Goodbye Coach Fulmer

I was one of the estimated 65,000 to witness Phil Fulmer’s last game as coach of the University of Tennessee Volunteers.  Why did I go to Neyland Stadium on such a cold and wet evening?  Mainly because the tickets were free.  However, I’m glad that I went.

You could say that I was encouraged to be a Big Orange fan early in life.  My dad was a fan and made sure that he always either watched or listened to each football game.  Because I wanted to spend time with my dad, I did the same.  I still remember watching the Sugar Bowl following the 1985 season and cheering on as Dale Jones and compnay stunned the Miami Hurricanes.  I remember the excruciating 1988 season when nothing seemed to go right.  I remember the transition from Coach Majors to Coach Fulmer and the successful seasons to follow.

The most successful season, of course, was in 1998 when the Vols won the National Championship.  I really didn’t there was any chance of that happening.  After all, the starting quaterback was the untested and inexperienced Tee Martin.  If we couldn’t win it all with Peyton Manning, how in the world would we be able to do it with him?

For the first game of the season, my dad and I hiked up to Spencefield.  This is a grassy level area just below Thunderhead Mountain, one of the highest point on the Appalachian Trail.  We brought along a blanket, some food for lunch, and a radio.  When we reached Spencefield, we sat down on the blanket, chowed down on our sandwiches, and turned the radio on to listen to John Ward and Bill Anderson call the action between our beloved Vols and the Syracuse Orangemen.  A good day turned into a great one as we won a close one in the final seconds.

The rest of the season featured many other good, close games.  I remember watching the Tennessee-Florida game and shouting with joy as we wond and the goal-posts came down.  I remember the Tennessee-Arkansas game where we snatched victory from the jaws of defeat (thank you, Clint Stoerner).  And I remember the National Championship Game when the unimagineable happened.

I guess its for these reasons and so many more that I wanted to be there last night for Coach Fulmer’s final game.  I have so many good memories thanks to him and the team that he coached and I just wanted to say and final “Thank You.”

I realize that football is not even close to being one of the most important things in the world.  However, family is one of the most important things and watching Tennessee Football is one thing that has been passed down from my dad to me and, now, from me to my kids. 

So, Coach Fulmer-thanks for the memories and for doing your best to inspire others along the way.

I’m Thankful For (in no particular order)….

..the way my 6 month old reaches for my nose when I hold her, the way my boys laugh as they play football while wearing their bicycles helmets, and the way my oldest daughter is learning to read.

..a slower pace, a vision, and the conviction to risk.

..the ability to read, good books to read, and used book stores.

..remote controls, espn, and the joy of passing on the love of sports.

..C.S. Lewis, Donald Miller, and Harper Lee.

..Children’s Hospital, flu shots, and medical professionals who care.

..e-mail, myspace, and blogs.

..a wife with compassion, parents who tried hard, and others in my family who inspire me.

..the opportunity to write, the people who read, and things that cause me to think.

..book shelves, dishwashers, and toilets.

..Coach Darden, Mr. Wyatt, and Dr. Akin.

..Diet Dr. Pepper, Rocky Road Ice Cream, and Chickn-n-Dumplings.

..deep breaths, hot showers,and inner peace.

..friends from the past, friends in the present, and friends in the future.

..a tight spiral, a wicked knuckleball, and nothing but net.

..junk drawers, sock baskets, and old comic books.

..good preachers, good pastors, and good churches.

and last but most important

..God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.

There is much more that could be said, but I will leave it at that.  Give thanks with a sincere heart for all that God has done, is doing, and will do.

The Vatican Forgives John Lennon

Here is a link to a report that the Vatican’s newspaper has forgiven John Lennon for his remark from years ago that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ.–http://www.comcast.net/articles/music/20081122/ENTERTAINMENT-US-VATICAN-BEATLES/. 

I will try not to be too harsh with these next few comments.  Please forgive me if you think otherwise. 

To me, it is  arrogant for any human beings to think that it is their responsibility to forgive a person who made a statement that was derogatory to Jesus.  If his remark had been aimed at the Vatican, then they could have forgiven him.  However, John Lennon did not harm the Vatican nor did he harm any other Christians.  His words were aimed to draw attention to himself and his group.  Those believers who flew into a rage about it merely played into his hands.  More attention was given to him because of the protests.

From the Bible we see that when Jesus was persecuted, maligned, and mocked he took it without trying to defend Himself.  Now, when Jesus or His followers are persecuted, maligned, and mocked–so many get angry, protest, and fight back.

Do you see the difference?

When we are spoken against, we should do good.  When we are persecuted, we should do good.  When we are ignored, we should do good. 

When we fight back, we are not being like Jesus.  When we fight back, we are taking our focus off of Jesus and placing it upon our own hurt feelings.  When we fight back, we are wasting our time.

Once again my favorite verse comes to mind–”Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”–Romans 12:21.

When we become angry and fight back over offenses we are allowing evil to overcome us.  When we react as Jesus did with good works, we overcome evil with good. 

Lord, help us react like Christ.

Rejection

The thing about looking for employment that stinks the most is the rejection.  I have sent out countless resumes and been on a few interviews.  I have been hopeful and pessimistic, up and down.  And I have been rejected–again and again.

Rejection happens to everyone at some point.  From the kid who gets picked last in dodgeball, to the girl whose love is rejected, to the presidential candidate who is defeated–rejection is common.  It is also common to become discouraged because of it.

There is a voice in my head that whispers the word “failure” every time I get rejected.  Well, sometimes it whispers and sometimes it shouts; either way, I hear it.  Most of the time I tune it out, shrug my shoulders, and keep on keeping on.

Some days, though, I allow the voice to get to me.  Today was one of those days. 

I really wasn’t expecting to feel that way.  I’ve found out that my discouraged moments come upon me with the swiftness of a striking viper; except it poisons my soul instead of my body.  Which is worse, by the way.

It’s during these times that I am reminded that God is sovereign.  Absolute control belongs to Him.  This idea is not always popular, but that does not mean it is false.  Sometimes the most true ideas are the most difficult to accept. 

Another good thought during times like these is that, while I may be rejected by company after compnay, I am not rejected by God.  God accepts me into His family with relentless love. 

So, I will continue sending resumes and going on interviews and will probably be rejected a few more times.  When that happens and the voice begins to speak, I pray that I will rest ever more securely in the fact that I am His and that is really all that matters.

Complaining vs. Overcoming

Followers of Jesus should be able to agree that there is plenty of evil in the world.  Pornography is rampant, God’s name is blasphemed, and decency is close to death.  You don’t have to be a genius to figure this out–just looking around should do the trick.  Things are not what they should be. 

So, what’s different about that?  Some are led to believe that everything was in pretty good shape until the last half of the last century.  They think that there was a great deal of morality until around the 1960’s when everything went haywire. 

They need a history lesson.

Sin has been around for a long time.  Indecent words were being spoken and indecent images being displayed long before this past century.  Ancient societies were not full of extremely virtuous people.  Wherever people have lived, there has been evil. 

What has changed is that everyone is far more aware of it than during times past.  We see it on television, in newspapers, and on the internet.  24 hour news channels cover every dastardly deed and we sit and soak it all up. 

What is most interesting to me is the response of those who follow Jesus. 

The most common response is outrage and disgust with petitions being signed and sermons being preached about how horrible all of it is.  This combined with Christians fussing and complaining about every sin and slight aimed toward them paint a distorted picture of how we should be responding.

Going back to the New Testament reveals something amazing.  Those who followed Jesus then did not spend much time complaining about the evil around them or about the shenanigans of the powers that be.  They merely went about their lives trusting in their Savior and doing good to all that they came in contact with. 

They did not complain, they overcame.

Whenever we hear of the desires of some to take the words “under God” out of the Pledge of Allegiance or “In God We Trust” off of coins, so many Christians go crazy.  Sadly, we are not as aghast over the fact that there are many among us who go days without eating,  nights without a warm place to sleep, or go on day after day believing that no one cares about them.

The empire that ruled during the New Testament days was filled with darkness.  But instead of cursing the darkness, the early Christians shone the light of God’s love. 

I dislike evil as much as the next person, but we need to take a close look at how we respond.  If the choice is between complaining or overcoming, I’ll choose to strive to overcome.

“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”–Romans 12:21

Belt It Out

Our church had its annual Fall Festival today.  We had to scale it back some and move it inside, but it was still a refreshing time of fellowship.  Many thanks to John, Tammie, Bill, Carol, Ron, Pat, and all the others that made it possible.

The highlight for me was the singing of the Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church choir.  Macedonia is a predominantly African-American congregation from Newport, TN.  Their choir consisted of 5 women (including the pianist/director) and 2 men.  But you would have thought a 40 person choir was there.  Their singing was from the heart and it brought great joy to me and all the others in attendance.

As they were singing, I thought about the difference between their choir and most of the ones that I have been around.  The main difference that I could come up with is that they sang with complete disregard for what anyone else thought about them.  That is, they sang without any inhibitions.

I don’t think that they love the Lord any more or any less than the people in other choirs.  I don’t think they are any more or less enthusiastic about their faith.  I think that they are not afraid to “let it all hang out” and pour every ounce of energy they have into the songs that they are singing.

I pray that more of us who love God will learn to lose our inhibitions and sing praises to God with everything that we have because He is worthy of it all.

Being Prepared for a Church Service

As a pastor, whenever I go to church I have to be prepared.  By this I mean that I should have been praying about the service, I should have been communing with God on a daily basis, I should have prepared a sermon—I should be ready in mind and in spirit to lead the church in seeking God.

That is what a church expects her pastor to do.  If I stepped behind the pulpit without having done these things, it would probably be apparent.  And the consequences would be pretty negative.  Not only would people cease to listen, they would probably grow discontent with me as their pastor.  Of course, things would go downhill from there.

It gives me some aggravation, though, to realize that some of the people who expect their pastor to be prepared for the church service have not prepared themselves.  There are some who sit in a pew each church service who never pray for their pastor, the musicians, the singers, etc.  There are some who haven’t asked God to reveal anything to them in the previous week nor have they asked God to reveal anything to them through the preaching and sining.  There are some who view the church service as merely something to get through rather than as an opportunity to seek God.

I don’t mean to sound negative.  If you get that vibe, I apologize.  The main point of this post is to get you to ask these questions of yourself:  Am I preparing my heart to receive what God wants to give me during the next church service?  Have I spent time praying for the pastor and the others involved in the service?  Am I going to the service to really seek God and worship Him or am I going merely out of routine? 

More and more followers of Jesus need to be asking themselves these questions and many others similar to these.  Then maybe we would have more services where people are really changed.

Overcoming Loneliness

As a child I was lonely most of the time.  This is why I became an incessant reader.  Not because I was smart, or because I enjoyed it so much.  It was because I felt so alone.  It didn’t help much that I hated how I looked, how I sounded, and who I was. 

So after school I would read Island of the Blue Dolphins and imagine myself in an exotic setting going on exotic adventures.  Or maybe it was To Kill a Mockingbird and I would find myself discussing with Scout, Jem, and Dill about ways to make Boo Radley appear.  When suppertime came, I was summoned from my daydream to dine on hamburgers or hotdogs or chicken or spaghettie accompanied by macaroni or fries or green beans or potatoes.  As soon as that ended, though, I was back swimming where dolphins swam or watching Atticus walk down the street toward home.  All done within the friendly confines of my own mind, of course. 

Lest you get the wrong idea, I’ll also tell you that I was involved in other activities as well.  Activities that involved other people.  I was a member of the Carter High School Marching Band as well as the basketball team.  I enjoyed taking part in both activities.  I would have like it better if it weren’t for the others inolved, though.  

I can’t exactly pinpoint why I was so anti-social.  But I have a pretty good guess.

Dealing with other people can get messy, what with all of the emotions involved.  You know what I mean, don’t you?  The hurt feelings and the discussions about hurt feelings and the trying to find out if people who say they are your friends really like you or not and the whole “vulnerability thing” were all too much for me.  By choosing to be alone, I avoided all of those things.  I didn’t have to explain how I felt to anyone.  I didn’t have to worry about the feelings of others.  I didn’t have to open up.

Books don’t make you explain yourself, they just sit there waiting for you to read them.  You don’t have open up to books, they are the ones that get opened up.  Books are givers of information, not emotion.  Books are safe.

But slowly, ever so slowly, I found out that it couldn’t just be me and my books forever.  I found out something as I read book after book (especially as I read the Bible).  Life is not supposed to be lived alone.  And while I could keep existing by reading book after book, I could not really live without experiencing life with others.

It’s been several years now since I came to this realization.  There have been times of success and times of failure.  But since then, I have learned things that no book will be able to fully explain.  Things like how to forgive when the hurt is so deep, how to really love people instead of just tolerate them, and how to ask for help when I need it.

We have been placed in each others’ lives for a reason.  I hope I always remember that valuable lesson.

Adultery

I am convinced that the only thing that is keeping many men from committing adultery is the lack of opportunity. 

I have no statistics to back this idea up.  I haven’t seen any big university studies about this.  I only have observations. 

There is an enormous amount of pornography available.  Anyone with a desire for such trash can find it, even without leaving the comfort of their homes.  With all that is available, there has to be plenty of folks who view it.  Many of these are married men, some are Christian men.  With all of the lusting (which is considered adultery by Jesus) that is going on in the hearts and minds of many, is it a stretch to believe that many men are just one step away from partaking in the ultimate betrayal?

I don’t think so.

I have two main thoughts in regard to this. 

1.  Don’t be so arrogant to think that you are immune to moral failures.  It can happen to anyone in any marriage. 

2.  Don’t throw people who have failed in this way into the trash bin.  God still loves them and can redeem them. 

Just a few thoughts.

God Bless.

What’s Been Going On

Since I took a bit of a hiatus from writing, I thought it may be appropriate to tell you a few things that have been going on with me and mine recently.  So–here goes (in no particular order).

1.  I am unemployed.  While I am a pastor, I am what is called a bivocational pastor (meaning that I also have a regular full-time job in addition to my pastoral duties).  After working for the same company for over 9 years, I was let go at the end of August.  I will not go into the “why” here, but it was a shock.  I have sent out many resumes and been on a couple of interviews, but have not had any offers yet.  I have tried not to be angry over the situation and have been mostly successful.  Every cloud has a silver lining.  I’ve been able to spend more time with my family (in particular our now 6 month old baby) and more time in my pastoral duties.  God has blessed our family and allowed the money to stretch farther than it ever has.  To Him be the glory.

2.  We sold our house in Oakdale.  This happened on my birthday last and has to be the best birthday gift that I have ever received.  I enjoyed Oakdale while we lived there.  It is a quiet, out of the way place that you have to get lost to find.  I miss it most on those days where I seem to be rushed.

3.  This month I am celebrating my 20th year of being a follower of Jesus and my 11th year of being called to preach.  I must admit that I am still learning how to do both effectively.  I figure I’ll still be in learning mode until the day that I die.  It has been a fantastic journey so far and I have learned more about genuinely following Jesus during the last few years than I ever did beforehand.  Thanks to all of you who have helped me along the way. 

4.  I’m learning to rely on others more.  It’s a little bit scary and I feel useless somtimes, but it is worth it.  Our lives are supposed to be shared with others.  It makes us and the others better–trust me.

5.  I’m still overweight.  I started out the new year blogging weekly about losing weight, but when I hit a standstill I stopped writing about it.  It’s time to get back on the wagon and get healthy again.  Pray that I will keep it up.

6.  I set up a myspace page for the church that I am blessed to be a part of.  You can see it at www.myspace.com/stoneypointchurch.  It’s been an interesting way to contact people.  Check it out.

7.  As stated in a previous post, I believe God has graciously showed me what I and the church I pastor need to be about.  In addition to Romans 12:21 (which I quoted in a previous post), the other guiding verse is Matthew 5:16–”Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” 

Overall, life is still good because God is still good.  The things that I used to complain about I am learning to accept as being part of what God is using to make me who He wants me to be.  I’m content with that now.

God Bless.