News & Reflections

The Greatest Commencement Address Ever Given

Communication, I wish I'd said that., Life Balance, News & Reflections /

As the school year comes to an end, another annual round of commencement addresses is being given. Sadly, most of them are forgettable. Curiously, I do not even remember my own high school or college commencement addresses. Having raised five children, I have sat through my share. Of all the graduation speeches that I have heard I remember only one. It was a message given at the college graduation of my eldest daughter. The speaker was the late John Osteen, founder of Houston’s Lakewood Church and father of Joel Osteen. Rev Osteen exhorted the graduates to make it their goal to always depend upon and be filled with the Holy Spirit. That message for some reason stuck with me.

The purpose of a graduation speech hopefully is that it will strike a chord of truth deep within the soul that will continue to resonate at critical junctures throughout a person’s life.

When Winston Churchill, speaking at the Harrow graduation in 1941, said “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never …” he struck a chord that reverberated way beyond the ear shot of those in attendance. It galvanized a nation caught in the grip of the Second World War and throughout the decades since has continued to inspire embattled souls whenever it is read or recalled.

This year, a high school English teacher named David McCollough Jr gave one of those rare memorable commencement addresses. When he told the graduates at Wellesley High School (Massachusetts) the following it went viral. “None of you are special. You are not special. You are not exceptional.” In an age when children have grown up being “pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble-wrapped . . . feted and fawned over” it needed to be said. The ultimate point that he was making is that exulting in being special is a self-indulgent deceit. “The great and curious truth of the human experience is that selflessness is the best thing you can do for yourself. The sweetest joys of life, then, come only with the recognition that you’re not special.” That is a message which may discomfit the soul but can motivate those who hear it to noble action.

Graduation ceremonies as a rite of passage are fraught with both emotion and expectation. There is the celebration of accomplishment with all the accompanying memories, bitter and sweet, sacrificial and gratuitous that will be left behind. And there is the anticipation of the future burgeoning with hopes and dreams yet waiting, albeit with trepidation, to be fulfilled.

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Church services and the element of surprise

Leadership, News & Reflections, Relationship with God /

What are some of the most memorable church services you have ever experienced? Matt, our worship pastor, asked all of us that question yesterday during our biweekly creative planning meeting for upcoming Sunday services. It was an instructive question because in stirring up great memories it revealed essential ingredients that make for impacting church services.

As we paused silently to consider the question each of us began to search through our own respective archives of years of doing church. For me it was like pulling out old family albums and paging through them looking for photos that sparked favorite memories from years gone by. In a matter of minutes I came up with a list of over ten very vivid pictures in my mind of services that had a major impact upon me.

These most memorable church services fell into one of four categories. They were times when 1) God’s presence was sudden, unmistakable and so powerful that it overwhelmed everyone simultaneously; 2) I was so convicted by the speaker’s message that I was drawn uncontrollably forward to the altar area to do business with God; 3) A creative or spontaneous element in the service deeply touched me both emotionally and spiritually; 4) Something bizarre happened that was unexpected, unredemptive but unforgettable.

In retrospect, as I think about it now, the one common ingredient that made those church services so memorable was the element of surprise. And in most of the cases the surprise was a function of what happened, being unplanned and spontaneous. Not surprisingly, that is typically how God works. When it comes to the way God does things the maxim “expect the unexpected” is more the rule than the exception. This modus operandi is demonstrated repeatedly throughout both the Old and New Testaments in the way God’s initiated life changing encounters with people. From Abraham to David to Mary to Paul we see God again and again surprising people through His divine intervention.

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12 things I have lived long enough to know

Growth & Development, News & Reflections /

The repetitive nature of the daily news is an indication of how old a person is getting and hopefully an impetus to garner some wisdom from it all. Recently I realized I’ve been ingesting a regurgitation of the same sound bites for over 50 years. How could it be that I’ve spent my entire life monitoring global hotspots in Africa and the Middle East, sword rattling over oil supplies and nuclear weapons, uncertain market forecasts, political campaign mudslinging, dastardly mind-boggling crimes and the latest woes of local sports teams?

I couldn’t help but think of the writer of Ecclesiastes, who looking back over his long life threw his hands up in frustration and said “Meaningless, meaningless . . . Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” (1:2) Then he asks the question of the ages: “What does a man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?” (1:3) This question essentially frames the answers he paints on the canvas of the rest of the book

I’ve taken some of those brush strokes of wisdom to embellish a sampling of what I’ve learned from my many years of making meaning of the repetitious nature of life.

I am calling them twelve things I’ve lived long enough to know . . .

1. Increasing the number of channels will never solve the problem of why there isn’t anything worth watching on TV. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. (1:8)

2. Living through a Southeast Asian war, a cold war and several Gulf wars has convinced me there will always be oppressors and attempts to dethrone them. History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. (1:9 NLT) Jesus: You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. (Matthew 24:6)

3. Doing what you love to do is the most rewarding employment there is. So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is why we are here. (3:22 NLT)

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Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

2 Comments / Answers to Prayer!, News & Reflections, Overcoming /

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him! How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er; Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! Oh, for grace to trust Him more! Louisa M. R. Stead

Last week I went through the process of having my first full body radioactive scan since having my cancerous thyroid removed a year and a half ago. As with any test procedure looking for signs of the dreaded “c” it can be stressful. Any accompanying fear and anxiety are acerbated by the infernal, seemingly interminable wait for the results.

It’s been said that war is hell and doubtless waiting for test results is at the very least akin to purgatory. Such waiting could be likened walking a gauntlet of faith with fires of doubt, fueled by rampant negative scenarios, licking at your heels.

This time around, in the midst of my wrestlings of soul the Lord brought to mind the title of the old hymn “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.” As only God can do those simple words ministered faith to me and restored my peace and sanity.

Life’s journeys have a way of bringing all of us to an occasional bitter pool. Invariably we stumble upon bitter experiences when we least expect it and they can have a way rocking us and our faith to our very core. Disease, major disappointments and losses have that effect upon us. At a time when we thirst for sweet water to refresh our weary souls, it seems like all we have to draw from is bitter.

Ironically that is exactly what happened to the Israelites immediately after their miraculous deliverance from the Egyptians when they passed through the Red Sea on dry ground. Three days of wandering in the desert brought them to the bitter waters of Marah. Famished by thirst they all grumbled “What are we to drink?” (Exodus 15:23)

But God allowed this to teach them and us a foundational truth about dealing with the bitter experiences of life. “Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.” (Exodus 15:25) That “piece of wood” is an Old Testament foreshadowing of the Messiah who was to come and the wooden cross that he would bear. The cross, representing Christ’s great covenant sacrifice for sin and our salvation, would have the power to heal and make every bitter thing sweet.

Sometimes when we are standing at a bitter pool and crying out to God as Moses did, it seems like that piece of wood and its transforming results are nowhere to be found. In fact no matter how diligently we ask and seek and knock, the bread we so desperately want is still a rock and the fish still feels like a scaly snake. But Jesus assures us that the heavenly Father will give us what we long for if we persist. And indeed, when we hold a stone long enough, it will eventually turn into bread, and that scary squirmy snake will turn out to really be a fish. (Matthew 7:7-11)

From personal experience I’ve found that to be true. Yesterday after five days of holding a snake by faith it became a fish and I finally got my test results back with a clean bill of health. All praise and glory to God!

One of the great mysteries of God is the way in which He uses the bitter experiences of life to bring sweetness to our soul. And it is likewise awe inspiring to observe how God can take something born of tragedy and nurture it into becoming a life sustaining blessing.

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My most memorable Christmas

News & Reflections /

What are some of your favorite Christmas memories? Stop and think about it. Several come to mind for me and as one might guess, they were mostly when I was a child.

My childhood was an idyllic one growing up in the 1950s in a small town out in Montana. It was an era when little boys were captivated by western movies and cowboy heroes and I was no exception. Like Ralphie in the classic movie A Christmas Story I was infatuated with Red Ryder and longed for the day when I would be old enough to have a carbine action BB rifle. When I turned eight, to my mother’s dismay, my father actually gave me one. Unfortunately my first time out with it I shot someone in the thumb, but that is not a favorite memory so enough said.

When I was five, in the fall of the year, I entered a contest to name Red Ryder’s horse’s pony. I don’t remember what the grand prize was but I put my whole heart and soul into trying to come up with a unique name that I hoped would jump off the page when those judging the contest read it.

One night, as I was getting ready for bed it came to me, just out of the blue – Beldy. I was so excited. I called my mother into my bedroom and told her. My mother said “What?” And I said “Beldy.” “Oh,” she said, “are you sure?” “Yup” I said. And Beldy it was.

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