Continued Influence

When I played football at Hope College we played at Riverview Park, a city owned facility North of campus with a perfect view of a swamp!  It was quaint.  The stands on the North side were covered!  Hope students filled the stands on the South side that were about five yards behind the visitor’s bench.  It led to some interesting exchanges!

              

The city built a brand new Municipal Stadium adjacent to Hope’s campus in the late 70’s which has been the home of Hope College football ever since.  The field was also shared with local high school teams and was made available for other events for the city of Holland.  Each year, as the football season wore on, the field deteriorated from overuse.  If it was a rainy fall the games looked like they were being played in a mud bowl.  It was at the best embarrassing, and at the worst possibly dangerous.

              

This year Hope College bought the stadium from the city.  This was much to the city’s relief in that they could no longer afford to maintain the facility or make necessary improvements.  Hope immediately installed artificial turf and made necessary upgrades to other aspects of the facility.  It is beautiful.

              

Last week Hope announced that the stadium would be named the Ray and Sue Smith Stadium in honor of Ray Smith’s 25 years of service as Hope’s football coach.  Ray holds Hope College, MIAA, and national Division III coaching records.  It is a well-deserved honor.

              

Through God’s providence Ray Smith came to Hope College as football coach my sophomore year. He had an immediate impact on the football program, but more importantly on my life personally.  Ray was more than a coach.  He was a role model and a mentor for me of what it meant for a man to be a fully-devoted disciple of Jesus Christ.  He talked the talk and walked the walk.  God used Ray Smith to shape me into the person I am today.  Ray Smith challenged me to take my faith more seriously and he demonstrated God’s belief in me and my gifts with his own belief in me and my gifts. 

              

When I was wrestling with the decision of leaving teaching and coaching and entering ministry, Becky and I met with Ray and Sue to get their opinion. They started to cry.  My first thought was that the thought of me in ministry was so painful that it brought them to tears.  Ray and Sue told us that they had been praying that I would go into ministry for two years!

              

Ray asked me to join his coaching staff when I returned to Holland for seminary after one year of teaching.  He believed that I could coach at the college level and coach people that had been my teammates two years earlier.  He and Sue have constantly encouraged me in my ministry.  We remain good friends and play golf together several times a year.  I remember the influence Ray had on my life and try to influence others similarly in my own ministry.

              

God puts people in our lives at certain times when we need them the most.  He did that for us with Ray and Sue Smith and I thank God for their influence every day.  I encourage you to remember the people God has used to influence your life and to let them know how much you appreciate that influence.

Next time you get to Holland, visit Ray and Sue Smith Stadium!

Lessons From Lincoln

Between Christmas and the beginning of the New Year we saw the movie Lincoln.  The movie is based on the book Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin, an historian.  Steven Spielberg’s movie is historical fiction.  That means that he had to spice it up a little bit to make it more exciting than just history. 

We loved the movie.

It was a movie of dialogue.  It didn’t try to keep your interest with action, or relational suspense. 

Without getting tripped up on what was historical and what was fiction, here are some observations from the movie.

 1.     Personal convictions clash with public policy, but we need to hang in there with our personal convictions.  Lincoln was convinced that slavery was wrong, inhumane and ran against God’s desires.  “All men are created equal”…all men, regardless of race, color or creed.  This was Lincoln’s conviction and he fought for it in spite of unpopularity, threats and attempts at political blackmail.

2.     It is possible to disagree without being disagreeable; to be divided, but not divisive.  This would be a lesson we could keep in mind today.  We are displaying less and less ability to disagree with one another without it being divisive.  Certainly there were different sides to the slavery debate.  Some felt strongly about the issue on both sides.  It was divisive.  But there were people on both sides of the issue that could disagree without being disagreeable.  Slavery didn’t have to be divisive.  They could see things differently and still be friends, get along, support one another. This is the model of Jesus.  It is important for Christ followers to be able to disagree with one another, but not see each other as the enemy. 

3.     When we are passionate about something it requires energy, effort, multiple conversations, listening and sometimes compromise.  Any married couple knows this.  Lincoln was tireless in his efforts to get the 13^th amendment passed. 

4.     Leaders have personal lives that weigh on them as well as their public lives.  The movie portrayed Lincoln and his wife raising a young son in the White House and a young adult son who was wrestling with his future. Mrs. Lincoln had some “mental health issues” that made life difficult for the President.  We sometimes forget that the job of leaders place demands on them 24/7, and they also have husbands, or wives and children that demand their attention and their emotional energy.

5.     The nation was able to function without computers, the internet, email, Facebook, Twitter, or 24/7 news coverage.   Can you imagine?

Movies can give you lots of food for thought.

Simple

So, what was your favorite Christmas present?

It’s probably an unfair question.

If you answer, “My new iPhone, or computer, or coat, or car, or socks”, it sounds a bit materialistic.  But if you answer “My time with my family,” it sounds a bit like an answer you are supposed to give in Sunday School.

I got some nice material presents…a sweater, socks, and a clock to keep track of how much time I spend watching NCAA basketball in the basement! 

But we did enjoy our time with our families were the best presents we received.  We celebrated Christmas with just our children on Sunday night.  Our oldest son from Ohio couldn’t join us, but our daughter was in from Traverse City and we gathered at our son and daughter-in-law’s house in Glenview.  It was beautiful in its simplicity.  We baked pizza, shared gifts and caught up with one another.  Everyone appreciated the gifts they were given, but more importantly we enjoyed being with one another.  Because of the distance we don’t all get together very often and when we do it often seems rushed.  This was simple.

We took a 24-hour break from one another on Christmas Eve.  After our worship services, Becky and I shared a simple dinner with our daughter in the quiet of our townhouse.

On Christmas Day we gathered with Becky’s family at her mom’s for our traditional Christmas gathering.  There were 23 of us!  Nieces and nephews who were once little kids are now married and some are parents themselves.  We don’t buy everyone presents.  We do a sock exchange; simple.

 

Our unintentional theme was “new”…a new baby for a nephew and his wife, a new first time teaching job for a niece, a new experience as a college freshman for another nephew, a new start for a niece who is home from South Africa where she was doing mission work, new plans for others, as well as some hopes and dreams.  It was simple.

We capped off our Christmas celebration by seeing the movie Lincoln with Becky’s mom and our son and daughter-in-law.  Great movie.  Going to see it together was simple, but meaningful.

In a day and age when bigger seems to be better, where material possessions seem to connote human value, and where we being entertained is more important than just being together, sometimes simple can touch us in the deepest places.

              

God’s gift to us at Christmas came through simple people, in a humble setting, with little acknowledgement.  That simple gift changed the history of the world!

              

I wonder what our simple moments can do?

Year End

Here we are, another year almost in the books.

Some of us couldn’t be happier to turn the calendar.  The past year has been one of difficulty, derailment and bad diagnoses.  They have lost people, or jobs, or homes, or health, or something that meant a great deal to them, and they are grieving.

Others of us are sad to see 2012 end.  It has been a year filled with victories, happiness, joy and accomplishment.  If 2013 can only be half as good, we would still be happy.

Starting a new year lets us begin with a clean slate.  We turn the page and start anew.  Many of us set goals for achievement professionally, personally or for our families.  We have a vacation we want to take, a home we want to buy, an event we want to survive, a wedding we are planning, a decision about a school to attend, a car to purchase, a surgery or procedure we need to endure, a milestone we want to mark.  Some of what we will face in the new year is on our agenda.  Much of what will happen we do not know and cannot control.  That’s just the way life goes.

Which is why I embrace these words from David:

“…I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’  My times are in your hands.”
 Psalm 31:14&15, NIV

I am a planner.  I like to know ahead what is going to happen, how it is going to happen, when it going to happen and what I have to do to make it happen.  I like to say, “The devil is in the details”.  It is the small things that can make the difference between success or failure, achievement or disappointment.  On the other hand, there is so much of life that is out of our control.  I can plan my route, leave on time, and drive carefully, but I can’t control traffic that is backed up because a dog has gotten loose on the Eisenhower expressway.  Who counts on that?

So, as I turn my calendar next Tuesday to 2013, I will pray that God will let me live into this piece of wisdom:

“I have concluded that whatever God does, that’s the way it is going to be, always.  No addition, no subtraction.  God’s done it and that’s it.  That’s so we’ll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.

Whatever was, is.

Whatever will be, is.

That’s how it always is with God.”
Ecclesiastes 3:14&15, The Message

We don’t get to choose whether or not a new year begins.  But we do get to decide the way we will embrace it!

Happy New Year! God Bless!
~Rev

Christmas

Our townhouse development has about 100 residences.  Like other developments this time of year many of the homes are adorned with Christmas decorations.

Several of our neighbors have replaced the everyday white light bulbs in the lights on their garages with one red and one green light.  Others have strung lights in trees, around the garage and over the entryway.

Last year Becky noticed that one of our neighbors had nothing up when she left the house in the morning, but their home and yard were elaborately decorated when she returned that evening.  It was beautiful.  I had to tell her that I had seen the truck of professionals pull up to do the job.  The same truck was there this year!

              

One of our neighbors is into inflatable yard art.  He has a Halloween piece, which is replaced by a turkey, which is replaced on Thanksgiving Day by a Frosty the Snowman.              

One home has a string of over-sized Christmas tree lights stuck in the ground bordering a patch of land where they plant flowers for the summer. 

Everyone seems to get into the Christmas spirit and whether they are purposeful about it or not, they are using the symbols that the bible uses to describe Jesus’ birth:

               “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.  The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”  John 1:5,9

              

However, there are some houses that have no decorations and no lights.  They are dark in many ways.  The man four doors down died this summer of a sudden heart attack.  His wife was overcome with grief.  She went back to her home country and their townhouse sits empty and dark, a monument to mourning.

              

The woman across the street has hung no décor.  She is fighting a battle against cancer, but has decided to take no treatments.  The disease will run its course and eventually kill her.  When Becky talks to her she always comes home filled with a sense of sadness.

              

There are stories in every home, well lit or dark, decorated, or left unadorned. 

My prayer is that “The Story” of the season, Emmanuel, God with Us, will visit every home and make Himself known in real and practical ways. 

I pray that “the true light that gives light to every man”, will break into whatever darkness people may be experiencing; illness, grief, anxiety, unemployment, estrangement, sadness, loneliness, or hopelessness. 

I pray that God will use worship services, special events, family gatherings, informal conversations, and people being present with other people, to draw people closer to him and to give life meaning.

And if God so chooses, may He use us!

May God bless us, everyone!

Merry Christmas!
~Rev                                                     

Waiting

Sometimes you have heard things 100 times and you know exactly what is being said, but for some reason (the Holy Spirit) this time when you hear it, you sit up and take notice. That happened to me a couple of weeks ago in worship.

It was the first Sunday of Advent, our journey in the church toward Christmas. My colleague, Gregg, was reminding us that one of themes of this time of year is “waiting”.  I learned this in seminary nearly 40 years ago and have said it myself many times during the advent season. I have preached on the theme of waiting and I have reminded people that our idea of waiting is unique. Waiting is not biding our time, or cooling our heels, or standing in line. Waiting is actively engaging in life and living out God’s desires, anticipating His fulfillment.  

For some reason, this particular Sunday, “waiting” made me sit up and take notice and begin to wrestle with waiting again.

Waiting is not something I do naturally. No one has ever referred to me as “Peter Patience”.  I don’t like lines at the gas station, the toll booth, the theater, the grocery store, or the concession stand.  Waiting for a doctor, a phone call, something I have ordered, a promise that has been made to be fulfilled, or for someone to take action, is excruciating for me. 

The Israelites waited 400 years to hear from God. 400 years!  Are any of us that patient? We pray and expect God to answer immediately, or at least within a reasonable time frame...like hours, or at the most a few days. 

Then, after 400 years of waiting, the Israelites didn’t yet understand. “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” (John 1:9-11) 

I have waited; for dreams to be fulfilled, for difficulty to subside, for painful situations to be over, for grief to resolve, for kids to mature, for myself to be more patient. 

         

We all wait. 

But Christians wait differently. We actively wait, engaging in life and living out God’s desires until he fulfills his promises. Sometimes what we receive when our waiting concludes is not what we expected, like a king born without fanfare amidst animals, who brings about a kingdom that is not material but spiritual, who tells us to love our enemies, to serve and not be served, and to be humble so we can be exalted.

As we wait this Christmas season for God to deliver again, what are we really waiting for, and how we will know when the wait is over?

   

~Rev.

Making A Difference

As the Christmas season gets into full swing, everyone jumps on the bandwagon.  Retailers, civic groups, politicians, educational institutions, promoters of the arts, dance troupes, athletes and teams, Metra, the CTA, and every one and thing in between.  Every one wants to walk in the wake of Jesus’ birthday. 

         

And as predictable as commercials, new Christmas albums and sweets appearing regularly in the coffee room, are Christians bemoaning the fact that the “reason for the season” has been lost, or at least buried, under all the other reasons for promoting the season.  My Facebook page has been peppered with messages that remind me to “Keep Christ in Christmas” and to say “Merry Christmas” and not “Happy Holidays”.  It only takes a few before I start to either ignore the warnings, or resent them!

All the handwringing, shouting and cajoling will not change retailers, or commercial interests.  In fact, too often it reinforces the culture’s opinion that Christ-followers are a bunch of angry, critical, scowling, buzz kill, whiners.   

If we want to make a difference and keep the focus on the true meaning of Christmas, perhaps we should follow Jesus’ example.  Jesus spent very little time being critical and when He was it was usually with those who were representing God’s interests.

Jesus’ way of making a difference was one individual at a time.  He healed those who were blind or crippled and, in turn, those people told everyone they met about the transformation that had come about because of their encounter with Jesus.  He met the Samaritan woman at the well, and she, in turn, went to tell her village about her encounter with him. 

 As for me and my household, we will keep Christ in Christmas.  We will wish people a “Merry Christmas”, rather than “Happy Holidays”.  (When someone wishes me a “Happy Holiday”, I usually respond with “Merry Christmas” and a smile, not a scowl.)  We will remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.  We will extend the peace, joy and love of Christ to everyone we meet.

I can’t change the cultural trends by myself, or by writing something, or by insisting others view the season differently.  All I can do is my part as an individual to represent Christ during this Holy season and let the Holy Spirit do the rest!