Light and Salt

The 4th and Other Ramblings

2009-07-02T12:45:00.002-05:00

Not posting myself much these days......but still reading other blogs that encourage me daily. Cope, Brenton, Mead, and Garner are everyday stops for me. I am addicted to those blogs. Don't always agree with every word, but I love those Godly men!

Headed out in the morning to the Great Southwest! Southeastern Colorado, New Mexico, hill country of Texas, and back home. Looking forward to being with some wonderful Harding folks, and seeing God's beautiful nature. And yes, my girlfriend/wife Jan will be along for the journey!

Karl Malden.......now THERE is a celebrity to acknowledge! He was married in 1938 to Mona, and they were in the 71st year of marriage when he passed this week. When is the last time you heard of something like that coming out of Hollywood? He will be missed.

Got lots of books to tell you about, but I will wait till next time. Check back around Thanksgiving! :) God bless!

American Idol

2009-05-27T13:23:00.002-05:00

Hmm......just wondering why Fox or AT&T or SOMEBODY won't disclose how close the voting was between Kris and Adam.

Could it be Hollywood doesn't WANT us to know? :)

Conspiracy theories abound!

The Rine family and Pepperdine

2009-05-03T14:50:00.002-05:00

I leave in the morning for Malibu, but my heart will still be in Searcy with Dennis and Terri Rine. As most of you know, their daughter Micah was killed this past week in Memphis. I've just been numb since I heard the news on Friday. We had an amazing prayer service at Downtown last night, and there was another prayer service at Harding Academy where Micah was a student and Dennis currently is a teacher and coach. I know Micah is with Jesus and the Father, but we will miss her GREATLY!
I hope her smile is one of the first ones that I see when I get to Heaven.
We love you Denny, Terri, and Casey!

Patrick Was A Blessing

2009-04-21T14:44:00.002-05:00

This was taken Saturday morning while Patrick was bringing us the message : "Men of God In A World That Recognizes Neither". :) If you want to enlarge the picture, just click on it. Thanks for blessing us this past weekend Patrick! We hope you will come back soon!

Patrick Mead

2009-04-16T10:31:00.002-05:00

Since I blog so rarely these days, I am not sure if anybody will even see this or not. But I wanted to let those who might stop by know that Patrick Mead is going to be at Downtown this weekend. He will speak at a "Men's Breakfast" Saturday morning at 8:30 in our Family Life Center. Sunday he will be preaching twice.....once at 8:00 and then again at 10:45. If you get a chance to come hear him, I promise that you will be blessed by the message he brings. Or that the Father brings THRU him.

Feel free to holler at me with any questions that you might have!

A Huge Loss for Harding

2009-04-07T12:47:00.002-05:00

Dr. Jimmy Carr left us last week, and we will feel his loss from us for many many years. Men like him don't come along very often.

In the summer of 1974, Harding had begun a new program for incoming freshman......it was called "Early Orientation" back then. Dr. Carr had initiated this wonderful tool to help incoming Freshman get a step ahead in getting ready to come to college in a few months. If I am not mistaken, the one I attended in the early summer of 74was one of the first orientations that Harding had organized. There were close to 50 of us who had decided to take advantage of this visionary process of getting acclimated to Harding and college life. Guess who was our host for those 3 days or so together......yep, Dr. Jimmy Carr. Within MINUTES of being with us, we felt like we had known him our whole lives! I found out later that it wasn't just this arena that he made people feel that way, because he did it ALL the time. It's just who he was. Before we left campus, he had us all gather in the Administration Auditorium and answered any questions we had. He also encouraged us to be intentional about coming back in a few months and being ready to be a college student. The last thing we did was sing "Bless Be the Tie". When we left campus, we already felt like a family! If I am not mistaken, every single one of us ended up here a few months later for the beginning of school. I know there were a lot of factors in all us coming back to begin our freshman year, but Jimmy Carr was a HUGE factor. I knew I didn't want to let him down. I had sent my registration in to the Admissions Office at Harding earlier that Spring because my parents wanted me to, both of them being Alums. I had also sent my registration in to Lipscomb. A LOT of my friends from Florence were going to Lipscomb. After that orientation, there was no doubt where I was going to school.......Harding College, because Jimmy Carr was there. I found out later that there were a LOT of other wonderful people at Harding, too many to name here. But Dr. Carr was my introduction into the Harding Family, and I will forever be in his debt.

I've known a lot of giant men that really ended up to be small when I got to know them. Jimmy Carr was a small man that was a GIANT when you got to know him, and that didn't take long! :)

I loved him, and I will miss him.

Article by Dinesh D'Souza

2009-03-19T10:42:00.003-05:00

Check out this article from "Christianity Today"

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/article_print.html?id=77634

A Hardened Heart

2009-02-26T15:53:00.002-06:00

To me one of the saddest events in scripture is when someone hardens their heart. One example is in Exodus 8:19 when it says, "But Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not listen". Sad to say, but Pharaoh was not the last person to have that problem. What drives that hardening of the heart? It may not be the same for everybody, but I feel like pride and arrogance are two of the leading culprits. Why would you want or need to listen to anybody else when you have all the answers?
I don't think you will find too many humble people who have a hard heart. I bet you can think of examples of both kinds of people right now! The scary thing is that Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 10:14 to "shake the dust off your feet" when they encounterd those who would not listen. I take that to mean, "don't waste your time, they aren't going to change". In Ephesians 4 Paul starts the chapter talking about how to live as a disciple. Being humble and gentle are right at the top, and then he goes on to talk about how people live who have hardened their heart. He describes them as darkened in their understanding, ignorant, and separated from the the life of God.

Lord, I pray my heart never ever becomes hardened. Please send brothers and sisters my way to confront me if I ever start going down that path. It's happened to others, so I know it can happen to me also. I also pray for those who have let this terrible thing happen to them. If it is going to cost them their soul, I pray you do WHATEVER it takes to cause their heart to be softened to where they can hear your voice again......your sweet loving voice! Amen

It's Not An Economic Problem

2009-02-11T09:43:00.002-06:00

That was the premise of Ben Stein's talk last night on our campus. From his perspective, we don't have an economic crisis........we have a moral crisis. I agree. He laid out that foundational to our biggest problems is the lack of respect and regard for other human beings. Again, I think he is dead on. Did I agree with every word out of his mouth last night? No. But I'm glad I went to hear him, and I'd go hear him again in a heartbeat.

Before He Ever Worked for Clinton or Fox News

2009-01-30T15:00:00.003-06:00

In case you wondered what Dick Morris did before he worked for either Bill (Clinton or O'Reilly)...or was it Hillary....here he is in his first profession.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6uEjifqTaI&feature=related

Or wait, is that Cope?

What If Our Church Was Taken Away?

2009-01-21T11:21:00.002-06:00

In his latest book "Jesus Wants to Save Christians", Rob Bell asks the question:

"If our church was taken away- from our city, our neghborhood, our region- who would protest? Only the people who are members? Only those who are a part of it? Only those who attend services? Single mothers? Refugees? Atheists?"

Of course he is talking about your local congregation.

So, what answers did you come up with?

This is a really POWERFUL book, so go out and get it when you get the chance. It's an easy read, time wise. Application wise, it's not so easy.

Thanks Rob.......I needed your wake up call.

Joy

2009-01-19T11:11:00.003-06:00

In the movie "The Bucket List", Morgan Freeman tells Jack Nicholson that the ancient Egyptians believed that when you died and went to the next life, the gods there would require you to answer the two following questions before you could go enter the gates. Those two questions were:

A) Did you find joy in your earthly life?

B) Did you bring joy to others in your earthly life?

Being a Christian, I don't believe that is what happens in the next life.........but I do believe those are two pretty good questions to ask. Sadly, most surveys reveal that non-Christians perceive Christians as angry.......therefore not very joy-filled.
I don't believe that is true, but I can see where some people might get that impression. Within the last few weeks a friend of mine told me about a conversation he had recently with another believer. They were discussing different congregations in the town where they both live, and the believer told my friend something to the effect of "you don't need to visit that congregation.......they show a lot of joy there, and you know what happens when joy takes over". Yeah, sad but true. Joy is seen as a vice by some amongst us. Not good, huh?

So, in closing, I guess I will just challenge you to ask yourself the two questions the ancient Egyptians did. I hope you can answer YES to both of them!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-24T14:56:00.002-06:00

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

May the "Prince of Peace" fill your heart this Christmas!

Ode To a WONDERFUL Football Season

2008-12-09T12:25:00.003-06:00

Well, it's about over and I didn't want to jinx it..........but this has been a VERY FUN football season for me!!! The Harding Academy football team in Memphis where Matt coaches went all the way to the State Finals in Tennessee and lost by 2 points to Davidson Academy. Jan and I were there cheering them on, and as you might guess, it was a VERY exciting game. The Lions had a GREAT season, and should be very proud of what they accomplished. Be watching for one of their players, Marlon Brown, to be playing on Saturdays next fall. It was really fun to watch him these past 4 years. Congrats on a super season to Matt, the other coaches, and all the players!!

And my Tide........WOW! I knew they were going to be better than they were last year, but I never imagined that they would be THIS good!! What a TERRIFIC season!
I was able to go to Florence and watch 5 games with my dad, and that was really special. Matt even went with me this past weekend to watch the SEC Championship Game, and we had a blast even though we lost. I felt like I had turned back the clock to the 1970's!! Of course I wish that we had made it to the National Championship game, but I'm really proud of the year that they had and I am tickled to death that they are returning to the Sugar Bowl after a long dry spell. BAMA IS BACK!!! :) ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Searcy Harding Academy Wildcats had another great year, and lost in the second round of the State playoffs. Congrats to Coach Mote and his staff!

The Harding Bisons struggled this year, but we play a really tough schedule. Coach Huck and his staff are impacting the lives of young men, and I appreciate their efforts very much. This was Coach Huck's first full year, and they will improve next year. GO BISONS!

I hope all of your teams did well and you enjoyed watching them play as much as I enjoyed watching my teams. Isn't football season wonderful? Too bad it's about over, huh?!?

Spring football is just around the corner. :)

Keith Brenton

2008-11-24T10:33:00.004-06:00

My brother Keith just JACKED one out of the park with his latest post on his blog!

http://keithbrenton.blogspot.com/

I hope EVERYBODY has a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blessed by This One

2008-10-20T10:38:00.001-05:00

I don't go to Brian Mashburn's blog enough! Jerry Morgan made sure I read his latest post, and I hope it blesses you as much as it blessed me.

http://brianmashburn.blogspot.com/

The State of Our Economy

2008-10-08T12:09:00.003-05:00

As for the current trials and stress over our economy, can I quote some carpenter from Nazareth who supposedly knew a thing or two:

"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or---or even worse!----stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being."

He also said something about the wise man building his house on the rock and not the sand.

Where is YOUR treasure, and where are you building your house?

Why the Hogs Don't Stand a Chance

2008-10-02T16:16:00.001-05:00

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gator_clause/2008/09/gainesville-chu.html

HU Lectures

2008-09-30T15:19:00.003-05:00

I was blessed to go hear Jim Woodroof deliver his keynote lesson this morning. The title of his talk was "How Do I Respond When God Doesn't Make Sense?" Jim did was he does best, and what he does most every time you hear him speak...........he talked about Jesus. Not church, religion, or "doctrine" as some would say. Just Jesus. An older gentleman said "I could listen to him all day". He must have read the bubble over my head! :) Yeah, for 34 years I have been wanting to listen to him all day, because I never get weary or tired of hearing him talk about Jesus. I don't know if I have ever heard anybody who's heart has been more captured by the Savior. And it's contagious. Hang around Jim very long, and your heart is captured also. If you don't believe me, just ask the thousands of students who came thru Harding when Jim was preaching at the College Church. Many of us had never heard preaching based on Jesus. It was so appealing, to the point it was addicting! Imagine that.....addicted to Jesus. Thank you Jim, for showing us Jesus!!!!

9-11-08

2008-09-11T15:55:00.003-05:00

When I think back on this date in 2001, I remember that I immediately wanted to know where my family was. Meaning Jan, Matt and Luke. Then I remember thinking about my brother Bryan in Washington and wondering if he was in danger. I didn't know how far he worked from the Pentagon......or if he might get sent to the Pentagon. I remember how blue the sky was that day, yet how dark everything felt. I remember being scared of what all might happen because of these terrible things that had transpired. I wondered where God was during all of this. 7 years later I'm not so sure I am any closer to figuring all that out than I was that day.

But I still believe in HIM.

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"Divine Nobodies" is one of the best books I have read in a while. The author is Jim Palmer, and no......he's not the baseball pitcher from Baltimore. If you get a chance, pick one up and let me know what you think about it. I put it in my top 10.
It reminds me of something that Donald Miller might write.

The next book I am going to read is "The House at Sugar Beach" by Helene Cooper. Helene is a Liberian, and was in the same class with my brother Bryan when he was in Monrovia. Her cousin, Dawn Cooper Barnes, was in my class and a good friend. This book is her account of the horrible coup that occured there in the early 80's and the emotional scars that she still bears from those events. Watch for this book to make every "Best Seller" list there is.

Random News and Thoughts

2008-08-27T10:13:00.002-05:00

Well, the students are back at Harding. Counting graduate students, we have around 6,500 folks........and included in that number are another record number of incoming freshman. Kudos to the HU Admissions Office! If you get a chance to see a replay of chapel today, by all means do so. Andrew Baker has a very heart-wrenching story, and then different people at Harding participate in "cardboard testimonies". It's a footwashing for sure. We did this at Downtown several weeks ago, and it was one of the most impactful services that I have ever been involved with. WELCOME BACK HARDING STUDENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I am presently reading "Divine Nobodies: Shedding Religion to Find God". I am not very far into it, but it is REALLY good. Pick it up if you get the chance. It's out in paperback.

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Here is a challenge.......scan through the Gospels and look for people coming to Jesus seeking SPIRITUAL help as opposed to PHYSICAL help. Kinda mind-boggling. Any thoughts you have would be appreciated.

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The last book I read was "Soul Cravings" by Erwin McManus. Jerry Morgan had suggested I read it, and I try to read anything McManus writes anyway after reading "The Barbarian Way". Here are a couple of excerpts:

"If those who are the religious elite are closest to God, why is it that they are so rarely closest to love? If God is love, those who know God best would love people most. Jesus said he came not to condemn the world, but to bring the world life. Why is it that so many who represent him are ever so quick to condemn?"

"Religion exists not because God loves too little, but because we need love so much. In the end all religions misrepresent God. They either dictate requirements for love or simply become a requiem for love. I think many of us have given up on God on this basis alone. We've been told that God is a reluctant lover and his standards must be met before there can be any talk of love. This is lunacy. Love exists because God is love. Our souls will never find satisfaction until our hearts have found this love that we so desperately yearn for."

"God is not passive, for love is never passive, but always passionate; and passion always leads to action."

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Seems like something important begins this weekend. Could it be time for COLLEGE FOOTBALL?!?!?!?! I might watch a game or two this weekend, if I can find one I'm interested in. Did somebody mention a game in the Georgia Dome?

Funny How This Happens

2008-08-19T17:04:00.002-05:00

Most days I have to walk across the street to get to the Heritage Building for work, and then back across again to the parking lot later to leave. Some days there is no traffic, so it's not a problem. Other days you wouldn't BELIEVE how much traffic there is in a little town like Searcy! I've noticed something, and no.....this hasn't been a scientific study or anything CLOSE to that. Just an observation. Most of the time, it's not the BMW or Mercedes or Lexus or fancy SUV that stops to let me and others go across. It's the 80's Plymouth K-car or beat up Dodge Caravan that usually stops. It may be TOTALLY coincidental. I don't think it would be very hard to make that argument at all. And maybe there are a lot more of those older vehicles than there are the nicer more expensive ones.

But what if it's not coincidence?

Superman

2008-08-12T09:52:00.002-05:00

Nothing like stating the obvious.............Michael Phelps is becoming one of the greatest Olympians of all time. I'm not a huge fan of swimming, but I find myself glued to the TV every time he races. He not only wins every event, he sets a new world record!

Ok, so the question of the day is this: Who is your all-time favorite Olympic competitor?

Fax of Life

2008-08-06T12:40:00.002-05:00

Rubel Shelley's "Fax of Life" email that comes out each week blesses me each time I get it, but I thought this week's message was both powerful and timely. Some of you may not get it (you should sign up.......it's free!) and I wanted to share it here. Thanks Rubel!!

Title: Faith and Politics
Date: For the Week of August 4, 2008

My title may be misleading. This essay isn't really about politics - although it is. It is about everything. It is about business, education, choosing (or rejecting) motherhood, and eating apple pie. It is about mowing grass, taking exams, balancing a checkbook, and changing oil. And, yes, it is about politics.
I confess to being bothered by things I am hearing already about "who a Christian will vote for in November." Some will vote for Obama, some for McCain, and others will either stay home or write in a vote for somebody whose name most of us will have never heard. Faith doesn't dictate a particular social order, and spiritual people are not all members of the same political party.
Part of the genius of faith is that it isn't American or French. It doesn't make you anti-democracy or anti-monarchy. And it doesn't require you to favor socialism or capitalism. In the case of Christian faith, it declares that one's true citizenship is in God's kingdom and that his or her life under whatever political system is to be lived for the sake of a divine calling.
On the one hand, faith is not divorced from one's social context. It should make one a better citizen in Africa, Europe, or America. A God-honoring way of life moves us to care for our neighbors and to seek the good of all people.
On the other, faith is not defined by one's social context. A woman can be a true and faithful child of God in Russia, Australia, or North Korea. Nothing about earthly governments trumps the value of a heavenly citizenship.
So what's with the title? Why raise the issue of "faith and politics" or "faith and business" or "faith and family"? Simply to make the point that good theology and authentic faith are always practical. They relate to life as it is being lived every day by ordinary men and women in our homes and workplaces.
Eugene Peterson says that a healthy pursuit of the spiritual life is "the development of awareness and discernments that are as alert and responsible in the workplace as in the sanctuary, as active while changing diapers in a nursery as while meditating in a grove of aspens, as necessary when reading a newspaper editorial as when exegeting a sentence written in Hebrew."
Faith is the orientation of a life to pursue God. Scripture is a compass to keep us from getting disoriented on our journey. Jesus is the defining personal example of what it is to live spiritually. If you believe all three of those statements - as I do - there is nothing about any one of them or all taken together that dictates your candidate for president, the career you must pursue, or the city where you must live. Yet all those decisions will be informed by your faith.
Faith is not your private opinion but your life-defining commitment by which everything in your public and relational life is decided.

Smith and Carlos Part Two

2008-07-27T15:44:00.003-05:00

I asked in my last post (to those who were old enough to remember) what they thought of the actions of Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.....then and now. For those who weren't alive or haven't heard about the controversy, Smith and Carlos each wore a black glove and raised their fists at the medal ceremonies for the 200 meters that summer. They also wore black socks with no shoes. This protest was to bring attention to the ongoing struggle for civil rights back in the USA. The Internationl Olympic Commitee told the USA representatives that the US track team would not be allowed to continue to compete unless Smith and Carlos were removed from the team, so both runners were kicked off the team and sent back to the States. As you might guess, these two athletes were not perceived as heroes coming home by a lot of the country. Most viewed it as unpatriotic and selfish at best, treasonous at worst. Both Smith and Carlos received death threats. I'm sure I am leaving out quite a bit of information, but I think this pretty much covers the basics.

As an impressionable 12 year old in the deep south, I didn't really understand what was going on. I just remember a lot of folks being upset. Seems like there was a LOT to be upset about in 1968. The assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King and the Vietnam War were three things that Americans were dealing with that year. There also were riots going on in major cities across the country, riots concerning the very thing Smith and Carlos were raising their fists about......civil rights. Remember, I am in Alabama where George Wallace had called for segregation for eternity. His wife, Lurleen, had taken his place as Governor of Alabama because he was ineligible to run again......and she had just died that May from cancer. To top it all off, there was a Presidential election coming in November.....and it was as crazy an election season as this one is. Controversy ruled the day. In that context, I am trying to figure out what these great track stars are doing, and why? I'm also trying to understand why most of the people I know are mad at them. I had just recently finished the 6th grade under the FIRST black teacher in the Sheffield City school system.......Mrs Feagin. She was a wonderful teacher, and I loved her very much. I was wondering how she felt about all of this protest stuff. I had never heard a racially motivated sentence come out of her mouth. She had us say a Bible verse first thing every morning (remember, this was PUBLIC school) and then she got on with the business of teaching us the three R's. Now knowing the context better of what all was going on in those days, I have even MORE respect for Mrs. Feagin than I did as a skinny 12 year old. She was one special woman! I'm pretty sure she is passed away by now, and I wish I had been intentional about telling her how much I appreciate what she did and the things she went thru that I'm sure none of us knew about.

But back to Smith and Carlos. Is there ANYTHING you perceive the same way after 40 years? Safe to say, not much huh? Maybe your sports loyalties or some religious beliefs. But events and happenings.......that's a different animal all together. Because of that fact, most people don't see the 68 protest by Smith and Carlos in the same light as they did back then. I sure don't. I don't know that I was necessarily mad at them, but at the time I for sure was not in favor of what they did. Today, I hope I understand a lot better why they did what they did, and appreciate the courage it took to stand up in front of the whole world and protest the fact that civil rights were being denied because of race. They paid a big cost for their actions, and probably are still paying 40 years later. If you get a chance, read the recent Sports Illustrated article about these two men and how the events of that summer night affected their lives. I respect those two men for standing against injustice in such a way to cause people to stop and think. And 40 years later, we're still working thru it.