A Quick Cup with Lee

Spring Has Arrived.

2007-03-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

Spring has arrived in Arkadelphia, Arkansas! I thought about the rapidness with which the season changed this year. It was almost overnight. Well, at least within a week. But what I thought was how, if spring came in one second with trees fully leafed and flowers in full bloom, we would declare a miracle--and perhaps set up a shrine. But is it any less a miracle that spring came in one week and not one second? No, indeed. We did not bring about the wonder of changing seasons. It's all God's doing. Thanks you, dearest God.

Nick and I went bass fishing yesterday. Nick tied into some really nice fish. He landed a 3 pounder and a 4 pounder--and about a dozen smaller ones. He also brought to the boat, or near the boat, two others that were, as the pros say, hawgs. These were trophy fish--one I think about 6 pounds and the other no less than 8 pounds. He had quite a fun day--and dad had a great time watching! I also caught three or four little ones.

As we approach Holy Week, may we do so with great gratitude for God's love so fully revealed in Jesus Christ. No other season of the year is so filled with passion. May we remember--and give thanks.

Blessings and peace. Talk later.

lm

Ode To The Ouachita

2007-01-11T14:32:00.000-08:00

I confessed recently to a church group of my long standing love affair with the Ouachita River. The grand old river, as it winds its way through Arkansas (past Arkadelphia) and Louisiana (through the middle of Monroe) is one of the most beautiful rivers in the world. After our meeting, Dr. Trey Berry, history prof at Ouachita Baptist University here in Arkadelphia, gave me a copy of his new book, The Forgotten Expedition, 1804-1805, that details the Dunbar-Hunter exploration of the Ouachita. I'm still working my way through the book--and am thrilled to know of others who so love the river as I do.

For the near sixteen years we lived in Monroe, LA, I fished the river almost every week--not attempting to take a lot of fish but loving every minute of exploration, learning, and intrigue. I learned a bit about its ways, its eccentricities, its angularities, and grew to appreciate the river as a part of God's gift to us.

Nearly ten years ago, I wrote a poem entitled, "Ode To The Ouachita." It expresses a bit of my feeling of appreciation for the grand stream. The ode is below and I hope it touches you.

ODE TO THE OUACHITA

River, I sit and watch
As your waters pass me by.
They run swiftly on,
Never to come this way again.

For ages past they have flowed
And cut a crevice in this lovely land.
And in my heart.
River, you are my friend.

I give thanks to our Creator
Who has made us, man and river alike,
Who in His eternal wisdom
Demands of us mutual respect.

Yet, river, you are not forever.
One day your waters will flow no longer.
Your currents will cease.
The life you are will end.

But I will live on.
When your waters dry up and become as dust,
When the sun burns up and the stars become but cinder,
I will live on.

Perhaps the Gracious God
Who provides all our needs in glory
Will in His eternal wisdom
Redeem also the river!

“Because the whole creation itself
Will be set free from its bondage to decay
And obtain the glorious liberty
Of the children of God.”
(Romans 8:21)

Blessings! Have a great day.

lm

Settling In.

2007-01-04T13:56:00.000-08:00

Life for me has come about as full circle as it can come--and I am beginning to settle in to my new home. You see, I now live thirty miles from the place I was born. I returned home after being away for thirty-one years. Brenda and I moved from Arkansas in 1975 in order to attend the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. In 1986, after several years of study, pastoral work, and teaching, we moved to the Parkview Baptist Church, Monroe, LA. There we would stay for the next fifteen and one-half years. For the next four and one-half years, we served the First Baptist Church of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Now, since mid-December of '06, I serve at the First Baptist Church, Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The circle seems complete-and it feels good.

We have been many places and done lots of wonderful things in the past thirty years, and I give thanks for each event and every moment--but coming home has done something inside me I did not anticipate. I have discovered that the spiritual life, and the callings of God upon our lives, is indeed related to physical surroundings. Even as I re-read the paragraph above, I am reminded of how intricately our personal histories (including our walk of faith) are interwoven with particular events, people, and circumstances. And in particular places! Perhaps that's why, in Old Testament days, pillars of rocks were erected at places were significant spiritual encounters occurred. The rocks became catalysts for memory--and memory is indeed a tremendous resource for great living.

I sense now, more deeply than ever, the hand of our gracious God who guides our ways. That's not to say that we are puppets on a string, acting out the impulses of Another apart from our decisive involvement. Not at all. But in fact, there is a Companion who walks beside us, and before us, and who leads us in ways that we might never have chosen for ourselves. But in those ways, grace has risen to bless beyond our wildest imagination.

I would be interested to hear what others have to say about the places and times of our lives. Any responders?

Talk later.

LM

Christmas 2006 News

2006-12-22T09:10:00.000-08:00

I am sitting in my study at the First Baptist Church, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and have spoken already this morning by phone to my wife Brenda and each of our children. Brenda, Ashley and our beautiful granddaugher, Mya Grace, are still in Sioux Falls but are traveling this weekend to be in Arkansas for Christmas! Also as I write, our son Chris, daughter-in-law Alicia, and grandson Andrew are enroute from California. Surely will be good to see them and to hold this precious little boy. Our younger son, Nick, is here with me (having finished the semester at Ouachita Baptist University), but may return to SF for a brief visit before the 2nd semester begins mid-January. We're having a good time hanging out! Looking forward to a great Christmas together.

The first week at FBC, Arkadelphia, has come and gone--like a whirwind. Reestablishing acquaintances and friendships from years past and meeting new folks and making new friends have kept me busy. This has been a good week. There is much yet to do.

As Christmas approaches, I am uniquely aware of God's grace. In a tender time like this, and in a world so filled with hatred and war, we celebrate the gracious God who comes to us in the Son, Jesus Christ. We celebrate his birth long ago--and equally celebrate his living presence with us today--and his triumphal second advent.

Blessings to you and yours. Talk later.

Lee McGlone

Resignation letter

2006-11-13T05:30:00.000-08:00

Below is the letter of resignation I read yesterday to the dear members of FBC, Sioux Falls. Thought it might be of interest.

November 12, 2006

Dear Friends at FBC, Sioux Falls,

Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that there is a time for every matter under heaven, a time for a thing to begin and a time for it to end—and a time for beginning again. With this word of biblical assurance in mind, I submit to you my resignation as your Senior Pastor so that I may accept the call as Senior Pastor for the First Baptist Church, Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Our last Sunday will be December 10, 2006.

Our four and one-half years here have been brief but eventful. Living on the Great Plains brought new experiences for us: snow (though never the real blizzard I wanted) and snow blowing, and Great Bear, and the Black Hills, and Camp Judson, and pheasant hunting, and ice fishing. For southerners who had never experienced these things, we will carry with us all our days these joyful memories.

But more importantly, we will carry with us the deep relationships we have developed and the friendships that have nurtured our souls. You have loved us and prayed for us. You stood by us tenderly during last year’s episode with our precious grandson, Andrew. I asked you last December to pray for a miracle for this little guy—and God gave us one! We are forever indebted.

First Baptist Church, Sioux Falls, is truly one of the Lord’s great churches. Brenda and I have marveled at the spirit and energy that is alive here. God has guided this great church since those pioneering days in 1875 and has brought to fulfillment accomplishments for the Kingdom that can be explained only as God’s moving hand. The same grace and power that has guided in days past will guide into a blessed and encouraging future. I am sure of it.

The church in Arkansas is three blocks from Ouachita Baptist University, where our son, Nick, is a student and where Brenda and I both graduated, and also Brenda’s parents. We were married in the university chapel, its steeple in sight from the church. We will be thirty miles from my hometown, and less than one hundred miles from Brenda’s parents. We have a deep sense of peace in our hearts about this decision. We are going home.

Please know of our continued prayers for you as the days of transition begin. And we covet your prayers as we step into a new situation. May God’s greatest gift of his presence be with us all.

Grace and peace,
Lee McGlone

Mission Moment

2006-10-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

I met Jeff and Annie Dieselberg on a mission trip to Thailand three years ago. These two, truly devout and quality servants of our Lord, serve as ABC missionaries in Bangkok. Their work reaches into the darkest places of life, the nightlife districts of the city, and brings hope and light there. The work is difficult and demanding—and the Dieselbergs have proven themselves able to the task. I rejoice that we are so closely related to them and to their ministry.

That’s why Annie’s letter, received today, touched me so deeply. In her letter she calls attention to the request from International Ministries that churches set goals for the World Mission Offering equaling $3 per month per person for 12 months. She suggested that such a goal sets our sights too low—and I agree! Three dollars a month is hardly a challenge.

Annie writes of looking into the faces of desperate women who cry out, “I can’t do this anymore. Can you help me? I’m 20 years old and have a one-month old baby. Can I have a job with you? If I die and go to hell it will be better than this.” Already Annie’s “NightLight” ministry cares for nearly forty such women, and four more arrived just this past week—and funds are not available to care for more. You can hear Annie’s heart-cry in her letter. She wants the exploitation of prostitution and trafficking to end. And she is challenging us to a greater effort than ever before in prayer and financial support to the World Mission Offering.

First B has a history of strong support of mission work. Think of the strong support we gave to the tsunami disaster, our financial support and four mission trips in support of Katrina victims, our ongoing support of the work of Ellen Konyak in Nagaland and Susan Linderman in Bulgaria, tribal ministries in South Dakota, and local mission effort in Sioux Falls—and others not mentioned here—all in addition to our regular mission offerings and budgeted mission giving.

The heart of First B is a giving one. Let me encourage you to weigh the needs of our world, highlighted in Annie’s letter, and make a gift to the World Mission Offering greater than ever. Sacrificial giving makes a difference for the Kingdom.
Blessings to each of you.

Grace and peace,
Lee McGlone

First Minute

2006-09-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

I plan to add to my blog each week's "First Minute" article I write for our church's newsletter. Here is the article for September 26, 2006. Also, I plan to write more often!

A recent op-ed piece in our local newspaper painted a fearful picture of life and of our world’s future. Without intending to be “Pollyannaish,” I simply can’t go there. Surely there are causes for concern. There is war on the international front. Insecurity seems to reign on the national and local arenas. And, just as surely, there are the very personal losses we experience as part of the human dilemma. But to allow despair to define our existence is foreign to Christian faith. Our faith provides foundational hope!

Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians, “Thanks be unto God who always leads us in triumph in Christ (2 Cor. 2:14).” While the Christian life is about many things, this noble truth stands first. No other perspective is so comforting—or challenging. God always leads us in triumph! Contrast Paul’s point of view with those who say, “I’m doing my best, but my best doesn’t seem good enough,” or “I’m all alone in my faith, trying hard to hold forth for Jesus.” Our human best seems to pale in comparison to so great a declaration: “We are in the hands of Almighty God. Whatever the difficulty, regardless of how great the stress, through Christ we are led to triumph!” I suspect Paul’s words were confessional. He who had put believers in prison had become captive to the Word of God. But the victory of faith he described was not his own. It belonged to Christ. So in another place he would write, “We are more than conquerors—through Him who loved us (Ro. 8:37).” The same Jesus Christ who held Paul in his hands holds us. We hold and declare the same confession. No worthier motive can claim us: “Christ in us—the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).”

Sunday was a wonderful day in the house of God. I look forward to seeing you next Lord’s day in Bible study and worship. May unmeasured blessings be yours in the days of this week.

Grace and peace,
Lee McGlone

Building Memories

2006-06-27T04:55:00.000-07:00

I have been reminded in recent days of the importance of memories--and our deliberate intentions to build good ones. Our son, Nick, now a junior at Ouachita Baptist Univesity, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, is home for the summer. Because he is our youngest, we are fully aware that his days at home at limited. So we are making the most of our time with him--in simple and fun ways. Already this summer, we've walked through Scheels several times and shopped among the vast assortment of fishing and hunting supplies--even picked up a new rod and reel for the boy. And he has become rather proficient in the art of bait casting! Then a few days ago, we did something different. I pulled out my flyrod, unused for some time now, and stood in our front yard and introduced Nick to the intricacies of fly casting. I suppose to our neighbors we looked a bit fooish, but it was a grand and simple time. At some point in the next few days, we will take our new learning to the water. That should be fun. After the fly casting lesson, Nick asked if we could play pitch. It took a while to find baseball gloves and to get a ball but soon we were back where we had been a few years ago, father and son tossing a ball back and forth, displaying technique and intrigue, laughing at our mishaps, inventing situations (bases loaded, bottom of the 9th, one run lead, two out and the count is three balls and two strikes--and the pressure is on), and totally enjoying our romp down memory lane. We have spent a lifetime building memories. I am glad we have them.

In the last two nights, I witnessed more memory building in our Vacation Bible School. What a joy to watch children having such a good time at church! Vivid images came to my mind of wonderful experiences in church during my childood. In fact, I think the earliest memory of my life was in church. I recall as a little guy, maybe a year of two old, resting on a pallet at my mother's feet and looking up at her lovely face as she sang the hymns of faith. A warm sensation still goes through me as I recall it.

Such memories as our children are experiencing this week in VBS and my experience in worship at Boughton Baptist Church are the stuff of which great living is made. When vital faith in God is blended with deep relationships with others, and all in an atmosphere of caring love, along with laughter, we are living out what Jesus called "abundant life."

Building memories is an important matter. For in them we discover resources for great living.

Talk later. LM

Making the Most of Time

2006-06-23T06:58:00.000-07:00

We have just passed the summer solstice which marks the beginning of summer and also the longest day of the year. That is, more minutes of "suntime" happened on June 21 than any other day of the year. For months now, each day has seen more daylight than the day before. But now the cycle reverses. Each day we will experience fewer minutes of daylight, a process that will continue until the winter solstice in December. Then the cycle begins again. I suppose the cycle has always, since Creation, been a part of our earthly existence.

Here's my thinking. While the minutes of daylight and darkness alter each day, as the earth tilts in various degrees on its journey around the sun, there are still, according to our measurement of things, sixty seconds in each minute! That hasn't changed. Neither has the fact that time doesn't stand still. When a second or a minute is passed, it can never be re-lived. That's both a sobering and humbling thought. I said in a sermon some weeks ago, that the use of time is like spending money. You can spend it in many ways, the choices are almost unlimited, but you can spend it only once. Once it is spent, there are no do-overs.

Here is a word from Scripture: Be careful how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, for the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16). Whether summer, fall, winter or spring, I hope you are having the "time" of your life!

Talk later. LM

2006-06-16T05:20:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have written, but am back again. Had a great time with our grandson, Andrew, a couple of weeks ago. Sure do miss the little guy.

Around church, summer activites are in full swing. A group of 45 are completing a week in New Orleans (our 4th such Katrina trip in recent months) and will return to SF early next week. I am so very proud of First B in responding so lovingly and sacrificially to the tragedy in the South. A strong relationship has been fostered with the St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church in N.O. that will last on. Lives have been touched there and here. I give thanks to the good people at First B who have given financially, personally, and prayerfully in our response.

Also, VBS is just around the corner. This is a marvelous opportunity each summer to make a difference in the lives of children and families. In these few short days, a great deal of Bible study and learning will take place. Friendships will be developed and a lot of fun will be had. And most of all, there will be children who will come to Christ during VBS. Lives will be changed forever. What a great joy!

Talk later. LM

Exciting News.

2006-05-30T04:48:00.000-07:00

We have exciting news! Our son (Chris), daughter in law (Alicia), and our precious grandson (Andrew) will visit with us in Sioux Falls June 1-4. We can hardly wait till Thursday. And then, we can hardly wait till Sunday so we can introduce Andrew to you. You prayed faithfully for him during those very hard days when we were unsure about his future. I asked you in December to pray for a miracle--and we believe we have it. He is now ten months old and for the first time is a healthy and happy little guy.

At one point in recent months, Brenda and I named people and/or churches in fifteen states who were praying for Andrew. I have heard other people over the years share how needed encouragement came as the result of such prayer efforts. It is a true testimony. We were, and still are, blessed by the persuasive energy that comes when believing people raise to God needs and thanksgiving.

Years ago I read Dr. George Buttrick's very fine volume entitled, "Prayer." I was impressed with his defintion. Prayer, he said, is developing 'comradeship' with God. Herein lies the entirety of our faith. Our God is One to whom we can draw near. God has revealed Himself to us through Christ and Scripture. And this Great God wants a personal relationship with each of us. Is that mindboggling--or what?

Have a great day. Talk later. LM

Quiet Time

2006-05-25T14:25:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in an earlier missive my spiritual habit of a daily quiet time. Years ago, I heard from others of the joy such a discipline brings. Yet it has only been in recent years that it happened for me. What I have discovered is that I am more of a mystic than I ever imagined. I truly enjoy, yea need, a time each day for quiet reflection. I have to admit that the quiet time has never erased the difficulties of life I have faced. Hard times have still been hard times. But even on the most difficult days, the quiet time has been like an oasis of refreshment.

Here's how I do it. I rise early each day...before anyone else in our home is up. A cup of coffee is prepared and then I settle into my study at home. I begin with a relaxation exercise that was taught to me by Dr. Edward Thornton, my pastoral care professor at Southern Seminary some years ago. The few moments of relaxation help calm the spirit and create within a readiness for introspection. I then begin to read the Bible--at times in a systematic approach and at times randomly. The reading time will vary. And here is where my theology comes in. I believe the Bible truly is the Word of God to us. As such, the Bible is constantly speaking God's message. As I read, I am listening intently to hear what God is saying. After listening to God's Word, then I respond to what I sense God has said in His Word. Thus, my prayer life seeks to hear God speak first and then I respond--rather than I speak first and expect God to respond to me. It just works better that way for me.

I also have on the piano a number of hymnals...some that go back to childhood days. A hymn is chosen each day, one that has appeal to my spirit, which I sing "in my heart" (which means silently so as not to arouse the sleeping family...nor to disburb the chickens!). The words of the hymn, and its melody, touch deep chords of memory that daily bring back to mind experiences of faith in the past. Such memories, and reflections on them, have become true joyful resources for my living. The classic hymns of faith simply can't be replaced!

Toward the end of my prayer time I collect thoughts around all the persons on my prayer list. This list is quite lengthy. And I pray for each person and/or need with an honest request to God about what I want to happen, what I want God to do. God expects honesty from us. If I ask for anything less than what is in my heart then I am not honest.

The quiet time is ended with a brief time of listening again. Is there something else God wants me to hear today? Is there something God wants specifically for me to do today?

Each believer needs to develop a unique quiet time. Mine isn't what yours needs to be. But you can develop your own discipline of quiet--and I hope you will. Great rewards are there.

Blessings. Talk later. LM

Some Balance in Life

2006-05-19T05:27:00.000-07:00

As I continue reading the "code" book, which has drawn me into its story line filled with action and intrigue (and at neck break speed), I am also re-reading the old classic by Henry David Thoreau about his two-year stint (1845-1847) at Walden Pond. Had not looked at, or even thought about Walden, for many years. But it is a great read and helps put in perspective this driven and sometimes crazed world in which we live. Perhaps it is nostalgia but the call to a more simplified life has always held a certain alure to me. I admire Thoreau for forcing upon himself the contemplative life.

I think at times that our world could stand a bit of slowing down. It's not that I want to slow it down so much that it would stop, but just enough to allow our minds, emotions, relationships, and purposes in life to be rethought...and settled. But I realize such a thing isn't about to happen any time soon. The speed of modern life will go on--despite my objections.

And so, for me, if I am to live in the driven world of the 21st century, I must have some quiet time each day. Quiet time isn't wasted time; instead, it has become an essential ingredient in the balance of my life. I'll write more about this another day--and let you in on my quiet time routine.

Talk later. LM

2006-05-17T05:06:00.000-07:00

Brenda is home. After 5 1/2 months away, during which she provided care for our infant grandson in Arkansas, she has made it back to Sioux Falls. These were tense and difficult days, especially when we were uncertain that Andrew would survive. Now it appears that he is finally a healthy little boy...and we are thrilled. Sure is good to have Brenda, my best friend, back by my side.

We will make one other trip South this summer. Our former church, Parkview Baptist Church in Monroe, LA, has invited us back for the 60th anniversary celebration on July 2. We were with that marvelous congregation for sixteen years. Our children were baptized there and grew through their teen years under the loving influence of many good and godly friends. It will be good to celebrate with them once again.

I came away from last evening's Church Council meeting thrilled at the level of energy emerging from that group. First Baptist Church of Sioux Falls is a marvelous congregation, with a grand history of ministry, and with a developing sense of its future. I look forward to the days ahead.

Well, that's enough for today. Talk later. LM

2006-05-16T04:50:00.000-07:00

Jason Folkert's posted comment is interesting. Of the three sermons in the "Fact or Fiction" series for June, Jason suggests that the last on the nature of the church is most significant. The three-part series, in response to questions rasied by "The DaVinci Code," declares Jesus is truly the Son of God, that the Bible is truly the Word of God, and that the church is truly the Body of Christ in the world today. These three issues appear to me basic to the nature of Christian faith.

What about the church? There are some that I know, including some pastors, who see the church as only an avenue to address the issues of life most important to them. It provides a venue, a pulpit, from which to speak and a salary. Beyond that the church seems problematic to them. The matter of church as Christ's Body seems not to enter in.

Here's a thought. Is it too much to ask that as believers we are not only servants of Jesus Christ but also servants of His Church? Does yielding to the church stand in opposition to yielding to Jesus? And does a valid definition of "church" include the oft suspicious "institutional" church? After all, how would we who believe today even have a gospel to believe if not for the church's centuries old institutional existence?

Food for thought. Any comments?

LM

2006-05-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

"Fact or Fiction?" That's the title of a three-part sermon series I will deliver the last three weeks of June. After watching the national news media go ballistic about the "discovery" of the Judas Gospel a few weeks ago, and in light of the voluminous sales of "The Da Vinci Code" and the opening next week of the movie version, I thought it would be good to address the major questions these media promotions are asking. There are, in my opinion, three major queries being raised and I will attempt to address one each week in the series. Here are the questions:

First, is Jesus Christ really the Son of God and the Savior of the world--or is he not? The historic creeds of the church declare he is, but how do we know? How has God revealed to us the nature of His Son? What of the so-called Gnostic gospels, and how we understand the myriad images they present of Jesus?

Second, is the Bible the Word of God--or is it not? It would be helpful if we Christians knew more about how we got our Bible. Did it just drop out of heaven one day leather bound and in gold leaf? Why do we consider a document from antiquity, the Bible, our sole source of authority for contemporary life and theology?

Third, is the Church the Body of Christ--or is it not? For many people, the church (especially the institutional church) has a credibility problem. Some suggest the church has a hidden agenda which is self-serving. How do we see ourselves as servants of Jesus Christ--and simultaneously servants of the church?

It should be fun. Talk later.
LM

2006-05-09T09:11:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day is Sunday. Over the years, the celebration has taken on different looks. As a youngster at Boughton Baptist Church, Prescott, AR, those of us with living mothers wore red carnations. Those whose mothers were deceased wore white carnations. In worship,we sang, "If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again." Speeches were made by children and youth expressing gratitude to their mothers. Acknowledgment and gifts were awared to the youngest mother, the oldest mother, and the mother with the most children. We celebrated motherhood.

In later years, however, Mother's Day was for Brenda and me one of the saddest days of the year. It forced us to face squarely our perdicament of childlessness. That hurt is unbelievable to those who have never been there, but to us (and to thousands of other couples across the country) it defined our very existence. Our first thirteen years of marriage were without children. After several years of infertility treatment, one miscarriage midway through a pregnancy, and two failed adoption attempts, we were at wit's end. You can see why our three children, Chris, Ashley, and Nick, mean so very much to us today. We celebrate Mother's Day, and all the good things about family, but are always mindful of others who we sense are suffering, as we were, the hurt that day brings.

Mothers and fathers, let's rejoice that God has given us the opportunity to share in the ongoing work of creation--and to nurture the life God has brought to us as gift!

Talk later. LM

2006-05-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

I'm reading "The Da Vinci Code." Thought I should read it, along with the other 40 million who have done so, especially if I am going to talk about it in days to come. I put off reading it as long as I could--mostly because I have an aversion to spending money on something that funds idologies I oppose. (That's why I don't see many movies--can't see the sense of supporting the overpoweringly influencial Hollywood industry that has done more to marginalize traditional values than any other single thing, in my opinion.) I was loaned the book by Denise Kjesbo and have enjoyed the read so far.

Back to the topic at hand. This is an exciting book. I can see how it will be a blockbuster movie. It is filled with mystery and intrigue, is well written, and mixes just enough factual material to make it appear to be more than the fictional novel it is.

I'll speak more about it in the days to come. Suffice it to say that any book, movie, sermon, etc., can carry with it a level of authority equal only to the credibility of sources from which the communication derives. "The Da Vinci Code" is imagnative fiction founded on sources centuries removed from the days of earliest Christianity--and many of those interpreted wrongly.

I'll not condemn the book. Instead, I think it may lead to opportunities for learning for the Christian community. This may open needed discussion among us as to how we arrived at the canon of the Bible we so honor, the matter of the Bible's authority in Christian living, the true nature of 'spiriutality,' and the place of the church in the 21st century. It may also open opportunities for our witness to unbelievers as these same questions are asked, probed, and answered.

Talk later.

Blogging? Me?

2006-05-03T13:28:00.001-07:00

Blogging? Me? Who would have thought it! But here it is. This is quite a feat, a humbling moment, for one who entered into the computer and internet age involuntarily--actually I entered kicking and screaming in opposition. But thanks to the gentle encouragement of others, especially Scott Aseltine here at First B, I have ventured, albeit awkwardly, into this bold new world.

Herein lies the theme for today. My experience of faith, I think like most believers, has been the pilgrimage out of the comfortable and familiar and into new arenas of challenge and unfamiliarity.

Take for example the past five months during which my dear wife, Brenda, has been absent from Sioux Falls while providing care for our infant grandson, Andrew, through these crucial early months of his life. Brenda's lengthy stay has been in response to his health needs arising from being born 10 weeks early. I'm glad to report that at the age of 9 months, he is as far as we know a healthy little guy. Brenda will return to SF after our daughter-in-law graduates from Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, on May 13. During or 36 years of marriage, we have never been apart for more than a day or two at a time--but this has been something else!

These past months have taught me a lot. I'm tempted to boast about my newly aquired domestic skills: cooking, washing, cleaning house, and ironing. Yet I realize that after one substantial blaze in the kitchen, several scorched shirts, and unnumbered fabric stains from the wash any boast would be hyperbole. I have learned that I can get along in life under such circumstances, but just getting along is hardly a life of joy.

I miss my wife. And what I really miss is not the household concerns but the companionship we have had over the years. Sharing the events of the day via cell phone is hardly the same as sitting down at table together and talking heart to heart. There is within me a new and deeper appreciation for Brenda--not for what she does but for who she is! Her absence has affirmed the significance of one of my favorite Bible verses, this from Genesis 2:18, "The Lord God said, 'It is not good that the man be alone.'" I want to add my amen.

But the greater learning has been elsewhere. When I held Andrew's tiny hand in the early weeks of December and looked intently into his beautiful eyes, I felt myself gazing into a holy place. I felt very near that frightening precipice, very near death, and on the edge of eternity. When I flew out of Little Rock in mid-December, I thought I would never see him again alive. Two things. First, I came to say in my heart of hearts that I would rejoice in the gift of this precious baby's life regardless of what happened. I loved him and would continue to love him. Life and love, I came to know, are stronger than the threats that come against us. Secondly, I discovered again, at quite an intimate level, that God's grace truly is sufficient. This was not my call. And without knowing how this would end, I came to repeat over and again the powerful words of Romans 8:28: "In all things, God works to bring about good to those who love him...those called according to his purpose." Perhaps the good has not yet been realized in full, but I give thanks for the good that has come this far!

Well, that's what is on my mind just now. Talk later. LM