My Former Boss

One of my former bosses is retiring.  He only had his position for a little more than 8 years.  His retirement shocked some people.  It is unheard of in his field. 

That’s right, I’m talking about Pope Benedict XVI. 

For five years I coached basketball at Traverse City St. Francis High School. I love basketball, I love high school kids and the Athletic Director asked me to coach in the women’s program.  That led to the Varsity Men’s Coach asking me to assist him with the men’s program.  So, I did both.

Not everyone understood.  The pastor of a local Protestant church was coaching at a Catholic High School?  There was muttering and disapproval from both sides of the Christian aisle. We didn’t think we were doing anything groundbreaking.  Nor was that the point.  My daughter attended the high school.  They knew I had a coaching background.  They needed a mature (old) coach for some of their special circumstances and they asked me to do it. 

Two things were clear from the outset.  My primary job as Senior Pastor of our congregation would always take precedence over my basketball duties.  They were a Catholic school and I would not undermine their faith view and practices. 

The groundwork for such an arrangement had been laid in the 1990’s in a movement led by Chuck Colson and Father Richard John Neuhaus who formed Evangelicals and Catholics together.  The movement was supported and endorsed by other evangelicals including theologian J.I. Packer and Bill Bright.  They received a great deal of push back and lots of hate mail.  Colson reported that this venture adversely affected financial contributions to Prison Fellowship.  But they pressed on.

              

Rather than focusing on the differences between the two methods of nurturing the Christian faith, they focused on what they had in common.  In a document entitled, The Gift of Salvation, they affirmed together that “Justification is not earned by any good works or merits of our own; it is entirely God’s gift conferred through the Father’s sheer graciousness.”

It was clear to me while coaching at St. Francis that the local priests were held in high esteem and school policy and practices were always approved by them.  It was clear to me that the priests, administrators, teachers and students at St. Francis held the Pope in high esteem as their religious leader.  They didn’t agree with every papal stance, but they respected his positions.  As an invited guest employee I was expected to do the same.  The school respected that we had different views and practices of our faith.  I encouraged my players in the practice of their faith and answered their questions (and complaints) carefully and respectfully.  Ultimately the Pope was my boss.

              

For some people I was simply a basketball coach.  For them I was evaluated on my coaching ability.  But for many, my coaching was a symbol of unity in the body of Christ.  It was an affirmation of what C. S. Lewis referred to as Mere Christianity.  Whether a practicing Catholic or Protestant we affirm such fundamentals as the Virgin Birth, the deity of Christ, the atonement, the resurrection, the authority of Scripture, and the second coming.

              

1.2 billion people identify as Roman Catholics in the world.  Today they are praying for God’s guidance and direction in choosing a new leader.  I will join in with them as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Angry With Others and Myself

It is the season of Lent, the 40 days immediately preceding Easter. It is patterned after Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness. Jesus fasted and prayed seeking God’s will and direction. The writers of His biographies record three temptations He faced from Satan during this time. Each temptation was defeated when Jesus quoted scripture. Knowing God’s perspective and claiming as our own always repels temptation.

This year our church is combining Lenten practices with exercise. We are encouraged to walk or exercise in some way for at least 20 minutes of silence reflecting on a scripture or a devotional thought. Monday’s passage for reflection was: “Do not be angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, for you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.” – From The Imitation of Christ

I began my day reflecting on that thought for 20 minutes of my normal morning walk. Then I wrestled with it for the rest of the day and periodically ever since.

I do get frustrated when people don’t see the world the way I see the world. Why can’t everyone interpret scripture the way I do? Why do some people view urban problems differently than me? Why doesn’t everyone like the same things in worship that I like? How can some people major in what I consider to be the minors? How can some people still be racist? Or insensitive to those who live in poverty? Or lack compassion for single parents?

Why can’t my wife be more of a sports fan? Why don’t my kids adopt the same priorities I have in life?

It is frustrating that people cannot be as I want them to be. It is even more frustrating that I cannot be who I want to be. I let myself down daily. I do not meet my expectations. Like the Apostle Paul, I do not do what I want to do and I do what I don’t want to do. I repeat sins that I desperately want to avoid. I cannot make myself as I wish to be, so how can I be angry that I cannot make others as I wish them to be? Tough question.

Can I offer all people I encounter more grace, more understanding, and more acceptance? I pray I can. 

~Rev

The Vision...An Invitation

Rev's Reflection: The Vision...An Invitation from Elmhurst CRC on Vimeo.

It Has to Stop!

It has to stop!

A declaration? A demand? An exclamation?  More like a plea. 

Please, God, it has to stop!

In a month in which many Christians acknowledge support of the sanctity of life, over 40 people of all ages were killed in Chicago by gun violence.  If we truly value life from “its conception to its natural end” as many say, each and every one of these lives that were lost were should alarm us.  They were all created in the image of God.  God weeps when His image is wiped out.

Some of the deaths get more attention than others.  Two men shot down in front of a hamburger stand is alarming.  A woman gunned down in her car on the ramp from Lake Shore Drive, peaks our curiosity.  The death of 15 year old Hadiyah Pendleton, shot after school while she was seeking shelter under a play structure from the rain, garners national attention and increases our ire.  Her death became national news.  All of these shooting deaths are sad.

Our collective hearts broke when 26 children and adults were murdered in one day at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  Chicago is experiencing Sandy Hook in slow motion…40+ deaths in one month. 

Public debates rage between gun rights and gun restriction advocates.  The argument that guns don’t kill people, people kill people is lost on me.  People are sinful and if they have access to weapons they will use them for evil purposes.  Drugs don’t kill people, people misuse drugs.  Yet, we have laws that limit drugs, even legal drugs, to protect us from ourselves.

From a Christian perspective, this is not an urban problem, or a Chicago problem, or a South Side problem.  This is “our” problem.  We are part of God’s kingdom trying to spread His influence everywhere.  If some part of His kingdom is hurting, we need to figure out how we can increase His influence. 

Putting an end to murders in Chicago is an overwhelming challenge.  Who would know where to begin, or what to do?  But famine, war, poverty and world hunger, are also overwhelming challenges, but we get involved at some level to make a difference.  I can’t solve the murder problem in Chicago, but I can do something.  I’m not sure exactly what that is, but I believe God wants me/us to do something.

              
So, I am going to pray.  I am going to plead to God that He miraculously intervene and put an end to the violence. 

              
I am going to pray, that God will show me what I can do to help in my little sphere of influence, in my corner of the world, with my gifts and talents.

              
I am not going to start a national program, or propose denominational involvement, or encourage our congregation to take on this problem.  I am going to seek God’s leading to use me to make a little bit of difference, to do my part. 

              
These murders are symptoms of a greater problem in our culture.  They are intertwined with poverty, racism, classism, lack of educational opportunities and, in my opinion, one of the greatest missing links in peoples’ lives, the absence of mentors and role models. 

              
I have no idea what might come of this, or what God will do.  This is all I do know:

It has to stop!

A New Role

Sometime in August I will be taking on a new role.

This happens in life.  As we mature and grow through life stages we are forced to take on new roles.  I went from being a high school student who lived at home with my mom and brother in a structured setting, to being a college student who was independent, living in a dormitory with 299 other freshmen boys.  I went from being a carefree college student, where I was basically responsible for myself, to being a teacher and a coach, where I was suddenly responsible for the learning and performance of high school kids.  I went from being a boyfriend, to being a husband. I was a son and son-in-law. I was a brother and a brother-in-law.

              

I took on the role of being a college chaplain and a college coach. I went from being a husband, to being a father. I played the role of a staff member at a large church and then being the Lead Pastor of other churches. 

              

Sometimes I took one role, but ended up playing others. I coached teams, but I also became a mentor and sometimes a surrogate parent. I was a father to my own kids, but also a trusted advisor and mentor to their friends. I was a spectator at my kids games and also a confidant and counselor to other parents. 

              

I have had to play some roles for which I was completely unprepared. Our middle child, Jesse, was a soccer player and one year we were late in getting him signed up for a team.  When coaches found out that Jesse was available to be on a team, they all wanted him, but the league officials said he could only be on a team if I was one of the coaches. A coach called me and asked me to be an assistant coach.  I told him I knew nothing about soccer. He said I didn’t have to do anything but show up, what he really wanted was Jesse on his team!

              

That is the way life goes. God puts us in places and asks us to play roles. Sometimes we are ready and eager, and we are embracing long-awaited opportunities. In other situations we are caught off guard.  We feel totally inadequate and we need to simply fall to our knees and be completely dependent on God for wisdom, insight and strength. 

              

In my new role, I will be embracing a long-awaited opportunity for which I couldn’t be more grateful.  At the same time, it is a role I have never played before, which means I will be totally dependent on God.

              

My children, Jesse and Marta, are making me a Grandpa!  

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.