Wise or foolish?

One of the means I use for my morning “quiet time” is pray-as-you-go.org. I highly recommend it! This is a contemplative method of quieting one’s spirit with music from around the world as well as a scripture reading and thoughtful reflection. Today’s session invited me to become aware of my wise as well as my foolish voice(s) or selves. I am healing well from my passing out and falling. The swelling is greatly reduced and the bruising has almost disappeared. I’m getting bored with staying home, sleeping/napping and keeping an ice pack on my face. I asked the Physician if I could begin driving. She said, “No.” I asked about going back to work at the Counseling Center, she said, “No.” I’m still wearing a heart monitor as the Physicians attempt to discern why I passed out. Thus far everything is inconclusive. I’ve heard the Physician’s advice; she was very clear. I can report that today these two voices are having quite an interesting conversation in my mind with reasons to accept or ignore the Physician’s answers. Foolish or wise? I admit I think that distinction is too simple. I think most of my issues are on a continuum between those extremes. Nevertheless, it was today’s pray-as-you-go.com contemplation question. Was the Lord helping me to accept the Physician’s advice? I’m not always absolutely certain about the Lord’s guidance; it seems the Lord leans me in a direction rather than being as clear as I wish. I think I’ll stay home and out of the driver’s seat for a few more days.

57 years

Judy and I celebrated our 57th wedding anniversary. There has been a mutual “your people shall be my people” spirit. Judy was my brother’s primary care-giver when he lived with us. If asked, and he frequently was by folks in the Church who already knew his answer, “Who do you like best?” His reply was always, “My sister-in-law” (answered with a big smile). We met at Oklahoma Baptist University. Judy invited me on our first date as it was TWIRP week at OBU (the woman is requested to pay). We were married in Eufaula, Oklahoma by her uncle. On the day of our wedding, I worked at Mom and Dad’s furniture store in Norman, Oklahoma which didn’t please Judy as I barely made it to the Church on time. Our first apartment was above a garage and in front of a goat herd in Shawnee, Oklahoma (OBU days). We’ve lived in an apartment at the Seminary Village as I was in school at Southern Seminary and Judy was Dr. Wayne Oates’ secretary. We lived in a duplex in Lexington, Kentucky, when our son was born and Judy was a stay-at-home mother. We lived in eastern Kentucky in a residential treatment facility for delinquent male adolescents where I was the Superintendent and our young son seemed to have 45 “big brothers.” We’ve live in our present home for 47 years. Judy was the Administrative Assistant to the President of Central Baptist Hospital and I was a Pastor of Lexington’s Trinity Baptist Church and, later, Director of the Interfaith Counseling Center. We’ve done Marriage Enrichment Retreats. We were given recognition for 25 years as Member Care Ministers with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. We’ve traveled often to the Middle-East; Africa; Central America and Europe. We’ve had, and are still having, an exciting life together.

Grandma's Funeral and The Church Vote

If it is true that Solomon wrote or dictated the book of Proverbs, he must have been greatly distracted probably by his 300 wives and 700 concubines because the Book of Proverbs is poorly organized. The Proverbs seem to be randomly placed in the book. My Grandma’s favorite verse in the Bible was Proverbs 3: 5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct they paths.” (KJV) Yes, since it was Grandma’s favorite, she would be upset if I were not quoting from the King James Version, Schofield preferred. I still have her Bible. I have wonderful memories of her with one leg tucked under her thigh and dress pulled down to her ankles sitting in that old green rocking chair and reading her Bible every evening before bedtime. She was a member of the Nazarene Church. She was faithful in Church attendance and reading her Bible. I believe she took Proverbs 3: 5-6 to heart and practiced it every day. However, she along with Grandpa, were Churched. Churched means that they were ‘voted out of the Church membership’ by the congregation. They sold chewing tobacco in their small neighborhood grocery store in the ‘30s. The Church said they could not do that. Grandma’s Bible did not say they could not sell tobacco; Grandpa thought it wasn’t any business of the Church, so they sold tobacco and they got Churched. The interesting thing is that they kept going to Church even though they could not hold a Church office, sing in the choir, teach Sunday School and Grandpa was not permitted to pass the offering plates. They said they were not much interested in doing those things anyway. When Grandma died, her funeral was held in the Nazarene Church and it was full. The Preacher talk a lot about what a fine Church member Grandma was. I asked my Dad if the Preacher knew that Grandma was Churched by this very Church. Dad said, “I don’t think so, but let’s not say anything to him until we all finished at the cemetery.” So, we did not, and she got her Church funeral. I think the Church’s vote did not mean much to the Lord as He seems to have been still been directing everything.

Picking and Choosing Our Sins

I’ve been reading I Corinthians, Paul’s letter to the Church at Corinth which was having trouble among its members, particularly sexual issues. Paul wrote, “…people who are immoral or worship idols or are adulterers or homosexual perverts or who steal or are greedy or are drunkards or who slander others or are thieves—none of these will possess God’s Kingdom.” (I Corinthians 6:9-10, TEV) That’s strong stuff. Paul wrote that we should remove such folks from the Church. If that is literally what he meant then we probably wouldn’t have enough folks in the Church to pay the mortgage. A church in our area was ‘kicked out’ of their larger group because a gay man was elected as a leader. The larger group leaders said the Church had to dismissed him from the leadership position. The Church said, “Nope. The Church said he is one of us, we’ve known him a long time, he has been a faithful and spiritual member, was duly elected by the membership and so he will stay.” The Church was removed or ‘kicked out’ of the larger body. If you literally believe what Paul was writing in I Corinthians and believe it is applicable for any and all Churches then will they also ‘kick out’ those Churches who have greedy members—you know those who have more clothes and shoes in their closets than they need? Will they investigate to see if there are Churches who have members with a drinking problem? What about those Churches who have members whose gossip are actually slanderous or those who weren’t honest on their tax report, i.e., stealing? Isn’t it strange how we pick and choose which ‘sins’ are significant while others are acceptable? We who are followers of Jesus, who said nothing about homosexuality but a lot about greed, are strange folks in how we pick and choose our sins.