Northside PunkMonkeys

Thought that I would let you see a few shots of the wild bunch around here at Northside. I got tired of not having a camera, so when I went out and got one the other day, I started snapping shots. I have been going hog wild with it ever since.

Got some card sharks in our midst. They were having some fun after we met with and prayed over Richard and Shirley Wallace before embarking on their journey to Africa.

Cameron C looks like he couldn't care less about our topic of conversation!

A wild and motley looking crew! They can get very crazy at times. Well, most times. OK, every time.

Boodle

Sorry that I didn't blog yesterday! The day was great but fuller than I thought it would be. Take a look at this pic of my sweet girl. If this cutie doesn't warm your heart, I don't know what will! I will blog later today about other things.

More Senior Sunday

I don't remember what this was about but apparently Mary Jo, Carlton's mom, did not think it was as funny as I did!

We had a nice show of friends and family to show their appreciation to the 6 men.

One of our shepherds, Terry H, prayed a beautiful benediction over the six young men.

I want to say a special thank you to Greg T for all the great work you put into the video presentation. Also to Paul P for all the help that he has been in the past and most recently with everything. And I sure could not have done it without Philip H (and Stephanie for letting him spend a lot of his day with me). Thank you all for that you have put into this! You are wonderful workers.

Senior Sunday

Sunday was our day to honor and celebrate the achievements of our graduating seniors. 2008 is the year of the male. We have 6 graduates and they are all young men! Wildness.

The morning service was a time for me to challenge the guys before they head out to worlds unknown and begin a new part of their journey with the Lord. Afterwards, we went over to the Outreach building to have a special potluck banquet.

I want to thank all of the parents of the Juniors! You were some great hard working people on Saturday afternoon. And the energy and creativity you brought were what made Sunday go so well.

The first pic you see is of Justin, David, and Lance followed by a pic of Will, Carlton, and Cameron.

Devon not only roasted his older brother, but most of the graduates and even his mom as well!!

Savannah had 'snaps for Lance' - you had to be there. She also had some gifts to give him (one was an alarm clock because he has trouble waking up at events like Winterfest!)

It was a sad and exciting day.

Not Happening!

I can't move.

My legs won't bend.

I can't scratch my back at all.

When I need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I have to find a way to roll out of bed!

And Jenniva wants me to bend over and pick her up more lately! A little more difficult than usual.

All of this is due to my recent weight lifting regimen with Ed and Davis Butterworth. They are a father and son duo who go extreme or not at all. Davis is 15 years old and about 6'2"-230. He is a future lineman for the Benton Panthers Football team. His dad, Ed, just seems to be getting thicker and thicker everyday. I noticed this a few weeks ago and they told me that I needed to join them because I was too scrawny.

Well, I did. Now, it is truly hard to get up and out of my bed, recliner, office chair-you name it. Just not happening as fast as they should.

I have noticed, however, that my clothes are getting looser and tighter in the all the right places. Starting to feel like The Hulk!!!

I will be back later with a glimpse of the kinds of rigorous lifting they put me through.

Transitional Wedding

True flexibility was tested this past Friday when what was meant to be a 'beautiful outside on the lake with the sun setting' wedding turned into a 'scurry inside without getting soaked from the downpour' wedding. I sat back and watched as the families of bride and groom as well as all involved in the wedding party remained calm and cool when they realized the plans were changing. They took it very well. Probably better than I would have. I was happy for that.

The evening was a night of beauty as 2 of my former students from my ministry in Marble Falls, TX, vowed to love one another unconditionally in the bond of marriage. Brian Jamar and Jasmine Nelson are, and I have to say this, 2 of my favorite people. They stuck with me through the highs and lows of my work with the church there. They were constant in their devotion to the word and serving others in the name of God. They were and are the kind of people that make ministers truly happy to be doing what they do. Assets in every sense of the word-I know they will go on to make some college, family or preaching minister very happy as they tirelessly work in conjunction with them!!

Once we got inside, the wedding brought tears of joy and much laughter as Brian and Jasmine shared their hearts together and became one with the other. It was an evening to remember.

I even got to see some old friends and others from my student ministry there.

Great Night!!

Quote Of The Day

"What we are teaches the child far more than what we say, so we must be what we want our children to become." - Joseph Chilton Pearce

Can I get an Amen?!? Being a youth and family minister as well as a father, I need these words to penetrate our very core. By doing that, prayerfully, a fire will be lit within us to talk the walk, so to speak.

I challenge you parents, grandparents and leaders of youth-anyone who has a claim in the shaping and molding of young hearts-to live what you teach and preach every day!

Jenniva

El has never liked it. And I always did it. But not anymore.

Every youth event, bible study, trip or get-together, I would borrow our camera for the pics. Over the years, El had begged me not to take our camera in case something cool happened at home with the little girl. That's pretty smart thinking on her part.

The summer is almost upon us. With that comes many, many youth and family activities to capture on film.

Plus - the Youth and Family Board is getting pretty bare and needs a reload.

So I finally broke down and went out yesterday to purchase a camera for the youth and family ministry here at Northside.

Be ready to get a whole lot of pictures thrown your way in the near future!

In the meantime, here's a picture of Jenniva that I shot when trying out the new camera yesterday when I got back. Look at that hairy head!!
------
Be back later with some thoughts about this past week's events.

Levity and Brevity

I think it time for a little good humor. Everyone knows that I am always up for a good laugh! I saw this and wanted to share it with you, dear reader. To see and read about the 50 greatest comedy sketches (compiled by someone with a lot of time on their hands) in TV history, click here. Now that was pretty brief, huh?

Misc

First off, keep these in your prayers.

I have been dealing more lately with the Family aspect of Youth and Family Ministry and it has been a growing, learning experience for me. As of February, I have been counseling 6 sessions a week. Some are pre-marriage, some are marriage while others are family and teen troubles. Doing the research has been wonderfully exhausting but I am feeling it right about now.

Last week, I added to that list a young lady who is struggling with Bi-Polar Disorder and possibly using Meth and Heroin. I realize that this was out of my field of expertise and the church is helping pay her way through some professional therapy.

She came to church last night to be part of the youth group. Great to see her with us!! I just pray that she will let God into her heart.

I solicit your prayers for these families and individuals as they go through struggles. I also ask that you lift me up to the throne as I guide them to the Father's heart.
------
This past Tuesday night, our quintet (formed on Thursday the 24th with no name yet, although "Flash In The Pan" sounds pretty great to me) performed at the Diamante Country Club in Hot Springs Village. We sang 4 songs to a crowd of about 200 from the Village Church of Christ. Although I thought we could have sounded a bit better, we received a standing ovation and got another gig right off the bat.

The guys were excited and we are already brainstorming some more songs to add to our repertoire. I am having the time of my life!
------
I leave for Texas this coming Monday. I will be spending my vacation with my family in Arp and Lindale and later with my old friends in Marble Falls. I will marry an awesome couple (Brian J and Jasmine N from my former youth group in MF) on Friday the 9th, spend some time in San Antonio with my 2 sweetheart girls and wrap it all up at the Glenwood Church of Christ in Tyler with my family on Mother's Day. Sweetness!!

Pray for Traveling Mercies.

Quote Of The Day

"Seize the day by seeking its Maker. Revise the bumper sticker slightly, to read Carpe Deum: 'Seize God'-and don't let go! If you have never reached for His powerful hand before, you're in for a great adventure. He alone is the source of true passion for all you do in life." - David Jeremiah

New Singing Group

Last night was the first meeting of the new singing quintet that has yet to be named. Jason B, Philip H, Cade S, Chad T and I met together in my office and knocked out some great tunes together! I have to say that we don't sound too shabby. Cade takes a powerful lead, I sing alto and Chad brings the smooth tenor while Jason and Philip work the baritone and bass blend. For our first meeting all together, we mixed/blended well. I came away highly impressed with the sound. One of our elders walked in and we let him be our audience for a while. Our first performance will be this coming Tuesday at the Diamante Country Club in Hot Springs Village. It is going to be a great night. Just can't wait for this to be a regular thing!!

Quote For All Christians

"Americans of all ages are inundated with media and entertainment options. Yet Mosaics and Busters consume more hours of media from more sources than do older generations. Many enjoy immensely the latest hot movie, music, website or pop culture buzz. Technologies connect young people to information and each other-and power their self-expression and creativity-in ways older adults do not appreciate.

Young people engage in a nearly constant search for fresh experiences and new sources of motivation. They want to try things out themselves, disdaining self-proclaimed experts and "talking head" presentations. If something doesn't work for them, or if they are not permitted to participate in the process, they quickly move on to something that grabs them. They prefer casual and comfortable to stuffy and stilted. They view life in a nonlinear, chaotic way, which means they don't mind contradiction and ambiguity. They may tell someone what that person wants to hear, but then do whatever they desire.

Spirituality is important to young adults, but many consider it just one element of a successful, eclectic life. Fewer than one out of ten young adults mention faith as their top priority, despite the fact that the vast majority of Busters and Mosaics attended a Christian church during their high school years. Most young people who were involved in a church as a teenager disengage in church life and often from Christianity at some point during early adulthood, creating a deficit of young talent, energy, and leadership in many congregations. While this is not a uniquely Buster or Mosaic phenomenon-many Boomers did this too-our tracking research suggests that today young people are less likely to return to church later, even when they become parents." - from unChristian by David Kinnaman

All About It

Monday night was a blast over at the Farmer residence with some great grilling out, fellowship and winding it up (I prefer up to down because the message should bring pump) at the end of the night with a devotional lesson. The Farmers are awesome and I can't wait to do it again!! Thank you John, Stephanie and clan!!!
------
Last night, El and I went out on the town with our new friends, Clint and Melissa Smith. We hit Chili's and had some good eats and then traveled over to the Robinson Center in Little Rock to catch the Classical Mystery Tour. We rocked out to the music of The Beatles for at least 2 and a half hours. These men were spot-on! And they were backed by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra!! Wow, what a night!!! Take a look here at their website.
------
You'll notice that I have been adding songs to the list of what our congregation here is learning. I am overwhelmed at the willingness (and rapid ability) of this particular congregation to learn 1 or 2 new songs on Sunday mornings. It is amazing. The Howell, Norris and Lunsford families are constantly giving me ideas and sheet music to lead in our Sunday worship services. I have also been blessed to make friends with the one and only Jerome Williams who has sent me a binder chock-full of sheet music for new songs!! I am pumped up!!
------
I am starting up a quintet of guys around my age in the Central Arkansas area. We will do contemporary Christian and Praise songs. We'll be performing our first show this Tuesday the 29th for the VCOC See The Possibilities banquet at the Diamante Country Club.

Add to that the fact that we have a new bass singer here in our church family! I am starting up another new group (primarily Southern Gospel) with Kevin S singing grumbly low bass with Mike K and Joel L exchanging tenor and lead parts. On good days, he can go down with the likes of JD Sumner! Now, that is awe-inspiring!
------
I guess you could say that things are going extremely well here in Benton, AR!

Top Priority

"After riding in a car with a friend's daughter who was constantly taking cell phone calls, I set a rule for my daughter and me. When we ride in a car, are shopping, at a restaurant etc., we don't take a call on the cell phone. There are a few exceptions such as a call from her mother or if I leave work to pick her up at school, but generally, the time is not to be interrupted." - Peter (Play of the Day Subcriber)

That is some great advice. Our time together with family should be top priority. Teens and Parents: Shut off the technology and live in the moment with your family and loved ones.

Man Meat?!?

Upon finding out that my wife would be gone 'til 11:30 last night and GranMary was going to pick up Boodle for the weekend, I set out contacting a few guy friends to spend the night doing manly things!

My excitement was met with trepidation, however, when I shouted out to my friends that we should go out and watch a man movie followed by going to a restaurant and eating man meat. They stepped back and looked at me like I was weird. I finally understood that the wording should have been different!!

Anyway, we went out to The Rave in Little Rock to see the new Ben Stein movie "Expelled" in a surprisingly sold out theater. If you have not seen this, you gotta go. Great for the apologist!

Later we headed over to Gaucho's for a feast Churrascaria-style!! All the meat you could eat with all the fixin's! Needless to say, we were stuffed silly. Won't go there again for a long time.

It was a great night out with the guys. Have to do that again soon!
--------
I have to add this - all that food and I am still down 22 pounds!! Man, I am feeling better than I have in a long time!

What's On Your MP3 Player?

I saw this blog entry on the site of my friend, Brian Nicklaus. And I thought that I would do the same thing. Here is what I have currently on my iPod nano. Now, let me begin by saying that I am a mixture of eclectic and eccentric. Here goes:

1. One playlist is nothing but Air Supply, Kenny Loggins and Christopher Cross. Don't think any less of me, though.

2. Another is Classic Country with the staples like Jones, Nelson, Haggard, Jennings, Cash and even further back Husky, Whitman, Horton, the Browns etc., with a little Statler, Oak Ridge, Alabama thrown in for good measure.

3. One playlist I have dubbed REOJourncago with all the hits of you know who.

4. Some great Southern Gospel with the likes of Gaither Vocal Band, JD Sumner and the Stamps, Statlers (again), and my favorite - Ernie Haase and the Signature Sound.

5. Some great songs from the best Musicals on the planet. Remember, I got my undergrad degree in musical theatre.

6. The best hits (Rock and Pop) from today.

7. Contemporary Christian and Praise Songs.

8. And finally, many thought-provoking podcasts from Ray Vanderlaan. Really great stuff!!

SO...what is on your MP3 player?!?

Fathers Don't Lose Your Cool

"April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and eighty percent of child abuse cases involve parents lashing out at their children in anger. The main culprits are fathers and stepfathers who blow their cool and physically abuse, emotionally abuse or neglect those most dependent upon them.

So if you have a bad temper, remember one of the All Pro Dad principles – Discipline with a Gentle Spirit. When you get riled up, it’s OK to take a few minutes to calm down before addressing the situation.

Remember, it’s a change of your child’s heart that you’re after. And that comes by tenderness, not violence." - Bryan Davis

Quote Of The Day

"Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein." - H. Jackson Brown Jr.

A Passionate Longing

"Some years into our spiritual journey, after the waves of anticipation that mark the beginning of any pilgrimage have begun to ebb into life's middle years of service and busyness, a voice speaks to us in the midst of all we are doing. There is something missing in all of this, it suggests. There is something more.

The voice often comes in the middle of the night or the early hours of morning, when our hearts are most unedited or vulnerable. At first, we mistake the source of this voice and assume it is just our imagination. We fluff up our pillow, roll over, and go back to sleep. Days, weeks, even months go by and the voice speaks to us again: Aren't you thirsty? Listen to your heart. There is something missing."

And with these first 2 paragraphs, Brent Curtis and John Eldredge begin a journey to draw closer to the heart of God in their book, The Sacred Romance. And just these beginning thoughts pricked me to the very core. I don't know where you are on your spiritual journey today, but this intro caught me off guard. It spoke to what has been happening in me as of late.

I have felt the same tug in the middle of the night.

I have cried at the weakness of my own spirituality.

My relationship with God has been lacking. And God's not to blame. He is right where He's always been. I am the one who's moved. I have grown far too comfortable with my life and my things here on earth.

I want to get back to my 'first love!'

I want the joy that I first felt.

The passion and the energy to grow within myself and reach out to others in world changing ways.

Where has it all gone?

If you have struggled with this, tell me, what brings you closer to God? Prayer? Study? Fellowship?

Whatever it may be, use it. Run with it. Take full advantage of it. Let’s reignite that passionate longing within ourselves!

Last Few Days

The new J&J Ministries started off with a good number of 8. I knew this would start off (and hopefully continue) with a smaller group. Now don't get me wrong, I am not against larger numbers, but this ministry is more ideally catered to a smaller, more intimate group. We talked together about what we were going to do for God yesterday and prayed together. It was a blessed time getting to know each other's hearts.
-------
Little Boodle has been sick for the past few days so I have been out of pocket for a bit longer than I would like. El has no more days left to stay home so I have been here tending to the little sweet girl. She is on a very powerful 3-shot series antibiotic that will clear up her bad double ear infection. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
-------
I am indeed excited and proud of my family. My mom, dad and sister have gone into the weight loss business. They bought a store in Tyler, Texas and converted it into Healthy Figures Weight Loss & Treatment Center. And, boy, are they losing weight, feeling great, and crazy successful in this venture!!

I have been doing their program for almost 3 weeks now and have lost 16 pounds!! I also feel more wonderful than ever! If you are interested in losing weight make sure to look here or click on the link that I have added to my collection on the right side of this blog. It will change your life!
-------
On Wednesday night, a group of young men got together and helped empty and store items for those in need from the National Churches of Christ Disaster Relief. We even got a line formed to move and stack boxes. I got so excited at one point that I started singing "That's the sound of the men working on the Chain Gang!" Surprisingly, no one else joined in!! It was done well and quickly. Of course, the classroom that night was full of sweaty, wild boar-smelling men. Here are a few shots of the whole moving experience!

J&J Ministries

Pray for the youth group as we begin something new tomorrow. At 7:00 in the morning, as many who are able will be meeting at Starbucks (a central location for Benton and Bryant people) for our new J&J Ministries - Java and Jesus. We will be spending time together, getting to know each other, confessing/sharing and praying to our Holy God. Keep us in your prayers as we begin this new journey of prayer.

Time Well Spent

“Nobody, no matter how wealthy or influential, gets more minutes in his or her day. Each and every one of us has the same 1,440 minutes each and every day. Once those minutes have passed, that’s it. You can’t retrieve them. You can’t borrow against them, and you certainly can’t save some of them for another day. Time is non-renewable; not one minute of our lives can be placed in abeyance or lived more than once.”

This quote comes from a great book entitled ‘your time-starved marriage’ written by relationship gurus/couple in love, Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott. My sweetheart and I have been reading this lately due to our seeming lack of time together recently. We never see each other anymore. And the quote above mentions the problem with time together. We can’t stop it, save it or store it.

But this quote applies to something more. Take it out of the context of a husband or wife placing a premium on time spent cultivating and nurturing a relationship with their spouse. What about time spent in building a relationship with your Creator? How do we spend our time in pursuit of a deeper relationship with Him?

We should have such a deep desire for a relationship with God that our time is spent more on Him than any other person or thing. We need a Holy Hunger! A.W. Tozer wrote this:

“I want deliberately to encourage this mighty longing after God. The lack of it has brought us to our present low estate. The stiff and wooden quality of our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire. Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to his people. He waits to be wanted. Too bad that with many of us He waits so long, so very long, in vain.”

The shepherd king David spent much time writing about how we should wisely carve out time in the sole purpose of seeking a stronger relationship with the Holy God.

Look at Psalm 63:1-8:

“O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.

Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”

So that brings me to the question: What are you doing with your time? How are you spending it?

Buffalo Hot Wings

Tonight, I, along with Ed & Karen B, treated the 7-9 grade Meat Eater group with a trek to Hot Springs for some Buffalo Hot Wings! We stuffed our guts, had some great laughs and fellowship, and even got to pull out a chocolate Community Bakery cake to celebrate Heather B's Birthday a night early. The whole crew packed into the van and were subjected to the eclectic, if not eccentric, sounds of Jimmy's iPod! I know I loved it! It was a great night!

Aftermath

There was a family in our congregation that was affected by the recent violent weather. Lonnie and Patricia Hunnicut had eleven trees fall during the wind/tornado and 3 of them fell on their house, leaving them with some pretty bad damage on the front and other damage due to flooding. So, Richard Wallace (a true servant in the Kingdom) called up a task force this morning beginning at 8 and rounded up a great number of men to help move furniture and other items into another house just up the street.

Man was I proud of the show of helping hands from the Northside family. Richard W, Terry H, Randy M, Gary C, Barry, Kaylon and Greg B, Ed and Davis B, Carlton and Devin N, Kelly G, Jeff H, Corky C, and possibly some others that I missed showed up ready to rock out hard! What a great service to those in need. Cameron C called ready to head over but was told there were more than enough already.

The youth even got a lot of great Nintendo and Sega games in the deal! That's a plus!!

The only downside of the day was that my new Jeep was backed into by a big ole truck and now I have to get in on the passenger side and watch my turning very carefully until it's fixed.

Violent Weather

It has been quite a tumultuous time here in Central AR. Last night at around 8:40, the sirens started to go off in Benton and the surrounding areas. A hook echo (an indicator of possible tornadic activity) was seen on the radar near Lake Hamilton. We were alerted that it was headed our way at a clip of 45-50 miles per hour. A worn out Elizabeth, a rudely awakened Jenniva and I sat in the Master Closet until around 11:30. Nothing ever came our way, but something hit very close.

The Target just down the street was damaged.

Hurricane Lake trailer park was damaged.

There has been flooding on I-30.

North Little Rock has seen the second highest wind since 1976. Around 72 miles an hour!

The Airport has several destroyed hangars and some overturned airplanes.

Many schools have let out today due to damage or flooding.

Elizabeth was called early this morning by the school saying that they had flooded and would be closed for the day. So I let her go to bed and got up with the little girl. El needed the rest and I was okay with spending some more time with baby girl.

We have had some hail, very strong winds and more than enough rain.

Pray for Central Arkansas right now!!

Thank You

I got the word last night that my mom is now doing better. They put her on a Z Pack and also something else with a name that I have forgotten. Anyway, it is very powerful and will help her to recover. Thank you so much for your prayers and calls.

-------

I have a request of those of you ministers out there who read this blog. It doesn't matter if you specialize in youth, preaching, family, senior care, evangelism, involvement, spiritual formation, worship or anything else. I just need some help from you out there. I am looking for some great resources in the field of ministering to the needs of people. If you have read a book, seen a video or know of something that is a valuable help, please make a comment or email me with a list of these items. If you are anything like me, you use all the help you can lay your hands on. Just let me know of anything you consider outstanding.

-------

Oh, and by the way, I still have a full head of hair. No mohawk this time. We were 15 shy of the desired number last Sunday.

Please Pray

I am taking a break from blogging today just to ask that you please pray for my mom, Jean Mitchell. She has a fever of 104 right now and dad is trying to cool her down. If that doesn't work they will leave for the emergency room tonight. She is a cancer survivor, but it left her with lymphedema in her right arm and barely any immune system. Because of that, she catches everything that goes around and has a continual cough. Her health is not as good as it should be and the family is worried about her constantly. Please lift her up to the throne room of God as soon as you read this blog.

Who I Want To Be

I read this from a link on a friend's blog and cannot resist placing it here for you to read. It says what I have felt for a long time about being a true minister of God. Barry J. Maxwell aptly blogs about the frustrations that besiege today's full time preachers and teachers. Let me know what you think about it.

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

I have a love/hate relationship with the pastoral office. There, I've said it. I love what the office should be. I hate what it's become. I love the idea of the biblical pastor. I hate the idea of the 21st-century American pastor. I love what I could be, by God's grace. I hate what I'm pressured to be, by man's expectations. I love seeing the flock eat week-in, week-out. I hate the ecclesiastical steroids that tempt them between meals. I love what churches need to be biblical. I hate what churches expect to be successful. I love the institution. I hate institutionalism. I love that Jesus doesn't need me to adorn his bride. I hate that he doesn't need me to adorn his bride.

Like many pastors I've struggled to reconcile what I should be with what "they" say I should be. The tri-fold glossy pamphlets I receive peddle a pastor who is marketable, administratively brilliant, motivational, highly-starched and sharply-creased. A baptized Tony Robbins. A sanctified Gap model. A glorified spiritual guru.

Frankly, I have absolutely no desire to be any of those things. Well, I do like a starched shirt from time to time. It's the Arthur Andersen in me. But, I'm neither wired nor care to be a marketing genius who cleverly packages the gospel at discount rates. I simply can't stomach the Hollywoodization of the church in the name of cultural relevance. Why has "church" gotten so complicated? Where is the simplicity of biblical community? The elephant has drown in an inch of water.

Maybe I'm dead wrong and prideful, but I've felt (very, very) guilty for a long time that I'm not, nor care to be, that guy. I feared that maybe I don't really love the lost or the church. Who is that guy? Joe Smiley with a PhD, MBA and PsyD who dazzles the masses with his organizational and rhetorical wizardry. He's an entrepreneurial team player who offends no one while defending everyone.

I just want to be pastor.

• A guy who prepares consistent biblical truth because it prepares him to kill sin and love Jesus.
  
• A guy who regularly prays with and for the people rather than "strategizes" about prayer.
  
• A guy who 'd rather help a brother/sister over coffee than attend some executive meeting that caters to our inner pope.
  
• A guy who doesn't want to sell appearances to sexy Christians, but invites the broke, lame and outcast to the head table of God's grace.
  
• A guy more concerned about becoming like Christ than doing tricks for him.
  
• A guy who doesn't have to be someone he's not.
  
• A guy who has little figured out, but wants to lead the band of the ignorant to the surpassing knowledge of Christ.
  
• A guy who doesn't preach for a living, but lives to preach.
  
• A guy who doesn't need to finish first, just finish together. The village idiot may be an idiot, but at least he still has the village.

Two particular resources have helped me recently peak out of the shadows. David Wells book No Place for Truth and particularly the chapter entitled "The New Disablers" freshened the breeze. Wells masterfully describes why I feel guilty about modern expectations; and why we've assumed these new expectations as normal pastoral work. I can't come close to summarizing Wells, but you'd do well to try yourself. For perhaps the first time I finally felt free to hate that guy and still have hope that I might one day be a good pastor. The square peg need not fit anywhere. Of course, now God must have mercy on my hate!

Also, Michael Horton wrote an article in the latest Touchstone Magazine, whose March theme is pastoral ministry. The article entitled "All Crossed Up" addresses the very issues raised in part by Wells. I close with several selections from Horton's article:

"Just as traditionalism is a parody of a living tradition, a ministry defined by the entrepreneurial, creative, and innovative capacities of today's 'super-apostles' should not be mistaken for genuine growth and outreach. Marking the remarkable missionary advances of the apostles, we meet repeatedly in the Book of Acts the phrase, 'the word of God spread.'"

"When churches abandon the ordinary ministry for extraordinary 'excitements sufficient to induce conversion [quoting Charles Finney], eventually the innovations become traditions and the insatiable craving for ever-new experiences of spontaneous expressivism, like a drug addiction, leads eventually to the spiritual equivalent of a heart attack. Tragically, the landscape of American religion is littered with successive waves of 'revival' (often patterned on American trends in salesmanship) followed inevitably by periods of spiritual fatigue and skepticism."

"Instead of focusing ecclesial faith and practice on marketing Jesus to the 'unchurched,' the apostolic pattern was to draw aimless drifters into the covenantal drama already in progress. To become a Christian was already to begin one's lifelong journey in the company of pilgrims under the care of the church. Discipleship was defined by churchmanship. Personal faith in Christ was never set over against the active membership in the visible body of Christ."

And finally,

"When pastors feel the burden of saving people, selling the gospel, or cornering the market through their own cleverness, methods, creativity, or charisma, they eventually burn out. So, too, do the sheep who are submitted to perpetual exhortations to imitate their restless 'authenticity.'"

Is that freedom I smell or just burn out?

Quote Of The Day

"Whatever the circumstances, couples who don't understand this fundamental fact inevitably utter the worn-out excuse: "We've grown apart." Truth is, couples don't grow apart. They simply grow, and they either choose to make space in this growth for each other or not. Individuals change, interests evolve, opportunities appear, or a crisis happens. The passage of time guarantees change. And you can't stop time." - Drs. Les & Leslie Parrott

Refreshingly Exhausting

For the past 2 days, 8 guys from the youth group have traveled with me to do some good ole manual labor! We worked in the yards of both Sybil Womack and Ray and Wilma Lunsford. Over raking, blowing, bagging, and picking up twigs, we spent some good time enjoying one another's company. It has been a blast to know that we are growing closer together as a family as we serve those that need help. Thanks Carlton, Cameron, Devon, Wayne, Logan, Leavon, Nick and Hayden for all of the great, sacrificial work. I look forward to more days like this!

Jesus' Song

I have to put this here. My friend, Brian Nicklaus, posted this interesting question on his blog. What do you think the answer would be?

What if Jesus dedicated a song to His Lovely Bride, the church, on a radio show? What would it be?

• “I’ve done everything for you, you’ve done nothing for me” by Rick Springfield
• “Heartbreaker” by the Rolling Stones
• “I will always love you” by Whitney Houston (or Dolly, if you prefer)
• Your choice Here

The Mohawk Challenge Redux

I have changed my mohawk challenge to the teens up a bit. I have told them that if they can bring enough friends for the 7-12 graders to total 65 on the morning of the 30th (this Sunday morning when my friend, Jim Gardner, will be speaking here) that I will shave my hair in the form of a mohawk and dye it hot pink. Originally, the deal was for each of them to bring 2 friends. Well, with a group that regularly numbers 30-35 on any given Sunday, I realized that this number could have been too high. So I changed the challenge to see if they will double the teens this Sunday. Wow! What do you think? Will it happen?!?

Celebrity Sighting

This is a picture of the guys that comprise the Christian singing group, 4Him. While eating at the Market Place here in Rogers, AR, yesterday with my buddy, Greg T, I looked up and saw Marty Magehee-the second guy from the left.

Now you need to understand, this is one of my favorite groups of all time, so it was cool when he walked over and talked to us for a while before going to his table to eat. He is now working with a congregation in Bentonville, AR.

I have seen them 2 times in concert and am sad that they have gone their separate ways to continue to work in ministry throughout the States. If you have not heard these guys, you need to go out and get a CD now! Great stuff!!

Just thought that I would share that with you.

Happy Easter to all!! May God bless you as you spend good, quality time with your families!

LTC 2008

We are here in Rogers, AR, with the annual Leadership Training for Christ. This is the first time that it is not held in Tulsa, OK. Kinda sad because those are my ole stomping grounds but kinda not because it is not that far for us and I hear the venue is much better here in the Embassy Suites.

We have a pretty good crew. About 60 of us Northsiders (that includes parents and teens) are here at LTC this year. It has been a blessing to work with such a great group of people!!

Ran into an old friend of mine from the Green Country Christian Academy days in Tulsa. That was cool playing catch-up!

Also had another celebrity sighting. I will blog more on that tomorrow!!

A Whole Mess of Crazy

OK, so maybe I have done myself in! I have placed myself in a precarious position while trying to motivate the students here at Northside.

We have a big day in the near future for our congregation here in Benton. Jim Gardner, a former colleague of mine from 2 states, is coming to speak in the pulpit this March 30th. It will be the first time in 12 years that he has spoken here. We will worship in one combined service. Friends and family have been asked to invite friends and family. It is going to be BIG!

And I threw out a challenge. I told the students that if they could bring a certain amount of friends that I would shave down to a mohawk and dye the remnant of hair hot pink.

I know! Mr. Rational has left the building. A whole mess of crazy. But if they do it, I will be so proud of them that it won't matter what I look like for a month or so!!

Awesome Students

I blogged yesterday about some of my awesome (former) students from Texas-Brian and Jasmine. Today I would like to share something about some other great servant-hearted students. Last night was our monthly Tuesday Night for the Master and I was overwhelmed by the response of 8 teens that came ready to roll up their sleeves and work at a moment's notice. Davis, Maddie, Kaylon, Greg, Parker, Carlton, Will and Devon-you guys are amazing. I just wish that your work and selflessness will rub off on all of us!!

Brian and Jasmine

Brian Jamar and Jasmine Nelson, 2 teenagers (a couple of lovebirds that will be getting married in early May) from my former youth group in Texas, are here at our house for a few days!!! El and I are so excited to have them if only for a little while. They were staples during my ministry in Marble Falls and we grew pretty close during our stay. They are 2 of the finest examples of young Christians that I have ever known or been privileged to work with!

I better go! We are getting ready to watch a movie and eat some cold pizza. Will tell you more tomorrow.

More Add Ons

The Youth Minister of my formative years, one Rich Dolan, has a blog. I would like to share his blog as another link on the list. He and his wife, Ronda, are working over in the same area of the world as one of my former shepherds from the Village Church of Christ, Rick Northen (along with his lovely wife, Gail) and the father and mother of the current Preaching Minister (Joel Lewis) with whom I work, Claude and Madge Lewis. It is indeed a very small world.

Quote Of The Day

"A Christian doesn't avoid the questions; a Christian embraces them. In fact, to truly pursue the living God, we have to see the need for questions.

Questions are not scary.

What is scary is when people don't have any.

What is tragic is faith that has no room for them." - Rob Bell

A Case of the Mondays

I was here and now I'm gone. It has been quite one of those days. I just kept thinking over and over about that line from the cult favorite movie "Office Space" - "Has someone got a case of the Mondays?!?" And today is Thursday!! What a day!

Quote Of The Day

"The Ministry of Prayer, if it be anything worthy of the Name, is a ministry of ardor, a ministry of unwearied and intense longing after God and His holiness." - E.M. Bounds

Links

I'm adding some links today that I probably should have added long ago. Both Brian Nicklaus and Brad Palmore were colleagues of mine at Harding School of Biblical Studies. They are both in the ministry and have blogs that help people like you and me try to wrap our minds around the word of God and how to truly live the Christian lifestyle. I think that they will be an asset to you, dear reader, as you journey along.

Destruction of a Lesion

Kind of a strange title for a blog don't you think?

And I never thought that I would be associated with that procedure.

But that is exactly what my doctor did to me this morning at 8:30. For the past 5 months, I have had a weird bump on the end of my nose and have not quite known what it was. Well, while preparing for the Africa trip, my doctor told me that it was a pre-cancer that needed to be removed.

That is what Dr. Burris did this morning. Brought in a blow torch looking canister full of liquid nitrogen and proceeded to play 'freeze out' with the lesion. It felt like my nose was burning.

I am glad that it's over and can't wait for this bump to slough off.

---------

BTW, Mike, you owe me dinner!!

Tired

Today has been a full day.

I got up to the church building at around 7:30 this morning to look over the ppt that Mike had helped me with. Joel and I were making a presentation for a combined class in the auditorium about our work in Africa this morning. The computer in the auditorium would not read the videos that we had inserted into the ppt and we were starting to sweat. We got it all figured out, though, and the class was a success.

But add to that the fact that I had made 2 song sets for the morning. One for the early service and a different one for the late service. This was my first day to do this and I was anxious to see how it would turn out. We sang some newer ones, too. "Because We Believe" and "Ancient Words." It went pretty well.

Then there was the whole opening up of the annex because 2nd service is getting really crowded. The teens and some others of us sat there and tried out the 42 inch flat screen television monitor with the songs and sermon ppts out. We'll probably go up to somewhere between 52-55 inches.

Then this afternoon, before life groups, we had our first meeting about the Juniors and Seniors' Mission Trip to Africa this June. It was great. We talked, among other things, about shots and passports. Fun stuff!

Anyway, after all of that, I am tired.

S3: Second Saturday Servants

Today was a day of manual labor for the 10 teens and 4 adults that showed up to improve their 'serve.' A crew of 4 headed over to the home of Joel and Emma Lewis to do some furniture moving for about an hour. Then we rejoined the rest of the group to finish up what they had begun. Our poor Outreach and Involvement Minister had to move out of his office due to a collapsing ceiling and nasty mold/mildew that have created an uninhabitable space. Well, we got a lot done between 9:30 and 12:00 and Mike is in his new space. I am kinda jealous of it. It is nice looking. Good work, crew! We did it!

March Wonderland?

The forecast last night called for 6-10 inches of snow for the Central AR area starting at around 3 in the morning. We were pumped!

El's school was closed for the day and we were getting ready for a day of curling up with movies and books as well as cat naps throughout the day.

Upon waking up this morning at 6:50, I saw only a dusting of white and there was nothing coming down. Truly disappointed. The forecast had been wrong.

Then, it started to come down with no intentions of staying around on the ground. Coolness, but not really what we wanted. There is just something so cool about the landscape being covered in a blanket of white.

That all started to change around 11 in the morning. It started to stick! Soon, visibility was low due to all the falling snow and we had somewhere between 1-3 inches fall and stay.

Jenniva and El got to go out in it while I was off at work. Catch the video of their time. We got what we wanted!! Beautiful snow - just another sign of God's awesome majesty!

Faith of the Believer

How is your faith? How strong is it when everything the world has flies at you with full force? My friend, Allan Stanglin, one of our future 5th Sunday guest speakers here at Northside, had this to say about true faith. I believe he says it much better than I ever could.

“When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” ~Matthew 8:10

"You think God’s ever astonished by your faith? You think you’ve ever prayed a prayer to God and, as soon as it’s over, he jumps up and says, “Whoa! We haven’t seen faith like that in years!” And God gets on the intercom system there in heaven and says, “Wow! Y’all won’t believe the faith of this guy down there!”

You think God’s ever been astounded by your great faith?

The kind of faith that astonishes Jesus is a humble and complete dependence on God. And I wonder about our complete dependence. I wonder about mine.

I wonder how much different it was 2000 years ago. When fever was a disease and not a symptom. Before modern medicine, what was it like to pray for healing? When forecasting the weather meant reading the calf liver or Grandpa’s arthritic knees. Before meteorology, what was it like to pray for rain? Before cropdusters and insecticides and fertilizers and refrigerators and Wal-Mart SuperStores, what was it like to pray for food? You know what I mean? Forget 2000 years ago. What about 60 or 70 years ago? What was it like to pray?

As technology changes, does our dependence on God change? Is it that the more we know about our world the less we depend on our God? I’m not sure. But let’s think about it.

Pray for rain? Well, I’ve seen the doppler radar and the skyview atmospheric predictor and the seven-day forecast. It’s going to rain Tuesday. Or, the next chance for precipitation won’t be for another couple of weeks. See. We need God for some things. But we know if it’s supposed to rain or not.

Pray for food? Is there anybody reading this blog who hasn’t eaten today? Anybody who’s not going to eat tomorrow? Is there anyone reading this who doesn’t have every single thing he needs to get through tonight and on in to tomorrow? We depend on God for some things. But there’s milk and meat in the fridge and the pantry’s full and I get paid on Friday.

Pray for healing? But I’ve seen the MRI. We have the X-Rays and the CT-scan. We’ve consulted with the doctors and been to two specialists. We know what’s going to happen. So, I’ll pray for the doctors. God bless the doctors. Help them to do what they can. Help them to find the problem. Help them to cure the disease. Help the surgery to be a success. We’re praying for the middle man! Ever read of anybody in Scripture praying for the middle man? It’s not the middle man! It’s God! God is the one who heals!

Yeah, but again, we’ve seen the test results. We’ve heard the doctors. It doesn’t look good. So we pray for healing and say, “If it’s your will…”

And I know we’re supposed to pray for God’s will. Of course we pray for God’s will. But never when praying for God’s will is our “out” or our excuse when the doctors say there’s not much hope: “If it’s your will…even though I’m not expecting it to be your will because the doctors have already said it’s not.”

I’m just curious. Before the days of X-Rays and MRIs and CT-scans, did we couch our prayers for healing with “if it’s your will”? Were our prayers different when we weren’t sure of the problems and weren’t already certain of the outcome? Was our dependence on God more and our dependence on ourselves and others less back then? Is there a problem?

God says through Isaiah, “I made you. I will carry you. Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am he who will sustain you.”

The Centurion calls Jesus “Lord.” Just say the word, he exclaims, and I know my servant will be healed.

Complete dependence. Total humility. Astonishing faith."

Quote Of The Day

"Christians are not tyrannized subjects of an omnipotent deity who thunders commandments. That is a pagan view of gods as despots to be appeased because of our fear of them. Jesus came to show us the true face of God as a Loving Father to bewildered and wayward children. As a father gives orders to his children, so God has given commands to us. One of the children who says he loves God while disobeying his commandments is exposed as a liar. But infants who need explicit rules for their behavior are expected to grow up - to discern deeper principles underlying specific rules and, ultimately, to learn to exhibit the heart of their Father." - Rubel Shelly

So Excited!

I am truly excited about something that is gonna happen on the last day of this month and will most likely blog about it again. My colleague of 2 different congregations in 2 different states is coming home to preach! Jim Gardner, the Preaching Minister at the Woodward Park Church of Christ in Fresno, CA, is going to honor us with his presence on March 30th as part of our series of 5th Sunday speakers focusing on the theme of "Growing in Grace in 2008!" I am so ready for this!!

And I am not the only one pumped about it. Not only have many members here at Northside expressed their joy, but many others from sister congregations in the vicinity have let me and Jim's family know that they will be in attendance that day!

It doesn't end there, though. Apparently the community has put in the good word that he will be coming back to speak.

I do believe that it will be Standing Room Only. An event to be remembered.

Jim has expressed his feelings about this reunion 12 years in the making in his blog from last Thursday. Here it is:

"I'm going home.

For the first time in twelve years, I have been invited to speak at the congregation where I was raised. Every Sunday of my formative years, save vacations, was spent in the Northside Church of Christ building in Benton, Arkansas. It was there both of my grandfathers, and later my dad, served as elders. It was there I learned memory work in Bible Hour. It was there my faith was grounded. It was there I preached my first sermon. It was there I was mentored by Youth Ministers like Dale Mannon and Tom Perkins and Doug Yates.

And now, the current elders at Northside have afforded me the wonderful opportunity to go home and speak at Friends Day on Sunday, March 30th. The Northside church has themed 2008 "Growing in Grace" and that is the focus of the first Sunday following Easter in an effort to reach out with the good news of God's grace.

I can't wait to go home; to be back in the building where so many good faith memories were birthed. I can't wait to go home to the place where so much godly teaching was imparted to me.

And I can't wait to go home so that my grandfather, if his strength is sufficient, can hear me preach one more time.

To the Northside elders, thank you. Thank you for the most privileged speaking invitation of my preaching career. The opportunity to speak at Northside, on Friends Day, with the hope of my grandfather hearing me speak one more time is just almost too much to absorb. Thank you for demonstrating in living color the theme you are shepherding the church in Benton to live and understand."

A Long Time Coming

After a month-long hiatus from blogging, I am now back on the scene!

Being in a foreign country with limited Internet access for a huge chunk of February, then traveling to Tulsa to sing at a friend's funeral followed by prepping the following weekend to take a large group to Russellville, AR for the annual youth rally CHRISTeens, I made a decision to come back to the blog kingdom in March.

From the responses and calls of concern from family and friends, it looks like I stayed out a little too long for comfort. Well, I am back. I have too many stories to tell and pictures to share from the past month to stay away any longer.

I will share some more with you later, but for now, let this pic of Big Ben in "foggy London town" whet your appetite.

New Journeys

I depart today on an incredible journey!

Before I talk about my trip I would like to share the amazing decision that was made here last night. Amanda C, one of our students in the youth ministry here at Northside, decided to clothe herself in Christ. What a wonderful note to leave on! No better thing could have happened last night. Pray for her and the rest of her family as she embarks on a new path.

Joel and I leave for Windhoek, Namibia, Africa in just a few short hours. Wow!! There is excitement in the air as I anxiously await new people and places. We will be teaching about 4-5 hours a day. I have my lessons ready and several sermons on hand. Gonna be great! Joel is nervous and I have a combination of anxiety and excitement! What a combination. Keep us in your prayers as we travel to Detroit-then to London-then to Windhoek-then back again.

I will try to blog while away. May not be able to. If not, in 2 weeks there will be stories and pictures galore!

Quote Of The Day

"God does not die on the day when we cease to believe in a personal deity, but we die on the day when our lives cease to be illumined by the steady radiance, renewed daily, of a wonder, the source of which is beyond all reason." - Dag Hammarskjold

Baby Steps

Jenniva started walking yesterday!!!

We sat there in stunned silence as she began to take step after step until she had taken her 10th. She then fell to the floor (no crying) and resolutely pulled herself up with no help at all and began to walk again. El and I just clapped our hands and shouted with joy to see our little baby take the huge leap from infant to toddler!

What a great time in our lives! I am so happy and blessed by the 2 sweethearts in my world.

I pray that God will continue to bless us as we each take steps in His world.

At the End of the Day

Just One Of Those Days! That's all I can say about it for now. It has just been one of those days. I have some processing to do and maybe some 'vegging out' but it has definitely been one of those days.

Mentor

I have to put this here.

Anyone who has ever worked with Mike Knappier would know a passionate, driven (or as he would put it -'called') man of God. A man with the heart of a lion and the energy of someone less than half his age. I look up to him and consider him a true mentor in the faith. It is truly a joy to work alongside this hero.

So I am going to post a quote from his blog that I think is a glimpse inside this great man. A man of conviction and tireless energy. Here it is:

"In the words of a gospel hymn, “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.” A humorous and somewhat painful episode from my own life illustrates this. I dislocated my shoulder during an activity with the church youth group and needed a doctor to correct the problem. A few weeks later, it became dislocated again, and I had to visit the hospital emergency room in the middle of the night. The doctor medicated me and left the room to give the medicine time to work. I began to talk to the nurse who stayed in the room with me. My wife, Diane, later told me that I looked at the nurse and said, “Has anyone ever told you about my sweet Jesus?” I then proceeded to talk nonstop for several minutes, telling everything I knew about Jesus and the local church of Christ. I must have gotten quite carried away. Diane finally looked right into my face and said, “Mike, please be still and let the medicine work.” After a while, I quieted down. Sometime later, Diane noticed a visitor coming into the auditorium at church and thought she should know this guest. As she introduced herself, she told the visitor that she looked familiar and asked if they had met before. The young lady explained that she had been my nurse in the emergency room. If God can use the ravings of a barely conscious preacher, imagine what He can do with your circumstances. Our God is an awesome God! Not all circumstances are pleasant; but if you will see God in them, your “chains” may result in opportunities to speak a word for Jesus. God is still a supernatural God and He still works today."

Chilly Today...

The sleet came down today here in Benton, Arkansas. The Jeep thermometer read 28 degrees and the skies opened up. I stayed in with little sweet girl this morning while we waited for Elizabeth to come home since school closed. She got home and we spent the day together. It was really nice to stay in the cozy warmth of the house and be with the fam. We spent the day napping, reading, playing and watching flicks! I loved every minute of it.

Expelled the Movie

My friend, Paul Carlon, sent this to me and I was amazed by it. It certainly piqued my interest and I will be there on the front row when the movie comes out later this year! Any Christian interested in apologetics would be excited by this trailer. Take a look here and let me know what you think.

JBoodle

I will blog all about my time spent with Jim Gardner tomorrow, but for now I will leave you with a picture of our sweetheart with her mommy. Hopefully this will tide you over til later.

Today

Kind of a wild day.

This morning I lead congregational singing at the funeral of Boyd and Norma Dorsey. The auditorium was so crowded with people who wanted to celebrate the lives of these 2 godly people that folding chairs were brought in to hold them all. Two solos were sung and two ministers spoke about their lives.

I then crammed in the car with Joel Lewis, Leon Barnes, Mike Knappier and Sarah Jane Manning to drive over to the Dorsey family cemetery.

Later in the day, when I was sitting down to lunch with the Dorsey family and friends, the Day Care called to inform me that Jenniva was sick yet again. This time it was possibly something called the Rota Virus. And it was-I mean is. Elizabeth is going to spend the day at home tomorrow with our sweet little girl.

Then I waited for El to get home and help me take care of JBoodle and clean up for Meat Eaters Bible Study. We had a great group again and now I am ready to vegetate in order to get ready for...

Spending the day tomorrow with my buddy, Jim Gardner, as we travel to Harding University in search of prospective youth ministers for the Woodward Park Church of Christ in Fresno, CA.

Songs of Faith and Praise

I was perusing blogs the other day and I thought that this blog about hymns was pretty interesting. Being a worship leader myself, I thought this was a thought provoking article. The author of the posting below (in purple) is Matt Elliott, worship leader for a metro church in Atlanta, GA and worship leader for YIA this past year in Nashville, TN. You may not agree with everything he says, but most of it is just plain interesting.

I’ve been reading a few other blogs lately, and a couple of my associates got me thinking about something. Two different bloggers in the past couple of weeks have quoted the old hymn, “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go”, in their entries. I confess that as a product of rural south Alabama, I had never even heard the song until I was a student at Freed-Hardeman College in the early 80’s. And even then, it was only sung in chapel if one of the snotty music majors was called upon to lead in chapel. We just assumed that they were showing off by choosing such an uppity hymn! (We may have been right, by the way.) Anyhoo, it likely tainted my view toward this hymn for years to come.

So, I thought I’d share some of MY favorite lines from hymns, then I thought I’d follow that up with what I would consider some of the WORST lines from hymns. Then I’ll close with a very special section on hymns in which lyrics and music clash. I invite you to click on the comment link at the bottom of the post and add your preferences and titles to any of the lists, too.

By the way, I’m only talking hymns here. I’m much more comfortable talking about dead songwriters than live ones.

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite lines from the hymns:

Crown Him with Many Crowns
Crown Him the Lord of peace,
Whose power a scepter sways
From pole to pole that wars may cease,
Absorbed in prayer and praise!
This appeals to all that is idealistic in me. Wars absorbed in prayer and praise . . . good Lord, do we ever need some praying and praising these days. Something’s gotta give.

Beneath the Cross of Jesus
O safe and happy shelter,
O refuge tried and sweet,
O trysting place where heaven’s love and heaven’s justice meet!”
First of all, that’s just a great lyric! How often does one get to sing the word “trysting”? It’s a beautiful image of God’s great love and God’s great sense of righteousness and justice coming together to make one grand and profound statement for all humankind.

Great is Thy Faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not,
Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
When times are tough, this is pretty much all I’ve got to hang on to. The line from the next hymn is a great companion to this one, too –

Abide With Me
Change and decay in all around I see,
Oh, Thou who changest not, abide with me!
These last two songs meant nothing to me as a boy or young man. It’s amazing how a few intense trials can change your taste in hymns, huh?

Love for All
I don’t know about you, but my most emotional response during The Passion of the Christ was when Peter denied Jesus. I knew it was coming, but I couldn’t have predicted how personal it would feel to me. The reason is simple – that was my role in the movie and in the real story. This old hymn (that I don’t lead very often) tells the story of the prodigal son. This last verse gives hope for me and all the others out there who have denied Jesus:
See! My Father waiting stands;
See! He reaches out His hands;
God is love, I know, I see,
Love for me, yes, even me.

Break Thou the Bread of Life
Like many of those “raised in the church”, I had the experience of hearing this hymn led at rather unfortunate times during worship – like right before the Lord’s Supper. This song has NOTHING to do with communion, but it does have the word “bread” in it. As a result, I avoided it for years, and then I found it again. To my surprise, it connected with a deep longing that I had in my heart and spirit:
Beyond the sacred page, I seek Thee, Lord.
My spirit pants for Thee, O Living Word.

Farther Along
Yes, “Farther Along”! I love this song for two reasons – (1) it reminds me of home and people I love, and (2) it’s brutally honest. You know what? I don’t always get what God’s up to. Frankly, I haven’t a clue much of the time. And though it’s still not very acceptable to voice such feelings, somehow this rural hymn managed to let us all get away with it. Try these lyrics on for honesty:
When death has come and taken our loved ones,
It leaves our home so lonely and drear.
Then do we wonder why others prosper
Living so wicked year after year.
It ain’t pretty, but it’s honest.

Softly and Tenderly
Raise your hand if you ever saw “The Trip to Bountiful”! (Okay, I’m expecting NO response to that one.) Geraldine Page won a best actress in 1985 (I think) for her portrayal of an elderly woman who lives with her depressed son and his unhappy wife, and all she wants to do is go home again. It’s a beautiful, funny, sad, sweet movie, and the scenes at the beginning in which Cynthia Clauson sings this hymn as a little girl runs through a green field into her mother’s awaiting arms had me a puddle of tears in no time. The chorus of this song connects with that part of me that just gets tired and longs to get my loved ones and just go home forever:
Come home, come home
Ye who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home.
(I can hardly type that without getting misty!)

Rock of Ages
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling.
That line pretty much sums up everything!

And now for the flipside!

Here are some of the WORST lines from hymns that I can think of:

I Stand Amazed
He had no tears for His own griefs,
But sweatdrops of blood for mine.
“He had no tears for his own griefs”?!? What?? Are we sure about that one?

Our God, He Is Alive (#728-B)
Secure, is life from mortal mind,
God holds the germ within His hand.
First of all, I don’t even know what that means. Did a botanist or biologist write this song? I just hope God washed His hands after handling that germ.
By the way, in my mind, I hear that first line as “See – cure”. That’s the way we sang it in Opp, Alabama. It doesn’t sound authentic if you pronounce that word correctly.

Let the Beauty of Jesus Be Seen
Here’s a song that has pretty much been confined to “ladies’ retreat” worship services. There’s so much I could say about this terrible little song (no offense to lovers of it anywhere!), but my least favorite single line is this one:
Lay your gifts at His feet,
Ever strive to keep sweet,
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you.
That’s right, folks. Jesus suffered and died so we’d be sweet. Incredible.

Mansion Over the Hilltop
First of all, may I say that the original writer (Ira Stamphill) likely was quite sincere when he wrote this song. It was a rural favorite, and it probably connected with lots of folks and their specific economic situations. But there’s nothing more ridiculous than walking into a large, suburban church and hearing the congregation sing:
I’m satisfied with just a cottage below,
A little silver and a little gold.
Lies! All lies! Leave this place at once and return to your $250,000 cottage!

Let the Lower Lights Be Burning
Again --- where to start on this one?? Actually, I’m not going to post the actual lyric for fear of offending those with tender sensibilities. But let’s just say that as a former infertility patient, it is pretty much impossible for me to sing the refrain of this song with a straight face.

And for our final category, these are three hymns in which the lyrics and the music absolutely CLASH. These songs got under my skin for many years, and I’m happy to report that I haven’t been in a position to sing them in a long, long time.

Honorable mention:
O Happy Day
By the way, I’m not referring to that wonderful Edwin Hawkins version. I’m referring to the one in most of our hymnals. Note: this was not the fault of the lyricist! Phillip Doddridge wrote the words in 1755, but Edward Rinibault added the dreadful melody in 1854. Actually, it may not be that dreadful, but the way most of our churches sang it certainly was. Call me and I’ll sing to you how it sounded in my ears! Anyone else have this experience?

Runner-up:
He Bore It All
This tune is WAY too bouncy for lyrics like
My precious Savior suffered pain and agony
And
They placed a crown of thorns upon my Savior’s head.
I should not be tempted to tap my feet while singing those lines, should I?

Worst of all time:
Jesus Is Coming Soon
Basically, I have the same complaint here as with “He Bore It All”. It’s just way too joyful and peppy a melody to sing lyrics like:
Troublesome times are here,
Filling men’s hearts with fear,
Freedom we all hold dear now is at stake.
Or
Many will meet their doom.
The third verse salvages things a bit (the lyrics are bit happier!) but the damage has been done.

Down With The Soreness

Well, actually the soreness is gone. 2 Thursdays ago, I went to the Baptist Family Clinic and received 2 injections in my right deltoid (tetanus and polio) and 2 injections in my left deltoid (hepatitis b and meningitis). Just a few days later in the White County Medical Center in Searcy, I received 2 more injections in my left deltoid and 1 in the back of my arm where the fat is (hepatitis a, typhoid and yellow fever). I can tell you that I was truly sore for a few days. Nothing lasted longer than the tetanus, though.

Why am I going through all of this?

I will be leaving for Windhoek, Namibia, Africa on the 31st of this month with my buddy and preacher, Joel Lewis. I am going there to teach some classes each day and to scope out the lay of the land for our summer mission trip with our high school juniors and seniors.

We will be spending a combination of a few days in London, England on the way to and from Windhoek. It is all going to be new to me. If you have been to London or Namibia and would like to share with me some things that I should be on the lookout for, please email me or leave a comment. What a great experience this is going to be!!