The Rev's Ramblings

Open House

2006-06-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

Ckick on the link below to find my new blog address. To leave comments, you will need to register ... please do! Because I have no life, your comments often are the only thing that really make my day. Pathetic, but hey . . . it's like, you know? (That sounds so Californian, doesn't it?)

http://www.gregengland.com

Thanks!

Last Blog

2006-06-08T05:43:00.000-07:00

If you tried to do anything on Blogger yesterday, you know the on-going frustration of this sponsor. At the behest (R U impressed?) of my friends, Randy and Brad, I'm going with theobloggers. When we get it all set up I'll give you a link on this site to send you to the new site.

If you're interested in a better blog sponsor (if that's what they are called), you might want to check out theobloggers. You'll have your own domain name and will own all of the content of your blog. And it works! ... unlike Blogger far too much of the time.

See you soon from my new home.

666

2006-06-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

Monday, Janice and I had lunch together and she mentioned that her students (she only has a baker's dozen this year) were all but going into a frenzie over Tuesday's date: 6-6-06. So who said 5th graders were ready to deal with the world's problems anyway? They have enough on their hands just surviving the first Tuesday in June!

I told her for one thing, the date is not 6-6-6. We're not in the year 6AD. We're 2000 years beyond that. But so much for logic and reason. We're talking 5th graders.

Over the years we've seen people beyond 5th grade get just as crazy over numbers and Revelation. Chapter 13:18 reads (NLT): Wisdom is needed to understand this. Let the one who has understanding solve the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.

Ancient people had a way of using letters of their alphabet as numerical values and would express words in values. For instance, on a wall of ancient Pompeii someone wrote, "I love her whose number is 545." Gematria was the adding up of numerical values of letters in a word or name. The number of the beast is not simply three sixes. Rather, it is 600 + 60 +6. Some have even postulated that the internet is the beast of Revelation (and often trying to work w/ Blogger.com adds some merit to this claim!) because the equivalent of "w" in Hebrew is the 6th letter of their alphabet. So www would be 666. But to add the value of the letter "waw" (or "vav") three times would not be 666 (six hundred sixty-six). It would be 18. (6+6+6) Those of you who know my math skills are probably picking yourselves up off the floor and declaring this day a holiday!

To think that John, who wrote long after the year 6AD, was referring to a date in June of 2006 is nothing less than stupid ... unless you are a 5th grader or a prophetic scholar! Then it's perfectly reasonable that yesterday something quite ominous occurred and we are too simple to have understood. If so, just slap me and call me "simple" ... or "stupid."

No Comment Needed

2006-06-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

You get those plain envelopes in the mail that you suspect contain another offer for a credit card with a $50,000 limit, don't you? But every now and then it actually contains a legitimate replacement card for your ATM / Debit VISA. It's very important that you make sure the "replacement" card received actually replaces the card you just shredded! No further comment other than we're awaiting our new ATM cards to go with our new VISA cards.

I'll sure be glad when this phase of mental fog is over and we can return to thinking with the clarity we had in our younger years.

2006-06-06T06:35:00.000-07:00

For many years, Janice and I have wanted to go over to Temecula, California, for the annual Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival. Problem: We never seemed to figure out the date until after the fact. Speaking of fact(s), here are some balloon facts to jump start some potentially boring conversations today:

FUN FACTS:
Sept. 19, 1783 - first hot air balloon launch with a sheep, a duck and a rooster as passengers. It flew for 20 minutes over Paris. Those whacky Frenchmen!

November of 1783, first manned balloon flight. In Paris.

1785 - first long distance balloon flight over the English Channel.

Jan. 7, 1793 - first balloon flight in North America. Launch was witnessed by George Washington.

August, 1932 - first manned flight to reach the stratosphere. Reached a height of over 52,000 feet.

1978 - first balloon flight to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

1981 - first flight to cross the Pacific Ocean.

1999 - first hot air balloon flight to circumvent the earth.

Aren't you glad you stopped by today? You are so much more informed now than just a minute ago! So this past Saturday Josh, Jan and I got up about 6am ... had breakfast and drove out to where the balloons were being launched. There were a few dozen balloons in the air, a few dead ones on the ground and others both going up and coming down. All in all, it was a fascinating morning as we'd never been so close to hot air balloons.

Before I Googled and found the interesting facts, Josh wondered how balloons were flown prior to learning how to compress gasses. (I did a little research on that as well and it seems we've been able to compress gasses for a LONG time.) Not knowing that, I replied they were powered by the forerunners to televangelists. Where else would man find such a concentration of hot air? Actually, the trend is to use nothing more than hot air (hence the name, hot air balloon) rather than the gasses used earlier. They proved to be far too dangerous for flight.

As you can see, it doesn't take much to entertain people our age!

A Good Kind of Tired

2006-06-05T06:21:00.000-07:00

What a busy weekend! First, we spent the night on a vibrating bed in Siberia. Sort of. Actually, we were in Josh's apartment and he keeps it so cold, Janice shivered all night ... providing me a most relaxing vibrating-effect bed. I woke Josh up Saturday telling him we needed to take his mama to the hospital. His eyes popped wide open, "What's wrong?" I replied, "She's frozen solid!" After breakfast, we headed out to the annual Temecula Wine and Hot Air Balloon Festival. More on that tomorrow....

The drive over Friday afternoon was an event in and of itself. Thinking we got away before the traffic nightmare began, we quickly discovered we were so-o-o-o-o-o wrong. It's only about 85 miles from Long Beach, but it took us 3 hours! And, we were in Jessica's Civic, which is a five-speed, so add to everything else the never-ending clutch work. I was exhausted when we reached Josh's home. For about an hour we didn't get over 10mph in stand-still traffic. Just one of the many advantages of living in Southern California. Same trip home took about 90 minutes.

After spending the morning with Josh in 101 degree heat, Jan and I headed home to a much cooler Long Beach temperature of about 97 to celebrate Grad Nite with our church family. Josh and Heather came over and Jessica came home, as we are very close to our two graduates this year. Joanna (JoJo) and Morgan (Morgie) are almost like our own daughters. Fun evening. Great food! Lots of laughs. More than a few tears. And air conditioning!

Yesterday morning I preached lesson #7 in our journey through Romans. Chapter 3. Salvation by Faith, Part 2. Expressed many of the same thoughts (though I didn't steal them from him) of what my good friend, Steve (The Puckster) Puckett, wrote in one of his recent blogs. For many years I've thought our "doctrine" on salvation was shakey at best, if not down right spurious. We've been so focused on "our" response and "our" part in salvation, as if we have anything to offer God. Trying to respond to Acts 2:38 has been our battle cry: What must I do? The only thing we bring to the process is our sinfulness! Paul is rather emphatic in Romans 3 (and elsewhere) on the biblical doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. It began as a covenant with Abraham, only God's name was the only signature on the contract (so to speak). It's all about God's gift of Jesus. God's satisfaction with and resting in what Jesus did. God's justification of us based on Jesus. No wonder Paul asks, "So what do we have to brag about?" (Ro.3:27-28). I suppose we could boast about receiving an undeserved gift, but isn't that rather pathetic in comparison to God's love when we were so unlovable?

Then to have one of our elders publicly thank me and affirm the teaching (as well as many of the church family) is always a serendipity. I am blessed in many ways to be a part of this church family. For instance . . .

Our church family treated Josh and Heather to a luncheon / gift shower. And they were most generous both in gifts and in attendance. We were blessed with having Heather's mother, sister, and grandmother with us for worship and the afternoon events. Josh and Heather (hereafter referred to as J&H in future blogs) filled two cars with gifts. I'm talking trunk and back seat.

Five weeks from yesterday is the event. I've thought all along that I would be able to officiate their wedding without emotional breakdown. Almost bragged to others about it. But this gift-shower brought some significant lumps to this old daddy's throat, so now I'm not so sure. But it'll be all family there, so if I happen to shed some tears, then it will be with people who understand. And when it comes to my kids, I'm not above being an emotional whimp.

After spending the afternoon with Jessica ... doing a bit of shopping for the remainder of one of our wedding gifts to J&H ... dinner with dear friends ... Jan and I completed the weekend filling out loan apps for Jessica's final year of college. My life's goal now is to live long enough to pay off these college loans!

So I finished the weekend tired. But a good kind of tired. As always, thanks for stopping by. Have a blessed week.

National Accordion Awareness Month

2006-06-02T06:15:00.000-07:00

I'm embarrassed (if not humiliated) to say I failed to inform you that yesterday (Thursday) began National Accordion Awareness Month. Even I didn't know this until informed by a friend who is a college English professor. (Boy those guys sure know a lot!)

He even shared a joke:

Q: Do you know the difference between an accordion and an onion?
A: Nobody cries when you cut up an accordion!

Several years ago at our church youth camp, one of the counselors told me she plays accordion. I didn't know any non-Hungarians who played the accordion, and certainly no Southern California girls ... not the girls the Beach Boys sang about. I asked where she bought her accordion as I'd never seen one on sale in any reputable Guitar Center, Sam Ash or the local music stores where I worship. She told me her dad bought it from a door-to-door accordion salesman.

Say it ain't so! I wonder just how many door-to-door accordion salespersons there are in this world? I wonder if they are unionized? I wonder why I wonder such things?

Though we've already missed a day of celebration, please find your nearest accordionist and tell him or her you are actually aware of their instrument! And I'll try and stay more on top of the hottest news stories.

Today is also National Donut Day. Honest! That leaves absulotely (sorry about that misspelling ... it's hard to type with all the sugar glaze on my fingers) no question as to how to celebrate that June is accordion awareness month.

2006-06-01T06:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome to June! Hard to believe we've entered the 6th month of '06. Seventeen days from now is Father's Day. I'm presently reading a couple of books in the evenings: Tim Russert's Wisdom of Our Fathers: Lessons and Letters from Daughters and Sons (a follow-up to his best-seller, Big Russ & Me) and Karen Spears Zacharias' Hero Mama: A Daughter Remembers the Father She Lost in Vietnam - and the Mother Who Held Her Family Together.

Since I have nothing better to blog today, I'm going to share a letter from Russert's book. A story I think just warm the heart. You be the judge.

Brian Baker shares this memory of his dad, Bob.

My dad is the biggest New York Giants fan alive and has had season tickets for over forty years. In 1990, he took me to the NFC Championship game against the 49ers. He had four tickets, and he planned on selling the other two.

We got to the game early to tailgate, and as we were pulling into the parking lot, I noticed that tickets were being scalped for hundreds of dollars. My father was going to make a killing, which was good because business had been difficult and he could really use the extra money.

We tailgated for a couple of hours, during which Dad must have had twenty-five different opportunities to cash in on his tickets, but he made no effort at all to sell them. I realized that he would probably get top dollar closer to kickoff, and I watched him carefully, hoping to learn a thing or two.

As the start of the game approached we headed for the stadium entrance, and my father continued to pass up selling opportunities. I remember thinking that maybe he was getting greedy. But he was looking around and finally saw what he wanted - a father and a young boy who needed tickets. My father explained that he had two extras and was just asking what he paid for them.

"Are you serious?" the man asked.

"Yes," my father replied. "Now let's go in before we're late for the game."

I did learn something that day - something about having principles and doing what is right. I know today that my father got more enjoyment out of seeing that father and son watch the game right next to us than if he had sold each ticket for a small fortune. In doing so, he taught me a lesson I'll never forget. [pp.39 - 40]

What about you and your dad ... any lessons learned that you'd want to share?

Our Story

2006-05-31T06:15:00.000-07:00

A Welch shepherd was presented with an orphaned lamb. Unable to find a nursing ewe to accept the lamb, he took it under his care ... waiting for just the right moment / event.

Within a few days that moment came. A dead lamb was found and the shepherd immediately skinned it and placed the skin of the dead lamb over the orphan. He took the orphan to the mother of the dead lamb, who sniffed it a couple of times and immediately accepted it and began nursing it.

That is our story. That's justification. I, of myself and in myself, cannot be accepted by God, so Jesus - the Lamb of God - died for me and I am clothed with him. Accepted by God no less than if I were Jesus himself.

Now if that doesn't make your day ... what can?

A Wonderful Read

2006-05-30T06:05:00.000-07:00

I recently picked up a New York Times #1 bestseller by John Grogan - Marley and Me, about the world's worst dog. An incorrigible yellow lab. I could hardly put it down because every page had my dog, Chipper, written all over it. Though Chipper is a far better behaved dog (if my friends who personally know Chipper can believe that) than Marley, she still resembles the mut of this book far too much for comfort.

And yet, as I read and laughed my way through the book, I found myself loving Chipper more and more. I am in a vast fraternity of people who own worthless animals ... and love them dearly.

My earliest memory of a family pet was my uncle's dog, Rascal. I've been told Rascal and I were tight friends. I was born on my uncle's 15th birthday and until his untimely death at a rather young age, he was my best friend. We had a lot of plans for our life together as best friends and neighbors.

Later we had an assortment of muts ... I remember Fiesty in Florida giving birth to her pups, born under the porch. A rain came through and drowned all but two of them. Another uncle was visiting at the time and gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to the survivors. We couldn't figure out what to name the one we kept, so we named it "Nothing." Both pups eventually wondered off never to be seen again. But Fiesty stayed with us until her untimely death at a carnival. We were living in Montgomery, Alabama, at the time and she'd followed my younger brother to a shopping mall carnival and got under the ride he was on, which crushed her to death. That happened over 40 years ago and I have a lump in my throat writing about it.

Then Janice and I eventually got our own Rascal. Solid black with four white feet and a white diamond on her chest. We loved her almost a decade before she had to be put to sleep with cancer eating away at her. This Rascal could jump like no other dog I'd seen. She would place biscuits under the clothes line at our house in Alabama and then hide in the bushes just behind the clothes line. When birds would come peck away at the food, she would wait until they sat on the line, then she would jump straight up and grab her a bird! The trouble with Rascal was if she ever got free of the fenced yard, we had to ask a neighbor to call her home. She would come to a neighbor but would ignore us, knowing if we caught her she was going back to certain incarceration. It was very difficult to have her put to sleep.

Shortly thereafter came Fluff. The only survivor of a litter of pups and so fat she could not walk more than a few steps when she would fall over. So named because she was just a lump of yellow fur when we got her. She was definitely Jessica's dog and was ferociously aggressive toward anyone who seemed a threat to Jessica. For that matter, she was very aggressive toward anyone outside our family! After being a part of our family for a decade, she got into some poison about three years ago and we had to have her put to sleep. One of the worst Sunday afternoons of my life.

Enter Chipper. You've read enough about her already, so I'll spare you the details. She is the most interesting dog I've had ... and as untrainable and as strong and as goofy and as dopey and as conniving a thief as she is, I don't think I could love her any more.

I say all that to say if you want a light-hearted (until the last chapter), wonderful read this summer, get a copy of Marley and Me. I'd let you read mine, but I plan to read it again. And probably again.

A Self-Congratulatory Blog

2006-05-29T06:37:00.000-07:00

This is why I want on the funeral director end of the business rather than the cemetery end ... occupational hazards!
If that print is too small, it reads: Congratulations! You have passed the Funeral Director examination administered by the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau on April 26, 2006. No numerical scores are available....

But here's the kicker. The State of California says once I pay my $200 fee (which I sent in over the weekend), I am qualified to do the work of a funeral director which is basically to transport, store, prep and dispose human remains. In reality, I don't have a clue how to do all that stuff! I just memorized pages and pages and pages of mortuary law to the point I could pass the test. Now I must begin the process of actually learning that end of the trade. At least I have the qualifications to do it! Or so says the state of California.

Tools?

2006-05-26T06:47:00.000-07:00

Rick Warren's "Pastor.com" website featured an article by Sam Simmons describing the 35 neccesary skills needed by a pastor to effectively minister in the 21st century. Not to undermine anything described below as they are all helpful skills, but I find it rather interesting that we've become so focused on such "wisdom" when the most successful ministers (not necessarily preachers or pastors) I've ever seen or known were simply those who had an open heart to the indwelling Holy Spirit and allowed Jesus to live through them.

I play a few instruments. Not so well that I will impress anyone, but well enough to enjoy entertaining myself, and well enough my wife has been gracious to endure the purchase of far more than I can play at any given time! Over the years I've come across many musicians who were technically brilliant, and I've learned from them. But occasionally there is that one who is truly gifted and the music flows unlike anything I've ever heard from a technician, and I can only listen in awe. I think the same is true in ministry. Jesus called the least likely, least trained guys to follow him (they all probably flunked out of Torah school or would have been following some rabbi) and yet they literally turned the world upside down for the Kingdom.

I listened to Bob Russell speak at Pepperdine. He went to a Louisville, KY, church of 120 members 4 decades ago and today they have over 20,000. He dazzles you, but not with typical seminar stuff about effective goal setting and mission statements and all the plans of action that have been proven to work. He keeps it rather simple: teaching people about Jesus and living it out in his life. And maybe he has all 35 skills listed below, but my guess is it was more a giftedness and blessing from God than developing necessary skills for ministering in the 21st century.

God isn't obligated to bless everything I do in my attempts to minister in his name. But when I join what he is blessing ... WOW! And it has nothing to do with what I bring to the table in skills assessments. It's all about God at work in the least of us.

But who am I to say? I sort of found my way into ministry through a back door and never got caught!

Worship skills

Leads and/or works with other people in planning and facilitating worship.

Performs baptisms, weddings, funerals, and other ordinances of the church in an appropriate manner.

Designs creative worship experiences that involve music, media, and the arts.

Educates the congregation in personal, family, and corporate worship.

Communicates Scripture in a way that leads an intended audience to worship and to experience life transformation.

Leads a congregation in prayer and a prayer ministry.

Practices and leads the church in practicing worship through stewardship of life and resources.

Fellowship skills

Builds and maintains healthy relationships with others.

Sensitive to the needs and feelings of others.

Develops relationships within and external to the ministry organization for accountability and personal support.

Functions effectively with professional staff and church members and works with others in resolving conflict in the Body of Christ.

Listens and responds in ways that let people know they have been heard.

Develops small groups and leads them to birth new groups.

Leads the church in developing a process for connecting new members into the life and purposes of the church.

Discipleship skills

Interprets the biblical text and applies its truth to life situations.

Effectively employs Bible study tools and basic biblical language skills for personal Bible study and Bible teaching.

Evaluates current ministry programs and issues in light of church history and theology.

Leads the church in planning, conducting, and evaluating a comprehensive program of discipleship and Christian maturity.

Demonstrates a vibrant spiritual life through the implementation of spiritual disciplines including prayer, Bible study, holiness of life, and communion with God.

Models the role of an effective teacher and communicator.

Leads in developing, evaluating, and administering curriculum plans; functions as resource person in discipleship curriculum.

Ministry skills

Exercises the administrative skills of strategic planning, organizing, leading, and evaluating the work of ministry that leads to achievement of defined goals and the mission of the New Testament church.

Provides spiritual guidance in helping others analyze how God has shaped them for ministry through spiritual gifts, heart for ministry, abilities, personality, and experiences.

Recruits, trains, and supervises individuals to fulfill the purposes of the church.

Assesses the needs of the ministry community, designs appropriate actions to meet those needs, and effectively markets the church’s ministry in the community.

Develops and administers budgets for ministry programs and organizations; reads and prepares financial reports.

Provides pastoral care and counseling for the sick, hurting, and grieving, and makes appropriate referrals to other sources of professional help.

Demonstrates godly humility and sacrificial love for those in the church.

Evangelism skills

Communicates biblical truth through preaching, personal witness, teaching, speaking, writing, music, and other ways as may be appropriate to fulfill the Great Commission.

Leads the church in an effective program of evangelism; plans and conducts a program of community witness.

Leads the church in planning and conducting cross-cultural missions.

Builds relationships with unbelievers that lead to opportunities to share the Gospel.

Interprets the culture and plans appropriate strategies for sharing the Gospel in that culture.

Respects persons of different cultural, social, and religious backgrounds.

Articulates the Christian message and contrasts that message with other worldviews and major world religions.

Road Trip

2006-05-25T06:29:00.000-07:00

Nothing much exciting happened yesterday (Wednesday) as I spent most of the day working out a sermon. Actually, that was pretty exciting to me but I'll not ruin Sunday for those of our flock who read this. What am I thinking? TAYLOR HICKS is the new American Idol. Straight from Birmingham, Alabama!

Our daughter is quite the socializer. So much so that she and three other friends left early this morning to drive to Minnesota to attend the wedding of two friends they met their freshman year. How's that for friendship? A 27-hour drive IN OUR CAR! Pray for them. Seriously! And pray my car ... never mind, that seems all too shallow. They plan to drive it straight through both going and coming. Monday evening will not come too soon, when I get the phone call that they are home and safe.

I called Sacramento yesterday afternoon to ask about our funeral director exam status. They will not tell us whether or not we passed, but the lady did say the letters were mailed out that day, so we should know something today or tomorrow.

JOSHUA PASSED! Because he paid for his license fee on the front end, his name came up on the CA Funeral Director's website as a licensed funeral director. He didn't have to wait for the mail ... only to have them grade his exam and post his license number. Because I did not pay (can we all say "cheap"?), I have to wait for my news by mail.

How is it in the computer age we can take an exam on a scantron card and have to wait a month for results? I would think they could have a scantron reader in the exam room and tell you on the spot how you did. Maybe my expectations are too high.

Patience may be a virtue, but it ain't one of mine!

Harvest ... maybe?

2006-05-24T06:44:00.000-07:00

She first called while I was at Pepperdine so I told her I'd call her back. But I inadvertently erased her voicemail and number. No problem ... she's a salesperson and will call back. Salespersons always call back if you leave them an inch of room.

I was right! She called back. We set up an appointment to talk and though she was late, she did keep the appointment. First, she was fascinated by my office, which is basically a shrine to the Three Stooges. I was impressed as most women, by genetic predisposition hate the Stooges. This is no ordinary woman.

When we finally sat down to talk, she began to confess that she was a Christian. Former Catholic. Didn't know exactly what kind of Christian, but definitely a Christian. And for the next 45 minutes I was her priest and my office her confessional. She just poured out her story ... and then apologized for not discussing what she came by to discuss. Her profession is a sister profession to the mortuary work I do part-time and she wanted me to use her as a reference should I have the occasion.

Then the conversation turned back to her childhood church experiences and a very heavy dose of sermons on the "wrath of God." Which just happened to be the last two sermons I preached out of Romans 1 and 2! So we talked a little about that subject in the context of God's character rather than the context of a diety who finally decided we'd gone too far and decided to zap someone to make an example to the rest of us. That his wrath is as consistent with his character as is his love. She replied, "I guess I'm basically a selfish person and I just want the love, feel good part of God." Some people never figure that one out.

She was relieved to hear that perspective. Basically her life is one of "make me happy and keep me happy." She wants a religion that will support that theme. Feel good theology ... as if somehow that is the end result of the "once and for all" sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary. Toward the end of our time together, she asked, "So how would I be received in your church?" Well, it ain't like attending a Unity church, but I didn't actually make that comment ... only thought it. I assured her that we will be intentional in honoring Jesus in our assembly and in our lives and the message will be centered on some practical aspect of working that out in our lives or in our attitudes and understanding of the Bible. She requested more information and seemed genuinely interested in "giving us a try."

I tried to plant some seeds, but mostly I just listened. She even said she felt so much better having talked with me. Sometimes that graduate degree in counseling pays off a little, but I'm much more interested in showing her that Jesus is real and resides in the lives of people. Not to make them feel good, but to transform them into what they were designed to be all along.

We'll see . . . . but I honestly came away from that hour thinking it was a divine appointment.

[See Tom Marker's blog today ... funny!.]

Thirty One ...

2006-05-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

Thirty-one years ago today.

Thirty-one years later (sort of ... this picture is a
couple of years old and doesn't include our Heather)

As seen through the eyes of a cartoonist

Probably in another 31 years!

[Note: Check out Janice's blog from time to time. Though she doesn't blog every day, she will blog from time to time ... and has a new one up today.]

Sometimes . . .

2006-05-22T06:31:00.000-07:00

LS moved from Long Beach to Honduras almost a year ago. It was strictly a move of faith. She had no job. No income. No full support. Just a desire to minister to people there and open her life to trusting God to provide. Ten months later, she inspired us with her story in our adult Bible class Sunday morning.

A couple of things stood out (to me) in her presentation. One, the struggle of the church there to be relevant in a Central American culture. The local church is supported by congregations from the deep south and, therefore, is expected to look like a church from the deep south rather than a church in the capitol city of Honduras. I'm not sure what a culturally relevant church would look like there, but I doubt it would mirror a church from the deep south.

Unfortunately, in its short history, the church she ministers through has already had a split! Sometimes I wonder if that's what we do best ... fight and split? That distressed me. To think support might be held back because they decide in their culture to do something different than a southern, bible belt church of Christ might do in say, Tennessee or Alabama. It would seem to me those people planted a system rather than a Savior and the "converts" are now tied to methods ... often at the expense of the message.

But the other thing that stood out was actually encouraging to me. When asked how she came to have such a heart for missions, she said it was mainly due to the experiences gained from her youth group at church. She also cited the influence of a godly mother, attending a Christian high school, and the stream of people in which she immersed herself while a student at Pepperdine.

Sometimes I hear things from the second paragraph and forget that things from the above paragraph happen as well. There are times when we actually do have a deep and positive impact on a life! An impact that renders a servant-hearted life that glorifies God and truly walks by faith.

Da Vinci

2006-05-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

No, I haven't read the book and probably will not see the movie. Not that I'm super holy or anything like that, it's just that I have no desire to read the book and can't afford today's movie prices. When it comes out on DVD, I will probably get it on a Monday or Tuesday when rentals are a buck-fifty.

I did see the director / cast interviewed on NBC's Today Show earlier this week. I've always liked Tom Hanks' movies (though not his politics) as well as Ron Howard's work. Sometimes I wish Ron had remained Opie Taylor or Richie Cunningham. He was the all-American kid in those shows. I prefer that Ron Howard to the one who directs movies and is a major player in one of the more God-less industries in America!

Am I upset about the book / movie? No. Not at all. People are becoming filthy rich on it and that's what this country is all about. We may have been founded on better principles, but we've long since drifted from them. Will the book / movie undermine people's faith? If it does, I would suspect the depth of that faith. Will it cause people to question what they've been taught? We should always question what we've been taught. Will it cause some to further investigate Jesus? I hope so. Should we jump on the Da Vinci bandwagon and hope it leads to record numbers of conversions? The Passion of the Christ didn't do much for that and I doubt this will either.

I don't think I need to read the book to answer people's questions, should I be asked any questions. Bottom line: God remains God and His Word remains His Word regardless of this or the next book / movie that attempts to undermine faith. We can do virtually nothing to stem the tide of popularity here ... but we can allow Jesus to live in and through us and be a light in the darkness. And I think that's been our mission all along.

Another Year

2006-05-18T06:36:00.000-07:00

She will probably be mortified that I put this picture on my site, but it has always been a favorite of mine (though the original is much better than this scan), and I'm fairly confident I can get forgiveness!

People who first meet Janice will eventually make the comment that she is always smiling. I think that surprises them because they notice she is also married to me! Be that as it may, I've known this lady since 10th grade in high school. Dated her four years. Was engaged to her three more years, and will have been married to her 31 years next week. I've never known her not to smile! She has the most positive, faith-driven perspective on life that I've ever seen in a person. Always fun to be around and will turn any situation into something that will bring a smile, if not full blown laughter. I think that is one reason we have been so successful in our years together. Opposites really do attract!

Today is her birthday and I am the most fortunate man alive to share her love and life. Together we have the two most wondeful children God ever blessed to a couple. Our friends have enriched our lives and we trust we have done the same for theirs. I love going home each day because I go home to her!

Cheers ... anyone?

2006-05-17T06:32:00.000-07:00

A young lady recently mentioned to me an interest in training to become a bartender. She explained that people are searching for something to fill their emptiness and come back time and again to fill it with alcohol ... what better place to position one's self to share about Jesus than a bar? Sounds good on the front. As a matter of fact, I once knew an ex-alcoholic-turned-preacher who said he converted more people in bars than any church in that area had ever converted. And he had the numbers to back up his claim. But work in a bar? Serving alcohol? A Christian? My mind was racing to find arguments but found myself all but speechless.

Knowing the overall character of her life as well as her missional outlook (far more than my own), I knew that deep down she was pursuing this to be Jesus where Jesus would probably be were he physically among us today. After all, Jesus didn't hang much with the religious crowd. Not for long. Quite honestly, I'm convinced he would not be very impressed with nor welcomed in most of our churches. He was far more comfortable around the lower dregs of society (not suggesting that people who drink are the dregs of society), for that was where he was needed and where he was most accepted. You would find him quite at home with lepers ... women (even the more notorious ones) ... adulteresses ... beggars ... tax collectors ... fishermen ... demon-possessed ... Samaritans ... and known sinners. Which explains why His converts normally didn't come from a synagugue post-sermon "invitation." Seems when he did preach in the synagogues, they always wanted to run him off, if not kill him!

So, void of any counter-argument that didn't seem all but irrelevant (though very strong from a "religious" perspective) I can only pray she stays true to her desire to be missional to those seeking fulfillment in all the wrong places. I do admire her for wanting to be Christ to people most of us want to avoid ... at least avoid on their home turf. After all, there does seem to be something very biblical about going into the world to beckon others out of the world. And for the most part, that ain't gonna happen inside the walls of our church buildings.

Bud

2006-05-16T07:16:00.000-07:00

Bud is a former elder here at Long Beach, having served in that office for about 40 years! One of the finest men I've ever met. If the Lord allows me length of years, I want to grow older like Bud. He has always had such a teachable spirit. He has consistently grown in grace and is such an encourager. His communion devotionals are always special as Bud is quite the church historian here. While my experience has been that people tend to become set in their ways and unmovable, Bud has always intentionally remained open-minded. He was truly a preacher's elder!

When I was a candidate for the pulpit minister here Bud, and fellow-elder Bill, flew to Florida to check me out on my home turf. On the Saturday of that weekend, he wore a sweatshirt with the Budweiser logo on it and the phrase, This Bud's For You! I thought that was pretty open minded for a coC elder and I decided then that I liked this guy. Over the almost 14 years I've known Bud, I've come to love and respect him as I have very few men.

He's also had heart problems over the years, including open heart surgery as well as several angioplasty procedures. A couple of years ago, he went to the ER with chest pains and actually coded (died) on the table. Two different occasions.

We got a call from his wife that he'd been having some pains Friday morning and was told by his cardiologist to go to the ER to be checked out. As it turns out, he was having an irregular heartbeat, which doctors were able to stabilize and he should go home by the time you are reading this. But it gave us a scare.

On the way to the hospital, having chest pains that were worsening, he took the time to stop and fill the car with gas before prices went up again! Or maybe he did it so Daphna wouldn't have to bother with it. Granted, that was not the brightest decision ever made, but that's Bud. Thursday, he brought me a list of all the people who were members at Long Beach and had died since the merger in the early 1989s. While visiting him in the ER he said, "I got to thinking I might be the first edit you'd have to make to that list!"

I'm writing about Bud because today (Monday, May 15) is his 57th anniversary with one of the sweetest Christian ladies I've ever known. Selfishly I want Bud around for many years to come. Our church needs models of commitment and kindness and grace like Bud and Daphna!

Youch! &@&#X!%

2006-05-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

Three hole paper punch. Heavy duty. Will bore through 15 - 20 sheets of paper with no effort. I've used it thousands of times over the years. So one would think it a near impossibility to be injured by something so familiar. This is where I stand apart from the crowd!

Friday night while experiencing a cleaning frenzy, I took a manual for a mixing console (sound equipment) over to the office to punch holes and put it away in a notebook. I knew it would take a little extra force to punch through all the pages, so I hit it. Hard. And somehow I had the middle fingertip of my right hand under the handle. When I pulled my hand away in shock, blood was spurting and I'd either cut the end of my finger up to the nail, then under the nail and over to the side of it ... or, I just blew out the end of my finger in that configuration with sheer pressure. I'm not sure which, but I am sure that within a minute, the shock wore off and I was one hurting puppy! People asked me what I said??? I guess being a southern-born preacher, they expect something colorful and secular! At the moment I couldn't even think of ancient biblical cities that sound like &@*&#X!%* to scream out!

But that's not the end of the story. About 10 years ago I was building a new frame for the back porch and dropped a 16 foot 2 x 8 on my foot. The impact exploded my big toe and broke the next two toes. That big toenail has never been right. It grows back, but never attaches to the pad of the toe. Recently it grew back as an ingrown nail and has given me months of pain. I've walked with that toe curled up to keep it from pressing against my shoe, and often wear sandals to alleviate some of the pain. I've had a doctor cut it back a time or two but it keeps growing back so I just try to ignore it ... except it hurts all the time.

So, while I was in excruciating pain (throbbing) from blowing out the end of my finger, I asked my wife if she would go ahead and trim that toenail. I figured if I'm going to be in that much pain anyway, I might as well get something productive out of it. That's the way I figure things when I'm in a lot of pain! That nail can grow at least an eighth to a quarter inch thick and is very difficult to cut. I've actually used side wire cutters on it in the past. So while I gritted my teeth and wanted a stick to bite down on, Janice trimmed about half of that toenail off. And for the first time in months, I can wear a shoe without pain. I no longer have to curl my toe to walk. And it can touch the covers at night without sending me through the ceiling with pain!

My finger still hurts a lot ... but my toe sure feels better! I just hope I don't have to punch the finger again the next time my toenail needs trimming! Have a great Monday! I'm going to try and stay away from all things mechanical.

On another note: I took Randy's suggestion and expanded my Friday blog into some personal reflections for Mother's Day. I'd done two sermons during the week and Keith sent me a third one on Friday, but this worked. At least I have three sermons to fall back on for future Mother's Day sermons.

A former member told me after the assembly, "I really liked the way you shared your heart with us this morning." Then he added, "It sure was better than listening to you try to preach." I'm glad he's a former member!

Enjoyed a wonderful day with all three of our children, then Jan and I went with very dear friends to an ApologetiX concert. Excellent band! LOUD, but a good evening of music.

They take rock music and write Christian lyrics to parody the music. I have most of their CDs and enjoy them very much. If you haven't done so already, "hey! check 'em out, Dawg!"

Mother's Day

2006-05-12T07:01:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I get a lot of sermon ideas while showering, and I don't know why. Nor do I want any sarcastic suggestions from this community! :) Life is tough enough.

But the other day I was thinking about Mother's Day and what I might preach ... about the only thing I came up with was a title: When Your Mother Is Dead. As much of an attention-grabber as that title might be (or not), I just couldn't come up with much to wrap around it. Not anything anyone would want to hear.

That idea came to mind because this will be my first year not to be able to call mom or send a card or gift. Had I known last year that within 7 weeks of Mother's Day we would be burying mom, I would have cleared my calendar and taken some time to go home. Funny, mom was one of those people who didn't need anything else. Had no place to display it, hang it, or store it. So we struggled on birthdays, mother's day and Christmas as to what we might give her. Now that I no longer have that struggle, I miss it.

Mom was by no means perfect, but she loved us unconditionally, and she was a good mom, considering the offspring she had to work with (referring mainly to my siblings, of course)! She put up with a lot of junk from Dad over the years, though their final years seemed to be good ones. We moved a lot. Dad was more of a dreamer than a settled down husband / father. Mom fed and clothed us with on an extremely tight budget. Always managed to make Christmas and birthdays special. She wanted more than anything for her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren to love Jesus and take seriously our call to the Kingdom of God ... a desire that has not been answered favorably by everyone upon whom it was prayed.

Mom truly was a prayer warrior and I was often the subject. We shared hours and hours on the phone (with me living either hundreds or thousands of miles away). Laughter. Tears. Concerns. Joys. Sadness. Dreams, both realized and shattered. She loved to hear about the children and Janice. She never failed to ask what I'd preached the previous Sunday and to share what was taught at Creekside (her church family), and to ask about people here she'd grown to love over the years. She loved to tell about her latest grandchild adventure - usually the younger grandchild at the time. She loved her church family and was loved by them.

Mom suffered a lot in the last years of her life, perhaps more than most of us really knew. She left a note for us to find after her death telling us that upon finding that note, she would finally be free of pain and would be breathing freely and have perfect vision! I watched her struggle for breath so hard I would leave the room to cry and pray for her. That's not much of a life, and it was her life for many years. I would ask if she had a good day and she would reply, "I've had good moments today."

We still have Jan's mom, Nana. But she doesn't remember a lot these days and sharing time with her is more of a caretaker role than a relationship between Mom and children. Though she is still around, we miss the Nana of yesteryear, but we're thankful she is doing as well as she is.

But I'm missing Mom this year as Mother's Day approaches. My sermon will probably be bland. I've done two sermons so far this week and have not been happy with either one. Sometimes I just wish we could skip mother's / father's day sermons. My shepherds said I could do that, but I feel the moms in our church deserve something ... far more than anything I'll give them, but they deserve recognition and honor, so I'll give it a shot.

I hope my children have a clue just how precious their mother is to them. I hope they will slow down now and then to show Janice how much they love her. I hope they will have opportunities in life to come spend time with her, even when it may not seem convenient. And I hope they'll think highly of their daddy from time to time as well, but I'm more concerned that they shower their mama with the love she deserves for she continues to shower them with love!

My grandmother's saddest comment to me was that her children (the ones who lived out of town) seldom took time to just come and visit. Not to stop by on their way to or from somewhere else, but to intentionally come to spend time with her. I know mom regretted not doing that for her mother and experienced some of it in her own life from her own. It's tough to do that, but mom regretted the times we just didn't take the time to come visit. We were too busy. And now it's too late ... and most of what kept us away simply wasn't that important in retrospect.

If your mother is still alive I hope you are treasuring the moments you have together ... and are being very intentional about making those moments together!

Oh, the picture? Just did want to get all that mushy this time.

The Letter: A Response

2006-05-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

On April 28, I blogged about a letter received in our church office. A couple had posed 46 questions to be answered to help them find a congregation with which to worship. I had all intentions of ignoring it or, at best, saving it for some future sermon illustration. It was pretty obvious that to their way of thinking they were sound and we would be labeled unsound.

But my friend, Keith, uttered heresy: He said he would answer it! My first thought was, "Why bother?" Then he said, "If God could change a legalist like Paul, he may be using this letter to change them."

Where do these younger preachers gain such wisdom over us mature, experienced geezers?

As much as I wanted to, I just couldn't shake his challenge ... and decided to at least mimmick his maturity and answer the letter.

Here is my response:

I was on vacation when your letter of April 25 arrived, and then was out of town attending the Pepperdine Bible Lectures last week, so I am just now able to respond.

I will not attempt to respond to all of the questions you posed, but I didn’t want to just ignore your letter.

The Long Beach congregation has been meeting in various locations in this area for just over 100 years. We are shepherded by elders and served by servant-hearted men and women. Besides myself, we have a full-time minister to our youth. Our desire is to honor God in all that we do, both as a church family and as individuals.

We are saved by the grace of Jesus Christ and his completed (perfect) sacrifice on Calvary and resurrection on Sunday morning. We can never please God through perfect performance nor perfect obedience. If so, there would have been no need for the cross.

Should you visit the Long Beach church, you’ll find people who are loving and generous and God-centered. We assemble to rejoice in our salvation and express the praises to God that flow from such redemption. The sermons are almost always expository (textual rather than topical) in nature. The singing is led by a five-person praise team. We are involved in various mission works and we try to be Christ to those around us.

We are very much a “freeway church” in that very few of our people actually live near the building. We are missional in our outreach (meaning we try to be Christ to those in our neighborhoods and work places) because our building sits in a very large, heavily populated Jewish section of town.

Most of the questions you posed center on the issues that have divided our fellowship for generations and we choose not to be issues-oriented. Many of our members do not have a restoration heritage background and are not concerned about those issues and debates. We choose, instead, to focus on Jesus Christ and to be led by His Holy Spirit that indwells us and through God’s Word that guides us.

I sincerely hope you find a body of believers with whom you can fellowship and work in a common bond of love to minister the Kingdom to others. It may be here at Long Beach, it may be elsewhere, but we wish God’s blessings on your search for a home church.

Grace and Peace,

Many thanks to my brother, Keith, for lifting me above my apathy! I trust God will do something with this situation that is far greater than anything we could imagine!

Just a Great Picture

2006-05-10T06:22:00.000-07:00

Will there be dogs in heaven? Is there a chance Chipper, my bird-eating dog, might make it?

I mentioned in an earlier blog that Chipper had cut short the life of the newborn dove hatched on our back porch. Shortly after that, another dove-couple built a nest on a ladder that should have been put away after using it. We watched as the mother lovingly (or is it just instinctual w/ no emotion?) cared for the egg. I was skipping lectures at Pepperdine when the egg hatched, and wondered if this chick had any better luck than the earlier one.

I didn't wonder long. Monday afternoon I found the remains in the back yard. No doubt, the latest victim of Chipper. If the dog in this picture were Chipper, I'd feel pretty confident she was not praying, but was dreaming of her next kill!

2006-05-09T06:05:00.000-07:00

Have you been surprised lately?

As I preached Sunday I kept noticing a young man toward the back. Inside aisle seat on the south side of the room. His face sort of haunted me and I couldn't figure out just why. When assembly was over, a couple came up to speak with me (they were actually commending the sermon .... really!) and this young man stood off to the side, patiently waiting to meet me. Finally he walked up and said, "Hi, I'm Bruce Mitchell." Now it made sense. I was looking at my cousin from 35 years ago! Only this was his son! Captain in the Air Force, recently stationed in El Segundo. We took him to lunch and got to know a second cousin I'd never known.

Funny, he knew a lot about me. Mainly from stories he'd heard about my escapades with his uncle, David. David and I were tight growing up. And we were notorious for not just getting in trouble, but for staying in trouble! He repeated at least one year of high school and seemed to have very little interest in growing up. Summers were never better than spending them with David ... which worried his mother and mine!

Today? David has his Ph.D., was a college professor for many years, and now lives in San Antonio. I'm not sure exactly what he does as I haven't heard from him in years, but I hear he's doing well. His son is an Army Ranger, so I have utmost respect for Rob. Oh yes, David also preaches some part time. Of the 25 or so grandchildren that grew up together, David and yours truly were the last ones anyone ever have dreamed would have become preachers.

Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor?