Great Race

Friends,

This year's rendition of the Daytona 500 lived up to all of the hype. With the new "Car of Today", Toyota's big splash this year, and Dale Jr.'s move to Hendrick, one knew that this was somehow going to be special...and it was. But, who would have guessed that the story line would be the Dodges. Six of the top ten spots in the race were filled by Dodge at the end. I don't think anyone expected this kind of showing -- from Chevrolet (of course), even from Toyota (no one would have been surprised), but good, old, crafty (Dodge man) Roger Penske figured out a way to finish 1, 2. Though Penske has won several Indy 500's, this was his first win at the Daytona 500. Also, congratulations to Ryan Newman for breaking a 80+ race winless streak (and gain a pretty good pay day)...and what better way to do it than to win the Super Bowl of Racing. Good show!

Don

The Ultimate Valentine's Day Gift

Friends,

We had a wild and wacky, fast and fun Valentine's Day. I had a good and busy day in Stephenville, while Kim and the kids helped down at Jim & Anita's floral store preparing and delivering flowers and flower arrangements. (Imagine that, delivering flowers on V's Day
:-)...trumped only by Mother's day for busyness, as I now understand it). The best news of the day came five weeks early as our friends Jeff & Sara had their baby girl, Aubrey Grace...wonderful news! We have all been praying and waiting for this precious little one to come, but no one expected her to come so soon (as the due date was March 19th). This family has experienced some significant trials in the process leading up to the birth of baby Aubrey, so we are ever so grateful for her safe arrival. Gpa and Gma, Dennis & Bonnie, were glowing last night as were the many other family members and friends who stopped by for a visit to the hospital. Because she is early, they have taken some necessary precautions for the next couple of days...so, keep the family in your prayers. I am so thankful to the Lord for new arrivals...and tis the season -- our friends Joey & Mandi welcomed baby Jake a couple of weeks ago, and our friends Chad & Jenny and Toby & Jennifer are also expecting soon. Keep all of these families in your prayers in their times of transition. God bless,

Don

This World Is Not My Home (I'm Just A Passing Through :-)

Friends,

Okay. I truly understand the meaning of this song (in a much more poignant way :-) after the past several months. I also have a much greater appreciation for Abraham (as many of you have heard) who did not know how, what, where, when, or why (in relationship to his station in life) but only that he would trust the Lord. As most of you well know, we are waiting for our house to sell in WA. Now, this has all become -- Ringing Bros. has nothing on this mess -- a circus. We can laugh about it because we know that it is all in the hands of the Lord and that His timing is perfect, however...it does make me stop and occasionally reflect on our dynamic heavenly home and that the dynamics of "moving here and there...or from there to here" -- however it works -- is pretty small potatoes compared to how spectacular our final destination will be. I am so thankful to have a trust in and a relationship with the Lord. I could not even begin to understand what the trials of life and the goings about from here to there would be if not for a relationship with Him. We sing the song "Lord, Take Control" and I think it is such a good, pleasant and right thought. We like to think that we are in control, and sometimes we may need to or just may receive some reminders that this is simply not the case. We should truly want to (and need to) sing this song in our hearts on a daily basis. Someone asked the question one time -- "what is God's will?" This is a very broad and open-ended question, but a good and simplistic answer (without being trite) that I heard one time was "whatever is the closest thing to you that you can do in the name of the Lord." I encourage us all to consider just going out and "doing good" in the name of the Lord whether we are at home, at work, at school or anywhere else that we find ourselves...and we will indeed be having an impact for the kingdom of God and truly be storing up treasure in our heavenly home (which really is home).

Don

Jr. Back On (the) Track

Friends,

Hey Jr -- how's the new ride at Hendrick Motorsports working out for you? Good huh? Well, I think so...he all but dominated the Shootout Saturday night. Granted, this was a pre-season race where no points are awarded, but there has to be a sense of pride knowing that with your new team, new motor, new #88 that it could be the makings of a very good year. Now, this is to take nothing away from Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and the rest, but...it will be nice to see Jr back in the winner's circle in the regular season -- which hasn't happened since May, 2006. Stay tuned for the Super Bowl of racing this weekend.

Don

Eclipse

Friends,

The above is a picture of an eclipse seen at sunset over a dozen years ago, but is also representative of an eclipse which can be seen today (February 7th) over New Zealand and Antarctica. I hear its balmy this time of year in that part of the world. :-) Now, this eclipse can be seen today, and today only, so if you really wanted to get there -- it isn't happening (unless you can teleport, which gets us into sci-fi, which isn't the purpose of this post). So...the best you can do is enjoy this picture with me. What is amazing about an eclipse is -- 1). There will be another one come along in the not too distant future, not only in our hemisphere, but also over our continent; 2). It is truly amazing how the Lord made the sun and moon the precise right size and distance from the earth so that, many times, eclipses are complete coverage (that is, concerning the solar variety -- moon passing between earth and sun). In the case of our above pic, the orbital variation of the moon -- it is further from the earth -- allows some of the sun's corona to shine around the edge of the moon. Also fyi, lunar eclipses occur when the earth passes between the sun and moon and the earth casts its shadow on the moon (which, most times, appears as a dusty red color...concerning which, you probably knew all about it anyway). Nevertheless, to our Kiwi friends and Antarctic explorers (or residents), enjoy the show.

Don

Super! Bowl

Friends,

The Super Bowl was simply one of the best pro football games to be seen in a long time. As much as I hate to have to say it -- kudos to the Giants; they took down the Cowboys, Packers AND Patriots all in one fell playoff swoop. Understand, I can't stand the team, but I am happy for Eli. Back to back SB wins and MVPs for the Mannings also is quite amazing. The hilarious ESPN commercial with the Manning family should be raking in huge bucks at this point. But...THE PLAY -- you know which one I am talking about -- is perhaps the greatest play in Super Bowl history (although the leaping Lynn Swann grab about 30 years ago still is amazing). It was truly an indication that this was just going to be a game where the Giants were not going to be denied the victory. Too bad for the Patriots -- they were game. Surely they thought they had the game in the bag after scoring with about 3 minutes left in the game. C'est La Vie. Tom Brady and many of the other Patriots handled the game and the loss with class. It would have been good for the hoodie (Coach Belichick) to take a page out of their book. Well, this is it for football 'til next season. On with MLB and NASCAR. :-)

Don

Relevance Revealed -- Ecumenical, Eccentric or Eclectic?

Friends,

I put these thoughts together over the past few months...yet, I thought it was a timely time to post them since this is a subject that has come up a couple of times recently in discussion. I have been amazed at the similarity of thought that I have encountered in many conversations with church leaders recently -- shepherds, deacons, preachers and others who have come to the realization that "something has to give in the brotherhood"...and particularly in relationship to the question of relevance. There are churches all across the state, the country and the world that are struggling with the question of relevance. In relationship to relevance, some churches choose to go a different course than "the norm" altogether. Many times, young families either seek to change or leave their current situation or leave the fellowship of the churches of Christ altogether because they recognize that the churches where they worship are no longer relevant to them or to the community around them. Many of these Christians begin anew with new method principles, traditions that are more in line with their spiritual and cultural needs. The danger for a lot of these fellowships is ecumenism. They are willing accept any doctrine (without discernment) as long as it is not narrow-minded (which is their one caveat). This is admirable in some respects…as a fresh start and approach minus the negative aspects of the previous situation can be a good thing. However, some become arrogant (purposeful) or ignorant (unwitting) in their presumption that they can change doctrine and still be acceptable in God's sight. These people go too far, "throwing the baby out with the bath water" (so to speak), doctrinally (and even spiritually) in seeking to be relevant, all while engaging in their new methodological practices. These groups may be relevant culturally, but not so Biblically. They often sacrifice doctrine for superficial growth. The "I'm okay, you're okay" approach to theology just doesn't work the same as it does with psychology ;-). There must be a respectable balance Biblically and methodologically in order to be relevant in the eyes of the Lord. Too many of these types of churches are theologically shallow, tickling itching ears (milk, but no meat) in order to grow quickly and gain status. Yet, so many of them are a house of cards... and when the trials come and there is no genuine Biblical foundation, they fall apart. We see an example of this with the religion of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 3. He called for his followers to worship according to his secular, state religion that had many followers, but was not God-fearing or genuinely spiritual. Ultimately, it collapsed, as have so many other ambitious religions throughout history. The Athenians (Acts 17:21) were admonished for a mindset whereby they seemed to accept many things without discernment. The church at Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22) had become enamored with their wealth and culture at the expense of spirituality and we know the outcome of the message...rejected by the Lord.
Another group is the eccentric...those who have no tolerance for any change whatsoever, but who insist that they themselves and others hold strictly to their particular set of beliefs. For the eccentric, the church should be precisely the way that it has been for 30, 50 or 100 years. Unity respects the mindset that we can be (perhaps even vastly) different in our thoughts, opinions, and practices, while remaining Biblically true and still be in fellowship with each other. Eccentrics believe that everyone must virtually think alike, practice alike, be alike -- not only doctrinally, but methodologically, as well. This may be uniformity, but it is not unity. This mode of operation is far more fear than it is faith in its inability to delineate between doctrine and methodology. It has been well-stated in other places, that there is no room for any type of philosophy or thinking that could be just as Biblical -- if not more so -- but does not fit the status quo or "party line." These churches are also guilty of tickling itching ears, but with the working principle being..."your message had better be in agreement with what I already believe (traditionally, doctrinally)." These groups generally fracture until only those who can truly tolerate one another and are willing to be in agreement with the unique uniformity mantras of that particular congregation remain. Concerning resistance to change in every respect, the irony is that change does happen in these places, as change "changes" them anyway...and so it has been proven over and over, usually to the point of obscurity, or death. Of the two perspectives related to relevance, this latter perspective has been by far the most prevalent in our particular fellowship...as well as in other denominational groups. The Judaizers (culturally Jewish Christians) who were continually troubling Paul (as did the Jewish leaders with Jesus) fully believed that they were right and holy. Yet, their arrogance in relationship to their "theology," and resulting blindness to the Lord's will and leading, was their undoing. As Paul continually affirms his apostleship in 2 Corinthians, he also indicates that those who opposed his teaching and authority would have the same reward as the unrepentant Pharisees. The church in Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7) had a strong Christian name and reputation at one time, but they, like Laodicea, were severely lacking...having forgotten their First Love.
The final perspective is related to groups that are eclectic. These people are able to be discerning in and of themselves so as to be able to challenge long-standing traditions and other church "cultural phenomena" so as to see whether their methodologies are helping or hindering their ability to be relevant for Christ to the communities in which they reside. They are able to do this in a way that does not sacrifice genuine Biblical authority, although they are often accused in such matters by "eccentrics." The "ecumenics" think that nothing (or that perhaps, everything) is sacred and everything can be challenged, Biblically, whereas the "eccentrics" believe that any methodological change is always going to lead down a "slippery slope" to changing doctrine. The eclectic is able to discern the difference and the balance in relationship to those things that are matters of doctrine, matters of opinion and matters of method. The eclectics are those who are able to be the most relevant to the community because they are the most balanced and are able to make the necessary methodological changes in order to be relevant without making the expensive and tragic mistake of sacrificing doctrine. The "eclectics" are like those in the fellowship of Christians at Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7ff) who apparently were able to discern and understand the times and the culture that surrounded them. They were able to be persevering, holding to the Word without sacrificing the Spirit, open to the Lord's leading so that He could use them in mighty ways to spread His message and bring people to Christ. Eclectics understand and choose the best right doctrines and methods, being open-minded, typically, and open to the leading of the Lord in ways that may be out of their "comfort zones," but are willing to do so because it is the right spiritual thing to do. This requires a lot of faith and courage, but as these people come to understand, these virtues are their own reward. Eclectics do not see "fellow followers" who are different from them as the enemy...neither do they have to be in "full" fellowship with them. But, in the spirit of Christ they are able to positively encourage those who are like them and those who are different from them spiritually and doctrinally to try to get to the same place -- the heavenly home. (See Mark 9:38-40). Food for thought.

Don

Close Encounters

Friends,

If you have an imagination :-), you can see two dots up at the top of the above picture taken a few years ago. This is the last time that the planets Venus and Jupiter appeared close together in the night sky. If you get out your binoculars or small telescope, you will be able to see this same celestial event again the first of February, only a whole lot bigger than the above pic. Having the two brightest planets in the sky plus the four largest of Jupiter's moons all in your field of vision is a nice sight. So, give it a look in a week or so and enjoy!

Don

Memory King

Friends,

Okay...the brief I read in the regional paper today falls under the category of -- amazing. As the story goes, Jaime Serrano of Colombia recited from memory random sections of pi for hours. He stood in front of a screen at a university in Madrid and recited sections to 150,000 decimal places! What??? How on earth...and I thought the spelling bee kids were amazing. I would want him on my team if involved in a game of concentration. Just chalk this up to one of those cool happenings that garners mass attention (like the falling cow from Manson, WA :-). Have a great day.

Don