All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned At VBS

null

  For some of you, summer is already “post V.B.S.”  Some had it so early you are already mowing in the t-shirt.  For us it all starts Sunday night.  At this point I am not sure what to expect.  Its unfamiliar territory for all of us at South Main.  For the congregation, this is the first VBS they have hosted by themselves in some years.  People are stretching to do what they’ve never done before, or at least in quite some time.  Last year’s V.B.S. gave them the courage.  Kelly Crotts and a group from Florence, Alabama came and led a fantastic effort.  We hope to carry it on.

    For me personally, this is the first VBS I have led from the “Pulpit Minister’s” perspective.  I am not too apprehensive about it, I think I can still find my “children’s ministry feet” fairly easily.  I do fear becoming one of those guys we’ve all seen who, despite bringing glory to God by doing their very best, are locked into a bygone era with VBS, (singing that new youth song “Kum Ba Yah.”)  Or, worse, I don’t want to be one of those guys who wants to relate with kids, but can’t quite give up the security of his “grown up dignity.”  If you fear looking silly, the wilds of V.B.S isn’t for you.   “If you love Jesus, do all four” ain’t for sissies, and it sure isn’t for the insecure.

    Trying to reorient myself to leading VBS songs has made me realize, that while that cookie and kool aid mixture supercharged our “yell a little louder,” we were learning some great things about discipleship.

• Roll the gospel chariot out into the world!  When your brother is in the way… stop and pick him up!  A sister?  Don’t roll on by, doing “church” while she sits in need, stop and pick her up.  And a sinner?  How should we treat “those” sinners…?  You stop and pick them up!  And if the devil stands in front of you, tells you to be afraid, or it can’t be done,  let the chariot roll!  Run right over him, and keep going.  That’s not a bad church growth plan.
• Dads, wise men do build their house on the rock… Jesus Christ.  The foolish man’s house does go “smash.”
• If you’re happy and you know it… do something!  There is too much anger and fear in the world.  Clap your hands, stomp your feet… celebrate!  And certainly, smile!  If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it!  (Note:  I miss the days when the fourth verse was shout “right on!”  and everyone understood. Anyone else have a favorite verse from years gone by?)
• The “Lord’s Army” has taught us all about cross cultural missions.  From its humble beginnings on the front lines of the Army, it has transformed its message… Cowboy style, “Yeehaw”… Mexican, “Si Senor,” and a whole host of others.
• God still gives all His children the “joy, joy, joy” and the “peace that passes understanding” down in their hearts.  When they are “so happy” and even when their heart aches.  Its down in the depths of their heart, along with the “wonderful love of the blessed redeemer.”  Satan doesn’t like it, but there’s not a thing he can do about it….  He can sit on a tack to stay.
• Personal evangelism?  This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!  When you feel a little ackward being like Jesus… don’t hide it under a bushel. Let it shine!  When Satan tries to lure you away, don’t let him “pfff” it out. Let it shine!.  Let it shine all around the neighborhood… until Jesus comes….  Let it shine, all the time, let it shine!  (Didn’t Isaiah write that one… Is. 60:1ff?)

  I’m sure you can think of others.  I love it that when the song calls for a shout… kids shout.  And, come to think of it, for your daily not-so-quiet time, you could do worse than singing, “Hip, hip, hippopotamus; hip, hip, hooray, God made all of us… Mana, Mana, manatee; hip,hip, hooray, God loves you and me.”  Our Lord really is king of the jungle (even the ones with glass doors and 3 piece suits), and a “friend next to ya’.”  He loves all of us in the world: red, yellow black, and white; though we are weak, He is strong… the Bible tells me so.

If you love Jesus… clap your hands….

Danny

No More Sleeping In Church

 It has been a great week in Greenville.  We were excited to have 162 for a regular Sunday service.  It just seemed the crowd kept coming in.  It was our largest crowd since we’ve been here. We have been all excited that our attendance rose from the 120 area to the 140 area… 162 in services was overwhelming.  A couple of new experiences are on the horizon… VBS (first time South Main has hosted their own in some years) and, this weekend, a wedding.  In between, Tyler is headed to Barton Bible Camp; his first experience with Senior session.  I am hoping to go down on Thursday to pick him up, and hear Neil preach at evening services.  I’d appreciate your prayers for all these things.

  I ran across an interesting article on Fox News today.  It seems in Brussells, Belgium they are putting on display…”The House of The Future.” Investigating further I found out Disney is also adding a similar attraction to its theme parks… “The House of Tomorrow.”  They have some interesting features. 

• When you bring the groceries in it automatically scans them, keeps an inventory, and suggests recipes, meal plans, etc…  (No mention of whether it plans a “leftovers night.”)
• When you walk into a room it automatically adjusts the temperature, the art work, aroma, and music to your specifications.  (You thought the battle for the TV remote could get intense, and can’t you see the 9 year old having a blast going back and forth through the doorway.)
• Of course it automatically starts the coffee, warms the shower, and runs a bath in the morning.
• There is a virtual reading room.  As you read outloud it hears your voice and surrounds you with special effects.  Reading about the jungle?  You’re there!  Peter Pan… you see the virtual cannon shots.  Remember, it’s all in 3D… that’s cool.  (I wonder what it will do if you read commentaries out loud?  What about some dry scholastic theologian?  It could revolutionize sermon preperation.)
• Of course, my personal favorite, the flip of a switch brings down a 100″ TV, closes the drapes, goes to surround sound, and the whole theater experience… plus live effects.  That’s cool.
• They noted that people could have virtual mirrors where they try on outfits without ever taking them out of the closet… or out of the store for that matter.  The down side, they will also tell you you height, weight, body mass, and fat levels.  (Hopefully it won’t be programmed with jokes or sarcastic “motivational” statements.  There are obvious jokes about self-delusion, but we won’t go there.)
• You’ll be glad to know your alarm clock will become out dated.  In the future, they claim, your mattress will “nudge” you out of bed.  (Nudge?  Are they politely telling us that it will throw us to the floor?)

 At any rate, here’s my question, “If that’s the house of the future, what about the church building of the future?”  Can you imagine wiring your auditorium with the virtual reading room technology?  As you are preaching, the whole auditorium is responding to your sermon with special effects and taking the audience “on location.”  Valley of Jezreel, David and Goliath, Red Sea, Raising Lazarus; You are there!  Sermons could have corporate sponsors who run logos while you are preaching.  Attendance is now done with pinpoint accuracy, generating an attendance role of all members.  (Sorry, no more preacher count… unless we program it!)  The building could pick the scripture reading and songs based upon who all is in services that morning… adjusting as they walk in.  People’s contribution could be deducted from their bank account when the building detects them walking in the door.  Fashion and hairstyle sensors let people with multiple hair colors and spiked mohawks know when its really hard for those sitting behind them to concentrate.  Body sensors on the pews are connected to warning lights on the virtual pulpit (or tones in the preachers ear) letting the preacher know a dangerous portion of the audience have checked out of anything he is saying… flashing a warning on the retina of his eyes.  When he’s on the mark, it could say, “Preach it brother.”  Other times it may just say, “Extend the invitation.”

   If folks were in shock by all those “devo” songs coming into services, think about the future shock for everyone in that generation?  (Wait; that would be us!)  I can hear the letter now, “To the elders; I don’t think the building is reading my name tag.” Can you imagine what ingenious teens can do with this technology at church camp and youth rooms… not to mention on the church bus?  And that technology that makes your mattress respond and move holds great possibilities for church pews.  You won’t dare go to sleep in that service.

  So what do you think, what will be on display in our new exhibit… “The Church Building of Tomorrow!”  Have some fun with this one, or be serious too if you like.  Pass word to some of your “imagineers” and others… lets see what we come up with.  Thanks!

[One humorous insight; right before Disney got ready to open their display... they had to do an update.  It seems some of the software was already out of date. True story.]

Fourth of July in Vicksburg… an interesting quandry

   A few years back I was reading about the Vietnam war and several writers were trying tie up the loose ends about why it was such a bulldozer to the American psyche.  One guy observed that it was simple… we didn’t know how to lose a war; after all, we’d never done it before.  I thought that was interesting, simply because it was not true, and the writer didn’t seem to realize it.  While it is true that prior to 1972, for some of us, our heritage had never been on the losing end of a conflict.  We had never before been brought to our knees, made the long march home in defeat, and had to lift our society up from the ashes of failed dreams.  However, a large portion of us had.

  This weekend there is a big Fourth of July celebration in Vicksburg, and rightfully so.  Yet, it must come with some mixed emotions.  For those of you who are not Civil War buffs, let me explain.  From its beginning in 1861 the American Civil War went back and forth, each side claiming its victories and trying to minimize its losses.  A lot of propaganda and little success, ebb and flow of battle fatalities; neither making permanent progress.  Then came the Fourth of July weekend 1863.  In Pennsylvania masses of troops were gathered at Little Round Top, the Wheat Field… Gettysburg.  In the South, the city of Vicksburg, which controlled the Mississippi River, had been under seige for over a month and troops and citizens alike were wearing thin.  Then, on one Fourth of July weekend, for the South it all came down.  George Pickett’s desperation charge failed at Gettysburg and the battle was lost.  Robert E. Lee would retreat back south and never more battle for Northern soil.  In Vicksburg, weary people, many living in caves, could hold out no longer.  The city of Vicksburg surrendered, and the mighty Mississippi supply line fell once and for all into Union control.  From that Fourth of July onward the war would only go in one direction.  It was the high water mark of the Confederacy.  The tide began to recede that day… and not return.

  So I wonder about Fourth of Julys in Vicksburg.  A day of rejoicing and a day of defeat all wrapped into one.  I wonder how that works?  The question is laden with spiritual values, but I am not sure what it means.  Like all nations, races, and peoples of the earth their heritage is a mixed bag.  There are great things to celebrate, and things to mourn.  There are days of glory and cords of heritage to celebrate and be proud… and those we’d just as soon not mention.  Maybe we’d even forget them if we could. There are heroes with gallant hearts… and feet of clay; the only kind we have.  At any rate, I am glad the fireworks will be booming over the bridges in Vicksburg.  I hope their pride is booming too.  I am glad we are brethren of one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. 

  I get the sense there is something spiritual I ought to learn from this, but I’m not sure what.  Any insights out there?

Back… and Blessed from the Blogosphere

  Well, I am back in my office, back at my computer, back in my own bed (not at this moment)… and only responsible for one child under age 9.  Last week was great fun and very helpful.  I spent the week as camp counselor for six kids, mostly 8 years old, at Sardis Lake Christian Camp.  I really didn’t feel all that tired until Sunday morning.  When I got up to teach class, my legs felt like Jello.  The sermon was entitled “Church 101;” a low key exposition of I Thess. 5:12 to the end of the letter.  I am glad it wasn’t anything real intense, I would have had to appeal to the Holy Spirit for the fire. A Sunday afternoon nap saved me.

  Getting back had some great blessings awaiting.  My daughter started a blog, “A Haley-sized View.”  So now I have another thing online for which to look forward.  The oldest of our children, Haley and her husband and the world’s cutest grandchild live now in North Carolina (Ft. Bragg).  She has always been a  creative sort so I am sure it will be good.  (I am envious of how cool her header looks).  It seems Neil (Neil’s Diamonds) is slowly converting us all into a “blogging” Holman family.

  Also online I read an interesting and challenging couple of blogs.  Over at Patrick Meade’s “Tentpegs” site they have been discussing “Open theology.”  Although I have heard passing references to “Open Theology” this is my first real introduction.  It is a challenging perspective.  I look forward to studying, praying, and evaluating it more.  At www.chadhambrick.wordpress.com  I also picked up a challenging blog on “Stephen Hawking, the Big Bang, and God.”  The post is a writing by Henry Schaeffer III, former chemistry professor at Berkley and multiple Nobel Prize nominee.  It is very interesting… also long, science through and through, and challenging in thought.  Its going to take some time to digest.  However, If you are interested in science, origins, and the existence of God I would very much recommend it.  The references alone are a gold mine.  Both of these posts are stretching brain cells as we speak.

  I did pick up one bit of disturbing news.  It seems I have unwittingly been part of a conspiracy to “fatten” the world’s children.  A blogsite, “Ironbell Atheletes,” makes references to a growing health risk.  It seems the chief culprit pushing the waist lines of Americans….”High Fructose Corn Syrup,”  a main ingredient in many soft drinks.  While at Harding Graduate School I worked as a security guard on President’s Island at the Cargill plant.  It was bitter cold most nights on the river.  The only place you could count on warmth was the new facility at the back of the plant where they made “High Fructose Corn Syrup.”  [One checkpoint was in that facility's very soft, plush conference room; a great temptation to many of our sleepy eyes on third shift.]  So let me offer up my regrets here.  To all the world’s “growing” population, I’m sorry.   I promise, I really didn’t know.  Clothing manufacturers… would it be out of line to consider a donation to my student load debt?

  Fianlly, last night was a wonderful time.  Some months ago we decided to mark fifth Sundays by inviting the area congregations to join us for a singing.  Last night was the first of those gatherings.  In a community where race has such an infamous past and present, it was great to see the Lord’s people rise above it.  Our auditorium was full, and the songs I am sure bowed the rafters with every note.  God was praised with tremendous songs, and even more with a great show of Christian unity.  We had trouble gettting started because of all the visiting, and when it was over, it seemed no one wanted to go home.  It was a night to remember.  We’re going to do it again in August!

More later this week!  I hope all is going well with you.

Danny

Hype 2

  We have recently been involved in some major construction at South Main… or so some had hoped.  I guess I need to explain.  To the south of the building was a parking lot… about 35 yards long and 30 yards wide.  It had never really been used, and now it had grass growing up in the middle and was a little unsightly to say the least.  After deliberations about fences, ”Roundup,” and everything else, it was decided that the best thing to do was just take up the asphalt and return it to lawn.  This would look much better, and make it a little less convenient for those who cut the intersection by racing through our property.  So one of the members brought his “back-hoe” and another went to work.  In a short time, after a lot of work, the asphalt was being hauled away, and the ground was reappearing.  That’s when the phone started ringing…

  Local people driving by were calling the building.  I could see them fumbling in excitement as they dug into their purse or floorboard for their cell phone.  Others would rush into the house and head straight for the phone.  It is hard to describe the excitement in their voice as they rang the church office….  “What are you all building!!!?”  Everywhere I went people who had seen the 8100 square foot rectangle couldn’t hold back the curiosity and great hope.  I hated to tell them the truth.  I mentioned to one of our deacons, the perfect ending to tearing up all that ground would be to build, right in the middle,…a little gazebo.

  Since saying that, the joke has came back on me.  I wonder how many times we have torn up a football field just to build a gazebo.  Here’s what I mean.  We are going to do a series of lessons on marriage, so we make it sound like your marriage will never be the same when we’re done.  This series will revolutionize the way you see your spouse!  Really?  Or is that just hype and sales pitch?  Do we oversale ourselves?  And, if we do, at what expense?  What does the exaggeration cost us?  Our weekend drive to feed the hungry becomes an event that will end poverty and our new program will change your whole outlook on _____.

  And what about even our Christianity?  I remember the lessons in High School that told me if I would come to Jesus my life would be filled with continual joy and exuberanace.  At least it was implied… highs in the 70’s and sunshine everyday.  They didn’t say much about following Jesus would mean Gethsemane’s, Judas’s, and places where the Son of Man had no where to lay His head.

  In a world of sales pitches and marketing schemes, how do we try to convince people of Christianity’s incredible worth without it looking like so much more slick packaging?  How do we overcome the impulse to over sale and come out looking a little phony?

I don’t know how clear I have asked the question.  Do you understand what I am wondering?  What do you think? What can we do?  Let me know your thoughts.  Forward this to friends,  Christian and not, whom you think might have some perspective.  I’d appreciate their insights as well.

You Never Know…

  My kids always chuckle at all the different jobs I have had.  By far the one that most interest everyone was my very first job.  In December of 1974 a professional horse trainer in the riding club with our family asked my Dad if I could come ride for him.  He was making the transition from trainging show horses to race horses and needed an exercise boy.  I would spend the next few years getting off the school bus, grabbing my helmet and stick, getting a boost into the saddle, and riding until dark.  As I grew to understand horse races and horse racing many things amazed me.  I was riding horses that were bred to do extraordinary things.  One horse, “Stack of Straw,” was a yearling and still too young to even break to ride.  He stood in his stall, exercised in the pen and carried a bloodline.  His price? $40,000.  (He was an Appalossa, had he been Qurater Horse or Thoroughbred it could have been $100,000 or more.)  I had grown up riding horses, yet these horses could gallop as fast as the horses I knew could run.  The first time I sat down in the saddle and called on one to really run… it scared me to death.  Horses would sometimes push a hole 8″ deep in the gates as they rocketed to top speed three jumps later.  Gates that opened too fast for the human eye to see, would leave scratches on the face of some horses.  Their lightning reflexes hurled them through before the gate had made enough clearance for their head.

  The reason Louis Nichols decided to go from training show horses to race horses was named “Bug N U.”  She was a pretty little filly (originally bought for the show ring).  She was about 15 hands (5 ft. at the shoulders), which is short for horses, really short for a race horse.  She was pleasant and liked being handled (an attribute all too rare around racing stables).  The key to her success… broad massive shoulders, powerful wide hips, and thighs that rubbed together almost all the way to her knees.  She was a muscle bound athletic specimen of amazing build.

   The first day I went to ride for Louis,  the first task was to begin teaching her to be rode.  From then on  I would gallop her three - four  times a week.  Some horses were a battle to exercise, and others were even  dangerous to handle.  Others you just got on their back and kept them pointed in the right direction… and held on.  They loved to run.  Bug was one you could climb all over, do whatever you wanted, even put a kid on her back.  She like to work… but with her you had the sense you were more out at play.  She glided around the track, ocassionally kicking up a playful “crow hop.”.  It was what she was bred to do, and she loved every minute of it.  She did all right racing… nothing major.  “Straw” and “Dan” (world champion show horse) were the stable royalty and would become the most successful. ”Pacific Dottie” was the fastest.  But “Bug” was always special to Louis and Iva (the owner/trainer and his wife).  I always assumed it was because of her personality and demeanor…a playful little filly in great athlete’s body.  Shortly after I retired from riding for Louis (knee surgery), Bug retired too.  Off to her life as a brood mare.

  One day, having fun on the internet, I entered her name in a horse bloodline website.  I didn’t find it.  Nothing remarkable enough in her career.   It was no suprise to find her sire’s name however.  “Go Bug Go” was a tremendous race horse winning a few million dollars in his career.  There on his dame’s side, Bug’s grand dame, was the amazing F.L. Lady Bug, a quarter horse legend.  (Out of six to eight colts, four of her foals were million dollar winners.)  Not a bad bloodline… But that’s when I saw it.  Back a few generations… on the sire’s side.  Was it really there?  I had to look twice; but there he was… it was “Man O’War.”  In the history of horse racing, the top class has only two students… “Secretariat” and “Man O’ War.”  In the list of top racehorses, as listed by the industry… Secretariat is second.  “Man O’ War” is “The Great Man o”War.” I never knew. I had been riding horse racing royalty, a princess of a king, and never knew. 

  I try to remember that when I deal with people.  There is a bellman in an Eastern U.S. city mentioned in “Letters To America.”  He receives your bags takes them to your room.  I hope you tip him. The hands that receive your tip are the same hands that once received his Congressional Medal of Honor.  I doubt if he’ll mention it.  I doubt if I’d know.  Who else have I brushed against, waited in line with, or waited on.  You just never know.  Yet, I should know.  Whether I recognize their royalty or not…they are made in His image.

  A few years ago, I was back in Harrah.  On a whim I decided to pay Louis and Iva a visit.  The years showed.  His face had aged… his love for me was still young.  “I always thought of you like one of my boys,” he said.  (Coming from a man who had lost a son in recent years, it meant a lot.)  He no longer trained horses.  In fact he only had one brood mare, but he took me out to show her off.  He told me how Bug had got out through a fence break and was killed in the highway in front of their house.  It was still an emotional memory for him… me too.  As we turned the corner by the barn, there was a little App filly in the pen.  A deformed back foot signified her status and destiny as a brood mare, but her massive chest, hips, and thighs told me who her dame was.   Another generation of royalty cleverly disguised.

  “And God said, let us make man in our image.”

One final note… Insiders say the long drought of Triple Crown winners will probably come to an end this weekend.  I will be glad it does.  If you want to watch some thrilling animals, go to Youtube and type in “Affirmed” or “Alydar” and watch their amazing battles.  That’s a good warm up.  Then type in “Secretariat,” particularly  his run in the Belmont.  Of ESPN’s greatest athletes of all times, he is the only non-human.  You’ll see why.

Husbands, Wives, and Respect…

  When we moved to Conway in ‘95 Craig and Janine were there.  Fresh out of college, just married.  Craig enjoyed life, a good laugh, and would soon have you enjoying it all with him.  Craig had a lot of challenges in his life.  I remember when someone first mentioned the way he had overcame his Turret’s “ticks.”  It was the first time I had even noticed.  He had overcame them, not in the sense that it no longer produced physical effects, but in the sense that it did not effect Craig.  His personality overwhelmed his Turrets.  That was just one one of the things I learned from Craig.

  Craig would come to the office to visit and talk about my latest computer hassles and give me good direction, but most of the time it was just a visit.  As his body struggled with his hip, then his back.  He overcame so many disabling injuries, aggravating pain, and did it all with a laugh.  The thing I learned most from Craig, however, is how a man should talk about his wife.  When you talked with Craig the topic would soon come to Janine and he made no reservation on speaking of his admiration for her.  There was a sense of amazement in his voice.  He was tremendouly proud of her, there was genuine utter respect, and he let you know it.  Craig taught me, in practice what Peter called for when he said for husbands to lift their wives in honor.

  When I received word of Craig’s passing last week (see Clyde Slimp’s blog for more details) it was quite a shock.  A delayed email had requested his prayers just a few hours before I received the call.  That made the phone call even more startling.  A wedding prevented me from being at Craig’s memorial service, (I heard you did a wonderful job Robert).  I wish I could have gone.  To honor Craig’s courage.  Sometimes courage makes you do daring things… sometimes it empowers you to endure things with joy and laughter.  Sometimes it makes you give respect to those who are due without regard to convention.    Next time I hear someone running down their wife, or drawing attention to themselves at the expense of their husband’s esteem… I will think of Craig, and excuse myself from it all.  I would encourage all of us men to do the same.

For Craig Mangrum, after a lifetime of toil and challenges, it is good to know you rest in peace.  Janine, our prayers are with you and all the family.

Danny

 

Preacher’s Kids… a word for John Dobbs

  The world can be rather small.  When one of my sons went to Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina, it was a tremendous blessing.  His life was blessed; his world changed.  The time he spent with John Dobbs put sparkle and joy in his eyes.  As Neil spoke of John I felt a bond.  The bond of appreciation one feels when someone blesses their child. 

  At that time I did not know that I would be following to Mississippi in just a few short years… a little farther up the Mississippi to Greenville.  Upon arriving in Greenville, one of the first “welcomes” I received was online, from John Dobbs.  By providence I had moved to a home area for John, a place where they call him one of their own, and thus our ties increased.  Loved and appreciated by people in this area, when John moved just up the road to Monroe everyone felt we were practically neighbors. 

  Although we have never met in person, these blessings flooded me last night, along with the desire to somehow share them back with their source in the Dobbs family.  All of us here at South Main grieved upon hearing of John Robert’s passing; somewhat in shock.  As word spread we knew only a few of us really  understood John and Maggy’s pain, (those who’ve lost a child of their own), yet, we wished someway to share in it… carry some of it… relieve it.

  As I think of my four kids, John and Maggy, I cannot fathom the depths of agony in your heart at losing your son.  It onlly makes me appreciate more the blessings you have given to my son… my family, and pray.  When God was preparing for His son to die He sent an angel to give Him strength and comfort.  I pray the same for you.  May you find comfort in Danny Dodd’s beautiful words, and the image he shared of thousands upon thousands of angels from all around coming to your side this day.

  With all the hassles they endure, I’d like to think there are special blessings for preacher’s kids when they put on “glory.”  I pray that your son is enjoying those this day… and that my sons and daughter will join him by and by.  Our prayers and appreciation are with you.

Thanks… Danny

I Surrender My Time To The Man From Ireland

  About the time I was ready to write another article about “hype” I ran across a great article.  If you want to read something that will bless you, read Jim McGuiggan’s article at www.jimmcguiggan, titled “What Christ Thinks of the Church.” 

Danny

Hoopla Survivor

 

  Some people have that knack.  No matter what happens you just know they will land on their feet.  Regardless of how many “lifelines” they use… in the end they will make it.  They may not win a million, but they’ll still be in the game.  I am starting to feel like one of those.  Looking back over my years… I have survived: Cuban missile crisis, Vietnam war, asassination attempts on three presidents (one succeeded), the Watts riots, the LA riots, the Philadelphia riots, two recessions, “black Monday,” Fidel Castro, The Cold War, war with the Iraqi’s and the feared “Republican Guard,” the enviromental crisis of the 70’s (pollution), the oil shortage of the seventies, the oil industry “bust” of the eighties, the Carter years, the Clinton presidency, bird flu epidemic, legionaire’s disease, mad cow disease, aeresol sprays, the threat of the flesh-eating ebola virus, the corrupting of Saturday Night Fever, Saturday Night Live, The Beatles, Heavy Metal, Punk Rock, and of course Elvis.  These along with many others I am sure I forgot.  Why just last month the cry went out… we’re running out of “rice.” Gasp!!!! [That was a rough couple days.]  Finally,of course, the big one that is going to kill us all… global warming.

  I know the press and Al Gore are upset with me because I cannot work up more concern over global warming, and I am not sure that I shouldn’t.  It makes sense; eventually one of these bad boys is going to make it to shore. 9/11 happened.  Reality is however, I am jaded to the whole “crisis” early warning system, to the point of being cynical.  Maybe I ought to be concerned about that.  ["If apathy kills me... will I care?"]

  So where is this all going?  When I preach, how many people am I talking to who are just like me?  Do I fall into sounding tornado sirens with every gust of wind?  And what about eternity?.  Do they hear warnings about losing their soul and Hell as just another hype-born crisis?  Do they think, “Oh it looks bad, sounds bad, but it’ll all be alright somehow.”  How many warnings about sin and its dangers are regarded with the attitude, “Someday we’ll realize it wasn’t a big deal… like Elvis and rock and roll?”  Do they think we have over done the warning? 

More on the destructiveness of “hype” later.  For now, how do we help people weed out the real crisis of life from the overgrown disasters of the 6 o’clock news’ push for ratings?  How do we get our listeners to use the Bible to focus our eyes on what is truly urgent?  How do I keep an intensity over people who are lost?How do we keep from getting swept up in the “apocalypse du jour?”  What do you think?  What do you all do?

 

Post note:  Most of you have found that cool link for inserting pictures into your comments ID.  I am still wandering through wordpress.com for that feature, can someone give be directions?  I really don’t look anything like that black static image by my comments.