Confessions II - Things that Scare Me Worse Than Halloween

1. Churches that get warm fuzzies over who showed up on Sunday instead of those who did not . . . 77 % of South Carolina's residents will not be in church this Sunday.

2. The rapidly aging leadership base in many of our SBC churches in South Carolina. Could tomorrow for the SBC body of Christ be literally dying before our eyes?

3. Our sense of self-importance. We all suffer from momentary lapses. Bottom line, we are no where near as good as we would like to think. I remember that every time I get the courage to listen to my own sermon cd's.

4. The way we communicate. When 61% of our people are functionally illiterate why do we keep communicating in our churches like they are seminaries? I discovered another reason why some of our contemporary churches are doing so well - creative communication of the Gospel message. Slides, pictures, clips, stories, popular culture illustrations . . . Why? Because it is easier to understand for the common man.

5. None of us understand the QBQ (Question behind the Question) which is What am I going to do about it? I am part of the problem. I am part of the solution. I am personally responsible before God for this mess. Lord, bend me. Lord, bend the church, save the world!

Lexington Baptist deacons last night; Fellowship of Praise (great story btw) building dedication and a 5K run in the Northeast on Saturday; my friends at The River in Camden, Sunday. BTW since I have been cheering for the opposition, my teams have won 75% of their games. So . . . go Jags and Rajun Cajuns!

Ramblings of a Former Devil

Halloween doesn't scare me like it once did. I am not sure if that's good or bad. When I was a kid, growing up in East Tennessee, I was an avid trick-or-treat participant. My first costume I remember was of Old Slewfoot. Yeah, that's right, I dressed as the devil. I can't say for sure that an eight-year-old, future preacher, dressed like Satan, trying to intimidate the neighbors for candy, was harmless.

Yvette wonders if I have recovered. I still dig the old devil mask out to terrify her with my rants. I don't have my childhood mask. I am talking about the metaphorical mask www.dictionary.com/. I know that is a bit deep. I feel much better now that blog readers know my secret.

I took Abby and Owen (my two-year-old rock star grandson) trick-or-treating in my neighborhood last night. My favorite son-in-law, David was with us. Owen was dressed in an army uniform, Abby was a bat. I was dressed in Uncle Tom's Philadephia Eagles sweatshirt. Brian Plyler thought I would make a great Ghandi. I resisted his advice.

I understand the roots of Halloween. I have old sermon outlines that exposes the evil. I am different now. Krista (21) never went trick-or-treating much. Evil is nothing to be joked about. That is the way I felt then. My mind has not changed. I am not smarter. I just rank other forms of evil a greater problem.

Since the evil in our hearts is much more subtle, I think the damage can be far greater. I can bluff my way into places because I look like (generally speaking of course) a person, not a devil. I will walk right in the door of my home. I will walk in the office at work and no one will notice. I will blame others for my short comings and use my position to manipulate. I will hurt people, deeply, and not even know it. Even with my best intentions.

Self-awarness is a bit of a buzz term around me now. Are you? Self-aware? Do you know the damage you might cause today? The people you might hurt. Open the eyes of my heart Lord, I want to see me. Scary. Really Scary. Please Lord, may I walk with you and understand my potential for evil today. Remind me of the metaphorical devil mask in my heart.

Tough day in Columbia yesterday. Sinus infection. Too many rants from me and around me. Today will be better at world headquarters. Jim Slack will remind us of important things.

God is Not My Pet Rock

I admit that I get frustrated by it all sometimes. Some of you are way too young . . . well actually you are way too young, period. But you were not around in 1975. I was a sophomore at Hampton High School, Hampton, Tennessee.

An advertising exec from California went to a local bar for a few drinks. He came home with an idea that made him a millionaire. Gary Dahl created the Pet Rock craze. He marketed a pet (retail 3.95) rock that took no care and still gave its owner a few minutes of pleasure. Name it, train it, and put it on your desk. Talk about it.

No need to defend this pet to your spouse. No costly pet food or messy carpet "spills." The rock came complete with a training manual that was a step by step guide to having a happy relationship with your geological pet (Encyclopedia of Pop Culture). Google Pet Rock. You will chuckle and get an illustration that will speak to boomers.

Seven students, one from Clemson, six from USC died in a fire Sunday morning at Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. I have no explanation for why that happened. I enjoyed a great discussion with my group at world headquarters yesterday. We wrestled over the why. I am so glad we did. If I met any family members, I would not even try to explain. I would say something like I am so sorry, I will pray for you all (and have already).

God is not my Pet Rock. He was not thought up in a bar over a couple of drinks. He is not a six month fad. Although sometimes I feel so very uncomfortable about it all, I enjoy His vastness. He is big, really big. Apparent messes bubble up. Disagreements over Him, His purposes and His ways emerge after tsunamis, airplanes in buildings, and burning beach houses. He can take the heat.

Cynthia, you get an assist for this one. The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law (Deut. 29:29). Enough said.

Shower Curtains and Free Tacos

Conrad Hilton acquired his first hotel in 1919. Sixty years leader, the founder and owner of Hilton Hotels was on his death bed. He was asked if he had any words of wisdom. His answer to the world: Leave the shower curtain on the inside of the tub.

He also said something even more profound: Success seems to be connected to action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit.

Thinking out loud about discouragement. Courage is required to keep moving. Our enemy in life, or a tool of the enemy, is to remove our courage for some reason. What event, person, or attitude has removed your courage and stalled your forward movement? Keep moving. Talk through it with someone you trust.

Watch Jesus. The rhythm of his ministry and life was movement. The focus was people. Many of them stalled out, on the side of the road. Maybe your next movement will be toward someone stalled out. You will move and help them move.

Our NAMB partners gave us one of the greatest gifts one could ever receive yesterday. The gift of listening. All day long . . . and we are better for it. We committed to action at the end of the day. I hope it matters. A commitment to action usually does . . . Columbia today at world headquarters for meeting week. Oh well. The weekend is on the way!

Get a free taco today at Taco Bell. They are giving them away from 2-5 p.m. because someone stole a base in the World Series. Don't ever say this blog is worthless. Retail value: 77 cents.