Got to watch the first three innings of my grandson’s baseball game tonight – he was batting .500 when I left. Then it was over to Farmingville for a meeting of the Executive of Brookhaven Conservative Party.
This was the evening we voted on who would get the Conservative line for the Town Board elections in November and I was very happy overall with the outcome.
1. I like the look of Robert DiCarlo as the Republican/Conservative challenger to Supervisor Brian Foley. He’s not part of the corrupt good old boys club and he gave me his assurance that when elected he will repeal anti-church legislation introduced two years ago to stop us building.
2. Jane Bonner is an excellent candidate for the 2nd District, fighting for the seat on the Town Board being vacated by Kevin McCarrick who will not be standing for re-election. She’s a Conservative who has been given the Republican line. Great lady.
3. Kathy Walsh in the 3rd District has proven her worth already – not your average politician, a genuine person who cares about the community.
4. I love the fact that Roberta Owens has been adopted by the party for the 4th District. The Democrats promised two years ago they would promote minorities, but have not. Roberta is an African American, a woman of course, an unashamed Christian and above all an excellent candidate.
5. The Executive really did not want to endorse Tim Mazzei as his introduction of anti-church legislation two years ago has put him at odds with Conservative values. He got the line, but only just and with reluctance. The reasoning was that he is more likely (and will be required) to reverse that decision than a Democrat would be and Mazzei would lose to one without the Conservative line. I have no time for him. He is of limited principles and is totally untrustworthy. I’d rather have a monkey on the Town Board, but in the end this being a democracy, the majority on our Executive prevailed.
All in all, there is a lot for Christians to be happy about, not the least of which is that every Town Board candidate with the support of the Conservative Party is pro-life.
At last!
It seems like for ever since we sat down at the start of the year and decided that we should do a summer series looking at the church through the book of Acts.
With five months of collecting ideas, making mental and physical notes, I’m all ready to go and we’ll hit the ground running Sunday morning with the series whose time has finally come – Keepin’ It Real.
Several centuries before even I was born, the great Methodist preacher George Whitfield wrote these words in his journal one Sunday -
Went to church this morning and was not too depressed.
I’ve been to that church too. I’ve also spent more time than I care to recount in the one where you go and are suicidal when you exit.
I’m not sure if Whitfield was part of the congregation on the day in question or was their visiting preacher, but truth is he knew what it was to be thoroughly downcast after a church service and this particular one wasn’t as bad as he feared.
Thank God I don’t deal with that any more – I love our church!
But talking about depression, I listened to Rick Warren a couple of days ago and found some of his comments a little deflating.
RW, for whom it is no secret I have a great respect, has probably done more to shape the church of Christ over the past ten years than any living leader. No wonder he is decribed as America’s Pastor.
I was interested to hear him say that 15% of Americans move every year and disappointed that he followed that by saying if you take the church members who relocate, add in those who die and those who decide this church which was once the best thing since sliced bread is not where they want to be any more and in five years you can be preaching to a totally diferent crowd.
He compared pastoring in 2007 to walking down a guard of honor and saying, Hello how are you? to a constantly changing stream of faces.
There’s no way that’s how it’s meant to be.
I refuse to accept that is the way things are.
I may be an ostrich or even a dinosaur, but I still look for commitment, loyalty and longevity.
Anything less is simply depressing!
This may well be the bargain of the year – was in Wal-Mart today and found a great DVD in their bargain bin. For a mere $5.50, I have a four disc set of 20 digitally enhaced John Wayne movies, most of which I have never heard of and are short, but whatever they are I’m looking forward to watching this larger-than-life hero.
The world needs another John Wayne!
This is a shot of us with our friends Basil and Cathy D’Souza, when we were with them in Goa, South India, earlier this year.
It’s a good job I spent some time at The Wall on Friday and also took the time to personally thank a number of veterans at church yesterday, because the day itself has left me with little time for contemplation.
Our friends return to India in the morning, so there was a lot to be done for them today as they secured essential supplies that are not available or are incredibly expensive for them back home. Like pepperoni, PAM spray, computer memory sticks, etc., etc. So there has been a lot of shopping!
We also opened the pool, put air conditioners in the windows – no, we don’t have central air – and I sorted out a bunch of small group materials, sermon CD’s etc for Basil to take with him.
I guess we’re downright spoiled here when it comes to resources. It’s hard to conceive of living in a country where there is virtually nothing available to help pastors and churches. You know how dire it is when I’m getting requests for my notes from overseas – this country too for that matter!
But, getting back to Memorial Day, some of the finest men and women ever born have put their lives on the line to make and maintain this as the greatest country on earth. I am supremely grateful for their commitment.
No, not me – haven’t been perfect with my diet or exercise while we were away in DC, but having returned this afternoon, I can hardly believe how much we have going on in tomorrow morning’s service.
Guest speakers, both from 8,000 miles away – Basil and Kathy Von Staden; a Memorial Day tribute and then I plan to preach a bit myself.
I guess the obvious question is why I need to add my own 2c and the answer is easy, while our guests will share a little about their ministries in India and South Africa respectively, casting and recasting vision is up to me.
Guests don’t cast vision, friends don’t cast vision, it’s for leaders to give clarity about where a church is going.
So I’ll say my bit on this second weekend of out Xtend series, albeit I will be considerably briefer than is my norm.
We asked our friends from India who are visiting us, if they would like to take a brief roadtrip to DC and so here we are – home tomorrow.
Today was the sight-seeing day and trust me, we fitted in everything we could and more besides. There were a few things that impressed me here in the nation’s capital -
This is a beautiful city – well planned, clean and with some amazing architecture.
I love the fact that so much here is free – like the National Air & Space Museum we spent a fascinating couple of hours touring this afternoon.
I think Abe Lincoln would love his Memorial, not that I make that judgement based on personal knowledge of the gentleman. There are a couple of good speeches of his on the walls. I wonder if he wrote his own – I’m guessing he did and wonder how any of the more recent Presidents would have fared if they had to pen their own stuff. Now there’s a scarey thought!
The Metro is really clean.
You could take a whole week here and still have missed some interesting locations.
Since it’s Memorial Day weekend, there seem to be a lot of veterans around the place.
Visited the Vietnam Memorial this afternoon for the first time. What a sobering place.
Negative adjectives abound about the war itself, but whatever the politics, it was a privilege to stand at the central point where the 58,148 killed during service are now honored. They deserve the utmost respect.
I don’t know all the ins and outs about Iraq either. I have no idea what’s going on behind what the mostly liberal press wants me to believe. But I do know that this Memorial Day it might be good to take a break from talking about the war and focus instead on the men and women who are defending liberty there and in other nations by laying their own lives on the line.
This has been a good city to be in at this time of year – it really has made me even more proud to be an American.
I’m sitting in a hotel room in D.C. right now and thinking about last night’s missions banquet. Here are some random thoughts -
1. It was amazing to be able to spend an evening with so many outward focused people.
2. I can’t believe the guest band came in, set up and played and all for nothing. Why didn’t they rip us off like most bands do???
3. Pity they ran out of Penne a la vodka. The food was outstanding, but the tail end of the buffet line got jipped on one of my favorites!
4. Marie DiCola did a superb job putting all this together, backed up all the way by Charlotte Engel of course.
5. The videos of some of our missions projects brought it home to me that we have been part of some remarkable stuff and continue to be.
6. We acknowledge over 30 people who have been on short term missions trips – and that’s only around half of them!
7. We had special guests there from South Africa and India, both of who expressed tremendous gratitude for our support – their tears were genuine and so were ours. What a privilege to partner with real people doing a real job of sharing God’s love.
8. That was our first banquet, but we should do it again. We can build on last night.
9. Around $6,000 came in to jump start our special project of getting a new van for our Grace Care food pantry and soup kitchen and for bringing our friends from the rooming houses to church on Sundays.
10. I appreciated Kathy Von Staden saying that our church demonstrates Christianity as far more than a philosophy – hey folks, it’s a life to be lived!
In the course of my morning workout today, I listened to another of Mark Driscoll’s marathon sermons. I love the guy’s preaching and there was a whole lot of good stuff in that message.
I took particular note of this statement -
It’s lonely being a leader
- and I agree with it.
Please don’t think I’m in the middle of some pity party or on the slippery slope to black depression because I’m not. I have a lot of friends, an outstanding pastoral team around me and the best church folks you’ll find anywhere in this world.
So why do I agree with that concept?
Because, as Driscoll said, real leaders live in the future. They’re ahead of everyone else. They’re contemplating and scoping out unknown territory. They’re encouraging followers, inspiring vision and dealing with opposition.
Some days I’m so much into the future I find it difficult to focus on here and now. I can’t share all that’s in my mind and on my heart because it might blow some people away – in fact it would.
Folks, it’s true – what people have said and thought about me for years is undeniably right on the money – I really am way out there!
It may be lonely at times, but it’s where I choose to be – living on the edge and pushing the limits. And thankfully, there are a whole lot of people enjoying the journey too!
