Jackie Speaks

Exodus: Some Observations

2012-01-28T17:21:00.000-08:00

I read Exodus today. Due to allergies my eyes were wateryall day making it a challenge to focus. Nevertheless, I read the book in threesittings – 2 ½ hours total reading time. I was struck by the following observations.

1. The book divides into halves: (1) leaving Egypt (more narrative in nature) and (2) meeting God at Sinai (more descriptive/instructive in nature).

2. Women play significant roles but are even lessprominent than in Genesis. They appear early in the story of the birth ofMoses. The mid-wives, who are named inthe text (Shiphrah and Puah -- 1:15), are featured as heroes in defying Pharaoh’sorder to kill all the male infants at birth. They are described as having “fearedGod” (1:17 & 21) and as a reward for this fear God established householdsfor them (1:21). Moses’ mother, and sister, and Pharaoh’s daughter areprominent is saving Moses from Pharaoh’s death sentence. They were not named within the story but it may beassumed the sister is the same as Miriam who was later named (15:20-21). Moses’mother was later named (Jochebed – 6:20). [Aaron’s wife was also named, Elisheba– 6:23.] In the middle of the book Miriam and the women are portrayed as takingthe lead in worship in song and dance (15:20). Near the end of the book womenare reported to contribute to the fabrication of the tabernacle (35:22-29).

3. In response to the deliverance through the RedSea, Moses led Israel in the first worship song recorded in history (15:1-18).

4. The pattern of genealogical listings prominentin Genesis is replicated for Moses and Aaron as descendants of Levi (6:14-25).

5. There is a pattern of duplication in the book.Moses and Aaron, two tablets of commandments, two listings of the Law of God,two descriptions of the tabernacle and furnishings.

6. I was struck by Jethro’s instruction to Moses thatthe elders selected to help judge Israel be persons who “fear God” (18:21).This phrase is not common in Exodus but is tied to the midwives (1:17-21), Pharaoh’sdelay in freeing Israel (9:30) and, more significantly, it is portrayed as God’sgift to Israel that they not sin against Him (20:20).

7. The tabernacle incorporated diverse elements ofcreation (wood, minerals, precious stones, animal hair and hides, etc.).

8. The temple and furnishings were built largelywith free-will offerings and so much was given the people had to be told tostop giving (36:1-6). But there was a foundational minimal contribution (30:11-16& 38:24).

9. For some reason it stood out to me that theinner tabernacle was covered with four layers of diverse material, one of them embroideredwith angels.

I will reflect on some of these and other observationslater.

The Genesis of Sexism

2012-01-24T20:02:00.000-08:00

I did not preach this past Sunday morning. This entry flows out of my Scripture reading for the week.

Our New Covenant church family has begun a program of reading through the Bible in 2012. The emphasis is on looking at each book as a whole. Typically, we will read one book each week and when possible we will read through it in one sitting. I estimated this will require that I set aside three hours a week for reading. The church will begin the program this week but I plan to stay a week ahead and started early.

Reading through Genesis in one sitting gave rise to a number of observations that require further study. For example, one phrase that reappears throughout the book is “these are the generations of…” The objects of the clause include Adam, Seth, Noah, Shem, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and Esau. The clause is not applied to Abraham, the Father of Israel. Instead it is applied to Terah, his father.

Perhaps because I long ago wrote on the meaning of being male and female in the creation stories, I was tuned into the role of women in the remainder of the book. In the creation of Adam and Eve emphasis is placed on (1) they are created in the image of a singular yet plural God (“let is make man in our image”), (2) humans are singular yet plural (“He created man in His own image, male and female created He them”) (3) Adam was created first and was incapable of fulfilling his purpose for existence alone, (4) Eve was created in response to Adam’s need for a “helper” who was “suitable to him,” (5) “helper “ conveys merely one who comes to the aid of another without reference to superiority, and (6) the original word for “suitable to him” means “by way of comparison in front of him.” In short, Adam and Eve were created as equal and whole beings that only together could fulfill God’s purposes.

Eve was the first to give into temptation and God’s judgment on her included that her desire would be toward her husband and he would rule over her. The obvious but oft overlooked question is how did this curse unfold in the book of Genesis? My reading this past week surfaced a few observations. First, the narrative of Genesis centers on men; it was a patriarchal society. After the fall women are secondary (but significant) characters in the narrative. They are seen largely as subservient to men. Second, women are objectified as if property; men make decisions governing them. Likewise, there is a surprising emphasis on their appearance – Sarai is described as a “beautiful woman” (12:11), Rebekah “was very beautiful” (24:16), and “Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful (yapheh) of form (toar) and face (mareh)” (29:17). [However, Rachel’s good looks were apparently passed on to her oldest Son who was described with the exact same phrase, “Joseph was handsome (yapheh) in form (toar) and appearance (mareh )” (39:6).]

While women were largely portrayed as background objects of a patriarchal society, the identified female characters were presented as strong and complex subjects who acted on others proving themselves to be as capable, intelligent, righteous and unrighteous as men. For example, Potiphar’s wife was sexually aggressive with Joseph. Judah’s daughter-in-law, Tamar, was declared righteous by him for tricking him into fathering her child. God told Abraham to obey Sarah concerning Hagar and Ishmael (21:12). Rebekah guided Jacob into the reception of his father’s blessing through their scheme of deception (ch. 27). Neither the fall nor the curse removed from women the intelligence and abilities equal to those of men.

Women are portrayed in Genesis as strong and complex characters who have God’s full attention. God acted to defend the honor of Sarai/Sarah when Abraham influenced her to lie about being his wife; He brought plagues on Pharaoh’s house (12:17) and threatened Abimelech with death (20:3) for taking Sarah into their households to marry. [In the last incidence she was apparently close to one hundred years old.] In addition to Eve, God talked with three women in the Book: Sarah (18:15), Hagar (twice -- 16:8-12, 21:17), and Rebekah (25:22-23). In each of these cases His words centered on their children yet to be born. With Hagar the Angel of the Lord found her in the wilderness fleeing Sarai the first time and along with her son near death from thirst the second time having been discharged by Abraham and Sarah. Mother and child wept and God listened. Rebekah, the only character (male or female) in Genesis said to go to “inquire of the Lord,” made inquiry concerning the state of her unborn twins. In Genesis, God spoke through dreams and through direct words to men; When He spoke to women it was always direct.

Genesis reveals the almost instantaneous and universal presence of sexism following the fall and the curse. But it also reveals the fallacies that undergird sexism. Power, control, and manipulation are traits of both genders; sin affects us all. But it would be a grave error to conclude that sexism flows out of the curse. Yes the curse on Eve was that her husband would rule over her, but that curse did not authorize Adam to oppress her. It merely gave him the opportunity.

It was not the curse that gave rise to sexism; It was sin. When his sin was exposed, Adam responded by blaming God and Eve, “the woman whom You gave to me…” (3:12). That sin-full response was the birth of sexism. The curse was but God’s judgment on Adam and Eve for their sin. As in the first chapter of Romans, the judgment of God on sin is to turn humans over to their sins. Eve gave in to temptation and then became the tempter, but both sinned against God and each other. Their union was shattered by their sin, not by God. No longer could they stand face to face; one would rule over the other.

The curse was an act of judgment that laid the foundation for redemption. It announced and described the new reality born of their disobedience. Thanks be to God, it also framed the context for a promised redeemer. Albeit through great pain, Eve would bring forth an offspring (seed) who would bruise the head of the seed of the serpent. [It is interesting to note that Eve would have a seed; in patriarchal societies men are thought to have seed, not women.]Thus, the curse was not given to subdue women or men, but rather to speak to the gravity of their sin and to announce the promise of their deliverance. The remainder of the book of Genesis tells the story of how God kept the promise alive by communicating hope to women and men.

He Gave Himself for the Church

2012-01-16T11:20:00.000-08:00

Text: Ephesian 5: 21-33

Currently the church seems under constant assault from without and within. In modernity the part became more important than the whole. This obsession with the particular resulted in a narcissistic focus on the individual. As a general rule, the church capitalized on that worldview as congregations shifted their self-image from being “the family of God gathered for worship and fellowship” to one of being more of a “God-mart” for individuals to achieve self-actualization. The emphasis shifted from relationships to programs. The missionary vision of the church shifted from outreach and service to institutional growth. The mega-church was seen as the standard for success; Little did we realize we were undermining our very purpose for existence.

Like a sand castle on the beach overwhelmed by the changing tide, we now find ourselves dissolving under the vicissitudes of a new worldview that not only exalts the self but also disdains all things institutional. Postmodernity promotes a challenge to the very existence of the church as a corporate reality in this world. It would have us believe the church exists only as some mystical association of like-minded believers who would gather in small groups and avoid all organizational traits. This assault on the church is from believers and from non-believers. Non-believers see the church as an enemy of social progress. Many believers see the church as the antithesis of true spirituality; it is at best an obsolete channel for the Christian faith.

These assaults on the church fail to consider the value of the church for Jesus; He gave Himself for the church. The incarnation, suffering, and sacrifice of Jesus were not for a collection of individuals. His great plan of salvation centered on His everlasting incarnation within the church. "Body of Christ" is not a metaphor for the intimacy we share with Him. The church is not “like” a body to Christ; it is His body.

I have preached and taught on our text on numerous occasions. To the best of my recollection, I have always focused on the meaning of the text for Christian families with an emphasis on what it says about God’s intentions for husbands and wives. This passage addresses both of these issues and shows them to be interrelated. On this occasion I begin with comments on the family as a starting point for focusing on what it says about Christ and the church.

I can summarize my understanding of what the New Testament says about family relationships as God expects us to be Christian with one another. Whatever it means to be Christian with other Christians, husbands and wives are to model that. If we are to love one another, husbands and wives are to love each other. If we are to submit to one another, husbands and wives are to submit to each other.

In Ephesians the emphasis is that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the church and wives are to be subject to their husbands as the church is to be to Christ. This emphasis does not negate the inverse; if we agree that God expects wives as well as husbands to love their spouse, we should also agree that in Christ husbands are likewise to submit to their wives. Mutual love requires mutual submission.

One of the great mistakes we have made is to read this passage in a manner that projects our experiences onto God rather than to critique our experiences in the light of God’s self-revelation. We read that Christ is the head of the church as if headship should be defined by our family patterns or those of our culture. We should instead ask ourselves how we must change in order to conform our families to fit into the image of God. It is an error to project onto the Godhead our hierarchial concepts of society; there is no subordinate member of the Trinity,

For example, the central point of contention in our text is the concept of submission (or subjection). We read that word through the lens of our cultural heritage which emphasizes submission as a verbal concept or word of action, to submit is to obey. But the Greek word (hupotasso) from which it is translated is more comprehensive than a mere active response. The focus is on relationship rather than activity. Hupotasso is a descriptive word for a pattern, or posture, of relationship; Its fundamental meaning is to exist in conjunction with another. The word is more accurately construed as “to stand attached to another.” The prefix hupo does convey the image of being "beneath" but in the sense of integrated.

Our modern inclination toward understanding submission as behavior is derived from the Latin translation of the New Testament. The Greek word hupotasso was translated into the Latin word submissio, sub-mission. In the translation the core image of "standing in connection to" is replace by an image of obedience or at the very least conformity to the wishes of another.

Whatever the immediate context being addressed by the Apostle Paul, the general problem appears to be that wives were living as though they were independent of their husbands. They are conducting themselves without regard for the effects of their behavior on their husbands. More accurately, they are positioning themselves apart from their husbands. Paul’s response is simple, wives and husbands are to be one as Christ and the church are one. In Christ they are to live out the reality of their union in all things.

This expectation of Christian unity in marriage is grounded in the certainty of the unity of the Godhead and the unity of Christ with the church and not vice versa. The relationship of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit is one of perfect unity. They are one in essence and in being while eternally existing as three persons. Chapter four of Ephesians makes it plain that union with Christ, and by implication participation in the Triune life of God, is the destiny of the church. We will "all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (V. 13). We are to “grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ” (v. 15).

With that background I turn now to my central text, Ephesians 5:25-27which reads “²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, ²⁶so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”

Christ loves the church. He does not just love the collected members of the church; He loves the church with all its members. His love is so great that He gave Himself up for her. The passion of Christ was not splintered into rays of grace aimed at a limited multitude of separate individuals. The passion of Christ was for the redemption of His bride, which is the church. His eye was on the whole and on the parts. Furthermore, His mission was not just to free persons from sin; His mission was to prepare for Himself a bride fully suited to be joined with Him as His body. He gave Himself so that she might be sanctified, cleansed by the fountain of His sacrifice and continuing to be perfected by Him until she is without spot or blemish or any imperfection. The church shall be holy and blameless. Notice the past and future tenses of the text. The church is and the church is becoming. It has been cleansed and it is being made blameless.

When I think of His love for the church, the closest analogy that I can make is the love of a parent for a new born child. We often say to the infant “I could just eat you up.” We hunger to inhale not just the aroma of their undefiled bodies; we wish we could inhale their very beings. We love them so much we imagine swallowing the whole, taking them into ourselves to be cherished and honored and protected. Christ is "eating up" the members of His church, taking them into Himself. But what we cannot do because it would limit and destroy our child, He is doing so that His children might have life and have it to the very fullest. This is abundant life, to know Him and the Father, to be one with them. And in them we are one with each other.

Thus our text amplifies and applies what was laid out in Chapter Four. The process of the church being brought to completion, or perfection, is a process characterized by offices, order, discipline, and varieties of functions. The church is a living organism with Christ as its head; Like every other living organism it has structure, order, and purpose. Thus the church is a living organization.

Christ gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers to the church. They function to equip or furnish the saints for works of service for the building up of the body until we all come together “to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (4:13).

I know our experience says the church has failed tremendously in this mission of unity and conformity. My own testimony would be that the greatest wounds in my life have come from within the church. Often the institutional nature of the church has been the stronghold of sin, suffocating the life-giving breath of God and robbing the church of the awareness of Christ’s sovereign presence. But we must never allow our experience, or our interpretation of our experience, to limit the purposes of God. Peter and Paul had “no small dispute” between them and that over the authority to appoint a co-missionary. But they worked through it.

The church exists in many forms and under many polities. It disagrees over doctrines and decrees. But it is one church with Christ as its head. The reality of His headship demands that we ever labor to be faithful to Him and to one another. The reality of our disagreements does not exempt us from always striving to give full expression to what it means to be the Body of Christ.

He loved the church so much that He gave Himself for it. I have from time to time been tempted to walk away from the Church of God. [I am using the upper case “C” here, referring to the Church of God with headquarters at Keith and 25^th Street in Cleveland, Tennessee. I must admit I am troubled by the lower case “c” in reference to the universal church as if it is somehow a less proper name, but that is beyond this message.] But how can I walk away from that for which Christ died? How can I allow its imperfections, yes, even its sins, to separate me from that which Christ has joined to Himself? If I was to leave the Church of God I would be bound by the Word of God to find another group existing as the church. I am convinced I would find no more perfection farther north on Keith Street, or in Springfield, or in Oklahoma City than I currently experience in our fragile expression of the church. Neither would I find perfection in an uncomplicated but emaciated house church.

The challenge before us is not to perfect the church as we know it. The challenge is to live in full submission to Christ so that He might perfect us personally and corporately. Submission to Him demands submission to His body, the church. This is not the submission of blind obedience (sub-missio), but rather the submission of full participation (hupotasso) within the life of the church. He is perfecting us in, with, through, and by our unity in life and mission. To withdraw from full devotion to the church is to withdraw from that which Christ loves, indeed from Christ Himself, and it is thereby to work against Christ.

Let us love the church as Christ loves the church.

King of Kings and Lord of Lords: A Message for Epiphany

2012-01-08T20:43:00.001-08:00

Text: Revelation 19

This morning we celebrated Epiphany, the arrival of the three wise men to honor the Christ-child as King of the Jews. Their presents, their presence, and their posture suggest they recognized Jesus as King of Kings.

Our image of Christ determines our conception of the gospel. Who we believe Him to be sets the limits of what we understand Him to do and the nature of our desired relationship with Him. Our image of Him determines how we approach Him, what we give Him, and how we represent Him to the world.

Modern Evangelicalism has painted a portrait of a comfortable Jesus; He’s a “Palmolive” savior, gently removing the stains of sin while softening the wrinkling effects of our transgressions. This Jesus is passive, too gentile to do battle and too "good" to even confront evil. His power is derived from His goodness, that is, good will always win in the end. It is His goodness that has power, not his person.

This Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible. Yes, our Savior is gentle and kind. He invites all to come and dine at His table, to lie at His bosom. He is the lamb slain from the foundation of the World. But He is also King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Revelation 19 reveals Him to be the great warrior king, riding on a white horse, with eyes like flames of fire, a robe dipped in blood, and a sharp sword coming out of His mouth; He is leading an army and fully engaged in battle with His enemies. He is powerful and good and His good conquers evil; it doesn’t just wait it out.

When Christ conquers evil it is a gruesome scene. Death dies violently. The gospel bears witness not just to the goodness of Christ, but to His sovereignty and His power. His reign over His creation comes at a great price. With violence He defeats His enemies, for His enemies are violent. The wages of sin are death and only through death can life be restored. This is the gospel, He suffered, died, was burried, and rose again having conquered death, hell and the grave. But the battle rages on until that great and final day of our deliverance.

There is an alternative, reactionary image of Jesus that has emerged within Evangelicalism in recent years, the smack-down Jesus. This image attempts to recapture the portrait of a warrior King. But this contemporary Jesus is molded around a faulty perception of masculinity. He is always looking for a fight, finding someone to slap around. Domination (not dominion) is His mode of operation. This Jesus is void of a love that woos persons into the presence of God. He desires followers who emulate this aggressiveness, especially male followers. The central problem with this anthropomorphic Christ is that His goodness is a derivative of His power. He must force His reign on others.

We must understand that the violence of Christ is focused on sin and not on His creation. Creation is caught up in His judgment not because of its limitations (i.e., it is not good enough to please Him) but rather because it is the harbinger and shelter for sin. In short, Jesus is not a bully; He is righteous judge.

Christ is not good because He is powerful and He is not powerful because He is good. He is sovereign God who by very nature is good, righteous, and powerful. He is our deliverer; having purchased us out of sin, He is now the guarantor of our final victory. We shall share in His goodness, righteousness, and power. In deed, the Holy Spirit is in us the present reality of our final destiny.

The work of Christ was not finished at calvary; it was/is guaranteed by calvary. He continues to intercede and do battle on our half until all things are brought under subjection and are placed at the feet of the Father. Yes, we are forgiven but salvation is infinitely more than forgiveness. In Christ, we are a new order of creation. In this new creation, Christ, in his sovereign love, rules and reigns in righteousness. His work continues until all things are made new.

This is the gospel, by grace we can die to sin and live in the reign of Christ. The alternative is to rebelliously hold on to our sins and reap eternal death. Popular Christianity errs when it suggests people can know Christ as Savior and not as Lord as if His Lordship was an option. He will not be our Savior without being our Lord. We cannot know Him as Savior from sin without knowing Him as conqueror of sin. The greatness of His power to give eternal life is evidenced by the greatness of the power required to destroy sin. All of creation will one day acknowledge Him as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Those who know Him as Lord and Savior will in Him and with Him reign for all time.

Let us never separate the joy, peace, and comfort of our salvation from the cost of being His disciple. We are called to take up our cross and follow Him. This is a call to live and to die as soilders of the cross. We wait for His return not to take us out of this world but to conquer His enemies and reclaim His creation.

And so we pray, come quickly Lord Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, righteous in all your ways. Rule over us now and forever more.

2012: Come Lord Jesus

2012-01-01T16:03:00.000-08:00

It is the first day of 2012. I have no resolutions; I doplan to “keep on keeping on until I can’t and then I am going to die and go toheaven.” That was a quip I often gave when I was a young man, long before myclose encounter with cancer. I do planto write more and to lose more weight.

Tonight, I offer a summary my sermon from this morning.

My text was Revelation 22:8-21, the closing verses of theBible. The theme was coming togetherwith Christ. There are two references tothe nearness of Christ’s return and multiple invitations for people to come toChrist and one challenge for the “hearers” to say “come.”

We are all moving into the future; what we may notunderstand is that the future in rushing in upon us. The Alpha and the Omega,the Beginning and the End is coming for us. Many people have a passive approachto the future. They live as though the future is a void needing to be filled.

Some live as though they are backing into the future; their focus is on thepast. Either a crisis of pain and disappointment consumes their outward focusor they have romanticized the good times of the past having convincedthemselves things could never be as good as they once were.

The future is dynamic; we move into it and it moves towardus. For all who are in Christ, it is as if He has risen from His throne and Heis running toward us. His hands are not empty; He comes with gifts: everlastinglife, the City of God, and His righteous reign over all of Creation. He is coming to be with us, to tabernacleamong us.

We are running toward Him, at least we should be. Hisembrace should be the focal point of our hopeful imaginations. Let us runtoward Him with gifts in our hands, the gifts He has requested: our lives, ourworship, our service in His name. Coming together with our Lord should be thecenter of our existence.

And so we say “come quickly, Lord Jesus. Bring the fullness ofyour Kingdom and should you tarry, come to us in our times of trouble and ourseasons of joy. Come, be present with us until that day of your finalappearance.” Let all who have the hope of His appearance say “come.”

Another Poem

2011-12-08T10:45:00.001-08:00

The Atonement

He stepped out of His glory

And wrapped Himself in darkness

The Creator became the created

The Eternal conceived as mortal

He who knew no sin, became sin

For our sakes, love, grace and truth

Embraced all our bitterness

Bound up our brokenness

And healed all our diseases

Some would limit the atonement

In its history and in its effect

To the cross as seat of judgment

And the predestined elect

They would bury our transgressions

In a moment of confessions

And His foreknown pronouncement

The chosen decreed as innocent

But His propitiation

Brackets the incarnation

Fully God and fully man

Salvation without end

And its effect on all creation

Every tribe, every nation

The claim of His grace

Rests on all the human race

Yes, our sentence was commuted

His righteousness imputed

But His purpose was much greater

Full communion with our Creator

With pardon came renewal

Freedom from sin’s rule

Yes, full redemption

Holiness imparted

Entire sanctification

A new order of creation

November 2011

I have release a collection of my poems. You may purchase a copy at https://www.createspace.com/3723678 All profit will go to the New Covenant Church of God building fund.

A New Poem

2011-10-31T19:46:00.000-07:00

Into Your Presence

In the cool of the day,

I run into Your presence

In the garden of Your Word.

Hungry for Your touch,Your face

Your will, Your warmembrace.

There I quiet my spirit

And listen for Your voice

Echoing through those ancientbooks

Scribed by human hands.

Both eternal and created,

Word of God born in thoughtsof men.

More than a window intothe heavens

Or a relic of the past,

The Spirit hums across thepages,

Grace and Truth for allthe ages.

Love beyond imagination

Wed to human communication.

Mysteries hidden from theangels

Written in the lyrics of meremortals.

In the whole and in eachpart

Intoning Your very heart

Every syllable arevelation

Alpha and Omega withincreation.

JDJ

10/31/2011

Agony and Ecstasy

2011-10-13T19:16:00.000-07:00

Life is rich, full, and uncertain. When this year began I wrote about being committed to a year of writing; I have written almost nothing. I was diagnosed with cancer on February 25 followed by surgery on February 28. My third grandchild (Tegan Smith) was born on March 3 and I drove to Wheaton, Illinois on April 4 to meet her (one week after surgery). A tornado ripped through our place on Wednesday, April 27. Our beautiful trees were leveled, but we had little damage to the house. The barn roof had to be replaced. (I bought a new chain saw but still have dozens of trees that need removal.) Later in the spring we had torrential rains and our basement flooded. We also had 24 hours of record rainfall in early September and it flooded again. (Our plans are to have French drains installed soon.) In late July two of our professors accepted positions at another school and I was asked to pick up a couple of their classes. I am enjoying teaching Historical Theology with Sang-Ehil Han as it was my focus area in my doctoral program, but it is a new preparation. In short, my dreams for this year have been supplanted by the agony of the unexpected and the ecstasy of survival.

And, I forgot to mention the water line in our front yard ruptured and I replaced it last month.

Hungry for Life

2011-09-17T04:20:00.000-07:00

Cheryl decided this summer we should do the "Body for Life"program. I agreed to tag along on the meal portion of the program, but I madeno promises on the exercise component. [To be fair with myself -- as if I wouldnot be -- I was over worked with storm damage yet to be cleaned and still lowon energy from my surgery.]

I said "tag along" because I made it clear I wasn't going to belegalistic about the meal plans, I would exercise my way and I wasn't going to put any effort intolearning the program.

As best as I can figure it, the meal plan is simple. First, cut out or atleast way down on the breads and other carbohydrates. I am not always certainwhat carbohydrates are, so I just assume they are the things I really like andI only eat them when Cheryl is not around.. Second, eat more protein and eat itsix times a day. That translates into a protein snack mid-morning, mid-afternoon,and evenings. Third, eat much smaller portions for regular meals. Fourth, thereis only one regular meal a day, lunch. She says I should think of threeservings for lunch, each the size of my fist: one meat, one green vegetable,and one of whatever else she wants.

I'm not one to complain -- much -- but it does seem to my eyes she measuresby the size of her fist, not mine.

Giving up cereal for breakfast has not been hard. I enjoy my egg, coffee,and half piece of toast (with homemade jelly) with her in the mornings. We arenow having breakfast together most days.

Our mid-morning snack is usually half each of a protein bar. I bought themin bulk online at about half price. They remind me of a candy bar. The kind youmight get in a remote village in the so-called two-thirds world where they haven't discoveredprocessed sugar or real chocolate. After two months of their pleasure I canhonestly say they are not half bad, but Cheryl seems to get that half. OccasionallyI sneak a more commercial (think they have flavor) breakfast bar.

Most evenings we have a protein smoothie. We blend a protein shake (boughtin bulk online) with some yogurt and ice. They taste (chocolate or vanilla)like a a milk shake you might get in that same impoverished village. I end theday with a spoon full, as in all you can cram onto a tablespoon, of peanutbutter.

This simulation of the mess hall in a POW camp has been going on for aboutseven weeks and I have lost fifteen pounds. It’s working and so I have givenmyself to some deep philosophical reflection.

I have renamed the program "Hungry for Life." This double entendrespeaks to a revised relationship with the condition of physical hunger and adesire to live life to the fullest.

I have adopted the mantra "hunger is our friend." This came to meas I wrestled with that demon of culinary desire. I was over weight (235pounds, I think my Wii said "grossly obese.") because I had developeda wrong attitude about hunger.

For most of my adult life hunger was an enemy to be conquered. Three or four times a day I beat the stuffingout of it. Sometimes I gave it a goodwailing even before it shook off the last beating. But it was invincible, the Rocky Balboa ofappetites. There it was every morningready for a few more rounds, not even bruised by the pounding I had given itthe day before.

The thought came to me as I lingered over my half of a protein bar, “hungeris my friend.” Perhaps I was in adelusional state induced by malnutrition but it seemed all so clear.

Hunger spoke to me, “You are alive; you can feel, and you are losing weight. As long as you have that slightsensation of emptiness in your stomach you are the master of food.”

As I struggled to affirm my sanity I did what all preachers do, Ispiritualized and formed a sermon illustration. Hunger is nothing more than a God given desire, a necessary impulse forsurvival. It is only when covetous sin entwinesitself with our created nature that this inner voice of life begins to lust formore than it needs. It is not hungerthat makes people obese; it is unbridled lust for pleasure. Somebody say “Amen.”

I now confess, I am not entirely sanctified. The old man with his longings for processed sugar and french fries isnot dead. My hunger is a tainted and ficklefriend. Cheryl brought pizza before me last night and I shamelessly consumed myfill. [“Oh, the woman that Thou gavest me.”] I conclude that I may never in this life have a body for living, but Ishall always be hungry for life.

I failed to mention we get one free day a week. I think it is like "eternal weight loss, once a dieter always a dieter, you've got to eat a little bit every day." And with selective memory that day of indulgence can show up atany time.

The Value of Life

2011-05-16T19:48:00.001-07:00

The storm continues to impact our lives almost three weeks after the winds ceased. Downed trees had isolated four of our cows for three days after the storm. I noticed them eating the leaves and thought little of it. They had water and they were eating, everything should be Okay until I could cut a path for them.

Last Wednesday, two weeks after the tornadoes tore through our community, I came home and walked out to check on my cows. I found one down, obviously quite ill. I brought her some water and feed. She got up and drank several gallons, but ate nothing. It was dark by the time I got her quarantined from the other cows. The next morning she was unable to get on her feet. I concluded I would have to euthanize her that evening. I came home at lunch and found her dead. I was relieved; it grieves me to kill an animal.

The questions lingered, what killed the cow? Was it contagious? I had searched my books and researched on line, but I couldn’t narrow it down. It all happened so fast there was no time to get a veterinarian out to check on her. Since I had so many downed trees to burn I opted to cremate her on Friday. I used my tractor to drag a couple of logs out to the back side of my pasture. As I approached the chosen site I noticed one of my cows lying down in the woods by herself. I knew immediately she was one that had been corralled with the dead one and she was sick, very sick.

I gathered the wood and started the cremation process. Then I came inside to call a Vet and do more research. The Vet’s office informed me he probably would not make it out to my place for 24 hours. I followed a hunch and googled "poison cattle feed." “Cattle diseases” and similar phrases had not on the day before turned up anything consistent with the symptoms of the first cow. Sure enough Oak acorns, bark and leaves are poisonous if consumed in large quantities. The symptoms matched, and there was no treatment.

When I arose to go outside and rebuild the fire I witnessed a sobering scene. The dead cow’s calf and another heifer, the two of which had been isolated with the dead cow when she got sick and I had therefore quarantined in the lot next to the fire, were lying down with their chins flat on the ground facing the fire where the cremation was in full force.

My mind flashed back to a childhood ritual. I was perhaps seven and we were at my grandmother Johns’ to butcher a cow. We were gathered at one end of her pasture with a pole tripod where the carcass would be hoisted for the initial dressing. The rest of the herd had been corralled far away and completely out of sight.

I remember five things well from that day. I remember the snap of the rifle and instant jerk of the cow down to her knees before she collapsed on her side. I remember the force of the stream of blood when the throat was cut, pulsating with the final beats of the heart. I remember the care with which my Dad and uncles made the incisions and dissections; great effort to not taint or contaminate the meat with unwanted substances. And I remember the lingering, mournful bellows of the heard that began at the moment the rifle fired. How did they know? They had never to my knowledge bellowed at the simple sound of a gun.

Yesterday, in order to keep the bull away from the young heifer, I had to let the heifer and calf back into the section where the cremation took place. I was astonished, but not surprised, as I watched the two bovines walk directly to the charred remnants of the cow, face the remains, bow their heads, and stand silently for ten minutes or longer. Later they would lie, chins down, in the exact same spot.

I was surprised last evening when I led our two horses into the same section of grass. They too walked straight to the cremation site, turned to face the remnants, bowed their heads, and stood silently for several minutes before beginning their grazing. They had been far removed from the cremation three days earlier.

I cannot explain these patterns of animal behavior. At the risk of anthropomorphisms, I must confess they speak loudly to me of the value of life and of the force that ties all living creatures together. All that is is held together and connected by the Spirit of God. All breath has its origin in the nostrils of God.

It is not my purpose to offer an apology for the vegans among us. I eat meat and I plan to continue enjoying it for a long time. Instead, I find in the reverence for life sometimes evidenced in the world of animals a call to truly give thanks at every meal. All good things come from our heavenly Father, and those that nourish us come at a price higher than we can imagine. Life in all its forms is the greatest of gifts.

My Response to the Rob Bell Controversy

2011-04-07T16:59:00.000-07:00

Thursday, April 7, 2011

I have of course not written on this blog for a month. Instead, I have written about my experience with cancer on my Johns Family blog. You are welcome to go there to read my journal on the experience. A link appears in the column to the right. Needless to say, the surgery has proven a greater hindrance to writing than I imagined.

This week I received a note from a friend in the Pacific Northwest asking my opinion of the current Rob Bell controversy. He asked if I thought Bell represented the fruition of reason run amuck. I responded with the following (quickly constructed and unedited) comments.

I deeply appreciate your question and way you phrased it. I do not believe that reason inevitably leads to chaos. In my opinion, it is not reason that is at fault in post-modernity; it is the set of a priori assumptions to which reason is being applied. Postmodern thought builds on two faulty premises, one long-standing and the other only recently re-introduced. The longstanding error is belief that truth can be known in a vacuum. That is, the Hellenistic worldview assumes there always exists a gap between the knower and the known. Grounded in dualism, this myth ultimately removes truth from the material world, and makes reason the sole arbiter of truth, which in turn limits knowledge to the individual’s ability to reason. Knowledge and truth, while universal in essence, are always private in experience; only the individual can know that he or she knows.

The second faulty assumption is new to the “modern” world. It is a rejection of the longstanding belief that creation is a closed system. Twentieth century physics replaced the certainty of Newton’s Laws with the uncertainty of Einstein’s theory of relativity, which lead to thoughts of alternative time-lines, the collapse of space into time, and multiple dimensions of existence. The material world has an infinite number of possible expressions. And if that is true, then how diverse must spiritual truth be?

I realize I am painting in very broad strokes but it seems to me that post modernity boils down to the union of these two presuppositions, (1) truth can only be known by the individual, and (2) all truth is relative. When these two are brought together the results are the deification of the individual and the nullification of absolute truth (Adam and Eve all over again).

For me the answer lies in a more Biblical epistemology, one that understands all knowledge and truth as (1) being grounded in the Triune God, (2) relational in character (always personal/never private), (3) always constant, consistent, and therefore rational, but (4) also trans-rational [truth cannot be confined to reason alone making reason to not be the sole arbiter of truth].

I have not read Bell’s latest book. Therefore, I cannot comment on his specific views. The reviews I have read suggest he is merely lost in the relativity/uncertainty of post-modernity. The strength of his approach seems to be his willingness to look at hard questions thru the lens of the cultural realities of his generation. The weakness of his approach seems to be an unwillingness to accept and teach with certainty the Biblical answers to those questions.

I have probably strayed too far from your original question. In short, the problem with post-modernity is its predisposition to limit reason to the role of being a tool used to defend truth as a private matter (reason as justification for my brand of truth). To borrow a phrase from Francis Schaffer, post-modernity represents the Western World’s “escape from reason.” I don’t think Bell offers a valid model for reaching a post-modern world. He, and others in the emergent church, are correct in their assertion that it is not enough to ask the right questions with this rising generation; we must understand their epistemology which defines truth as that which is “real” rather than that which is “logical.” They are wrong in that they fail to honor the Word of God incarnated and the Word of God inscripturated as being both personal and objective (present in time and space). We, as Pentecostals, should be providing the answer for post-moderns, truth is found in the person of Jesus who is both real and logical. He is known through encounter and understood through reason.

The Elephant in the Room

2011-03-10T14:04:00.000-08:00

I have been sidetracked from writing for the past several weeks by a health issue. I plan to post about that on my Family Blog on Sunday. What follows here is a draft of a section of the introduction to a book on Bible study on which I am working. The book is currently being called Encountering God in the Scriptures: Inductive Bible Study for a New Generation. Constructive feedback will be appreciated.

The Elephant in the Room

In 1970 James Smart, a leading Presbyterian scholar, wrote about The Strange Silence of the Bible in the Church. He was writing against a liberal theology which had combined with a progressive philosophy to produce the “social gospel.” Many of the leading churches had concluded the Bible simply wasn’t relevant for modern times; it was at best a record of how people long ago had sought to understand their world and the God who may have created it.

It is now four decades since Smart wrote to challenge the church to return to the Bible as a God-given book worthy of dedicated study. Yet, instead of being resolved, the problem of neglect for the Holy Scriptures has expanded into much of the Christian world, especially in the more developed nations. Evangelicals, Pentecostals, and Charismatics, who were once known as “people of the Book,” are now woefully ignorant of the ancient texts. We live in a time when the Bible is cherished as an artifact and ignored as a revelation. For many it has become the proverbial “elephant in the room;” a presence too great to be removed and too mysterious to be explored.

All too often we are like the blind men of the ancient Indian proverb. Having never seen an elephant they were led to an old and gentle mare where they were stationed around it. Each was asked to describe the animal they were feeling for the first time. The one at the head spoke up quickly with a tone of fear as he pushed away the trunk, “it is a giant serpent.” At the opposite end his friend stood curling the tail around his hand and replied, “you silly man, it is no serpent; it is something we can use. It is a rope.” Another clung to a giant leg and announced “It is no serpent or rope; it is a tree under which we can take shelter.” The one at the side of the beast exclaimed “No! no! no! It is a wall. Behind it we will be protected.” Finally, the one being cooled by the flapping of the elephant’s ears added, “I know what it is; an elephant is a fan.”

If we were to expand the parable we might imagine how those who cannot hear experience the elephant. How would the experience of those who cannot smell be different from our own? How do people who only see elephants at the zoo or a circus experience them differently than the scientist who studies them, or the person who trains them to perform, or the person who uses them in the jungles as a means of transportation or a beast of burden? At the risk of overreach in our exploration of the parable, how would we experience the elephant in the room if it was wild and untamed, a beast that refused to be controlled? If we are to truly know the elephant we must realize it is more than the sum of its parts. It is a living and dynamic creature. We must also recognize our experiences with it, even our combined experiences, are inadequate to completely know it.

If we begin to experience the elephant from all of these vantage points, our understanding of the elephant would expand as would our questions about elephants. Just how big do elephants get? How long do they live? How strong are they? What noises do they make? What do they smell like? What do they eat? Where do they live? How do you train an elephant to stand on its hind legs?

Like the blind men most of us connect with only portions of the Bible. There are passages we like and others we hurry through or skip over. If we are not careful we will limit the Word of God to the role we want it to play in our lives. For some the Bible is to be revered but not explored; it is too awesome and demanding to be engaged. Others know it only as a textbook to be studied for its practical applications. Others cling to its presence, if not its content, as a shelter from the storms of life. Still others find in it a wall behind which to hide from the dangers of life. Still others get just close enough to be cooled by the freshness of its presence.

God is present in His Word. The Bible is far more than a record of how people sought to know God, or even how people once experienced God. The Scriptures are the voice of God echoing through the ages, the Word of God carried by the Holy Spirit to every generation, the presence of God making Him known to all who would attend to it.

Bible study should aim at knowing God and His purposes for our lives. It is a spiritual process. But Bible study should also be a reasoned and disciplined process. If the Bible is infinite and eternal as the voice of God, it is also historical and temporal. It is both a divine book and a human book. God’s Word inscripturated foreshadowed the mystery of God’s Word incarnate. In Christ God has become flesh; in the Bible God’s word has become human language.

Another Dream

2011-01-27T05:40:00.000-08:00

I had planned to write something on the "State of the Union" address, but it is the first week of classes.

I have had some interesting dreams. Two nights ago it was two slap-stick comedies. I awoke from both chuckling. That was unusual.

Last night I had a much more philosophic/theological dream. In the dream Cheryl and I were sitting at the table with a bunch of scholars. Some of us were discussing ecclesiology. I made a few comments about the ecclesiology of the early leaders of the Church of God and my long-standing theory they were influenced by the publication of Donaldson's Ante-Nicene Fathers.

My good friend Dale Coulter was at the other end of the table. (Dale Teaches at Regent University and use to be a member of New Covenant. I love and respect him and his wife greatly. He has published an article on early Church of God ecclesiology.) Suddenly I heard Dale speak up in his not uncommon, prophetic stacatto, the one where his volume and tone rise slightly, "If Heaven was to come down right now and I could go, I wouldn't if God wasn't there. Enduring all that glory for eternity without His presence would be torture."

Now that's a dream to meditate on. Dale, what are your thoughts?

Consider Creation

2011-01-25T18:43:00.000-08:00

Consider Now Creation
In Its Whole and In Each Part
Every photon, neuron, and function
God Revealed in His Art.

His glory is painted on the horizons
His Beauty adorns each Flower,
His Majesty Engulfs the Heavens
The Eternal within Every Hour

All Creatures by Him Adorned
Each Kissed by the Breath of God,
Humans Alone in His Image Formed
The Creator Impressed on Sod

Each Day a Work of Art
Shaped by the Finger of God,
Each Moment a Monument
To His Creative Power

For this reason you were freed
His glory to proclaim
In Word and Thought and Deed
Announcing Salvation in His Name

JDJ
January 13, 2011

Cards of Gratitude

2011-01-25T08:02:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not I am up to date on my project to send a card expressing gratitude to a different person each day in 2011. I have discovered: (1) designing the cards using photos I have taken is easier that writing cards, (2) writing cards from the heart is difficult and time consuming, almost as much as writing a daily blog -- ideas come easier than expressed affections, (3) expressing affections is difficult because that requires sincerity/truth and it has to connect with the recipient -- I struggle to express feelings; my language of love is action, (4) cards are difficult because they have to be concise -- context, affections, examples in three to five sentences.

I have discovered great joy in this discipline. It is wonderful to remember persons who have blessed me over my lifetime and to communicate words of gratitude. I have also found myself praying for each person/couple and this may be the greater purpose of this exercise.

One other dimension of this discipline is that it is private. My series on thankfulness was public declaration. Cards are private. I recognize they are primarily a self-revelation but they are also a statement about the other person and a statement about our relationship. There is in this an implied commitment and openness to response. I did not anticipate this latter condition, i.e., I did not expect to hear back from anyone. Several persons have sent messages of appreciation for my card. Most have not. While not expected, acknowledgement of receipt of the notes is most gratifying.

On A Work-break
1-25-11 at 11:00 A.M.

Thank You Mr. President

2011-01-12T18:47:00.000-08:00

President Obama,

Thank you for your address at the memorial service in Arizona. You were compassionate, insightful, and instructive. You did what you espoused and rose above politics to address us all as the great American family.

Troubled by Current Political Opportunism

2011-01-10T09:06:00.000-08:00

Our nation is responding to the senseless murders in Arizona this week. In the coming weeks we will discover more about Jared Loughner, the twenty two year old shooter, than anyone needs to know. He was clearly a deeply troubled, if not mentally ill (Okay, obviously mentally ill) individual.

I am on the record as being critical of current political speech especially by TV and radio personalities as polarizing and counterproductive. There seem to be more conservative pundits with incendiary speech than liberals but the liberals are just as viral if more polished and entertaining.

In this crisis, I am troubled by the political opportunism demonstrated by some on the left. I have seen and read numerous commentaries associating this event with the political right. There is no evidence thus far to link this young shooter to conservatism in general or Sarah Palin in particular. There is no justification for linking him in any way to contemporary political debate. His reported political influences include Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Given the fact that Representative Giffods was Jewish, this influence suggests a plausible theory for his acts of violence to be racism. I suspect however that time will reveal this to be the result of paranoid schizophrenia with a focus on mistrust of authority/political figures and not a cogent political statement.

Further, there is no evidence that I am aware of suggesting rhetorical images of physical struggle or even those of hunting or military conflict (“lock and load”) contribute to political assassinations. Political speech of all stripes has always been peppered with images of physical struggle. I suspect acts of violence against public figures are grounded more in fear (a primary emotion and one at the heart of paranoia) than anger (a secondary emotion).

I don’t recall anybody blaming members of the political left when John Hinkley, Jr. shot Ronald Reagan. If this most recent act of violence was in any way attributable to current political divisions in our nation (and I think not) then both sides are to blame for it is unreasoned evocative blame that is at the heart of the problem. The left blames the right for all of our social ills and the right blames the left for our loss of freedoms. If there is hysteria in our society it is fueled by unreasoned blame and personal attacks and these flow out of arrogance and fear.

It is a natural response to look for answers to questions thrust upon us by violence. It further seems nearly automatic to look or someone to blame when tragedy occurs. Unfortunately, periods of emotional stress leave us ill prepared for clarity of thought and appropriate response. All too often our reactions serve only to solidify our ideological positions and emphasize our social divisions.

In short, I find the current attempt by some to blame the conservatives an expression of the problem. Unreasoned blame of social/political movements and/or persons intensifies and solidifies emotional divisions. To express this type of blame in a time like this is nothing short of political opportunism and I find that very troubling.

There are many things we might legitimately debate in the wake of this tragedy. I would suggest the two most obvious are our nation’s approach to the treatment of mental illness and the control of handguns, and the interplay between these two issues. Yet, even these issues should not be acted upon in the current emotional environment. It is a time to grieve, to comfort, and to pray.

Cleveland,
January 10, 2011
JDJ

But Momma, It’s in the Bible

2011-01-07T16:50:00.000-08:00

Over the holidays one of my family members asked me, what I was going to write about in 2011 now that the series on thanksgiving was nearly over. Just for a laugh, I responded, “Things That Tick Me Off.” Only, I used a Biblical word for “Tick,” a word I don’t think I have uttered since I was eight years old and my mother nearly washed my mouth out with soap for using it. I begged for God's forgiveness before I went to bed; really, I did.

One of the blessings of growing up in a holiness, Pentecostal, southern environment is the shelter offered by the long shadow of the Victorian era. For example, women were not said to be “pregnant” or even “expecting;” a woman in that condition was said to be "in the family way.” Thus, we were shielded from the harsh realities of modernity and those of human frailties, being instead comforted by the poetic, if archaic, verse of the King James Bible. In that subliminal reality some things just were not what they seemed and our task as children was to navigate the glorious river of truth fraught with the difficulties of double entendres.

I once asked my mother why it was wrong to dance if people danced at church. For just an instant she had the look of a possum caught in the headlights of an oncoming eighteen wheeler. But she quickly gained her composure and threw down a trump card, “You know better than to ask a question like that.”

“But Momma, it’s in the Bible; David danced.”

Her response was the stair of a lion about to pounce on an unsuspecting wilder beast. Discussion closed.

Furthermore, I was often confused about the reason preachers got to use words I was forbidden to use. How could they get by with statements like “You are going to burn in hell if you don’t repent.” We were forbidden to even mouth or spell out the word “hell?” On top of that they could use the word “damn,” or at least cognations of it: “damned,” “damnation.” They even used the “B” word; “by this you know you are sons and not b…ds.”

My confusion was heightened when I began to read. For a long period of time my mother led us in family devotions every evening. It was more like evening Bible school than anything else. We read through books of the Bible beginning with the historical books of the Old Testament. We went around the family circle, each reading a verse until a chapter was completed. After Shirley and I had struggled through a few sets of verses with Old Testament names, Mom would let Jimmy finish out the chapter to move things along. After reading there was time spent in Bible quizzes; these were sort of a Bible Trivia game she developed before there were such games. Finally, we would spend a few minutes in prayer before being sent to bed.

On one of those nights we were reading through I Samuel. Now that is an exciting book for a young boy. It fell my lot to read 1 Samuel 25:22 “So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.”

“WHAAAAT DID YOU SAY? What was that word you used?”

“Pissssss-eth?”

“Let me see that. That word’s not in the Bible.”

She grabbed my Bible out of my hand and silently read. “Well, it might be in there, but I had better not be hearing you use it. I think ya’ll better just go to bed now.”

There was no quiz and no prayer that night.

And so I learned that the Scriptures are the infallible Word of God, profitable for reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. We believed in the whole Bible rightly divided. And for my mother that meant her children should study the Bible carefully, all except for those sections and words she divided out of it. Looking back on those cherished days, we never got around to reading the Song of Solomon, either.

Cleveland,
January 7, 2011
JDJ

I am Thankful I Grew Up in a Pentecostal Church

2011-01-06T20:31:00.001-08:00

I am very thankful that I grew up in a Pentecostal church. I am very content with my core images of God that were informed, if not formed, by Pentecostal worship. Last evening I sat in on our youth group meeting. I am always blessed to be with our youth; they lift my spirit. As I observed them praying in the altars I reflected on who God is to me.

In my childhood and youth God was both wholly other and ever present. He was a holy God who had to be approached with reverence, but He was also a faithful friend who never left us. In worship, our God-of-terror/God-of-peace was encountered. In these encounters people were “slain” in the Spirit and “made drunk” on His presence. Often, individuals were snatched up into a frenzied dance; others seemed more invited into a heavenly sachet.

His presence might call forth shouts and screams that seemed to lift the rafters. On other occasions a “holy hush” settled in on the congregation like a warm blanket of palpable silence. Songs were always sung from the heart as a testimony or witness to our common faith. Testimonies were fervent and spoke of life and death; “Pray for me. My husband was drunk when I left home and he said that if I came to church tonight he would kill me when I got home.” Yes, our worship was a dramatic presentation with the whole sanctuary a stage.

My classmates complained of their boring Sunday services. I remained quiet, unwilling to “cast my pearls” before those who had no point of reference. From our worship I inhaled three truths.

First, God is and He is present, or, at the very least, always near. I have had my seasons of doubt, questioning everything from my sanity to my destiny. I have wondered if I would survive, but I have never questioned if He existed or if He was an all-powerful, all-knowing, holy, and merciful God. At least, I have never doubted for more than a few seconds at the time.

Second, God speaks. This has been a theme of my life and ministry. Our God continually speaks. He has most clearly revealed Himself in His Word, both incarnated and inscripturated. Throughout history He speaks special words, sometimes audible and sometimes beyond language. He speaks through all the events of our lives. He speaks to individuals, to congregations and to nations.

Thirdly, God listens. All too often we view God’s act of hearing us as instrumental. That is, we focus not on His listening but on what He might do about what He hears. This implies God is valued more for what He does than for who He is. The truth that God listens to us should be cherished in and of itself. The one who is without beginning or end loves us enough to listen to our every thought. He hears not only our ideas but our heart. He is the friend who sticks closer than a brother. He is touched by the very feeling of our infirmities. He cares. He knows.

In sum, the core truth ingrained in me in my experiences as a child growing up in the Church of God is that my Creator desires an ongoing intimate relationship with me. He does not want to be an idea, a principle, a system worthy of my attention; He wants deeply interpersonal fellowship with me. And if I truly desire that He will make it happen.

Cleveland
January 6, 2011
JDJ

I am Thankful for God’s Protection

2011-01-06T05:07:00.001-08:00

That’s the best title I could come up with for my topic, but it’s a little misleading. More precisely, I am thankful for God’s protection of the children in my and Cheryl’s watch care, specifically our children and grandchildren, but others as well. As a pastor, I have been to the emergency room many times for all kinds of accidents. By God’s grace we have never had to take a child there: no stitches, no broken bones, and nothing indigestible swallowed. We’ve never even lost one at the mall, an air terminal, a National Park, or a foreign city (those seem to be the favored places for loosing children). And believe me; we have had plenty of opportunities and a couple of temptations. With all seriousness, I recognize that few people have been as blessed as we have been in this area; we are responsible people, but it is the grace of God that has protected the children placed in our care. I am thankful.

While I am on the topic of accidents, I should apologize to Cheryl (I should, but I probably won't). I have gotten a few laughs at her expense. She does have ADD and has had a couple of close calls with the lawn mower and a fallen tree, but in fact, during the thirty six years of our marriage she has only had one automobile accident and that did not involve another car. Noone else was in her car and she was not hurt. That is a pretty good record for someone who averages between 25,000 and 30,000 miles a year. I am thankful.

Cleveland
January 5, 2011
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Prospects of 2011

2011-01-03T18:30:00.001-08:00

I have begun my 2011 discipline of writing notes of gratitude to those persons who have been a special blessing to me during my life. So far, I have spent more time designing and printing the cards than actually writing on them, but I have written one each of these three days.

It is January 3 and I am having withdrawals from my “I am Thankful Series.” I have a compulsion to write about the blessings of my life. The problem is that writing the series took so much energy it interfered with other writing projects on which I now need to work. My plans are to post my progress on a couple of those other writing projects on this or another blog. I would appreciate some critique with suggestions for improvement once I begin to post.

One of the projects is a major rewrite of a textbook on the inductive Bible study method. Cheryl wrote the original text in the mid eighties. The second project is an inductive Bible study guide for the Gospel of Mark. I will be living in that Gospel for the first half of this year. In an effort to strengthen that project and keep me focused I have announced to New Covenant that I will be preaching a series of sermons through Mark from now until Pentecost Sunday.

I am thankful for the prospects of 2011. As I enter this year I have high hopes for my writing ministry. I have equally high hopes for New Covenant; I believe we are going to “see the fruit of our labors.” That was the last prophetic word given to me by Sister Faye Whitten. This will also be the year in which Peanut makes the long journey into the light of day; who could ask for more than that? It has been a long time since I entered a new year with this level of and diversity in promises on the horizon.

Last year was a year of inner healing and answered prayers in my life. I believe this year will be a year of renewed strength and wholeness. My prayer is that this will be a year in which I bless many people. Pray for me, in the concluding words of the old-time Pentecostal testimonies, “that I will ever be faithful…I just want to be a blessing to someone.”

Cleveland
January 3, 2011
JDJ

Reflections on the Year of Thanksgiving

2011-01-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

With clear direction from God, I have spent one year blogging about that for which I am thankful. My original thought was to make brief one-sentence to one-paragraph statements each evening. Instead, I have discovered verbosity an incurable malformity of my nature. Ask me what time it is and I am driven to build you a clock, with instructions and a history lesson on the meaning of “time.” I have known about my condition for decades; I have long ago analyzed and theorized about its origins. But not until this year have I grasped the extent of its hold on my psyche.

I began this year with two simple goals for the project. First and foremost was to be obedient to God. I have not questioned why He gave me this assignment. I have always thought of myself as a thankful person. And so I did not begin with a sense that God was forcing me to develop an unwanted character trait. I had a suspicion He was going to do an inner work and teach me some things and I was hopeful about His grace touching some of my inner struggles through the process, but I did not give much attention to possible outcomes for the exercise.

My second goal was to develop discipline and skills as a writer. I have known for some time that I would spend much of my latter ministry as a writer. I have never felt gifted in this arena. But God spoke it into my heart when I was a grad student at Wheaton College. One of our peers was an editor at one of the Christian publishing companies in the area. I don’t remember her name, but I do remember vividly one brief conversation. I made a comment about being impressed with her skills as a writer and that I would love to have that talent but I could never see myself as a writer. She responded with what was a Word from the Lord for me, “I think you are wrong. One day you will be a writer and a good one.”

Those words were burned into my soul. I have just known that God’s call on my life included writing. I have also known that ministry would develop in the latter portion of my vocational life. I entered this project on thanksgiving with a desire to become a better writer. With just a couple of exceptions, my prior writings have been stiff and inclined toward the academic. My desire is to communicate in an engaging, and where appropriate, entertaining way. Perhaps I am delusional or misguided, but I am committed to this effort.

At this juncture, it is irrelevant how many people might read what I write. With the advent of the internet, my calling might not even require my work be publishable. I’ll just keep blogging. My fondest hope is that I be found faithful to the heavenly calling. My prayer is that I might be a blessing to someone. My expectation is that I will learn and grow through the process and in that may He be glorified and may I somehow be found pleasing in His sight. All things are possible.

Through this effort I have discovered some things about myself and some things about thankfulness. The discoveries are interwoven I have noted some of these observations in previous blogs, but I will pull some of them together and add to them here.

At the half-way point I wrote: I have been writing this series on being thankful for almost six months. I have discovered a few things about myself and thankfulness. First, being thankful is easier than being creative. Second, being thankful is sometimes spontaneous and sometimes hard work. Third, expressing thankfulness is a window to one’s soul. Some of the things I am most thankful for are too personal to share. All of the things I share expose my inner self. Fourth (a corollary to the previous), expressing thanks is an exercise in humility. This may seem obvious, but this public discipline has made me aware that the more deep my thankfulness the more conscious I am of my weakness. True thankfulness often is an acknowledgement of our own insufficiency. Fifth, thankfulness may be married to the whole spectrum of emotions: joy, grief, fear, hope. Sixth, expressed thankfulness is sometimes a diversion from deeper, more self-disclosing, thankfulness. Seventh, thankfulness is sometimes more difficult to express than to feel. Expressed thankfulness is a statement about the person/object of thankfulness. It is an effort to honor and therefore requires careful wording lest the other person be dishonored. Ungracious grace can disgrace.

[I had another entry of reflection on August 31 : http://jackiespeaks.blogspot.com/2010/08/i-am-thankful-gift-i-cannot-give-away.html .]

At this point, I would observe that I began the year with an emphasis on grace. The grace I wrote about centered on God’s voice. I am very thankful for those times God has spoken a word to me. These personal theophanies have been central to my life. Even their absences have been critical in my formation. Looking back over those entries it dawns on me that the grace of God and the Word of God are inseparable. In His Word He gives Himself; this is grace. His grace communicates His love and mercy; this is the Word of God. Thanksgiving is a gift from God that flows from His other gifts the chief of which are the knowledge of Him, His name, and His active presence in our lives.

A review of the year also reveals an emphasis on family, past and present. I was born into and nurtured by an exceptional family. My parents were not perfect, but they formed a dynamic union that afforded me great opportunity to ponder good and evil, right and wrong, better and best. We are the product of those who went before. My parents’ greatest gifts to me included (1) they believed in me and my siblings, (2) they modeled righteousness and strength, and (3) they worked hard to build a better future for us. My Dad use to quote an Ensign in the navy who told him “Johns, a man is a failure if he doesn’t raise his children to be better than he is; he has all of his own mistakes from which to teach them.” I am not certain of the full truth of that maxim but I am certain my father lived by it and I am better off because he did.

Other people are very significant in my life. Several of these passed away this year. Others reconnected after some time and distance. The birth of children always calls forth thanksgiving. Pastors and teachers were prominent. Gratitude is always personal.

Other observations I would make include the following.

1. Thankfulness is an attitude and an affection and not an emotion. We can be thankful even when we do not feel like it.

2. It is easier to be thankful than to express thanksgiving. Expression requires commitment; commitment involves risk. For me the greater risk seems to be fear of being misunderstood.

3. The discipline of expressing thankfulness increases thankfulness, refreshes memories, and quickens the mind. The link between being thankful and expressing thankfulness is strong but not automatic. Expressing thankfulness requires effort. It is easier to express thankfulness to God than to people. The truly thankful will express gratitude to those persons who bless them. This must be genuine and therefore spontaneous, but it also requires effort to articulate specifics.

4. Expressing thankfulness is a form of testimony. It requires recall and naming. In gratitude we know ourselves as both subject and object. It is a creative interpretation of those truths and values we hold as we see those truths outside/beyond of ourselves. As a corollary, gratitude is a link/conduit between our inner selves and the world/people we know.

5. True thankfulness is an expression of humility (I am the object/recipient of someone’s grace) but the temptation to pride crouches at the door (“I must be special to be so blessed”).

6. Gratitude is an expressed affection. The affection is dynamic in that it links our selves, the gift/blessing, and the giver.

7. Some of my deepest thanksgivings are too personal to be expressed.

8. My thanksgiving flows from the eternal to the deeply personal to the material and back again. I suspect that gratitude for the extra-ordinary gifts of life is enhanced by gratitude for the ordinary gifts of life. We would appreciate the phenomenal/eternal more if we learned to appreciate the common/temporal more.

9. A corollary suggests that we would appreciate God more if we learned to appreciate the persons in our daily lives more.

[On a side note: I observed that the most comments I got were (a) about the troublesome General Council (8), (b) an entry critical of arrogant and obnoxious people (6), and (c) an entry about the death of a friend (6). It appears we are more likely to put forth the effort to respond to others when they are dealing with negative emotions than when they are experiencing positive ones.]

Finally, I used this blog in 2010 in part to publically tell some people I appreciate them. In 2011 my calling is to show gratitude daily in more direct, tangible and personal ways. I am going to try to write a personal “Thank You” note every day. I will try to make occasional entries about how that exercise affects me. I will also continue to make entries in this series, just not on a daily basis. But then again, the habit may be hard to break.

Cleveland,
January 1, 2011
JDJ

P.S. I would be interested in what others have observed about the series. Help me take my blinders off.

I am Thankful for the Atonement - 3rd Entry

2010-12-31T20:54:00.000-08:00

I awoke this morning with many thoughts about thanksgiving. Justin, Camdyn, and Charlie were leaving for their home; it was great to have had them here. Karisa and Johnmark volunteered to make breakfast for all of us. Shirley, Mike, Ryan and Andrea were scheduled to drive up today. It was a day for thanksgiving.

It is also the last day of 2010, my year of thanksgiving. I awoke fully aware I have fallen short by thirty six entries, but 329 is not bad. Some entries have been long and some quite short; together they total over 350 single-spaced pages. I have been faithful to my commitment, mostly. [Husbands and persons with addictions cannot get by with that argument, “Honey, I’ve been faithful, mostly.” I wonder why we followers of Christ seem to think we can use that argument and feel good about ourselves?] I plan to make up for the shortfall in Purgatory, I mean next year.

However, as I lay there, waiting for my head to quit spinning, my thoughts focused on the place where I began this journey; I am thankful for God’s grace. Specifically, I am thankful for the atonement of Christ.

He stepped out of His glory

and took on the darkness of fallen creation.

He who knew no sin,

became sin for our sakes.

The Creator became the created

and took unto Himself all the wickedness of His creation.

Love, grace and truth swallowed our bitterness,

bound up our brokenness, and healed our diseases.

It is all too easy to limit the atonement,

both in its history and its effect,

to the events of the cross

and the predestined elect.

In truth, his sacrifice is bracketed by the incarnation

which shall never end

and its effect is for all of creation,

even the damned.

Limiting the atonement to the passion, so called, limits our debt to that covered by a single event and fails to see the intended extent of the claim of grace upon all He spoke into existence. God’s plan was not to stop at forgiveness, redemption, or restoration. His salvation is unto a new order of creation.

Where once we lived and moved and had our very being in Him, by his grace we are now baptized into Him, being His very body. Once, we lived by His very breath, but now we are joined to Him as the extension of His incarnation. His atonement assures the creation of a new heaven and a new earth in which God Himself shall dwell with the sons and daughters of Eve and Adam.

Perhaps we limit the atonement to the crucifixion as an historical event because we cannot bear to gaze upon the cross. To enter the end of our salvation requires that we first behold the essence of His gift as revealed most clearly on the cross. And the cross, not a mere event in history but the eternal fountain of grace, is ever before us. Like the noonday sun it both demands our attention and rebuffs our gaze.

The cross is unbearable to us because of our iniquity. All of our transgressions are nailed to that tree, branded into our Savior, making his countenance despicable. As we look at Him hanging there we become aware that our sins were never impersonal; they were all against Him. Every lie, moment of envy, jealousy, pride, covetousness, and greed pierced His hands and crowned His brow.

Parents, spouses, and pastors, indeed all who have lived to adulthood, know the pain of loving while being rejected. In the cycle of life rejection is necessary for development. The mature have a healthy self-awareness, a consciousness of personal boundaries, a sense of right and wrong, the good, the better, and the best. Acquisition of these traits requires discernment and rejection. We must exercise our free will and choose our affections, risking rejection by rejecting the affections and choices of others.

And yet this drive to individuate wars against a greater drive, the quest for intimacy. The desire to know oneself battles with the desire to be known and to know another. In God’s prevenient grace some will discover themselves in the eyes of another; the individual knows him or herself best when discovered in the eyes of another. Yet, even for the most fulfilled of couples the tension between knowing and being known persists.

Thus to gaze upon the cross is not only to see our sins, it is to see ourselves as we are, lost, unknown, and dead, cutoff from all that for which we hope.

If we look intently at the cross and find ourselves there, we will begin to see the glory of the One nailed to the tree. The writer of Hebrews instructs us that “for the glory set before Him He endured the cross despising the shame.” We ere to think the glory set before Him was beyond the cross; no, it began on the cross. The glory that was His before the beginning of time, the glory he set aside in the incarnation, was there on the cross. The glory of the fullness of the Godhead, the glory of the holy other, was present in this singular event of atoning grace. In the cross the glory and grace of God abide.

On this last day of 2010 I give thanks for the glory and grace of the cross. I began the day with images of my sins flowing into my Savior there. I caused His suffering. As I inflicted His shame, He looked at me and loved me without end. In His eyes I find myself and I know myself; I am no longer alone and cut off. I am a child of the King. In Him I can be salt and light. I can love my enemies and love those who spitefully abuse me. I can smile on those who reject me and offer His grace to them. I am thankful to be counted one with Him.

Cleveland
December 31, 2010
JDJ

I’m Just Thankful

2010-12-30T18:17:00.000-08:00

I was ill when I returned home from South Carolina last evening. I was dizzy. By the time I went to bed the world was swirling to the point I was sea sick. It calmed down after a few minutes and I had a good night’s sleep. But shortly after I got up this morning it started all over again. I suspected I was having side-effects from an antibiotic I have been on for an ear infection. Once I felt good enough to “surf” the web I looked up my medication and sure enough extreme dizziness is a possible side effect.

I am still a little spatially disoriented, but I am improving. This afternoon I felt good enough to keep a promise and saddled Rose for Camdyn to ride. We led Rose, with Camdyn ridding high, around the pasture for over an hour with Charlie joining Camdyn in the saddle for a few minutes.

I doubt it will be a lasting memory for Camdyn and Charlie; it will be for me. I hope it fits into the montage of the memories they will share of Cheryl and me (and Karisa). I have found that being with my grandchildren just makes me thankful, even when I don’t feel well.

Tomorrow will be a challenge. They are going home.

Cleveland,
December 30, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for a Good Visit With Thelma

2010-12-29T20:31:00.000-08:00

I drove to Greenville today to assist with the funeral of one of our church members, Rev. Faye Whitten. It was a lovely funeral. Doug LeRoy, General Director of World Missions for the Church of God, shared briefly words of appreciation for Faye's ministry as a missionary. I spoke briefly about my honor in being her pastor. Pastor Robert Shepherd (retired), a close friend of Faye, brought the message. It was a wonderful tribute. Several members of the congregation spoke of Faye's impact on their lives. I also gave the closing remarks at the internment.

The cemetary was just ten or twelve miles from the nursing home where Cheryl's mother resides so that I was able to drive over and spend a few minutes with her. One of the nurses took our picture for me. It was a good visit. She looked well; she was upright and alert. She spoke with more clarity than I have heard her since last spring, which is not to say she was conversant. She had complete clauses if not sentences and as you can tell from the picture, she recognized me.

Cleveland to Greenville and Back
December 29, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for my Faithful Friend, Faye Whitten

2010-12-28T19:35:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow I will drive to Greenville, South Carolina to assist with the funeral of Rev. Faye Whitten. Faye is a retired missionary educator/evangelist in the Church of God. For the past several years she has been a member of our church.

I first met Faye in 1979. We were both students at the Church of God School of Theology as it was then known. I did not know her well. Our paths seldom crossed. She was one of the first female Master of Divinity graduates of the seminary.

It was eighteen or twenty years ago that I got to know her well. We had Faye come to New Covenant as an evangelist. As is typical with our guest ministers, I spent some time with her discussing the Bible, theology, and New Covenant. I discovered her to be an outstanding student of the Scriptures. I also discovered her to be a person of a meek and quiet spirit.

We had Faye and Dot back for four or five revivals over the next decade or so. Her ministry was powerful and effective at our church. And we are not an easy church with whom to be an evangelist. We have the highest concentration of doctorates in religion in the Church of God; our people expect preaching that is well grounded in the Scriptures. We also have one of the highest concentrations of G.E.D.’s of any church I know; our people expect sincerity, clarity, practicality in presentation. She was able to speak in a way that connected with the entire congregation.

Most people who have sat under her ministry are impacted by her special gift in giving personal prophecies. During the altar service she would tarry a long time praying with individuals. Her prayers frequently shifted into personal words from the Lord. God used her mightily in this manner especially to speak to the issues and concerns people were facing.

I believe it was during her second revival that we had a van load of out of town guests. They were students from Columbia Theological Seminary just beginning an intensive travel class as an immersion into Appalachia. Most of these students were Presbyterians. As Faye was ministering she called out to two of them; they were non-traditional students, i.e., older, second career types. She got their attention and began, “Sirs, yes, you two there in the back. The Lord wants you to know…” As she spoke I was nervous; the professor was a friend/acquaintance of mine and I knew these students had not been in a Pentecostal service. Then, I noticed both men had an expression of amazement and one began to cry.

The one who cried sought me out after the service to give me a report. He had never been to a Pentecostal or Charismatic service or witnessed anything like he saw that day. He had come very skeptical. But Faye’s prophetic words spoke directly to them in response to a conversation they had with each other on the ride up from Atlanta. “The words were exact,” he said.

Typically, Faye’s personal prophesies were assurances of God’s attention to the individual’s trials with a promise of deliverance. Near the end of every revival she would ask to pray for me. I would silently ask for a word of coming blessing. What I invariable got were words like, “The Lord says to you, despise not the day of little things. I have placed you here. Do not look for numbers. I have raised this church up to be a place of healing and sending.” In other words, keep being faithful and be content with small attendance and finances. I always hoped for something different, but always knew it was a word from God. It wasn’t until she retired that she gave me a word with the promise of change.

In the last couple of years she has developed short term memory loss and other indicators of dementia. She remained a blessing to us all. For me personally, she bragged on my sermons. Actually, she would linger around the front to tell me the message was a special blessing. Then having forgotten she had had spoken to me, she would tell me two or three more times before she left.

In spite of her mental challenges, she remained on our prayer team and ministered to people every Sunday she was present. Her prayers were as anointed as ever.

What I have not yet written about are her physical challenges. Faye was born crippled; her legs were folded behind her and could not be straightened. As a young girl, God instantly healed her. Then in mid-life she broke her hip and gradually became handicapped in her legs. She had multiple hip replacements and other surgeries over the years. We have journeyed with her as she digressed from a cane to a walker and finally to a wheel chair.

In the face of her own suffering, God often used Faye to minister healing to others. She was always smiling, always positive, and always giving. She embodied the Christian graces of faith, hope, and love. We will miss her greatly. I already sense the loss of her prayers, at least the closeness of her prayers for me as her pastor. I am convinced she is still praying for me and in that I take courage.

Cleveland
December 28, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Justin, Camdyn, and Charlie’s Safe Arrival

2010-12-27T19:01:00.000-08:00

Life is almost complete; our entire family is here, except for Alethea. She could not get off from work. We are very thankful Justin has come to visit with Camdyn and Charlie.

The Christmas season is just a little more exciting and honest when children are present. We were just completing our welcome hugs and kisses in the entryway when Charlie looked up at me and asked, “Can I open my presents, now?”

We let them open one present each before dinner. When it was time we all opened our gifts. The adults all seemed very pleased, but Charlie and Camdyn were the excited ones. My greatest gift was watching them.

I am thankful we are all here. It would have been great if Alethea could have been here, but for now we are blessed to have 7/8ths of the clan home or is that 7 ¾ of 8 ¾ of the clan.

Cleveland
December 27, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Blessings of 2010: #11 – Health

2010-12-26T16:05:00.001-08:00

[As the year comes to an end, I am listing a few of the things that happened during 2010 for which I am most thankful. The list is not in order of significance.]

As this year comes to an end I must give thanks to God for life and health, mine and my loved-ones. My family is blessed beyond measure. We do not live in perfect health and we have our fair share of challenges. But we have been blessed with life free from debilitating disease and chronic suffering. We are healthy.

I have lived long enough to understand that the disabled and infirmed may know more about life and appreciate life far beyond those of us without similar challenges. One thing I appreciate about those with whom I am close who suffer in their bodies is their lack of envy for the able bodied. Instead they seem to have special insight into the essence of life that allows them to appreciate their suffering.

They appreciate their suffering in that they have learned to value pain and disappointment as factors that contribute to the fullness of their lives. They refuse to allow their dis-abilities to define their existence or constrict their abilities. At the same time each of them desires to be healed of their physical limitations; they long to be free from pain.

The challenge is to fully appreciate life in whatever condition we find our health. Those who are healthy tend to take it for granted and in that they fail to fully live. Consequently, those who are healthy tend to be less thankful for their health than those who suffer.

Good health is a gift from God, not an inherent trait. It says nothing about our goodness or standing with God, the giver of life. I have concluded thankfulness is an essential component to having life in abundance. I am thankful for life and health, just not as thankful as I should be.

That’s the view from Cleveland
December 26, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Christmases of My Childhood

2010-12-25T15:48:00.000-08:00

We had a white Christmas here in Cleveland, today. It was just Cheryl, Karisa, Johnmark, Zeus, and myself. Shirley and her family could not make the drive due to the snow. We had a good day none-the-less.

When I was small Christmas was magical. The whole world seemed to shift into emotional overdrive. Everyone was a little happier during the season, the air tingled with excitement.

Christmas was everywhere. City streets were decorated with angels and snowflakes. Crèches were prominently displayed. We heard the Christmas story and sang Christmas carols in public school. Our classrooms were decorated; we had a Christmas program in the auditorium; and we had a party with cupcakes, cookies and Kool-Aid.

Christmas was the highlight of the church year for most southern Protestants. For us it began the week after Thanksgiving with practices for the Christmas pageant. Every year the youth put on a Christmas play. Sometimes it was the Christmas story on other years it was a contemporary drama with a Christmas theme. The year my brother debuted his thespian skills he was a shepherd with the single line “Hail Mary, thou art most favored among women” or thereabouts. The problem was his deeply southern accent. The director worked and worked with his enunciation, and on the big night he vocalized with great volume and clarity “Hell Mary, thou art most favored among women.”

As a prelude to the drama the children presented their program. Usually there was a choir of angels. One year Mom made Shirley’s and my angel costumes out of Dad’s never-used society for social preservation uniform (white robe, but that’s another story). We wore wings made from coat hangers and poster board, and trimmed in foil garlands. As we grew older we were given speaking parts, a tortuous rite of passage.

These public expressions of religious devotion were but appetizers for the big day and that was always at home. We knew we were getting presents and we knew Mom had been shopping for the little ones. They were hidden around the house, mostly in her closet. We were sternly warned “If I catch you children pillaging through my closet I’ll take every present back and you want get any. Santa won’t bring you any either.”

It was that last sentence that constrained my curiosity. I could live without new under wear, or that not-to-be-used house coat, but I could not survive without Santa’s gifts; they were the good ones, the ones you prayed for and dreamed about. Santa’s helpers made certain we got most of what we wanted.

The Christmas tree was the central shrine of the season and the focal point of decorations. Sometimes we went into the woods and cut a cedar tree. Often we picked one up at a local lot. Later, Mom would purchase an artificial one. They were covered with lights, silver tensile, gold garlands, decorative bulbs, and spray-on snow until green was but a shadow buried beneath the brighter colors. Presents were wrapped and stacked beneath and behind it.

The night before Christmas we were allowed to choose one wrapped gift to open and enjoy. Then just before bed we set out a glass of milk and cookies for Santa. As we scurried down the hall Mom reminded us, “Santa won’t come if you’re awake.” Now that is a challenge; go to sleep on the most exciting night of the year.

On Christmas morning Shirley and I were the first to awaken. But we couldn’t go into the front room until Mom or Dad went with us. “Santa, might still be there.”

“Please, please go with us,” we begged until Dad got up and, still in his boxer shorts and T-shirt, tipped-toed down the hallway. Keeping us behind him, he slowly opened the door and looked into the living room. We waited until he entered and gave us the “all’s clear.” Once there was a rocking chair in motion. When we entered Dad asked “Did you see him? He was just here in the rocking chair when I came in. I blinked and he was gone. See if he ate the cookies and drank the milk.” He had eaten half a cookie and drank some of the milk.

That was enough attention to the big guy. The room begged for attention. Carefully placed around the tree with the wrapped gifts were the unwrapped ones brought by Santa. Everything we had dreamed about and more was there. After inspecting the unwrapped ones we waited for everyone else to come to the living room. Once we were all gathered and Mom gave the “go ahead” we began to feverously tear into the wrapped gifts. It was bedlam on Zanex.

After breakfast we began the endurance testing for all the toys. The best ones survived the day.

Compared to those days, 2010 was downright sedate.

That’s the news from snow white Cleveland, Tennessee
December 25, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Karisa & JM’s Safe Arrival

2010-12-24T17:32:00.000-08:00

We had a beautiful Christmas Eve service at New Covenant this evening. On the drive to church we saw Karisa and Johnmark as they were driving in from Wheaton. No matter how old your children get you worry about them when they travel and you are thankful when they arrive safely.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 24, 2010 – B
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Blessings of 2010: #10 – Peanut

2010-12-24T13:35:00.000-08:00

[As the year comes to an end, I am listing a few of the things that happened during 2010 for which I am most thankful. The list is not in order of significance.]

The greatest blessing of 2010 has been Karisa’s pregnancy. Our baby is having a baby. She has named the baby in utero, “Peanut.” We are not allowed to disclose the gender, but we know and we are excited.

When I first learned Alethea was pregnant with Camdyn, I was nervous. As a pastor, I had lived through the disappointment of miscarriages with too many young couples. Pregnancies may be natural but they are also dangerous. If it was unnerving to go through the process with my wife, it was doubly so with my daughter.

Seven years and two grandchildren later, I am finding it a different experience. In some part, I might be more relaxed because it is Karisa, the one who turned 16 on a ministry trip to the Amazon, 18 on another ministry trip to South America, and 21 during a six-month ministry in the slums of Mumbai, India. I’m just thankful she hasn’t planned a sky-diving trip during the last trimester.

I have been concerned and I have prayed, but I have just believed God’s hand is on this child. Maybe my faith is nothing more than having experienced this twice before and with phenomenal success, might I add. Maybe Cheryl and I are just ready for another newborn in the family. Maybe I’m just older and more relaxed. Whatever the contributing factors, Peanut is the greatest blessing of 2010 and I’m sure of 2011 as well.

I am thankful for my grandchildren, all three of them.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 24, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Blessings of 2010: #9 – Blessings Beyond Expression

2010-12-23T20:20:00.000-08:00

[As the year comes to an end, I am listing a few of the things that happened during 2010 for which I am most thankful. The list is not in order of significance.]

As strange as it may sound, there are blessings too holy to share, works of God so glorious they are beyond explanation. Often that glory is shrouded in the ordinary and seen only by those chosen to see. Always born in the stable of prayer, these theophanies can only be responded to with inner anthems of “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty,” and “Glory to God in the Highest.” In times like these we would be wise to worship and then hide the mysteries of God deep in our heart as we prepare for the unfolding of their meaning.

I have been blessed to have had several of these encounters with the immutable wrapped in the uncertain. This year I received the answer to a prayer I had prayed for twenty eight years. I had long ago given up on believing I would see my prayer answered during my earthly life. In truth, my prayers had become attempts at resignation, “Thy will be done.” My goal had become to attain peace with His refusal to act.

And then He acted. He did what I had asked of Him, twenty eight years after I first asked. I am still working through His delay in response and trying to understand the implications of it all. My life would have been radically different if He had acted quickly, but would I be better off if He had. I believe not. And so I give Him praise for His sovereign watch-care and I wait for the fuller revelation of His purposes. “Thy will, not mine, be done for Thy will is good and perfect; it is far beyond my understanding.”

My prayer is that we all have those blessings from God that are beyond articulation and too sacred to risk profaning. May we all be pregnant with the mysterious blessings of God, planted in us until it is time for their birth. May we believe the promises and guard them until they are made known to all.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 23, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Blessings of 2010: #8 – New Covenant

2010-12-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

[As the year comes to an end, I am listing a few of the things that happened during 2010 for which I am most thankful. The list is not in order of significance.]

“The person who values their vision of community more than they value the community is destined to destroy community.” (Bonheoffer, paraphrased)

Those words by the martyred German theologian are ever before me. One cannot, at least, should not, endeavor to serve as a pastor without a clear vision of what the church should be as a community of faith. You must love the church as it is and as it should be. The temptation is to focus so much on what the church should be that one rejects the church that is present.

New Covenant started as two small-groups meeting in homes twenty two years ago next month. I led both groups and I had a strong vision of what the church should be. Its two decades later and my core vision is the same. I have let go of micro managing the details and found more freedom to trust God to work through his people. In short, I have let go of my vision in order to keep my vision alive. My vision is that it is God who must give the vision.

In recent years I have been over extended at the seminary and I have survived as a pastor. In some ways I feel like Rip Van Winkle, I have awoke from a long nightmare of accreditation to discover the world has changed. Our church has become a most wonderful congregation while I slept.

We have an outstanding group of people. They love God and each other. They are charitable and compassionate. They are diverse: multi-generational, multi-ethnic, and from a broad socio-economic spectrum.

In 2010 I have been especially blessed by the children, youth, and worship at New Covenant. The children are so much joy to be with. They are an important component of our congregation. Vernice Blackaby, our Children’s Pastor, has nurtured and taught them until they are excited about being at church.

The youth of our church are phenomenal. They love God and are committed disciples. They take their walk with Christ very seriously. My heart leaps when I think about them, so gifted, devoted, and open to the work of God in their lives. Brian Dalton, our Youth Pastor, with his wife Tamera, have led the group into true Christian fellowship and lives characterized by prayer and worship.

Worship at New Covenant has always been a challenge. Diversity in people includes diversity in worship preferences. A couple of years ago our Worship Pastor resigned unexpectedly and the Praise Team/Musicians felt led to work together without a Worship Pastor. They are very gifted. Our most prominent vocalist, Jennifer Dickhut, took the lead and did a phenomenal job seeking God for the music selection and coordinating the team.

By the end of this summer, the time was right to designate a new Worship Pastor and God sent us Justin Spears and his family. Our worship has moved to a higher level. We are having a renewal of freedom in all aspects of our worship. I am especially blessed to see teens on the drama team and joining the musicians on Sunday mornings.

I would not risk leaving someone out, so I will not try to list all of the individuals who are a constant encouragement to me. Suffice it to say that the most striking characteristic of New Covenant is that we truly are the family of God. And I am so pleased with this family. For twenty two years they have held me and encouraged me to be the best I can be. They have kept the vision alive and shrunk the distance between what is and what should be. We have been through some tough times over the years, but 2010 has been a season of rest (spiritual), renewal, and blessing. I am thankful.

The one negative about 2010 is that we had some very significant members to move away. We always have people moving, but this year was especially challenging. Kim, Lisa, Matthew, the Nuritinovs, and the Buteaus, we miss you. You are still part of our family.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 22, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for my Wedding Anniversary

2010-12-21T20:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we planned to drive to Virginia to see Alethea and her family. About an hour into the drive our transmission failed without any prior warning. Since Cheryl’s car has over 338,000 miles we agreed to purchase a new one. We spent yesterday afternoon and evening researching on line. Since we have not purchased a vehicle in ten years, a car in thirteen, we were a little surprised at developments in transportation and ink.

Today was the thirty sixth anniversary of our wedding. We spent the day on a romantic retreat, car shopping that is, and I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I bought my wife a Lexus. It just dawned on me that for the rest of my life every anniversary present will be compared with 2010. “Oh, I love it, almost as much as …”. I have a real dilemma; how do I perpetuate the myth that I bought her a Lexus for our 36th anniversary and create amnesia during December every year?

I admit that it is a myth I bought the car for her. The truth is the payments will come out of her account, but don’t remind her of that, except in December each year. Next year I might get her a Chevrolet Silverado, paid out of her account of course.

For some reason back on June 1 of this year I wrote about our wedding (http://jackiespeaks.blogspot.com/2010/06/i-am-thankful-for-my-wedding-day.html). I will not repeat myself here except to restate my vows. On December 21, 1974 I promised Cheryl before God and multiple witnesses:

“Cheryl, I vow unto you in essence one vow; I shall love you as God intends for a man to love his wife.

For just as Jesus Christ is even now searching the world to find those persons without spot or blemish who shall comprise his bride, so have I searched and found in you the qualities I desire for my wife.

I will cherish you more than silver or gold or any earthly possession.

I will provide for your earthly needs to the best of my abilities even as God gives me strength.

I will protect you from all harm even with the laying down of my life if need be.

Cheryl, this is my vow to you; I will love you as God intends for a man to love his wife.”

I was young and naive. I knew what I was saying but I had limited understanding of the implications of my words. Youthful idealism is always challenged when it attaches itself to divergent thinking. Cheryl has never reminded me of my pledges that day. God has.

Today, I celebrate thirty six years of discovering the challenge and beauty of divergent thought. And with all that experience, I am honored to renew those vows to the bride of my youth. She is my pearl of great price. I am thankful for this day of celebrating our hopes, dreams, and promises fulfilled.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 21, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Blessings of 2010: #7 – BICC Involvement

2010-12-20T17:02:00.001-08:00

[As the year comes to an end, I am listing a few of the things that happened during 2010 for which I am most thankful. The list is not in order of significance.]

I am thankful for my involvement in the Bradley Initiative for Church and Community. I wrote about BICC on November 8th, but as the year draws to a close I am compelled to list it as one part of my life for which I carry constant thanksgiving.

Last year I lead BICC in a comprehensive strategic planning project. We clarified our core values, revived our vision, restructured, and developed a plan for continued improvement. One product of that endeavor was to renew our commitment to listen to the community, study the systemic root causes of issues facing our neighbors, and design and implement programs that address those root causes.

In our restructuring, we created the Vision Commission to oversee the listening and program development component of our mission. I was asked to chair this commission. The Commission meets monthly. We will be launching our “Spring Forward” campaign in January. We have about thirty churches involved at this point. In January and February we will conduct the community interviews; our goal is to interview five thousand people. If all goes well we will announce a community development project drawn from those interviews next September. Hundreds of people from dozens of churches will be involved. It is beautiful when followers of Christ come together across denominational lines to build a just and compassionate society of equal opportunity.

Perhaps my greatest pleasure with BICC centers on our core value of Bible study. In all of our meetings we take time to read a Scripture text and discuss it. Typically, we choose the text from the daily readings in the lectionary. In this plan we avoid personal agendas and focus of the Word of God. Although I am certain we do not all agree on the interpretation of the Scriptures, I do not recall a single conflict in these studies. Instead each person is allowed to share their sense of what God is saying through the text. I always come away instructed and encouraged. I also marvel at how close we are in agreement about the core truths of the Bible. It is amazing to witness this fellowship centered on the Bread of Life.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 20, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Blessings of 2010: #6 – AMERC Election

2010-12-19T15:21:00.000-08:00

[As the year comes to an end, I am listing a few of the things that happened during 2010 for which I am most thankful. The list is not in order of significance.]

I have never been accused of lacking in self confidence. I owe this delusion of being a competent, high performer to having learned two principles early in life. First, avoid doing in public anything you know you are not good at doing. Second, never brag on your abilities; it is much more fun to be the dark horse who wins than the favorite who chokes in the home stretch. Anyone can be self confident if they avoid opportunities for failure and they can fade into the crowd until it’s time to get the job done.

I don’t know how the seeds of these principles were planted, but I do know the garden in which they germinated and grew, Junior High Band. I played the trumpet. I wasn’t very good; I have the wrong teeth/jaw structure to be very good. At least that’s what my High School Band Director told me when he was talking me into being the drum major.

In Junior High I worked hard and moved up from third chair, third part (repeat the same note over and over and over in tempo) to second chair, first part (play the melody). When I moved into that lofty position I knew I didn’t want to go any further. First chair, first part got all the solos. In Junior High the trumpet solo always required hitting and holding a high note. In my day, Junior High trumpet players almost always missed that note. There they stood in a black coat and bow tie, with all eyes on them and all ears perfectly pitched when out blared the sound of a cat when the rocker rolls over its tail. I knew from my first concert I didn’t want to be that person.

The pundits want us to believe it is people like me who are holding the world back from entering utopia. The only people who make history are those driven to be number one, those who can only be satisfied with finishing first. Those are the people who become President of the United States. Yes, they are; now think about that.

I beg to disagree with the pundits. The persons who impact the world for good are not those who are driven to finish first, but rather those who are driven to finish well. That is the difference between those who want to be known as the best in their field and those who want to be their best. The first tend to get elected to offices only to abandon the ship when they are out of the lime light (what in the world is a “lime light?”). The latter are often overlooked for accolades but remain steadfast at their post until the cargo is unloaded.

I am not certain I qualify for either type. I do downplay winning, but I can’t claim to truly strive to always be my best. I am a work horse and I do pull the plow straight and deep (switching metaphors again). I am most pleased with myself when people describe me as being good at what I do. I just enjoy doing things well. The consequence being that I live life over extended, resulting in often doing many things not so well.

In practical terms I am content to be the Vice-president who chairs committees of action rather than to be the President. I have been on the Board of Directors for the Bradley Initiative for Church and Community (BICC) for most of its twelve-year history, having served on the organizational board. I have been the Vice-president of BICC for the past couple of years, but I chair the organization’s Vision Commission which is charged with the formation of community development projects.

Likewise, I have been on the Board of the Appalachian Ministries Educational Resource Center with offices in Berea, Kentucky (AMERC) for over fifteen years, serving on the Executive Committee of the Board for the past five years and as Vice Chair for the past couple of years. I have had no desire to be the President/Chair of either of these organizations. I get my thrills just being a contributing member.

Having built my case for excessive humility (an acquaintance once told me his spiritual gift was humility and he was proud of it), I must confess that I am thankful for the honor of being elected last weekend to serve as Chair of the Board of Directors for AMERC, a renewable, one-year term. Help me hope and pray this wonderful organization remains solvent until they can find a qualified leader.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 19, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Blessings of 2010: #5 -- Thanksgiving Day

2010-12-18T14:59:00.000-08:00

[As the year comes to an end, I am listing a few of the things that happened during 2010 for which I am most thankful. The list is not in order of significance.]

This is my third entry on Thanksgiving. On October 1, I wrote a nostalgic piece extolling Thanksgiving as, among other things, the first day of the Christmas season. It has always been one of my favorite holidays. On Thanksgiving day I wrote a paragraph of thanksgiving for that specific day. Three weeks have past and I am still enjoying the memories of that day.

In October I wrote glowingly of the significance of the first American holiday while I was in fact anticipating a depressing holiday. It was Alethea and Karisa’s year to spend Thanksgiving with their in-laws. I had no plans and correspondingly low expectations.

But then my sister, Shirley, suggested Jimmy and Iris might be willing to come up. We had a plan. When the holiday arrived Jimmy and Iris were able to make the trip and spend a couple of nights with us. Shirley, Mike, Ryan, and Andrea came from Atlanta. We also had a couple of students who attend our church join us for the feast. If we are in town, we always tried to have some guests who would otherwise be alone that day.

Everyone pitched in; the meal was perfect; the fellowship was refreshing. It was the best Thanksgiving I have had since my father died in 2003. I kept thinking Mom must be looking down from Heaven smiling and calling out, “Did anybody get the rolls out of the oven?”

The day could only have been better if our girls and their families, and Darlene and her family would have been here. It may be time to start planning for family reunions.

No family is perfect; we have our disagreements and topics to avoid (politics in general, Hillary Clinton in particular). But I have a most wonderful family and we are friends. This Thanksgiving those truths were brought to the surface, stirred and simmered to perfection. For this I am continuing in a state of Thanksgiving. And, yes, Mom, we got the rolls out before they burned.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 18, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Blessings of 2010: #4 – Family Vacation

2010-12-17T14:48:00.000-08:00

[As the year comes to an end, I am listing a few of the things that happened during 2010 for which I am most thankful. The list is not in order of significance.]

I am thankful for our family vacation on Saint George Island.

One of my mother’s favorite maxims was “It’s going to come home to roost on your own head, son.” It took me a long time to figure out this image was the Cracker version of “You will reap what you sow.” For some reason her pithy saying almost always ended with “son.” I’m not confessing to having been a problem child; I’m just admitting that my mother may (emphasis on “may”) have seen me that way from time to time.

I’m 57 years old and a lot of things have returned to adorn my head and leave their droppings at my feet. About all you can do in those situations is appreciate your Momma’s clairvoyance, give thanks for the free fertilizer, and just get use to the stains.

One of my sins against my mother was that when I got married I moved a great distance from home. The closest we lived to my parents was 400 miles. That meant that at best I saw them five or six times a year. I did try to spend at least a week with them every summer and another week at Christmas time. Cheryl and I also put forth a special effort to see that our daughters got to spend time with them.

The bitterness of my transgression was intensified when Mom and Dad retired and moved to the farm. My Aunt Betty and Uncle Moncie lived a quarter mile up the road and they have a large, loving family. Their God-fearing, mother-honoring clan stayed close to home; all but one of them could be at their mother's table in twenty minutes. And their sister was less than two hours away.

To hear my mother tell it, Aunt Betty and Uncle Moncie’s clan, all seventy or eighty of them, got together every few weeks. “They were all there, except for Bill (their grandson), and he’s in the Air Force stationed somewhere way overseas, don’t you know.” That is, he’s not just up in Tennessee.

“I just want to see my whole family together more than once a year for a few minutes,” she would add. Although she didn’t say it, I could hear her thoughts, “This is going to come home to roost on your own head, son. You mark my words.”

I did mark a lot of her words and I do think of them often. Alethea, Justin, Camdyn, and Charlie live in Haymarket, Virginia; that’s a nine hour drive. Karisa and Johnmark live in Wheaton, Illinois; that’s a ten and one half hour drive. It seems we will not be getting together a lot. [Girls, mark my words; it will come home to roost.]

It is wonderful to be with any of them. Some of my cherished memories are when we have been just with Alethea and her family or when we have been just with Karisa and Johnmark. In either of those situations I can spend more focused time with each one.

On the other hand, there is something extra special about being all together.

This year we were all together for vacation on St. George Island on the Gulf coast of Florida. It is our favorite vacation place. Last year we were in the Smoky Mountains together. Next year I am hopeful we will vacation somewhere together. Rumor has it that we might be camping in the Shenandoah National Park together.

St. George is great because it is on Florida’s “Forgotten Coast.” It is not crowded and lacks any touristy ambiance. It’s like stepping back in time. Families are there enjoying the beach, relaxing, and entertaining themselves. I will be thankful wherever we go next. The gift to me is just being together. Scenic views are a bonus.

That’s the view from my well fertilized garden of hopes and dreams.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 17, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Blessings of 2010: #3 -- Trip to New York

2010-12-16T16:10:00.000-08:00

[As the year comes to an end, I am listing a few of the things that happened during 2010 for which I am most thankful. The list is not in order of significance.]

I am thankful for the few days I spent with Cheryl in New York in June. We have been blessed to travel around the world, Cheryl more than I. We have been together in Italy, twice, in England, Mexico, and in Canada. In The USA we have been together in Seattle, Los Angelis, Milwaukee, Orlando, San Antonio, Dallas, Indianapolis, and a host of other places. Virtually all of these trips have been for business.

When we travel we usually plan to spend a few extra days relaxing and seeing the sights. We plan poorly. Or, to be fair, there are always pressing engagements back at home that require us to go and come as quickly as possible. We use to say we were going to write a series of travel guides based on our experiences: “Venice in a Morning,” “London in a Day,” “Toronto in an Afternoon,” “Washington, D.C. Between Rush Hours,” etc.

I cannot recall a time when we have been in a city and felt free to see the things we wanted to see at the pace we desired. Cheryl’s sabbatical leave in New York City afforded that opportunity. I am not suggesting that we saw more than a small portion of that mega-polis; I am simply stating we toured the city, and saw many significant historical and cultural sites. The central difference being that we were not rushed. We took our time inhaling the experiences. We saw a Broadway Play (“Fences” with Denzel Washington); we ate at a really nice restaurant; we saw Time Square and the Statue of Liberty; we spent hours in the Metropolitan Museum of Art; we visited with some friends; and we walked, a lot.

New York is now added to the Pantheon of our great getaways as a couple: the cruise, evenings in Venice, driving the countryside of England, and Arizona (plus Zion National Park). The golden years are hopefully still ahead of us, but the silver decades are turning out rather nicely as we wait. I am blessed and I am thankful.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 16, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Blessings of 2010: #2 -- Accreditation

2010-12-15T16:29:00.000-08:00

[As the year comes to an end, I am listing a few of the things that happened during 2010 for which I am most thankful. The list is not in order of significance.]

I am thankful for the opportunity to contribute to the reaffirmation of accreditation for our seminary. Last summer the commission on accreditation for the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada reaffirmed the accreditation of our degrees for ten years. In December a year ago the commission of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools also reaffirmed our accreditation for ten years.

I directed our school through both accreditation projects as I had done ten years earlier. Only, in the first series we were able to combine the processes into one program. This time changes at SACS required us to complete two separate processes almost simultaneously. In both cases I gave four to five years of my life to getting our accreditation reaffirmed and in both cases I was publicly thanked, at least once.

Directing the reaffirmation processes is a little difficult to describe. When I was first assigned the task in 1995, God spoke very plainly to me that He had brought me to the Seminary at that time for that purpose. I accepted the role as a divine call with a corresponding sense of responsibility. Frankly, it was an enormous task. Although we were already accredited by both associations, we had not fully implemented the programs and processes needed to maintain that accreditation. We did not have “a culture of assessment and effectiveness,” the catchwords for accreditation. In other words, we had done what was needed to get accredited but we had not internalized the accreditation standards especially as it related to Institutional Effectiveness. While directing the reaffirmation process I was also designing and implementing an institution-wide program of planning and effectiveness in an environment that did not see the need for long-range planning. I injured my health in the process; it was an uphill battle to get us reaffirmed.

When the assignment came again in 2005 I didn’t feel the same sense of divine call. It was no longer my job to get us reaffirmed; my job was to direct the process that (1) reminded everyone of the accreditation standards, (2) designed a program for departmental self-assessment and reporting, (3) monitored and supervised progress, and (4) combined the efforts of others into two single reports. It was a lot of stressful work, but I was not driven to help the school meet the standards; my job was to supervise the comprehensive programs of self-assessment. I was no longer responsible for whether we met the standards or not; I was responsible for whether we met the standards relative to the preparation of institutional self-studies. The administrators and faculty are responsible for meeting the day-to-day standards. That is the way it is supposed to work.

In the end, our school came out very well with both associations, much better than I expected. I was certain we would be reaffirmed by both, but I expected multiple notations by both requiring a myriad of follow-up reports. We only had a couple with each association. Those who have been involved with accreditation will know that our's was an exceptionally good outcome. Most schools have multiple notations.

I am thankful our accreditation was reaffirmed and that I directed the processes. It is largely a misunderstood and thankless job. I got no extra pay for it, just a reduction in teaching load. I am confident my roll was critical to the process and my gifts were well used. I did a good job and that feels good. A large bonus would have been great, but I’m content with self aggrandizement.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 15, 2010 (P.M.)
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Blessings of 2010: #1 -- Finances

2010-12-15T05:19:00.001-08:00

As the year comes to an end, I will list a few of the things that happened during 2010 for which I am most thankful. The list will not be in order of significance.

First, I am thankful that in 2010 we have paid down some of our debt by a significant amount. I don’t like debt. It occupies too much of my mental and emotional energies. This year I have closely monitored our debt, restricted my spending, increased my payments and watched our debt shrink.

The biggest portions of our debt are of course our house and an investment property. If the Lord blesses us with health and employment, we will retire debt free. Not every centenarian can say that.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 15, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Children of New Covenant

2010-12-13T06:39:00.001-08:00

We had our “Christmas children’s program” last night. In truth the youth carried the program; they had all the speaking parts and they did a phenomenal job “cooking up Christmas.” But the children were the center piece and they were precious singing as a choir dressed in chef’s attire. At one point they distributed cupcakes to the audience. I got two.

We have always placed an emphasis not on the programs we do for children but on those things they do with us. Every Sunday we do a children’s sermon in our morning worship. Usually I gather them around me on the altars and we talk. I sometimes explain to them and the congregation why this is an important element in our worship.

I want our children to grow up knowing they belong with us in the presence of God. I also want them to “gain their voice” in the house of God. I want them to be comfortable speaking in public and I want them to know they might be used of God to bless others with their words. Over arching all of this, I want them to know they are loved and they are important to us. In a congregation our size (100) every child should be known by name by every adult.

It is important to me that our children experience Godly touch, hugs and that they learn about improper touch. I greet all of them with a hug. And every year I do a children’s sermon about proper touch challenging them to report any improper to touch to their parents, me, and/or another adult they trust. I believe physical contact is critical to the development of a healthy self-concept; we know ourselves best in fellowship with others.

I know that as pastor, the one up front with the microphone, I can be intimidating. Therefore, I have to work especially hard to win the trust of our children. Jesus did not make this an option; He declared children to belong in the center of the life of the church. They are to be received, blessed, and emulated.

There are many measurements of the health of a church (sincerity and fervency of worship, genuineness of fellowship, consistency of witness, normalcy of acts of compassion, etc.), but one of the most overlooked is the valued presence of children.

Children are more than romanticized reminders of our past and hopeful glimpses of the future. They are the signs of the Kingdom of God. They are God’s gift to us and His presence among us. Through them He continually speaks of His love, righteousness, tenderness, and mercy.

I have no greater challenge, joy, or sense of fulfillment than when I connect with a child, that moment when their eyes whisper to me “Pastor, I love you” and their smile counters, “And, Pastor, I know you love me, too.” From these children I draw strength to be a pastor to adults and courage to face the giants of my own life.

That’s the news from New Covenant, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 13, 2010
JDJ

P.S. I just did a search of this series and of the 300 plus entries this year 75 make reference to "children." As they say, "Once a man, twice a child."

I am Thankful for the Seasons of God’s Silence

2010-12-11T19:20:00.001-08:00

Of truth I would that God spoke verbally to me every day. Life would be so much easier if He would direct my path with specific, timely, contextual directives each morning. Instead, His pattern is to surreptitiously confront me with opportunities to discern His leading.

WWJD is an entertaining approach to decision making, but it fails to provide assurance God is leading us. The question I keep asking myself is WITWIGSN, what in the world is God saying now. We should always endeavor to live our lives according to the righteous standard set by Jesus (WWJD). But His promise was that He would be with us, His Spirit would lead and teach us. He is not some idealized pattern for life; He is life.

If Jesus is present and His Spirit is teaching me, why can’t I hear them more clearly more often? The answer lies in the fact that God speaks in all the languages we are capable of comprehending and most of those languages are non-verbal. The Hebrew word for “word” (debar) embraces all acts of communication, “words” and actions. A word (word or action) always flows out of a person as a revelation to the intended recipient.

God is speaking in all the events of our lives. He orders our paths and directs our feet causing all things to work together for our good, and this for all who love Him and are called according to His purposes. In every good event and every crises and all the mundane in between, God is speaking. The question of importance is not whether I am making wise decisions, but whether I know Him as Sovereign Lord of all of the dimensions of my life. What is God saying now?

In my experience, God’s words to me are often shouted in silence. He speaks not through the English language but through the circumstances of life. And His message is not always one of understanding but one of trust. “Do you trust me?”

Trusting Him, in His providential care, is stressful at times, frightening at others, and confusing at still others. The Christian life is by faith and not by sight or sound. Do I really believe God is acting in my behalf at all times and in all circumstances? Do I really believe Jesus is with me when my spirit knows only the chasm of silence?

I do not enjoy those seasons of silence, but I am thankful for them. In them and their companion, despair, I learn much more of God than my feeble English language can comprehend. In those times, He gives Himself to me as the very foundation of my being, the breath of my living, the fountain of my affections and I know Him, the “I AM That I Am.” And so I have come to know that He gives Himself, not just His thoughts or His ideas, but Himself, to me when He speaks through language and when He speaks through events.

I have also learned that I am deaf to His words when I grovel in self-pity and especially when I grumble against the Great I Am.

Thoughts from near Polk County.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 11, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Our Freezer(s)

2010-12-10T19:51:00.000-08:00

We take for granted the conveniences afforded to us by modernity, cars, telephones, airplanes, indoor plumbing, etc. I am thankful for all of them; Okay, most of them. Perhaps the one I most take for granted is the freezer. We have a chest freezer, an upright freezer, and a freezer on both refrigerators. Each of them is full of food. The upright has our beef, the chest has our fruit, nuts and miscellaneous stuff. The spare refrigerator/freezer in the basement has meat set aside for Alethea and Karisa. The kitchen refrigerator/freezer, the one you would think we use the most and therefore we keep organized, resembles instead an overstuffed closet, the one that explodes all over your feet when you open the door. It contains the items we theoretically plan to use in the near future. Most of it has been in there for years.

Because of the freezer we always have accessible quality, healthy food. I suspect the electricity used overtakes any savings from buying in quantity or on special sales. Thus, the freezer is all about convenience and accessibility. But tonight I am thankful for our freezers because they are best at preserving desserts. Pastries can be frozen for days, or even weeks if sealed, and then warmed in the microwave coming out as fresh as just-baked. Tonight, I am also thankful for the microwave and Panera cinnamon rolls.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 10, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Kindness of Strangers

2010-12-09T21:12:00.001-08:00

We live in a dangerous world, or at least we are convinced we do. When I was in the first grade my sister and I walked home from school on most days. The distance was well over a mile. No one thought anything about it. Almost everyone walked to and from school. Today we are afraid to ever let our children/grandchildren out of our sight.

In my youth we often stopped to pick up hitchhikers. “Riding your thumb” was an accepted mode of transportation. It seemed everyone was a good neighbor. I can’t recall the last time I saw someone trying to hitchhike and it was long before that when I last stopped to pick a stranger up. (I have stopped to help people whose car was broken down.)

I suspect the world is no less safe today than in yester years. We have all been convinced evil lurks around every corner by the entertainment industry. Horror sells. Random acts of kindness get little air time on the cable news outlets. We are constantly bombarded with two messages: (1) people are a threat and (2) fools help strangers at risk of personal injury.

In spite of these messages of fear, people continue to emulate the “good Samaritan.” They resist their impulses to drive on by and stop to help those in need. They volunteer to work in soup kitchens and homeless shelters. They work on community development projects and follow their heart to do good to the least of these.

Here in the south, people still hold the door open for others. Most drivers are courteous at stop signs and when changing lanes. Deep in our psyches remains the image of God, an impulse to do good that more often than not overrides the learned impulse to ignore the condition of others. We cherish the subliminal message that good will overcome evil and so we are kind to strangers.

Now let us work harder on doing unto our loved ones as we would have them do unto us.

That’s the view from near Polk County.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 10, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for my Niece and Nephews

2010-12-08T21:03:00.001-08:00

The year is rapidly coming to an end and I have not written about so many of the people and other gifts of life for which I am deeply thankful. Tomorrow is my nephew Ryan’s birthday which reminds me of how thankful I am for my niece and nephews. Having lived considerably closer to Ryan, I have spent more time with him than with Christina and Jonathan, but I am proud of and thankful for all three of them.

Christina is the oldest child of my baby sister, Darlene and her husband Thurman. She is married to Ronnie Jennings and they have two charming daughters, Kathryn and Natalia. Christina was a quiet and charming little girl. She was especially attached to my mother; I always felt she had an instinctive drive to heal my mother’s hurts. I know Mom identified with her in a special way. After a stint in the Air Force and taking time to have her girls, she went back to school and became a nurse. I think she has that special temperament to be a great nurse, a fusion of compassion and strength.

Jonathan is my youngest nephew. My recollections of his childhood are mostly attached to my father. Mom use to say he reminded her of me, always tagging along with Dad helping him work. Of all of us he seems to have gotten Dad’s quiet, unpretentious strength. The comparison extends to vocation; Dad was a truck driver and Jonathan delivers for UPS. He is married to Jennifer and they have one child, Alexander. I suspected Jennifer was the one the first time I met her.

Ryan is my sister Shirley’s only child. He is a lawyer married to a lawyer, Andrea. In high school and college Ryan was the kid who stayed active in church and went on the youth missions trips. He decided early he wanted to be a lawyer and remained steadfast in the pursuit of that dream even serving as editor of the law review in law school. Andrea practices family law in behalf of women and children at risk. They don’t have any children, yet (my “yet,” not theirs).

They are three outstanding young adults married to three equally special people. Without any reservation I proudly proclaim the world is a much better place because they are in it. They give me hope for the future. And one final note, just like my girls, they are the products of my mother’s prayers. I know God has wonderful plans for them.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 8, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Charlie

2010-12-07T19:34:00.001-08:00

Charles Ellis Allen is my favorite grandson. He is of course my only grandson. Today is his fourth birthday. He has given me so much happiness in his four years in the “entertain Papa” business. When he was an infant he would go to sleep in my arms, something he did with few people. We bonded.

Charlie is every preschool boy, only more so. Like his sister, Charlie loves the outdoors (except for his recent addiction to video games). When he visits his favorite activity is to ride on the tractor especially when we “push down trees.” He loves bats, guns, knives, swords, Johnny Cash and Taylor Swift. And he loves hugs, or at least he knows his Papa loves hugs and he is kind.

Charlie is a poster boy for nature trumps nurture. Cheryl often comments on how much he reminds her of my father. When he is thinking he stretches his arm and bends it to scratch the back of his head just the way my father would. I get a kick out of his love for weapons. Alethea is committed to non-violence and use to say her children would grow up in a weapon free house, including toys, and then came Charlie. He also has inherited the Johns’ proclivity for steadfastness, a.k.a. stubbornness.

He can be rough and careless, but he is also kind and sensitive. Did I mention he is brilliant and inquisitive? Charlie is one of God’s great blessings to my life and I am thankful for him.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 7, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Peace of Christ

2010-12-06T20:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the second Sunday of Advent. The theme was peace. It was a wonderful service; everyone seemed anointed. My sermon focused on the meaning of “shalom,” the Hebrew word for peace. Some believe the root concept is “to be joined” in the sense of “connected.” Shalom thus came to mean “complete” or “whole” with the sense of “soundness.” By extension, it could mean “health” or even “prosperity.”

The core consequence of humanity’s fall into sin is death, separation from God and life. Sin shatters. We are broken and fearful, in need of restoration, healing, reconnectedness with ourselves, our God, and creation. The atonement of Christ is not just about forgiveness; it is about restoration to wholeness. Christ came that we might have life and that to the fullest. He came to heal, to reconnect the pieces of his creation. His kingdom is “of joy, peace, and righteousness in the Holy Spirit.”

Properly understood, peace is not the absence of conflict, or even the presence of tranquility. It is wholeness in the midst of the tempest, connectedness in the face of destruction. When David asked a messenger about the battle his men were fighting (“how goes the battle”) his actual words were how is the peace of the battle? Peace is not freedom from the struggle, it is fighting the good fight of faith with confidence. This is the peace Jesus gives, assurance He is present causing all things to work together for our good. He is our peace. In Him we are whole, are becoming whole, and are destined for eternal wholness.

That’s my view from near Polk County.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 6, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for My Mother’s Birthday

2010-12-05T18:58:00.000-08:00

Today is the day we would have celebrated my mother’s eightieth birthday. We would have celebrated her birth today but she wasn’t born on December fifth. She had always thought that was her birthday, but she, like all of her siblings, was born at home without a doctor present. When she turned sixty-two she applied for social security as a dependent of my Dad. (She had never worked outside of the home.) When she went to get proof of birth she discovered her birth date was actually December 6.

Mom passed over into the presence of the Lord at the end of March, 1998. Her life was marked by uncommon love: love for God, love for the Word of God, love for my father, love for her children and grandchildren, love for her parents and siblings, love for her nieces and nephews and their children, love for her church family, and the list goes on. Her love was deep, longsuffering, and pure.

Her sixty-eight years were also marked by uncommon pain, physical pain. She had chronic kidney problems from the time of her early teens: stones, tumors, prolapsed valve, and atrophy. In the late sixties she was told she had just a few years to live. God promised her she would live to see her children grow up and she did. He didn’t promise her freedom from pain and she suffered daily. In her words, “it’s like a hot knife stuck through my kidney and someone is twisting it all the time.” In 1976 one of her kidneys was removed and she was told that she would soon have to live on dialysis. God promised her she would not have to live on dialysis and she didn’t. For twenty years a series of doctors told her she would be on dialysis within six months, but she never was at least not until the last three days of her life.

Everyone who knew my mother knew she was passionate about serving God. She loved to teach and preach the Bible. The Presence and the Word of God were woven into every conversation. Those who spent any time in her house knew she was a fervent prayer warrior. She talked to God and He often talked to her. When she died I became a catholic in the sense that I now occasionally talk to a saint in heaven with full assurance that she is praying for me and that she has the ear of Jesus. If God answered her prayers when she was with us, surely He is answering her prayers now that she is with Him.

Missing her greatly and remembering her fondly on her birthday.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 5, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Hallmark Channel

2010-12-04T21:40:00.000-08:00

[Warning: Parents should read this entry before they let their children near it.]

We subscribe to the “Dish Network” for television viewing. We get the basic package, no HBO, or Showtime, or Hallmark channel. Occasionally, they give us free teaser previews of some channels for a few weeks. Currently, we are getting the Hallmark channel. It is of course full of cheesy Christmas movies at this time of year. It is amazing how many plots can be created to preserve faith in Santa Clause. I have discovered there are also a host of movies devoted to preserving the spirit of Christmas without reference to the red clad oversized elf.

I have not seen, or seen advertised, a movie on Hallmark this week that deals with Christ or the Biblical account of His birth. Years ago that would have offended my presumed righteous sensibilities. I was greatly concerned with keeping Christ in Christmas. I still have that desire but I recognize we have moved into a post-modern, post-Christian era.

When Cheryl and I married we agreed we would not include Santa in our family tradition; Christmas would be about the Advent of Christ and free from commercialism. We were naïve. Santa was woven into the DNA of our parents and central to the holiday season.

When Alethea was an infant we were at Cheryl’s family for Christmas. We rushed home after the church Christmas program to get the baby into bed. As the rest of the family came in I was sitting, reading my Bible. Cheryl’s baby sister, Ruth, was telling about a preschooler at church whom she had asked “what is Santa bringing you for Christmas.” The young child had responded, “Nothing. There is no Santa Clause. My parents buy my gifts.”

Cheryl’s mother was especially appalled at the irreverence of this new generation (mine). I was keeping quiet and staying out of the commotion. All conversations at the Bridges are accurately described as a “commotion;” Everyone talks at once and everyone talks loud.

Thelma pressed me, “What do you think about that, Jackie?”

“About what?” I responded feigning ignorance and preparing my response.

“About a child being taught there is no Santa Claus?” she clarified.

My response was ready but little did I know it was going to be the shot heard around the world and I was about to earn my red badge of courage. As nonchalantly as I could I responded, “I think it may have been good if we would have never started teaching them there was a Santa.”

There was an instant of complete silence and a collective gasp followed by Thelma’s all too frequent thundering, screeching voice of rebuke, “You shut –up, go to your room and read your Bible.” I did go to my room, but not to read my Bible. I was more determined than ever to free my children from the myth of Santa. I just didn’t know how I was going to navigate that mine field.

We agreed to simply teach our children there was no Santa, but that it was best to not talk about it with our families or other children. Many families wanted their children to believe in Santa.

It was Alethea’s third Christmas when we put our careful plan into action. We sat her down and gave our speech. She listened carefully, acknowledged her understanding, but offered no other response. A few days later she came up to me with her big eyes wide open, took me by the hand and spoke, “Daddy, I know there is no Santa, but would it be Okay if we just pretend there is one.”

My heart melted and I gave in, “Yes, Baby, it will be Okay for us to pretend there is a Santa.” In that moment I became a believer (in Santa) all over again. I didn’t have to worry about children being confused or about them being set up to doubt the existence of God. Later, I would come to understand that Childhood imagination is an important stepping stone to a lasting faith in God.

Santa Claus is one of the central myths of Western cultures, a myth that embodies many of the core values of Christianity. This character affords a wonderful platform from which to teach our children the meaning of the incarnation and the influence of Christ on human history.

As of tonight, I am thankful the Hallmark channel is keeping the myth alive.

That’s my view from somewhere close to Polk County.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 4, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for my Sons in Law

2010-12-03T21:18:00.000-08:00

I have two sons in law, Justin and Johnmark. I am thankful for both of them. They are good to my daughters and Justin is a good father to my grand-children. I am confident Johnmark will be a great father as well. Justin is a Methodist minister and Johnmark is probably going to be an Anglican minister.

I have put off this entry for eleven months. I have little concern about their response; its their wives’ possible reactions that cause me to pause. Parents are not supposed to have opinions, especially about the person’s who marry their children. And so I delve into a place where smarter men would know to avoid.

Alethea met Justin at Wesley Seminary. I had advised her to go to seminary between college and medical school. (“There’s a difference between a doctor who is a Christian and a Christian doctor.”) I thought she would come to our seminary, but I was naïve. At any rate they met, fell in love, and married after her first year of medical school. It seemed providential that Justin go through the ordination process in Memphis, his Grandfather’s conference in the Methodist church.

Stepping backward a moment, Justin actually proposed to Alethea shortly after her move to Memphis. We were all over there together and drove back to Cleveland in two cars. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel in Nashville on the way home. I ordered a pork dish; I always have chicken and dumplings at Cracker Barrel, but for some reason I was adventurous. Adventure is a prelude to food poisoning.

All night long I blessed a trash can next to my bed. The following morning Justin had to leave but he needed to talk with me before he left. I put on my house coat and stumbled downstairs to the den where he nervously asked for my blessing to marry Alethea.

Not in my best form, I responded that my blessing was not important; it was God’s blessing he needed. I asked why he wanted to marry my daughter, did he believe it to be God’s will and if so why did he believe it to be the will of God? I don’t think he was prepared for a final exam, but he responded with sincerity. I responded with a promise, “If you are good to her, I’ll be the best friend you have in the world. If you are not, you will answer to me, and according to my theology God will forgive me.”

I later heard he told his family I threatened to kill him if he mistreated Alethea. The next time I saw him I reminded him of my exact words. I did not use the word “kill” or make any reference to violence. I added, “However, your interpretation of my statement has significantly improved my estimation of your skills as an exegete.”

I gave the same speech to Johmark, but I suspect it had lost its flair through the distortions of family lore. He didn’t seem the least bit intimidated. Maybe I should have eaten some spoiled fish the night before, just for effect.

The truth be told, I am thankful I did not choose my sons in law. I would have blown that most important of decisions for all of them. At least I had enough sense to trust Alethea and Karisa to find their soul mates (written with the full conviction I had a choice). They chose well and were chosen well.

As far as I can tell, and I am observing closely, Justin and Johnmark are both very good husbands to my daughters: they love God, work hard, play hard, and they support my daughters to follow God's call on their lives. And I am the best friend they have in the world, whether they know it or not. Good friends keep you honest and stay out of your business at the same time.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 2, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for My I-Phone

2010-12-02T20:40:00.000-08:00

Telephones are wonderful inventions. They have many pleasant uses. Old fashion land-line phones are decorative artifacts of modern history. Our great-grandchildren will collect them as antiques or visit museums to see them. We should begin now to think of them as conversation pieces. Cell phones have multiplied the usefulness of these plastic wonders; I most often use mine either for entertainment (solitaire) or as a paper weight. I confess I have reached for it as legal “brass knuckles” (never used) in a couple of dark allies. And of course its best use is for pretend calls during a boring meeting -- “Sorry, I’ve got to take this one.”

You might be getting the impression I don’t like phones. Give yourself bonus points for critical reasoning skills. I have never liked phones. I am a visual communicator; I need to see the face of the person with whom I am talking. Long before cell phones, it was a status symbol to have a phone in the restroom. Why in the world would anyone want to bring the world into their most private moments?

I have had a cell phone for a long time, but in my psyche it exists for my convenience and not the convenience of the world. More often than not I leave it in my truck or at home or I forget to recharge it. I have been intentional about not being accessible to everybody on demand. I seldom answer my cell phone. I return calls. If I am making a trip, I have it with me in case of emergencies. I use an earpiece and make use of the time calling family members.

I have used smart phones for some time. Basically they are versatile miniature computers in which I can keep a lot of information, i.e., contact lists. But they also double as digital photo albums, calculators, voice recorders, note pads, and, oh yes, phones. I also keep a couple of searchable Bible translations in them for anytime reading.

I like my smart phones, except for the phone part. My last one finally gave up the ghost (several keys on the key pad had to be punched multiple times to work, and it started calling numbers spontaneously; it even sent a blank text message to someone I rarely call). I gave in and bought an I-phone 4. As a long-term Microsoft user I have inner sensations of crossing over to the dark side. I have resolved to not begin talking bad about PC’s and I will not talk endlessly about my I-phone. My friends brag about theirs more than they do their grand-children.

I am thankful for my i-phone. It serves all the purposes named above and it is an i-pod. It is that last feature that drew me to the i-phone. I don’t care to download music. What I wanted was an easy-to-use audible Bible. I have already downloaded it, and listened to Joshua as I drove around today. I now have a cell phone that includes everything I have wanted in my smart phones for years and I am pleased.

If you want to talk about it, give me a call. I'll return your call some day. Don't bother texting; I've had that feature turned off. I won't be reading my emails on it either. I dislike emails even more than phones.

Stay in touch, if you can.

Cleveland, Tennessee
December 2, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for my Mother's KJV

2010-11-30T20:37:00.000-08:00

My mother loved the Bible. She loved teaching the Bible and preaching the Bible. When I was very young she taught preschool children in Sunday school and Vacation Bible School. As time progressed she moved up to older children, then youth, and finally adults. She studied some throughout the week, but Saturday evenings were devoted to lesson preparation. She would open her commentary and her Bibles on her bed and kneel beside them and study. She had every English translation available: King James, New American Standard, Revised Standard, New International, Living Bible, Good News For Modern Man, and multiple copies of some of them. She had parallel translations and interlinear Hebrew and Greek copies. There would be copies of the popular study Bibles, and Naves Topical. Squeezed in between them would be one volume commentaries such as Ellicott’s and Matthew Henry’s. She read and prayed over every one of them every week.

Fast forward several decades and my mother is visiting with us. After the Sunday morning service, following a great meal, we are talking, she complements my sermon and continues “Son, why don’t you preach out of the King James Bible.”

I responded with an informed critique of King Jimmy’s appropriateness for our times. In short, there are more accurate translations that reflect the English language as we currently speak it.

“Now Son, you know the King James is the real word of God.”

I replied, “Momma, you’re the one who taught me to read other translations. You read every translation known to the English speaking world when you prepared your Sunday School lessons.”

“Son, you know good and well I only read those Bibles to help me understand what the King James was saying.”

I love the King James Version of the Bible. It is poetic in rhythm, style, and form. It is simply beautiful. Unfortunately, it is based on less than the best ancient manuscripts and it uses an archaic vocabulary, much of which is lost on the modern reader. It gives me great pleasure to quote the KJV on those occasions when it offers the better translation (i.e., the one I prefer) in that forgotten Shakespearian style. I especially cherish my mother's KJV Bible stuffed with notes and marked on every page.

And that’s my view from somewhere close to Polk County.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 30, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for a Visit with my Friend

2010-11-30T08:04:00.000-08:00

We went to see Cheryl’s mother yesterday. She recently had another “step down.” When one of these events happens she becomes nonresponsive for a few days and gradually improves, but never to the level she was before the event. I was thankful she recognized us and called our names. She was conversational but not coherent. There were no connected clauses or clear flow of thought. She was slumped to her right side and unable or unwilling to sit up. Yet, she was in enough control to hold (in the sense of balance on the table) a container and drink from a straw.

She was in good spirits and again seemed to focus on me. I sat next to her and we smiled at each other. Keep in mind this is the woman who refused to use my right name for the first ten to fifteen years that she knew me. After a while Cheryl and her sister, Ruth, stepped to Thelma’s room to take care of something, leaving the two of us together in the activity room with several residents who were watching an old Van Johnson movie (For those under fifty, I have provided the link).

Thelma looked at me, smiled and spoke, “I like looking at you.” (Perhaps, with her dimmed eyesight, I favor Van Johnson.)

I chuckled nervously and responded, “Thanks, Thelma, you and I have had some good times through the years.”

She looked puzzled and replied, “What are you saying?”

“I think we have had some good times, don’t you?”

She shook her head, frowned and added, “You confuse me.” I guess our sparring matches have not been as meaningful for her as they have for me. The irresistible force met the immovable object and eternity will tell who won.

When Cheryl and Ruth returned I shared the exchange with them. Thelma buried her face in her hands like an embarrassed child and she chuckled.

If you have known me long or read this blog consistently you may remember that Thelma’s first words to me when we met in the spring of 1974 were, “Sonny Boy, your hair’s too long.” To which I replied, “Sister Girl, yours is too short.”

Over the past couple of years Thelma has on occasion stroked my short hair and asked if I liked it “that way.” I always said that I did and she always offered, “It’s all right.”

As we were visiting yesterday, Thelma kept reaching up and brushing the front of her own hair. Finally, she spoke, “Your hair is too short.” We have come full circle.

I have found that in these excursions into the twilight of consciousness, I often find illumination; Thelma has come to like me even if she will never like my blond, straight hair. I once told her I would be the best friend she had if she would let me, but I would not let her boss me around. Perhaps it is self-delusion, but I want to believe that in the recesses of her self-awareness she has finally come to accept me as her friend.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 30, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Gift of Hope

2010-11-28T20:19:00.001-08:00

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, 2010. Cheryl directs our special services and works with a team of talented persons. We agreed to follow the traditional themes of Advent with today focusing on “Hope.” I have received multiple complements on my sermon; I am not really pleased with it. It is often the case that if I feel disappointed with my content and/or delivery, God seems to be working overtime to speak into the lives of the congregation. Actually, this morning I was not overly disappointed since I had feared embarrassing myself and was pleased just sense God’s presence and help. I guess the sermon itself was a demonstration of the theme, hope.

Part of my disappointment was that I didn’t share a couple of points that seemed very important when I was preparing. I offer here a summary of the sermon.

Texts: Psalm 139:43, 49, 74, 81, 114, 116, 147; 130:5; Ezekiel. 37:7-14; Romans 8: 19-27.

Why is the message of hope so overlooked in the modern church? For the early church, hope was a central human affection that evidenced the presence of the Spirit. But the Western church seems void of reference to this great gift of God. Could it be that to profess hope is to acknowledge need or weakness? If I admit to living in hope, am I admitting to some inadequacy?

In the Scriptures there are multiple Hebrew words from which the English word “hope” is translated. The Hebrew language is very visual with the roots of words giving significance to the meanings of words, their emphasis or thrust. For example, one Hebrew word for hope seems to come from a root word for “chord” possibly suggesting that hope is tied together with a promise given in the past and the expectation of its fulfillment in the future. Perhaps we have little hope because we know so little of the promises given in the past.

Another Hebrew word for hope flows out of the concept of “waiting.” Persons who hope are waiting on the fulfillment of a promise. Still another, and perhaps the most significant word for hope, is grounded in the concept of trust. To hope is to trust someone will be faithful to the commitments they have made. All of these words convey a sense of expectation.

Hope is that inner expectation that promises made will be kept. The Psalmist makes that clear. His hope is tied to the Word of God. It is the Word that causes hope, even, no especially, in times of despair. Thus, the hope of the believer is grounded in and focuses on the Word of God.

In the Valley of dry bones Ezekiel come to know this on a deeper level. The great challenge to Ezekiel is to believe the dry bones can live. The even greater challenge to him was to believe the dry bones were Israel. [Note: one of my disappointments with my sermon was that I fumbled the sequence of events in the Biblical account.] God asserted he was going to raise Israel up from the grave and return them to the Promised Land. When all hope is lost, God speaks and gives hope. That which is dried up and dead in our lives will live again if God has declared it. In those cases hope is both a gift and an expectation; we must hope.

The Apostle Paul challenges us further in this journey of hope. Hope is the fruit of the Spirit’s presence within us. This hope planted by the Holy Spirit sees what has been promised and groans within us for the final day of our redemption. All of creation groans with us in expectation of the coming Day of the Lord. The Spirit who convicted us, convinced us, baptized us into the body of Christ, and sealed us as members of the household of God makes the promises of God alive within us. Hope is our character, the affection of our heart toward the fullness of God’s presence.

Thus we hope for His appearance when all around us is weary and threatening. And we hope still when all seems well. In hope we know our journey is toward the city whose builder and maker is God. The blessing of this life are but appetizers for the eternal banquet of his reign.

I am thankful for hope, God’s gift for the good times and the bad. I am thankful for His assistance in my preaching. I am more thankful for his grace bestowed in the face of my frail attempts to speak His Word.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 28, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Thanksgiving Leftovers

2010-11-26T18:36:00.000-08:00

It is the day after Thanksgiving. So far, for lunch I had a ham sandwich. For dinner, I had a plate full of sweet potato casserole, dressing with gravy, and turkey. At various points I have indulged in fruitcake and pecan pie. It was all good, almost as good as yesterday. I have felt no guilt. I have extended my thanksgiving for the blessings of God. It is He who feeds me, clothes me, and provides shelter. He gives me family and friends. He gives me a thankful heart and cause for thanks. Leftovers are a reminder the blessings of God are extended from day to day. They are also a promise there will be another Thanksgiving. The blessings of God don’t have to be new in order to be renewed every day. Okay, I know there is a limit to this metaphor, but I am thankful for the leftovers, at least I am thankful today. Tomorrow I’ll work on transformations; turkey and dumplings anyone?.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 26, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T20:32:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving today. Jimmy, Iris, Mike, Shirley, Ryan, and Andrea were here. We also had Leah Pannell and Michelle Kinjorski with us. The food was great. Cheryl did most of the cooking but my stuffing and gravy were worth a five-star notation. Shirley's sweet potato casseroles (that's right two) were also worthy of a place in the cookbook hall of fame and Iris's offering of my mother's fruit cake was heavenly. Both turkeys were prepared to perfection by Cheryl.

We played a game and enjoyed conversation. A good time was had by all, unless I missed something.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 25, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Our Gas Fireplaces

2010-11-22T19:02:00.001-08:00

When we moved into our house nearly thirteen years ago I was excited to have a fireplace. We had plenty of trees to fuel the fire. Chopping wood is great exercise. Before our first full winter I was looking for a good used fireplace insert. I looked at one not far from our house. The family had it sitting out on the car port. It was a cold day and so we stepped inside to talk a little.

Once inside I noticed gas logs in their fireplace. I asked the man why he decided to switch to gas. Without a word he raised his hand to eye level and made a twisting motion with his thumb and forefinger. I guess he recognized the puzzled look on my face and repeated the motion while stating “It’s just a whole lot easier to do this” once again demonstrating, “than this” followed by a chopping motion. I got the picture.

I thought the price on his used insert was a little high and so I left without it. thinking to myself, “I hope I’m never that lazy.” A couple of weeks later I found a good buy at a home out in the country. That man was proud to say he had paid cash for his gas logs and the first tank of propane. “What’s wrong with this world,” I thought.

With the help of Larry McQueen I got the monstrous hunk of steel moved to my house and installed. I did enjoy it. It felt good to split logs into the right size using an ax and maul. It was also great seeing the electric bill go down during the winter. One fall the heat pump went out and we decided to not replace it until we could pay cash in the spring. I heated our whole house all winter long with the wood burning fireplace insert. Now that’s something a man can brag about.

I only had one problem with the insert and Cheryl had another. Cheryl’s recurring issue was the mess that was made bringing wood in and taking ashes out. My problem was worsening allergies. The chimney wasn’t built properly so that when the winds blew small amounts of smoke were forced down into our house. It was never enough to see, but always enough to smell.

Five or six years ago I agreed to put a ventless gas fireplace in the basement. It made for a cozy environment and allowed us to better control the temperature without wasting heat when we weren’t down there. I thought that would get Cheryl off my back about the messiness of the wood-burning insert on the main floor. Self-induced naiveté is a comforting delusion for the stubborn male ego.

A couple of years ago I finally acquiesced and agreed to purchase a set of gas logs. I did my best to not like it. I wanted to grumble about the cost of the gas. We all know it just ain’t natural for the logs to never burn down into a warm glow of embers. But, Cheryl pays for the gas and glowing embers aren’t all their burned down to be. I have come to recognize the wisdom in owning up to the timeless truth that it’s easier “to do this” than “to do that”. Now-a-days I get my exercise in the basement where it’s cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

That’s the news close to Polk County.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 22, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Cooking

2010-11-20T20:15:00.001-08:00

I am comfortable in the kitchen: slow, messy, limited, simplistic, but comfortable. I don’t cook a lot. It is a family tradition for me to make pancakes on Saturday mornings. When the girls were young, eggs were erroneously labeled a major contributor to high cholesterol and clogged arteries. I decided to experiment with oatmeal as a substitute for eggs in my pancake recipe. I have settled on a fifty/fifty ratio of self rising flour to quick oatmeal (one cup each), add a quarter teaspoon of salt and a heaping teaspoon of baking powder. I add a couple of other special ingredients, two heaping tablespoons of sugar and two heaping tablespoons of vanilla yogurt. If I have it, I use a cup of buttermilk and add enough milk to create the right consistency.

I am known for my cobblers. I’ll share the recipe later. I also like making chili and soups. I use to bake a lot of breads, but that was thirty pounds ago. There are a few other dishes that I enjoy making, but not often. Cheryl is more the cook in our household, but that has been an acquired talent.

On our first weekend in our first apartment, two weeks into our marriage, Cheryl announced she wanted to fix me Sunday dinner, fried chicken. I offered to help but she wanted to prepare it for me, things were looking up in this marriage thing. She disappeared behind the plastic accordion kitchen door and I a grabbed a book; we didn’t own a TV. A good fifteen minutes later, the door slowly opened and she asked in a gentle voice, “Jackie, do you know how to cut up a chicken.”

I laughed, went into the kitchen where the bird lay on a cutting board with the knife resting beside it. Having grown up helping my mother and grandmother butcher chickens was coming in handy and this time we didn’t have to ring its neck, scald, pluck the feathers, and singe the pin hairs off. The task accomplished, I offered again to help but she ushered me out of the room; she wanted to do it herself.

The door expanded, closed behind me and I returned to my book. Fifteen minutes later the door opened again and Cheryl appeared with another question. “Honey, do you know how to fry chicken?”

I laughed too loud, entered the kitchen, and showed Cheryl how to batter and fry chicken. She ushered me out again and thirty minutes later she opened the door and started bringing out a lovely and tasty Sunday dinner. It really was good. The point is that Cheryl has forced herself to become a great cook because she sees cooking as an act of love. She doesn’t especially enjoy cooking; she likes having cooked.

As long as the girls were home, we had our evening meals together. Cheryl cooked most of them. Now that we have an empty nest we have shifted to lunch being the main meal and the highlight of my days. We eat at home as much as possible, but schedules require us to eat out at least a couple of days each week. In the evenings Cheryl snacks (healthy) and I fix myself something simple: egg and rice, fried egg sandwich, omelet, oven fried steak, leftovers, etc.

In sum, I am thankful Cheryl loves me enough to be a wonderful cook. I am thankful I am a decent cook who can feed myself if need be and show off every now and then.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 20, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Friday Nights

2010-11-19T16:47:00.000-08:00

TGIFN, Thank God it’s Friday night. Friday night is my night to debrief. Usually, I kick back, watch a little TV, and just relax. Some day it is going to be our date night and we do on rare occasion go out. Actually, we frequently plan to go out but sometime in the afternoon Cheryl offers “Why don’t we just stay in and kick back.” And we do.

Tonight we went for a power walk and did a pastoral visit. We came home and now we are watching TV. I can’t handle much more excitement than this. And tomorrow we get to work in the yard.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 19, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for my Students

2010-11-18T20:12:00.001-08:00

Today was the last day of my classes for this semester. I had thought this was going to be an easy semester for me, but things got complex and it became one of those “the faster I go the farther behind I get” terms. The students made it a rewarding semester. I had a wonderful mix of students: internationals, experienced pastors, and young adults with little experience. One troubling trend is that I only had two female students, not counting a couple of directed studies.

I have not yet graded their papers but, based on class discussions, I am convinced on the whole they have a better grasp of the big issues than most classes. More importantly, they see the implications. I am thankful.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 18, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for a Visit by Larry McQueen

2010-11-17T20:54:00.000-08:00

Larry McQueen is our guest this week. He is in town for his graduate seminar for his doctoral program. Larry lived with us for a while shortly after we moved into this house and before he moved back home to Texas. He is family and he is a good house guest. He is also a great scholar, writer, musician, social critic, and conversationalist.

That’s the news from near Polk County,

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 17, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Our New Group “Free to Serve: Men and Women Leading Together in Unity.”

2010-11-16T20:32:00.000-08:00

Two years ago I created the FB group “Free Our Church of God Women to Serve.” The purpose of that group is “to encourage the removal of restrictions that prevent women from serving in some ministry offices in the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee).” It is open to members and friends of the Church of God. There are currently 776 members of that group.

In May of 2009 we had a strategy meeting here in Cleveland. Following the General Assembly this year we began a series of meetings to pray and plan our response. It was agreed to formally organize and so we elected an organizational committee to draw up an organizational plan. I chaired the committee and it met on a regular bases this fall.

This evening we had an organizational meeting and adopted a name and bylaws. The new group is named “Free to Serve: Men and Women Leading Together in Unity.” I am hopeful this group will provide leadership for our denomination in this matter. The group will meet on January to elect officers. We are planning to conduct conferences, publish materials, operate a web page, and other means of encouraging the full inclusion of women in the leadership of the church.

I am thankful for the new organization and I am hopeful for its future. For now I’m thinking about keeping the original group as named. Many people seem to have found the name offensive. I confess, it was intended to provoke a response. But a response is needed. I am thankful to have issued a challenge to the Church of God to “Free Our Church of God Women to Serve.” We must release everyone to serve in the capacities to which God calls them; to not do so is to be against Christ. We will answer to Him for ordaining persons He has not called and for not ordaining anyone He has called. I am confident He calls women to be pastors/elders in the Body of Christ and that Biblically qualifies them to be bishops. Bishops are by definition “elders.”

That’s my view from near Polk County.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 16, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Rat Poison, Sometimes

2010-11-15T19:59:00.000-08:00

We live in the country. Ah, the country: trees, fields, peace, quiet, tranquility. “Green acres is the place for me.” Currently we are in the early stages of a delayed fall. After a long summer of drought and a fall of record heat and more drought the temperatures have begun to drop and the Cleveland winter rain has returned. In my first year in Cleveland it rained every day for over sixty days.

There is nothing more beautiful than rain soaked, brilliantly colored trees and there is nothing more cozy than listening to the patter of rain while resting in the glow of the fireplace. Yes, it is times like these that our country friends gather into the warmth of our modest home. Grass spiders the size of saucers squeeze their way into the basement. Lady bugs form communes on the basement ceiling like day workers gathered at the local 7-Eleven, celebrating our economic recovery by competing for less than minimum wage construction jobs.

And then, there are the furry country cousins. After a long summer of enjoying nature’s bounty they sneak in through the cracks looking for a little comfort from the coming freeze. We haven’t seen any in years, but we know they are there. They scurry up and down and all around inside our walls and ceilings. And then the pitter patter of their little feet slows to a halt. The question is answered; last year’s rat poison is still potent. Silence settles in and the sweet aroma of their slow decay wafts through the house.

There is nothing quite like that smell. It penetrates your clothes, robs you appetite, and motivates you to work a little longer at the office. Believe me, I would give the poor creatures a Christian burial if I could find their remains, but I can’t. Whoever said “out of sight, out of mind” clearly had lost their sense of smell.

That’s the news from near Polk County.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 15, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Our Missions Minded Church

2010-11-14T20:22:00.000-08:00

New Covenant is a giving congregation. During this calendar year we have given over $8,600.00 to Church of God missionaries. That amount is over ten percent of our total receipts for the year and does not include the portion of tithes set aside by the COG General Assembly. A week and a half ago we had a love feast fund raiser for a Bible College in Ghana, Africa and raised several hundred dollars for the students. A few days ago we got a notice that one of our missionaries was to short on funds to come home for Christmas. One of our deacons, Pat Wells, hastily put together a beans and cornbread lunch and bake sale for today. We raised $300.00.

We have a loving and giving congregation. No one is wealthy. All are sacrificial and I am thankful.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 14, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for a Day to Work Outside

2010-11-12T20:13:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I plan to work outside for much of the day. If all goes well I will complete some projects that have been on hold for a couple of months, including spreading 1,200 pounds of fertilizer, clearing some downed trees, and distributing some grass seed. It should be wonderful and I am thankful just for the prospect.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 12, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Joy of Holiness

2010-11-11T20:19:00.000-08:00

I have been reflecting on the joy of holiness. It is common to refer to the joy of salvation and to the beauty of holiness. Those are certainly appropriate images grounded in Scripture. There is immeasurable joy in knowing one is saved, and there is no human beauty that compares to that of a person clothed in righteousness. But it has crossed my mind that both of those descriptions tend to focus on the affects of grace received. There is a joy that transcends those appropriate responses to God’s mercy, one that flows directly from Him into us, that is, the fruit of the Spirit.

To know God in the beauty of holiness is to love as He loves. God is love and we cherish the promise of living in the full embrace of His love. We seldom imagine God as joyful, that seems too human. But He is joyful. Joy arises within His Triune being and flows outward to His creation in the same way as love eminates from Him. In its most simple description, holiness is being conformed to the otherness of God. It is to share in character of the wholly other.

God and God alone is holy. His creation can share in His holiness only by direct contact with Him. Further, only that which is free from sin can be joined with God in the beauty of His holiness. There is no holiness without direct communion with God. There is no direct communion with God that does not infuse the individual with the character of God.

Sanctification is that gracious act of God whereby the individual is separated from sin and unto God. It is that transformation that frees the believer from the power of sin and infuses into the believer the very holiness of God. In this fellowship with our creator our joy in what he has done for us is swallowed up in the joy that belongs to Him alone. We share in His joy, the joy of the triune being celebrating the life they share.

In God we radiate the warmth of His love, we embrace with the unity of His peace, and we dance the dance of His joy. That is the true beauty of holiness, the joyful dance of the certainty of fellowship in Him.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 11, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Our Church Youth

2010-11-10T19:19:00.001-08:00

Our church youth came over this evening for their annual bon fire at our house. There were fourteen youth and four workers. Many of the youth are new to the group. Not all of them attend our Sunday morning worship. During their devotional time they were asked to share something God had taught them or done for them recently. I was astonished at the maturity and wisdom of their responses. They are growing and learning and trusting God.

Several of the youth spoke of how they felt at home at our church; they just sensed they belonged the first time they visited. For that I thank God for our youth, youth workers, and the Holy Spirit. It was a blessed evening.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 10, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for a Lazy Week; I had One Once

2010-11-09T19:55:00.000-08:00

About twenty years ago Cheryl encouraged me to get involved with the Ministerial Association. Her rationale was that pastoral ministry required involvement in the life of the community. My response was that I didn’t have time to meet with a group of pastors just for coffee and complaints. If I was going to be in a community group it had to be one that was doing something.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not opposed to ministerial groups. Pastor’s need networks of peers with whom they can identify and share their challenges. I feel I get that at the seminary. I wanted a network that connected through ministry. And so I helped start BICC and later I started the Free Our Church of God Women to Serve (FOCOGWTS) which has led to many lazy weeks like this one.

Let me review my week since last Thursday, just the special events. Thursday afternoon was spent at the General Offices in an adult discipleship committee meeting. Friday was a typical light work day except that it began with loading a steer and taking it to the butcher. On Saturday Cheryl and I participated in the funeral of our friend Dianne Hodo. Sunday was typical (preach in the morning, study & prepare in the afternoon for the evening service). Last evening (Monday) Cheryl and I went to the BICC fund raising banquet. In addition to regular work responsibilities today, I had a 2 ½ hour committee meeting for the FOCOGWTS group. This evening I chaired the Vision Commission of BICC. (Cheryl had a worship planning committee meeting.) Tomorrow evening the church youth are coming to our house for a bon fire. These are just the highlights. I have omitted counseling sessions, special lunches, classes, etc.

I am thankful for my busy life. During the last years of my Dad’s life we had a ritual exchange every time we talked on the phone. He asked, “How are you doing, son?” I responded, “I’m fine, just busy as usual.” He countered, “That’s good, stay busy and you’ll stay out of trouble.” I have concluded he was correct in moral terms, but not necessarily professional ones.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 9, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for BICC

2010-11-08T19:34:00.000-08:00

Tonight we attended a fundraising banquet for the Bradley Initiative for Church and Community (BICC). BICC is a faith-based community development organization. I am Vice-chairman of the Board of Directors and I chair the organization’s Vision Commission. BICC is twelve years old. It was started by and continues to be directed by Brenda Hughes. Brenda is a member of New Covenant. She grew up here in Bradley County, as a teen married an emotionally abusive minister, worked two and three jobs at a time to provide for her three children, and in her forties got the courage to divorce and start life over. It was at New Covenant she found the strength to dream of making a difference in our community and received a divine call to college in preparation to fulfill the dream.

Brenda first attended Berea College in Kentucky and then transferred to Eastern University in Pennsylvania where she studied under Tony Compolo. Her bachelor’s thesis was titled “The CPR of Hope” and offered a model for community development that centered on the renewal of hope within the marginalized. I was able to connect her with Tina Willemsma, the Director of the Commission on Religion in Appalachia (CORA) and a friend of mine. CORA was planning to help fund the creation of community development organizations that followed a model of unifying churches in a community listening project designed to identify the systemic causes of social problems and develop programs to address them. With the promise of support from CORA, Brenda returned to Cleveland with a vision for community development here.

The initial funding from CORA enabled Brenda to crystalize the concept of BICC and start spreading the dream among the pastors and community leaders of Cleveland. God gave her favor and BICC was born. Over the past twelve years of listening, consulting, studying, planning, and working hard, BICC has had phenomenal success in addressing social concerns in Bradley County. Those accomplishments include the creation of the Bradley Initiative Credit Union with a low income designation, a matched-savings program, a Commission on Racial Equality, the REACH Adult High School, the Starfish Program for in-home early childhood parenting education, a youth mentoring program, and a youth leadership development program. These and other projects are all the product of dozens of churches and hundreds of people working with a shared vision of building a better place for all of our citizens to live.

I am thankful to have been a part of this social miracle. I am blessed to have been Brenda’s pastor throughout this effort, blessed to witness her emergence from shame to influence. I am blessed to have traveled this journey of effective community development. I am blessed to have become friends with a broad cross section of people I would have otherwise not known; many are pastors and lay leaders from various denominations: Baptist, Pentecostal, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic, Independent, etc. I am blessed to be a part of a congregation that has quietly supported this ministry, often from the shadows; tonight we had at least eighteen of our New Covenant Family at the banquet – 18 of 280.

Tonight was a reminder of God’s favor on our lives. Cheryl and I had resisted returning to Cleveland largely because of the socio-economic divide here. The wealthy and middle class seemed ignorant of the working poor, literally, the other side of the railroad tracks. When we did return, our hope was to find a way to bridge that gap. But we found ourselves struggling to survive and ill equipped to make a difference. Now, twenty-six years later I can look back and say God has let us be a part of something great that is making a difference in people’s lives. He has even let us contribute a little to the process. I am thankful.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 8, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Being

2010-11-07T19:56:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I struggle to focus on one thing for which to be thankful. Often it is when I have a general sense of peace, the kind of peace that can only flow out of God’s favor. The favor of God is an expression of His grace and mercy. I have not earned grace, peace, or even life itself; they are gifts from God. I have not healed the people and places of my existence; We share in His healing power. It is in sharing the love and grace of God that we find true peace, i.e., shalom, wholness.

The inability to focus on one blessing or set of blessings is thus not a denial of grace. It may in fact be a expression of thanksgiving for the gestalt of grace. In its entirety, life is a gift from God. Thus, all of our relationships are avenues of giving and receiving grace. In times like these, it is enough to be still and embrace the beauty of being. I am because He is and He has chosen me to be.

Tonight, I am not thinking about specific blessings; I am thinking of the blessing of existence. I am more than the sum of my experiences or all the good God has done for me. I am His handiwork and the object of His affections.

A couple of decades ago in the depths of despair the Spirit gave me a song that has been a source of strength in the darkest of times. The words include these lines:

I am my Lord’s
And He is Mine
And I love Him
Oh, Yes, I love Him
It was for me
He lived and died
Was Crucified
Because He loves me
Oh, yes He loves me

I am thankful for life, for life is the signature of God’s love. He does not love me because I am; I am because He loves me.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 07, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for My Friend Dianne Hodo (Part II)

2010-11-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

We had Dianne Hodo’s funeral today. Joe moderated the service and challenged us all that it was to be a time of celebration and not mourning. He sang with the Churchmen an opening song (“Well Done My Child”) and a closing song (“Long and Winding Road”). There were tributes by James Francis (PTS SGA President), Doug Slocumb, Cheryl and myself, Steve Land, Wendell Smith, Kelvin Page, and Dianne’s sister, Rev. Sandra Murphree. The Westmore COG Sanctuary Choir gave a glorious rendition of “Bless the Lord, Oh My Soul.” It was a time of worship, comfort, and honor appropriate to Dianne’s life but insufficient to communicate the depth and breadth of her influence.

Last week I wrote about her faithfulness to “occupy.” She was a model of living life to the fullest. During this week I have found myself reflecting on her place in my life. Each day as I entered the school I felt her absence and I grieved, frankly more than I anticipated. And so I thought about the last few years and our friendship.

Dianne began her studies at the Seminary as I was becoming highly involved directing our programs for reaffirmation of accreditation. As Dr. Slocumb’s Graduate Assistant, her work station was directly outside of my office. Our responsibilities intersected little so that we had almost no conversations about work. We talked about life; we were friends.

Decades ago she came to me on one occasion as her pastor. An issue had arisen in which she felt she needed spiritual direction. But at the Seminary, we were colleagues. We never had long conversations. Dianne was too focused on work and I was too overloaded for much small talk. There were those times when I came out of the office to get a cup of coffee or make a cup of tea when what I needed was a break. Dianne often sensed my need for small talk to clear my head and she obliged.

Keep in mind, she was not given to small talk. She was focused. She had the gift of being hard of hearing when she wanted to be. A party could be going on around her and she could stay buried in the file on which she was working, oblivious to her surroundings.

Yet, we had many conversations about a host of subjects. As you would expect, we talked about our children and other family members. She loved and was proud of Shelley and Jennifer. She was also proud of her sister, Sandra. I can’t say that she told me a lot about Joe, but neither can I imagine her speaking more than a couple of sentences without invoking his name: “Joe and I,” “one time Joe and I.” You get the picture. If ever two people became one, Joe and Dianne did and set the pattern for others to follow.

Always, she would humor me and listen to my personal stories, at least until one of our phones rang or someone else interrupted with a work related issue. In these brief talks we discovered how much we had in common. We share a love for God and a Wesleyan-Pentecostal view of life. We are both married to persons given to travel who could charm the Pope out of his rings (Mine actually did talk a Cardinal into letting her try on his ring). We are both parents of two intelligent, gifted, sensitive daughters. We both had fathers who believed work formed character.

If fact, we both had the experience of working beside our fathers cutting fence posts to be treated with creosote and then using those same posts to stretch fence. There aren’t a lot of people in Cleveland, Tennessee who can say that.

In all of her struggle with cancer I never heard her ask “why?” I certainly never felt any sense of envy of those with good health and long lives. I did hear a hint of envy when she heard me mention my tractor. She said she would love to spend a day working with one. I regret I didn’t arrange for that.

Sometimes I initiated the conversation and sometimes she did. She read my blog which often became the starting point. It seems we share political philosophies, only she more-so. Perhaps, politics is one of our strongest points of shared interest. You see, I am a self-confessed conservative Republican. Many of my close friends and colleagues are somewhere left of George McGovern (if you’re under forty, google him). I feel my calling in life is to hold on tight to the rope that binds us and lean to the right. Who knows where I’ll end up if the rope ever breaks. Dianne was a pleasant corrective; I often found myself leaning slightly to the left when we talked politics.

Every conversation was seasoned with the Lord. I have somewhere written that Spirit-filled people share a worldview that relates all things to God. We see God at work in, with, by, and through all things. If such a disposition is indeed evidence of being Spirit-filled, Dianne could be tried and convicted in any court in the land.

Having reflected on all of this I came to realize Dianne was truly my sister. We were friends who were comfortable with each other. (Then again she seemed comfortable with everyone.) We had so many experiences and opinions in common. Without my even realizing it, she became a rock to lean on, that person who shared the journey with confidence, dignity, hope and peace. In the face of death, she gave confidence to others. She will always be family for Cheryl and me, and an icon into the face of God.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 06, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for a Night at the Movies

2010-11-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

We don’t go to movies often. Tonight we went to see Secretariat. It is a very good movie. There is a positive theme, believe and persevere. Although it is clearly not a Christian film, with subtleness it acknowledges the Christian backdrop of traditional American culture. This is accomplished by opening and closing with an appropriate Scripture text and the use of a couple of Gospel songs as background music. There is a sense of wholesomeness throughout, no sex or violence or other gratuitous sins.

It is good to go to a movie you can recommend without qualifications, how rare.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 5, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Josiah Dalton

2010-11-03T18:36:00.001-07:00

We had a birth celebration at church this evening for Josiah Dalton. Josiah is the newborn son of Brian and Tamara Dalton. Brian is our Youth Pastor. Josiah is about as handsome of a baby as you will ever see.

Brian and Tamera are a lovely young couple who met at Lee. She is a CPA who resigned her secure position to be a stay-at-home mom while Josiah is young. Brian graduated from Lee with a major in Youth Ministry and works a secular job to support the family.

The blessings this evening included words of assurance, hope, and direction. Josiah has been born into a home where he is loved; he will be guided, disciplined, and nurtured in the Christian faith. He was also born into a church family where he will be blessed as a special member of our community. Newly born, he is a reminder of who we are and a promise of what we shall become.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 3, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Not Being Wrong, Sometimes

2010-11-02T20:51:00.000-07:00

Several years ago Cheryl and I were expressing our disparate, informed opinions with fervor when she blurted out “Do you know what your problem is?” To which I responded, “I think I do, but why don’t you tell me anyway.”

“Your problem is you can’t stand to be wrong; you just enjoy being right too much.”

I smiled and she continued, “What are you smirking about?”

I chuckled and said, “I guess you’re right. I have to admit I have never taken pleasure in being wrong.” She laughed and we found common ground.

Two years ago I made some political projections and for the most part I wasn’t wrong. I will list here some of my more general prognostications and save ones specific to Obama for another entry.

On November 5, 2008 I predicted the following:

1. “In terms of healthcare, he (Obama) will get most of what he wants but the debates will heat up. All of this will prolong the economic downturn, although there will probably be a short-lived upturn from now through the first six months of his Presidency. Unemployment will increase.” He got what he wanted and the debates did get heated. The economic downturn continues and unemployment remains very high.

2. “The roll of minorities in American politics has been forever changed for the good. The days of the Caucasian, good-old-boys-club-in-power is over. Minorities will rise in leadership in both parties but especially conservatives in the Republican Party. – Perhaps some delusional wishful thinking here. The Parties will become more ideologically defined and stress ethnic coalitions with a greater social purpose.” Let’s think: head of GOP is now an African American, newly elected GOP governor of South Carolina is Asian Indian and a woman to boot, and the new GOP Senator from Florida is Cuban American, need I go on? How do you spell conservative ideology – TEA PARTY.

3. “The world will not come to an end on January 20, 2009. Conservatism is not dead.” No comment needed. “Sarah Palin will not vanish into the polar night…” I got a little too specific and suggested she would become a Senator but I think I deserve a win on this one.

On the next day (11/6/2010) I wrote about the useless promise of unity.

“If “change” was the central theme of Barak Obama’s campaign for the Presidency, “unity” was the ubiquitous corollary. He promised to unite us in solving the pressing problems of our time and to not allow ideology to divide us. This is a noble objective, but one that is doomed to failure. It is the same promise George Bush made (“I’m a uniter, not a divider”), and look how that turned out.

The promise will fail for various reasons. First, when Obama made it he seemed to always imply it was the political right that is bound by ideology and obstructing progress. He is a liberal on the far left of the spectrum and we are a nation where the majority define themselves as conservative and between the blue dog Democrats and the Republicans conservatives comprise the majority of Congress. He will have to move far toward the middle on social and economic issues if he hopes to be a lasting unifying force in America (I perceive him to already be in the middle on national security).

Second, while the process of shared problem solving is unifying, it works as a tool for unity only when (1) there is a shared agreement about the reality and nature of the problem, (2) there is a shared agreement on the priority of the problem, and (3) all parties believe their voice will be heard and respected. Ideology is a direct mitigating force in the first two factors and an indirect one in the third.

In short, ideology is nothing more than a systematized expression of values. We can set aside our ideology (i.e., liberalism vs. conservatism) only to the extent that we unite around a greater shared ideology, values that are threatened (i.e., liberty, justice, democracy). In situations other than grave crises it is our ideological differences that clarify our desires and the values that guide civilization. In a democracy we need healthy disagreement (disunity) in order to move forward with the best policies for all. These differences often serve not only to help us choose a direction, but to first recognize the need to move in any direction. They provide the energy for change and sometimes they save us from great error.

It is incredibly difficult to come to agreement on what the real problems are and what priority they should have, not to mention how to solve them without violating someone’s core values. It does not serve us well to view the minority voice as obstructionist and yet democracy is prewired to view them exactly that way. We can come together only to the extent we agree to honor each other by respecting our opposing views at least enough to give them serious consideration. When victory overshadows understanding we are destined to run ruff shod over the minority. It is not our differences nor their intensity, but what we do with them that divide us. This then becomes the Achilles’ heel for any President; time and passion stand in the way of considered listening and shared problem solving.

Let us choose to hope that Barak Obama is that rarest of politicians, one who will value everyone (specifically in Congress) enough to give them voice not only in how to solve our problems, but in the identification and prioritization of the problems. He seems to have the disposition for such listening.

Finally, he will fail because it will be out of his hands. The major problems of this country require Congressional action. It is the leaders and members of Congress who must learn to listen intently and with respect to each other. They must come to agree on the existence, nature and priority of our problems. And they must learn to do this with many of them having already established extreme dislike for each other. No matter how well intentioned and capable, this task is beyond any President’s ability. They all promise it; they all fail; so why do we fall for it? Perhaps it is reflective of the image of God that we continue to hope for unity. Surely it is the fruit of sin that we fight over our disagreements. Let us hope this will be that season of politicians learning to work together. Let us hope I am wrong in my pessimism.”

The one thing I missed here (and it is big) was my suspicion Obama has “a disposition” for listening. He has proven the opposite to be true. His concept of compromise can be summed up “I won; you will do it my way.”

For the most part, I was right, but I’m not smiling.

Cleveland, Tennessee
November 2, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for my Dear Friend Dianne Hodo

2010-10-31T21:50:00.000-07:00

“Occupy.” Dianne had shared with me on several occasions in recent months that this one word was the only thing God had told her in the face of terminal cancer.

“I don’t know exactly what it means,” she would continue. “But I guess it means I should busy myself doing what he called me to do, and that was to prepare myself to be a counselor.”

Dianne came to seminary later than most. She had worked in the justice system for many years until an election found her having been hired by a politician from the wrong party. Approaching the age of retirement she felt a strong call to address the social ills she had seen in public service through a counseling ministry. For the past four years she was Dr. Doug Slocumb’s graduate assistant which meant she worked at a desk just outside my office. All of us who work in our suite of offices in “B Building” are good friends. Students and others often comment on the “family” and peaceful atmosphere. Dianne was very much a part of our special community.

Cheryl and I have known Dianne, her husband, Joe, and their two daughters for thirty five years, every since we were all at Westmore together in the mid-eighties. We knew way back then that Diane was a special person. She was the daughter of a Nazarene pastor and came into the Church of God having married the son of one of our pastors in Alabama. She was a Spirit-filled, holiness woman, but not exactly our brand of holiness. Her kind was measured slightly more by inward character and slightly less by outward appearances than was ours.

What I discovered decades ago was that she had a deep love for God and an unshakable spirituality. I was fascinated by her thirst for knowledge and understanding. She simply wasn’t satisfied with pat answers or past experiences. She hungered for a ever deeper relationship with God.

I left Westmore in 1988 and had virtually no contact with the Hodo’s for almost twenty years until she enrolled in the seminary. And there we were working together and catching up on life as if no time had passed. Cheryl especially became close to Dianne. They were kindred spirits who had married into the Church of God. Many times Cheryl spoke to me of how Dianne was a gift from God.

It was just about two years ago when Dianne had emergency surgery and they discovered cancer. The diagnosis was very bad; if just one cell was left behind it would be terminal. There was no effective treatment once the initial tumor metastasized. A short time after the initial surgery the cancer was back.

We all prayed fervently, all except Diane. She didn’t feel free to pray for healing. Her mother was living with her and Joe and the elderly saint was not doing well. After her mother passed on to heaven, Dianne felt released to pray for her own healing, but she never got an answer, just the single word “occupy.”

She kept coming to classes, completing her assignments, and working for Dr. Slocumb as if there was no problem. She completed an internship and was being supervised counseling others. Last summer she began to bleed internally requiring trips to Vanderbilt University for assessment and blood infusions. A day or two later and she would be back full force on campus occupying her place and calling.

A couple of weeks ago her doctor told her she was amazing. Her scans revealed multiple tumors several of which were huge. She should have been in extreme pain and immobilized. She said it was as if she was looking at two different women. Dianne should not be living a near normal life.

One week ago last Friday night, Dianne and Joe were at our house with a group of friends for dinner and a game of “Clue.” It was clear she was winded moving about our house, but frankly no more than most of the rest of us. Before she left she mentioned her heart was racing. Our hearts sank; she had mentioned to us many months ago that the end might come when her heart just gave out from the extra work.

She was at school early the next week, but by Wednesday she was back in Nashville. This time the prognosis was dire. The tumors were pressing against all of her internal organs including her kidneys which were shutting down. They sent her home on Hospice care. Still, she told Doug she was going to take the weekend to be with her family but she would be in for work on Monday. That would have been tomorrow. But while at Gatlinburg she took a dramatic turn for the worse (vomiting, racing heart, shortness of breath).

They brought her home. Dr. Slocumb called us in Virginia this morning to tell us she wasn’t doing well. By the time we got back in touch with him he was at their house and she was going fast it seemed. She was alert but on strong pain meds. Dr. Land was there presenting her with her diploma for her master’s degree. The faculty had planned to have a special graduation service for her next Tuesday. She had more than enough hours for the degree. She only really lacked a couple of required courses, one in Church of God history and polity. It seemed good and proper to wave that requirement for Dianne.

Sometime early this evening, while we were driving home with plans to see her tomorrow, she exhaled her last breath of sin-tainted, earth-bound atmosphere and inhaled the pure and undefiled breath of God somewhere inside the Pearly Gates of Heaven. She occupied every moment of this life with faith, courage, grace, and ministry. We will miss her greatly, but I suspect she is right now putting in a good word for us and cheering her heart out for us to finish our course. In a little while we will see her, only let us occupy until He calls or comes.

Cleveland, TN
October 31, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Camdyn's Birthday

2010-10-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

Today was Camdyn’s seventh birthday. That is hard to believe. Seven years ago she was born in the Methodist Hospital in Memphis (Germantown), Tennessee. I was in the room, the result of poor planning and a speedy delivery. As the labor progressed at a normal pace I had sat in the corner of the birthing room learning how to upload pictures to my new computer and then to the internet. I wanted everyone to see my first grandchild the day she was born. I sat there with two cameras, a laptop, and ten feet of wire in my lap. The previous exam had indicated it would be hours before the birth. But thirty minutes after that the staff was scurrying around saying “she’s here, this baby is being born.” By the time I got untangled she was “crowning” and I had my video camera going in time for her to be placed in the warming basinet.

The last thing on my mind that morning had been the possibility I would be in the room when Camdyn was born. Neither was I prepared for the impact of her birth on me. I had anticipated great joy and a sense of pride, not to mention relief if all went well. I knew my life was going to change. What I didn’t expect was an overwhelming sense of responsibility. I felt just as responsible for her as I had for Alethea and Karisa when they were born. Only, now I also had a keen awareness I had no real voice in the major decisions of her life. I was responsible, but I had no authority; all I had was the possibility of influence and the influence of prayer. That day I became more keenly aware of the influence of my mother’s prayers on my children’s lives.

As seven years have unfolded what I have discovered is that the birth of Camdyn was just the down payment on one of God’s greatest gifts. I have been privileged to watch her life unfold and to marvel at her beauty, grace, sensitivity to others, considerable talents, and most importantly her love for God. Seven years ago I prayed she would be born healthy to grow to know God, love Him, and serve Him with all of her heart. When I first held her I whispered into her ear, “I love you and you are loved by God; you can be anything you and He desire for you to be.”

Tonight, I wonder what her future will hold. I am concerned about the trials and temptations she will face. Satan has a whole arsenal of weapons that were unknown in my youth. Yet, I have great confidence in God and her. Together, she will become everything he intends for her to be and that will be magnificent; it already is.

Haymarket, VA
October 30, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for a Safe Drive to Virginia

2010-10-29T18:29:00.000-07:00

Cheryl and I got up early this morning (5 AM) and drove to Haymarket, Virginia for Camdyn’s seventh birthday tomorrow. I should reflect on the occasion later. Tonight, I am sleepy and incoherent after an evening of “Candyland” and video games with Charlie. I am thankful for the safe drive. We did not see an accident even though the traffic was heavy at times. Also, I am happy to announce the recession appears to be over. I know this because the state of Virginia has invested huge sums of money in blue lights; they are everywhere. And the answer is no, I didn’t pick up any green-stamps personally. (If you are too young to understand the metaphor, ask your grandparents.)

Haymarket, Virginia
October 29, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Tom Offutt

2010-10-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

Today, we went to another funeral. On Saturday morning, Reverend Tom Offutt died instantly of what appeared to be a heart attack. He was at home and his wife literally caught him and eased him to the floor where he died in her arms. He was 72 years old.

Tom graduated from our seminary with honors a couple of years ago with the Master of Divinity degree. He had come to Cleveland to work for the Church of God Chaplains Commission.

I didn’t know Tom well. His office was in the same building on campus as mine. We crossed paths in the hallways often and greeted each other, but we only had one extended conversation when we were seated next to each other at a meal function. In that conversation the pieces began to come together.

What I had known about him was that he came to Cleveland to work with the chaplains program because of his commitment to help hurting people. He was retired from some kind of business, having accumulated considerable wealth. He didn’t look, talk, or dress like a wealthy man. He had the appearance of a retired Drill Sergeant or factory foreman.

I had heard that he donated large amounts to ministries of compassion, but I never heard any dollar figures. I didn’t know if people were talking about tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. I still don’t know except that someone mentioned yesterday that he once gave two hundred thousand to a local church to complete a benevolence building. I also knew he would quietly cover expenses for students.

Frankly, it just didn’t add up. He didn’t look or act wealthy. (He refused to fly business class because it was a waste of money.) He didn’t have a gregarious personality; his demeanor was more “matter of fact, let’s get down to business.” His donations were always anonymous.

What I heard at that meal was the story of his salvation in 1976 when a Catholic Priest prayed with him. I also heard how his wife was miraculously healed about a decade ago and how that led to their seeking for and receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit. They shared how their lives were changed and how they had entered into ministries of compassion.

In short, I didn’t know Tom well but I knew him well enough to know I respected him greatly. He was a man of integrity. He wanted his life to glorify God and he wanted to help people. He wanted to be his best and do his best because that was the right thing. He was a Christian who didn’t bury his talents; he used them well for the cause of Christ.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 27, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for American Democracy

2010-10-25T19:19:00.001-07:00

Midterm elections for the US Congress and some state political offices are a week away and we are all surprised it has gotten dirty. Negative ads work. Unfortunately, they also obscure the issues. [By the way, I have reviewed some of my observations and predictions about the Presidential election two years ago and I plan to review them shortly, but not tonight.]

I don’t like the current political atmosphere. I am somewhat concerned that America is more and more polarized and the polarization centers on moral issues. The culture wars are heating up. Liberals are more aggressively liberal (dare I say socialistic) and conservatives are more aggressively conservative (dare I say fundamentalistic). And the swing votes are switching sides faster than pancakes are flipped on the grill at IHOP.

I regret the current conservative revolution centers on taxes. Taxes are too high; government spending is too high. Our current patterns cannot be sustained. The Tea Party seems to have tapped into a growing awareness that the Obama class wars against the rich will inevitably destroy the middle class, the very group he promised to protect and expand. My regret includes the fact that nobody is truly concerned about the poor and the afflicted.

Perhaps more than any other election in my life time, this election exposes the fundamental problem with democracy. In the past two years liberals have governed and enacted programs aimed predominantly for the middle class (me). Certainly, healthcare reform will benefit the lower end of the middle class more than others, but the thrust was to ensure the middle it would be taken care of.

In this set of elections the Tea Party appears to me to be focused on the upper end of the middle class. They are concerned with economic security. Those who have don’t want to lose it. And so we have the problem with democracy; it is the same problem that plagues capitalism, sin, especially the sin of greed. Democracy entices a society to be self-serving. More often than not, especially in periods of economic uncertainty, we vote for our pocketbooks. At least we think our vote will help provide for our personal welfare and prosperity; whatever is good for me has to be good for everybody else.

And therein lies my appreciation for democracy and capitalism. I trust people to look out for their own best interest and when people share the power the result will be the greatest common good short of the reign of God. Further, I trust the image and Spirit of God to nudge humanity toward justice. Therefore, I believe democracy, tempered by representative government that ensures deliberative and graduated change is the best assurance for personal freedom and social order.

The great American experiment in representative democracy is cumbersome and flawed, but it is a gift from God that has been essential to our nation’s greatness. I am thankful for our system of vacillating democracy.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 25, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Our Mystery Party

2010-10-23T20:22:00.000-07:00

I’m not a party person. I never have been. When I was a kid Mom would give Shirley a birthday party every summer. As my birthday approached in September she would give me a choice, a party or a better present. The present always won; I had to attend Shirley’s party anyway. A boy should only have to endure one round of “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” a year.

I never learned to like parties. In reality I am a shy person with the hint of some underlying insecurities, perhaps even a little neurosis. I know; my ministry puts me in front of people six days a week and I love it. Cheryl says I “send out my stage persona” or alter ego. Being up front allows me to control the interaction and not have to risk rejection. That sounds like pretty good psycho-babble to me and gives me a good excuse to not like parties.

Last night we had three couples over for a “Mystery Party.” Cheryl developed characters and a plot and placed clues throughout the house. She prepared a great meal and afterwards the couples started trying to solve the murder by finding and interpreting the clues. Okay, the party was on my turf and I always enjoy entertaining at home, or almost always.

The thing about this party that made it special was the guests. If I recall correctly, this was the first time in many years we entertained people who were not from New Covenant, or family or from out of town. We really enjoy having children, youth, families, and staff from the church in our home; that’s always like a family reunion. We also love having family and professional friends from other places stay with us. We are rich in relationships that matter.

But last night different; they were friends we have known for many years and see often but we never have time for fellowship with them. It was like adding a missing component to our relationships. I am reminded of how important it is to spend time with friends when the agenda is not about doing something, but rather just to have an enjoyable time getting to know each other better. I am thankful.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 23, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful God Provides

2010-10-22T21:24:00.001-07:00

When Cheryl and I got married we were quite naive and full of faith. I had a Ford Pinto my parents had bought me and forty dollars to my name. We knew we were supposed to go to Wheaton and we were confident God would provide. Until the day before our wedding we didn’t have a place to live in Wheaton, but we were going none the less. So we packed everything we owned in a 4X6 U-Haul and headed north.

I had no doubt God was going to provide. A few weeks before the wedding my Dad uncharacteristically approached me about my plans. He wanted to know how we were going to survive and pay for school. I boldly assured him he didn’t need to worry; God had told us to go and He would provide for us. Later, Dad let me know he told a lot of people what I had said and how God did provid.

When you’re young stepping out of the boat is not that hard. Even if you sink it’s always a good day for a swim. Then reality hits; the water is cold and the waves push you under over and over again. A couple of months into marriage and graduate school we were up against the financial wall. Our final tuition payment for the quarter and our rent were due. We needed $670.00. As Cheryl and I knelt by our bed praying, God spoke to me saying the money was on its way. I looked over at Cheryl and told her God was going to provide. In my imagination I saw dozens of small gifts arriving in the mail over a period of a few days. I was confident, but I was not prepared for the mail on the next day.

Cheryl had gone through her under graduate program on veteran’s benefits due to her father’s war injuries. They had sent her a couple of checks after we got married and when we called they said she would have to return the money. She did not qualify for further benefits. But the mail that day brought a letter and check from the Veterans Administration. The staff person Cheryl had talked with was misinformed. She did qualify for six more months of benefits. The check in the envelope was for the three months they had withheld her payments; it was for $671 and some cents. We paid our bill and went to out to celebrate; we went to McDonalds where we split a burger, fries and a shake.

We have had other times of financial despair but never again has a check arrived in the mail the next day so closely tied to the amount for which we prayed. We have worked and borrowed and repaid. We have struggled to beat checks to the bank and been late on more than one payment. But we have never been truly delinquent. God always provides, just not on our time table. In His tardiness He nudges me toward a better understanding of the currency of His Kingdom which is not houses, land, cars, or American dollars. The currency of Heaven is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). These are the gifts of God which He provides without limit; the ones which will remain for all eternity.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 22, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Eye of the Storm

2010-10-21T21:03:00.000-07:00

Life is a journey. We don’t get to stop until the final benediction. In my youth I had a saying when asked how I was doing. “I’m going to keep on keeping on until I can’t and then I am going to die and go to Heaven.” The journey is full of storms and beautiful blue skies, hazy mornings and glorious sunsets. Of late, I have considered that perhaps I am traveling in the eye of one huge storm. There is peace in the eye of the storm; there is also a danger blowing close by.

Sometimes the storm presses in suggesting I am moving too slowly. Often I get to lift my head, stare into the sky, and rejoice in the beauty of creation. And the storm moves on. As it moves it spawns more storms. Sometimes these storms are all about me and those I love. Often they are none of my business but they swirl and hurl threats none the less. I need not be the objective of the storm to qualify as collateral damage.

My point is not woe is me. My point is that we all live in the eye of storms. Sometimes the furry overtakes us and we huddle until it passes praying to just survive. But most of life is spent in the calm, knowing the storm moves along with us but keeps its distance until a most inopportune time. Sometimes life is so rich there we forget there ever was a storm, but it lingers yet.

It is in the storm we discover peace, not the absence of violence but wholeness in the face of destruction. It is in the storm we learn to trust. It is also there that lessons in humility are most effective. The eye of the storm offers rest and beauty, but it also keeps us in the tension between calm and tornado. Perhaps we can best live life to the fullest in the eye of the storm. I know the journey there is never boring and almost always full of blessings, blessings unnoticed without the storm.

Of late, I am thankful for the eye, but I am also aware some are caught in the dangers of the fierce winds. In the calm of my centered world may I remain vigilent in my efforts to care for those lost in the hurricane.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 21, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Deacon’s Meetings

2010-10-20T19:27:00.000-07:00

We don't have a Church and Pastor's Council like most congregations in the Church of God. I made the decision decades ago to never have one for two reasons. First, the are a strange conflation of the Biblical offices of elder and deacon. Secondly, until our last General Assembly women could not serve on a Church Council. I resolved to conduct all business in church conferences open to all members. Then a couple of decades ago the Assembly authorized congregations to use Deacons and Elders without placing restrictions on membership. Most of our deacons and elders at New Covenant are women.

I often hear pastors complain about their councils or deacons. It is as if the lay leaders of their churches are their enemies, and maybe they are. I don't know. At New Covenant our deacons and elders are outstanding, mature, responsible, and cooperative brothers and sisters in Christ and I am thankful.

We had a deacon’s meeting this evening. A couple of years ago I delegated these meetings to our Assistant Pastor, Kim Belcher, because I was over extended at the Seminary. Frankly, I was negligent of my duties. I keep a close eye on the congregation’s expenditures and I know where we are financially, but I wasn’t staying in touch with these church leaders and the financial processes as I should. I would attend only when there was a critical issue demanding my attention. Our Assistant Pastor moved last summer to accept a residency as a hospital chaplain and I haven’t called a meeting since she left.

Our deacons are conscientious about their duties and understanding and patient with me, usually. The meeting tonight was to reorient ourselves, schedule regular meetings, and consider a request to purchase a van for our youth and children’s ministries. The Youth Pastor and Children’s Pastor had made the request having located a used van. I entered the meeting with a strategy to get the van; the two ministries would accept responsibility for raising the money to repay the church for the van over time. (We rent vans enough that it would have paid for itself in less than two years.) The plan was to assure the deacons we are fiscally responsible. Within the plan I had some reserved funds I could release to help cover the initial cost.

My plan worked, maybe too well. One deacon protested we should just purchase the van and let the children’s and youth departments use it “they are just as much a part of our church as we are.” I was extremely proud, but I couldn’t let it show. I challenged them we need to commit to raise the money. The specific van under consideration had been taken to a mechanic for inspection and found wanting so that our discussion was about locating a good used van and purchasing it. The deacons authorized up to $1,300 more than was initially request.

Our deacons are dedicated servants of God and the church. At times they are a little too fiscally conservative for me, but I prefer that over a Board that throws money around. They are also sold out to ministry. I am proud of them and thankful for their dedicated service.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 20, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Hope of Heaven

2010-10-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

[This entry is an adaptation of my sermon last Sunday, October 17, 2010. My text was John 13:36-14:11. Revelation 21 was read within the service as a parallel text. I also drew upon Isaiah 65-66.]

John 13:36 - 14:11 36 Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?" Jesus answered, "Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later." 37 Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You." 38 Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times. 1"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. 4 "And you know the way where I am going." 5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. 7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him." 8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father '? 10 "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11 "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.

Whatever became of heaven? There was a time not that long ago when we sang about it in almost every service, and talked about it and preached about it often. Today, it is a vanishing concept, no longer considered important to the Christian life. Perhaps we have backed away from this sacred promise because we have allowed the skeptics to intimidate us. They have bullied many into believing heaven is just a crutch for the underprivileged, a dream to counter their miserable lives. In the long shadows of the age of reason we need not hope in the unseen celestial city with healing leaves from the tree of life; we are comfortable and supplied with modern medicine. Others may find it more comforting to imagine a disembodied liminal state as our final destination; heaven is a state of mind or spiritual condition void of the burdens of the material world.

However, heaven is a central component in the Biblical account of the incarnation. Before He ascended back to Heaven, fully God, fully man, to be seated at the right hand of the Father, Jesus gave the promise that if He went away He would prepare a place for us that we might be there with Him. In His Father’s house there are many apartments or dwelling places and our destiny is to live in them.

In order to fully appreciate Heaven we must consider some other good news. God is at work judging His creation. In time, all of creation will be judged. The earth will be scourged with fire; Satan and all who rebel against God will be cast into the Lake of Fire never to escape everlasting judgment. Death will come to all. And this is good news. God’s judgment announces His grace; His judgment is always toward the redemption of His creation. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God and the wages of sin is death. Believers do not escape death. They die in Christ, who died for their sins that they might live in Him. God’s judgment builds toward that great and final day, but make no mistake, it has already reached its pinnacle at Calvary where Christ embraced the cross and purchased the redemption of all.

Every act of God’s judgment is toward the redemption of His creation. God has not given up on the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve; neither has He given up on Eden. Jesus came into this world to reclaim all that was lost to sin. In the fullness of time all of creation will be gathered up in Him to be placed at the feet of the Father. Everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to Him and shall be restored to Him. This is good news because in His judgment God will reclaim His creation as His habitation. He will dwell on earth with humans.

Both in Isaiah 66 and in Revelation 21 to 22 the promise of the New Jerusalem is tied to the promise of everlasting punishment for the wicked, punishment in flames that do not quench. As hard as that may be for some of us to accept, it is this final judgment that makes evident and secure the reign of God on earth. The New Heaven and the New Earth are not simply free from the presence of sin as if sin never existed. Death, sin, and Hell remain forever conquered, a testament to the power of the love of God and a witness to the extent of His mercy.

Perhaps we have lost sight of our glorious destiny because we have become weary with the wait. Heaven is more than a place up above where our disembodied spirits go when we die to enjoy the glory of God forever. Heaven is not an escape from human history, no; it is rushing toward us from eternity to enter into our world as the epicenter of God’s presence with us. That day may be far off but it is breaking in even now.

Let us remember the story and the promise worth waiting for. Christ, crucified, buried and resurrected, has ascended to the throne room of God where He intercedes for us. When they die, those who are in Him go to be with Him; to be absent from the body is to be present with Christ. With the Apostle Paul we all proclaim, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” But there is more; Christ is returning. When He does He will bring the sainted dead; they will be resurrected and those who are alive in Christ will meet them in the air. After a great battle, Satan will be bound and Christ will reign on earth a thousand years. Afterwards, Satan will be loosed and lead a rebellion after which there will be a final judgment. Satan and all the enemies of Christ will be cast into the everlasting lake of fire. Finally, there will be a new Heaven and a New Earth and a New Jerusalem will descend from the heavens and the throne of God will be on earth and He will dwell among us. Heaven will be on earth. That is our destiny.

Heaven is not a myth; it is not the mere product of human imagination. Heaven is our home, beckoning us forward into the reign of God over all of His creation. I conclude with three aspects of Heaven for which I rejoice and give thanks.

First, Heaven is home for the children of God. My idea of heaven on earth has been dominated by majestic mountains and flowing streams and to be honest the absence of people. I went to New York City when I was nineteen and promised myself I would never return. I felt threatened on every street corner. Just stopping to purchase fuel made me feel like I was being mugged. Cities are overcrowded with sinners. They are unsafe and inhospitable. Not so with Heaven.

There will be no sinners in Heaven, no one and nothing to fear. All will be safe as lion lies down with lamb, the child plays at the hole of the asp, and there is no war, hatred, bigotry, envy, strife, or bitterness. More importantly, Heaven will be home. All of eternity will be one grand family reunion absent the embarrassing behavior of a distant relative. Beginning with those we knew and loved in this life and extending undiluted outward to all the redeemed, we will know as we are known. No longer will we see through a glass darkly. Love, pure and undefiled, will bind us together so that we fulfill all that it means to be the body of Christ, the family of God, and the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

Second, Heaven is drawing us by its majestic beauty. Yes, I believe there will be streets of gold and gates of pearl. The foundation will be lined with the most precious of jewels. The river of life will flow and the tree of life will bear its fruit and leaves for the healing of the nations. I will not be discouraged if when I get there I discover these to be figurative literary devices. I already know the description pales in comparison to the true grandeur of that celestial city.

Third, Heaven is the fulfillment of our created destiny. Fully human, forgiven, purged, cleansed, healed, transformed, and full of the Spirit, we shall see God face to face and dwell with Him forever more. We shall be and we shall proclaim His glory. The Father and the Son will be enthroned, and we will worship the Holy Trinity without inhibition and without end. With them we shall dance the dance of their embrace, choreographed before time began. We shall sing the song of the redeemed and all of creation will be our orchestra. And we shall cast our crowns before them crying “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.”

I am thankful for the hope of Heaven. It is not a delusion into which I escape. It is a siren calling from the throne of God for me to embrace my humanity and God’s creation, to lift my head and proclaim our redemption draweth nigh. Soon, and very soon, God will make His home among us.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 19, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Our Pastoral Staff

2010-10-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

One of the great joys of my life has been to work with a pastoral staff at New Covenant. We are a small congregation with even smaller financial resources. Our staff members are all part time. They serve out of a sense of call and sometimes with a desire for experience and supervision before stepping out into full time ministry. Located in Cleveland, Tennessee we have a host of ministerial students from whom to select. Typically, we choose staff that first chose us as their home church in Cleveland. Occasionally, we must recruit from outside.

In addition to Cheryl and me as co-pastors, we currently have a Youth Pastor, a Children’s Pastor and a Worship Pastor. Our Children’s Pastor, Vernice Blackaby, works for Church of God World Mission; she has been a member of our church for many years and Children’s Pastor for four or five. Our Youth Pastor, Brian Dalton, has been a member for five or six years and our staff member for most of that time. Our Worship Pastor, Justin Spears, joined our staff a few weeks ago; He is a student at our Seminary.

I am full time at the Seminary; I preach most Sundays, provide pastoral care, provide oversight to all ministries and oversee the fiscal aspects of the church. Consequently, I can’t provide close supervision for the staff, especially in the last three or four years as I have directed the seminary’s reaffirmation of accreditation efforts. Imagine this: without my close supervision the children’s and youth ministries have expanded their programs and enlarged their numbers. More importantly, God is doing great things in the lives of our children and youth and those who minister to them.

Over the years we have had some outstanding young ministers: brilliant, gifted, devoted, visionaries. Some, like me, have been less than stellar in their skills but made up for it in faithfulness and devotion. Virtually all have ministered effectively out of both their strengths and hurts. They became significant members of our church family. They edified us as the Body of Christ, and we felt great loss when they moved on to other ministries. At least one found us less than stellar, void of a “spirit of excellence.” He just couldn’t grasp that church is far more than a weekly event.

I am truly thankful for everyone who has served on our pastoral staff over the years. We are so very proud of them. It is an honor to have walked and ministered beside them. Even the one who left us disappointed by our perceived lack of support for his ministry, gave us his gifts of service that touched our lives.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 18, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Completion of a Hard Week

2010-10-17T20:20:00.001-07:00

I have fallen way behind in my task of blogging about thankfulness. Unexpected changes to my Doctor of Ministry class consumed my energies for the past couple of weeks. Last week Cheryl and I taught our D.Min. course, “Leading Worship and Discipleship.” I found it quite enjoyable as usual. These are students are experienced in ministry who come together with a lot of insight to share. We met from 8 to 5 Monday through Thursday, including having lunch.

We also taught our regular schedule of classes. We covered for each other during regular hours. For me that meant teaching from 8 A.M. to 8:30 P.M. on Thursday. We also had other responsibilities. On Tuesday I had a community meeting until 8 P.M. On Wednesday evening I had to catch up on my taxes. On Friday I completed my taxes and worked outside. Yesterday, I worked outside in the morning, we went to a wedding in the afternoon, and I did the bulletin and worked on my sermon in the evening. Today was church. I preached in the morning and evening I taught on our Declaration of Faith.

Okay, that’s my set of excuses. I’ve been too busy to write about being thankful. But, I have been thankful. The class went well. My community meeting went well. My taxes went very well (if the IRS agrees). God blessed in our morning worship. I preached on “The Hope of Heaven.” We rejoiced and tarried in the altar.

After the service I was talking with “the trinity,” three of our older, close-knit teenage girls. One of them I assisted in her parent’s wedding almost 20 years ago and Cheryl and I were at the hospital for her birth and we dedicated her. The oldest has been in our church for six or eight years and is now a college freshman. The third has been at New Covenant for three or four years. It has really been a joy to watch them mature in life and in their walk with God. Some time back they told me I couldn’t retire or leave New Covenant until I performed there weddings. Today, they informed me I couldn’t retire or die until after they died. I made no promises and I pointed out that when they reached sixty I would be a hundred. Never-the-less, I pray I never let them down and I am thankful to be their pastor.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 17, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for my Recliner

2010-10-12T18:46:00.000-07:00

Actually, we have three recliners. One is quite old and uncomfortable. One is an electronic recliner. Cheryl bought it for me when I broke my collar bone a few years ago. It is comfortable but the electronics do not always work. My other recliner is one we bought several years ago. It was inexpensive, but very comfortable, curl up and go to sleep comfortable. It’s where I sit to write this blog and check my email, etc. A comfortable recliner is an inalienable right and a necessity for creativity – a necessity for, not a certainty of.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 12, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Survival

2010-10-11T19:03:00.000-07:00

We are in the midst of teaching a Doctor of Ministry Course, 8 to 5 this week. It is stressful but fun. There are a few other things going on this week. We will survive.

I am Thankful for the Unexpected, Sometimes

2010-10-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

When I went to bed Sunday evening my next day was planned. I was going to sleep in late, have breakfast, dress, go to the office for a couple of hours, and come home and work outside. We were on fall break. But I got a phone call at 8:05 the next morning and everything changed.

An adjunct professor was not going to be able to meet with his Doctor of Ministry Class and the director of the program was calling to see if I would cover for him. I was (am) scheduled to teach the same group of students next week. The problem was that I wasn’t ready. Cheryl and I are teaching the class together and because of some miscommunication between the Seminary and the students (they had not received their syllabi and therefore had not completed their pre-class assignments) I was in the midst of restructuring the entire course. Cheryl was in California speaking at Fuller Theological Seminary.

I agreed to meet the class at 10 AM and to begin our course sessions. After I got dressed I hurried to the school, gathered some materials, and began the class. From my perspective it went as well as possible. Cheryl and I worked this afternoon making final preparations for next week’s sessions.

As I have written before, I like routine. I don’t like it when my plans are interrupted. Self analysis suggests one of my coping mechanisms is to simply not make plans in which I am emotionally vested except for the bigger issues of life. It’s my “who cares” principle. If the event I am preparing for is not of some consequence then why should I get all worked up about it. A leisurely morning and projects outside don’t have to be done today.

One result of this attitude is that I may not look my best. People might think I am less intelligent than I otherwise could have fooled them into thinking that I was. Responding to the unexpected often means I must forget about myself and think about the needs of others. It also means I must recognize that I don’t really control my life; sometimes the unexpected is a requirement and not just a request.

Perhaps the greatest danger of the unexpected events of life is the temptation to allow the urgent to crowd out the important. A crisis may be of little significance. The truly important may in fact most often be found in the dull routines of life. Unexpected challenges force us to choose between the better and the best. They are tests of our heart; do I have the mind of Christ?

I am thankful for the unexpected because it affords great opportunity to be creative and to be open to new discoveries. I find that when I am responding to a situation completely outside of my comfort zone of self protection, I am most free to explore and discover, to look at old problems in new ways. At least this is true when I can push through my initial panic and set sail on the sea of trust. The truth that God is at work becomes more palpable when I know that I am not in charge of the outcomes; I am just a helmsman trying to do my part while He captains the ship.

Yes, I am usually annoyed by the interruptions of life. But once I get over my initial frustration, I most often find in them wondrous gifts. I am thankful for the unmarked detours of life. This entry would be so much more engaging if I could report a Divine encounter with the class on Monday, a miracle, or at least some great discovery. I can’t. I can only say that I felt God’s pleasure and it was wonderful.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 9, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Some Broken Traditions

2010-10-07T21:05:00.000-07:00

I team teach a course with Dr. Doug Slocumb on family ministry. We both subscribe to family systems theory. Systems theory holds in part that the family functions as a whole with each member functioning in specific ways to keep the whole working. Even when one member is unhealthy in a way that negatively impacts the family (addiction, neurosis, etc,) that member’s issues are integrated into the whole with other members compensating so that the family system continues to work even if highly misfunctional. A strange as it may seem, an individual’s problems may become so woven into the fabric of the family the problems become necessary to the family’s survival. For example, if an alcoholic father dies another member of the family will often develop an addiction. That family needs to focus on one member’s addiction in order to feel they are a family.

Systems theory further teaches that the patterns with which individuals relate to their family members are passed down to the next generation. We learn how to exist in family relations from the relations of our family of origin. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. The sons of alcoholic fathers will often be addicts themselves, even if the addiction is to work, a workaholic. The point is that family patterns and traditions tend to be passed on to the next generation even if they are disguised in an alternative form.

I am thankful for many, if not most, of the values and patterns of relationships that were woven into me by a loving and disciplined family system. There are a few patterns I wish I could have broken out of; I am a workaholic. What causes me to marvel, are the family patterns my parents broke out of. I also marvel at how they turned highly destructive patterns into positive traits. It is as if they took all of the positive traits of their family systems and amplified them to drown out most of the bad.

The apple does not fall far from the tree, but it can choose to fall in the right direction. By the grace of God we can break destructive patterns of behavior and relationships. We can also identify their root causes and seek healing and wholeness. That may be the central pattern of families that follow Christ . Christian families relate to each other as Christians and as Christians they seek together to find healing and wholeness; they build up one another, minister healing to one another, and deal with the worldly patterns that seek dominance in their lives. I am thankful Christ has made a way for us to truly minister grace to those we love the most. We do not have to live out patterns of destruction, no matter how many generations have been marred by those same patterns.

One of my great-grandfathers was an alcoholic who abused his wife and children. Several of my uncles fit that pattern as well, at least for lengthy periods of their lives. Others were verbally and emotionally abusive. Some were bigoted and otherwise vile. [There were of course many others who modeled goodness and compassion, but they are not the subject of this entry.] By God’s grace, I have never witnessed any of those behaviors in my family. My Dad use to say he was proud of his children; they never caused him any trouble. I know that is the fruit of a praying mother, and that is my point. The prayers of a righteous mother availeth much; they break the stronghold of family systems.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 7, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Good Fences and Good Neighbors

2010-10-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

I confess, I don’t know my neighbors well. I occasionally talk with those living closest to us, almost always when we are outside working. There simply isn’t a lot of time for socializing. Most of our neighbors have lived here much longer than we have. We have never had a conflict with any of them, at least not until one of them stole my bull this afternoon. You might want to skip to the bottom to get the details.

When I was a kid we had a big, gentle bull. He would let me ride on his back as long as I wanted to go where he wanted to go. He only objected when two riders tried get on him. If that ever happened, it was rodeo bull riding down on the farm. One of my cousins loved to sneak up beside us and press down on his back just to see the bull throw me off.

I think Dad had bought Old Red from his brother, but I’m not sure. He was a fine looking bull with a mixed pedigree. Mr. Johnny Johns lived next to our farm. Mr Johnny was actually my dad’s first cousin, once removed (he was considerably older than my Dad, and long before Dad was born Mr. Johnny’s father had been disowned by the rest of my Dad’s family over an inheritance dispute). He owned a couple of hundred acres, part of it in dense woods and swamps. His pasture was right next to our pasture and he owned his own bull, which he considered considerably better bred than Old Red.

There was a problem. Old Red was bigger than Mr. Johnny’s bull, and he was determined when it came to romance. He would jump the fence, stomp it down, or find a week place and push right through it if there was a cow on the other side needing his attention. When that happened, Mr. Johnny would get word to us and we would drop whatever we were doing to go run the bull back home.

One time we must have chased him for three or four hours, and I do mean chase. The cows had gone down into the deep woods. We would get Old Red headed in the right direction and he would find a side path to dart down and circle around behind us. Dad and I were cutting through some thick brambles when Dad said, “Stop, do you smell that?”

“What?” I asked.

“Don’t you smell that smell of rotten cucumbers. Son, we’ve gotten ourselves into a rattlesnake nest. You watch where you’re stepping and let’s ease out of here.”

I watched, and we eased. When we got a few yards into a clearing Dad said, “Let’s go to the house. That bull can follow the cows to Mr. Johnny’s and he can pen him up tonight.” With that he gave out a loud whistle to signal my brother and cousin to follow us out.

Shortly after that Dad took Old Red to the market and bought a registered Black Angus bull to replace him. Mr. Johnny sold his old bull right after Dad bought the Black Angus. Whenever he needed a bull Mr. Johnny would just bring his cows to the pasture next to ours. The funny thing is he would never call us to come get him out of his pasture. Sometimes a relative would call to tell us our bull was at Mr. Johnny’s (remember, we lived an hour away). Other times we would find the bull on the wrong side of the fence ourselves.

Dad would go see the elderly neighbor and apologize for his bull getting into Mr. Johnny’s cows. “I sure hope he don’t mess your herd up. I know you never wanted Black Angus calves,” Dad said with a boyish grin you might even call a smirk.

“Oh, that’s all right Ellis. He ain’t hurt’n noth’n and he ain’t eat’n too much grass. You can just leave him if you’re in a hurry and get him the next time you’re up here. I’ll even pen ‘em up for you if you let me know you’re coming.”

“That’s right neighborly of you Mr. Johnny. You just let me know when you’re done with him and I’ll come get him.”

Good fences make for good neighbors. Registered bulls can make for even better neighbors.

When I got home this evening I looked out the back window and saw my neighbor in the woods on my side of the fence. There’s a gate between our fields. By the time I got outside I saw him leading my bull, Jackson, into his pasture. I had to go out to my barn to unplug the electric fence to get to where they were. I followed them through their pasture, around their house and into another pasture. When I got close enough for them to hear, I called out, “do ya’ll need to borrow my bull?”

“Is that your bull? We had a bull delivered today while we were down in Atlanta. We didn’t see him. When we went looking for him we thought he had jumped the fence to get to your cows.”

It seems they had just borrowed the $1,500 bull and were afraid they had lost him. About that time he wondered up from the other side of their pond. That’s when the excitement began. Two bulls, six or eight cows, and one of them in heat. Where’s the video camera when you need it?

They managed to get their herd penned and Jackson separated out. The only problem was that Jackson was in love and determined. I got him to follow me with his head buried in a bucket of feed but just before we got to the gate he raised his head, sniffed the wind and took off to serenade his new girlfriend. It took six of us close to an hour to coax, chase, and coral him back onto my piece of land.

I loved it. It was just like old times. There is nothing to bond neighbors like chasing a love-struck bull. They were very apologetic. I assured them I might have done the same thing if I thought the $1,500 bull I had borrowed had jumped the fence. They are good neighbors. They’re the same ones who helped me coral my cows and get them home three years ago last month. I am thankful for good fences and better neighbors.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 6, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for a Reminder to Rest

2010-10-05T18:12:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I wrote about being thankful for a evening of rest. I commented on the need to rest. I have not given much attention to rest since then. Life is full. Today, I took the whole day to rest. We are on fall break and I was supposed to go to the state ministers’ meeting in Nashville. But I woke feeling a little under the weather, and so I decided to stay in and take it easy. I reviewed some old projects that had been sidelined but I did not work on any current projects. As the day progressed I felt renewed.

Rest is essential to our well being. God ordained it from the beginning. My concept of rest has been to escape from stress by shifting between arenas of work. It seems restfull to forget about the seminary by attending to the church, or to forget about both by doing manual labor. I am discovering that rest is more than not feeling stress because I have diverted my attention away from the event causing me stress. Rest is withdrawal from all work. It is needed for our bodies and our spirits (mental/emotional) and it is critical to our relationship with God.

I have often said that prayer is work, hard work. Praying through to the presence and peace of God requires effort, but there is a correlation between the amount of effort required and the amount of clutter in our spirits. Rest is God’s plan for sweeping out the clutter, those things, good, bad, and indifferent, that threaten to become barriers between us and our Creator.

I am thankful for a day of rest but I am more thankful for the gentle manner in which God has reminded me rest is not just a commandment, it is a gift designed to renew us in our walk with Him. In this I am reminded that prayer is not so much an instrument to change this world as it is a down payment on that eternal rest into which we have been called.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 05, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful This Series Will End

2010-10-04T21:28:00.000-07:00

Of late, I have felt mentally depleted when it is time to write for this blog. I confess it often feels like a chore. I made a commitment to myself and I intend to keep that commitment, but it is not easy at this time of the year. My work at the seminary is taxing; New Covenant is exciting but draining as well. I don’t feel especially exhausted. It’s more like I have already picked the low-hanging fruit of thankfulness, things that were easy to write about, and now it is work.

There is so much for which I am thankful about which I have not yet written, but writing about those things is requiring considerable effort. It is a challenge to try to be thankful, engaging, entertaining, and hopefully enlightening all at the same time. I’m tired, not of being thankful but of writing about being thankful. Therefore, as meaningful as this experience has been, I am thankful it will end in less than three months. Just being honest. Pray saints, pray.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 4, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for the Discipline of God

2010-10-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

One of the great challenges of ministry is to discern one’s appropriate role in the administration of church discipline. As a pastor it is clear that besetting sins, those associated with the works of the flesh, must be addressed. Drunkenness, rage, unbridled greed, idolatry, and fornication must be addressed. Members who are known to indulge in these must be called to repentance, nurtured into spiritual renewal and restored to full fellowship. But other sins are less clear. How do you confront someone about gluttony, envy, jealousy, or pride?

I have had to supervise the discipline several church members in my nearly thirty years as a lead pastor. Chronic lying, spouse abuse, drunkenness, slander, and adultery are among the sins I have had to address. The results have been mixed.

The process I follow is fairly direct. If a church member or regular attender gets caught up in a work of the flesh I have a one-on-one conversation to address the situation. My goal is to clarify the Biblical teaching on the subject and assess the person’s desire for spiritual restoration. If there is no sign of repentance I instruct the individual I will not allow him or her to participate in the life of the church as true believer: no testimony except of repentance, no ministry activity, and no communion. If he or she is a member I inform the individual there will be a formal church conference to consider excommunication. In all cases they are encouraged to continue attending church. I have never had anyone to choose to continue their sin and remain in the church. I have never overseen the removal of membership from a member; I have had several to leave the church rather than submit to the restoration process.

If the guilty person confesses and expresses a desire for restoration I offer them some options. They must enter into a program of accountability. Typically this component is a disciplinary band. Bands are comprised of three to five persons who are of the same gender as the transgressor. The individual nominates the participants as persons whom they consider spiritually mature whom they trust. I reserve the right to veto a participant. If I think the sin is tied to an emotional or psychological problem, I encourage the member to get therapy with the church offering assistance if needed.

I had a case several years ago that proved futile. The young woman’s husband was approaching the end of his prison term. She had been faithful to him throughout his five years of incarceration. But as his release approached she began to question her desire to remain married to a convict. She got involved with another man and started bringing him to church; he was “just a friend.”

One Sunday they asked to talk with me. Her opening statement, “Pastor we would like to get premarital counseling.”

“Mary (name changed), I can’t do that.”

“Why, not?”

“Mary, you are already married.”

“I know, but I thought that if you gave us premarital counseling I could decide which one I wanted to be married to.”

She confessed they had been sexually active for some time and she agreed to submit to a disciplinary band. I stressed the purpose of the band was to help her get restored to Christ. She attended six weeks of counseling and accountability sessions. Afterwards, she came to me to ask if I would then give them premarital counseling. When I refused she protested, “But Pastor, I submitted to the discipline. I did everything you asked. Why won’t you do this for me?”

They left and found a church that “lived by the Bible, loved everyone, and refused to judge.” She did divorce her husband and married the other man.

The saga continued. A few years later I was leading a small group Bible study and her ex-husband showed up one night. Some of his family remained in our church. On that night he gave a prayer request. “Pastor, I need prayer.”

“What for Billy (name changed)?”

“I’m having a problem, I’m fornicating.”

“Billy, I have a word from the Lord for you.”

With sincerity, “Really, Pastor, What is it?

“Stop fornicating! It’s that simple; God wants you to stop.”

“I can’t stop. She might leave me, just pray she will marry me and everything will be Okay.”

Well, that’s ministry. Sometimes you just have to leave people in the hands of God. When you have no power or authority, all you can do is pray and hope you are a convicting presence, a voice of truth and love, and not condemnation.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 3, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for a Glorious Day

2010-10-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

It was a glorious day. The weather here in east Tennessee was perfect. The skies were clear and crystal blue; the temperature was cool. I spent the morning doing work on the computer, after pancakes with homemade blueberry syrup and sausage, of course. In the early afternoon I went to a wedding for two of our students (Cheryl spent several hours in the office preparing a lecture she will be giving at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena this week). After the wedding, I grilled burgers and then we went on a motor cycle ride. It was great and I am thankful.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 2, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Thanksgiving

2010-10-01T12:12:00.000-07:00

It is the first day of October and I am looking forward to Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the Holiday of Holidays. It inaugurates the holiday season. It is the first day of Christmas. Halloween is that bazaar holiday void of purpose, a meaningless opportunity to dress in silly costumes and underwrite the candy industry. As a child “All Saints Eve” had no significance for a good Pentecostal kid. I just couldn’t understand it; just do it and enjoy it.

Thanksgiving is a holiday with significance. It was the nation’s Fourth of July before there was a Day of Independence, and a Feast of Ingathering patterned on Pentecost. As a national holiday Thanksgiving dismantles the myth of separation of faith and State. On Thanksgiving we reclaim our heritage as a Christian nation even if we have evolved into a plurality of religious stew demanding to be seasoned in public with the valium of agnosticism.

Thanksgiving is perhaps the most nostalgic of Holidays. Our other holidays are activity days, opening presents, cooking out, weekend trips, etc. But Thanksgiving is the one day of the year when the focal point of life is to gather as families around a banquet table and give thanks. As such, it is our holiday that most resembles the feast days of the Bible. On this day we pause to be thankful for the core blessings of our lives: food, shelter, and loved ones.

In my childhood, Thanksgiving was connected with hog killing day. On the Saturday after Thanksgiving we gathered at my Grand-parents house and butchered a couple of hogs. Back then it seemed to always be cold weather by Thanksgiving. The conditions were right for hanging meat in the smoke house, but in truth, we wrapped it and put it in the freezer. It’s just too much work to keep a fire going for weeks on end.

Out in my barn I have stored my Grandfather’s big cauldron in which we use to scald the hogs. Before dressing a hog (removing their entrails) the hair was removed. The process required dipping the carcass into hot water (scalding), pulling it out onto the rim of the tub and scrapping the hairs off. Once the hide was clean it was hung upside down and butchered. Then it was quartered, sliced and wrapped for the freezer.

The big cauldron was cleaned and the fat was cooked down for lard and “cracklins.” Eventually, a big pot and Coleman stove were discovered to be more convenient for this task. Pork lard had to be cured to get the heavy meat flavor out. Momma always fried potatoes in the lard before using it to cook anything else. The potatoes drew the pork flavor out and thus cured it for other purposes.

For me, butchering hogs is synonymous with Thanksgiving. The extended family gathered together in a primal ritual that sustained us through the coming long winter. The sacrifice of an animal did not devalue life, as members of PETA might claim. To the contrary, participation in this most ancient communal activity heightened my awareness of the worth of all life and increased my awareness of how precious it is as a gift from God.

By the time I was a teenager we had stopped butchering our own hogs and cows. I suppose it was just too easy to take them to Wilson’s for processing. Then again there was the day when one of my uncles threatened to shoot someone before the hog, a story I am not supposed to write about. Perhaps I have embellished the ritual with unwarranted pleasant memories and downplayed the family tensions that may have contributed to an increase in the local butcher’s business.

I am thankful no one ever got shot at one of our family Thanksgiving gatherings. Not every South Georgia family can say that.

Cleveland, Tennessee
October 1, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for Zyrtec

2010-09-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

I have had seasonal allergies all of my life: all seasons, all allergies. If you don’t eat it, I’m allergic to it. When I was young I would wake up sneezing every morning, at least during spring, summer and fall. We didn’t have air conditioning and so we slept with our windows open. One window fan pulled air with bits and pieces of creation in every window and through the house.

We had chicken houses with thousands of chickens. Every twenty weeks they had to be cleaned out; we shoveled the sawdust and manure compost into the back of a pickup truck by hand and drove it out into the fields and spread it by hand. There were two houses 30 feet wide, and 300 feet long with six to eight inches deep of compost. Once all the manure was out we spread fresh sawdust throughout the houses, all by hand.

With every shovel full of manure, dust would fly. With every breath inhaled, you get the picture. And I sneezed, and sneezed, and sneezed. As I approached adulthood, we moved to Alabama away from the chickens and the sneezing subsided to be replaced with constant drainage. (Now that’s a gross thing to have to read about.) With the drainage came a constant irritated throat, sinus infections, and bronchitis. It didn’t matter where I lived, Alabama, Tennessee, Illinois or later on Kentucky, the cycle was the same. Several times every year I would get pretty sick. The exception to all of this was our three years in North Dakota. Imagine my surprise when I discovered a sore throat wasn’t normal.

By the mid eighties we were in Cleveland and the cycle was getting the best of me. I gave in and sought out an allergist. I completed a series of shots, two every week for over a year then gradually reduced in frequency until completed after three or four years. I drove to downtown Chattanooga for the shots. In the stress of life I told myself the routine trips to Chattanooga were one thing I was doing for myself. I relaxed and read magazines just for pleasure. Every week I looked forward to getting my shots.

As the series progressed the vicious cycle ended. I was pretty healthy for over a decade, but gradually my allergies worsened and the cycle returned. I have been back on shots for the last decade, two every month for the last year or two. But in the last couple of years my symptoms have worsened even with the shots. I often wake up sneezing and can begin a series at any moment. Anything can set me off, pollen and perfume are the biggest culprits. Zyrtec has proven a good supplement for the shots.

Last week I ran out of Zyrtec and kept forgetting to pick some up. Tonight, I road over to the church in order to sit in on the youth group meeting. As soon as I walked into the building something triggered the worse allergic reaction I have ever faced: itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, and a dry scratchy throat. I left and went to CVS where I purchased a year’s supply of Zyrtec. Within a couple of hours I was feeling pretty good. [If you have read all the way to this point you deserve a reward or else you are a masochist.] I am thankful for modern medicine, especially OTC Zyrtec.

Cleveland, Tennessee
September 29, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for God's Sovereign Protection

2010-09-28T19:52:00.000-07:00

None of us knows how close we have come to death by accident. Even those who have survived horrible events are clueless about the myriad of near misses. This month I have had two near accidents on 8th street here in Cleveland.

We live in the country on the eastern side of Bradley County. The city of Cleveland is oblong running north and south. We use to live on the northern tip of town. Our drive to work near the center of town was seven miles and took twenty to thirty minutes due to traffic and signals. Our current house is the exact same distance but requires ten minutes or less to drive. We have two stop signs and no traffic lights going and coming. The five miles closest to the house are on country roads. Our last mile going to work is on 8th Street.

8th Street is a narrow city street through one of the poorer and older subdivisions in Cleveland. Coming from either direction is a moderately steep climb to a hill top. The intersecting streets run north and south. Several are blind intersections due to shrubs. Each of the intersecting streets has a stop sign. Twice this month drivers have run their stop signs right in front of me. Both were talking on cell phones. I had to slam on my brakes to avoid them. It was not that traumatic; I was in my truck once and Cheryl’s car the other time. If we would have collided there would not have been life threatening injuries, probably.

The scary thing about those near misses is that I often am on my motor cycle and not behind collapsible metal and an airbag. Most motorcyclists who are killed or seriously injured are only traveling about 35 miles an hour when someone pulls out in front of them or T-bones them.

I have only had a few near misses on my cycle. One was my fault going around a curve in the mountains. We went off the road and over a log. We were actually air born, but God helped me to keep the motorcycle upright and come to a stop. (Just call me Steve McQueen.) Here in town I have had two thoughtless drivers do a u-turn right in front of me. With both I almost laid the bike down, but didn’t. If you like to ride a motorcycle and you want to live, you will learn to anticipate people doing idiotic things.

Still, my most traumatic near-misses have been in cars. On a Sunday morning in the spring of 1972 I was driving a little over the speed limit on back roads going to church during a light rain when a pack of dogs ran out in front of me. I locked my brakes and fish tailed all over the road before getting my Pinto under control. By the grace of God there was no oncoming traffic. Even as I was still swerving (read that right, "swerving" not "swearing") with my heart pounding in my chest, I said to myself, “Jackie, you fool; no dog is worth killing yourself over. From now own I won’t risk my life to save an animal.” I’ve had a few opportunities to keep that promise.

My most horrible near miss was in late winter of 1978. We were driving home to Minot from church in Butte, North Dakota when I topped a hill and hit some black ice. I was going way too fast for the conditions and once again fish tailed all over the road. This time I had Cheryl and baby Alethea in the front seat of our Oldsmobile Omega with me. When I stepped out of the car forty five minutes later my knees buckled under me. I knew how close I had come to losing the two people who meant the whole world to me. That’s the day I became a truly conscientious driver.

I am thankful I have only had two relatively minor accidents in my life. I am thankful I was not at fault either time and more importantly, no one was injured. I am thankful for my near-misses; they taught me a lot about safety. I am also thankful for all of those near misses I missed; that is, I wasn’t even aware I came close to death. Since I don’t know about them, I can’t write about them. What I do know is that in my youth I sometimes drove with wanton disregard for safety and I have been kept safe by the hand of God. I also know I have been on the highways with others who have less of a regard for safety and even less skill than I have and by God’s grace we have not yet met. Thanks be to God. I’ve almost convinced myself to stay home tomorrow, but I am addicted to that pay check.

Cleveland, Tennessee
September 28, 2010
JDJ

I am Thankful for The Rain

2010-09-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

It has rained for the last couple of days. The showers have been perfect, a moderate soaking rain. There has been zero runoff evidenced by the fact our pond still has no standing water. Everything has turned green. The days are a little cooler. It is glorious and God alone deserves thanks.

Cleveland, Tennessee

September 27, 2010

JDJ