Christ start an instrumental service? No. Just as the churches of the 1st Century, all of our churches should be true to Scripture, their community, and heed to the leading of the Holy Spirit in their particular situation. This is what we have tried to do. It is an ongoing journey just as all of our walks in Christ are.

THE BIG AND OBVIOUS ONE:
1. When you state that the "one and constant" identifier of your church or denomination is something other than Jesus and being Jesus to your community, there is a great probability that many of your churches will go into decline.

Our "one and constant" marker if you will should be the words of Paul in Ephesians 2:

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's handiwork, (emphasis mine) created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

2009-03-01T17:30:00.000-08:00

Being still somewhat of the Church of Christ "tribe," there are times when I pause and think about our church's journey. Despite the fact that in some ways like the Richland Hills Church of Christ, we too have been voted off our tribe's island by many of our local churches, I still consider us a Church of Christ. When I think about the upcoming Pepperdine Bible Lectures, my 20th in 19 years I think my thinking becomes more "tribal" than usual.

To me, the subject of "the use of the instrument in worship" seems both irrelevant and impersonal. Thoughts of irrelevancy flood my mind with respect to Scripture. The main argument I hear and read from some of our Brotherhood's brightest is based on "the Law of Silence." In other words, if it isn't mention in the New Testament then we can't and shouldn't do it. This irrelevancy falls into two categories:

1. Perhaps it isn't mentioned because Jesus and the Apostles had bigger fish to fry. Jesus is quite clear on things that will send one straight to Hell. One need only read Matthew 25, "the Sheep and the Goats" to know that we must be about service to everyone with no strings (no pun intended) attached. James 4:17 says:

"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."

2. To the degree "logic" is used to appeal to the lack of mentioning of instruments in the N.T., what about explaining their use in Scripture? There are too many O.T. passages to list and here's one - why would God mention their presence in Rev. 15 and the fact that He supplied them-

1I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God's wrath is completed. 2And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God 3and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. 4Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."

2nd Category - Impersonal - Just the very phrase, "the use of the instrument" seems to forget that there is "someone" using and worshipping with that instrument! Every Sunday I look at our Praise Band and consider how many hours they have practiced to do what they do on Sundays. Moreover, I know their hearts, their walks, their families, their shortcomings, and their gifts! For the record to my fellow Church of Christ brothers and sisters, they are not instruments! They are people with God given talents and a passion for God so that they want to use their gifts to glorify God.

My point isn't to promote churches in our Brotherhood to start artificially allowing their gifted members to facilitate instrumental worship. As with many facets of non-denominational autonomy, that decision should be based on where the Holy Spirit is leading that church.
I just pray that our Fellowship can return to the times of David Lipscomb, one of our Restoration Fathers. I'll leave you with a passage from a recent article John Mark Hicks wrote on the (http://www.hugsr.edu/bridge/bulletin12.php) Harding Grad website. Happy Monday.

David Lipscomb and T. B. Larimore, prominent leaders in the Restoration Movement at the turn of the century, did not press the instrument issue to the division of the body, and they preached in instrumental churches where some others would not. They did not believe that this issue alone should divide the fellowship of churches. When Lipscomb was asked in 1871 whether we should disfellowship or condemn to hell those churches which used the instrument, he responded: “While we condemn the organ certainly as wrong, unauthorized, corrupting, we have never decided that it is Christian to go to this extremity. Churches became corrupt in primitive times and yet no such advice is given in the scriptures.”¹⁴ For many years Lipscomb continued to hold meetings and preach for churches that used the organ.¹⁵ But nevertheless Lipscomb also continued to oppose the use of musical instruments in the worship of God. We too can press this truth with our friends and with fellow-Christians without condemning them to hell.

10,000

2009-02-24T08:44:00.000-08:00

If you count up 4 people from the bottom right corner of this photo that appeared on our local (Florida Today http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage) newspaper's web site, you'll see my wife at last night's Town Hall Meeting with Brevard County's Legislative Delegation. Right next to her looking somewhat disinterested is a guy she knew and dated in College. Yes, that would be me and I was very interested. I was sending out one of many text messages to some of my colleagues who didn't make it inside the King Center due to the crowd size being 10,000!

The subject of last night's Town Hall Meeting was the proposed $70,000,000 cutback to our County's School Budget from the State. One of the legislators had commented earlier that he would be surprised if 200 people showed up. He was only off by a mere 9,800 or so and he was one of the legislators that were late due to the traffic congestion.

As you can imagine, most of the night was consumed with ducking questions by the 2 State Senators and the 4 Representatives. That is, until they decided to whip out some mis-leading graphs about the amount of funding from the State Brevard Public Schools (BPS) has received over the last few years. Their chart showed Brevard's School funding from the State increasing when in reality BPS has had to cut $100 million over the past 3 years to 4 years due to funding being cut back from the State.

It was at this point that our Superintendent, Dr. Richard DiPatri unexpectedly took the microphone and called the State Legislators to task. In my 28 years for teaching I have never seen a group of teachers, administrators, parents, and kids give their Superintendent not one but several standing ovations. Perhaps his best moment was when he "reminded" the State Legislators that Florida's State Constitution mandates that public education is a "State Responsibility." He also reminded them that the "Class Size Amendment," which was a Constitutional Amendment voted on by the citizens of Florida, like many other mandates from Tallahassee, had not been funded by the State. The implementation was left to the local School Boards despite the State Constitution.

In fact, Florida is one of 3 states that did not qualify for Obama's Stimulus package due to the low percentage of the State Budget spend on Education.

In Florida, there are some solutions that do not involve instituting a State Income Tax or other drastic measures. Hopefully our Legislators heard their constituents and will take action.

Moronic Sermon Titles

2009-02-23T10:13:00.000-08:00

The other day I drove by a local Baptist Church and this was on their sign advertising the upcoming Sunday Sermon:

“The Gospel for Morons.”

If I hadn’t had a “previous engagement” at my church, I might have visited to hear what is “so needed” in today’s world.

Would such a sermon interest you?
What other “catchy” (if you think the aforementioned qualifies as “catchy”) sermon titles have you heard, seen, or in some of your cases, preached?

Maybe I should rename my blog?
“A Blog for Morons.” What do you think?

I only say that because at times (as my Uncle would say) “I are one.”