2011

Remember when Jesus went to the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. He sat down to teach and Mary was sitting at His feet just soaking in every word. Meanwhile, Martha was out in the kitchen preparing dinner and Martha gets upset because Mary is not in the kitchen with her. She complains to Jesus in Luke 10:40, "Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

Jesus reply follows in verse 41 and 42. "Martha, Martha," Jesus answered, "You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.”
Now was Martha committing a sin by fixing a meal in the kitchen?  Of course not! But here’s the problem. She was so preoccupied with what she was doing that she didn’t realize that God was in her living room.  We make the same mistake every day. We get so caught up in the here and now that we fail to deal with the eternal, the things that will last forever.
God gives us opportunities to be Jesus to other people, the Bible tells us so :) WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH THEM!

If we can’t find someone in our life to tell about Jesus, we aren't looking very hard! If we can see someone for us to be Jesus in their life then we aren't looking with the eyes of Jesus.

We get so preoccupied with what’s going on in the kitchen we don’t know God is in the living room. He indeed may be standing right next to you in the form of the homeless, in the form of the hungry, in the formed of the hurting. He might be coworker or schoolmate and have a need. My prayer for 2011 is we make the most of the opportunities to be Jesus to others that God gives us.

This Is The Best I Can Do Right Now

I will have more when I get to De Queen.
I love you guys!

Goodbye

Since having submitted my resignation 4 month ago I have been praying about what God would have me share this last time together? I have also spent the last 4 months reflecting on our nearly 10 years together as your minister and 38 years together with of you as a part of this church family. Add to this that I have even taken a spiritual assessment of my life and you can see I have much on my mind.

How is my faith different after more than 9 years together? I’m know I’m a better minister because of my time here with you and I hope you feel you are a better follower of Christ after your time we me.
How has my Christian walk been affected? I have learned so much, I hope you have. I have made mistakes, been knocked down but ultimately I now realize I was being prepared and molded for a different path in God’s plan. This church family was being prepared as well.

My final conclusion—I am humbled. Humbled that God allowed me to grow up in a great place like Hurricane WV. Humbled that he gave me such amazing parents. Humbled that he placed me in this church family nearly 4 decades ago. Humbled He blessed me with a wonderful wife and family. And now humbled to be a small part in God’s plan in another part of the Kingdom. Thank you for love and respect that you have shown me over the last 4 months.

I think God would have me share this with you today. The Lord God is sovereign. Everything about Him, including His plan.
Psalm 103:19 says, “The Lord has set his throne in heaven, and his kingship has dominion over all.” I hope that you believe that God is sovereign and that you live your life that way. Because a Christian that is not willing to submit to the total and absolute sovereignty of God, is like an actor that cannot act, or a singer that cannot sing. A Christian who is not humble before God is like a person who will not pay his bills or his debts. God’s plan for our lives is sovereign as well. God’s plan for my life, your life, God's plan for this church family and the church family in De Queen, Arkansas. ALL SOVEREIGN!
God has not left anyone behind, left anyone out or forgotten anyone.
Live for God each day and you will be in His plan. 

There are many ways to say goodbye. Many quotes, some may be thinking “Don’t let the door hit you in the rear end!” :) But my favorites are “don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” That's from Dr.Seuss, one of my favorite places to find sermon material. The other is a quote from the musical Anne. “How blessed I am to have had something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” HOW TRUE!  I love you guys! Goodbye! We will see each other again!

Spiritual Divas

I share Einstein's affirmation that anyone who is not lost on the rapturous awe at the power and glory of the mind behind the universe "is as good as a burnt out candle."Do you? Do you believe that we serve an awesome God today? Ephesians 3:20-21 says, Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to his power at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever!  So it doesn’t matter how strong the storm is?
So it doesn’t matter how fierce the winds are?
So it doesn’t matter how high the floodwaters are?
So it doesn’t matter how bad it looks?
It doesn’t matter how serious it looks right now?
Because our God is able to meet our needs. He is a mighty, awesome, amazing God.
Then why do we look so much like losers?

Then why do we look so much like wimps?

Then why do we look so defeated?

Why do we spend more time whining than praising?

Why do we spend more worrying than worshipping?

Why do we look more like complainers than combatants?

Why do we look more like a like the weaklings than the warriors?

Why do we look more like victims than the victors?

God is able to meet our needs whatever the need is but when the answer doesn’t come right away or you get a different answer than the one we expected to get or we pray and things get worse instead of better? Sometimes we face difficulties even when we are doing what God asks us to do. What do we do? .....well sometimes we whine! We complain, we go into wimp mode. Have you seen this commercial? This is us? Spiritual Divas!

Dear Paco

There's a Spanish story of a father and son. The son stole from and lied to his father and ran away from home. The father set off to find him. He searched for months but could without any luck.
Finally, in a last desperate effort to find his son the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper.
The ad read:
Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father.
On Saturday over 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers. Amazing! This world needs forgiveness, this world needs love. Are you looking for the forgiveness and love of the Heavenly Father. You don’t have to look through the newspapers you don’t have to wait on a sign. He is only one step, one prayer, one thought away.
He has in fact been looking for you and pursuing you. And what nothing more than for you to come home and be with Him.

Admirer vs. Follower

Who do you really admire?  I admired former President Ronald Reagan growing up for his ability to "mean what you say and say what you mean." I admired Hall of Famer Willie Stargell, who for the better part of my childhood played 1st base for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was a devastating left handed power hitter who at one time had the longest ball hit in 6 major league stadiums. Stargell was a great baseball player but he was better man, raising 1000’s of dollars for sickle cell research and the under privileged of Pittsburgh area. I admire Former Marshall University President Donald Dedmon. An unsung hero of my Marshall University. Who despite overwhelming pressure brought by some continued the football program at Marshall because it was the right thing to do. That’s easy to see now, it wasn’t so easy back in 1970. But all the people I admire aren’t so famous.

I admire former Mayor of Hurricane Raymond Peak, a man who loved this community so much that he served as Mayor for nearly 40 years. If you think your job is thank-less be mayor for day. I know Raymond had his share of people that disagreed with him but in 45 years I’ve known him I’ve never heard him speak a harsh word of any of them. I admire my parents, my Mom showing me what love through sacrifice really was and is to this day. And my Dad for the value of tough and yes sometimes brutal honesty. I admired my MaMaw Stricklin for her ability to be not only content but truly happy for what God had given her even when it didn’t seem like very much to me. And I admire my wife who has shown mer the meaning of grace over and over again the last 21years.

As much as I admire some people being and admirer and follower are two different things. I admired President Reagan but I’m not likely to be President of anything than a church camp or my fantasy football league anytime soon. I admired Willie Stargell but if I get a hit and walk to 1st base anymore on the ball field I feel pretty good about myself. John Ortberg said the difference between an admirer and a follower is this, "an admirer is impressed. A follower is devoted. An admirer applauds. A follower surrenders his life.”

A lot of people admired Martin Luther King. Some marched with him, a few went to jail with him, and a very few got their houses bombed like he did. But he alone was shot on April 4th, 1968 in Memphis. A lot of people admired and still admire MLK but there were few true followers who walked in his shoes. Many people admired Mother Theresa but not many people followed her to live among the destitute and dying. We admire Jesus, I have no doubt about that. We sing praises to him, we teach about him we pray to him. Jesus has never had a shortage of admirers in this world. Even people who do not believe he is the Son of God. But you know something, you can read every verse in the Bible, and you will not come across a single verse in which Jesus comes even close to saying,” Come admire me”, or “unless you admire me, you cannot be my disciple.”

Folks, Jesus doesn’t need admirers, he needs followers! We need to learn that!

Thanksgiving 2010

Alex Haley, the author of "Roots," had an unusual picture hanging on his office wall. It was a picture of a turtle on top of a fence post. When asked, "Why is that there?" Haley answered, "Every time I write something significant, every time I read my words and think that they are wonderful, and begin to feel proud of myself, I look at the turtle on top of the fence post and remember that he didn’t get there on his own. He had help."

Maybe the times when God feels the least appreciated are the same times when I feel the best about what I’ve accomplished. This Thanksgiving I need to remember "I didn't get there on my own."

Psalm 107:1"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."

Scott and Cindy Pickett

I had the honor this weekend to officiate the wedding of an old friend. Scott Pickett asked Debi and I to spend the weekend at the Ashby Inn a B&B in Paris VA and today along with 50 close friends and family Scott and Cindy pledge their love to each other in one of the most beautiful settings for a wedding I have ever been around. As with most great weddings, I (the minister) had a small speaking part and the spotlight was on Scott and Cindy who wrote their own vows and most of the rest of the ceremony as well. The following was my heartfelt remarks to the happy couple just before the vows.

6000 years Moses wrote these words and they are still applicable to couples pledging the sacred covenant of marriage today. This is Genesis 2:23-24 ²³ The man (Adam said of Eve),  “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” ²⁴ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

The last phrase is key "they become one flesh." This is a picture of something much greater than just a physical oneness. The oneness that happens between bodies should happen on every level of human marriage experience. Your souls become one, your spirits become one. Your thinking is joined, your memories are joined.

It is God's work to make two into one in this remarkable way. Some say that you can be in an emotional relationship and not have it affect you spiritually, or that in some other way the experiences of body and soul and spirit can be separated from each other. The Scriptures know nothing of that kind of married relationship. Scott & Cindy you are in all parts as God made you, and in marriage the total sum of you is married to the total sum of the other. Scott & Cindy today your heart, your spirit, your future, and everything else about you belongs to other and in fact are one, joined together by God.

Scott & Cindy, Thank you for allowing us to be a small part of your wonderful weekend. May God Bless your new life together! We love you!

Toney & Deb

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy is going to fall!  Scientists travel yearly to measure the building's slow descent. They report that the 179-foot tower moves about one-twentieth of an inch a year, and is now 17 feet out of plumb. They further estimate that by the year 2040 the 810-year old tower will have leaned too far and will collapse. Quite significantly, the word "Pisa" means "marshy land," in French which gives some clue as to why the tower began to lean even before it was completed. But to add to that the towers foundation is only 10 feet deep! The cornerstones are weak and not deeply rooted.

And so it is with the Christian morality in America today. Indeed, if we don’t strengthen and rely on our cornerstones of God’s word and a close relationship with Him we are headed for the same fate. Do you want to strenghten your foundation, your relationship. GET IN CHURCH! Be encouraged and be a encourager, you can't do either sitting at home watching Wheel of Fortune. Study your Bible everyday, read a book written by someone with a different spiritual perspective than yours at least twice a year (with a open mind :))and set aside times to pray several times a day, even if its for 10 seconds.

Sounds simple? Good, we have no excuses.

The Right Person at the Right Time!

All baptisms are special but this one was really special, a special young man at a special time.

Branson Martin asked his Grandpa Dallas White to go to church when he was just a little guy. Dallas had not gone to church for anyone else, several had ask but it just wasn't the right person or the right time. But he couldn't resist an invitation from his Grandson Branson so Dallas went to church and never left. He became a vital Deacon at his church and was constantly doing the Lord's work, thanks to the simple request of one little guy. Dallas went to be Lord the first of last week and his Grandson Branson received the deposit, the seal, and the guarantee of the Holy Spirit when I had the honor of baptizing him on Sunday. The right person at the right time! Now Branson knows he will see his Grandpa again, just the start of a legacy for an amazing 13 year old young man to build on.

Veteran's Day

This is my favorite writing about America, it was read on Paul Harvey's radio show during the late 80's & early 90's. Being a proud Dad of a young man who will one day be a veteran I wanted to share it with you. It was written by a Canadian journalist.
This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous and possibly the least appreciated people on all the earth.
Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of these countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States.
When the France was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who propped it up, and their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. I was there. I saw it.
When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the United States that hurries in to help. This spring, 59 American communities were flattened by tornadoes. Nobody helped.
The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped billions of dollars into discouraged countries. Now newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent, warmongering Americans.
I'd like to see just one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplane. Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star, or the Douglas DC10? If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all the International lines except Russia fly American Planes?
Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or woman on the moon? You talk about Japanese technology, and you get radios. You talk about German technology, and you get automobiles.
You talk about American technology, and you find men on the moon - not once, but several times - and safely home again.
You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everybody to look at. Even their draft-dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are here on our streets, and most of them, unless they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting American dollars from ma and pa at home to spend here.
When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both are still broke.
I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake.
Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I'm one Canadian who is darned tired of hearing them get kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of those."
Stand proud, America!

Just Call Me Barabbas

Yesterday I had the pleasure of having a small roll in Kanawha Valley Unity Worship Service at West Virginia State University. Cross Lanes, Hurricane, Griffithsville & Kanawha City Churches of Christ came together for the second time in 3 months to worship, fellowship and share the love of the Lord. Steve Fox, the minister at Kanawha City, gave a wonderful message about Barabbas and how every Christian on the planet could identify with him. It was an awesome Sunday!

Several years back the local singing group " Barnabas" sang a song that really resonated with people. The song was titled "Barabbas." And the chorus went something like this.... "Just call me Barabbas because He died instead of me." How true, I was sitting in a prison cell condemned to hell with no hope but Jesus took my place so I could be with Him in heaven forever. If that message doesn't spark unity nothing will.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 4 "be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." That was a great message 2000 years ago, sounds like a better one in 2010. Maybe we took a baby step in that direction yesterday. I hope so, we should be the most unified people on the planet.

Hail To The Redskins!

Tomorrow night could be my last football game at Hurricane High School for a long.........time. It's the last home game of 2010 season as the Redskins take on a 5-3 Logan team on Senior Night. If the 7-1 Skins win 1 of their last 2 they will get 1 home playoff game, if they win both they may get 2. The thing I know for sure I will be there tomorrow night soaking it all in, taking pictures for my new office in De Queen and talking to people that I may not see again on this side heaven. It may sound a little silly but it makes me a just a little sad. I'm more than a Redskin fan, I'm a REDSKIN. Just cut me, I bleed RED :)

I will sincerely miss Hurricane Football! Thanks to Direct TV I will not miss a Steelers game in De Queen. The Herd is on TV quite a bit anymore and I'll be able to see them play in person in Tulsa, Dallas, Memphis, New Orleans, and Houston. But the Redskins, that's another story. De Queen, Arkansas (The Leopards) have a great football tradition. In time I know I will enjoy watching the young people of my new church family play football, play in band or cheer on the sidelines but it will a long time before I get "On Wisconsin" out of head, and it will always be on my heart. GO SKINS!

AT SOME PLACES THEY PLAY FOOTBALL BUT AT MARSHALL IT'S WHO WE ARE!

No one loves winning more than I do but on a Marshall football Saturday in Greenville, NC winnng just isn't the most important thing about Thundering Herd football. The above video is the 2010 football intro video played before the Herd takes the field at the Joan. If there is a better introduction in college football I want to see it. So win,lose or draw lets bring on the Herd and remember what Marshall is really all about.

AT SOME PLACES THEY PLAY FOOTBALL BUT AT MARSHALL IT'S WHO WE ARE!

I Love Watching October Baseball!

2010 AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPS

For the first time since I was in 9th grade (1979) my team is in the World Series. Now I know some of you are saying you have a Rangers fan for 5 months! You're right, but I have 2 hats and 3 shirts that say I totally on board with the Rangers :) I have watched them every opportunity I have had since June and I love the brand of baseball they play, add to that there is a better ambassador for baseball than Nolan Ryan. I will be 3 hours from Arlington in a couple of months and the fact that it will give Jim and I something to do, cheer and talk about together and it seems like a perfect match.

I have given away most of my Buco stuff to Kevin with the exception of the Willie Stargell memorabilia. As big of a Young, Molina and O'Day fan as I have become it's hard to see anyone taking Pop's place as my favorite player. He is the reason I wore #8 for just about every uniform I ever had and like Ryan, Stargell was a wonderful ambassador for baseball. I'm afraid Pop's would not recognize what the Pirates if he were alive to today. I just couldn't to continue to care about a team that clearly no longer cared about it fans. So that's my story and I'm sticking to it and the main reason this October I've traded the Jolly Roger for Deer Antlers.

L E T S  G O  R A N G E R S !!! 

The Creator of Laughter- A preview of this Sunday's message

Folks, as Christians in 2010 we need to get over ourselves!

Jesus was criticized by His enemies for attending happy events with sinners. He believed it was okay to celebrate at weddings and to enjoy the hospitality of His friends. There will be those who will criticize you for enjoying life as a follower of Christ but I believe, there will be more who will find your joy contagious. When’s last time someone looked at how you respond to life and said, “What amazing things the Lord must be doing their life?” I know it need to happen more often in my life.

Laughter and joy are such a great witness to those who have yet to make a decision for Christ. Being critical and grumpy aren’t qualities that make people want to do anything except critical and grumpy as well. Study after study shows people won’t come back to a church where everybody was unfriendly and long-faced. Who can blame them? It’s okay to laugh, God created it! Laughing is good for us. And It’s even okay to laughin church! Here is one to get you started!

A man placed some flowers on the grave of his dearly departed mother and started back toward his car when his attention was diverted to another man kneeling at a grave. The man seemed to be grieving with profound intensity and kept repeating, "Why did you have to die? Why did you have to die?" The first man approached him and said, "Sir, I don’t wish to interfere with your private grief, but this demonstration of pain is more than I’ve ever seen before. For whom do you mourn so deeply? A child? A parent?"  The mourner took a moment to collect himself, then replied, "My wife’s first husband."

From "Almost Heaven" to "Almost Oklahoma"

On August 29th, 2010 God's plan for our ministry took a giant step westward. The wonderful folks of De Queen, Arkansas gave Debi and I the ministry opportunty that we believe God had been preparing us take. The decision to leave a wonderful church family in Hurricane, West Virginia was not easy one, Debi and I prayed from the time we got back from the De Queen interview that God which give us clear direction if they offered us the position. He did more than that, He reafirms everyday that we are suppose to be in De Queen, the eveidence is everywhere and it just strenghtens our faith. While being away from Debi for a short time will be very hard for me I'm looking forward to getting De Queen to see what God has in store. I know it will be awesome, He has done so much already.

I jokingly tell people we are going from "Almost Heaven" (Country Roads) to "Almost Oklahoma" because De Queen is only 6 miles from the Oklahoma boarder but De Queen doesn't have to take a back seat to any place I have been, the town and surrounding area are gorgeous. They have 3 lakes within about 12 miles of each other that rival any lake in West Virginia but the very best thing De Queen Arkansas has going for it is the wonderful people. The Church in De Queen made Debi and I feel special from the moment we arrived and we quickly felt a sense of belonging and love that you don't find many places.

Is it going to be easy to leave Hurricane? Of course not! My parents, my family, my friends, my memories, my Herd and my Redskins, and for 6 months my wife! All here! When I get there Jim Gardner and his family will be the only folks I know within 250 miles at least at the start but I 100% know that right now God wants us in Arkansas. Writing the blog will have 2 purposes, it will be therapy for me as I go through this transition in God's plan and it will keep my friends and family updated on how I'm doing. I hope you enjoy reading my simple, random thoughts :)