Did you catch the story about Matt and Melissa Bryant late last week? When they came in to check on their infant son Tryson on Wednesday morning, they realized every parent's worst fear. He was non responsive.... He was dead.
18 months old.... crib death... sudden infant death syndrome... call it what you want. I'm sure for them it is simply an unfathomable nightmare from which they really would like to wake up...
They buried him on Saturday, and Matt had to decide if he should work on Sunday, his normal workday...
no, he's not a preacher... he's a placekicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I cannot imagine the strength it would take to get out of bed, and I find it simply supernatural that he somehow found a way to strap it on for the annual rivalry between his Bucs and another baytown football team, the Packers...
"I wanted to do it for Tryce", he told a reporter after the game, "a sort of tribute"...
well it was quite a tribute...
here's how ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas described it:
A day after burying his infant son, Matthew Tryson, Bryant went out and kicked three field goals, including the game-winner. Bryant then walked into the media room, looking dazed, and talked about how he played because he wanted to honor Tryson and admitted he had a running dialogue (in his head) with his son throughout the game.
You couldn't possibly sit in that room and not feel your heart coming apart. I went back upstairs and wrote my column. Ordinarily, that would have been the end of it. But you don't just move on from something like this.
In the 20 or so hours since that column went up, the comments section has been filled up with beautiful thoughts for Bryant and my mailbag has received more letters than on any day since it started a couple months ago. As of this moment, I've received five letters from readers who also lost children.
Every one of them talked about how you never lose the pain, but you do what you can to get by.
Every one of them made me realize what I witnessed yesterday wasn't a football game.
It was a lesson in life for all of us. It would be easy to make Bryant a story of tragedy and triumph, but that wouldn't be accurate. You couldn't hear any triumph in Bryant's voice or see any on his blank face as he spoke. Three field goals don't just wipe out a tragedy. A million more field goals won't even do that.
That's what makes Bryant's story so powerful. It's real and it's raw emotion. You've got to learn from it.
The people who wrote about losing children have never met Bryant and they probably never will. Yet, they're all faced with the common daily challenge of doing what they have to do to get by.More than anything -- and this is what separates Bryant and those people from a lot of other athletes and the fantasy world we've all created -- they're human beings. They're real.
And they're a whole lot stronger than some myth who can go out and bench press 400 pounds.
God Bless Matt and Melissa...
tm
Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour
Is it ok if I hate the devil? OK, well I do... I really do.
I am watching the prince of darkness (that name sounds too grand for such a piece of crap!) tear a family apart right now. It makes my stomach hurt... a young couple with two precious young daughters is being ripped by this low life teller of lies.
I covet your prayers. I am begging you to lift up this precious family to God in prayer... right now, please ask God to protect them and defeat the devil.
They don't have God in their lives.... from what I can observe.
And they are hurt, confused, devastated by each others' actions... but most of all they are under attack from a villain whom they cannot see.
I hate him
I really really do
I am watching the prince of darkness (that name sounds too grand for such a piece of crap!) tear a family apart right now. It makes my stomach hurt... a young couple with two precious young daughters is being ripped by this low life teller of lies.
I covet your prayers. I am begging you to lift up this precious family to God in prayer... right now, please ask God to protect them and defeat the devil.
They don't have God in their lives.... from what I can observe.
And they are hurt, confused, devastated by each others' actions... but most of all they are under attack from a villain whom they cannot see.
I hate him
I really really do
keep your chin up
I understand the devil is throwing stuff at you everyday... we are all faced with challenges. and I also know that we don't have to look very far to find someone whose challenges are stiffer than our own (a la "I complained because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet")
I have learned, however, that once my guilt subsides (you know, the guilt associated with my realizing that someone else has bigger problems than me), there is still MY challenge right there on me that I still have to deal with...
Please be encouraged! keep your chin up! God will provide an escape! He is with you, and He promised to deliver you or give you the strength you need to endure... so don't give up! Don't be despondent...
Here are a few ideas which may be helpful in dealing with your challenge:
I have learned, however, that once my guilt subsides (you know, the guilt associated with my realizing that someone else has bigger problems than me), there is still MY challenge right there on me that I still have to deal with...
Please be encouraged! keep your chin up! God will provide an escape! He is with you, and He promised to deliver you or give you the strength you need to endure... so don't give up! Don't be despondent...
Here are a few ideas which may be helpful in dealing with your challenge:
- face it head on! don't ignore it, deal with it
- pray... then pray some more... then, once you're warmed up, pray!
- share your struggle with someone who will share your struggle... ask them to pray
- do something good for someone else... anonymously
God will bless you as you dodge the darts Satan is hurling at you... just watch!
Blessings!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
the challenge of restoration
Webster defines restoration as "the act of restoring or bringing back to a former place, station, or condition; the fact of being restored; renewal"...
Wikipedia says this about the restoration movement:
"The Restoration Movement (also known historically as the "Stone-Campbell Movement") is a Christian reform movement traced to the 18th and 19th centuries in the United States during the Second Great Awakening. Barton W. Stone and Alexander Campbell were leading figures of four independent movements with like principles who merged together into two religious movements of significant size. Restorationism sought to renew the whole Christian church, on the pattern set forth in the New Testament, without regard to the creeds developed over time in Catholicism, Orthodoxy or Reformed Protestantism, which allegedly kept Christianity divided. Churches are now found throughout the globe, claiming to "concentrate on the essential aspects of the Christian faith, allowing for a diversity of understanding with non-essentials." Basically, there are those whose beliefs and doctrines may differ on minor subjects, but who believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God as the savior and authority of the church. Among key practices are the weekly celebration of the Lord's Supper on the first day of each week and a commitment to believer's baptism by immersion in water."
From what I know about the Restoration Movement, that seems pretty accurate...
(incidentally, for most of my life I have heard people talk about restoring the church of the New Testament... but for the most part, they were really endeavoring to restore the church of the 1950s instead of the 0050s...)
As I study about what the church (ecclesia) is literally 'called out' to be, it gets really uncomfortable... and what it gets down to is separating the word of God from the cultures and traditions of man.
It boils down to - as Rick Atchley puts it - mission versus tradition.
So as we try to understand what we are 'called out' to be, it will take us from uncomfortable to vulnerability to downright challenging!
The biggest challenge for me is that I tend to like routine... I seem to be addicted to what I know. I guess a lot of people are that way, because organizations are made of people and organizations are notorious for seeking and clinging to stasis. In other words, when groups of people organize (perhaps especially when for religious purposes), the resultant 'organization' naturally finds its boundaries and strives - sometimes violently - to stay within them...
Conversely, positive progress demands change.
so I guess it could be said that organizations naturally tend away from flexibility and discovery and, instead, tend toward their norms...
is it a stretch, then, to observe that organizations naturally resist progress? That is the tension which provides the backdrop for our challenge today...
Because as we seek God's will for our lives, change is absolutely necessary!
So the struggle is obvious. But it is very important!
To become the absolute most effective church, we must rediscover the never-changing Word. As we do, I predict there will be many 'traditions' which hinder the 'mission'...
At the risk of being labeled a heretic (oh, well, probably too late :-)), I will list a few rather innocuous ones from my heritage which may serve as examples:
Wikipedia says this about the restoration movement:
"The Restoration Movement (also known historically as the "Stone-Campbell Movement") is a Christian reform movement traced to the 18th and 19th centuries in the United States during the Second Great Awakening. Barton W. Stone and Alexander Campbell were leading figures of four independent movements with like principles who merged together into two religious movements of significant size. Restorationism sought to renew the whole Christian church, on the pattern set forth in the New Testament, without regard to the creeds developed over time in Catholicism, Orthodoxy or Reformed Protestantism, which allegedly kept Christianity divided. Churches are now found throughout the globe, claiming to "concentrate on the essential aspects of the Christian faith, allowing for a diversity of understanding with non-essentials." Basically, there are those whose beliefs and doctrines may differ on minor subjects, but who believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God as the savior and authority of the church. Among key practices are the weekly celebration of the Lord's Supper on the first day of each week and a commitment to believer's baptism by immersion in water."
From what I know about the Restoration Movement, that seems pretty accurate...
(incidentally, for most of my life I have heard people talk about restoring the church of the New Testament... but for the most part, they were really endeavoring to restore the church of the 1950s instead of the 0050s...)
As I study about what the church (ecclesia) is literally 'called out' to be, it gets really uncomfortable... and what it gets down to is separating the word of God from the cultures and traditions of man.
It boils down to - as Rick Atchley puts it - mission versus tradition.
So as we try to understand what we are 'called out' to be, it will take us from uncomfortable to vulnerability to downright challenging!
The biggest challenge for me is that I tend to like routine... I seem to be addicted to what I know. I guess a lot of people are that way, because organizations are made of people and organizations are notorious for seeking and clinging to stasis. In other words, when groups of people organize (perhaps especially when for religious purposes), the resultant 'organization' naturally finds its boundaries and strives - sometimes violently - to stay within them...
Conversely, positive progress demands change.
so I guess it could be said that organizations naturally tend away from flexibility and discovery and, instead, tend toward their norms...
is it a stretch, then, to observe that organizations naturally resist progress? That is the tension which provides the backdrop for our challenge today...
Because as we seek God's will for our lives, change is absolutely necessary!
So the struggle is obvious. But it is very important!
To become the absolute most effective church, we must rediscover the never-changing Word. As we do, I predict there will be many 'traditions' which hinder the 'mission'...
At the risk of being labeled a heretic (oh, well, probably too late :-)), I will list a few rather innocuous ones from my heritage which may serve as examples:
- worship style - is ours relevant? is it traditional? does it serve the mission? or is it so completely borrowed from your grandpa's church as to make it NOT REAL?
- daily living - is yours pure? is it relatable to your peers? does it lift Him up? or is it wholly compartmentalized from 'Sunday You'? (be careful not to be like those described in Amos 5-6)
- servanthood - akin to #2: does your walk match your talk? or are you like the Israelites described in Amos' book...
- do you act like you think the only saved people attend a church like yours with a name like yours who worship just like you?
- Is 4-part-acappella worship the only acceptable way to praise the Living God? or is it a tradition which you have elevated to the level of Scripture because someone told you that's where it belonged?
Seeking God's will... and seeking to restore the New Testament church will stretch and scare and maybe even cause pain... and sometimes we are so invested in the way things are that even suggesting we consider change will cause heartburn...
but at some point we will have to decide what is more important: mission or tradition.
God Bless us as we seek His will for His Body
Monday, September 22, 2008
change management
At my job I sell software solutions to special educators which helps them do their job more easily and thoroughly and quickly.
When a school buys my software, a brilliant team of people set out to train this new customer how to use the solution... they spend days training one on one and hands on...
and recently I overheard one of these trainers talk about 'change management'. It's probably a new buzzphrase in business, but it is a very apt description for what these trainers do. Most of our new customers have used some software before, and are replacing it with ours.... they are changing! and that change is no small matter... sometimes they employ hundreds of teachers who were doing just fine, thank you, with the old system and are not looking forward to learning a new system!
As I think about change management, I am reminded that that's exactly what living is about... as legendary coach John Wooden said, "there is no progress without change". And since we will all 'progress' as we live each day, that necessitates change...
so how do we 'manage' that change? on a personal level.... and on a 'church' level, how do we approach it?
the answer to this question is vital to our healthy growth as a person and as a congregation...
Rick Atchley (preaching minister at Richland Hills Church in Dallas) introduced me to a concept which, I believe, is very revealing as to how we attack change... as we are faced with organic change, will we see everything as an either/or proposition? will we see some things as a both/and question?
think about it!
more later...
Blessings!
When a school buys my software, a brilliant team of people set out to train this new customer how to use the solution... they spend days training one on one and hands on...
and recently I overheard one of these trainers talk about 'change management'. It's probably a new buzzphrase in business, but it is a very apt description for what these trainers do. Most of our new customers have used some software before, and are replacing it with ours.... they are changing! and that change is no small matter... sometimes they employ hundreds of teachers who were doing just fine, thank you, with the old system and are not looking forward to learning a new system!
As I think about change management, I am reminded that that's exactly what living is about... as legendary coach John Wooden said, "there is no progress without change". And since we will all 'progress' as we live each day, that necessitates change...
so how do we 'manage' that change? on a personal level.... and on a 'church' level, how do we approach it?
the answer to this question is vital to our healthy growth as a person and as a congregation...
Rick Atchley (preaching minister at Richland Hills Church in Dallas) introduced me to a concept which, I believe, is very revealing as to how we attack change... as we are faced with organic change, will we see everything as an either/or proposition? will we see some things as a both/and question?
think about it!
more later...
Blessings!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
7-day-a-week faith
My very first mission trip was to the South Pacific with Randy English... He is a terrific and wonderful person who has given his life to his ministry in the Pacific... He and his lovely wife and 5 children (all born in American Samoa!) continue to pour themselves out and into the lives of tens of thousands of souls who likely would NOT have heard the good news if not for God's using the English family.
I'll never forget the lessons I learned from him! The most striking one came at the end of my second trip with him to the Solomon Islands... this trip was very evangelistic in its focus, so we mainly preached and conducted one on one Bible Studies with the natives there... but as we were waiting in the Honiara International airport for the once-a-week-only flight back to 'civilization', I noticed Randy chattin it up with some dude sitting next to him...
(now understand, the rest of our team had 'clocked out' of our mission 'job'... but NOT RANDY! here we were, DONE with our 'mission work', all clocked out, and Randy is talking about Jesus to this stranger! Didn't he know we had 'put in our time'??!!?!)
Anyhow, I am just beginning to learn that lesson 15 years later... and trying very hard to instill that 'lesson' in my kiddos... to be real and genuine and present and, well, to have a 7-day-a-week-faith.
I want to encourage us all to help develop a full-time faith in ourselves and in our kiddos.
I was brought up in a very religious environment... one which placed an inordinant importance on what we did at a building 4 hours a week to the exclusion of what we did for the other 164 hours... and it taught many of my generation that our 'faith' was very location- and time-limited.
so, a few resolutions (I know, a few months ahead of schedule):
I resolve:
I'll never forget the lessons I learned from him! The most striking one came at the end of my second trip with him to the Solomon Islands... this trip was very evangelistic in its focus, so we mainly preached and conducted one on one Bible Studies with the natives there... but as we were waiting in the Honiara International airport for the once-a-week-only flight back to 'civilization', I noticed Randy chattin it up with some dude sitting next to him...
(now understand, the rest of our team had 'clocked out' of our mission 'job'... but NOT RANDY! here we were, DONE with our 'mission work', all clocked out, and Randy is talking about Jesus to this stranger! Didn't he know we had 'put in our time'??!!?!)
Anyhow, I am just beginning to learn that lesson 15 years later... and trying very hard to instill that 'lesson' in my kiddos... to be real and genuine and present and, well, to have a 7-day-a-week-faith.
I want to encourage us all to help develop a full-time faith in ourselves and in our kiddos.
I was brought up in a very religious environment... one which placed an inordinant importance on what we did at a building 4 hours a week to the exclusion of what we did for the other 164 hours... and it taught many of my generation that our 'faith' was very location- and time-limited.
so, a few resolutions (I know, a few months ahead of schedule):
I resolve:
- NOT to teach my kids the 'importance' of 'church attendance' for attendance' sake (there are all kinds of compelling reasons to meet with the saints; 'punching the clock' ain't one)
- to teach my kiddos to have a servant heart 24/7/365 and always be looking for people whom God places in their path...
- to model full-time-7-day-a-week-faith for my kiddos
- to teach my children that their Christianity (spirituality, faith) is not a 'compartment' in their portfolio of life... but that it IS their life and naturally affects every facet of their life
- to teach my kiddos that salvation's work was done - in total - on a cruel Roman cross over two millenia ago, and that anything we do (and we should DO) is in GRATEFUL RESPONSE to that gift and NOT in an EFFORT TO EARN that gift.
- to model a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led life which is exciting and vibrant and fun and challenging
oh well, that's a start... long long way to go...
God Bless!
Monday, September 15, 2008
5 good marriage rules to live by
OK, 24 years is considered a long time by some... and that's how long Kelly and I have been married. In some ways it really does seem much much shorter than that to me...
and believe me, I do not for a minute think it makes me qualified to speak intelligently about the subject...
however, as much as I hate to admit it, Kelly and I are probably those 'older' men and women mentioned in Titus 2 who are encouraged to 'teach the younger' folks how to behave (paraphrase mine)... I still have WAY more questions than answers about marriage... but I will offer just 5 things I would suggest to those men who are trying to make their marriage a great one:
so, here goes:
and believe me, I do not for a minute think it makes me qualified to speak intelligently about the subject...
however, as much as I hate to admit it, Kelly and I are probably those 'older' men and women mentioned in Titus 2 who are encouraged to 'teach the younger' folks how to behave (paraphrase mine)... I still have WAY more questions than answers about marriage... but I will offer just 5 things I would suggest to those men who are trying to make their marriage a great one:
so, here goes:
- if you travel, don't go into great detail about the scrumptious meal you just ate in that exclusive restaurant in L.A. while your wife and kiddos ate happy meals from Mickey D's! (personal experience, believe it!)
- ditto above about your lodging when you travel... (helpful hint: make sure to always plan your dining out and lodging arrangements to be more extravagant when your wife is with you than when she is not!)
- don't eat at a restaurant with a female other than your wife.... If you have to eat at a restaurant with someone of the opposite sex, make certain there are more people than just you two at the meal. (I know many people will say I should step into the 21st century, and make fun of this suggestion... but I'm telling you, there is no reason at all for a married man and woman to dine together alone... none)
- you are typically not a thoughtful breed... so do whatever it takes to remind yourself to think about your wife through the day, and call/text/email her to tell her you are thinking about her.
- date her.... often. movie out or video night at home or prepare a meal or take her out to eat or to a live event or concert or play or just to walmart to look at the goldfish or to Lowe's to dream about that new oven or set of drapes...
OK, you know that I don't know much. but I stand by these 5...
please feel free to respond and add your own comments and suggestions...
God Bless!
maybe the hardest habit to break
A good friend of mine was sharing with Kelly and me how badly she has been hurt by her soon-to-be ex-husband.
I won't retell details here, but the mental abuse and neglect and torture she and her two children have endured is hard to listen to...
With tears rolling down her cheeks, she admitted that her prayers have been simple: "God, please cause him to suffer like he has made us to suffer."
"I know it's wrong to pray like that" she sobbed, "but that's what comes out when I talk to God!"
Yeah, she's right. The Bible talks very clearly about how we must pray for those who despitefully use us, and to bless those who curse us and do good to those who hate us... and it seems so black and white when you read those words from Matthew' and Luke's accounts...
but, like with most things, it gets kinda messy in the application!
how can I find fault with such a dear Christian momma? ...she is not concerned with what has been done to her. But she is pushed over the edge when she sees her kiddos suffer at the hands of... that man.
Wow. I know God will heal her heart so that she can finally wish well for her former husband... but right now, I gotta admit, I feel the same way she does...
anyhow, that may indeed be the hardest habit to break: almost instinctively wishing bad on people who have mistreated us....
it is truly heavenly to treat them otherwise... and I think it takes time to get there... and I pray peace for my friend so that he doesn't own her emotions anymore, and she can truly pray for him to change his heart.
more later....
God Bless!
I won't retell details here, but the mental abuse and neglect and torture she and her two children have endured is hard to listen to...
With tears rolling down her cheeks, she admitted that her prayers have been simple: "God, please cause him to suffer like he has made us to suffer."
"I know it's wrong to pray like that" she sobbed, "but that's what comes out when I talk to God!"
Yeah, she's right. The Bible talks very clearly about how we must pray for those who despitefully use us, and to bless those who curse us and do good to those who hate us... and it seems so black and white when you read those words from Matthew' and Luke's accounts...
but, like with most things, it gets kinda messy in the application!
how can I find fault with such a dear Christian momma? ...she is not concerned with what has been done to her. But she is pushed over the edge when she sees her kiddos suffer at the hands of... that man.
Wow. I know God will heal her heart so that she can finally wish well for her former husband... but right now, I gotta admit, I feel the same way she does...
anyhow, that may indeed be the hardest habit to break: almost instinctively wishing bad on people who have mistreated us....
it is truly heavenly to treat them otherwise... and I think it takes time to get there... and I pray peace for my friend so that he doesn't own her emotions anymore, and she can truly pray for him to change his heart.
more later....
God Bless!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
baxter county fair 08
There are several wonderful things about living in one of the most beautiful small towns in the middle of the country.
in the summer it's our lakes and rivers...
in the winter it's the snow and, otherwise, relatively mild weather...
in the spring it's all the vibrant colors... my favorites are the lily white Bradford Pear trees and the brilliant red-pink redbuds...
but in the fall it's the Baxter County Fair!
the days are still pretty warm and the nights are 'fair-perfect'... cool and breezy and ideal for riding the rides and walking the midway...
today is the last day of the fair for this year... and it's been another terrific Baxter County Fair...
a lot of really good people work very very hard to make this true slice of Americana happen in our little town...
It's my 44th year to be the beneficiary of the hard work of those good people... and I want to say thank you!
and God Bless!
in the summer it's our lakes and rivers...
in the winter it's the snow and, otherwise, relatively mild weather...
in the spring it's all the vibrant colors... my favorites are the lily white Bradford Pear trees and the brilliant red-pink redbuds...
but in the fall it's the Baxter County Fair!
the days are still pretty warm and the nights are 'fair-perfect'... cool and breezy and ideal for riding the rides and walking the midway...
today is the last day of the fair for this year... and it's been another terrific Baxter County Fair...
a lot of really good people work very very hard to make this true slice of Americana happen in our little town...
It's my 44th year to be the beneficiary of the hard work of those good people... and I want to say thank you!
and God Bless!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
7 years ago
As we busied around on a normal September morning deciding who would deliver which child to their schools, I stopped to look at the Today Show on our bedroom TV.
The camera was showing an unfamiliar view of a very familiar vista: the New York City skyline... specifically the two towers of the World Trade Center...
Katie was saying that a small aircraft had crashed into one of the towers, and had set a couple floors of Tower 2 ablaze...
I couldn't look away.
So as I watched the live shot, a second airplane crashed into the other tower. I took Cara to Guy Berry Intermediate School and we listened to the radio reports describing the carnage...
After dropping her off, I headed to a school district south of Batesville to conduct a software training.... I called ahead and they assured me we were 'still on' for the in service session...
that whole day was very surreal.... I remember it now as if it were this morning. Gas stations jacked up their prices, the roadways over our dams were closed... and mommas (including the momma of my girls) went and got their kids out of school and took them home... and hugged them hard.
I hope you will take a moment today to remember those affected by this brutal and evil attack. And to thank God for His sovereignty and protection...
There's lots more I could write, but that's all for now.
Hug your kiddos today!
blessings
The camera was showing an unfamiliar view of a very familiar vista: the New York City skyline... specifically the two towers of the World Trade Center...
Katie was saying that a small aircraft had crashed into one of the towers, and had set a couple floors of Tower 2 ablaze...
I couldn't look away.
So as I watched the live shot, a second airplane crashed into the other tower. I took Cara to Guy Berry Intermediate School and we listened to the radio reports describing the carnage...
After dropping her off, I headed to a school district south of Batesville to conduct a software training.... I called ahead and they assured me we were 'still on' for the in service session...
that whole day was very surreal.... I remember it now as if it were this morning. Gas stations jacked up their prices, the roadways over our dams were closed... and mommas (including the momma of my girls) went and got their kids out of school and took them home... and hugged them hard.
I hope you will take a moment today to remember those affected by this brutal and evil attack. And to thank God for His sovereignty and protection...
There's lots more I could write, but that's all for now.
Hug your kiddos today!
blessings
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
get out de way
so I have really stressed this fall about our small groups.... how would they go, what would we study, who would step up and be group leaders...
Finally, Kelly told me to just 'start em up' and let God do his deal.
So last Sunday night the groups had their initial meeting. It was by far the least peaceful I have felt about a 'life group startup' in the 5 years we've been doing small groups.... I did not know how it would go... did not have a great feeling about the number of leaders who volunteered... had no clue what we would use as a 'curriculum'...
and guess what? yeah, He did. He showed up and worked His will in our groups last Sunday night. of course He did... it's what He does. From all accounts, it was awesome! because He was there.
My imagination and creativity and abilities are so abysmally bankrupt and His are so amazing.
It reminded me of my arrogance and self-importance and it brought to mind one of my former favorite sayings: "lead, follow, or get out of the way"...
upon further review, I would like to amend that to a new favorite saying... forget the 'me' lead, of 'you' follow...
just "GET OUT DE WAY" (don't know, just feeling a little rostaJamaican today, for no apparent reason)
so next time you feel stressed about what 'you' are doing, or how 'we' can do this or that, just use my new fave saying:
get out de way!
Let Him do His thing
Blessings!
Finally, Kelly told me to just 'start em up' and let God do his deal.
So last Sunday night the groups had their initial meeting. It was by far the least peaceful I have felt about a 'life group startup' in the 5 years we've been doing small groups.... I did not know how it would go... did not have a great feeling about the number of leaders who volunteered... had no clue what we would use as a 'curriculum'...
and guess what? yeah, He did. He showed up and worked His will in our groups last Sunday night. of course He did... it's what He does. From all accounts, it was awesome! because He was there.
My imagination and creativity and abilities are so abysmally bankrupt and His are so amazing.
It reminded me of my arrogance and self-importance and it brought to mind one of my former favorite sayings: "lead, follow, or get out of the way"...
upon further review, I would like to amend that to a new favorite saying... forget the 'me' lead, of 'you' follow...
just "GET OUT DE WAY" (don't know, just feeling a little rostaJamaican today, for no apparent reason)
so next time you feel stressed about what 'you' are doing, or how 'we' can do this or that, just use my new fave saying:
get out de way!
Let Him do His thing
Blessings!
Monday, September 8, 2008
back in the groove
I do love the summertime... and I love the time when the days start to get just a little cooler and shorter...
for us at Riverside, autumn signals the restarting of our life groups... last night, about 180 souls met in 8 locations as our small group ministry ended its preplanned summer hiatus. From all accounts, it was a glorious night!
The Hudsons, Helmkes, Gists and Blasdels are stepping up to help with the teen life group this season while the Smiths and Plumlees are hosting the noon life group at the building... R.C. is making sure the building is open at our traditional 6 pm time slot for those who wish to join the group which meets there...
The Byrds, Walkers, Morgans, Isbells and Martins (that's us) round out the list of tireless life group leaders who have volunteered to head up this vibrant part of our Kingdom life at Riverside...
the more informal and intimate setting of these small groups is a huge key to their success, and I am deeply grateful to all those who volunteer their time and open their homes to make this so terrific!
As R.C. said to me a few minutes ago, summertime is a great time, but it is very refreshing to 'get back in the groove' with our life groups...
I couldn't agree more!
God Bless us as we allow God to expand His borders through our small group effort!
for us at Riverside, autumn signals the restarting of our life groups... last night, about 180 souls met in 8 locations as our small group ministry ended its preplanned summer hiatus. From all accounts, it was a glorious night!
The Hudsons, Helmkes, Gists and Blasdels are stepping up to help with the teen life group this season while the Smiths and Plumlees are hosting the noon life group at the building... R.C. is making sure the building is open at our traditional 6 pm time slot for those who wish to join the group which meets there...
The Byrds, Walkers, Morgans, Isbells and Martins (that's us) round out the list of tireless life group leaders who have volunteered to head up this vibrant part of our Kingdom life at Riverside...
the more informal and intimate setting of these small groups is a huge key to their success, and I am deeply grateful to all those who volunteer their time and open their homes to make this so terrific!
As R.C. said to me a few minutes ago, summertime is a great time, but it is very refreshing to 'get back in the groove' with our life groups...
I couldn't agree more!
God Bless us as we allow God to expand His borders through our small group effort!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Gustav and crying wolf
of course everyone remembers the devastating effects of Katrina and Rita a couple years ago... the decimation visited on the residents of coastal Mississippi and Louisiana was unbelievable!
One of the biggest reasons these storms had such a terrible outcome was what I call the 'cry wolf' factor. See, for years, the meteorologists had predicted, time and again, a 'perfect storm' type of event which would - according to their prediction models - wipe out the geographical 'soup bowl' which is New Orleans and all the surrounding low-lying areas...
and, time and again, people would go out to Lowe's and buy $500 worth of lumber and supplies and board up every window and evacuate and all the other stuff that goes with that and... nothing really happened!
So, time and again, frustrated residents would return to their homes and 'unboard' them and curse the idiots on TV who had caused them to prepare for nothing...
Well, for the years leading up to Katrina, many residents had long since stopped listening to the forecasters... they would ride it out and then make fun of the forecasters....
until Katrina.
this past weekend, as Gustav roared toward the Crescent City, almost 2 million residents boarded up and heeded the warnings, filling the highways with their cars in an attempt to flee the storm's wrath...
which is the right thing to do...
My fear is that just a few years from now, people will again stop listening to the forecasters (and who can blame them... I mean Jim Cantore absolutely LIVES for this!)... and we will have another terrible storm which takes more lives than it would have if people had heeded the warnings...
there's an analogy begging to be observed here.
I am not a fear monger; I am not a 'sky-is-falling' kind of person... and I have long ago disavowed the notion that God is waiting and watching for us to 'step out of line' so He can catch us and punish us and slam the door in our face.
but He told the parable of the ten virgins (recorded by Matthew in the 25th chapter of his gospel account) for a reason... perhaps as a cautionary tale of what happens when we are unprepared...
so what does that mean? to be prepared...
love to hear your thoughts...
to be continued...
God Bless!
One of the biggest reasons these storms had such a terrible outcome was what I call the 'cry wolf' factor. See, for years, the meteorologists had predicted, time and again, a 'perfect storm' type of event which would - according to their prediction models - wipe out the geographical 'soup bowl' which is New Orleans and all the surrounding low-lying areas...
and, time and again, people would go out to Lowe's and buy $500 worth of lumber and supplies and board up every window and evacuate and all the other stuff that goes with that and... nothing really happened!
So, time and again, frustrated residents would return to their homes and 'unboard' them and curse the idiots on TV who had caused them to prepare for nothing...
Well, for the years leading up to Katrina, many residents had long since stopped listening to the forecasters... they would ride it out and then make fun of the forecasters....
until Katrina.
this past weekend, as Gustav roared toward the Crescent City, almost 2 million residents boarded up and heeded the warnings, filling the highways with their cars in an attempt to flee the storm's wrath...
which is the right thing to do...
My fear is that just a few years from now, people will again stop listening to the forecasters (and who can blame them... I mean Jim Cantore absolutely LIVES for this!)... and we will have another terrible storm which takes more lives than it would have if people had heeded the warnings...
there's an analogy begging to be observed here.
I am not a fear monger; I am not a 'sky-is-falling' kind of person... and I have long ago disavowed the notion that God is waiting and watching for us to 'step out of line' so He can catch us and punish us and slam the door in our face.
but He told the parable of the ten virgins (recorded by Matthew in the 25th chapter of his gospel account) for a reason... perhaps as a cautionary tale of what happens when we are unprepared...
so what does that mean? to be prepared...
love to hear your thoughts...
to be continued...
God Bless!
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