Lessons from the Volkswagen Beetle

My folks purchased a VW Beetle while I was still high school back in the late 60s and early 70s. They were making daily round trip commute of 80 miles to and from work at the time and needed something that gave good gas mileage. Sounds a bit like what folks are talking about today. It was painted orange (a good color for a UT grad like myself) and the factory name for the color was Clementine Orange, hence the name Clementine stuck for the little car. Along about my sophomore year at UT, I inherited Clementine and drove it for a couple of more years. It was a delight to park as it was small and fit in to some pretty tight spots. I don't remember exactly why Clementine left the family, but she eventually did.

Five years ago today on July 30, 2003, the last “classic” Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the assembly line at the production plant in Puebla, Mexico. It was shipped to a museum in Wolfsburg, Germany where the Volkswagen headquarters is located. The car that inspired Disney’s Herbie the Love Bug series was actually originally the result of an initiative by Adolf Hitler to make an affordable, efficient “people’s car.” The Beetle was popular in the 60s and early 70s in the U.S. until it was banned in 1977 for failing to meet safety and emissions standards. Until 2003, it continued to be produced in Mexico where one can still see to this day thousands of green Beetles being used as city taxis.

The Beetle finally found itself unable to compete with other inexpensive compact cars. Its failure to adapt to change marked its demise. One of the challenges we all face is adapting to change. You may have heard the refrain, “The only constant is change.” Change is unsettling and uncomfortable, but it’s a given in this world. I think that as we age, we tend to long more and with greater nostalgia for the good old days. We probably remember those days as better than they actually were, but in our memory they represent better times, less marked by rapid upheaval.

Reacting positively to change is difficult, but if we’ll make the effort to do so, it will help us to stay young at heart—-no matter what our biological age might be. The new redesigned Beetle that Volkswagen introduced in 1998 has done fairly well in sales, a testament to the virtue of adapting to change. One thing that will help us to cope with change is to remember that the Lord who promises to never leave us nor forsake us is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

(I shared the gist of this post in our monthly senior adult newsletter).

The Tabitha Ministry

I’d like to introduce you to a special person and a wonderful ministry she has in Guatemala City. Carol Bercian is the partnership liaison for the Guatemala Baptist Convention and handles the logistics for volunteer teams coming into the country to work on various projects. As you are aware if you’ve read my previous posts, the Baptist General Convention of Missouri has an ongoing partnership with the Guatemala Baptist Convention and thus we have worked closely with Carol on each of our trips. Alabama Baptists also have a partnership with Guatemala, and being much larger than our convention, they keep Carol busy with trip arrangements for many mission groups that they send.

Carol has also directed the children’s work of the Guatemala Convention and has a wonderful heart for ministry. One of the projects she has assisted with is a daycare center that is located near the city dump in Guatemala City. Around 70 children are receiving an education and two meals a day through this important ministry.

In the process of working with the children there, Carol became aware of the desperate plight of many of these children’s mothers. Most earn a living by scrounging through the refuse at the dump, looking for items they can resell or even scavenging for food among what is discarded there. Many come from a background of drugs, glue sniffing, and prostitution. Carol began a ministry among these women and many have come to Christ as Savior and have received discipleship training from Carol. Though their life situation is still very difficult and tenuous, a real transformation is occurring among many of them. Carol has acquired sewing machines and the ladies are making colorful bags with some of the bright fabrics that Guatemala is noted for producing. This has provided them with a source of income and given them an escape from their former life of prostitution.

I’ve been able to visit the daycare center on a couple of trips to Guatemala City, including going there with a team from our church back in February. As a result of seeing Carol’s ministry there, our children’s minister proposed that this year’s VBS offering go to assist the Tabitha Ministry that Carol has among these women. I’m delighted to share that the boys and girls raised a little more than $700 with their penny offerings to help with this ministry on the edges of the city dump in Guatemala City. As the Lord prompts you to do so, please say a prayer for Carol and her vital work with these ladies and their children.

Reading Yancey

One of the things I enjoyed this past week on my trip to Guatemala in addition to the fellowship and teaching time with the pastors and lay leaders there was the opportunity to catch up on some reading. Airport layovers are good for that. One of my favorite authors is Phillip Yancey and I took the time to re-read Where is God When it Hurts?, as well as reading one of his bestsellers—-The Jesus I Never Knew. If you’re not familiar with Yancey’s writings, I highly encourage you to grab one of his books. I think you’ll have a hard time putting it down. His writing is at times brutally honest about our struggles as Christians, and that’s something I respect about him. I wanted to share a couple of quotes from the latter book, hopefully to spark your interest in reading it.

“Killing Jesus, says Walter Wink, was like trying to destroy a dandelion seed-head by blowing on it.”

Commenting on Jesus’ parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25 and God’s apparent absence from the world at times, Yancey writes, “God has not absconded at all. Rather, he has taken on a disguise, a most unlikely disguise of the stranger, the poor, the hungry, the prisoner, the sick, the ragged ones of the earth. 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.' If we cannot detect God’s presence in the world, it may be that we have been looking in the wrong places.”

Home from Guatemala

I arrived home from Guatemala at about 11:00 p.m. on Friday night. I probably could have caught an earlier flight out of Houston on Continental Airlines as we arrived there in time to do so, but I didn't want to take my chances when I was scheduling the flights with a tight connecting flight time. I've had several late flights in the past from Guatemala City and didn't want to push my luck too far.

The pastors' and lay leaders' training conferences went very well. Rather than the Guatemala Convention handling the invitations and enrollment this time, they left those tasks up to the leaders of the newly established pastors' association in that region. One of the results of that was the presence of some new folks this time who hadn't participated in the three previous training sessions. At the same time, the majority were still those who have attended all 4 sessions. The Guatemala Baptist Convention tends to be pretty conservative theologically so I wasn't 100% certain how they would react to a woman pastor as the main conference speaker, but any doubts or concerns I might have had were quickly erased. Jeanie did an outstanding job of leading the conferences and planned in a good deal of small group interaction and dialogue time that allowed the group to arrive at their own conclusions and embrace the contents that she shared as their own. The comments afterwards were unanimously positive in terms of evaluating her participation.

I had been asked to preach at the First Baptist Church of Quetzaltenango for the worship service on Tuesday night that marked the formal inauguration of the new pastors' association for that region. It was a packed house, with folks even sitting in chairs outside on the patio area outside the main auditorium and listening through open windows. I would guess there were close to 300 present. I preached a message from Phil. 2:1-11, focusing on Paul's call to unity and humility with the supreme example of humility being that of Jesus Himself.

Another highlight of the trip for me was the chance to do some reading while traveling as well as in the evening times. I had purposed to re-read Yancey's "Where is God When it Hurts" before passing it along to a church member who has been struggling with some very frustrating medical issues lately. After finishing that, I also had time to read another Yancey book, "The Jesus I Never Knew." It was an outstanding book, one of my favorites by him, and gave me a lot of food for thought as he challenged some commonly-held assumptions about Jesus and forced me to re-think some of those issues. I would highly recommend the book if you have not yet read it.

Thanks to those who prayed for our trip. The Lord richly blessed our time there.

Upcoming trip to Guatemala

Well, it's been 5 months since my last trip to Guatemala with our church and 6 months since the last leadership training conferences with the BGCM. That must mean it's time to head south again. I'll be doing just that this coming Monday. In this latest round of workshops for pastors and leaders, I'll be joined by Jeanie McGowan, associate pastor of the FBC of Jefferson City. Jeanie joined the staff of the BGCM at the start of this year and is heading up our leadership development team. Her duties at FBC Jefferson City include singles ministry and equipping ministry. As our previous conferences focused on evangelism and church planting, in a logical progression, this time we're going to address the issue of assimilating new members into the life of the congregation. Jeanie will be leading in the conferences and I'll be her translator.

Another blessing of this trip will be the opportunity to preach at the inauguration of a new pastors' association for those living and serving in the western region of Guatemala. Our partnership liaison informed me that the formation of this association is the direct result of the BGCM's ongoing relationship with the pastors in this area and our leadership training conferences. They've experienced much greater unity and are networking with one another in ways they have not previously done. That is really an exciting development and I rejoice in what the Lord is doing in their midst.

This will be a quick trip this time, departing on Monday and returning on Friday. We'll conduct the workshops on Tuesday and Wednesday, do some sightseeing on Thursday, and fly home on Friday. I'd certainly appreciate the prayers of any who happen to stumble across my blog and read this post. Thanks.

Temple's Definition of Worship

This week I happened upon a definition of worship by Archbishop William Temple. Temple served as the Archbishop of Canterbury during World War II. He defines worship as follows: “Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God. It is the quickening of the conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose—all this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable.”

I hope you’ll take a moment to re-read that definition and ponder the significance of the individual phrases. Worship involves the complete submission of our nature to God. It’s recognizing His supremacy and our unworthiness. In worship we allow His holiness to direct our moral compasses and instruct our conscience about matters of right and wrong. The spiritual food we need for nourishment we find as we reverently allow God to speak His truth into our hearts and minds in worship. The contemplation of the beauty of God’s creation certainly stirs up our imaginations as we seek words capable of expressing His grandeur and majesty. As we open our hearts to His love in worship, we find John’s words to be true—“We love Him because He first loved us.” In worship we come to recognize that God’s will for our lives is always better than any alternative that we could devise and we surrender our wills to His.

Finally, the quote identifies adoration as the most selfless emotion our nature is capable of producing. When we adore God in spirit and in truth as Jesus urged (Jn. 4:23-24), we empty ourselves of self and are filled with His Holy Spirit, enabling us to render to God the worship of which He alone is worthy.

Book Review

I've been absent from the blogging world for a while. My wife had a student who qualified for the National Forensics Tournament in Las Vegas this past week so my youngest son and I accompanied them for a week of vacation. I didn't even access a computer for the entire week, other than to purchase passes to some of the sights in the area. We enjoyed the time away very much.

While on vacation, I read a book by Kyle Lake, the 33-year old pastor of University Baptist Church in Waco, TX, who died tragically in 2005 when he was electrocuted in the church’s baptistry. The book is entitled, Understanding God's Will: How To Hack The Equation Without Formulas. Lake makes the case that we’ve reduced the quest for knowing God’s will to a series of formulas rather than focusing on living life in a fresh, daily encounter with Jesus. He also states that far too often we have equated the will of God with favorable circumstances, safety, and our own well-being. Jesus’ call to His disciples was an invitation to a lifestyle of radical obedience to Him—not a promise that everything in life would always go well for us. The trials and troubles we experience in life shouldn’t be interpreted as signs that we’ve somehow missed out on God’s “perfect will,” a phrase that Lake suggests can be misleading. Our calling is not to know all the answers to what lies ahead in our future, but to walk daily with the One who call us His friends and invites us to know Him more fully. Kyle Lake concluded each of his sermons with this charge to his congregation, “Love God, embrace beauty, and live life to the fullest.” Those are wise words to live by as we seek to walk daily with the One who said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

A Great Example of Sportsmanship

I had read this article a few months back and copied it into a Word document, adding it to a file of illustrations and inspirational stories that I might use someday in a sermon or Bible study. As I stumbled across it again today, I thought that it was just too good not to share. I hope you'll follow the link and read the story of a great example of sportsmanship from the world of women's athletics.

Needed: An Enlarged Heart

While I trust that no one reading this actually bet and lost money on Big Brown’s failed quest to win horse racing’s famous Triple Crown this past Saturday at Belmont, it’s interesting to note that 30 years have passed since a horse has won all three major races—the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. The longest previous stretch without a Triple Crown winner was 25 years, which ended with Secretariat’s record run in 1973. Secretariat won all three races in record time that year, winning the Belmont by an astonishing 31 lengths. The “horse of the century” was retired later that year and was euthanized in 1989 after falling ill. An autopsy revealed that Secretariat’s heart was two and a half times the size of an average horse’s heart—-perhaps accounting for his amazing endurance.

In thinking about Secretariat’s unusual heart, I was impressed with the fact that we really need some big-hearted Christians in our world today. When on a national level Baptists are best known for what they are opposed to rather than what they stand for, it’s time to remember that Jesus summarized the entire law in two statements—-loving God with all our being and our neighbor as ourselves. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if when someone delivers our funeral eulogy at some future date that the comment could be made that we were characterized by an enlarged heart with a great capacity for loving God and others?

Sunday's Sermon Outline

Our senior pastor was gone to Washington, D.C. this past weekend to celebrate an anniversary with his wife so I had the privilege of preaching in both morning services and again on Sunday evening. For Sunday morning I selected as a text the prayer of Jesus in John 17 and focused on the topic of our highest calling being that of glorifying God. Using Jesus’ prayer as a guideline, I sought to answer the question of how we go about bringing glory to God, even as He did in His earthly ministry. This is the outline I came up with and the main points I shared.

Knowing God through Jesus Christ – v. 3
Accomplishing the Work He Gives Us – v. 4
Keeping His Word – v. 6
Going into the World – v. 18
Being One in Christ – vv. 20-23

An Inspirational Life

I read this morning on the CNN website about the death of 61-year old Dianne Odell, a woman who had lived practically her entire life in an iron lung after contracting polio as a 3-year old child. An emergency power generator, set to start automatically in the event of a power outage, failed to start and could not be manually activated when the home lost electrical power. Efforts to use a hand pump attached to the iron lung also failed to save Dianne’s life.

Though confined to the seven-foot metal tube for almost 60 years, Dianne didn’t allow her conditions to destroy her spirit. She obtained a high school diploma, took college courses, and wrote a children’s book. On her 60th birthday in February 2007, family and friends held a party for her at a downtown Jackson, TN hotel with more than 200 guests attending. She had a 9-foot birthday cake and received cards and letters from people across the U.S.

In 1994, she was quoted as saying, “I’ve had a very good life, filled with love and family and faith. You can make life good, or you can make it bad.” It’s hard to imagine more difficult and challenging circumstances in which to live, yet Dianne Odell maintained a positive spirit and attitude to the end. I think the key to how she was able to do so is found in the three things she identifies as filling her life—love, family, and faith. Refusing to let life’s adversities conquer her spirit, Dianne Odell made the most of the life she had been given. I’m challenged by her example and pray that her story will inspire all of us to live focused on what matters most—-love, family, and faith.

Life Lessons from Baseball

On May 26, 1959, pitcher Harvey Haddix of the Pittsburgh Pirates made baseball history by becoming the first pitcher to throw more than 9 perfect innings in a game. The Pirates were playing the Milwaukee Braves, who featured the powerful Hank Aaron in their line-up. Haddix’s control was phenomenal, as he retired the first 27 batters he faced in the regulation 9 innings and then went on to retire 6 more in innings 10 and 11. In the 12th inning, the leadoff hitter reached on an error and the perfect game was over, but the no-hitter was still possible. The second batter sacrificed the runner to second and then Haddix issued an intentional walk to Aaron. The next hitter, Joe Adcock, hit a pitch out of the park and Haddix lost not only the no-hitter but the game as well. In their excitement over Adcock’s hit, the Braves’ baserunners became confused and Adcock actually passed Aaron on the base path between 2nd and 3rd base. After several minutes of consultation, the home plate umpire changed Adcock’s three-run homer to a two-run double, still sufficient to give the Braves the victory and ruin Haddix’s masterful pitching performance.

The opposing pitcher, Lew Burdette, had also pitched 12 scoreless innings, giving up 12 hits and 2 walks, but the Pirates had failed to take advantage of 14 men on base and lost the game. There are a couple of pretty obvious lessons to be learned from Haddix’s experience. He had pitched an incredible game, but failed to finish it well and he lost. The Bible speaks about running the race that is set before us with endurance so that we might finish the course well. The more apparent problem Haddix suffered was a lack of run support by his own teammates. They squandered many scoring opportunities that should have resulted in a win for their teammate who pitched a perfect game for 11 innings. There is a clear lesson for us here as well about the importance of mutual encouragement and the help that we can offer our brothers and sisters in Christ. All Christians, be they mature disciples or recent converts, need the strength that comes from fellow believers as we prayerfully support and encourage one another in our walk with Christ. Be on the lookout this week for the chance to help a fellow Christian with words that edify and encourage.

Post-denominationalism - Part 3

I had fully intended to do a follow-up post on post-denominationalism a bit sooner than this, but life and ministry caught up with me these past few days. Our youngest son has had several end-of-the-year school activities he's been involved in that have required my attendance and energies. In addition, I made a hasty trip down to Dallas and back on Tuesday for a meeting of the WorldconneX board of trustees. Yesterday was a funeral for the father of one of our church members and tomorrow I'm headed to Columbia for a meeting of the BGCM First Priority Team.

I wanted to address the issue of post-denominationalism a bit further in this post by mentioning a new paradigm or approach to state convention life that has characterized the Baptist General Convention of Missouri. If you've read my profile on this blog, you've discovered that I work on a part-time basis for the BGCM as their Missions Mobilization Team Leader. The truth of the matter is that the BGCM has only one full-time employee who serves as our office administrator and handles our finances. The rest of us are all bi-vocational and this is by design.

Even if we were a larger state convention with greater financial resources like some of the older established bodies, our commitment would be to continue to grow by adding staff who are practitioners rather than traditional full-time denominational staff. To borrow an old phrase, there's a method to our madness in this regard. Our motto and theme song as a convention is that we exist to serve churches. We express it most simply in the phrase, "Our first priority is serving churches." That mindset influences all that we do in terms of decisions and strategic planning. I firmly believe that the majority of denominational bodies--whether national or state conventions--are in decline today at least to some degree because they have forgotten their "razón de ser" in Spanish--their reason for existing.

It's easy for an organization to become self-serving and self-centered over time. It happens at every level of religious life--from the local church through the association and state convention all the way to the national convention. The tendency to fall into this trap is greater as a group grows in size because more and more resources are needed (or so it is thought) to maintain the structure and machinery of the group. Bureaucracies generate tasks and create positions to accomplish these jobs that frequently have little to do with the original purpose of the group.

The BGCM is attempting to stay on task with the primary responsibility and goal of serving churches. We are doing so through maximizing our resources by utilizing team leaders in the areas of our 4 Great Commission Initiatives--Church Health, Leadership Development, Church Planting, and Missions Mobilization--who have experience and a certain level of expertise in these areas. Brian Kaylor, of "For God's Sake Shut Up" blogger fame, does a very capable job of handling our communications. Our executive secretary, Jim Hill, does an outstanding job of leading us in strategic planning to ensure that this focus isn't lost or blurred.

I'm convinced that for denominational bodies to survive in a post-denominational world, they have to radically re-think and restructure themselves to offer something tangible to the churches which they presumably exist to serve. If the message that these bodies communicate to their constituents, consciously or unconsciously, is that the churches exist to sustain the denominational structures and bureaucracies, their fate will be sealed and their demise will be hastened. A compelling vision is the only thing that will cause churches to "buy in" and continue to support denominational bodies. The challenge is to clearly define and communicate that vision in such a way that folks get on board and adopt it as their own.

Living in a Post-denominational Era - Part 2

I wanted to follow up on the previous post with some further thoughts about the implications of a post-denominational mindset for the future of denominations, state conventions, and even individual churches. The recent Lifeway statistical reports about a decline in total membership of the SBC have been amply discussed and critiqued on other blogs, so I won’t pursue that topic here.

The first serious mention that I had heard of the term post-denominationalism was back in the early 90s from the lips of a seminary colleague at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Buenos Aires. This individual was a well-educated Argentine national who did Ph.D. work at Southwestern Seminary and was a distinguished church historian. I had some philosophical and ideological differences with him—mostly related to certain aspects of a charismatic renewal movement that was sweeping through Baptist churches in Argentina at that time—and those differences prompted me I suppose to dismiss this reading of history and the signs he was detecting of the decline in denominational allegiance and viability. In hindsight, his perceptions of the post-denominational trend were better than mine I believe.

I had studied under some of the great Baptist historians at Southwestern (Baker, McBeth, and Estep) and was teaching Baptist history (among other subjects) at the seminary in Buenos Aires. I simply couldn’t conceive of the denomination that I had been raised in my entire life and which served as a vehicle for me to fulfill a missionary calling as somehow being destined for either complete disappearance or at the least, significant loss of relevance and impact. That just didn’t compute in my internal processing unit. The more I observe current trends and read books like Kimball’s They Like Jesus but not the Church and Kinnaman’s Unchristian, the more convinced I’m becoming of the accuracy of the assessment of my former colleague and these contemporary writers.

There is a serious disconnect taking place today in terms of “brand-name loyalty” that once existed among Baptists (and other denominations as well). While the older generations still maintain and defend (in some cases fiercely so) their ties to the denomination of their childhood and youth, young adults in their 20s and 30s and those who are younger still in their teens do not feel that same sense of indebtedness and commitment to a denomination just because it is labeled Baptist (or Methodist, Presbyerian, Episcopalian, Disciples, Assembly of God, etc.). This is clearly seen if one attends the annual meetings of the national and/or state conventions of these denominational bodies. Unless there is a controversial vote to be taken on a potentially divisive issue (and perhaps even if such is taking place), the large majority of the messengers or delegates to these gatherings will be senior adults—or at least those in their 50s and up. I’ve witnessed this not only at meetings of conservative groups but at gatherings of moderates as well. This phenomenon isn’t restricted to one theological persuasion or another, but is pervasively true of groups across the spectrum of religious beliefs.

What impact will this trend have upon national, state, and local bodies, especially in Baptist life? Stay tuned for further reflections ….

Living in a Post-denominational World

Marty Duren is writing an interesting series on his blog about post-denominationalism. Marty was the original founder of the SBC Outpost blog, one of the first voices to be raised in blogdom that questioned the health of the SBC hierarchy and its direction. He graciously bowed out of denominational discussions for a good while, preferring instead to write about missional themes. His writings are always insightful and I’d recommend that you pay a visit to his blog.

Having said that, I’d like to weigh in a bit as well about the demise of denominationalism—especially as it relates to the Southern Baptist Convention. I think it is an unquestionable fact that denominational loyalty is fading—especially among the younger set. There clearly is a more willing disposition to seek new avenues of cooperation through networking with other like-minded Christians (be they Southern Baptist or not) than there is to sustain a bureaucracy that in many respects has lost touch with current culture. Appeals to time-honored traditions simply don’t persuade “20-somethings” and even those a bit older than that of the propriety of continuing to blindly and uncritically support denominational institutions and entities.

There probably is more of a willingness to make an exception when it comes to the work of the IMB, as that part of our heritage as Southern Baptists can still motivate churches and individuals to give sacrificially so that the missionary task isn’t abandoned. Nevertheless, the “glue” that has united our convention historically is losing its adhesive pull as ongoing revelations are disclosed about the backroom, closed-door, political maneuverings of the IMB’s Board of Trustees. The disclosure by Wade Burleson of Rodney Hammer’s recent resignation as Regional Leader for Central and Eastern Europe, prompted by the new restrictive policies (guidelines) of the IMB’s BoT, is just the latest in a series of black eyes that this group has suffered. Perhaps a better image than a black eye would be a self-inflicted wound.

In the interest of full disclosure, I cannot claim absolute objectivity in this matter. As readers of my blog or my comments on other blogs may well recall, my family and I chose to resign from the IMB in 2002 rather than sign the BF&M 2000. It’s safe to say that I feel a certain degree of resentment and distrust toward the same fundamentalist/legalist types who now control the IMB’s BoT who at that time coerced Dr. Rankin into rescinding his earlier promise that missionaries already under appointment would not be required to sign the document but would be “grandfathered in” as it were, recognizing that we had written our own responses to the 1963 version of the BF&M that the BoT at the time of our appointment had considered doctrinally sound.

My heart goes out to former colleagues who still labor with the IMB and I respect, pray for, and support their ministries. I wonder how long they can continue to serve in good faith and conscience with an organization that is growing increasingly restrictive and whose Board of Trustees seems far more concerned about sustaining and extending Southern Baptist identity than the Kingdom of God. It seems that many of them can no longer distinguish between the two.

This post has already far exceeded the length of my usual posts, so I will wrap it up at this point. I do intend to follow up in subsequent posts with some specific thoughts about the post-denominational mindset and how I see that impacting future efforts in missions and the challenges it poses for existing denominations, state conventions, associations, and local churches.

Thoughts on Aging

I shared the following thoughts in our monthly newsletter for our Senior Adults.

Little Johnny asked his grandmother how old she was. “Thirty-nine and holding,” was her response. Johnny thought about her answer for a bit and then asked anew, “And how old would you be if you let go?” Jack Benny, the stand-up comedian, was famous for always giving his age as 39. Benny had this to say about growing old, “Age is strictly a case of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” There is some profound wisdom in Benny’s words. We’ve all heard the expression, “You’re only as old as you feel.” Some would jokingly respond to that statement by saying, “I feel a lot older than I am.” There are folks whose physical appearance suggests that they are much younger than their biological age, while others show the wear and tear of the years they’ve lived a bit more. The latter group’s refrain might be, “It’s not the age; it’s the mileage.”

I’m inspired and challenged by biblical characters that accomplished great things and were up to major challenges, even when they were long past the age of qualifying for a Social Security check. I admire Caleb’s grit when, at the age of 85, he tells Joshua, “I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me (to spy out the land 40 years earlier). Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day” (Josh. 14:11-12). Caleb wanted to claim his inheritance in the Promised Land, even though the inhabitants lived in heavily fortified cities in the hills. What mountaintops are you attempting to scale today with the Lord’s strength? Whatever your age might be, the promise of God’s Word is true: “Those who wait upon the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired; they will walk and not become weary” (Isa. 40:31).

Finally Finished Mark

Well, I've finally managed to conclude our Wednesday evening prayer meeting/Bible study time's focus on the gospel of Mark. I was checking back in my records and I started this series on Oct. 25, 2006. By my calculations, we've been studying Mark for a year and a half. It's been a very rewarding study personally for me, and I trust it has been so for those who attend faithfully on Wednesday nights as well. I've done a number of different series since I started leading the Wednesday night prayer meeting/Bible study time when I joined the staff here almost 5 years ago. My preference has always been to engage in the study of an individual book of the Bible, doing a verse-by-verse exposition of the text, but on rare occasions I've done a brief topical series, such as one I did on the benedictions that are found in the Scriptures.

I'm not sure where I'm going to head next on Wednesday evenings, but have been praying about it. I'm considering doing some shorter series or topical studies this summer before launching into another book study in the fall. I noticed on Micah Fries blog that he's starting a sermon series on the letters to the 7 churches in Revelation and I had also been thinking along those same lines for a series on Wednesday evenings. That might be a good possibility for a series this summer.

Thinking About One's Legacy

For what will we be remembered when we’re gone? What will be our legacy? From time to time I enjoy reading through the obituaries in the Kansas City Star. The things that family members choose to include about their departed loved one can be quite interesting. Reading these death notices reveals that many folks were consumed in their work, as the writing focuses on their accomplishments in the business world. For others, pastimes and hobbies seemed to dominate their time and interests. On the same day this past week, two different obituaries highlighted the deceased’s passion for golf. One spoke of the places where the individual had traveled to play golf, while the other gave the date and location of a hole-in-one that the man had achieved. Frequently there is mention of a special relationship with a family pet. While those things may all be interesting and worthwhile in their time and place, wouldn’t we all prefer to be remembered more for how we lived our lives in relationship to God and others? As we enter eternity and face our Maker, I don’t think God is going to ask us what our golf handicap was, or how successful we were in our business endeavors. I think He will be more concerned about how we measure up on the scale of having lived in accordance with Jesus’ identification of the two greatest commandments—to love God with our entire being, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Applying a crisis event to church life

Jim White, editor of the Religious Herald of Virginia Baptists, recounts an interesting story of an in-flight crisis aboard a plane on which he was recently traveling and makes some great applications of the experience to church life. I encourage you to read it.

SMART Baptists

I received the latest edition of Baptist World today, a news magazine that is published by the Baptist World Alliance. I liked the article written by BWA president David Coffey who says the BWA needs Smart Baptists. He credits Teddy Oprenov, General Secretary of Bulgarian Baptists with the idea.

S - Standing together in worship, fellowship and unity
M - Moving strategically in mission and evangelism
A - Acting justly for human rights and religious freedom
R - Responding to human need and engaging in sustainable community development
T - Thinking theologically.

Coffey elaborates on each one of these principles with illustrations from around the globe where Baptists face unique challenges in each of these areas. I like the acrostic and concur that we could surely use some SMART Baptists.