Average is okay

I have always thought of myself as being adequate at many things. I often joke about eating being the only thing I do really well. But I don't stress over that too much because since I am willing to use my adequateness in many situations, I get to do a lot of different things, and since I do a lot of things, people think that I am above average.
By the very definition of the word, most of us are average. But many average people do many spectacular things every day. Very few extraordinary people do roofing, but a well installed roof will protect a house and its occupants for years. What goes wrong with average people is that we judge ourselves against the above average people we see. If we allow our comparison to the above average people to keep us from participating, we will miss out on a lot of experiences. I will always be a high handicap golfer. But just because I can't play at the level of the guys I see on television on Sunday afternoon, it doesn't mean that I can't enjoy playing golf.
Here is how us average people can become above average: Since the average person allows his averageness to keep him from participating in something that he is average at, participate. Just get involved. That alone will move you out of the average ranks into the above average ranks.
Stop using the thought that you aren't exceptional to keep you from doing something you want to do. By overcoming that average tendency, you will become exceptional. You don't have to be the best. You just have to give your best.

My Brief Running Career

Early Sunday morning I got up and headed downtown to participate in the Memorial Marathon Relay. As I have been fond of saying recently, I don't enjoy running, but I entered at the request of my daughter, Elizabeth. She put together a team and asked it I would participate. I had two stipulations: I had to run one of the shorter legs of the relay and I had to be finished with my leg in time to go to church.

I ended up running the second leg which is 5k (3.1 miles). The runner of the first leg made excellent time and I received the microchip (not the baton) at 7:20. There was a large crowd at the transfer point and it was kind of funny for them to be cheering for me as I headed into the mass of runners. All along the way people were in their yards as I started running. They were cheering, encouraging and offering high fives. At one place they were handing out cups of Powerade. My mouth and throat were dry from all of the panting I was doing so I grabbed a cup. I have seen marathoners on TV who take a drink and throw the cup aside. I got some of it in my mouth as I attemped to drink while running, but most of it went down my chin. I tossed the cup aside. It felt cool to "litter legally". Then I saw the trash cans. I'm not all that. I should have thrown it away properly.

Thirty six minutes after I began I came to the transport point where I handed the microchip to the next runner. My part was over. I collected my medal, grabbed a bottle of water and headed to the place where the shuttle bus was to take me back downtown so I could get back to my car. There weren't enough buses, so I waited two hours to get on a bus. When a bus would appear, the hundreds of runners who, like me, had just finished their segment, would crowd toward the door. All of the encouragement, cheering and high-fiving was over. It was now every man for himself.

I finished running a few minuted before 8. I got home at 10:30. The morning worship service starts at 10:30. I dashed into the house, changed clothes without showering and headed for church. I got there at 10:50.

I'm glad I did it, but it didn't wake a new passion for running in me. I'm pretty sure I won't do it again, but who knows?

The Church that didn't change has changed

My dad lives in the house I grew up in. We moved in in 1959. It was a pretty new neighborhood then. Just up the street from that house a church was built. It must have been around 1962 or 63 because I remember when the foundation was being dug, there was a large hole in the ground and all the kids in the neighborhood played in that hole for a day or two. When finished, it was an attractive and modern looking building. It wasn't our brand of church, so we never visited there. A boy I went to grade school with was the son of the founding pastor. I have never been inside of the building, but I have ridden bicycles and minibikes for miles and miles on its parking lot. That building is one of the constants in the neighborhood. It always looked the same. The only changes were a new pastor's name when the founding pastor died, and sometime in the late 80's a rock garden was put on what was formerly a flower garden.

Now when I drive by it on my regular visits with Dad, I see a tired old building that is in disrepair. The fascia boards are rotted and falling off in places. The rock garden is filled with weeds. It doesn't look attractive and modern any more. It is depressing to me, because I remember when it was built. It's younger than I am. Buildings are supposed to last longer than that. As I said before, I have never set foot in the place but I can tell you its story by what I have seen over the years.

The church was built in the early 60's by a group of people who saw the need for a church in the neighborhood. Vision was cast, pledges were made, money was raised, and a building was built. With great excitement the folks began worshipping together. Their kids grew up and attended functions. They had lifelong friends at the church and they loved meeting together. They liked the way things were and never changed a thing. When their kids grew up, however, they didn't stay in the neighborhood or the church. They moved on. The original members, in their twenties and thirties back in 1962, are now in their seventies and eighties. Many have died off or moved into assisted living centers in another neighborhood. Attendance declined and finances dwindled. Now there are not enough people in the church to maintain the facilities, much less to upgrade them. And now a building, lacking maintenance, is deteriorating rapidly. Because they didn't change, the building is changing in a way that reflects what is going on inside.

I can tell you with certainty that not everyone in that neighborhood is going to a church. There is still a need for a gospel presence there, but the vision is not there. Vision was replaced with comfort and the enjoyment of long-time friends instead of building the Kingdom.

I am grateful that I don't see that kind of future for Highpointe. Our seniors are wonderful people who realize the need to "give the church" to the next generation. Our middle aged folks continue their financial and spiritual support of current vision. Our young people are passionate and gifted in ways that astound me. As we again begin to grow in excitement and numbers, our facility will reflect it. We are already talking years ahead about ideas to keep the outside appearance of our facility as an accurate representation of the spiritual heart which is beating inside. Stay encouraged and excited. Great days are ahead!

I'm loving the Yankees

Well, it's baseball season again, and the Yankees have the best record in baseball after 14 games. It's nice to have that right now because it keeps me from being too focused on the OKC Thunder and their playoff series with the Lakers. Until the Thunder came to town the Lakers were my team. I pulled for them starting in the Jerry West /Gail Goodrich days. Now they are the evil empire. But I digress. The Yankees, who, I might mention, won last years World Series, are doing well. I miss Hideki Matsui a lot and Johnny Damon not as much, but it appears that they have a solid lineup and are poised to have another good year.

But a reminder is in store. Last year they started out terrible, even losing their first eight games against the Red Sox and I said, Okay, it's a long season. They have started out great, but, Okay, it's a long season. A lot can change between now and the post-season. But I'm loving it now.

I love the Arts Festival

I love the annual OKC Arts Festival. Carole and I try to go several times each year. It is one of the many things that is "right" about Oklahoma City, with its good food, good music and diverse art on display. Last night we went with Mark, Elizabeth, Tyler and Simon. It was a perfect evening and we enjoyed the whole thing. Tyler and I rolled down the grassy hill and tied cloth strips on the structures for kids to do that to. We ate, listened to a cover band playing 70's rock classics such as "Radar Love" and "Black Dog". We strolled through the arts displays, and visited with many people who we bumped into along the way. It adds to my "coolness" factor that I know one of the exhibitors, David Canavesio. David adds to the coolness factor of everyone he knows. Go the Arts Festival. You will be glad you did.

AFGOTO (a firm grasp of the obvious) part 2

In my last post I put forth the idea that voting in church is not necessarily the best way to settle all issues. In one the comments on facebook, a friend reminded that the act of voting is not what is wrong; rather the potential for problem lies with the motive of the voters. This is a topic that is far too large for one blog post. If I were to unpack it completely, it would be too long and no one would read it. So I just hit and ran with the goal of beginning a conversation.

In this post I wish to clarify what I did not mean in the previous post. I do not hold the position that church governance means that the leadership tells the membership what to do and what to support. The church which is victimized by this misuse of spiritual authority will have as much trouble as the overly democratic church; albeit in different forms.

What I do support is a healthy respect of the congregation by the leaders and a healthy respect of the leaders by the congregation. In this, the leaders know what God is calling them to do, and they lead the flock, as opposed to driving the herd. The congregation, based on their relationship of love and respect of the leadership willing follow spiritual leadership. The leadership, out of love and repect of those in the congregation, reach out in tender loving care even when leading their flock into unknown situations.

This type of relationship results in shared vision. The result is real unity which can withstand misunderstandings. A phrase I love is in Acts 15 when the council of Jerusalem decided some tough issues concerning the treatment of new believers who were different from the old believers. In their decision, they said, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us...". When issues are settled this way, there are no wrong decisions.

A firm grasp of the obvious

I know that I have a firm grasp of the obvious but I have noticed something over the years. Those who hold most closely to the idea of majority rule inevitably are those who are, or feel that they are in the majority. Over the years I have watched politics, both in government and in church, and have been told over and over that democracy will work when it is done properly. Supposedly it is at its best when everyone gets his say, a vote is taken, and everyone accepts the result and the will of the majority because the process is so fair. The problem is that I have never seen it work that way, either in government or in church. The majority feel they are right because of their numbers. The minority feels it is right because of its principles. So when the vote is taken, it just serves as a marker so the minority knows how much work it has ahead to attain a majority and overturn the most recent vote.

Our government was set up precisely to work that way. The two party system guarantees that one party will set the agenda and the other party will oppose it. I've seen both parties in control. The names change but the process remains the same. The majority party speaks of their mandate, and the minority sees it as its responsibility to protect the country we love from the unwise decisions of the majority party. If you look at decades instead of election cycles, this process works okay for the country. Very little of substance really happens, and the nation wobbles slightly right and left down a fairly narrow path.

My question is this: When we know that democracy is built on taking sides and defending or opposing the majority depending on our side of issues, why is it that we would want anything to do with democracy in local church governance? Christ is the head of the church, and God is the head of Christ. Our "majorities" really don't have the critical mass to overturn Christ's leadership. He isn't 51% or 76% sure of anything he does. (He isn't even 99.3% sure of what he wants.) Let's realize that our voting occurs because we like to exert control. I could go on for hours on this topic but today I just want to throw out the possibility that voting isn't necessarily the best way to determine God's direction for a local church.

Bravo Highpointe!

You know, these are pretty good days at Highpointe. I know that we have had bigger attendance than we have now. I know that we have had more money in the bank than we do now. I know that we have had newer and better maintained facilities than we have now. But the 2010 edition of Highpointe has something in greater measure right now than we have had in many years- we have unbridled enthusiasm and unquenchable optimism.
Today we had our Spring It! outreach and it was by any measure a success. But I don't look at things the way many people do. I'm glad that many people came and got a haircut, a meal, a prize and maybe their face painted, but to me the most gratifying moments occurred after the event was officially brought to a close. Our Highpointe people stayed. They folded chairs. They stacked tables. They cleaned the kitchen. They hauled off the trash. And I'm not just talking about the few who had been roped into cleaning duty; many stayed and helped because, dogonnit, they like hanging out with each other, and this is their church. And they love it. Enough to work after the bright lights are turned off and no one is paying attention. This is their church. This is their family. I am tearing up as I type this because I know how precious this is and how hard it is to regain when it is lost. Thank you God for the unity, love, excitement, and optimism we have at Highpointe. And thank you God for letting me see it and be able to blog about it.

I get to hear a hero today!

In a few minutes I will be going to the M&M luncheon here at the church. Speaking today is Faye Beck, who is one of my heroes. She will be talking about the history of Northeast Assembly/Lakeside Assembly/Highpointe Church. She has had a positive influence on my life since I was a teenager. She is a model of faithfulness. She has incurred quite a few hard knocks in her life but she has never lost her smile and she has continued to love people and to love and trust God. If anyone has issues with Faye Beck, I will suspect them. She is well on her way to her "well done" award.

New Missionary Friends

A couple of weeks ago I got a call from a missionary I had never met. He invited me for coffee while he was in OKC. I love coffee and I love missionaries, so how could I turn down a chance for a "twofer"? Anyway, today I met Tom and Jenni Keating, who are new missionaries who are raising their first budget to go to Mali, which is located in West Africa.

Tom and Jenni exemplified the best qualities I see in many of this new generation. I like that they knew that they had a call on their lives and waited for the destination that needed their giftings rather than focusing on a specific country and expecting to be accomodated. Also, they wanted to reach previously unreached people groups, which seems to be the hallmark of this generation. They, as many of our new missionaries are doing, are not applying to work in established locations which might provide easier living conditions and more fellowship with other missionaries. Rather, they are going to a difficult place with not much in the way of church infrastructure. Indeed, Mali Christians represent less than one percent of the population.

A lot of what I do at church is tedious and some of it is aggravating. Occasions when I get to have coffee with fully committed young people like Tom & Jenni are what keep my batteries charged. I want to do all I can do to help young missionaries like them. I am confident that the Gospel is in good hands with this young generation of missionaries. Remember to pray for them.

I'm No Runner

Here's my tip of the day: Don't tell people that you are trying to lose weight and get into better shape for an upcoming event because they will try to help you. My daughter Elizabeth invited me to her "bootcamp" workout last Saturday and it durn near killed me. Now she has talked me into "running" a leg of the Memorial Marathon Relay in a few weeks. I have always enjoyed walking and can walk for hours at a pretty good clip, but the joys of running have always eluded me. I am responsible to run a 3.1 mile segment of this upcoming race and I am not sure that I can run the .1 without stopping, so Elizabeth and I are going to see what I'm capable of this morning. I keep hearing about a "runner's high". I need it to kick in when I get out of the truck.

Randy & Mark's Excellent Adventure

I am in training for my most excellent adventure of 2010, so far. In June I will be heading to Peru with my son-in-law, Mark to hike the Inca trail. It runs from Cusco to Machu Picchu and will involve three days of hiking and camping out at altitudes of around 11,000'. Carole and I have been to Machu Picchu twice and loved it both times, but we always took the train from Cusco. I knew of the trail and thought it really sounded like a great adventure but never really thought I'd get the chance to make the hike since everytime I have gone to Peru it has been with teams on a short-term mission and there were always pressing time restraints.

Last summer I was reading the blog of Mark Batterson, who pastors National Community Church in Washington, DC. NCC is an awesome growing multi-site church and Batterson is also an author, having written three books, all of which I have read. On his blog he mentioned that he had been invited to be the "trail mentor" on an Inca Trail expedition. Mark (my son-in-law) and I signed up right away. The group is now full.

At 53 years, I assume that I will be the oldest guy in the group. Every group I have been a part of has one guy that everyone tells stories about when they get home. Usually it is the guy who is clueless, or annoying, or the guy who no one wants to share a room with because of grossness. I realize that if I am the only middle-aged bald guy in the group, the chances of being the one the stories are told about are pretty high.

Occasionally (rarely, actually) the guy who the stories are told about gets that distinction because he surprises everyone with his awesomeness. Either he is cooler than they thought, more lively and funny, or more physically capable than anyone expected, and as a result, everyone is glad he is on the trip. I am training to be that guy.

I want to make sure that I'm not the guy who slows the group down. I want to be the guy who inspires the others to keep plodding even when it is hard to breathe. I want to be the guy who keeps it light when things get tense.

When we get back, you can be sure that I will report that I was that guy, no matter if I turn a 1 hour jaunt into a 3 hour ordeal and the young guys have to take turns carrying me piggy-back with me complaining all the way, because what happens on the Inca Trail stays on the Inca Trail.