Amazing Grace!

I was privileged to be in this chapel service and to have lunch that day with the folks from Angola and LCFW. My heart was touched and the tears flowed down my cheeks to see and hear these wonderful examples of the redemptive power of our God.

I am so proud of NOBS and the pioneering work they have done in providing theological education for those who are considered "throw away people" by many.

Please click on the link below, and read this story from Baptist Press and be blessed!

http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=35218

The Memories Came Flooding Back

It's hard to say what made the most lasting impression on me.

Could be the dazed look still on the faces of many New Yorkers. Perhaps it was the overpowering presence of police officers who were everywhere. Then there was the dust. It still lay heavily on windowsills, ledges, and tops of wall surrounding the grounds of the City Hall. I can still see the long tandem trucks that rolled incessantly through the gate of the makeshift security fence that had been hastily erected around what came to be known as "Ground Zero". Each truck's trailer was piled high with chunks of concrete and twisted steel. One after another they came, around the clock, heading, we were told, for a landfill on Staten Island. As the endless caravan of loaded vehicles exited, another string of empty trailers headed back inside the fence for the next load of debris.

Perhaps the most sobering sight were the hundreds, no, thousands, of "Missing Posters" that adorned the walls of buildings up and down Broadway and the side streets that intersected it. Photo after photo, with names of those who were missing, along with contact information were literally everywhere. These posters helped put a personal face on the huge tragedy we had all witnessed a week earlier on live TV.

We stood silently on Broadway, just off the Fulton Street subway station. A river of humanity passed by on the wide sidewalks, as survivors were trying to get their lives back on track a week after the worst attack ever perpetrated on American soil. The faces were all different, yet eerily similar. They wore expressions of worry, despair, apprehension, or just blank looks as they stared straight ahead. Many, like our small group, simply stood reverently, looking down the block at the huge piles of rubble that only a week ago were the twin sparkling buildings that had stood 110 stories tall. Now it was the scene of destruction, and the tomb of thousands. The sound of heavy equipment and jackhammers echoed through the man made canyons. The only traffic sounds were those made by emergency vehicles and the trucks that kept coming and going from the site of the former World Trade Center's Twin Towers. There was no other vehicular traffic allowed in lower Manhattan. In fact, the subway had just opened that morning. Previously the only way to get from Brooklyn to Manhattan had been to walk across the landmark Brooklyn Bridge.

We weren't there to rubberneck. Rather, we had come to help, and this was our "morning off" after working the midnight shift of helping to prepare thousands of meals for the first responders, and recovery personnel who were working around the clock, just across the river from our work site in Brooklyn. The Kentucky Baptist Convention had a huge Disaster Relief kitchen unit on site, where thousands of hot meals were being prepared each day, to be taken across the river by Red Cross ERVs to fee the hundreds of relief workers on the job around Ground Zero.

Two van loads of us had come from some of eastern Kentucky's Greenup Baptist Association's churches to help with the task. We had arrived in the New York area at a Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief staging area in New Jersey, around midnight on Monday evening. Worn out from the day long drive, several of us felt that we should spend the night in the Baptist Church there, but the younger guys pressed us to go on over into the city and roll out our sleeping bags in the temporary Disaster Relief "camp site". Even though we weren't exactly sure where it was, at the urging of the young guys we pressed on.

We were told in the staging area that the DR HQ was "near the Brooklyn Bridge", and with guidance from the Lord, and the help of the ever present NYPD officers, we eventually found the three story warehouse that would serve as our home for the next week. It was not only "near" the Brooklyn Bridge, it was literally UNDER the span. The first floor was a beehive of activity (even at that late hour) as thousands of boxes of clothing. and innumerable cases of bottled water were being moved around by volunteers on fork lifts.

We signed in with the DR "Blue Hat" that was in charge, and were issued a Red Cross cot and told that our sleeping quarters were on the second floor. Before going upstairs for some badly needed sleep, we walked over to the railing at the river's edge and looked quietly across at the skyline of lower Manhattan. In the area where the Twin Towers had once stood, now was a cloud of dust and smoke, still rising from the ruins, illuminated by the halogen lights that surrounded the work area. It was the same view (with the Brooklyn Bridge soaring above) that I had seen hundreds of time in movies and television shows over the years. The notable exception was the empty space where the towers had stood until the previous week.

Our sleeping facility was as dark as a coal mine. Fortunately someone had brought a flashlight and we found a sparsely taken area where we set up our cots. I was asleep before my head hit the cot. When we woke at first light, it was possible to see what the lodging situation was. In a word, crowded. The warehouse was a huge open area with large concrete pillars separating the concrete floor from the concrete ceiling. There were probably 150 people who had set up campsites there. Meals were taken as we prepared the meals to go out to the relief workers, and shower facilities were in a Virginia Baptist Convention Disaster Relief trailer parked on the premises.

I could write volumes on what we saw and experienced that week - but time and space does not allow. Quite frankly, the 9 1/2 years that have passed, my six year battle with cancer, three new grandchildren, and the grind of every day life had served to dim the memories a bit. But they all came flooding back late Sunday night when the breaking news on the television declared that Osama bin Laden had been killed in Pakistan by U.S. military personnel.

This was the man who embodied the evil that cost more than 3,000 lives of innocent people in New York City, Washington, D.C. and in a field outside of Shanksville, PA. He is the guy, along with his radical Islamic followers, who gave us the TSA, Homeland Security, Terror Alerts, and basically changed our way of life in America, forever.

While the death of bin Laden cannot bring back even one of the 911 victims, I pray that it does bring a sense of justice to the families of those who were murdered by his demented minions. It took 9 1/2 years to track him down and dispatch him from this world into the next. I thank God that Presidents Bush and Obama, respectively started and completed the search. Kudos to our military for a job well done.

Duh!

A Model Mom

May is a month that is special for our family. We will celebrate three birthdays and a wedding anniversary. The end of the month brings the Memorial Day holiday, and the unofficial beginning of Summer. May is also special to most all of us, because that is the month in which we observe Mother’s Day. There is no name on earth that is more dear to most of us than, “Mother”. Much of what we learn in our formative years is taught to us by our mothers.

Jesus’ mother, Mary, was not perfect or sinless, but she was a good example of sound parenting for all of us. Consider the following things about Mary that make her such a model mother.

First, consider her character. She was a woman who trusted God. The first chapter of Luke’s gospel tells us, “… the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. (vs. 26-30) ESV. Mary was a woman who was the object of God’s Grace.

Her courage was also great. Verses 30-38 tells us that even though she didn’t fully understand, she was willing to be used of God. No doubt she knew she would be falsely accused of immorality, but she (and Joseph) showed great courage and faith in God.

She was also a woman who contemplated on the mysteries of God and all the unknowns that surrounded this Holy Child she had been given. Look at verses 19 and 52 from Luke chapter 2. “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” And “And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.” Mary meditated on what was said about Jesus, and what was said by Him. She attempted to understand. Understanding is something that all parents need.

Then consider her confidence. John 2:1-11 tells the story about Jesus and His mother being at a wedding feast in the Galilean town of Cana. You may remember the story, about the crisis that arose when the host ran out of wine. This would have been a tremendous embarrassment to the host of the wedding feast. When Mary heard of the crisis, she came to Jesus and told Him of the need. After telling Him of the need, notice what Mary said (in verse 5) to the servants at the feast. “His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” She obviously believed in her son and knew He would do the right thing. Every parent should desire to have such confidence.

Finally, we see Mary’s commitment to Jesus. At Calvary we find Mary there at the foot of the cross. In John 19:25-27 we see Mary there with the Apostle John among others who followed Him. One of Jesus’ final seven sayings from the cross was directed to them. “but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.” Mary stayed committed to her son all the way to the cross – and beyond! Acts 1 tells us that after Jesus had ascended back to Heaven, that the disciples came back to Jerusalem and waited for the promise of the Spirit that He had given them. Notice who was also with the group – “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet … All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”

Oh, for more Godly mothers today, who would exhibit the character, courage, contemplation, and commitment that Mary did!

The Cult of Celebrity

At the time of this writing, the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton was 63 hours ago. Yet here on Sunday evening, after two and a half days, two of the three 24 hour news channels I receive are showing their entire wedding coverage from this past Friday - for the umpteenth time!

It was a lovely affair, and, I suppose, a storybook tale about the beautiful girl whose "commoner" family hails from a coal mining town, who marries a young man who will one day be King of England. It makes a nice story and there was no shortage of pomp and pageantry (those Brits really know how to put on a great show!) But how long is this incessant coverage going to go on?

Granted, these Royal Weddings don't happen every day, and for the British Commonwealth, I suppose it is all a matter of national pride. News reports say that 2.9 billion (that's 1/3 of the planet's population!) watched the ceremony live. That is incredible when you think about it.

The hype building up to this event, even here in America, was unbelievable. The wedding plans were talked about on morning news shows for weeks. Cable news channels counted down the days and hours until the nuptials would be accomplished. By midweek last week, every broadcast news organization had anchor people on site in London, and their major news shows originated from places like Trafalgar Square or Hyde Park. The design of Kate Middleton's wedding gown was a greater secret than the formula for Coca Cola, or the ingredients in a nuclear bomb. By Friday morning the live coverage was spread across all the network feeds. In fact, here in Huntington, WV, the local morning newscast anchors were decked out in formal wear!

What is it that causes otherwise reasonable people to fixate on such an event?

My first guess is that it has something to do with the fairy tales that were read to us as children. Every young girl back in the 50's dreamed of the day when one day her prince would come to carry her away on a big white horse. You remember the stories. They all ended with them all "living happily ever after".

My brother would suggest that it's all a big deal for folks who "didn't get enough dress up", and make believe when they were kids.

For some, the interest might be historical. For others it might be the love story involved. To many people, it was all about the Prince's late mother. One friend actually said, "This world needs Diana and her seed!" (whatever that means).

My personal opinion is that it all has more to do with the cult of celebrity that seems to have engulfed our society. We have become a nation of voyeurs. Television, the Internet, and social media have enabled us to view the lives of celebrities 24/7. Celebrity award programs abound, giving these icons an opportunity to preen for us on the red carpet, and for them to steal the spotlight in the self congratulatory awards ceremonies. Many sit glued to their televisions to view "Dancing with the Stars" and "Celebrity Apprentice". Water cooler conversations swirl around who was voted off and who was fired. Apparently many folks live vicariously through an escape from reality, by obsessing on the lives of cinema stars, sports heroes, and others like Paris Hilton or the Kardashians, who somehow have become famous, just for being famous!

Can anybody answer my question, Why?

Why has this dominated the news for days?

During the same time, seven states in the southeastern U.S. have been declared disaster areas from the effect of severe storms and tornadoes. Hundreds of people are dead, entire towns have been demolished, thousands are injured and homeless. Yet the public obsesses over a marriage of a beautiful young lady to a fellow who happened to be born into the gene pool of an outdated monarchy, who happens to be the son of a dead celebrity, himself. In the vast scheme of things, this wedding, while interesting, should be less than a blip on the radar screen of human events. Instead, we are inundated with it, ad nauseum, two and a half days after the fact.

I certainly wish the Prince and his bride (I guess they are the Duke and Duchess of somewhere now) a long and happy life together. I wish the same for the thousands of couples who repeated similar vows in much smaller ceremonies all around the globe on the same day - in fact on any day.

Beyond the passing interest that is understandable, and for those who obsess over this. I would humbly suggest that you get a life.

For those of us here in "the Colonies", who are enthralled with the whole monarchy idea, keep in mind that is what we revolted against 235 years ago!

Enough already!

Anybody Else Awake At This Hour?

Well, I am wide awake at 2:45 AM.

That is what happens when a 60 year old guy falls asleep in his recliner around 8:00 PM. Linda awakened me at 11:00 with the familiar, "Are you coming to bed, or sleeping down here all night?" Many times the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (and the recliner is comfortable) and I just grunt some sort of reply - never budging from my position. However, last night I managed to arise, plug up my cellphone, and trudge up the stairs to the comfortable mattress with the clean sheets and the warm bed buddy.

One would think that having had a three hour power nap, that I would have had a case of what my father in law calls "The Big Eye", and been awake half the night.

Not so!

I was out like a light before Tony Cavalier could finish the tornado watch report on NewsChannel 3's First Warning Weather segment.

I sawed logs like crazy until 2:30, when my body alerted me that I had achieved 6 1/2 hours of shut eye, and it was ready to go for the day. This is fine in the sense that I am refreshed and ready to go. Unfortunately, I know how groggy I am going to feel around 2:30 this afternoon - when I should be busy doing the Lord's work. Uggh!

So, reluctantly I put on my slippers (diabetics aren't supposed to walk around barefoot) and moved my unused alarm clock over to my spot in the bed (it makes it easier for Linda to hit the snooze button for about an hour) and down the dark stairs I go. For the past six years the only times I have ever woke up by my alarm, is when I have a 6:00 AM flight at the airport. I generally don't need to set it then, but just in case I would happen to oversleep, I wouldn't want to miss the security pat down from the TSA - or my flight either.

The two morning newspapers I receive were not yet on the front porch. A quick check of Facebook reveals that most of my friends turned in several hours ago, and some of the younger ones haven't even gone to bed yet! Television at 3:00 AM is pretty much the "vast wasteland" we were warned about in the 60's. Mostly infomercials, old movies, the endless cable news channel reports on the Royal Wedding, soccer matches from some foreign country, all star poker tournaments, and endless commercials about natural remedies for a particular malady common to some men of a certain age. Good Grief!

So, a quick post on the blog (as if anybody would be even remotely interested in my messed up sleep patterns) and now for on an hour or so of quality time in the Word. That is probably the best thing about waking up so early. God is still up - He never sleeps. And early in the morning, while things are still quiet, I have found it is the best time to connect with Him. He speaks to me through His Word and I pour my heart out to Him in prayer. It doesn't get any better than that!

The day always, ALWAYS, goes better when I spend some quality time with Him, early.

So, it's off the computer for now, and into the Book (not Facebook) for my personal spiritual growth and some good, productive sermon prep time. There is plenty of other ministry stuff to take care of the rest of the day.

I hope YOU have a blessed day as well!

Slain In The Spirit?

My preaching can have this effect on some people. Check out this photo from 1976, pay special attention to my son, Jay, on the front row.