Son Luke wrote this poem that I always refer to by the wrong name.
He wrote it as we drove across remote West Texas on I-10 returning from Mexico.
It tells of a day we floated down the Middle Fork in Illinois, catching fish on an August day.
One of the many creative things our kids have produced.
Telling Love In Dreams
The day
grandmother died
we went canoeing
on the winding river
that cuts banks
into the red dirt,
crumbling
through meadows.
Silently
sliding between
the shadow-rock
walls, the great blue
heron came close
overhead, sounding
like spirits falling.
I remember all of this
driving in the car
while you sleep
beside me.
Craig Groeschel
December 15, 2013
In an age of skeptcism- mine included- we need people who live and speak clearly. I spent the morning here in Chiapas with a group of people with no hope. I listened, loved, helped and knew well that the church must be something different if hopeless, angry people are to be reached.
Several years ago I ran across LifeChurch.tv and Craig Groeschel and his team. This crew was more than a breath of fresh air for a pastor guy out of breath. They shot dozens of new ideas through my life and gave and gave to me in ways that were lifechanging.
In partucular they put me onto Seth Godin’s book “The Dip” which catalysed my third-third transformation.
Here are some things I like about LC and Groeschel–and factors that make them a light in darkness:
- -Honest and real–there is very little church talk and he is not afraid of issue–like pornography
- -Skill–this outfit uses the skills of the team and works as a team
- -Free and giving–they don’t beg for money and they don’t charge for stuff.
- -Lifechange–it is expected that lives will change and all is oriented that direction
- -Say no and keep it simple–one of their most valuable words seems to be no and there is not a ton of activities
- -Quality and current–things like buildings, printed stuff, websites are well done and likeable
- -They helped me and Grace Community at a time when we needed it
I am a traveler
December 1, 2013
More and more I know this deep reality that I am a created being- and I am just beginning to understand the nature of what the Creator put together. As far back as I can remember I looked at the horizon and dreamed. I was joyful when I wandered to new places. I wanted to find out what was on the back side of the woods. I ran places.
Just last night here in Mexico City I wandered about looking for something to eat but it wasn’t the food. It was the place, the people, the history.
So I am in the perfect job. This Authentic Mexico Travel deal is not just a business. It is an expression of a passion poured into me and it is a reflection of a design. Perfect.
Last week two little groups went through Copper Canyon and loved it- wrote and told me how they loved it.
And today three people (thank you Bishop Gwin) will show up here and as we wander about Puebla next week they will rant and rave about the wonders of the place.
And I will go to Chiapas in 8 days and begin the proces there and many people will light up with joy as they travel there over these next days and years.
The BIG BOOK of AA talks of a “broad highway” and I have every sense of being on it.
On the broad highway in Mexico City today.
I Am An Athlete- 5K prep
August 14, 2012
|
Week |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
|
1 |
CT or Rest |
3 x 400 IW |
2 m run |
30 min tempo |
Rest |
5 m run |
30 min EZ |
|
2 |
CT or Rest |
4 x 400 IW |
2 m run |
30 min tempo |
Rest |
5 m run |
35 min EZ |
|
3 |
CT or Rest |
4 x 400 IW |
3 m run |
30 min tempo |
Rest |
6 m run |
35 min EZ |
|
4 |
CT or Rest |
5 x 400 IW |
3 m run |
35 min tempo |
Rest |
6 m run |
40 min EZ |
|
5 |
CT or Rest |
5 x 400 IW |
3 m run |
35 min tempo |
Rest |
7 m run |
35 min EZ |
|
6 |
CT or Rest |
6 x 400 IW |
3 m run |
40 min tempo |
Rest |
6 m run |
40 min EZ |
|
7 |
CT or Rest |
6 x 400 IW |
3 m run |
40 min tempo |
Rest |
7 m run |
45 min EZ |
|
8 |
CT or Rest |
3 m run |
30 min tempo run |
2 m run |
Rest |
Rest |
5K Race!
|
Recently I told Bishop Gwin (BG) at The Love Corner that I was an athlete. I was trying to encourage him to keep talking about how important it is for us to eat well and care for ourselves. He observes as I do that evangelicals are just as fat and out of it physically- or even more- than the average person in our corpulent society.
Anyway when I said it, BG looked at me like I was in total self delusion and denial of reality. I explained that lately I have been repeating to myself that I am an athlete- and it really helps me.
Now reality is that I am and have always been far from a natural athlete. How I interact with water, balls of any kind, sticks or rackets you hit balls with, and placing one foot in front of the other quickly is as far from athletic as one could imagine.
But this past 20 years or so I have been slogging along running and this past summer I lost 20 pounds and ran a few 5K runs.
You see I discovered in the Bible years ago this pervasive metaphor for the Christian life. This is a run, we are in training, and I am to run is such a way as to win.
So it hit me this summer that I have thought this, studied it, taught it to others…and now it is time to live it. It is time to actually function as if the clock is ticking, the race is on, I am not a spectator, and that I will either just run or run to win.
I prefer to win.
So the above chart is what I used to get ready for those 5K runs in the CU area.
I ran well and actually won one.
I am still in the race.
Leaving
August 14, 2012
One of the clearest of teachings all through the Bible is this leaving thing. Abram was told to leave time and again and when he did, stuff happened. When he stayed and waited, he stayed the same.
Jesus taught people to leave it all.
Paul harped on not looking back but forward.
So I used to tell kids who were getting married that their marriage and there ceremony should be about two things: leaving and promising. Leave your Mom and Dad. Leave your home of origin. Leave those ways. Leave , leave, leave.
I even encouraged them to have a spot in the ceremony , perhaps when they give the rose to the parents, when they actually say goodbye. Not many did. And to their detriment, not many actually left.
I didn’t and it was when we were married 13 years that I began to. We were at my parents old farm on their 50th wedding celebration weekend (we had the same anniversary) when I just came to the leaving point. It was over. I suppose it was more a victory of attrition than of my willingness, but it was real. I made a huge step away from that past, their ways. expectations, attitudes. I gave never looked back.
Our relationship is so much better since then- I guess it was a turning point.
Since those days we and I have left at several important points. Leaving The Woods to focus and simplify. Leaving Grace Community. Leaving Pennsylvania. All good moves. Not easy but good.
I am convinced that had we not left we would be stuck in a number of situations.
Out Of Ministry and In Again
August 14, 2012
Sitting in the bar car of CHEPE as it rolls into Sinaloa out of Chihuahua in Copper Canyon, Mexico. There is a chatter of Mexicans- my observation as I walk from car to car that I am the only gringo on this train of 1500 people or so. So I am happy, challenged, purposeful, not really knowing what tomorrow holds.
Some things never change.
How did we go from 30 some years of direct “ministry” to this day by day ministry? I am not really sure. It was not planned. It was not expected. It was like a push from God and we had no idea.
So now I am this guy that the train stewards introduce as the Americano who promotes Chihuahua with all his heart. As they guy with passion for the Sierras. As the “relationship machine” who knows everyone. As the “gringo alegre”.All of those are exaggerations but I and WE (Debbie and I) have made a huge commitment to this place—to these people.
“Dead end” is the best way to describe where we were and I am deeply thankful to Seth Godin and my good wife for helping to clarify that “stuck”reality back there in late 2007. There was just no going on and it was obvious.
I think many get to this point but they just go on to the detriment of the kingdom. And to the detriment of those around them. Had I not jumped- quit- left for another planet, I would be deeply stuck right now as would little Grace Community and that little corner in the work of God.
But we left. Leaving was always one of those Jesus principles that I taught about- naively- I guess (Actually most of what I preached on I had no idea of what it really meant and only now am I “getting it” just a bit)
Just now the owner of one of the major tour companies in northern Mexico came over to introduce himself to the “guy who promotes us in the United States”. Not sure how all this happened but I am glad to be a part of it.
And here is what is top of mind right now as I roll through majesty in the Sierra Madres:
- I think actually I am more “into” ministry than ever before.
- We can never predict transitions but we can resist them and delay them until we die.
- So what transition is knocking at the door right now?
Relaxing after a long day on the Copper Canyon train.
Ken Thompson
July 12, 2012
Ken Thompson
Debbie told me about this pastor at a Southern Baptist church in Austin from the day I met her. So when we first visited Austin, driving that long Lampassas road overnight from Lubbock, we went out to Walnut Creek Baptist Church which at that time was way out north of Austin. Now it seems like center city.
Ken Thompson was an instant favorite. A bit of an early sixties horn rimmed sharp dressing throwback kind of guy who quickly disarmed anyone with a huge smile and oozing with friendship. We visited at his office in the tiny church building and agreed soon afterward that he would be the one to marry us.
Ken was a God send for me because I was at a time in my life that was very critical yet I had few men in my life. He was practical with us and considering our path, he was forgiving and kind.
We never really got any pre-marital counsel and it was a rough go. Once I was ready to throw in the towel and we headed off for Austin to find Ken. Fortunately that road to Austin is a looooooong empty one and we had some time to talk. About an hour out of Lubbock we turned back and settled for a phone call to him which was very helpful. He not only talked me off the cliff but then got us through a very meaningful ceremony.
Walnut Creek is not an earth famous church and Ken Thompson is not a known pastor. But he made a difference in our lives and it is men like this that truly providing the fabric reinforcement for the kingdom of God.
I am an athlete, a runner
July 12, 2012
Lately I have been running more than usual and entering a series of races in small towns around Champaign Urbana. Each one is a 5K and the idea is that the old guy who has the lowest overall time gets an all area award.
So it has been helping me to affirm that in every sense I am an athlete. The book I follow affirms over and over that the main picture of my life is the life of an athlete. I want to write more about this later, but it is just one among a host of big realities that I have begun understanding a bit since retiring from 30 years in ministry. Why I didn’t really get it then I am not sure. But it is starting to make sense.
I like this quote from one of my favorite runners:
A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more.
Steve Prefontaine
So any way to get ready for a 5K, here is a good routine:
|
Week |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
|
1 |
CT or Rest |
3 x 400 IW |
2 m run |
30 min tempo |
Rest |
5 m run |
30 min EZ |
|
2 |
CT or Rest |
4 x 400 IW |
2 m run |
30 min tempo |
Rest |
5 m run |
35 min EZ |
|
3 |
CT or Rest |
4 x 400 IW |
3 m run |
30 min tempo |
Rest |
6 m run |
35 min EZ |
|
4 |
CT or Rest |
5 x 400 IW |
3 m run |
35 min tempo |
Rest |
6 m run |
40 min EZ |
|
5 |
CT or Rest |
5 x 400 IW |
3 m run |
35 min tempo |
Rest |
7 m run |
35 min EZ |
|
6 |
CT or Rest |
6 x 400 IW |
3 m run |
40 min tempo |
Rest |
6 m run |
40 min EZ |
|
7 |
CT or Rest |
6 x 400 IW |
3 m run |
40 min tempo |
Rest |
7 m run |
45 min EZ |
|
8 |
CT or Rest |
3 m run |
30 min tempo run |
2 m run |
Rest |
Rest |
5K Race! |