My memories are good even if my memory is bad

A friend of mine was describing a friend of his as "pushing 60."

I am pushing 60, I thought.

I am pushing 60, have a bad memory, and am working on my Phd, I thought further.

People ask me if it's stressful.

"Not if you can't remember" is my answer.

The thing about having an unreliable memory is I keep Denise laughing - when she is not wanting to clobber me.

It also means that we save a lot of money on entertainment. I have already figured out that when I retire, for entertainment I can buy 10 movies and watch them over and over again, each new watching as if for the first time, as glorious as the one before.

Living in Ivory Towers

I think that I have written before that I miss DC a lot, but at the same time I am excited about what it means to be an ambassador for Christ in the academic world. Relying on the Holy Spirit, I get to announce the presence of God and the kingship of Jesus in a university setting. For me, this does not mean that I preach sermons. In my opinion, I am "in Athens" but it is an Athens that is very familiar with "the unknown god." Unfortunately, this "familiarity" has bred contempt, because the familiarity has been based on a caricature of Jesus, not Jesus himself. So for me, the thing that I get to do is  to love and appreciate the people who do not know Christ - yet. It also means that I have the opportunity to challenge the presumptions and arguments of scholars who maintain that God does not exist, and that the only reality and knowledge is what we agree on.

One of the things I get to do is to write in online forums about things we are reading in the classes that I take. Here is an example of one of my entries. Initially, it concerns a premise of Peter Singer, an influential, atheistic author of The Life You Can Save, who says that  it helps the poor to give to aid agencies. The last part deals with Jesus' teaching that you should not give out of wrong motives. Singer's response to that teaching is: "Does it really matter as long as the poor get help?"  (I have omitted anything that has to do with fellow students to protect their privacy):

I have been reading Singer's argument with great interest for several reasons: 1. I know that he is a professor of philosophy who is well known for his stance on animal life, infanticide, euthanasia, and zoophilia. 2. I am sympathetic with what I see as his main argument, "We ought to do more to help the "desperately poor."
........

The premise that I have the most trouble with on p. 15 is the first part of the third: "By donating to aid agencies you can prevent suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care.... " I would like for it to be true that the money I give will help, but I need to be convinced that what these agencies are doing are making a difference. For example, it was interesting to me to read Singer's account of the boy with measles, an argument from pathos (p.16). It made me think of an incident that I was involved in. About a year ago I was in western Ghana. While I was there I went to see a man that I knew in the village of Ateiku. While visiting him, I met his sister who was sitting in a room softly moaning. She had been sitting there for a week with a broken femur. In Ateiku, there are no doctors, no phones, no 911, and no ambulance service. This family, like virtually every other family in Ateiku, has no car to go to the hospital that is a two-hour drive away. It would take about $200 American dollars to pay for transportation and treatment. The family has no access to this kind of cash. This lady was looking forward to living the rest of her life in that room.

Singer says, "You know that it would be curable, if only you could afford to take your child to the hospital" (p. 16). Maybe I am missing something here, but I wonder if Singer knows what he is talking about? I don't think any agency exists that overcomes the lack of infrastructure, the lack of communication, the lack of knowledge, the lack of medical personnel, as well as the lack of money to help provide medical assistance for the desperately poor who live throughout Africa.

One place where Singer's materialist presumptions leads him to misinterpret an argument is when he argues that Jesus was misguided when he advised people not to look for recognition - that is, to have egotistical, power-seeking motives - in their giving to the poor. Singer asks, "But does this really matter?" (p.65). I think that it matters a great deal. For one thing, there is the issue of the harm that occurs to others when manipulation and self-interest are in play in the act of giving (think Foucault and power plays). But as to Jesus' assumptions, his first concern is not how much cash there is to distribute to the poor. It seems that his first concern is what is good for the soul of the giver. Jesus is always interested in the soul, i.e., the essence of who we are. ("What good does it do for a person to gain the whole world and lose his soul, and what will a man give in exchange for his soul?") Jesus is interested in keeping the badly motivated person from ultimately destroying who s/he is. This way of thinking, of course, reflects a spiritual view of humanity that is simply not on Singer's radar.

Most of the time, I do not get the opportunity to deal so directly with anything having to do with Jesus. However, I am always, it seems, dealing with worldviews that reflect materialistic presumptions. I have posted this to give you an idea of what it is like. Please keep praying for me that I can be used "to put Jesus on the radar" for all those I love who have written him off.

DC Partnership (Just like Old Times)

We don't go out much, but due to Denise's sweet sister, Yvonne, we went to Dallas Christian School Partnership Dinner last night. I did not get to see as many people as I wanted to, but it was great to get and talk at least a little with several that I know from DC: Kristi England, Ted Emrich, Jay Green, Choo Freeman, the Witherspoon sisters and their dad, Gary Witherspoon.

Here is the thing that I know about myself. What I love about teaching is getting to know other people. I really do delight in them. Admittedly, if you have a student who is conning you (or they think that they are), you are not very "delighted." But for the most part, it is a beautiful thing to be able to help someone in at least a small way and at the same time get to know them. I consider this God's work, because, ultimately, it is about love: sharing, serving, delighting in, and knowing each other. This is why it brings me so much joy to see the people that I taught and worked with at DC. Of course, I still get to do this in my work at Texas A&M-Commerce and Richland College, and I love it because so many of my students and colleagues are not Christians. Keep praying for me about this!

We heard Richard and Yvonne speak; they received the Servant Award. I love their humility and their sincere wish to serve God. They have touched so many lives with the love and grace of Christ. We also heard Colt McCoy speak. He was a great choice for the dinner. He strikes me as such a genuine guy, and I wish him all the success in the world. What he had to say about servant leadership was good and I hope that it made an impact on the DC students that were there, and all the rest of us for that matter. As long as he is playing for the Cleveland Browns, I guess I will be pulling for them.

Two questions I get asked

When I am asked if I miss DC, my first thought is "I am too busy to miss it" - but that is not the whole truth. Do I miss DC? Sure I do.  Whenever I see one of my former students or colleagues, I am immediately filled with joy. It makes me happy to see them. I miss getting to interact with them and knowing them better. I will especially miss not taking students on mission trips or to service projects and seeing them grow "right before my eyes." And I especially miss the people there who shared with me an incredible passion to serve God in that place and at that time.

But I don't mope for DC. I am busy, and I love what I am doing now. I have a new group of students that I am working with at both Commerce and Richland. I love getting to interact with them and to know them. And my doctoral classes keep me engaged and help me with my work. But none of this doesn't mean I don't miss the people at DC. There live, work and play some of the best people in the world - both students and adults.

Here is the second question I am sometimes asked:  "Do you know how things are going at DC?" I don't feel qualified to answer. I don't sit and talk or phone and chat with anyone there. This is an institution question. Even when you are working there, it is always a difficult question to answer. What exactly is being asked? How is the system, how is the community there as a whole?  Or what is teacher morale? Student morale? Academic achievement? Financial status? The spiritual focus of administration and faculty? Of the students? And, by the way, how do you measure any of it?

So, here is my answer: God bless all the people who serve at Dallas Christian School whether student, staff or parent. I pray that their eyes be open to the Lord Jesus in everything that they do, that they realize their place in the kingdom, serving kids, families, and the world that others ignore. If they will do that, their light will always shine and they will be doing quite well, thank-you-very-much.

Speaking of Purpose at DC

Seeing my ex-colleagues from DC and having the opportunity to speak to them was encouraging to me. Not only was it fun to see everyone and do some "catching up," it was a moment of reflection for me as I thought about how we still share the same passion for ministry even though the arenas for our work are different now. I wanted to encourage them with a couple of basic ideas that have helped me have a day-to-day understanding of my purpose in my life and work - whether the work was at DC or at the United States Post Office. My intent was that they could be reminded of their high calling at Dallas Christian. (In my other blog, "Since I Don's Preach," I am writing what is essentially, a two-part summary of the talk).

I think that in times of change, somethings need to stay firm and solid - like our purpose. Also, I think that our purpose in life should inform our purpose in the workplace. What anchors me in life and work comes from a scriptural understanding of God's purposes, his gifts and who I am.

So, I am wondering what is your purpose? How does your understanding of your purpose inform what you do on the job as well as your everyday activities?

First Christmas Post-DC

Christmas was a lot of fun this year for me. We had all the girls and their families at our house on Christmas Day - and this year, family included Kendall's boyfriend, Kevin, who was able to spend a few days with us over the holidays. We ate lots, talked and laughed a lot, and even got in a game of touch football. We also had Christmas two more times, once with my side of the family and another with Denise's side.

One major change this year was prompted on our part by our "new start" (which = less money!). We spent about the same amount of money on our grandkids as any other year, but we really cut back on gifts to our daughters and our son-in-laws. Instead, we made gifts for each other. From my point of view, this made for a Christmas that was especially significant.

For a long time I have felt like I have not really expressed what I feel for my kids through the gifts I have bought them. I know that all of us appreciate a "nice" gifts: money, gift cards, books, clothes, technology, etc. Things can be treasured as gifts that have been given as "signs" or "symbols"of love. But I think that when I purchase something or give money as a gift, I can do it almost without thought. When I make a gift, I can't help but think about it: I spend more time thinking about the person I am gifting as I decide on what to create and as I create it.

The girls made us and each other wonderful, beautiful gifts. They had some talents that we did not know about! For our part, Denise decoupaged art work for them using materials that had special significance for each family. I wrote poems for the girls and the son-in-laws and made a Ken Burns-style film using still photos where I tried to capture what we mean to each other.

Here is the poem I wrote for the girls. I am guessing that most moms and dads feel the same way about their kids.

5 Daughter Gift

When I was a young father                                                                                                                                                                  
Busy and Important
Someone told me that children were a gift
We don’t own them
They are just passing through                                      
And I thought that this was true
But it seemed at least a little
Strange.
A gift?

You were so entangled with every minute of our days
Changing your diapers
Making your dinners
Feeding you, dressing you, correcting you, laughing at you and with you.
Getting frustrated and happy and sad
Making “big” plans and small ones
Watching with wonder as you grew
Filled with delight
Scared to death
We lived our lives with you.
Isn’t that more than a gift?
                                                                                                                                                                                       
I still think it is more                         
It is certainly not less.
Now we see you
Full and complete
Living loving struggling
Laughing sighing
Overcoming
At home
At work
At play

But we remember
Each memory a photograph
HD moments that sign
Places moods
Events activities
People who have come and gone.
And you are there
Immovable eternal
Filling our hearts
Making a universe with your presence

You are gifts
Gifts we could have never asked for
Glories we never imagined.