Tuesday of the Moody Founder’s Week Conference is Alumni Day, a day of class reunions and special meals. Last year, the Class of ’57, the greatest class to graduate from Moody Bible Institute, celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. I attended the celebration and enjoyed seeing many classmates, including some I hadn’t seen since 1957. Most of us recognized one another!
Ours was the best-attended class reunion in the history of Moody. In spite of our 70-something age bracket, about 175 of us mingled together. We compressed 50 years into a day of fellowship and shared stories from our student days.
It was a very special time.
It was also a time to reflect on Moody’s program of training current students to share the gospel in cross-cultural settings. Our class decided to launch an endowment fund, called the ’57 Fund, designed to help students travel to mission fields for short-term missionary training and experience. Our goal was to raise $57,000. No small task for a bunch of silver-haired or no-hair people, most of whom were involved in full-time Christian ministry. Some of us are still preaching or teaching or counseling or doing something productive in the world of work. But as far as I know, none of us will receive a Wall Street ticker tape parade.
Today, Glenn Ruby, one of our classmates will present a check in the amount of $37,000 to Moody’s Alumni Director. As Winston Churchill said, “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. It may be the end of the beginning.” Our class will keep on giving and reach our goal of $57,000.
Happy Alumni Day, fellow Moody alumni!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Sinus Infection and Spousal Reflections
It’s Sunday, and I will not be preaching. A sinus infection has sidelined me. A retired pastor, who attends the church I am serving as the interim pastor, will sub for me. I will miss the usual fellowship and ministry I have come to enjoy in Penrose, and I hope to get well quickly so I can minister next Sunday.
I wasn’t feeling well yesterday, but I conducted a funeral service in Florence, Colorado, for an 87-year-old woman who attended church with her husband Ed until they became too frail to attend. They married in Chicago in 1945 when Ed returned home from World War II. Mildred’s death ended their 63-year-old marriage.
Ed and Mildred’s long marriage honored their commitment to love each other until death. Unfortunately, some couples separate before 63 days of marriage. Their irreconcilable differences may include disagreements about such matters as money, in-laws, meals, and TV program selection. A few marriages grow stale faster than leftover wedding cake.
Christians who honor the Lord may enjoy not only a long-lasting marriage but also the prospect of a joyful reunion in heaven. Death may remove one spouse from the other, but the separation is only temporary.
“ . . . let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Eph. 5:33).
I wasn’t feeling well yesterday, but I conducted a funeral service in Florence, Colorado, for an 87-year-old woman who attended church with her husband Ed until they became too frail to attend. They married in Chicago in 1945 when Ed returned home from World War II. Mildred’s death ended their 63-year-old marriage.
Ed and Mildred’s long marriage honored their commitment to love each other until death. Unfortunately, some couples separate before 63 days of marriage. Their irreconcilable differences may include disagreements about such matters as money, in-laws, meals, and TV program selection. A few marriages grow stale faster than leftover wedding cake.
Christians who honor the Lord may enjoy not only a long-lasting marriage but also the prospect of a joyful reunion in heaven. Death may remove one spouse from the other, but the separation is only temporary.
“ . . . let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Eph. 5:33).
Thursday, January 31, 2008
One of Those Days
We have all had a rough day now and then. The washing machine breaks. The car’s battery dies. The kids get sick. We dislocate a hip. Lightning forces us off the golf course. The boss rants and raves incessantly. Ad nauseum, Ad nauseum.
Yesterday was one of those days.
Gloria and I switched health care plans at the first of the year after learning the new plan’s directory of providers included our primary care doctor. It did. But yesterday, when Gloria was very sick and we stepped into our primary care doctor’s office, a sign on the receptionist’s desk informed us the doctor did not accept our plan. Many long phone calls later I learned we had walked into a quagmire. The health insurance company and the doctor were about as agreeable as two grizzlies vying for the same salmon.
Our agent said frankly we needed a new primary care doctor. But it took several calls to find one. Several doctors listed in the directory of providers denied belonging to the plan. The one who responded positively identified February 28 as the first available appointment day.
What might national health care look like?
That evening in Penrose, Colorado, went well. The mid-week service was well attended and the group discussion was lively and relevant. And then we all walked to our cars. While we were praying, a blinding blizzard had arrived. I wheeled my car onto the nearby highway to begin the hour-long drive that would stretch through the canyons and hills to my home in Colorado Springs.
If you know Colorado, you know snow clearance is left mainly to the sun, and it definitely wasn’t shining at 8:00 p.m. Two miles down the slick, snowy road, I faced a whiteout. So I turned around and returned to Penrose, where I slept the night away in a comfortable, warm bed. The morning ride home was treacherous, but at least I could see where I was going.
So yesterday was one of those days. But it was also a Romans 8:28 day. It lay squarely in God’s hands for my good and His glory. I found myself giving thanks for thoughtful church members who furnished the parsonage for my comfort. They had anticipated a day or two when the weather would be bad. I also was thankful for a new doctor’s willingness to accept two new patients with a Medicare supplement plan.
Yesterday was one of those days.
Gloria and I switched health care plans at the first of the year after learning the new plan’s directory of providers included our primary care doctor. It did. But yesterday, when Gloria was very sick and we stepped into our primary care doctor’s office, a sign on the receptionist’s desk informed us the doctor did not accept our plan. Many long phone calls later I learned we had walked into a quagmire. The health insurance company and the doctor were about as agreeable as two grizzlies vying for the same salmon.
Our agent said frankly we needed a new primary care doctor. But it took several calls to find one. Several doctors listed in the directory of providers denied belonging to the plan. The one who responded positively identified February 28 as the first available appointment day.
What might national health care look like?
That evening in Penrose, Colorado, went well. The mid-week service was well attended and the group discussion was lively and relevant. And then we all walked to our cars. While we were praying, a blinding blizzard had arrived. I wheeled my car onto the nearby highway to begin the hour-long drive that would stretch through the canyons and hills to my home in Colorado Springs.
If you know Colorado, you know snow clearance is left mainly to the sun, and it definitely wasn’t shining at 8:00 p.m. Two miles down the slick, snowy road, I faced a whiteout. So I turned around and returned to Penrose, where I slept the night away in a comfortable, warm bed. The morning ride home was treacherous, but at least I could see where I was going.
So yesterday was one of those days. But it was also a Romans 8:28 day. It lay squarely in God’s hands for my good and His glory. I found myself giving thanks for thoughtful church members who furnished the parsonage for my comfort. They had anticipated a day or two when the weather would be bad. I also was thankful for a new doctor’s willingness to accept two new patients with a Medicare supplement plan.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The Church with a Heart
Yesterday I drove 46 miles to Penrose for an 8:00 a.m. men’s breakfast at the church I am serving as interim pastor. The food and fellowship were outstanding. Later, I visited an unemployed couple in need of a hand up. (The term, “handout,” doesn’t seem to fit people that want to work.) Because they don’t own a car and public transportation isn’t available where they live, it’s hard for them to find work.
Our church wants to help them.
One of our leaders will give this couple a ride to church this morning. Another is looking for a used car the church can give them.
I am grateful for Christian men who serve the Lord so passionately. The guys who prepared breakfast and those who are involved in helping the needy couple I mentioned are a credit to the cause of Christ. They live out Jesus’ teaching about serving others in His name.
I look forward to teaching God’s Word this morning in “the church with a heart in the heart of Penrose.”
Our church wants to help them.
One of our leaders will give this couple a ride to church this morning. Another is looking for a used car the church can give them.
I am grateful for Christian men who serve the Lord so passionately. The guys who prepared breakfast and those who are involved in helping the needy couple I mentioned are a credit to the cause of Christ. They live out Jesus’ teaching about serving others in His name.
I look forward to teaching God’s Word this morning in “the church with a heart in the heart of Penrose.”
Friday, January 25, 2008
Don't Write Me Off!
My copy of Sally Stuart’s 2008 Christian Writers’ Market Guide arrived today. Its 628 pages are crammed with helpful information, everything from resources for writers to 1,200 markets for the written word. It is worth far more than the $34.99 price. But writer wannabes would be wrong to think getting published is a piece of cake. It isn’t. The Christian who thinks he doesn’t have to write, rewrite, and rewrite a manuscript needs a reality check. If he thinks the Lord gives him every word, he may be surprised to find a publisher shaking his head and asking if that’s the best the Lord can do. A publishable manuscript, like a work of art, demands skill, creativity, and patience.
I mentor more than one hundred aspiring writers. Some will get published; many will not. Some have obvious talent; some obviously have very little, if any. Some will persevere until they acquire talent; but some should have repeated fifth-grade English. But I admire every student’s desire to launch a ministry of writing.
Christian publishing companies would quickly go out of business if they accepted articles and books on a purely emotional basis. So they ask hard questions: Does this article have take-away value? Is there a market for this book? Does it meet our literary standards? Is its theology consistent with ours? What makes it different from other books that deal with the same topic? How can the author help sell his book? What sales figures can we project for this book?
Often, I receive a request from a friend or a friend of a friend to read a manuscript and register my opinion. The expectation is I will evaluate it free of charge and render a favorable verdict. I have lost friends and friends of friends by insisting I can’t afford to work for nothing and by rendering a negative verdict after reading a manuscript that falls flat. Usually, I hear something like this: “My family and friends have read my book, and they all thought it was great and should be published.” I guess those family members and friends either didn’t read from a professional perspective or they were too loving (cowardly) to give the book a two-thumbs-down.
The world seems to be at its worst today, so it needs Christian writers to be at their best. We have a powerful, restorative message for readers, but we must present it skillfully, accurately, and persuasively.
I mentor more than one hundred aspiring writers. Some will get published; many will not. Some have obvious talent; some obviously have very little, if any. Some will persevere until they acquire talent; but some should have repeated fifth-grade English. But I admire every student’s desire to launch a ministry of writing.
Christian publishing companies would quickly go out of business if they accepted articles and books on a purely emotional basis. So they ask hard questions: Does this article have take-away value? Is there a market for this book? Does it meet our literary standards? Is its theology consistent with ours? What makes it different from other books that deal with the same topic? How can the author help sell his book? What sales figures can we project for this book?
Often, I receive a request from a friend or a friend of a friend to read a manuscript and register my opinion. The expectation is I will evaluate it free of charge and render a favorable verdict. I have lost friends and friends of friends by insisting I can’t afford to work for nothing and by rendering a negative verdict after reading a manuscript that falls flat. Usually, I hear something like this: “My family and friends have read my book, and they all thought it was great and should be published.” I guess those family members and friends either didn’t read from a professional perspective or they were too loving (cowardly) to give the book a two-thumbs-down.
The world seems to be at its worst today, so it needs Christian writers to be at their best. We have a powerful, restorative message for readers, but we must present it skillfully, accurately, and persuasively.
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