Rex and Rudy

When I caddied in the late 1940s and early 1950s at the St. Catharines Golf Course, St. Catharines, Ontario, I most enjoyed caddying for Rex Stimers, who usually played with Rudy Pilous. In those days caddies sat in the caddy shack until the caddy master assigned them randomly to golfers. But a golfer could request a caddie by name, and Rex often requested me in spite of the fact that I was one of the youngest caddies. I was about 13 or 14 when I caddied for Rex most often.

Rex was a popular sports announcer for our city’s radio station, CKTB. He was best known for his animated broadcasting of Junior OHL (Ontario Hockey League) games. Our home team was the St. Catharines Teepees. Some of the Teepees advanced to the National Hockey League.

Rudy coached the Teepees, and then became the coach who led the Chicago Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup Championship in 1961. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985. A lefty on the golf course, Rudy matched up against Rex quite well, and both had a terrific sense of humor that took the drudgery out of caddying.

Both men treated me well and introduced me to hockey players who joined them on the course. Rex even treated me to rounds of golf at courses near Toronto and Niagara Falls, New York. It was not unusual to hear him mention my name, Jimmy Dyet, on his nightly sports broadcast.

Both men departed this life a long time ago, but I cherish good memories of them.

Men can have a lasting influence on kids for good or bad. Christian men can choose to mold kids into young men and women who will impact their culture for God. We don’t have to be preachers to teach the younger generation to do right and to honor God. We can demonstrate righteousness on the golf course, on a hockey rink, on a baseball diamond, on a basketball court, or in a classroom—wherever kids need role models. Proverbs 22:6 counsels, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

—From Straight Down the Middle—Meditations for Golfers, © 2010 Circle Books, Winchester, U.K., Washington, D.C.

Impacting Or Imbibing the Culture?

Someone asked me recently what I meant when I said in a sermon that the Church is supposed to impact, not imbibe, the culture. I meant the Church should adhere to a high standard of righteousness in order to have a solid platform from which to evangelize. If the Church’s standard of righteousness is almost low as the culture’s, why will unbelievers be attracted to the gospel? If they are not convinced the gospel has not made much, if any, difference in our lives, why should they embrace it?

Also, the Church must present the truth that God sees everyone as a sinner destitute of innate spiritual merit. Romans 3:23 hands down this indictment: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” But the culture rejects God’s analysis of human nature, preferring to see every human being as special and deserving of the best life has to offer. Consequently, more than a few smooth-talking pastors preach only a positive message that positively affirms in the minds of those who listen that they are positively fine individuals whom God positively loves just as they are. The same positive message fails to mention personal sin, guilt, judgment, and the need to repent and believe on the Savior who shed His blood for sinners.

Further, the culture seeks entertainment as obsessively as bees seek pollen. Celebrities dazzle their fans, especially those celebrities who “rock the house.” Is the Church copying the culture by entertaining congregations? Are we at risk of abandoning corporate worship of the Rock of Ages by letting on-stage performers “rock the house”?

The apostle Paul urged the believers at Rome to resist the pressure of pagan culture to fit into its mold (Romans 12:2). The culture’s mold produces carnal Christians; God’s mold produces Christlike Christians (Roman 8:29). Christlike Christians impact the culture; carnal Christians imbibe it.

Beyond Despair

The nation Judah had turned her back on God by failing to observe His Sabbaths and by refusing to worship Him exclusively. As punishment, God allowed the Babylonians to invade Judah, destroy Jerusalem, level the Temple, and drag thousands of Jews into captivity. The prophet Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations, meaning “funeral songs,” to express his deep sorrow over these dismal events. Not surprisingly, the first verse of Lamentations bemoans: “How deserted lies the city [Jerusalem], once so full of people! How like a widow she is, who once was great among the nations! She who was a queen among the provinces has now become a slave.”

What seemed like absolute despair in Jeremiah’s heart turned to hope when he looked beyond his nation’s decline and caught a glimpse of God’s faithfulness. He exclaimed: “His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22, 23). He recognized that God’s faithfulness extended far beyond Jerusalem’s calamity. There was hope for all who patiently waited for God to turn things around (verses 24–26).

Is the United States in decline? Many pundits predict imminent disaster, and our enemies are eager to expedite it. Although our nation cannot claim a covenant relationship with God, it has a long history of Christian character and influence. As a nation, we have seen ample evidence that “righteousness exalts a nation” (Proverbs 14:34a), but recently we have also seen righteousness decline. Are we, therefore, preparing the way for disaster?

When the king of Nineveh learned from the prophet Jonah that Nineveh would be destroyed in 40 days, he issued a wise decree: “Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish” (Jonah 3:8, 9). In response to the decree, the Ninevites repented, and God withheld His judgment.

There is hope now as there was then. God’s faithfulness, compassion, love, and forgiveness lie just beyond despair, both for individuals and nations.

How Well Do We Listen?

A cartoon shows a man seated in a recliner and reading a newspaper. His wife exclaims, “George, the garage is on fire.” He replies, ”That’s nice, Dear.”

Many married couples can relate to the cartoon’s message: Husbands can be very poor listeners. Of course, there is always the possibility a husband is losing his sense of hearing. In that case, a hearing test can determine whether hearing aids might improve his quality of life—and his wife’s.

Good hearing and good listening are not necessarily synonymous. A person may hear every word a nutritionist speaks about healthful eating and then enter the nearest restaurant and order pecan pie with two scoops of ice cream. Another person may hear her doctor say she must exercise at least 30 minutes daily or risk a heart attack or stroke, but she may continue to play the role of a couch potato. In each case, neither person listened.

Wisdom is personified in Jesus and disclosed in Scripture. If we merely read Jesus’ words and dismiss them, we have only heard them. But if we read and obey His words, we have listened to them. Let’s be like the boy Samuel, who prayed, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10).

Have Bible. Will Travel.

I was 16 when I believed God called me to preach the gospel. At 18, while I was a student at Moody Bible Institute, I received a license to preach. During my Junior and Senior years at Moody, I preached every Sunday morning at Chicago’s Pacific Garden Mission. After graduating from Moody, I attended Houghton College, Houghton New York, and opened a closed country church that I served as pastor until I returned home to Canada after graduating and marrying Gloria. I was ordained in 1961.

I suppose nostalgia turned my thoughts to places I have preached since I received the call to do so. I may have forgotten a few, but I think the following list is fairly complete. If the Lord wills, the list will grow.

A personal observation: I believe the need for faithful Biblical preaching is greater now than at any previous time.

COLORADO: Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Littleton, Thornton, Castle Rock, Monument, Pueblo, Parker, Pueblo West, Penrose, Leadville, Eagle, New Castle, Jefferson, Ft. Collins, Fowler, Holly, Crook, Arvada, Colorado Springs, Falcon, Golden

ILLINOIS: Chicago, St. Charles, Alton, Shelbyville, Buffalo Grove, Schaumburg, West Dundee, Arlington Heights, Naperville, Lombard, Utica, Peoria, Bensonville, East Moline, Des Plaines, Itasca, Streamwood, Warrenville, Orland Park, Mokena, Henry

INDIANA: West Terre Haute, Terre Haute, Indianapolis, Valparaiso, Crawfordsville, Veedersburg, Plymouth

OHIO: Mansfield, Gallipolis

IOWA: Council Bluffs, Manchester

MINNESOTA: Faribault, Burnsville

MISSOURI: Brentwood

KANSAS: Kansas City, Goodland, Wichita, Hutchinson, Stafford, Loretta, Shawnee

GEORGIA: Franklin Springs, Roswell

TENNESSEE: Murfreesboro, Greeneville

VIRGINIA: Manassas, Arlington, McLean

SOUTH DAKOTA: Roscoe

VERMONT: Danby

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Seabrook

DELAWARE: Newark, Milford

MASSACHUSETTS: Springfield, Norfolk, Lunenburg

WYOMING: Torrington

WISCONSIN: Racine, Westfield

NEW YORK: Williamson, Grand Island, Warsaw, Attica, Alden, Webster, Syosset, Wellsville, Olean, Rawson, Belfast, Perth, Johnson City, Harpursville, Liberty, Penn Yan

PENNSYLVANIA: Altoona, Enola, Roaring Spring, Ebensburg, Everett, Levittown

MICHIGAN: Dollar Bay, Lansing, Jackson, Paw Paw

NEW JERSEY: Manahawkin, Dover, Fair Lawn

CALIFORNIA: Antioch, Castro Valley, Los Angeles

OREGON: Forest Grove

WASHINGTON: Auburn

TEXAS: Dallas

ONTARIO: St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Hamilton, Toronto, Stouffville, Oshawa, Leamington, Brantford, Bracebridge, London, Huntsville, Burford, Scotland