The New Adventures of an Old Preacher

Terri, Taylor, Jordan and I wish you the very best holidays. Our prayer is that all will be well with you and your family during this joyous time of the year.

Sunday we will worship and celebrate the birth (and life and death and resurrection) of our Savior.

Right now we are enjoying the visit of Terri’s mom, sister, brother and niece. Terri and is in the kitchen making cheese cakes, carrot cakes and pralines After Christmas we will enjoy a rare (without kids) get-a-way in Gatlinburg, TN.

God bless you all!

I recently watched this terrific old movie again. To me it never gets old. George Bailey reaching in his pocket and discovering Zuzu’s petals still gives me chills. His running through Bedford Falls shouting “Merry Christmas” to anyone and anything is classic. George needed an ASC (angel second class) Clarence Oddbody to jolt him back to his wonderful life.What about us?

I think of my gorgeous and talented wife, Terri. She loves me in spite of me and truly is a main reason life is wonderful. She is the model of unselfish service and her price “is far above rubies.”

I think of our two girls, Taylor and Jordan. They bring a light and life to our home that is exciting, sweet, challenging and lively. They are God’s gift to me.

I think of my daughter, Natalie who has grown into a beautiful and responsible young woman. I enjoy our adult conversations together.

I think of my mom, still active at 78 and my three sisters and their families and cherish them now more than I ever have.

I think of Terri’s family which now is also my family and rejoice in this welcome and additional circle of friends.

I think of my old and dear friends who have encouraged me, loved me, challenged me, and been there for me over the years. Life would be much less wonderful without them.

I think of my church family at Gateway. They have embraced my ministry enthusiastically and continue to demonstrate their support in so many loving ways. It is a blessing to be here.

I think of my extended church family. Wherever I go generosity and hospitality await. There truly are no strangers in the Lord and I have been very blessed in many places by the family of God.

I think most of all about that babe born in humiliation who died very scandalously, but who was not in that tomb three days later. Without him nothing else would matter.

Life is wonderful and needs to be embraced just as exuberantly as George finding those petals.

Do you recognize how God makes your life wonderful?

May God bless you with a fantastic Christmas!

Recently while reading an article in the latest Homiletics magazine I ran across this new-to-me term- the My Generation.

The article compared the current My Generation with the We Generation (better known as the greatest generation) and the Me Generation and concluded that those in the My Generation are much more self-centered and self-serving.

The author of the article, Timothy Merrill googled “my +” and turned up 4.9 billion hits. Wow! Included in that was “myway, myfamily, myyahoo, mynews, mypyramid, myAol, mygradebook, mymoney, myhero, mymovies, myhealth, mypublisher, mytravelguide, mypoints, myworld, mypay,” and of course, the ubiquitous myspace.com.

It is all about possessing. That is what sets this generation apart even from those in the much-maligned Me Generation. Here is Mr. Merrill’s observation:

“MY is a first person singular possessive case pronoun. Not only do the denizens of our culture expect all action to flow toward them, when it does, it is immediately grabbed and possessed. It- whatever ‘it’ is- becomes my or mine, a flight, if you please, back to the preschool sandbox mentality.”

Practically, what this means is that we are “not interested in stories about some else’s spirituality. Mother Teresa bores us. We want something that works for ‘mylife’ or mySoul.”

If the conclusions of this article have any merit, it does present quite a challenge to our churches to understand that whether we like it or not, people are in a possessing mood and then to respond to that in effective ways to help the My Generation take possession of a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Because, as the article points out, only by taking possession of such a relationship can MY turn into YOU- as in, You are worthy our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power. (Revelation 4:11)

The next question is, am I a part of this generation?

• Hollywood- They have completely lost me as a patron of their so-called art. Whatever happened to the days of intelligent movie making?

• T.O. - Why do us football fans have to endure story after story about this jerk.

• Church division- Why can’t we just all get along?

• War- It may be necessary but I am war weary. I detest hearing about all the death and destruction.

• Brittany, Paris and Lindsay- Who cares? And why must their decadence be paraded in front of me on newsstands and TV? Go find Gilligan’s island or something.

• The BCS- Give us a playoff already!

• Hilary, Obama, McCain, Polowski, etc. - Gilligan’s island needs a tax hike and I hear they will have a primary soon.

• Merry Christmas versus Happy Holidays- See a previous post on this blog.

• Ole Miss losing in football- See another previous post on this blog.

• Reality TV shows- Enough already! Marry off the bachelor to the Nanny, proclaim them the all-time American Idol, teach them to tango on their way in an Amazing Race to Gilligan’s island where they can form tribes among the other folks there and remake all their huts and survive forever away from me.

• Global Warming- Only in America could we turn the climate into a political debate. To settle it we should plant Al Gore on the polar ice cap and see if he melts.

• Christians suspending clear biblical teaching on how to treat each other because of disagreements- I did not know God ever gave us the right to be rude, arrogant and hateful.

• Political Correctness- Lighten up people! Rediscover a sense of humor. Fred G. Sanford is rolling over in his grave, you big dummies!

• Celebrities as Experts on everything- Remember- you only play a doctor on TV.

Thanks for listening to my vent!

Okay I have had quite enough! After bearing the brunt of my fanatically-devoted-to-all-things-Razorback wife’s frustration over the Hogs loss- And- After hearing the initial whining which will soon turn into roaring about the Wolverines missing out on the BCS championship, I must speak out!

Try being an Ole Miss fan. Sorry bout that Rose bowl bid- yea right. Arkansas, I am so sad that you have to take the millions offered by the Capitol One Bowl as opposed to the few more millions found in the BCS orbit.

Just try being an Ole Miss fan- with a Coach O who cannot speak english and knowing before the season even starts that not even the Poinsettia GMAC Motor City International Independent Who-Cares Buddy Bowl awaits. Yea, try that.

So to all the FSU, AU, UM, UA (both of them), USC, LSU fans- celebrate! Your team had a decent to great year and will, in fact, be bowling.

At least we won the Egg Bowl.

Hotty Toddy!

Oh, never mind.