Gran

This past week, I returned to Texas to officiate the funeral of my grandmother, whom we affectionately called Gran. As we celebrated her 99 years of life, several thoughts crossed my mind:

1. She really embodied the life of a Christ-follower. She was sacrificial in her love, and clearly made her relationship with God the center of her worldview.

2. Life as a human being ends. I know that sounds obvious, but even the longest of lives come to a screeching halt. Our time here is temporary, a drop in the bucket really, and each and every day should be lived as an incredible blessing from God.

3. After God, people matter most. God has blessed each of us with special people in our lives and we should take the time and energy to make them a priority-be the first to call, tell them you love them, apologize, and make time for them. We never know how long we will have them in our lives, nor how long we will be around.

4. Heaven will be an awesome place. As we participate in that great reunion in the presence of God, it will be a blast to be reconnected with those who have gone before us. In fact, whatever life throws at us now, can not possibly compare to the joy that Heaven will bring.

I thank God for Gran. She was awesome and I am grateful that she is where she wants to be.

WOW!!!!!

Yesterday was the culmination of an amazing time in the life of our church. After months of preparation, we officially called an African-American to serve on our staff here at MHBC. What was so incredible was the fact that not only was this individual called, but he was voted on unanimously, and was received with great enthusaism. As a 72 year-old Anglo church, that was an amazing step forward for us as we strive to reach everyone in the community surrounding our church campus. God has blessed us with the opportunity to reach children and youth from all backgrounds, but we have been unable to connect to their families. I pray that yesterday was the first step in building new bridges to those of different ethnicities in our community and city.

It has always baffled me that we go to work with people from different backgrounds, we workout at the gym with people of different races, we dine in the same restaraunts with those that are unlike us, and even cheer on our children at sporting events with those from different cultures, yet we are unable,too many times, to be united by the one thing that should unite us the most: our love for Jesus.

I don't know what the future looks like for MHBC, but I can't wait to see what God is going to do next!

A Team Sport

As football season gets going full speed, I am reminded of the significance of team. There are so many talented players that play football week after week, yet they rarely win. Some teams, in fact, are loaded with talent, yet they seem unable to pull together to outscore their opponent. Many times, the problem is that all the talent in the world can not win unless the individuals realize that they are part of the whole. The team must become more important than the individual if success is going to be a reality.
Church is the same way. Success, defined as honoring God, does not occur in the life of the church unless the whole becomes more important than the individual. Like a talented football team that can not win, a church with loads of talented people, plenty of financial stability, and beautiful buildings can not accomplish success if they do not work together to pursue a common goal. Team is essential if the church is going to become everything God intends it to be.

The Big Apple

I just returned from my first trip to New York City. It was an exciting place to visit, with an endless list of things to do. I enjoyed the museums, the New York Philharmonic in Central Park, the Broadway shows, and even the subway. Perhaps, though, one of my favorite times was my lunch at ESPN Zone. I walked in and asked to be seated for lunch and the hostess asked me a question I have never been asked at a restaraunt, "Would you like a recliner? They are really comfortable." "A recliner, in a restaraunt," I said, "well, of course I would like a recliner."
The next hour and a half was phenominal. I sat in an amazingly comfortable recliner, with a tray that covered my lap, sitting right in front of two gigantic TV's one showing ESPN and another showing ESPN2 surrounded by a dozen smaller TV's with other sports programing. I don't even remember if the food was any good, because it didn't really matter. "This," I thought, "is how every restaraunt should be."
Yes, New York City is a special place, it is unlike any other city in my experience, but I will always remember that Monday lunch at ESPN Zone- if only it had been football season!

A Computer Virus

My wife's computer recently had an extremely rude virus. This virus would use pop-ups to let the user know that there were viruses and bad files on the computer that needed to be eliminated and it was impossible to stop the pop-ups from occuring. If you followed the link it provided, you were told that all of the bad files could be eliminated for $69.95. Of course, it is assumed, that they would then use my credit card number to purchase things for themselves. This virus had to go and my frustration level was high. I spent many hours over a four day period trying to rid the computer of this virus, but I was completely unsuccessful. After days of frustration, I realized that I needed outside help. Finally, after dealing with several helpful websites, I broke down and paid S29.99 to download a program that would rid my computer of the program that was making my home computer life miserable. Sure enough, it only took about 30 minutes for the virus to be destroyed, or least eliminated from my computer.

I have noticed in my life, that I am in many ways like a computer with a virus. Besides the reality of being annoying, I am a pretty difficult problem to fix. No simple solution to make me better. No way to delete those personality deficiencies. The only way that I can be changed and made "well" is with outside help. Thankfully, the most proficient and powerful personal transforming agent lives inside of me, and gratefully He has a whole lot of patience!

A Funny Thing Happened At the Golf Course

Typically, I don't play golf with people I know. Contrary to popular opinion, that is not because I might say something I should not. Though, quite frankly, many times I would like to say non-pastor type words. I do, however, play with people I don't know as a chance to meet new people and perhaps have a Divine appointment on the golf course. Recently, the tables were turned on me. I never tell people what I do for a living unless they ask. Normally, that is quite entertaining as they typically will use language that they would not normally use around a pastor. Then they find out that I am a pastor and they spend the rest of the time apologizing, which ironically is a great time to introduce the subject of grace.
This day, however, it was different. On hole number 15, my cart partner took a deep breath and asked me the question that he had been working up to all day. "Do you go church very often?" I answered, "Yes, I go to church A LOT!" "Really?" he asked, "where do you go?"
It was then that I consider having fun with my new found brother in Christ. I thought about telling him that I was a Buddhist and that I was formally an ant, but instead I came clean with my occupation and church affiliation.
Then, we were able to have an extensive discussion about faith and what it means to us. Honestly, it was refreshing to have someone ask me about my faith on the golf course. I sure am glad I didn't say what I was thinking on hole number 6.

Golf Lessons

I am taking golf lessons-again! It has been amazing as my new instructor has basically been undoing what my other golf instructor had taught me in the past. You see, golf has been frustrating for me because I am a relatively decent athlete. I can play most sports fairly well, and even have the ability to adjust my game in the misdt of competition. But not in golf, I just stink. My new teacher though, he's different. For the first time, golf seems to make sense to me.
Now let me make it clear, I still stink, but I finally know why I stink. Hopefully, I will improve on the course.
Isn't it amazing how the right teacher, at the right time, can make something that seems obscure make sense when no one else could? So, here is to all the teachers in my past and present, that have made things make sense-you are awesome. May you never stop teaching, and may we all never stop learning.