Curveballs and Life Lessons

Life never goes exactly the way you envision it will. Sure, there are times it goes better than you imagined and other times it goes worse than you feared ... But it rarely goes the way you expect. Frank Sinatra sings a song called, "That's Life!" and some of the lyrics reflect the idea that you can be on top one day and down in the dumps the next. His conclusion - that's life!
Well, that may be true but there is more to life than just the ups and downs, the successes and failures, the expectations and the surprises. Life is what you experience during the process of all these things. Someone has said that life is a journey not a destination. I don't know if that all falls together theologically (maybe it does) but I believe there is great truth in that. Spending time with members of my family this summer made me realize that life doesn't turn out like you expect. My brothers talked about the trials of their lives and how they had planned for their family situations to be different - but that they were making of life what they had been handed. Maria never planned for her heart problems. Susan and Doug looked forward to children. Joel never planned to live in Europe. Joanie and I never wanted to be so far away from our families. But life still goes on. It throws you curveballs. But I remember Jonathan as a high school baseball player always wanting the pitcher to throw him a curveball - he loved to hit them and he hit them well. When life tries to throw you a curveball don't wait until you have a better pitch or situation or partner or time frame - just hit the pitch and go on with your life. Life is lived in the moment not in the past or future. Live it all and live it now.

The Right to Privacy

I watched much of the John Roberts confirmation hearings and found them incredibly instructive. I sat amazed as Democrats who talked openly about the importance of a right to privacy in the Constitution did everything in their power to break through the judicial demeanor of the nominee in order to invade his right to privacy. Biden, Fienstein, Kennedy, Durban, Schummer, and Leahy - all concerned about the private thinking of a man who promised to do legal thinking without trying to prejudice his views with personal issues and private thinking. He would think about the Law - that was his job and his commitment. Still, it was not enough. It was as if they were playing some kind of game that he would fall into. They would trap him by baiting him into discussing things that they said they needed - and if he talked about them he would be disqualifying himself for the very position he was nominated to fill. And if he answered in ways they didn't like, they would pounce on his answers as reasons to disqualify him.
Over the course of 30 years of ministry I have watched as people have come alongside pastors, leaders, workers in the church and sought to build confidences. They have assured them of their faithfulness as friends and assured them that they would not reveal what they know. Yet, time after time, they have used what they know (usually by putting it in a different context to make it look bad) to discredit pastors, leaders, and workers in the Kingdom. How sad. Even pastors have a right to privacy. Every Sunday the preacher stands up and tells the congregation what he/she believes, is thinking, and is contemplating. Amazingly, such candor is often the same thing that is used against him to say he is unqualified. Even leaders have a right to privacy. You can keep your counsel confidential even as you keep the information shared with you about other's lives confidential. Yet, there are some who will use anything at their disposal to try and discredit even those who volunteer their time and energy in the service of the Master.
I would confirm Judge Roberts without question. I do not pretend to understand all that is discussed by the leaders at the Senate table. I am not a lawyer or legal scholar. But I would confirm anyone who realizes that the right to privacy is not there to hide your views but to assure others that their views will not be compromised by me. God bless Judge Roberts and the honorable court on which he will serve.

Reality Check for Doers

On the way home today I spent some time on the phone with a good friend of mine named Earl Wheatley. Earl and I met in college and he has always been one of the men I most admire for their spiritual wisdom and insight. For most of the last five years we have served together in national leadership for the Church of God. Earl is a native of the Atlanta area and has spent his entire ministry in the South. He has pastored two churches. His current pastorate is in Meridian, Mississippi. His previous pastorate was in New Orleans. One church is destroyed and the other is in the last town standing in the southern part of Mississippi. "South of us is a third world country", he told me today. They are becoming a staging point for movement south into a land with no electricity, water, a/c, food, toilet facilities, or standing homes. The city of Meridian (70,000) is expecting 10,000 refuges from the southern part of the state and from New Orleans. They will be walking up Interstate 10.
"We are mostly in need of basic care packages - the kind Samaritans Purse puts out". Samaritans Purse suggests that you get an old shoebox, fill it with personal items (toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, washcloth, bottled water, flashlight with extra batteries, socks, ball cap, hard candy, granola bars, etc.). We will find a way to ship this to Earl and his church in Meridian (now that power has been restored to the church they are a designated Red Cross center and a staging point to go further south to the devastated communities of Gulfport and beyond). "If you send people, remind them that can have all the expertise in the world but they have no access to power, electricity, gas or the like. People in Meridian are waiting 3 hours in line for a bag of ice".
The Church of God Campground in Louisiana has become a refuge camp. They already have nearly 60 families staying there. They have the capacity for 90 families. Church of God Ministries has already sent $3,000 to help with food. I will try and raise twice that much or more through the Churches of God in Central California. Giving to the Red Cross is a great idea and I am excited to see so many doing so. However, when some of your own are on the front lines helping to minister to the human carnage that is going on in that region, give to them directly and they will help those who need it the most - right there where they are.
I don't think I have ever been more embarrassed by our politicians than I have been the last few days. Instead of pulling together to do what needs to be done they have gone to the microphones and the airwaves to politicize and criticize. May I suggest that we all stop talking about the problem and start doing something to make a difference. That is what the church is all about, isn't it? Doing instead of just talking? Acting not just speaking? Making a difference and not just making a point? People will only be helped by those who do. Let's be doers of the Word and not just hearers.