Banquet Season

Well, banquet season is in full swing. Tonight Carole and I are attending the Light For The Lost Banquet and next Tuesday evening is the Reach the World banquet and auction. I have invitations to four more banquets which I haven't responded to yet. They are all for worthy organizations that I support. I will try to attend as many as possible, because I know that they involve a tremendous amount of work to put together and it is disheartening to have empty tables. They do seem to be effective awareness and fund raisers, but I can't help but wonder why we as supporters require these big events.

The Evil Empire

Twice in the past 48 hours I have been dinged by new friends who have learned that I am a Yankees fan. People aren't neutral about the Yankees. You can tell someone that you are a Braves fan and they will say, "I'm a Cardinals fan." But when you tell someone that you are a Yankees fan, they will either high-five you and say Go Yanks! or they will look at  you in disgust and say, "I don't know how you can pull for the Yankees." That's pretty funny because I am not an obnoxious fan like say, Red Sox fans are. I am a generational Yankees fan. When I was a boy back in the 60's, boys from Oklahoma routinely were Yankees fans because of Mickey Mantle. Later, Bobby Murcer continued the tradition of Oklahomans who starred for the Bronx Bombers. In the 70's the Yankees were still my American League team, but the Big Red Machine of Cincinnati was my National League team because of Johnny Bench. (It didn't hurt that they had one of the most impressive lineups in major league history.) Baseball was big important stuff. Back then, World Series games were played during the day, and it wasn't uncommon for a teacher to allow a radio in the classroom so we could keep up with the progress of games. But starting with the 80's baseball just faded away. LIfe got complicated with marriage, children and career taking up my emotional energy. I stopped looking at the box scores and I went for weeks not knowing who led the various divisions. If I watched any baseball at all, it would be World Series games, but only if I was at home.

It took an empty nest, a son-in-law and a couple of friends all of whom were avid Yankees friends to reengage my interest in baseball. The past couple of seasons I have followed baseball from opening day through the Series and it has been fun. (Did I mention that the Yankees won their 27th World Series last year?) And I really like being a fan of the Evil Empire.

Go Yankees!

The Yankees have been a pleasant surprise so far in these playoffs. The last couple of weeks of the regular season they played mediocre baseball. The pitchers couldn't seem to get critical outs and the batters couldn't seem to deliver the crunch-time hits they had been hitting. The last weekend of the regular season they went from division leaders with home field advantage to the wild-card team with the most difficult path to the World Series. Honestly, I didn't think that they would make it out of the divisional playoffs, regardless of who they played. But surprise, the Yanks have awakened so far in the post season, taking the first two games at Minnesota. This series isn't over yet, but it looks a lot more promising. The bats have reappeared, and it was really good to see CC Sabbathia get run support when he didn't have his best stuff. It was even better to see Andy Pettite pitch the kind of post season effort he has become known for after some lackluster appearances following his injury time off. It would be really nice if the Yanks could sweep and get the starting rotation at full rest for the next round. We'll see what happens. It will be frustrating and fun. I'm not ready to declare them the AL champs, but they sure do look a lot better than they did.  Let's Go Yankees! (clap clap clapclapclap)

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Today I went for a walk. No need to alert the media. I walk often. But walking in the fall is the best walking of the year. I am beginning the process of regaining my endurance after a hot summer and surgery put me out of commission for a while. Today's walk at the Lake Hefner trails was so pleasant. I am not ready to circumnavigate the entire lake, yet, but I'm gaining on it.This has been a bi-polar week; a mix of good and not so good. In the past week, I have learned of illness being suffered by several friends. Some of the illnesses are nagging and painful and some of the illnesses are life-threatening. Some close to me have lost precious loved ones and are dealing with a new void in their family circle. I have also had conversations that have me giddy with excitement and anticipation about what God is doing and the crazy ways He goes about His business. I do some of my best praying while on these long walks, and today it was really good. I don't do anything demonstrative on these walks. No arm waving or any gestures that would make passers-by avoid eye contact with the crazy guy. But for most of my walk today I had a steady stream of tears. My sleeves were drenched as I tried to stay ahead of the flow so I could smile and greet others who were on the trail. As I carried heavy needs to the Lord, I was reminded that many others were also presenting these needs, so it didn't all rest on me. I'm not carrying these needs by myself. As I brought my praises to Him, I felt especially singled out for an outpouring of His love. I hated for it to end. A beautiful early fall mid-day walk. The sun was bright, and the wind was slight. I was talking with the great Creator in the midst of His creation. It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Thanks, Mom

I've been one who for years have felt that the church spends much more time and prayer trying to keep Christians out of Heaven than we do trying to get unsaved people into Heaven. After all, if we really believe that at the end of this life the believer inherits eternal life with no sickness or tears, then death is not a defeat; rather the departure of the believer is a graduation and a reward. Now I understand that we miss those who go on before because in this earthly body the relationships we have with one another as we live in community with one another are the best approximation we have at our disposal down here. So, when my mom passed away several years ago, sure I was sad, but after seeing her live her last few years with sickness and disability, I was also happy for her since I knew that she was now in the sweet presence of God, something she spent her entire life preparing for. Most of the time when I think of Mom I think of the times when she was healthy and full of fun. I don't really spend much time missing her; mostly I just think fondly of the many good memories.

But today something happened that caught me unexpectedly. Today I was visiting with some new friends and one of them had a picture of a church gathering. The picture was taken in 1954, which was two years before I was born. My mom was in the picture, but what got me was when I turned the picture over and the names of the folks in the picture were written on the back. In my mom's unmistakable handwriting she had written her name. I was surprised at the effect this had on me, but when I thought that I was holding a picture that my mom had held in her hands and written on some 56 years ago was a little overwhelming. Later, as I sat alone and reflected, I thought of the heritage that was delivered to me. The picture was of a Vacation Bible School held in Guthrie, and my older brother Greg was also in the picture. Before I was born, Mom was giving herself to ministry in the ways she could, and she always modeled that for us boys. I am over the emotion of it now, but I am still overwhelmed with the great gift I was given by parents who made their relationship to God as something that was a priority in their lives and who stressed to their children that it should be a priority in theirs.

A Pretty Good Year

All in all this has been a pretty good year, so far. And it's only the end of the third quarter. Early in the year I was telling the guys at Highpointe that there were two guys I would like to hang with. Having read their books, subscribed to their blogs and listened to their podcasts, I wanted to hang with Mark Batterson (pastor of National Community Church in Washington DC) and Earl Creps (academic turned church planter in Berkeley, California). Back in June, my Inca Trail adventure was scheduled because Mark Batterson was to be the trail mentor. Got to hang with him on the trail and I wasn't disappointed. Earlier this week I was in Branson for the District Ministry Retreat where the guest speaker was Earl Creps. I hadn't ever attended the DMR and probably wouldn't have this time if Earl hadn't been the speaker. I didn't technically get to "hang" with him and his wife, Janet, but I did get to have a couple of conversations with them along with three really enjoyable sessions that they presented. They are really good people and I enjoyed being around them.

In addition, I got to hear both of my favorite preachers and good friends preach at Highpointe. Gary Davidson and Jim King both came and both did reallly good jobs, as they always do. I turned my position as administrator and facilities director over to Matt Stomprud, who is proving daily what I said all along; that he would do much better in that role than I ever did.

Now, I'm having conversations that may ultimately lead me to what God has been preparing me for over the past several years. Like I said. It's been a pretty good year, so far. And there are still three months left in it.

Opportunity

A few weeks ago my friend Grady Smalling introduced me to Mark Elam, who is director of the OATH Coalition. The OATH Coalition is a non-profit that is in shining light on the evil of human trafficking. One of the many things that Mark does is to hold awareness seminars on this topic, because even though human trafficking is a huge worldwide business, most Oklahomans are unaware of the level of trafficking activity that goes on everyday in our communities right here. OATH (Oklahomans Against Trafficking of Humans) has received a grant to do CLEET continuing education meetings in every county in Oklahoma. I have been learning much about this topic with the intent of helping Mark to do these awareness seminars. What I learned today while at a CLEET training in Chickasha is that these meetings can be hosted by any organization; even churches. The local church just needs to provide a room and be willing for anyone in law enforcement to attend. Actually, anyone who is interested can attend these events. They last approximately from 8:30 - 5:00. It seems to me that this would be an awesome way for a local church to be involved in their community and to show to community leaders the church's commitment to affect the future of the helpless and victimized who are in our midst. If you are interested in hosting one of these training events or just in having a shorter awareness seminar, let me know and I will put you in contact with Mark. This issue is bigger than any of us know and it isn't going away. This is the time for the church to be the church.

The Best Report I Ever Got

This morning I went to my three week post surgery doctor appointment. The surgeon examined the incision area and asked a few questions. She told me what to expect in the next couple of weeks as the healing of the incision continues. Then I asked, what about physical activity? What can I do now? She said that I could do anything I want to do. I take that to mean that I now have the orders from a medical professional that I can play golf, but not move furniture. I can work out at the gym but not pull weeds. I can pick up my grandkids but not lift heavy bags of groceries out of the car. In short, this morning I got the best report I ever got. Life is good.

A Partial Answer

A little over two weeks ago I underwent surgery to repair an umbilical hernia. The only misgivings I had about having the surgery was that I would have to give up golf for a while. I had originally scheduled it during the really hot weather we had back in July, but due to some insurance issues I had to delay it until the beginning of the best time of the year to play golf. But, life goes on. I had the surgery, and the recovery has been pretty easy. Two weeks out I am nearly back to one hundred percent. About a week ago, Carole and I resumed walking in the evenings. One of our favorite places to walk is at the Lake Hefner Trails, and the section we walk most frequently takes us through part of Lake Hefner South golf course. All of the trail is out of the bounds of the course, but it is not unusual to find a stray golf ball here and there.
My favorite golf ball to play is the Titleist Pro-V1, but I won't buy them. They're $48 dollars a dozen. That's roughly $4 per ball, so I've never bought any. But when I find one in the woods while looking for my errant shot, I play it. I generally will have a couple of them in my bag, because apparently guys who can plunk down $48 for a dozen golf balls, don't have time to look for them if they land in an inconvenient place.

Carole and I have walked out at the lake 3 times in the last 5 days, and on those walks I have found 4 golf balls; all of them Pro-V1's. That's $16 worth of golf balls. I have been praying a lot in the last few months about what God has in store for my future. I feel that I have received two clear parts of the puzzle- It looks like I am supposed to continue walking with Carole, and that I am supposed to continue playing golf. I can go with that. Until I get the big picture cleared up, I will go with what I know.

Project Square Mile Harvest Time

What is happening over the next several weeks with Highpointe opening its doors to James Dennis Elementary while they are repairing their storm damaged classrooms is awesome. The response of the congregation last Sunday morning was exceptional. The amount of work that it will take to see this done successfully is unimaginable. But the opportunities are limitless.

As I sat in the congregation Sunday morning during the introduction of the principal at James Dennis, I reflected as I am fond of doing. Although the storm which caused this collaboration came up suddenly, this is not a new story in the history of Highpointe. It is a point in the story of Highpointe which was begun several years ago.

Remember a few years ago when Project Square Mile was announced with the intent of offering the church as a resource to our community? We discussed at that time the question each church should ask itself; If our church burned to the ground today, would anyone but the members miss it? The project started slowly with some confusion , as is common when a new direction is charted. But without planting the seeds of reaching out to and resourcing the community that were sown into the membership of Highpointe, this opportunity would not have come our way. The teacher's lunches, football breakfasts, opening the FLiC for testing of students all were signals to the school that Highpointe cares and is available to help. If we hadn't been doing that, Dennis Elementary wouldn't have even thought to call to see if we might be able to help with this emergency. They would have assumed that we wanted to keep our clubhouse to ourselves. So those small gestures which seemed as though they weren't accomplishing much were working underground so they could bear fruit at the appointed time.

We overestimate what we can do in a year, and we underestimate what we can do in five. Planting and reaping don't happen on the same day. Many are present for the harvest who weren't present for the planting and that's okay. That's the way of the harvest. This harvest work of allowing 2nd and 3rd graders to use our classrooms will be much harder than anything Highpointe has done in quite a while. It will be aggravating and messy. Our rooms might not look quite as nice as we are accustomed to. But it is incredibly important. Because to plant seeds and then not harvest the fruit would be inexcusable. And there is no way to estimate where this harvest time will end.

Never despise small beginnings. Project Square Mile didn't seem like all that much while it was going on, but the harvest from the seeds planted then are just now beginning to bear fruit, both in us at Highpointe, and in the community.

I feel sorry for Terry Jones

Hopefully the brouhaha caused by the ill-advised Quran burning event has subsided and that we will not hear from Terry Jones at the national level again. A guy who probably for most of his life has labored faithfully for his small congregation with no notoriety and almost no pay was suddenly known around the world and was put into a situation which was well out of his depth. When I saw him on the national news, I didn't see a fame-seeker glorying in his newfound celebrity status. I saw a guy with a "deer in the headlights" look who couldn't really believe what was going on. I believe him when he says he just wants to do what God tells him to do. I just don't believe that God really told him to burn Qurans and then changed His mind when He saw the world outcry.

God, I'm sure, has gotten used to be being blamed for all kinds of crazy behavior. The "God told me to do it" argument has been used as a trump-proof argument for marital affairs, splitting churches, bombing clinics and many other things which directly contradict God's Word, revealed in the Bible. What I suspect happened, happens in churches and ministries everywhere; not just in small independent churches in rural America.

I am a total outsider in my suppositions, and I could be totally off-track with what I think happened, but knowing what I know about people and church culture, I will guess that this is what happened:

Pastor Jones and several of his friends were talking over a several week period. Being of similar backgrounds and interests, they seldom disagree on important matters, so the conversation built over time. One expressed frustration about the national media's failure to point out the shortcomings of Islam, while consistently railing about the perceived shortcomings of Christianity. Another recounted how images of Christ can be subjected to gross desecration under the guise of free speech, but images of Mohammed are sacrosanct. Eventually, one expressed the desire to stand up to the Muslims and try to square up accounts with them. One guy said he knew where he could get a Quran and they ought to burn it. The idea resonated. They remembered that 9/11 was coming and, being on a Saturday, would be a great time to do it. Over the days, the idea grew until they found that many like-minded friends could accumulate quite a pile of Qurans and they could make an event out of giving a black eye to Islam. It came together so easily, and they were so much in agreement, it had to have the hand of God orchestrating it, didn't it? And shortly, what began as a conversation among friends had morphed into a direct order from God. And a few days later, God changed his mind because of a phone call from the attorney general and a plea from the president to do so.

And now the imams look like smooth intelligent voices of reason and tolerance, and the Pentecostal preacher looks like a hateful, fame-seeking doofus. I feel sorry for Terry Jones. I know he is bewildered and humiliated. He thought he had a good idea but it wasn't.

Be careful what you blame on God.

It's a bad deal

Each week, in thousands of churches across America, (not to mention around the world) in cities large in small, in rented schoolrooms and in magnificent palaces, pastors shepherd their people with the intent of bringing them closer to God so more people can be led to Christ. But those ministries receive no media airtime, because there is no story there. People giving their time and talents to lead people to Christ is not a story, so it goes on unnoticed to the those who are not part of a community of believers. But let a little group do something outrageous and the cameras will appear as if by magic and broadcast it around the world. The group planning to burn Qurans this Saturday is a prime example of this. I could go many different ways with this post at this point, but I will just say this. To many in the world, this is the only glimpse of Christianity that they will see this week. Have people been brought closer to Christ with what they see from this church, or does it confirm their susupicions that Christianity is only for bigoted, hateful, unkind, politically conservative people? We have a much higher responsibility to the unsaved than what this group is trying to accomplish. I grieve for those who are driven farther from Christ because of the antics of a group no one had heard of before this stunt.