Walk the Trail

Why God Works Through His Children

2008-12-03T14:01:00.003-06:00

I got to go on my yearly hunting trip last week. It is always one of the highlights of my year. The hunting trip always represents a time of refocusing and refreshing for me. Getting out in the woods before daylight, watching the sun come up and seeing and hearing the world come alive, smelling the sharpness of the pine trees and the earth and rotting leaves, seeing frost on the trees, watching squirrels and turkeys and deer, and getting to harvest a nice deer are important connection points with creation for me. I always come away from the hunting trip with new perspective.

The trip also is a good time of bonding for me with other men in my life. Each of them represent a different type of relationship. There is my father-in-law, the older, somewhat eccentric, sometimes frustrating, but very likeable old codger around camp.

Then, there's Robby, our worship pastor at The Crossroads, and one of my best friends. I've only known Robby for six months now, but he and I just really work well together. It was a joy to get to spend time with Robby in the relaxed atmosphere of a deer camp. Plus, he's great to bring along since he cooked New York Strip steaks for us one night (even if he did get himself the biggest one :-).

Landon is a teenager whom I have known for almost eight years now. I baptized Landon, have prayed for him, fought for him, cried for him, and loved him. I took Landon hunting for the first time last year and the rascal killed a nine-point. Landon is fun to have on a hunting trip. He brings a lot of energy and excitement.

But the greatest joy was taking my son, James. James has been going hunting with me since he was about five years old. He just started carrying a gun with him last year, though. Last year, he had the opportunity to kill a deer, but I wouldn't let him because I wasn't aware of a fine point of the law (oops). But this year, he had another opportunity. He killed his first deer on Monday, November 24, at 10:30 a.m. It was a spike buck (two points for those of you who don't know deer-hunting lingo), and he shot it from about 60 yards away. James saw the deer before I did, and got his gun up and got ready. The deer, however, was walking away from us. James was getting pretty frustrated, but I told him to calm down and that I would try to get the deer to turn around. I used my grunt call, and got the deer to come back toward us, giving James his opportunity.

James had gotten his rifle last Christmas. It was a .243 that belonged to my grandmother. She was no longer able to hunt, so she gave it to James. She passed away this summer, so it was a special gift for James.

It took us a couple of hours to find the deer because there wasn't really any kind of trail for us to track it, but I was determined that we were not going to leave the woods without that deer. Several of the other guys came to help us look for it, but James and I together were the ones who actually found the deer.

Two days later, I went out by myself (James decided it was too cold for him to get out on the stand) and got a ten-point, one of the nicest bucks I have ever killed. But, I have to tell you, I wasn't even half as excited about killing my buck as I was about James killing his.

So, here's the huge lesson that God spoke to me about through that experience. I killed a much bigger deer than my son. I am a more experienced, more skilled hunter than my son. I can make better shots that lead to a quicker, cleaner kill with a whole lot less nervousness. I can sit still quieter and longer than he can. At this point, deer hunting is tremendously easier for me than it is for him. And yet, I was infinitely more excited about him killing his deer than about me killing mine. I'm talking fist-pumping, high-fiving, shouting, can't wipe the smile off my face kind of excitement.

So why is that? Because I take so much delight in my son that I would rather see him do what he can (even if it's not as "good" or "easy" as I could have done it) than just doing it myself. And here's the huge spiritual lesson that God hit me over the head with. That's why God delights to use us fragile, messed-up, failure prone, nervous, doubting, humans to fulfill his plan. It's because he delights in seeing his work done through his children.

Yeah, sure, he could just do it himself, and he could do it better and quicker and easier. But, it's not just about getting the job done. It's about watching his children try, watching our attempts to please him and follow him, watching as we often mess up and make mistakes, but then screaming his head off cheering for us when we get it right and taking absolute delight in us when we fulfill his will for our lives and for eternity. He's a proud father who would rather see his children's attempts to please him and follow him, who would rather accomplish his work through us, than just to do it himself.

Man, thank you God for using us. Thank you for my amazing son who has been teaching me about you from the very first moment he came into this world. I am truly blessed.

Link to Family Stuff

2008-10-03T18:31:00.002-06:00

I usually use this blog for the random stuff that runs through my head or to keep you up to date on stuff going on with the Kemp family, and I reserve trailblazer for church planting stuff. But the two have become so intertwined lately that I have posted some family stuff there. If you'd like to find out about church planting and what's going on with the fam, just click here.

Amazing Grace

2008-08-19T14:24:00.001-06:00

Hot Blogger!

2008-07-29T14:44:00.001-06:00

My smokin hot wife has officially started blogging and is doing way better at it than I do. Check her out at www.larissasrandomthoughts.blogspot.com.

Forever Yours

2008-07-29T14:32:00.003-06:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I put anything up here. I've been really busy with the church plant, but am having the time of my life.

LaRissa and I went to a concert Sunday night with some really good friends. The concert, which was in the Superpages Center in Fair Park, was Cheap Trick, Heart, and Journey. It was phenomenal, even if it was the hottest day so far in north Texas.

Cheap Trick is one of those bands that you forget about and you don't really remember any of their songs. They were a great opening act, though.

Heart, fronted by Ann Wilson, was incredible. Wilson has definitely still got it. Her vocal talent does not seem to have faded any whatsoever over the years.

But the highlight of the evening, by far, for me was Journey. Journey is my favorite band of all time. They have so many incredible songs and are just amazingly gifted musicians. Neal Schon, lead guitarist, was a child prodigy who played in Santana when he was 15. He has only grown better with the years.

Deen Castronovo on drums, Jonathan Cain on keys and guitar, these guys are the real deal. But the real jewel is the new front man for Journey. Arnel Pineda is a little Philipino with a huge voice. Schon found Pineda by searching for Journey cover bands on Youtube. Pineda's voice is almost a dead ringer for legendary Journey lead singer Steve Perry.

Perry left the band several years ago because of either a hip injury or because he lost his voice, depending on what story you believe. Pineda has more than filled Perry's shoes. He is energetic, exciting, and man has he got some pipes on him.

An interesting side note, the Philipino contingent at the concert was pretty strong.

Journey did some of their great old stuff. I got to hold my wife, sing to her, and kiss her to classics like "Open Arms" and "Faithfully." They are smart enough not to mess with a good thing. I also like that even their new stuff is very much in keeping with who they have always been as a band. Driving rock ballads and anthems with incredibly strong vocals and harmonization. The new song "After All These Years" is an immediate favorite for me and has become the new "our song" for LaRissa and me.

Great, great show. Be sure to catch it if it comes your way.

Momma, I'm Coming Home!

2008-04-23T19:40:00.001-06:00

Yaaay! Exponential has been great, but I am so excited to be headed home to LaRissa and the kids. Daddy's coming home.

Link to Church Planting Blog

2008-04-22T18:56:00.002-06:00

I have had a request (thank you Becky) that I place a link to my church planting blog in my links. So, let it be. It's called "Blazing the Trail." Check out the sidebar.

The Last Sermon

2008-04-22T18:54:00.001-06:00

I'm working on my last sermon as pastor of Hagerman Baptist Church. I will be preaching it on Sunday. After that, I will be devoting myself full-time to the plant in Anna.

Wow! What do you say in your last sermon to a church you have been pastoring for the last seven years?

Thank You, God, and Thank You, Hagerman

2008-04-21T18:16:00.000-06:00

Sunday night, Hagerman threw a launching party for my family and the families who are going with us to plant The Crossroads. We were truly blessed by them. I am so thankful for what God has done and is continuing to do at Hagerman. They are praying for us and want to be closely connected and involved with us in planting in Anna. Praise God!

Happy Birthday to Me

2008-04-15T13:40:00.002-06:00

This weekend, LaRissa and the kids took me camping at Eisenhower State Park for my birthday. We had a really awesome time without any major disasters, which is usually what happens when we go camping.

We got to play games, lay around and be lazy, and do some hiking! We hiked a little over a mile on the Fossil Ridge section of the trail around the park. It was some of the best hiking I've been able to do in Texas. There is actually quite a bit of variation to the trail, and it goes along the shores of Lake Texoma on some really cool bluffs. The ground is literally littered with fossils from the ancient ocean floor, mostly smaller shells, but I found one that was this really big chambered nautilus fossil. Super cool.

The trail is well-marked and the hiking was perfect for taking kids along with you. Just some moderate stuff, which is a good thing since I wound up hiking the whole thing carrying Abby on my shoulders.

Monday Movie Review

2008-04-14T14:49:00.002-06:00

Larissa and I watched The Sentinel last week. We have had the movie sitting on our chest of drawers for weeks and just haven't had a chance to watch it. I'll make this short: It was nothing memorable.

It had all the right elements: a great cast (Michael Douglass, Kiefer Sutherland, Eva Longoria, and Kim Basinger), good points of intrigue (secret service agent having an affair with the president's wife, falling out with his best friend because friend suspected him of having an affair with his wife, assassination attempt against the president), and decent effects, but it just didn't all come together. The storyline got in its own way at times and character development was really weak.

Bottom line: Don't waste your time or your dime.

The Cake-Mix Doctor

2008-04-08T14:29:00.003-06:00

We have been using Chocolate from the Cake-Mix Doctor for about a year now to make birthday cakes for our family. They are incredibly delicious cakes. We just make the "cookies and cream cake" for Katie's birthday this weekend. We also got The Cake-Mix Doctor for Katie for her birthday.

New Kemp Family Fave

2008-04-08T14:10:00.002-06:00

If you haven't checked out Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network, you need to. It's a favorite at our house. Guy Fieri, the host, is just a really fun, likable "guy".

Katie's Birthday

2008-04-07T11:58:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it. My Katie turned eight years old this weekend. She is such a sweet, loving, happy little girl who is a joy to her father. We celebrated by taking her, her brother and sisters, and a friend to Frisco to spend some time at the Build-A-Bear Workshop, pick up some new books at Barnes and Noble, and eat at The Cheesecake Factory. Happy Birthday, Tinkerbell!!

More Robert Frost

2008-04-07T10:52:00.002-06:00

I guess Frost is my favorite poet. "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" was the first poem I ever memorized. Some think it was at a time when Frost was contemplating suicide. I prefer to simply think of it as contemplation of life as a journey, another good reference for "Walk the Trail."

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Monday Movie Review

2008-04-07T10:21:00.002-06:00

A couple of reviews for you:

This weekend I watched Alvin and the Chipmunks together with the family. I had low expectations for the movie, but I can honestly say it was the funniest movie I have seen in quite some time. You don't have to think. Just sit back and enjoy. Plus, if you grew up in the '80s and were a fan of the animated Saturday morning series, it will take you back.

Horton Hears a Who: Probably one of the best adaptations of a Seuss book you'll see. Visually, it was really cool. Very reminiscent of the illustrations in the Seuss books. Plus, I love the basic theme of the story: a person's a person no matter how small. A good starter for talking with your kids about the value of every person, and particularly to talk about where that value comes from.

10,000 B.C.: I was trying to kill a couple of hours the other day while I was having the car serviced, so I went to see this. It did serve that purpose. The movie was decently entertaining with some cool visual effects. However, it was nothing memorable and had no real storyline connected to the redemptive story.

The real problem with the story was that the history and the geography were just all off. As a history major, this bothered me to the point that I had a really hard time paying attention to the plot. The story takes place in 10,000 B.C. (as the title may give away), but in the movie, Egyptians are building fully developed pyramids. All wrong. Additionally, the main character seems to begin his journey somewhere in Europe or northern Asia, but somehow winds up in central Africa, approaching Egypt from the south. Oh well, that may be confusing to you. I know it was to me. Suffice it to say, it killed a couple of hours for me, but I would not recommend this one as anything worth your time.

National Poetry Month

2008-04-02T16:40:00.002-06:00

April is national poetry month. Now, the theme poem for Walk the Trail is the walking song from Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings." But, Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" really is an incredible poem that comes in at a close second.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same, 10

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back. 15

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 20

Pray for the Peace of the City

2008-04-01T13:30:00.002-06:00

Each year for the last four years, twice a year, mission teams from our church have traveled to Juarez, Mexico, to help with Vacation Bible Schools, to assist new church plants, to help with evangelistic worship services and to deliver blankets and toys to offer relief to impoverished families at Christmas time.

An advance team from our church was preparing to travel to Juarez this weekend to make preparations for our annual summer trip, but they received word yesterday that they should not come. Our summer trip has been cancelled due to violence that has broken out in Juarez.

Rival drug lords are engaged in warfare to gain control of the city's drug trafficking network. One hundred people were killed in the month of March alone. Police who have tried to gain control of the situation have been killed. Two thousand Mexican troops are currently on their way to Juarez to try to regain order in the city. More information is available here.

Please be in prayer for the peace of Juarez. Pray for the police and militia trying to regain order. Pray that the responsible parties would be brought to justice. Pray for the citizens of Juarez. And please, please, be in prayer for the churches and for our friends who are in Juarez.

Another Snow Photo

2008-03-24T12:58:00.001-06:00

We actually had a white-out in north Texas. It snowed eight inches in about three hours time. You can see in the picture that the snowflakes were the size of silver dollars.

Spring Break

2008-03-24T10:48:00.001-06:00

We had a great week with the kids last week. We just spent some time with my parents and LaRissa's dad. Here are some pictures of the kids fishing at LaRissa's dad's cabin in south Arkansas.

As White As Snow

2008-03-06T20:07:00.002-06:00

As I sit in my warm kitchen tonight, outside the world is blanketed in eight inches of snow. Everything is a beautiful white.

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

Another reason to love Texas

2008-03-05T11:25:00.004-06:00

Weather in Texas is just awesome.

Last week, we had days with highs in the 80s and I rode around with the windows down on my car.

This week we woke up on Tuesday morning with seven inches of snow on the ground. The kids played in it for a little while before school. By the time they got out of school, the temperature had gotten to the upper 40s and most of the snow had melted. It's great to be able to enjoy snow for a little while and not freeze your tuckus off.

Here are some pictures and a video of Abby. See if you can hear what Abby thinks the snow is.

How great is it to wake up and find the whole world is covered in "ice cream"?

Pre-Discipleship

2008-02-29T07:48:00.002-06:00

In their book Breaking the Missional Code, Ed Stetzer and David Putnam point out that emerging generations are taking longer to come to a point of making a commitment to being a follower of Jesus Christ. Many of these people are involved in the life of a church, attending bible study and small group, connecting with believers, and even actively involved in a ministry for six or seven years before they commit to following Christ.

They go on to point out that this extended time of examining the church and Christian faith is actually a good thing:

A number of years ago, we began to observe an interesting trend in many of our new churches that attracted a large number of unreached/unchurched people. It seemed that the longer individuals took to finally go public with their faith, the less likely they were to fall through the cracks or go out the back door. On the other hand, when someone came in and rather quickly expressed a commitment to Christ, they seemed to
disappear just as quickly.

The longer people explore the faith before making a commitment, the greater their commitment. The more they are involved in the life and activities of a Christian community, the greater the likelihood they will stay commited to that community.

For a long time, we have place the emphasis on becoming a Christian at the point of decision. You walk down an aisle, pray a prayer, fill out a card. We emphasize the need to close the deal and want to get people to pray the prayer. But how would it look different and how would it change our methods and our results if we saw evangelism and discipleship as intimately tied to each other, in fact as two sides to the same coin? We tend to think of evangelism as something you do before a person becomes a Christian and discipleship as something you do after a person becomes a Christian. But what if we saw evangelism as pre-discipleship? What if we began "discipling" people before they actually became disciples? Would we see greater commitment and more long term commitment?

After all, Jesus didn't tell us to go into all the world and "make decisions." He said go into all the world and "make disciples." For too long we have tried to get people to make a decision so they will "get saved." But maybe we need to get people to commit not to a one time decision, but to a lifetime of being a Christ-follower.

Arrrrrgh!

2008-02-12T10:37:00.000-06:00

I am feeling a bit like Charlie Brown right now.

My wife informs me that someone has been sick at our house since September. There are six of us, and when one of us gets something, it just seems to make its rounds.

I can't remember all of the sickness, but I do know that I came down with some sort of respiratory infection the week before Christmas, and I am pretty sure it turned into pneumonia. I broke a rib from coughing so hard. Not fun.

My oldest daughter, Grace, had pneumonia, and it took about three weeks for her to recover from that. Now, my middle daughter, Katie, has had a cough for about three weeks. This weekend, my son, James, ran fever and complained of a sore throat; and yesterday, the baby, Abby, started running a fever.

On top of all that, we are trying to get our house ready to put on the market. So, we are pretty exhausted right now. Be in prayer for the Kemp family.

Here Am I, Send Me

2008-01-28T14:58:00.000-06:00

The family and I have some big news about our future. About two years ago, LaRissa and I began praying about how God wanted to use us, seeking his direction for our future and our ministry. We first began to sense God telling us to get ready because he was going to call us to something different than anything we had been involved in to this point. So we continued praying, seeking to align our hearts with God's heart, and ready ourselves for whatever God was calling us to.

As we continued to pray, we began exploring some opportunities and looking at different possibilities for our ministry service, but none of the possibilities seemed to be quite right. Some doors closed and some opened that didn't seem to be the right decision. So, we just continued to seek God and allow ourselves to be molded and shaped into the people he wanted us to be.

In our prayers, we came to a point of complete surrender to God. We told God that we were available to be used by him whenever, wherever, however, and whatever, and that we would just wait for him to make known to us what he wanted us to do. We affirmed to God that the minute he did make that known to us that we would answer yes to him.

Well, about eight months ago, God began to clarify and confirm for us the direction that he was taking us in ministry. Finally, about six months ago, God clearly revealed to me exactly what he wanted us to do. I was in a meeting where the speaker was telling about the importance of church planting and various models for planting churches.

At that time, I felt God tap me on the shoulder and say, "That's what I want you to do." Now, God speaks to different people in different ways, and the way that God ordinarily speaks to me is through inward urgings and tugs at my heart. (I know that sounds very mystical and maybe a little vague, but that's the best way I can explain it.) But this day, God spoke to me with those specific words: "That's what I want you to do." So, I looked around to see if somebody had said something to me. Nope. So, I said, "Say what?" Really spiritual, huh? And God said again but more clearly, "I want you to go into church planting."

So, I went home that afternoon, walked through the door, and said to my awesome, beautiful, amazing wife, "I think God is calling me into church planting." Now, I've heard all the horror stories about wives' responses to a statement like that, but my wife says to me, "Yeah, I can see that." Over the next several months I began to seek wise counsel and continued to find confirmation of the call and affirmation of how God had worked in my life to prepare me for this.

To make a long story short, I am now connected with a church planting network, and will be planting a church in Anna, TX. Anna is currently the fasting growing city in north central Texas. It has experienced a 177% growth rate over the last six years. We will be planting with the North American Mission Board and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

The target kick-off Sunday for the new church is September 7, 2008. We will begin intensive work in the community in Anna in May.

We want and need you to be involved in this church planting process. First and foremost, we desperately need your prayers. This is a God-sized task, and it will not happen unless he works in amazing ways. Pray for our family. Pray for workers to help us. Pray for people in the Anna community that they would be receptive to the good news. Pray for our financial support. We also want your blessing. We also need people to actively be involved. We will be doing door-to-door surveying, block parties, community service projects, preview services, you name it. We need people to help us be the hands and feet of Jesus with us.

If you would like to learn more details about the church plant, I will be posting that information on a new blog: www.blazingthetrail.blogspot.com.

This Has Got to Be Effective!

2008-01-24T12:10:00.000-06:00

I saw this truck in the Target parking lot this week. If you look closely, you will notice that one of the figurines glued to the top of the truck is the Grim Reaper holding a baby in his hands.

Also, take a look at the face of the guy walking by the truck in the background of the second picture. And, the red Target cart is reflected in the puddle under the truck, which makes it look like the truck is bleeding.

I affectionately refer to this as the Catholic Anti-abortionmobile.

2008-01-09T14:49:00.000-06:00

I cannot recommend highly enough Mark Batterson's book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. The premise of the book is basically that some of the biggest obstacles in our lives, some of the most difficult situations, are opportunities for God to work in our lives in incredible ways. It's easy to read and incredibly inspiring.

M & M Shawn

2008-01-08T13:45:00.000-06:00

My girls and I m&menized myself. Click here to check it out.

Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus

2007-12-17T11:53:00.000-06:00

In 1897, Francis P. Church wrote the following editorial as a response to an eight-year-old little girl's question. It has since become the most reproduced editorial in newspaper history and is a Christmas classic. It is also a stunning commentary on the modern era.

"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. "Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. "Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' "Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?"VIRGINIA O'HANLON."115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH
STREET.
"VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All
minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus.
He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry,
no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in
fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.You may
tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture
the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times
ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

A Suggestion for Those Wanting to "Go Green"

2007-12-17T11:04:00.000-06:00

"Going green" is a really hot buzz topic right now. I don't know why, but for some reason I got to thinking last night about one of the ways that some of my old, widowed, great aunts and great-great aunts conserved energy when I was a kid.

Now, understand, they did this not out of a sense of responsibility for the environment, but because they were on a fixed income and needed to save money. Also, understand that I grew up in rural Arkansas, which is a little bit different (note the vast understatement) than the rest of America.

Several of my aunts conserved energy by living in two rooms of their house. They had their kitchen, which they did not heat, and their bedroom/living area. This was the only room that the heated. And they never used air conditioning. When you went to visit them, they had a little sitting area, but in the background was their bed. They usually heated the room with a little gas heater.

Maybe we could conserve energy by following their lead in our homes and using less space.

Oh, well, that's what was on my mind this morning.

Been a Long Time Since They Rock and Rolled

2007-12-11T13:10:00.000-06:00

Led Zeppelin, some would argue the greatest rock and roll band of all time, reunited for the first time in over twenty years last night at a benefit concert in London. Does this mean more from the band? We can only hope so.

For the Love of Cornhole

2007-12-11T12:48:00.000-06:00

Cornhole is a game that my family and I have enjoyed over the last seven years. It is decently popular in North Texas.

Here is a tribute to that great sport: http://www.rhettandlink.com/videos/the-cornhole-song

Virtual Church

2007-11-01T09:47:00.000-06:00

Earlier this year LifeChurch.tv, a leader in the multi-site church movement, launched a virtual campus and worship experience called Experience Island online at Second Life. Users can explore the campus, participate in a worship service, and connect to XXX Church for help with pornography addiction through their online avatars.

Any thoughts on virtual church?

Is It Just Me?

2007-10-16T10:49:00.000-06:00

Or are these the same bands, twenty years apart?

Righteous Indignation (Or Something Like That)

2007-09-25T08:01:00.000-06:00

Wow! That's how you go after somebody!

How many pastors wish they could have a meltdown like that?!

Gotta Love It!

2007-08-22T09:04:00.000-06:00

Stupid Arguments

2007-08-20T09:51:00.000-06:00

I don't know why, but the level of arguing at my house seems to have increased over the summer. Maybe it's just that I'm around the kids more during the summer, so I notice more. Or maybe it's just that they have been hanging out with each other 24/7 for the last three months, and that is really getting old.

Whatever the reasons, there are time right now that I feel like my brains are going to ooze out my ears. What is really frustrating is the subjects that they argue over and the content of their arguments. They currently argue over stuff that does not matter one bit. Who cares whether one soda is better than another or if we went to the amusement park last week or the week before or if we watched this movie or that movie last night, or a hundred other arguments that really don't matter? The kids fight over stuff that, even if you win the argument, you really haven't won anything.

The second thing that is frustrating is the content of their arguments. They each state their position, and then, the argument generally goes something like "Nuh-uh!" "Uh-huh!" "Nuh-uh!" "Uh-huh!" ad infinitum. There is absolutely no hope of the discussion getting anywhere. The only choice for them is to get louder stating their point, whether it be "Nuh-uh!" or "Uh-huh!"

I am really frustrated with the Southern Baptist Convention right now for the same things happening. There are arguments going on right now about things that do not matter and for which there does not appear to be a willingness, from at least some, to have any kind of meaningful conversation. There are arguments right now over the use of alcohol, private prayer languages, expository vs. topical preaching. And the arguments so often degenerate into "Nuh-uh!/Uh-huh!" kinds of arguments.

What I want to say about each of these subjects is "WHO CARES?" They are meaningless arguments that don't matter at all when it comes to the task we have been given as a church. When will we start focusing more on fulfilling the Great Commission and less on who's in control and who's right or wrong over arguments that don't matter?

The Conservative Resurgence is over. We "won." We all believe the Bible. We all accept it as the inerrant, infallible, inspired word of God. Now, the question is, do we accept it as the all-sufficient guide for everything we do and do we accept its authority to govern our actions? If we do, then there is certainly plenty of room in our Southern Baptist family for differences of opinion. But those differences do not need to become dividing lines. Just like in a family, you have to accept that we won't agree on everything, and that's okay. Let's stop fighting over stupid arguments and get on with the work of reaching the world for Christ.

It's Been a While

2007-07-23T13:55:00.000-06:00

Wow! It has really been a long time since I posted anything. We have just been having really awesome time with the kids this summer. The first and second weeks of June, we went on a family vacation with my parents and my brother and had an awesome time.

We went to the Painted Desert, the Petrified Forest, the Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, the Sequoia National Forest, Disneyland, Hollywood, the Discovery Science Center, and Big Bear Lake. All in all we saw some incredible things that God created.

The Giant Sequoias were amazing, and pictures just don't do them justice. It is humbling to stand at the base of something so big and realize some of those trees were over a thousand years old when Jesus walked the earth.

Here are a few pics from the trip.

The Painted Desert and Petrified Forest

Momma and Daddy at the Grand Canyon

Me, Momma, and My Little Bro'

Wow, She's Hot!

What a Ham!

The General Sherman Sequoia, the Largest Living Thing on Earth

The Kids sitting on a branch that has fallen off the General Sherman

2007-05-31T09:24:00.000-06:00

Last Tuesday (May 22), LaRissa and I celebrated our fourteenth wedding anninversary. We went to Frisco and had some incredible Italian food and heard some cool jazz music at Terilli's. We then went over to the World Market and checked out some cool stuff for the kitchen.

In fourteen years, I have grown to love my wife more and more. Here's a list of just a few of the things I love so much about her. She's smokin' hot. How did a guy like me get so lucky? She thinks I'm smokin' hot. (How crazy is that?) She loves music, writes music, plays music, and really connects with God through music. She is an awesome mom (count them, four times giving birth). She likes hangin' out with me in the kitchen. She likes hiking and the outdoors. She challenges me to try new stuff like learning to dance. She's totally out of it by 10 o'clock at night. She's really smart and is an awesome 1st grade teacher. I love that she didn't know how to grate cheese, boil water, or knead dough when we first got married. I love that she hates football but watches it anyway and continues to try to understand it because I love it so much. I love that she tries to get home early every day to spend more time with our family. I love that she has this awesomely beautiful auburn hair that is so hard to define and that changes depending on the light and that every other woman wants. I love that she likes guy movies and thinks The Notebook is a stupid movie because it is such a poor imitation of what real love is. I love it that she loves me more than any human being ever has, through thick and thin, good and bad, in my worst times and in my best times. I love her because she knows me through and through, is my best friend in the world, and is the person I would most like to be with all the time. And, I love her because she fiercely loves Jesus Christ and challenges me daily to love him as well.

Great Blog by Bob Roberts

2007-05-31T09:16:00.000-06:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I've been pretty busy coming to the end of the school year. Hopefully I'll be able to start getting more stuff up now that things have settled into a more normal routine.

Bob Roberts has a great blog at Glocal Trekker about how our eschatology affects the way we live and carry out our mission in the world. You should really check it out.

Classic

2007-05-02T08:17:00.000-06:00

Could somebody let a squirrel loose in more churches?

Friday Hike

2007-05-01T08:11:00.000-06:00

Friday afternoon I logged five miles on the Cross Timbers Trail (2.5 miles from Juniper Point to Cedar Bayou and back) with Abby, my one year old, on my back. Cross Timbers is supposed to be one of the ten best trails in the state of Texas, which, quite honestly, doesn't say much about the trails in Texas. The trail is nice, but I have certainly hiked much more beautiful trails in my life.

The section of the trail I hiked goes over and around cliffs on the shores of Lake Texoma, looking over the lake from Texas into Oklahoma. There are some pretty views of the lake from here. The trail is on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property and is maintained by the Boy Scouts of America. I have the utmost respect for both organizations, and give special kudos to the Boy Scouts. The trail is in excellent shape, is well marked, and is definitely one of the cleanest trails I have ever been on. On the section I hiked, there was almost no evidence of the human stain anywhere.

The trail does offer some decent climbs going over the cliffs along the lakeshore. It also goes through the "cross timbers," a mixed forest of large oaks and scrub cedar, juniper, and an abundance of poison oak. There were also some wild grapes along the trail. I didn't really see any wildlife on the trail, other than some turtles in the water.

Abby slept most of the time, which meant she was leaned to one side in my pack most of the time. My shoulder was really killing me at the end of the hike. But we had a great time together. I'll try to get some pictures posted later of the hike.

Monday Movie Review

2007-04-30T13:57:00.000-06:00

I didn't have terribly high expectations for Rocky Balboa. The first two films in the Rocky franchise were two of the best sports movies of all time. I absolutely loved the third one, although I was a fourth-grade boy at the time, so my evaluation was probably based more on the nature of the underdog taking on an evil opponent in the form of Clubber Lang (Mr. T) and the fact that I loved the song Eye of the Tiger by Survivor than on the merits of the movie itself. By the time the fourth installment came along, even I, as a twelve year old boy, could tell that the premise of the film was stretching reality a little and played on Cold War fears still hanging on in America.

By the time of the fifth installment, I couldn't even bring myself to watch the movie. Sylvester Stallone had become too much of an action hero, Rocky had become too much of a franchise, and it seemed that there just were no contendors left for Rocky to fight. I have never seen the movie in its entirety, but have seen most of it when it has been on TV. It's not worth the cellulose the film was printed on.

So, when Rocky Balboa came along, I wasn't expecting much. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I watched it this weekend. Now, don't get me wrong, it was definitely cliched and was a stretch of the imagination. But it picked back up on some of the gritty feel of the first two movies. Several references were made throughout the film to scenes from the first movies, so it carried some nostalgia with it.

In short, the movie is about a fifty-something year-old, retired Rocky who is running a restaurant (named Adrian's) in Philly and mourning the death of his love, Adrian (That's right, only one "Yo, Adrian" in this movie.) When an ESPN computer simultion shows that Rocky would win in a fight against current heavyweight champ Mason "The Line" Dixon, Dixon's promoters arrange an exhibition match between him and Rocky. Rocky agrees to the match, wanting to be rid of some "stuff" he still has inside of him. The movie is predictable, and it definitely is not going to win any awards, but it is enjoyable and it has a redemptive message, and to be honest with you, that's more than I expect from a lot of movies. I guess what makes the film at least believable enough to keep you watching is the fact that George Foreman had actually already done it.

Best line from the movie: Rocky: "The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place. It will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me or nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! "

It's not near as gritty or inspiring as the first, but if you were a fan of the first, you will definitely find yourself wanting to cheer for Rocky again.

If Everyone Cared

2007-04-30T13:42:00.000-06:00

This is the soundtrack for life that was playing in my head in the wake of the Virginia Tech shooting.

2006-07 Pics

2007-04-16T09:32:00.000-06:00

Just some of my favorite pictures from this last year.

James reading to his sisters.

Baby's First Kisses

Too Cute!

Grace cheering at a Pee Wee Football game. Go Cardinals!

First Grade trip to the Pumpkin Patch.

"The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!"

Baby's First Christmas

Katie at the base of the cross where she put her trust in Jesus.

"I don't want to play Frisbee Golf anymore!"

Top 5 Sitcoms

2007-04-11T07:55:00.000-06:00

Oops! I forgot The Cosby Show for my "Honorable Mention" list. Oh yeah, and Wings. I'll probably keep coming up with more the longer I think about it.

Top 5 Sitcoms

2007-04-10T12:31:00.000-06:00

Here is my list of what are, in my opinion, the best sitcoms of all time. I have intentionally left off any sitcoms that are currently running for two reasons: one, I'm not a faithful follower of any currently running sitcom, and, two, I think it's just too early to tell what the long-term value of a current sitcom will be.

#5 Friends

I really debated over inclusion of this one in the list. I was a huge fan of the show during it's first four or five seasons, but then I had kids and they started repeating some of the stuff they heard on the show, and I had to drop it.

Friends was definitely funny. I laugh out loud at almost every episode. It also is probably the defining television show for most of my generation, thirty-somethings. But that also saddens me. If Seinfeld was a show about nothing that often had something to say, Friends at times seems to me a show about something (friendship) that has nothing to say. (I know I'll get raked over the coals for that one.)

Wait a minute, the current coffeehouse craze in America may be due in large part to the friends' gathering place, Central Perk. So, it already has done something to change the landscape of American culture. You may need to chalk this one up to guilty pleasure for me.

#4 Seinfeld

A show about nothing that so often had so much to say. Seinfeld was smart, cutting, sarcastic, self-effacing, and just downright silly. Seinfeld also gave us such incredibly memorable characters as Kramer, Elaine, George, Newman, the soup nazi, George's parents, and a host of others. Not to mention, Seinfeld defined the impact a television show could have on "water-cooler conversations" in the workplace.

Seinfeld is German for "field of existence," and the show really was a commentary on existence, what it means to be human, what it means to live, what it means to interact with other people. How appropriate is it that the series ends with the four main characters sitting in jail for failing to care for other people? What a perfect commentary on American life in the '90s!

#3 M*A*S*H

M*A*S*H was a sitcom that ran for eleven years about a war that lasted three years. It is a sitcom set in the Korean War that really is a commentary on the Vietnam War. It covers the antics of a group of army surgeons in the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, and how they seek to maintain some sense of normalcy (or at times insanity) in the midst of the tragedy they encounter every day.

M*A*S*H gave us such memorable characters as "Hawkeye" Pierce, Hunnicut, Charles Emerson Winchester III, "Hot Lips" Houlihan, "Radar", and who could forget Klinger. Or what about the theme song? Suicide is Painless belied the fact that this show was not just your run of the mill comedy, but a commentary on the pain and trajedy of war.

The real impact of M*A*S*H was that it gave America an outlet to laugh at and discuss an extremely charged situation in the form of the Vietnam War. Maybe America needs a similar outlet for the current heated debates over Iraq, maybe a sitcom set in Iraq with a president named Bush, a dictator named Hussein, and a presidential hopeful named Clinton.

#2 The Andy Griffith Show

Over forty years later, and I still watch the folks from Mayberry whenever I run across them. The show ran from 1960 to 1968, one of the most tumultuous periods in American cultural history, but you wouldn't know it by watching the show. It appealed to America's simpler side, maybe to our desires for a more basic, loving identity.

It's not reality. Maybe it never represented reality, but who cares? Mayberry is the town we all wanted to grow up in. There is something good and wholesome and simple about the rhythms and morals and worldview of smalltown life.

So that's one take on it. At the same time, life in Mayberry serves as a foil to what happens in real life. The Andy Griffith Show was not about real life. It was an idealistic representation of real life. And if we continually try to hold society to the standards of an imaginary life or try to make people conform to thoses standards, we will be ineffective at making a real impact in the real world. It's like Ecclesiastes 7:10 says, "Don't long for 'the good old days,' for you don't know whether they were any better than today."

#1 Cheers

Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got. Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot. Wouldn't you like to get away? Sometimes you've gotta go where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came. You wanna be where you can see people are all the same. You wanna go where everybody knows your name. Is this a show about a bar or what the church ought to be? A cast of goofy misfits and failures who find family and friendship at the local bar.

I watched Cheers without failure every week. The final episode aired my sophomore year of college. My roommate and I sat and cried as Sam closed down the bar for the last time.

Cheers gave us such lovable misfits as Norm, the local barfly; Cliff, the annoying, know-it-all mailman; Karla, the cranky waitress, divorcee, and mother; Woody, the country bumkin barkeep; Frazier, the snooty psychologist who was himself a neurotic headcase; Coach, the clueless former baseball coach; and Sam, the washed-out, former baseball player and bar owner.

Cheers may not have had a social impact or a cultural commentary that impacted America, but the show, like the bar, was the place you just wanted to be.

Honorable Mention

All in the Family

The King of Queens

Everybody Loves Raymond

Frazier

Laverne and Shirley

The Jeffersons

Sanford and Son

Mork and Mindy

Alright, so there's my list. Now give me yours.

Monday Movie Review

2007-04-03T14:37:00.000-06:00

Okay, I know it's not Monday, but it's close enough.

I watched Elizabethtown a couple of weeks ago, and I must confess, I watched it rather reluctantly. The name alone seems to give off red flags that this is going to be a major chick flick. But, it came highly recommended by Michael McMinn, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Fortunately, it's not really a chick flick. The movie is really more about a man finding his sense of identity in the world. Drew (Orlando Bloom) is a shoe designer in Seattle who loses his dream job after developing a shoe that is an abysmal failure for the Nike-esque company for which he works. He is about to take his own life when he receives a call from his mother telling him that his father has just died. Drew is given the responsibility of going to Elizabethtown, KY, where his father was visiting his family, to make arrangements for his father's cremation and memorial service.

On the flight to Kentucky, Drew meets a bubbly flight attendant named Claire, brilliantly played by Kirsten Dunst. The rest of the film is about Drew trying to navigate his way through family relationships, funeral arrangements, his own grief over the loss of his father, and his struggle for identity in the loss of his job. Claire continues to be a source of sunshine and sanity for Drew throughout the process. Claire tells Drew that he failed, but it is not the end of his life and helps him to understand that his identity and worth as a human being are not tied to his accomplishments or failures in the business world.

One of the best lines from the film comes from Bill Banyon, a friend of Drew's father, Mitch. Drew informs Bill and the local funeral home director that Mitch wished to be cremated, so there will be no body at the funeral. Banyon responds with, "Is there such a thing as partial cremation?"

At the end of the film, Drew begins his journey back to Seattle, but he promises Claire that he will drive across country with the urn with his father's ashes instead of flying back home. She maps out the route for him and puts together a sound track for him to listen to on the way. This is the final stage of healing for Drew.

Kirsten Dunst does an excellent job playing a southern girl. She passibly pulls off the accent, and she really nails the attitude and persona of the new southern lady. Orlando Bloom, on the other hand, is at times distracting. He does a good job of portraying a melancholy but emotionally constipated male. But the fact that his British accent keeps creeping through is distracting. It's kind of like watching Kevin Costner try to pull off a British accent in Robin Hood.

This is really a good movie, which surprised me given it's title (it just sounded so girly). The soundtrack is incredible, as you might expect from a film by Cameron Crowe. As a bonus, if you are a fan of Paula Deen, she makes a cameo as Drew's aunt.

Hurray for the Internet!

2007-04-03T14:29:00.000-06:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything new in a while. The company providing our internet service at the church went under about a month ago without any advance warning. We just arrived at church one morning, and we could not log on to the internet. Called the guy and found out he had taken down his equipment and was no longer providing internet service.

Now, for most people that would be a minor, but brief inconvenience, but not so when you are located in the middle of a wheat field, ten miles out of town. The only option we have for high speed internet service is through some sort of wireless provider, either satellite or radio signal.

The previous company had provided us service through a radio feed. We checked into a couple of different companies that provided the same or similar types of service, but they did not have service that would reach our location. We also looked into satellite internet, but the only provider in our area said their satellite was full. (I cannot even begin to comprehend exactly what that means.)

Finally, yesterday, after being without the internet for nearly a month, we found a company that could provide us service. There is now great rejoicing among my staff.

It is amazing how dependent we have become on internet access. It is an incredible tool, but it sure does handicap you when you don't have it.

Bedside Reading

2007-03-20T15:24:00.000-06:00

At my bedside right now, there is a recent copy of Field and Stream magazine, John Burke's book No Perfect People Allowed: Creating a Come As You Are Culture in the Church, and The Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook Collection by Paula Deen. What does this say about me?

The Best Hike Ever

2007-03-20T15:10:00.000-06:00

Last Thursday morning, while we were at Shepherd of the Ozarks, our entire family went hiking on the New Beginnings Trail. The trail is a contemplative and meditative prayer walk. Each of the stations along the way tell the message of the good news of Jesus Christ.

The first station tells about how God, as Creator, created the world and everything in it, including human beings, for his pleasure and to exist in relationship with Him. The second station tells about how humans rebelled against God and how every one of us makes the same choice to live our lives our way without regard for God. The Bible calls this sin and says there are destructive consequences in our lives as a result. The third station tells about how human beings try different ways to remedy the negative consequences of our sin, but all our attempts are in the end insufficient to bring us back to God and the lives we were made for. The fourth station is labeled "The Cross" and it tells about how God payed the price for our sins by sacrificing the life of His Son on the cross and how that sacrifice is the bridge to a restored relationship between us and God.

Just up the mountain from this sign, there is a large cross in a clearing in the woods. As we were reading the sign, we noticed that my middle daughter, Katie, had wandered off. We thought she wasn't listening. But she climbed up the mountain to the cross and laid at the foot of the cross a bouquet of flowers she had been gathering. She then hugged the cross, and as we were about to walk on, she said, "Does anybody want to pray?"

I said, "That would be a great idea, Katie. Would you like to lead us?"

She said, "Yes," and had the rest of us climb up to the cross to hold hands with her. She prayed and thanked God for giving the life of His Son to pay the price for our sins and told God how much she loved Him. After she got through, we were getting ready to move on when I noticed that Katie continued to cling to the cross with a sad look on her face.

I have been talking to Katie for about a year now about what it means to put your trust in Jesus as the Leader of your life and the Forgiver of your sins. So, I asked Katie, "Do you think you are ready to put your trust in Jesus." She said, "I want to, but I don't know if I can." So, right there at the foot of the cross, I talked to my little girl one more time about what it means to follow Jesus and led her in a prayer to receive God's gift of eternal life. Sitting on the ground with her, it was me, the cross, and my little girl.

Man, that's the greatest joy in all the world of being a parent. That was definitely the best hike ever!

Shepherd of the Ozarks

2007-03-20T15:02:00.000-06:00

In the week following Brick's memorial service, LaRissa and the kids and I got out of town for some much needed restoration, mourning time, and rejuvenation. We went to this awesome place called The Shepherd of the Ozarks. It was a beautiful setting with an incredible staff and perfect, rustic accomodations with modern conveniences (short of phones or internet, thank God).

There were several trails to hike. Some were meditative like the A.C.T.S. Prayer Trail or the New Beginnings Trail. Along the course of the trails there were scripture verses to contemplate and scenic overlooks to spend time in prayer. Other trails, like the Jake Falls Trail or the Lost Silver Mine Trail, were just scenic, fairly easy hiking trails.

If you are looking for a great place to get away with your family, SOTO is a wonderful place. There is a petting zoo, horseback rides, paintball course, frisbee golf course, playground, and tubing and swimming in Big Creek. It was the perfect getaway for our family.

Thinking of You

2007-03-20T14:53:00.000-06:00

In the week after Brick's death, I was beginning to feel crushed beneath the weight of my own grief, coupled with carrying the grief of others, trying to come up with the right words to say to honor Brick, and dealing with some other pretty big ministry situations. I went to our mailbox to get the mail, and on the way I just said a quick prayer just saying, "God, I really need to hear from you right now." When I got the mail, there was a letter from my grandmother, and across the seal on the envelope was a sticker that said, "Thinking of you." Right then, it was like God said, "That's from me. I'm thinking of you. I care about you, and it matters to me what you are going through right now."

How awesome is it that the God of the universe is thinking of us. "How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable!" Psalm 139:17.

So Long, Friend

2007-03-20T14:39:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, March 10, about 400 people gathered in the Pottsboro High School Auditorium to say "so long" to our friend, Brick James.

The following is the text of what I said at that memorial celebration:

Funeral for Brick James

One of Brick’s responsibilities at Hagerman was each Sunday he led our welcome time and our prayer time. And he was always late getting to the podium because he was busy giving out hugs to people who needed them. A little over six years ago, I began serving as pastor at Hagerman, and I very quickly developed a close friendship with Brick. And I realized right away how blessed and privileged I was to have Brick on my staff and just to know him and spend time with him and to learn from him. Brick was a good, good man and a dear friend, and I will miss him incredibly. Not long after I came to Hagerman, we were talking in the office, and somehow the subject of our ages came up. I was 28 at the time. And Brick said, “I can’t believe it! I can’t believe that my pastor is young enough to be my son!” Well, over the next several years, Brick really was like a spiritual father to me. One day, we were talking in his office, and Brick was wrestling with exactly what his role needed to be as a staff member, because he was kind of the utility guy. Whatever needed doing, he was the go to man. And I told him that his most important role was he was like Paul and I was like Timothy. He was so often the teacher, and I was the student.
One of the things that I will really miss about Brick is that he was an awesome teacher. He had incredible insights into God’s word, and he always had a unique way of communicating God’s truths. One of the last opportunities I had to hear Brick teach was back in November, we had a meeting for the ministry leaders in our church, and Brick taught them about some insights he had gained from the book of Joshua. And he was so excited as he told them about the hopes and dreams he had for our church. And he talked about how the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, and how the leaders had to have courage and step into the water in faith. And he talked about how the people had to consecrate themselves to be ready for what God was going to do. And he talked to us about how God stopped the waters and the people saw God do another incredible miracle to allow them to enter the Promised Land.
But, here’s what I’m getting to. After the Israelites had all passed over on dry land, Joshua was to appoint one man from each of the tribes of Israel to go into the dry river bed and gather large stones to bring to the bank and set up as a memorial. “And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, ‘In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, “What do these stones mean?” tell them, “Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.” For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.’” What was the purpose of the stones? They were set up as a reminder to the people for generations to come that God had done something incredible there, that the people had seen the hand of God at work. And that’s what I think today is about. It’s about remembering how we have seen the hand of God at work through the life of Brick James.
Now, if I’ve counted right, you’ve heard from ten men so far today, either in person or by letter or video, ten men who have each set up a stone of what Brick did in their lives, of how they saw the hand of God at work through Brick.
And now, I’m the eleventh man. Now, I could spend the rest of the day today setting up stones to honor what God showed me through Brick’s life, but there are four really important ones that I want you to remember.
First, Brick was a friend. Prov. 18:24: “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” That’s the kind of friend Brick was. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve heard from over the last month who have told me, “Brick James was my best friend in the world.”
Many of you here today represent people who were touched by Brick’s friendship. Brick was a friend because he genuinely cared. Brick was the kind of friend who was there through thick and thin, through good and bad. I remember Sept. 11, 2001, sitting in my office with Brick and Tim, watching television footage of the collapse of the twin towers and us just crying together. And one of the things I really remember from 9/11 was the bravery and the sacrifice of the New York City firemen and police officers who ran in when everybody else was running out. That’s the kind of friend that Brick was. In situations when your life was crashing in around you, in circumstances where other people were running away, Brick was always the guy running in, always the one helping to carry you out when you didn’t feel like you could go on. There was a point in my life when my world was collapsing, and if it hadn’t been for Brick, I would not have made it.
Brick was an encourager. He just always knew when you needed a hug or an encouraging word or a note. Even as I watched Brick in the hospital, people would come in, and he wound up being the one encouraging them. I have a stack of notes in my desk that Brick wrote to me. And the other day, I was looking through them, and I came across this one. Read it. I looked on the front, and there are tear stains from where Brick was crying for me as he prayed for me. He was a friend.
The second thing I want you to remember about Brick is that he was faithful. 1 Cor. 4:2: “The one thing required of servants is that they be faithful…” Brick was faithful. You could always depend on Brick. Brick was an incredible servant. I’ve seen him washing dishes, painting walls, making meals, getting on the floor and rolling around with kids, holding the hand of someone who was dying, decorating for Vacation Bible School, counseling with clients until late in the night, not giving up on people when most others would have given up. He was a faithful servant. I always knew I could depend on Brick. Several years ago, when Brick had his first brain surgery, he had the surgery on a Tuesday, and he was in church worshiping God on Sunday morning. He was faithful.
He was a faithful husband. He loved Dorothy and he was always thinking about how he could show Dorothy how much he loved her. And so many of us have learned about what it means to be a faithful spouse from Brick. This last October, we did a marriage retreat that Brick led, right before his last surgery. And he planned it and worked out the agenda for what we were going to do. But Brick wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to go, but he knew that it meant a lot to Dorothy and that she really wanted to go. So he came. And I think that those of us who went will always treasure that weekend because of what we learned, not by Brick’s words, but by his faithfulness.
Brick was a faithful father. He loved his girls, and he was so proud of you. Again, I learned a lot about how to be a good parent by watching Brick. I remember Brick telling us about one time the girls were fighting in the car, so he took a paper bag and stuck it over his head. The girls asked what he was doing, and he said, “Y’all are making bad air. And I don’t want to breathe your air. So, I’m going to breathe my own nice air in this bag.” He was a great dad, and you girls are such evidence of that.
He was a friend. He was faithful. Then, the third thing I want you to remember about Brick is that he was a fighter. 2 Tim. 4:7: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
Brick was a fighter. I remember several years ago that Brick and his friend Joe went on a trip to his mother’s cabin in upstate New York. They left their cooler on the back porch and a bear got it. Well, Brick grabbed a stick and took off after the bear yelling at it. I mean, you’ve heard the saying, “He’s so tough, he’d go into a bear fight with a stick!” Well, Brick did. And the bear dropped the cooler and ran off. I think that is so perfect an illustration of the way Brick faced life. He was a fighter. Since the first moment I knew Brick, he had cancer. But cancer never defined who he was. Most of the time you forgot that he had cancer. I never believed that cancer was going to get Brick, because he fought it so hard. I have never seen anyone face cancer with as much courage as Brick did, even to the very end. He never gave up; he never quit; he never lost hope.
But it wasn’t just cancer that Brick fought. Brick fought for his clients. The Bible says that Satan is like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. And so many of you who came to Brick for counseling were people that Satan had hurt. And Brick went to battle for you. He went to battle to save marriages. He went to battle to save lives. He went to battle to save emotions. He went to battle to save your kids. You know, I think, when Brick James went into battle that Satan trembled. Because so many people that Satan was trying to destroy, Brick rescued.
He was a fighter. And finally, I want you to remember that he was a man of faith. Brick believed in the power of God to do great things, to transform people’s lives, to work miracles. In the Bible, in the book of Luke, it tells us this story of all these people bringing all their sick and hurting friends and family members to Jesus. And I love Lk. 4:40: “No matter what their diseases were, the touch of His hand healed everyone.” No matter what their diseases were, the touch of His hand healed everyone. I know that Brick believed that verse with all his heart. The solution for the human condition is Jesus Christ. The solution to our hurts and pains and struggles and anxieties and disfunctions and guilt and disease is Jesus Christ.
You see, the Bible teaches that we are all broken people. That everyone of us, at one point or another in our lives, decide that we are going to live our lives our way, and we don’t care who we have to hurt or what we have to do. We don’t care what God or anybody else says. All of us make the choice to live for our selves and to rebel against God. The Bible calls that rebellion sin. The Bible teaches that all of us have sinned. And the Bible says that there are consequences for our sins, things like broken marriages and broken homes, domestic violence, addictions to drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography, food, things like guilt, depression, anxiety, thoughts of unworthiness, of being unloved. Or maybe just a confusion about who you are and where you belong and what the meaning of life is all about. The Bible says that there are consequences for our sins, and the ultimate consequence is death. Now, when the Bible talks about death as the consequence of our sins, its not just talking about physical death. It’s talking about eternal death as the punishment for our sins.
But there is an answer, there is a way that sinful human beings can be made right with God. Remember, no matter what their diseases were the touch of his hand healed everyone. The solution to whatever your issues are is Jesus Christ. You see, the most important verse in the Bible that you need to know is John 3:16. It says, “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for our sins so that we could have a relationship with God. That is what Brick believed with all his heart. And that is why Brick is in heaven today.
Last Sunday morning, Brick breathed his last breath here on earth. And I love what Rachel said in the e-mail she sent out. The last week of his life, Brick couldn’t really see. The very first thing he saw was the face of Jesus waiting to receive him. Brick couldn’t hear. And the very first thing he heard was the sound of angels crying out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty” and the voice of Jesus saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Brick couldn’t really speak. And the first words out of his mouth were, “Thank you and I love you.” Brick’s had lost feeling in parts of his face, and the very first thing he felt was “the touch of his hand healed everyone.”
Would you like to know the Jesus that Brick is now with? It’s as simple as ABC. Admit you are a sinner and ask God to forgive you of your sins. Believe that Jesus died in your place to pay the price for your sins. Confess Jesus as the leader of your life.

Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant

2007-03-05T16:22:00.000-06:00

Saturday afternoon at about 1 o’clock, I got a call from Brick’s youngest daughter asking me to come to their house. Brick’s breathing had changed, and the family had called hospice to bring oxygen. Brick’s breathing was labored and shallow, and this continued to worsen throughout the day. I went to see Brick, but had to leave to perform a wedding ceremony that afternoon (such a surreal juxtaposition of life and death). I returned that night to see Brick and went home at about 10 o’clock. At 1:15 a.m., Brick’s oldest daughter called to tell me that he had passed away. He went peacefully and without much pain.

There will be a memorial service Saturday, March 10, at 10 a.m. in the Pottsboro High School Auditorium.

Thank you, God, for such an awesome, incredible friend and for giving him grace and peace as he faced death.

Well done, Brick.

Update on Brick

2007-03-02T11:28:00.000-06:00

Not much new to report here, but I know many of you have been checking the site to find out what is going on. Brick's condition continues to worsen slightly each day. He is confined to bed and seems to be experiencing some pain, though that is being managed well with medication. Continue to pray for him and his family.

Restaurant Review

2007-03-02T11:09:00.000-06:00

One of my regular readers threatened to take away my man card for my review of a Mediterranean restaurant in Addison. So, I offer this review of Deno's Fried Pies as penance.

Deno's is located in Denison, TX, and is one of my favorite places to go as an occasional treat. It is occasional because one of the key ingredients that makes Deno's pies so wonderful is grease. The crusts on the pies are about as flaky as any you will find on a fried pie (a result of plenty of grease in the dough), and they are deep fried, giving a wonderfully crisp outer crust.

Of course, the thing that draws me to Deno's are their dessert pies. They come in an assortment of flavors: apricot, apple, cherry, peach, pineapple, blackberry, chocolate, coconut, vanilla, lemon, apricot cream, apple cream, cherry cream, peach cream, pineapple cream, and blackberry cream. Of the flavors I have tried, apricot has been my favorite by far, although the cherry is very good also. The chocolate seems like it is a little rich to me, combining the chocolate filling with the already rich crust. Coconut is my favorite type of pie ordinarily, but for some reason it didn't work for me in a fried pie.

Deno's also offers frozen custards blended with their fried pie flavorings. You can also get an assortment of breakfast (bacon, egg, and cheese; sausage, egg, and cheese; etc.) and dinner pies including flavors like Tex-Mex, Polish sausage and potato, or chicken and vegetable, to name a few. I have not tried any of these pies, so I can't give a review of them.

If you are expecting bakery or donut store prices at Deno's, you will be a little surprised. Think more along the lines of cafe prices, more than a donut store, less than Starbucks. By the way, Deno's also offers a good variety of hot drinks. Click here to see Deno's full menu.

Pie, grease, crust. How can you go wrong?

The Jesus Family Tomb?

2007-02-27T15:31:00.000-06:00

Is this Talpiot Tomb the final resting place of Jesus Christ?

This story is really so ridiculous that I hate to have to give any credence to it whatsoever by devoting time and energy to responding to it, but I know some of you will have some questions. The Discovery Channel is set to release on March 4 a documentary produced by James Cameron (Titanic) and directed by journalist Simcha Jacobovichi entitled "The Lost Tomb of Jesus." Jacobovichi claims that the tomb is the final resting place of Jesus, his mother Mary, his wife Mary Magdalene, and his son Judah. Let me just go ahead and give you my final evaluation. This is Hollywood sensationalism meets horrible archaeology, pseudo-science and a lot of smoke and mirrors. This is what we like to call in Arkansas "horse manure."

The conclusions are based on findings from a tomb discovered in Jerusalem in 1980. The tomb contained ten ossuaries, boxes used to house bones after the bodies of the deceased had decomposed for a year. Now, among those ten ossuaries were five containing the following inscriptions: "Jesus (or Joshua), son of Joseph," "Maria," "Mariamne e Mara," "Judah, son of Jesus," and "Matia." Now, according to the documentary, Maria is to be identified as Jesus' mother Mary. Mariamne is actually Mary Magdalene, who, according to the documentary was Jesus' wife. Judah is the son of Jesus and is to be identified with the "lad" sitting in Jesus lap in John's account of the Last Supper. And "Matia" is supposedly another name for "Matthew," the disciple of Jesus. The film also gives the idea that there is DNA evidence supporting the claim that this is the tomb of Jesus.

Okay. So where to start with this piece of fantasy? The case that the film makes is so shaky that it is like taking down a straw man. First, let's take the names. Many of the names included in the inscriptions were the most common among Jews of the first century, Jesus (or Joshua), Joseph, Mary, and Judah. The modern equivalent would be finding a family burial plot that included the names John, Jim, Mary, and Bob. The occurence of each of these names together in the same tomb is simply a function of the preponderance of these names in Israel at the time.

The documentary states that statisticians have concluded that the likelihood of these names appearing together in a single family tomb from this time period are 1 in 600. Sounds like the statistics are in their favor, right? Wrong. Think about it. The statistics state that one out of every 600 occurrences would result in a tomb with this combination of names. Jerusalem at the time was a city of approximately 50,000, whose population could swell to as much as 200,000 during festival times such as Passover. Take the lower figure and divide it by the five names found on the ossuaries then divide that figure by 600 (the statistical probability). The result is the likelihood that there would have been at least 17 tombs in the city bearing these names. It is about as likely as you would be to find in a city of 50,000 today family burial plots with the graves of at least ten people, four of who having the names John, Jim, Bob, and Mary.

However, that is not the end of the statistical problems for the film. The statistical probabilities derived for the film include the names "Mariamne e Mara" and "Matia" which the filmmakers identify as Mary Magdalene and Matthew. The problem is, there is really no evidence to conclude that either of these names were ever applied to the biblical characters mentioned. As a result, these two names can be taken out of the statistical considerations. In which case, the statistical probability of finding the remaining four names together in a tomb from this period becomes even greater. So, statistics don't win the argument.

What about the conclusion that Mary Magdalene and Jesus were married? There is no evidence from the tomb to conclude that the Mariamne from the tomb and the Jesus from the tomb are to be connected with each other. It is just as likely that Mariamne could have been the spouse of "Judah, son of Jesus," "Matia," or one of the unmarked ossuaries in the tomb. The DNA sample taken for the film merely indicate that Mariamne and Jesus were not related to one another. This alone makes it possible that they were married, but it does not establish that they were. Besides, remember, there is no basis on which to believe that Mariamne is to be identified with Mary Magdalene. Furthermore, as has been adequately argued as a result of The Da Vinci Code, there is no evidence whatsoever linking the Biblical Jesus and Mary Magdalene in marriage.

What about the location of the tomb? The tomb is in Jerusalem. Jesus died in Jerusalem, so it seems reasonable that he would be buried in Jerusalem. That is indeed what the New Testament tells us. Jesus borrowed a tomb for three days beloning to a man named Joseph of Arimathea, then he rose from the dead. But would there be reason for a family tomb in Jerusalem? No. Jesus' ancestral home was Bethlehem, a few miles to the east of Jerusalem. He and his entire family lived in Nazareth, a village far to the north. Jesus was merely a sojourner in Jerusalem, there to attend the Passover feast.

Finally, what of the historical evidence? The universal testimony of both biblical and secular history from the first century is that Jesus' followers believed he had risen from the dead. That firm conviction transformed a group of timid, fearful disciples into bold witnesses for the message of Jesus Christ. They were willing to suffer and give their lives for Jesus for the very reason that they knew he had overcome death and would grant them the gift of eternal life. If it had been widely known that the Jesus had not risen from the dead, their message would have been meaningless. And if the disciples themselves knew that Jesus had not been raised from the dead, they certainly would not have given their lives for what they knew to be a hoax.

The Jesus Family Tomb is a ridiculous piece of sensationalism and poor archaeology. The Christian faith in the resurrection of Jesus has withstood 2,000 years of attack, and there has never been one credible piece of evidence put forward to call into question the fact that "He is risen, just as he said."

For more information on The Jesus Family Tomb, see Darrell Bock 's and Ben Witherington's blogs on the subject.

Monday Movie Review

2007-02-26T14:37:00.000-06:00

After several recommendations from a lot of different people, I finally watched Facing the Giants this weekend. The film tells the story of a struggling Christian school football team and how their coach inspires them by his faith and commitment to God to go on to win a state championship.

As for the review, let me begin with the what all the people who recommended this movie: "This is a really good movie. The acting is pretty bad, but the movie is really good."

So, if you are going to watch this movie, you need to start out with that caveat in mind. The storyline is pretty good for what the film sets out to accomplish, but the quality of the acting and the production is not the best.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie and agreed with the basic concept that the film tried to portray, namely "with God, nothing is impossible." You have to understand that that is the message that the film is trying to convey. Most movies asks you to suspend reality somewhat to bring across their point, and Facing the Giants is no different. If you are able to suspend reality, and accept the storyline, then Giants effectively teaches the power of God to overcome any struggles we may face and conquer the "giants" in our lives.

Every thread of the storyline reinforces this point. (Spoiler Warning) The coach's car is falling apart and an anonymous donor gives him a new Ford F-150 pickup truck. The coach also receives a $6,000 a year raise when the teams starts winning. The commitment of the coach and the football team leads to a revival on campus in which one of the team members becomes a Christian and is reconciled to his father. The coach, with God's help, is able to turn the football team around and save his job. The coach and his wife, struggling with issues of infertility, are able to get pregnant, not once but twice. The football team, defeated in the first round of the playoffs and facing elimination, are reinstated in the playoffs because the team that beat them is disqualified for playing two inelgible players. The football team then goes on to face the Giants, four time state champs who are bigger, stronger, faster, and better coached. The game comes down to a field goal attempt in which the undersized, less than confident, second string kicker named (you guessed it) David must kick a fifty-one yard field goal to win the game with two seconds left on the clock.

Now, let me say loud and clear that I absolutely and completely agree with the basic premise of the movie that nothing is impossible with God. I can affirm in my own life that God has done some things that I thought were absolutely impossible. However, I think the movie overstates its case. Literally everything in the movie works out for the best. And that is not how life often works. God can do the impossible, but he is also sovereign, and sometimes his purpose and plan for our lives means that we will face difficulties that won't always easily be wrapped up.

I would have enjoyed the movie more if it had shown the reverse side of this coin. Had the coach and his wife continued to praise God without getting a child, had the team not went on to the state championship, had some tragedy struck the football team, I would have more readily accepted the movie as a reflection of real life. The coach and players continually say, "We praise God when we win, and we praise God when we lose." The full force of the movie and its impact as a whole would have been greater to me if there had been a realistic representation of the latter part of that statement.

As it now stands, the film could be construed as reinforcing a health and prosperity gospel, that if you love God and have enough faith and serve him, everything will always turn out perfect. That is why I offer a caution in viewing the film. It is a great movie for Christian families, so long as you understand that it does not represent the whole story. Be sure to talk to each other about the reality of the Christian life. Remember, being faithful to God's call for his life led Jesus to a cross and countless other believers to suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ.

Beyond that, the movie also gets preachy at times. I completely support the idea of realistically depicting the lives of people of faith in film. I think realistic people of faith are sadly absent from television and movies. I think it is awesome that a church (the movie was produced, written, directed and cast by members of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, GA) would step out in faith to produce a movie as a means of conveying the Christian message. However, the dialogue in the movie often sounded like it came directly from the pastor's sermon for the week. People of genuine faith and conviction and character usually talk about their faith without using phrases that sound, well, like a sermon.

I would also caution against trying to use the movie as an evangelistic tool. Although, it gives a clear statement of the value of faith in God, it is a little too over the top for the average unbeliever. If you have someone who is very receptive to the gospel and very close to crossing the line of faith, then the movie could be an effective tool. But for the average spiritual seeker, I would advise using some other tools. For one, the quality of the movie might be a distraction to your friend. If they are quickly turned off because of the quality of the movie, you may have lost the opportunity for further conversations. I would recommend movies with spiritual themes that can serve as conversation starters with your friends (movies like The Chronicles of Narnia, The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan, or Harry Potter).

In summary, I enjoyed Giants and will share it with my family and Christian friends, while recognizing that while trying to communicate its message, it leaves unsaid some important aspects of facing the giants in our lives with faith in God. Enjoy the movie, but we aware of its shortcomings and be careful about trying to use it to win people to faith.

Now, That's How to Get Out of Church

2007-02-21T10:38:00.000-06:00

Check out this article about a woman in Florida who faked her own death because she was getting too close to other members of the choir in her church.
How many people in churches do the same thing without actually having the funeral service?

Restaurant Review

2007-02-21T10:19:00.000-06:00

Friday night, I took LaRissa out for our Valentine's getaway. We went to Addison, TX, and ate at the Avanti Euro Bistro. Avanti is located in Addison Circle, a large apartment development in Addison made to look like an old, large city, bricktown type neighborhood. The lower levels of the apartment complexes are shops and restaurants. It was a really cool environment.
Avanti is a Euro/Mediterranean style restaurant. The decor is modern, with nods to Mediterranean stylings. (LaRissa said she new we were in a unique restaurant when the big screen television in the bar was on the fashion channel instead of sports.) There is a live band that is supposed to play each evening, but they were not playing while we were there. Our dining was relatively private, the lighting was subdued, and overall made for a romantic atmosphere.
We started the evening with warm bread and olive oil and an appetizer of stuffed portabello mushrooms covered in a hollandaise sauce. The portabellos were topped with smaller mushrooms, tomatoes, and lump crab meat. They were wonderful.
For our entrees, we went two different directions. I am the more adventuresome diner. I would rather try something different and risk the danger of getting something gross for the possible opportunity at trying something incredible, while LaRissa would rather play it safe and stick with something she knows is good. I had the Long Island Duck Confit, strips of roasted duck breast, covered in a Grand Marnier orange sauce and served over a bed of long grain and wild rice with a side of steamed vegetables. The orange sauce was sweet and tangy, and the duck had a nice, firm texture.
LaRissa got the Stuffed Jumbo Shrimp with Lump Crabmeat. The shrimp were huge and wonderful. Of the two meals, LaRissa's was probably the better, but I'm glad I tried something different.
We finished the evening with rich, bold coffee and the creme brulee. It was good, but something of a disappointment (vanilla pudding with a carmelized top).
Oh well, pretty hoity toity fare for a boy from Arkansas who is content with beans and taters. It was a wonderful evening and scored major points with my wife. I have learned that going all out for Valentine's Day is an investment that is well worth it in a marriage.

Brick's Condition

2007-02-21T10:12:00.000-06:00

I haven't blogged in a while because I have been pretty focused on Brick's condition. Not much new to report there. His condition continues to worsen slightly each day. He now cannot hear at all and is sleeping pretty much around the clock. He also cannot see very well and cannot speak clearly. So, during his last days, his communication with others is pretty limited. Because Brick cannot really interact with others, it would be great if you would pray for him to have an awesome sense of God's presence right now and that he would be able to spend time worshiping God. Also pray for God to give him grace and mercy for the time he has left.

The End of the Journey

2007-02-15T15:11:00.000-06:00

This picture hangs on the wall of my office. It is a picture of a through-hiker who has come to Mount Katadhin, Maine, the end of the 2,100 mile Appalachian Trail. The title of the photo is "The End of the Journey."

I looked at the picture last night as I was on my way out the door to go visit my friend Brick in the hospital. Brick is going home today. His cancer has advanced to the point that his doctors advise against doing any further radiation treatment. So, Brick is home to spend whatever time he has left with his wife and daughters. He has just about come to the end of the journey. He has walked the trail well, and I am pleased to be one of the ones who comes behind him.

Brick continues to amaze me as he handles himself with grace and faith. Although he can barely see or hear and has difficulty speaking, he continues to show incredible concern for others and leaves everyone who sees him amazed at his love for them.

I do not like having to let go of Brick. He has been an awesome friend and example. Brick is coming to the end of the journey, but there is something more incredible awaiting him.

Pray for Brick

2007-02-13T15:55:00.000-06:00

My friend, Brick James, was admitted to the hospital last night with complications related to his ongoing battle with cancer. He is now having difficulty seeing, hearing, eating, and walking. The cancer is advancing very rapidly at this point. Please continue to be in prayer for Brick and his wife and two daughters at this time.

Christian vs. Christ-follower, Part 4

2007-02-08T09:09:00.000-06:00

Last one. Still really funny.

Jack Bauer is my hero!

2007-02-08T08:55:00.000-06:00

This is seriously good television. Does anyone else find themselves asking WWJBD (What would Jack Bauer do)?

If you haven't gotten addicted yet and you can handle a serious adrenaline rush, check out 24. My wife and I rented the first season DVD about six months ago. We are now watching last season. This is about as fast a pace as you can handle in a TV show. Kiefer Sutherland plays agent Jack Bauere, a counter-terrorist agent in Los Angeles. Each season Jack is confronted with a terrorist plot to do some serious damage to the United States and has just 24 hours to save the world. There are twenty-four episodes in each season, so the entire season represents a real-time account of a single day in Jack's life. It is a very cool way to watch a show.

It is well-written and smart. Just a warning, though. Every episode leaves you at the edge of your seat, wanting more. The only negative I have about the show is that you have to suspend reality somewhat to believe all the stuff that happens to this one guy, but what TV show doesn't ask us to do that.

Jack Bauer is my hero!

Post-millenialism and a New World

2007-02-05T15:27:00.000-06:00

One of the things that has gotten me thinking about heaven in the real world was a recent request by one of our women's small groups. The women are currently going through a bible study on the book of Daniel, a tough task for a lot of believers. As they have gone through the study, they have naturally come up with a lot of questions, so they have asked me to come and do a "Stump the Pastor" night with them so they can pick my brain.

In preparation for this question and answer time, I just began thinking through various issues of eschatology to begin to formulate some answers. I got to thinking about the four major approaches to eschatology (postmillenialism, historic premillenialism, dispensational premillenialism, and amillenialism) and was about to fly past posmillenialism.

Postmillenialism was perhaps the predominant viewpoint within the church for at least its first thousand years. Postmillenialism teaches that the world will get increasingly better through the efforts of Christians and the expanding of the gospel to the ends of the earth. As a result, the church will usher in a period of peace and the coming of God's kingdom that will last for a thousand years. At the end of that time, Christ will return to earth. The death nell for this millenial perspective came in the form of the horrors of the 20th century: WWI and WWII, the holocaust, the dropping of the atomic bomb, the cold war. It appeared that humanity was not getting better.

So, postmillenialists are a rare breed these days. But I got to thinking about the positive aspect of the postmillenialist perspective. You see, postmillenialists have a very positive outlook on life and the world and the ability of the church to make a difference in the world. They see the world as entirely redeemable. They hold out the possibility that we can impact culture for the good. I'm not yet a postmillenialist, but I am gaining a greater love for that kind of outlook in life.

Christian vs. Christ-follower, Part 3

2007-02-05T15:15:00.000-06:00

Another funny one. This one is along the lines of what I have been talking about as far as seeing the holiness of everything.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2007-02-05T15:02:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, as we ate lunch after church, I asked Katie, my middle daughter, what she had learned in Kids' Own Worship (our children's church program for K-2nd grade). She quickly responded, "Jesus doesn't make sense."

I was a little concerned that maybe she had missed the point or that our curriculum was getting a little off track, so I probed a little more. What I found out was that she really meant "Jesus never sinned." But the more I thought about what she said, the more I realized she had stumbled onto a genuine truth of being a Christ-follower. Jesus doesn't always make sense. Jesus sometimes ask us to do things that aren't rational or safe or easy. Jesus sometimes does things in our lives that are difficult to accept or to understand. The teachings of Jesus often confront and challenging our conventional ways of thinking.

Jesus really doesn't always make sense. But the times that he doesn't make sense are often the times that he is growing me the most. The more I follow him, the more I discover, like Aslan in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, that he isn't a tame lion and he isn't safe, but he's good.

Another indication that I'm aging and a parent

2007-02-05T14:47:00.000-06:00

I was painting in our kitchen this Saturday while the kids watched cartoons and heard a commercial for Trix cereal. The commercial was all about how Trix now had a "new" shape. They are now round instead of fruit-shaped. I learned three things from this commercial: 1. I am now getting old enough that I remember that this is really a retro-version of Trix. Round was their original shape. 2. I really see a lot of children's programming since I am a father of four. 3. I am a total dork that I care what shape Trix comes in.

Related Blog on "The Holiness of Everything"

2007-02-05T14:36:00.000-06:00

Check out Michael McMinn's post "Escape from the Christian Ghetto" for a great blog on how Christians are creating their own counter-culture that often isolates us from the rest of the world.

A Kemp Family Fave

2007-01-31T14:49:00.000-06:00

Our family has really gotten into the Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender. It is well-animated, witty, is filled with cool martial arts sequences and has a great story-line. The world of Avatar is built around an Asian-like culture, so the worldview reflects eastern influences, but it is well worth checking out.

Feeling Kinda Blue

2007-01-31T14:25:00.001-06:00

I'm feeling kinda blue today. The world does not feel an awful lot like heaven just now. I just found out yesterday that one of my best friends, Brick James, has had a reoccurence of cancer. Brick was first diagnosed with melanoma seven years ago. He has had several surgeries and treatments over the last several years. Yesterday he learned that a tumor in his brain was growing back, that there was a tumor in his neck, and that there were now cancer cells in his spinal column. There is not much to do now as far as surgical options go, so he will be undergoing chemotherapy to try to at least slow the progress of the cancer.

Brick is one of the most authentic followers of Christ I have ever met. He is an awesome friend, an often mentor, a sometimes counselor to me, someone who holds me accountable and who isn't afraid to get in my face and be really honest. Please pray for him.

Christian vs. Christ-follower, Part 2

2007-01-30T14:46:00.000-06:00

Oh, man, this is funny!

More on Life and the Trail

2007-01-30T13:55:00.000-06:00

I opened this blog with some thoughts on life and the trail. I had a few more thoughts on the connections between life and hiking that I never got around to posting. So, here they are.

First, every hiker understands the value of traveling lightly. Hikers are fanatical about reducing every ounce of excess baggage like drilling holes in toothbrush handles, using ultralight gear, reducing the amount of food you have to carry. Every extra ounce of weight can be a hindrance that slows you down and keeps you from going on further.

Wise people in life understand that we are just passing through life. Life is a journey, so why get weighted down by things that keep us from moving ahead? Our goal should not be to add on more weight, a bigger house payment, more car payments, more gadgets and toys and possessions, greater credit card debts. Our goal should be to reduce the weight and keep moving as pilgrims and strangers on earth.

Second, hiking is purposeful. It's about putting one foot in front of the other and keeping on going, even when it is difficult. Success in life is moving forward toward the goal. God's desire for us is to make us more and more like Jesus Christ, and that means that we keep moving forward in life. Sometimes life is difficult. Sometimes life doesn't make sense. Sometimes your best friend dies at 35 in a car accident. Sometimes your wife has a miscarriage. Sometimes your husband walks out on you after twenty years of marriage. But you don't stop. You keep moving ahead.

You're not always going to understand what God is doing in your life. You're not always going to be prepared for everything that comes along. The same is true on the trail. You cannot prepare for every eventuality. Sometimes you encounter the unexpected on the trail. Sometimes what you come across on the trail does not match what the trailguide in your hands says. But you just keep moving, putting one foot in front of the other, knowing that things are going to get better.

A couple of years ago, my wife and I lost a child in the tenth week of pregnancy. As we went through that experience, I asked God a lot of times to help me understand why this had happened. I never got an answer to that question. But what I did come to understand was that I don't have to always understand what God is doing for me to trust Him. I just keep walking the trail.

Loving My Wife

2007-01-30T13:26:00.000-06:00

I readily admit that there was a time when I was the village idiot when it came to expressing love and affection to my wife and being a romantic Prince Charming. I'm the guy who offered to take my wife out to a movie and eat at Taco Bell afterwards on our anniversary (Ouch!) But somewhere along the way, by the grace of God and with the help of my awesome wife, I figured it out.

Let me just say, my wife is a total hottie! There are many days that I look at her and think, "Dang, how'd I get so lucky?" One of the joys of my life now is continually thinking of new and meaningful ways that I can express my love to her.

Last Friday we went to the Trinity School of Dance and the Arts in Durant, OK, and took the ballroom dancing class. We learned the waltz, the foxtrot, the rumba, and some Irish/cowboy line dance thing. It was a blast, and my wife thought I was the biggest stud in all the world.

Guys, let me offer you a revolutionary piece of advice: Husbands, love your wives. It's amazing how many men just don't get this. Focus on expressing love to your wife in ways that are romantic and meaningful to her and do it regularly and you will never regret it.

Dear Abby (revised),

2007-01-29T14:59:00.000-06:00

At the birth of each of my children, I have written a letter to them. I have been a little slow about getting one to Abby. Time is more and more at a premium with four children. So, here, finally, is my letter to Abby.

Dear Abby,

You are the fourth incredible blessing that God has given to us. I cannot begin to tell you how much you mean to your mother and me. Your birth has once again brought joy into our busy home. You are a cherished possession, a special treasure, a beautiful gift from God.

You have been born into an incredible family with the most beautiful and awesome mother in the world. She is the love of my life, and I feel blessed every day to have her as my wife. Your brother and sisters are terrific kids, and they already love you with all their hearts. You cannot know right now just how wonderful your life is to be loved by so many people.

Abby, as your Daddy, I promise you that I will always love you unconditionally. I will value you and treasure you as best I know how on a daily basis. Most importantly, I will always try to point you to Jesus Christ and give you an example of following him in my own life. I cannot give you riches or fame, but I can give you Jesus, and he is the best thing in all the world.

I pray for you daily. I pray you will know just how much I and your mommy love you and how much God loves you. I pray that you will one day become a follower of Jesus Christ. I pray that you will live out God's vision for your life. I pray you dream big dreams, live great adventures, and love the world, life, and other people. I pray you will find someone to share your life with who will love you with all their hearts and who will love Jesus even more.

You mean the world to me, and I thank God every day for the gift you are to us.

Love,

Daddy

Cowboys' Woes

2007-01-29T11:52:00.000-06:00

Not much new to say here. I still stand by my previous posting on the QB controversey. All I can say now is thank goodness the Bill Parcells era is over. I know, I know, he's a hall of fame coach, but his four years in Dallas have been nothing more than mediocre. I am ready to move on, although I am nervous about how Jerry Jones is going to fill the head coaching position.

Heaven in the Real World

2007-01-29T11:24:00.000-06:00

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about the world, culture, society, and other people. I've been asking God to give me his perspective on all these things and to enable me to see the holiness of everything, to be able to see the hand of God all around me.

You see, I think the standard conservative Christian position on the world, culture, and other people is that they are basically and fundamentally irredeemable. Oh, sure, God can and does occassionally change some people, but as a whole, society, culture, and people are growing worse and worse, are going down the tubes, and as a result should generally be avoided.

A far cry from the life and ministry of Jesus whose overarching message was the coming of the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Jesus' life and ministry was very much about the kingdom of heaven invading and transforming the kingdom of the world. His miracles were evidence of the coming of the kingdom. His teachings were about life in the kingdom. His death, burial, and resurrection were about the kingdom of the heavens being firmly established in this world and redeeming a people who are citizens of that kingdom and who will continue to carry forward that kingdom here on earth.

So, I ask the question, what would the world be like if Christians really believed that heaven were possible here on earth? How would we see the world and culture and society and other people differently if we saw them all as basically and fundamentally redeemable? How would it change our approach to life if we looked for the hand of God in every moment, every conversation, every interaction? Would our actions and attitude be different if our perspective on heaven was not some pie in the sky by and by approach, not some retreat from life in the real world, but if we understood that the kingdom of heaven is at hand right now in the world around us? What if instead of wishing for something better, we made the world better? What if, whenever we saw places in life that weren't quite heaven, we chose to do something about it to bring the life of the kingdom of heaven to reality here?

Think about it. Much more to come.

Christian vs. Christ-follower

2007-01-29T11:11:00.000-06:00

Really good really funny video passed along to me by Michael McMinn.

Elections

2006-11-09T14:22:00.000-06:00

Democrats made massive gains in Tuesday's elections, regaining control of the House and possibly of the Senate. I am a Republican. At least that is the way I have voted in every election I have voted in since I was elgible to vote. But I am not overly dismayed by Tuesday's elections.

The Republican party has not really lived up to it's contract with Christian America. Is the country really any different today than it was at the close of the Clinton administration? Republican moral failures, mishandling of the war in Iraq, and failure to make any significant gains on moral issues have left me wondering if there isn't a middle ground.

Maybe Democrats' gains in this election will cause a new dialogue to take place in America in which we can truly value life, both by securing the lives of the unborn and protecting the sanctity of marriage while at the same time encouraging mother's with unwanted pregnancies, supporting adoption programs, getting teens out of the cycle of poverty and poor education, and showing unconditional love to those wrestling with issues of their sexuality. In short, I renounce my claim to being a Republican. Neither am I a Democrat or an independent. I am a follower of Jesus Christ, and I want to see His truth and His love balanced and lived out in the social and political sphere. I will make a difference where I can and elect men and women whom I believe will try to make the world a better place, not who have a certain political label.

Cowboys' QB Controversy

2006-10-25T10:49:00.000-06:00

It appears that the Dallas Cowboys now have a full-fledged quarterback controversy on their hands. Today, at his noon press conference, head coach Bill Parcells announced that Tony Romo would be the Cowboys' starting quarterback Sunday against Carolina. Parcells had benched Bledsoe in favor of Romo during the Cowboys' loss at home to the Giants in Monday night's game. Prior to Monday night's game Romo had only thrown two passes in an NFL regular season game.

So, the question is, has Parcells made the right decision? Is Romo the guy to be the Cowboys quarterback? The answer: WHO CARES! It's not that I don't care about the Cowboys. I do. I am not a diehard Cowboys fan, but as a resident of North Texas, I watch the games with interest and would be happy for the Cowboys to put in another Super Bowl appearance.

It's just that I don't give a rat's rear about this quarterback controversy. I have never understood all the hubub over the Cowboys this season. At the beginning of the season, so many of the football minds had the Cowboys as their pick for the Superbowl. I just couldn't see the Cowboys as anything more than a .500 or a little better team at best.

I never thought Drew Bledsoe would be able to lead the Cowboys to a Superbowl, much less win one. Drew Bledsoe is not a Superbowl caliber quarterback. He has demonstrated that for fourteen seasons in the NFL. But does anyone honestly believe that Tony Romo, an undrafted quarterback from Eastern Illionois who nobody has ever heard of, is a Superbowl caliber quarterback? Maybe Romo is somewhat better than Bledsoe. I doubt it, but I honestly don't know. But better than Bledsoe still doesn't win a Superbowl.

And isn't that really the point? You see, I think this whole quarterback controversy is an exercise in missing the point. Cowboys' fans, we don't need to be screaming for Romo or Bledsoe. We need to be screaming for a quarterback. A real quarterback. Somebody with a reputation and a decent pedigree from college, somebody with some real potential to develop into a great NFL quarterback. Jerry, go buy, beg, steal, borrow, trade for one, whatever you have to do. And while you're at it, get him a decent offensive line to block for him.

My point is, has it been so long since the great Troy that we have forgotten what a real quarterback ought to look like? Don't give me this Tony Romo crap.

And while I'm at it, the Bill Parcells experiment has failed. Parcells came here wanting a Superbowl within the next couple of years to prove his expertise as a coach. The problem, the Cowboys weren't a Superbowl team waiting for a coach. The Cowboys needed some major pieces in place to get them to where they needed to be. There is no doubt that the Cowboys are a better team now than they were before Parcells got here. But they are still a lot of pieces away from being a Superbowl team, the quarterback position being a key piece. And isn't another title what we are really all looking for?

So who cares whether it's Bledsoe or Romo? The Cowboys' season is over. It's time to start building a Cowboys team that we can really take pride in again.

What Is Truth?

2006-09-26T14:02:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I've had a chance to do any blogging. My son is playing football for the first time this year, my oldest daughter is cheering, and my middle daughter is taking dance. It seems like we are running all the time now.

I've been thinking lately about the modernism/postmodernism divide and how it impacts how we share the incredible, life-changing message of Jesus Christ, relate to people, and approach life as a whole. It seems to me that in the life of the church modernism has been concerned with the search for the right answers, whereas postmodernism is more concerned with the search for the right questions.

One of the things that I have been meditating on over the last several weeks is the idea that God is in the questions. The modernist approach to apologetics and the Christian life was to carefully formulate an answer to all the questions that skeptics and even believers ask. The postmodern approach and the approach of the emerging church is to live out the questions, to enter into the questions in conversation with other people.

To me, it boils down to the reality that God doesn't always want us to encounter Him in the answers to our questions, but in the questions themselves. Life isn’t simple. It’s complex and hard to figure out, and there aren’t always easy answers to the problems and struggles and stresses of life. Life doesn’t always work out the way you’d planned. Life leaves us with doubts and confusion and questions.

God is so infinite and so complex and so amazing that we will never have Him all figured out. And the questions point us to that reality. The aspects of life and theology and the Bible and faith that we cannot quite grasp illustrate the fact that we will never fully comprehend the wonder of all that God is.

Much of the discussion between modernism and postmodernism comes down to the question of truth. Modernism concerns itself with the search for absolute truth while postmodernism involves some questioning of the methods, goals, and presuppositions of modernism in that quest for truth. Both approaches to truth stem from a Western mindset and understanding of truth that goes all the way back to Aristotle.

Is there a way out of the struggle between these two different understandings about truth? I think it is found in a Hebrew understanding of truth rather than a Greek understanding. Check out John 18:37-38: “Jesus answered, ‘For this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.’ ‘What is truth?’ Pilate asked.”

Pilate represents the Greek way of thinking about truth. For the Greek, truth was a philosophical concept. It related to what could be known through reason and thinking. It related to facts, and it was static and unchanging. So, when Pilate asks, “What is truth?” He wants to know, “What can be known through reason and thinking? What are the facts? What is the answer?” As Westerners, we are the inheritors of Greek thought, and so, that is the same definition of truth that most of us operate according to. Even the postmodern questioning of truth stems from a Greek way of thinking.

But Jesus was not a Greek. He was a Hebrew, and Hebrews had a vastly different understanding of truth from the Greeks. For Hebrews, truth is not static. It’s not fixed in time. It’s not like what’s true now is always true. For the Hebrew, truth is developing, unfolding. Truth is something that grows and develops over the course of time and history. For the Hebrew, truth is not something you arrive at through thinking; it is something you learn through experience in life. Truth is something you come to know as you see it demonstrated in life. And so, for the Hebrew, truth is not something you know in your head. Truth is something you know in your gut, because you’ve seen the value of it as you have experienced the struggles and heartaches and pressures of life.

In the Old Testament, God is called the God of truth, and in that context, truth means reliability, dependableness, faithfulness, the ability to perform what is required. And so, God’s truth is demonstrated in the experiences of life. So, for the Hebrew, truth is found at the intersection of life’s experiences and the wisdom and character of God. Now, according to that definition of truth, truth does not exclude questions. No, questions, struggles, doubts are the essence of what it means to discover truth. The person who questions God is the person who stands at the intersection of life and God’s wisdom seeking to understand truth. Questions are an essential part of a growing faith.

So, may we all come to this understanding of truth. Rather than a modernist or postmodernist approach to truth, rather than a Western, Greek approach to truth, let us have a biblical approach to truth. Let us come to find truth at the intersection of the character of God as revealed in His Word and the experiences of our lives.

What My Papaw Taught Me about Love

2006-09-05T12:46:00.000-06:00

My grandfather, Olan Icenhower, passed away Monday, August 28th at my parents' home in Arkansas. This picture is one we took two months ago with my newborn, Abby. It is a picture I will cherish forever.

My grandmother asked me to speak at my grandfather's funeral, and the following is the complete text of that message:

Some of you knew O. D. Icenhower as “Mr. Icenhower.” Some of you knew him as “Olan.” Most of you knew him as “Nubbin” or “Nub.” And a few of you knew him as “Daddy.” But I, along with about 47 other people here, knew him as Papaw. And I want to spend a few minutes telling you about my Papaw. I’m not here to talk about his death. I’m here to talk about his life, to celebrate his life. You see, the most valuable lessons in life I learned from my Papaw. When I’m preaching, I don’t know how many of my stories start with “My Papaw said … ” or “My Papaw did …” or "My Papaw used to ..." But of all the lessons he taught me, the greatest lesson in all of life, I learned from my Papaw on a daily basis in his words and in his actions and in everything he did. And that was how to love.

Jesus said in John 13:35, By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. You know, Jesus could have said a lot of things. He could have said, "By this will all men know that you are my disciples, by your doctrine and your beliefs. By this will all men know you are my disciples, by what church you go to. By this will all men know that you are my disciples, by the programs you have going or the ministries you are involved in." But Jesus didn't say any of those things. He said, "By this, by your love for one another." The distinguishing mark of a follower of Jesus Christ is love. And that is what my Papaw showed to so many people and taught me so well.

There’s four things my Papaw taught me about love. First, he taught me how to love other people. Papaw loved people. Papaw loved being around people. Your presence here today is an indication of how much Papaw loved people and how many friends he had. Papaw loved to talk. Many of you have probably had Papaw sit and talk your ear off. Papaw loved to be in a crowd of people. The other night at Momma and Daddy’s house, there was a big crowd of people there talking and eating and loving each other, and my Uncle Gary said, “There's only one thing missing. Daddy would have loved to be here right now.”

Papaw loved people. When I was a kid, I remember getting in Papaw’s old truck, and we’d start up the road there in Mt. Carmel, and it would take Papaw forever to get anywhere, maybe a little bit because he drove slow as all get out, but more than that because he had to stop and visit with so many people. Papaw never met a stranger. People all over Howard county, people all over the state of Arkansas know my Papaw. My momma told me yesterday morning that she and Mamaw took Papaw to the mall with them one time. How they ever got him in the mall, I don’t know. But they took him to the mall and found him a bench to sit at out in the mall while they went shopping. When they got back, there was Papaw just talking up a storm with somebody, and he said, “Momma, I want you to meet my friend, so and so.”

Papaw was a friend. He was a friend to everybody. It didn’t matter who you were, how important you were, how rich you were or poor you were, what color you were. He was a friend. When I was a kid, you knew when there was a stranger at the door because they knocked on the door. Nobody ever knocked on the door at Papaw’s house. The door was always open. When you sat down to eat supper at Papaw’s, there was almost always a visitor sitting at the table. Many preachers sat down at Papaw’s supper table after a meeting up at the church to sit down and talk with him about hunting or fishing or gardening or the Bible. Maybe that's where I first began to sense God's calling in my own life, sitting and listening to one of those conversations. If you came to my Papaw’s house, you usually hadn’t been there for very long before you felt like you were part of his family. How many times has Papaw stayed around visiting with people after church and he got ready to go, and his final words were “Y’all come home with me”? And he meant it. They weren't just words. He really wanted you to come home with him and sit down and eat with him and talk with him.

Papaw loved people, and Papaw showed people love. Papaw never has had a lot in this world, never has been a rich man, but he still liked to help people out as best he could. I remember seeing a lot of people come to Papaw’s garden to get food that he had given to them, helping out somebody who was having a tough time.

Papaw taught me how to love other people. The second thing Papaw taught me was he taught me how to love my kids. Papaw loved his kids and grandkids. Let me tell you, it was a special thing to be his child or grandchild. I have never doubted that Papaw loved me more than I could imagine. You always knew that you were loved.

When you would see Papaw, even as a thirty-year-old man, Papaw’s first words were, “Come here and give Papaw a sugar.” And then, he’d give you a great big hug and a scratchy-faced kiss.

Papaw knew how to show love to kids. When I was a kid, he always carried a package of Juicy-Fruit or Big Red in his pocket or a package of M&Ms to give to his grandkids. He gave us rides on his mule, Target.

One of my favorite things that he did, I am passing on to my kids. Sometimes I tell one of my kids, “Come here and give me some lovein’.” So they climb up in my lap, and I lay them down and say, “Let me pick your guitar.” So I pick up their arm and tickle them under the arm until we are both just laughing with tears in our eyes. That’s something my Papaw did with me, and I pass it on to my children.

Papaw loved his kids and grandkids. He prayed for us. He hugged us. He encouraged us. He was proud of us. He loved us. It didn’t matter what you did. It didn’t matter how long you’d been away. It didn’t matter whether you’d made some mistakes. Papaw always made you know that He loved you unconditionally.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Papaw was sometimes tough on you. The boys, especially, can attest to the fact that if you did something Papaw didn’t approve of, he wasn’t afraid to offer correction, often administered to the seat of the pants. If you weren’t living the way Papaw thought you ought to, he wasn’t afraid to provide some wise direction.

Papaw also knew how to work you. Whether it was working in the garden or hauling hay or picking blackberries or hauling firewood or getting up early in the morning to feed the animals and gather eggs, whatever, a day with Papaw was usually going to include some hard work. When my cousin, Justin, was just a little boy, he came to spend a week with Mamaw and Papaw one summer. And Papaw got Justin to working in the garden, picking peas or beans. Justin hadn’t been there but a couple of days when he called home and said, “I’m ready to come home. I don’t like picking beans.”

But Papaw somehow knew how to make a day of working worthwhile. Papaw knew where all the best swimming holes were. One memory that sticks out for me is one day we had been working in the garden all morning, and it was hot. And Papaw took us swimming. The swimming hole had big tall banks on either side and a rope swing that you could swing over into the water. So, all us boys stripped down and were having a big time swimming. Well, all of a sudden, we hear a holler, and here comes this seventy year old man, naked as a jaybird, diving off that bank into the water. We laughed and laughed. Even at seventy years old, Papaw was a kid at heart. Papaw loved his kids and grandkids, and he loved spending time with them.

Now, let me let you in on a secret: I was Papaw's favorite. Now, all these other grandkids are getting mad at me, because they thought they were Papaw's favorite. Somehow Papaw had a unique way of loving each of us. Every one of us felt like we were Papaw’s favorite. And the truth is, we were. We were all his favorite. There’s a picture of Papaw that I had to find at Momma's house. Papaw is in his old green pickup, sitting behind the steering wheel, grinning from ear to ear. The picture was taken lookin in the passenger side window. So, Papaw is in the center, and around the edge of the picture are the five little faces of five of us grandkids, sticking out the window. That picture really says it all. I don’t remember where we were going or what we were doing, but it didn’t matter. We were going with Papaw, and going anywhere with Papaw was a good time. Maybe that’s why today is so tough. Because Papaw’s gone, and for right now, we can’t go with him.

Papaw loved his kids. The third thing I learned from Papaw was how to love my wife. As Papaw would say, he loved “that thing there.” I remember Papaw telling me about the first time he saw Mamaw. Papaw was driving down the road and saw a girl with coal-black hair playing out in the yard, and he said to himself that was the prettiest girl he had ever seen in his life and that he was going to marry her someday. And he did.

Mamaw was the love of Papaw’s life, his best friend, his lifelong companion. This year they were married 64 years. There aren't a lot of people who make it 64 years in marriage. So, what’s the secret to 64 years of marriage? Did they never fight? Did they always get along perfectly. No, they had their share of disagreements. Those of us who were their kids and grandkids can attest to that. Mamaw told me the other day that if somebody were to tell her in 64 years of marriage that they never had a disagreement or a cross word with each other, she wouldn’t believe them. Mamaw said the secret was they always had enough love for each other to work through whatever problems they had with each other. When LaRissa and I were getting married, Papaw told us, “Whatever you do, don’t go to bed mad at each other. You may not have it all worked out, but don’t go to bed mad at each other.” We’ve put that into practice in our marriage. Some nights we haven't gone to bed until 2 o'clock in the morning, but we've haven't gone to bed mad at each other, and we’ve been married now for 13 years.

A year and a half ago, Mamaw was in the hospital and had some pretty major surgery, and we didn’t know if Mamaw was going to make it. Papaw was a nervous wreck in the waiting room. He just had to go see Mamaw as much as they would let him in to see her. One of the times he came out of her room, and he had this great big grin on his face, and he said, “I got me some sugars.” Several months ago, we were visiting Momma and Daddy and Mamaw and Papaw, and we were getting ready to go. Everybody was already out of the house, and I was in a back room. Papaw was sitting in the kitchen, and I heard Mamaw come into the kitchen where he was. She told him, “Daddy, you’ll never know how much I love you.” Papaw said, “I love you, too. More than I could ever say.” Papaw loved Mamaw.

Now, there’s a lot of other things I could tell you about that Papaw loved. Papaw loved life. He loved hunting. He loved gardening. He loved dogs. He loved his mule, Target. I remember watching Papaw and Target plowing for hours in the garden together, sweat would be pouring off of both of them. And as they would go past Mamaw, Target would start breathing harder, and Mamaw would say, "Nubbin, you stop and let that mule rest!" And they would stop to rest while Papaw drank a cup of coffee. Papaw loved coffee. Hot coffee, cold coffee, strong coffee, weak coffee, it didn't matter. I used to be amazed at how Papaw could drive over a hundred miles of busted glass with a cup of coffee without ever spilling a drop.

But of all the things Papaw loved, the most important thing Papaw taught me was Papaw taught me to love Jesus. When Papaw was 33 years old, he asked Jesus to save him, and he did. And Papaw never got over it. Whenever Papaw would pray and thank Jesus for saving him, his voice would crack, and tears would well up in his eyes. He was just in love with Jesus.

Papaw couldn’t read very much, so every evening he and Mamaw would sit together and Mamaw would read the Bible to him. Many times, Mamaw would read something to him that meant something special or that he didn't quite understand, and he would say, "Read that again, Momma." Mamaw has read the Bible to Papaw for hours and hours. For someone who couldn’t read, Papaw knew more about the Bible than most people.

Papaw loved to talk about Jesus with people. He loved to have preachers come into his home so he could talk to them about the Bible and about his faith. You didn’t have to talk to Papaw very long to find out how important his relationship with the Lord was to him.

Papaw gave a lot of thought to his faith. After I became a preacher, Papaw would always have some question for me that he had been thinking about. Usually it was something deeper than I had thought about or than I had an easy answer for. One time Papaw told me, “Shawn, there’s a lot in that book that I don’t understand. But I just try to live out the parts that I do understand.” You know, as a pastor, that is the most I could hope for from any person, "There's a lot that I don't understand. I just try to live out the parts that I do understand."

I guess Papaw’s favorite song was “Have Thine Own Way, Lord.” Anytime we had a singing at church, Papaw would always request that song. And when Papaw would sing that song, he would turn his eyes toward heaven and sing at the top of his lungs and with all his heart, as tears rolled down his face.

Papaw loved Jesus. Early Monday morning, Papaw closed his eyes and went to sleep in this life. And I believe that the instant Papaw closed his eyes in this life, he opened them in heaven, and the first thing he saw was the face of Jesus as He welcomed Papaw home. And if Papaw could talk to you today, he would say what he has said to so many of you so many times, “Y’all come home with me.” Papaw would want you to spend eternity in heaven with him and with Jesus. Revelation 22:17, the very last chapter of the Bible says, The Spirit and the bride say, “[Y'all] Come!” And let him who hears say, “[Y'all] Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come, and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. Papaw would say to you, “Y’all come!”

Would you bow your heads with me? Now, I know in a crowd this size, there are some of you who have wandered away from home, you've wandered away from a relationship with Jesus Christ, and you're not as close to God as you once were. Maybe some of you have never come home. You've never come to know Jesus Christ as the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life. Well, I want you to leave here today without any doubt about what will happen to you when you die. So, I want to invite you, just from your heart to God's heart to pray this prayer with me, "Dear Jesus, I want to come home. My sins have taken me far away from you. So, as much as I know how, I ask you to forgive me of my sins. I believe you died on the cross to pay the price for my sins. From now on, I want you to be the leader of my life. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus name, Amen."

If you would like to leave a message for the family, you can view the online obituary and sign the guest book by going to www.nashvillefh.com and clicking on "obituaries."

Theology and a Coffee Cup

2006-08-08T12:47:00.000-06:00

My family and I drove down to Allen, TX, this weekend to do some back to school shopping. Since I was way groggy in the head and needed some sort of drugs to make me ready for a day of shopping in the Texas heat, we stopped by Starbucks and grabbed a couple of coffees.

Starbucks has a new promotion called "The Way I See It" designed to get people talking about life, issues, and things that matter to them. Each cup now has printed on it a thought, opinion, or expression provided by a notable figure to be used as a discussion starter. (Why doesn't the church come up with ideas like this?!)

On my wife's cup was "The Way I See It #116":

Mountains preserve the heritage of the past, enhance the beauty of the present and inspire actions for the future. Near a sacred peak, everything reveals its most essential meaning.

-- Constanza Ceruti, High-altitude archeologist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer.

Ceruti points to a truth that every hiker knows in at least some since, that the mountains provide unique opportunities to connect with the divine. When we are in the presence of something infinitely greater than ourselves, majestically larger, we are humbled and reminded of who we are and our relationship to the universe as a whole. And it is there that everything reveals its most essential meaning. I would add that it is not the mountains that cause us to be reflective and see the essential nature of ourselves and our world, but it is the fact that the mountain causes us to come face to face with who we are in the world.

For years, mountaintops have been regarded as sacred places, places where man can meet with God. The Psalmist writes, "I raise my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:1-2).

So, I encourage you to get to a mountain and meet with God. Find everything else in life stripped away and find the beauty of meeting face to face with God.

Are these kids cool or what?

2006-07-27T13:13:00.000-06:00

This is from our vacation to Hot Springs, AR. What did we do on vacation? Went swimming and ate ice cream every day. You can't ask for a better vacation than that!

The Surreal Life

2006-07-26T10:42:00.000-06:00

I'm extremely tired as I write this. Sunday evening I went to be with my family. My mother is caring for my grandfather as he is dying with a number of problems stemming from eighty years of smoking. We placed him in the hospital on Monday, and it looks like he may be there for the duration of his life. It was a difficult visit, but a really good one as I had a chance to tell him how much he meant to me and what I had learned from his life.

As I was there helping my mother care for him, I was struck by the surrealness of life. I bathed him, changed his diaper, wiped his nose, and got up numerous times during the night to care for him. Back at home, I have an infant for whom I do the exact same things on a daily basis.

King Solomon, one of Israel's kings and one of the wisest men who ever lived, once said, "There is a time for everything, and everything on earth has its special season. There is a time to be born and a time to die." I am thankful that our lives are not accidental. We go through seasons in our lives, but in every season of our lives, God is preparing us for the life of eternity.

Dear Abby,

2006-07-20T14:02:00.000-06:00

My fourth precious gift from God, Abigail Faith, was born May 12, 2006. I may be prejudiced, but she is one of the four most beautiful women in the world.

Superman Returns!

2006-07-20T10:33:00.000-06:00

One cool spring evening in 1979, my mom, my dad, my brother and I loaded up into my dad's little blue Ford pick-up and went to the Howard Auto Theater, the drive-in movie theater outside of Nashville, AR.

There was a long line of cars backed up the highway waiting to get in, and we waited for what seemed like an eternity for our turn. We finally got in, and my dad got a spot about four rows back, a good view of the screen and close to the bathrooms and concession stand. He backed the truck into the spot, and once we got our hot dogs and popcorn, we all got in the back of the truck, wrapped up in quilts, and waited for the movie to start.

I still remember like it was yesterday that big S-shield flying across the screen followed by the name "Superman" and the first strains of John Williams' magnificent score. For the next two hours, I was as excited as a six-year-old boy can be. Superman was officially one of my heroes.

Well, last night I relived the moment as LaRissa and I took our four kids to see Superman Returns. I had pretty high expectations and was not disappointed. The kids had the same reaction I did as a kid. They thought it was one of the best movies they had ever seen. It was awesome for me to live out the experience with them ("The son becomes the father and the father becomes the son.")

Much has already been said about how Superman is a Christ-figure in the current Superman installment as well as in Richard Donner's Superman: The Motion Picture and Superman II (I highly recommend Stephen Skelton's The Gospel According to the World's Greatest Superhero), so I won't give a detailed analysis. However, there is one moment in the film that is especially worthwhile in this regard. Superman has left earth to try to find the remains of his home planet, Krypton, and has returned to earth after a five year absence. The world has moved on without him, and Lois Lane has written an editorial entitled "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman." Lois tells Superman, "The world doesn't need a savior." Superman responds, "You said the world doesn't need a savior. But I hear people crying out for one every day." Isn't that really what being a Christian in the world is all about? Responding to a world that is crying out for a savior everyday.

I, for one, am so glad Superman has returned!

Welcome to Walk the Trail!

2006-05-24T13:14:00.000-06:00

Hey! I'm glad you came to check out my blog. "Walk the Trail" is an expression of who I am, the things and people that are important to me, and my thoughts on life, love, the world, philosophy, my wife and kids and whatever else comes to mind.

One of my greatest hobbies is hiking. I love the pace and simplicity of hiking. I love getting close to God's creation, smelling the damp, earthy smell of the woods, listening to birds singing, cooling my feet in a mountain stream, eating blackberries, seeing trees and flowers and mountains and sunsets. I love seeing deer in a field and ducks on a pond and a lizard on a rock. I love getting away from the highways to the roads less traveled to see things that most people never get to see. I love taking my kids with me, and challenging them to do things they think are impossible like climbing rocks and jumping streams and going one mile farther. I love stopping to eat a granola bar and drink some water and thinking, "This is the best food I have ever had!" I even love the aching back and blistered feet. So, walk the trail is some about hiking and other adventures in the great outdoors.

But it is more than that. It is really about how all of life is about walking the trail. So much of what is valuable in hiking is also what is valuable in life.

You see, in hiking, the goal is really the journey itself. It's not so much about getting to the end, making it back to your car and logging so many miles in so much time. The important thing is finding joy in the journey. When I am walking the trail, I am always excited about what I am going to discover around the next corner, what is over the next hill, what new view of the landscape will I see as I come to the next crest.

Some people think that the Christian faith is solely focused on heaven, and some people certainly give you that idea. You know, becoming a Christian is all about making sure you are going to heaven when you die, and living the Christian life is really about longing to get to heaven. But that is not it at all. Jesus wants to impact the way we live life here and now.

As Rob Bell so beautifully puts it in his book Velvet Elvis, "Jesus' desire for his followers is that they live in such a way that they bring heaven to earth." It's not just about getting from earth to heaven, but about bringing heaven to earth in our daily lives. The joy is in the journey. It's in making an impact in the lives of other people. It's in trying to transform the world and make it a better place. It's in seeing God in every step in life, every bend in the trail, every person you encounter. It's not just about getting to the end of the road. It's about enjoying wherever the road may take you.

Hiking is also about following a trail that is laid out before you, keeping your eyes open for the blazes that mark the course, and responding to the unexpected turns, dips, and challenges you find on the trail. That is what the life of following Jesus Christ is like. He is the pioneer (Heb. 12:1), the trailblazer who has gone before us and marked out the trail for us to follow. That trail will often lead us to new and unexpected places. To effectively follow Jesus, you have to follow the course he has laid out for you, and be ready to respond to the new challenges on the course. I firmly believe that this is what the church must continually do as we move into new territory, new cultures, and new horizons. We go wherever the trail takes us, changing, responding, adapting, yet always following. There are some things that are fixed along the way, like the good news of hope and forgiveness and peace and meaning found in Jesus Christ. But there is also much that must change as we face new parts of the trail.

Finally, one of the most important lessons about life I learned from hiking. I love hiking so much because I get to see some incredibly beautiful things that many people don't get to see because they never leave the safety of the road. So here's the lesson: Some of the most beautiful places on earth, most people never see because the road is too difficult.

It's true in hiking, and it's true in life. The most beautiful places in life, in your marriage, in your family, in your relationships with other people, in living out your purpose in life, making a difference in the world, being a hero to the people that matter to you, the most beautiful places in life, most people never see because the road to get there is too tough.

You will never experience the most beautiful places in your life if you take the easy route. The most beautiful things in your life will come when you hang on when you were about to give up. The most beautiful times in your marriage will come when you stay when you wanted to walk away. The most beautiful times in your relationships with other people will come when you walk through heartache and tough times together. The most beautiful places in your personal life will come after you were ready to give up. The mountain tops are only reached by struggling through the valleys.

Walk the trail is about all of that. It's about my journey walking the trail that God has set before me. I invite you to come along with me for the journey.

The Road goes ever on and on/Down from the door where it began./Now far ahead the Road has gone,/And I must follow, if I can,/Pursuing it with weary feet,/Until it joins some larger way,/Where many paths and errands meet./And whither then? I cannot say.