The Church – Cruise Ship or Battleship

When I saw this video, it immediately reminded me of a message I heard almost 30 years ago at a lay renewal conference I attended just a couple of months before going to seminary. Dr. Findley Edge, a religious education professor at Southern Seminary spoke on the subject: “The Church: A Hospital or a Hotel?” He said, “a hotel exists primarily for the pleasure of the paying guests.” Is that what Jesus died for? I think Dr. Edge would have liked this video…

The following video is a little more humorous, and hopefully not true of any churches, though some might be tempted to give car washes and ponies to get people to join!

For more videos like this, go to:

http://www.youtube.com/user/IgniterMedia

Commencement Address – What Were They Thinking?

Our local private school’s senior class requested that I be their graduation speaker. What were they thinking? They had to sit through two “sermons” since their baccalaureate was the night before with a full-fledge sermon. I knew that the chances of their remembering anything I said were slim to none. Since I don’t enjoy the prospect of fading into commencement oblivion so quickly, I decided to cheat a little bit.

I told the class that they probably wouldn’t remember much of what I said, so I made each of them a “cheat sheet” for life. Have you ever tried to reduce life’s most important lessons to five or six ideas? It’s hard. I laminated 4 x 6 cards and told the graduates to hang onto them as one day, they may understand their importance. At the very least, they got a “cool” bookmark with a redwood seed containing the actual genetic code to grow the tallest living thing on the planet.

I’ve blogged about the “seed” idea being used to simply remind people as they feel the tiny little bump under the plastic, that if God is smart enough to cram all the information needed to grow the tallest living thing on the planet, He’s smart enough to be trusted with our lives. So, what lessons would you include on your cheat sheet? Here are the ones I came up with…click on each for a larger view. If you want to make your own, you can order the seeds from: http://seedrack.com/09.html

Scroll down to "Coastal Redwood." They are $3.29 per 50 seed packet.

Denmark: Small? Sure! Boring? NEVER

If I had to come up with a theme for the past two weeks it would be a “Whirlwind of Significance!” Since my last blog I’ve attended…

• Two high school graduations (I spoke at one of them.)
• One high school baccalaureate
• One Graduate Recognition Sunday (See Photo!)
• Two weddings (Helped officiate one; took pictures at the other. The picture is of Charlie and Crystal. This was the first wedding I've been involved with that included a fire truck!)
• Numerous hospital visits

Also, in the past week:

• One church family welcomed a new baby
• Another had to say good-bye to someone who passed away Saturday

When I was called to this church over 21 years ago, the search committee feared I might become bored in such a small town. Over the past 21 years I can not recall one moment of boredom.

Then again, if your life has relationships with God and other people as first priorities (not that I’m always successful at keeping my priorities in their correct places), boredom really isn’t an option is it?

Love - Acting in the Best Interest of Another

It's been a quarter of a century since I sat in a religious education class at Southwestern Seminary, but I still remember something my professor, Rick Yount, said about love. He defined it as "acting in the best interest of another." This definition is emphasized again and again in Scripture, but one of my favorite passages is 1 John 3:16-18: 16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

John reminds us that true love shows itself by our actions, and that we are to "act" toward others according to their needs and for their benefit, not out of our own convenience or self-preservation. Christ is, of course, our ultimate example of sacrifice for the benefit of another, but it is interesting that following this ultimate example, John gets VERY specific and VERY basic in how Christ's love manifests itself in us every day as we respond to human need.

Two of our most urgent physical needs on an international level have to be the earthquake victims of China and the cyclone victims of Myanmar. Here is the link (for my fellow Baptists..or anyone for that matter) to our International Mission Board's global response efforts to which you can donate:

http://www.baptistglobalresponse.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=39

Earthquake survivors are seen here in tents among the rubble of collapsed houses in Shuimo, in Wenchuan county in southwestern China's Sichuan province, Sunday, May 18, 2008. A friend sent me this link for helping the earthquake victims (and especially the children) of China. This charity is based in SC by the way. The link:

http://www.christianworldfoundation.org/cwf.htm

Do You "REALLY" Care?

I'm asked from time to time, "what do you say to someone who is experiencing a major tragedy?" I think all of us can gain some insight into loving people through difficult times by understanding the origin of the simple word, "care," as set forth by Henri Nouwen.

“The word ‘care’ finds its roots in the Gothic ‘Kara’ which means lament. The basic meaning of care is: to grieve, to experience sorrow, to cry out. I am very much struck by this background of the word care because we tend to look at caring as an attitude of the strong toward the weak, of the powerful toward the powerless, of the have’s toward the have not’s. And, in fact, we feel quite uncomfortable with an invitation to enter into someone’s pain before doing something about it…The friend who cares makes it clear that whatever happens in the external world, being present to each other is what really matters. In fact, it matters more than pain, illness, or even death…Therefore, to care means first of all to be present to each other.” Henri Nouwen

When someone you love is hurting, hurt with them. You'll be hard pressed to find any combination of spoken words that beat that.

The Principles of Florence Nightingale

I was doing some research for my commencement address that I'm scheduled to give next week and found this quote from Norman Cousins.

The Principles of Florence Nightingale

The first principle: the world is run by those who show up—be where the action is.

The second principle: you get more done by working with others than just yourself.

The third principle: count what counts.

The fourth principle: you don’t have to be seen to be heard.

The fifth principle: plan to get dirty.

The sixth principle: when there is darkness, light the way.

The last principle: answer humanity’s call.

“The tragedy of life is not death, but what we let die inside us while we live.” Norman Cousins

I think there's some wisdom here for all of us... for more info on Florence Nightingale go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale

My Unexpected Day at The Hospital

"X" marks the spot from which I'm blogging right now! I'm in the "Observation Stay" unit of the University Hospital (Augusta, GA) in room 13 rejoicing that my mother had two gall stones removed today! She has been uncomfortable from time to time over the past several months, and finally the mystery has been solved. This was the BEST possible outcome; to have found nothing would have continued the uncertainty that has plagued her for several months.

The stones were measured in milimeters and very tiny, but because of their location, they became very painful, and very threatening to the liver itself. Her doctor was kind enough to show my brother and me x-rays and photos from the procedure. It was pretty amazing that he could go almost into the liver itself with a tube placed down my mom's esophogus and through her stomach. The lesson? Something doesn't have to be huge to disrupt our lives, it just has to be in the right (or wrong) location.

It reminds me of how powerful words are in bringing good or bad. James knew this as he wrote, "Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body." (James 3:5,6)

We underestimate the power of words. I was reminded several weeks ago during a Sunday night discussion at church by a church member about how just a few words given by an influential person in our lives can destroy us. How many kids have been damaged by words like, "you'll never amount to anything," or "I wish you had never been born," or...you fill in the blank.

My church member's point was that if negative words can have such a powerful impact, so can they have a positive one. I wonder how the thief on the cross felt when he heard the words, "Today you shall be with me in Paradise?" (Luke 23) or the woman caught in adultery when she heard the words, "neither do I condemn you...go now and sin no more." (John 8)

The remarkable thing is that words, even a few words, can also have the power to encourage, to teach, to correct, and they can even be used by God to draw people to Him! So I thank God today that my mom's gallstones are history and her health is going to return, but also that my words can, if I choose, bring health to others! Go and help someone with the right words today...you might be surprised at what a few words can do!

Ever Seen a Kuvasz. ?

I posted a video preview of Disney's "Beverly Hill Chihuahua" earlier this week. Now here is a dog that is more my style...the Kuvasc...nice dogs, huh?

WARNING! Preview of Scary Horror Movie!

WARNING! This preview is not for the squeamish! I could barely sit through the 90 seconds of sheer terror. Watch it if you dare!

Thank Goodness I Didn't Jump into Getting a Dog!

From time to time I contemplate getting a dog. I know of the obvious health and emotional benefits of having a dog, but I also know how much it takes to care for another life in my home. Well, technology has come to my rescue again. Soon after the highly anticipated release of Pixar's new movie,Wall-E, home versions of the robot star will be available for a mere $189. If any of my friends win the lottery or come into a large inheritance, you now have the ideal thing to get me for Christmas. I could, of course, use Wall-E for numerous children's sermons, for toting my Bible around, spicing up nursing home visits,etc. Here's a preview... (For a preview of he movie, go here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/walle/trailer_large.html

I know, I know...not as cute as a puppy; no real emotional bond; but no mess, no grief, no chewing. Still..I have time to weigh all the options. Oh, speaking of puppies; here is Max, my friend Joel's newest family member. This was taken on a recent visit to see Joel and his family. I even accompanied Joel and his son, Benjamin, and Max to obedience school!