Parents, Sometimes I Model It, Sometimes I Muddle It. Words From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, Sometimes I model it, sometimes I muddle it. One blistering Summer Day when my kids were young, we were desperate to go to a pool or a water park. However, at the time we had not yet joined the YMCA and for the six of us to go to a water park would cost a small fortune. So, we prayed and looked for a solution to a hot boring Summer day… and with the spare funds God provided from under the seat cushions, recliner, car seat, and honorarium from a recent funeral, I went to the home improvement store and bought 100 feet of plastic sheeting and put it in the parsonage back yard. We just added water and a bit of dish soap occasionally to slick the slide. It was perfectly sloped at the top and provided a fun ride, if you avoided the big rock in the middle. I thought I was a genius, (albeit a cheapskate genius). We could just slide down ⅓ of a football field of water and plastic fun and run back up and do it again endlessly… there was no waiting in long lines. When the kids got hungry, we had a picnic on the porch with fruit, Whales crackers (the discount version of Goldfish) and an Aldi take and bake pizza… no overpriced food and drinks to go to waste. When someone got tired, they went inside the house, dried off and took a nap… no tired whining waiting for the rest of the family to finish at the water park. They had friends over, we all sat on the extra long picnic table that fit all of us, made from a kit at the home improvement warehouse. We had a discount store umbrella… and some discarded tiki torches from the street… how could life get better. My kids' spouses and significant others sometimes listen in bewilderment as my young adult kids now tell these stories and ask, “why didn’t you just go to the water park?” On another occasion, really muddled it when a generous family member had given us a trip to stay in a rental at a mountain retreat a few hours away. I had not realized how much the stresses of being a pastor had taken its toll and I had not really dealt with them in a healthy way. I found myself yelling at my young son, who was simply doing something that curious, resourceful young boys do when driving on a long car ride with three sisters and nothing to keep them occupied. He had made a tiny swimming pool out of his cup holder by pouring his drink into it. As I was cleaning out the minivan, to go t back home so I could prepare a message to encourage people to be patient, I discovered what to me was a mess that would take my time and resources that were already running short. To him it was an experiment using the resources he had to see how liquid responded when the van was in motion...and maybe it was a swimming pool for an action figure… either way we didn’t view it the same way. I didn’t have a towel or paper towels and the soft drink in the cup holder was full enough that if I didn’t remove the liquid it would slosh onto the seat and carpet. Needless to say, I didn’t respond well, I wasn’t very patient. I have since apologized to my son, who says he doesn’t remember the incident. Sometimes I model living with the joy of God and sometimes I muddle it.

Sometimes we creatively act and look like the One we follow, sometimes we lose it. The apostle Paul was jogging the memory of the people he loved in Galatia, to model it, not muddle it by remembering who they were… he said those who belong to God, don’t do the things they used to do when they belonged to the Enemy, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” Galatians 5:22-25 (NLT2) When we belong to God, He gives us His Spirit to guide our thoughts and actions and remind us who we belong to and how it is like us to act. As this pandemic wears on, let God’s Spirit, His Word and His people keep reminding us who we are and how we act.

Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!

Parents, Love What You Do And Do What You Love!* Words From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, Love what you do and do what you love. I had the amazing privilege of going to a marvelous high school called Webb. The teachers were smart and gifted. Two in particular were great at making learning fun and bringing something extra to the classroom, MJ Potts and Sheila Jacobstein. One taught English and one taught Biology. They could have been professors at any college they wanted, but they loved teaching teenagers. You could tell by the way their faces lit up when we students entered the classroom. They were glad to be with us… and by definition that brought us joy whether we acknowledged it or not. Joy can sometimes be hard to come by in high school, but these ladies were a burst of sunshine everyday. Even when we were being knuckleheads, they wisely corrected us, and kept teaching us, not just material, but character, because of who they were. One time the entire class left the classroom and stood outside the window like frozen statues when MJ stepped out for a moment. I don’t know who may have instigated these shenanigans, but she laughed along with us, got us back inside, and regained control of the classroom to teach us English once again. They each, in their own way created an environment that was the optimum greenhouse for learning. Miss Jacobstein was such a wonderful teacher, I took a class that I had no business taking (AP Biology), but took it because she was teaching it. They both did all they could for this average student in the classroom, but also encouraged my other gifts as the student who tried to keep the announcements interesting and encouraging in Chapel everyday and the one who exhorted people to enjoy the concession stand at every home game to raise money for prom. Teenage years can be uncertain and filled with fear, frustration, and misunderstanding. These negative emotions can put our brains in such a state that makes it difficult to learn. But the joy these ladies brought to the campus not only put our brains in a better state to learn, they motivated us and helped us do better... even gave us a little extra joy to share with others, if we were willing. I just had these teachers for an hour a day for a year, but their impact has lasted a lifetime. I remember them with smiles on their faces, happy to be teaching us. It is said that our lives change more from those with whom we are connected than anything we can know or learn from an ordinary book. For the time that we were in their classes they called us their own. These brilliant, good-hearted, fun-loving, dedicated ladies changed many lives in their years at the Webb School of Knoxville. They didn’t do it for the money or the recognition, they did it because they embraced who they were created and called to be. They each helped produce some amazing scholars, but they also invested in the rest of us trying to make us better humans. They loved what they did, but more importantly they cared about those they taught and brought some joy to the high school journey. Apparently they did the same thing at home, because their kids are wonderful humans too!

Paul reminds God’s people, “And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you're really serving God.” Ephesians 6:7 (MSG) Whatever you are divinely called to do, at work, at home, anywhere, love it and those you do it for and with. You may impact a life forever.

Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!

Parents, Are You Rebranding Yourself?* Words From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, are you rebranding yourself? When I started college, I was barely 125 lbs soaking wet, yet ate everything in sight. When I decided that I wanted to cheer, it meant that I would have to gain some muscle. My cheer partners had cheered all through high school and were really strong. Since muscle weighs more than fat, some of the girls almost matched my weight. It’s embarrassing when the girl you are holding in the air is stronger than you are. The guys on the squad were really strong and they helped me get stronger. I didn’t want my partner to be nervous that I would drop her, so I hit the weight room. For many months, it was really frustrating. I didn’t notice any difference in how I looked. My “rebranding” from skinny high school swimmer to collegiate cheerleader didn’t seem to be happening in any noticeable ways, except maybe that I could yell louder. After a couple of years, I saw an old friend that I had not seen in a while. He said, “what happened to you?” I wiped my face off and looked at my clothes, I thought something was wrong. He said, “you have shoulders.” As I was becoming a cheerleader, I had changed, I was 165 lbs and could finally hold a girl in the air without making her nervous that I would drop her. Little by little, day by day, I was changing. Of course, I haven’t seen 165 on my scales since then. I’ve had both shoulders surgically repaired and the thought of throwing a girl into the air and catching her makes me hurt. My kids have rebranded me as “old” with every new grey hair and groan when I climb steps.

This body will eventually give out, it will eventually be rebranded as “dead.” But the good news is God’s plan includes a new body after I die. The rebranding began the day I connected my life to Jesus in loving attachment. He initiated the connection and attachment and I simply reciprocated. His plan is not just for when this earthly body gives out, this rebranding is for all of me, right now. It changes how we act, how we see the world, how we treat other people, what is important… it completely changes who we are. Sometimes I need a reminder that I am no longer the way I used to be, but I am now a whole new person… I sometimes forget that I now think differently, I have new values, I have new habits. I need reminding that when I belong to Jesus, I don’t need to stay the 125 lb weakling. Everyday in the faith I need to grow and learn and become stronger. I need to be helping hold up other people who need a boost. I need to be helping others get stronger. The apostle Paul loved a group of people who had been branded as “Christians,” but they were still living like their old selves. They were treating each other badly, not representing Jesus very well, they were still living out of their old set of selfish values. Paul reminded them, they were not just a rebranded version of their old selves, but a brand new creation. He tells them, “... if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (CSBBible) This pandemic seems to be giving us lots of opportunities to act like our new selves. We have a chance to be in the spiritual weight room everyday. Hopefully, when we re-emerge people will say, “what happened to you?” “You are more joyful, stronger, and more like Jesus than you used to be.”

Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!

Parents, Love your Enemies, It Will Drive Them Nuts!* Words From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, love your enemies, it will drive them nuts! I have spoken of my collegiate cheer coach in another post (https://www.facebook.com/WilliamPMcG/posts/10156136400307185). He is an impressive man with a winning personality and he always treats people well. During football games and in cheer competitions, he always honors, serves and shows respect to the opposing teams and rivals. It never mattered how intense the rivalry, he always acted like himself and treated other people well. He always welcomed the opposing teams, encouraged them, valued their strengths and learned from them. He would do anything he could to make their experience better whether or not he agreed with them about who should win the game. He was like the classic 1971 Coke commercial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VM2eLhvsSM), he would always provide refreshments for the opposing teams’ cheerleaders, only without the brand manipulation and today would have provided some less sugary options. Most of us, attack those with whom we disagree. We quit acting like ourselves. We forget how to treat people civilly, we name call and demonize anyone who doesn’t share the same perspective as we do… it’s like we forget who we are and Who we belong to… it’s like all bets are off and completely lose our kindness and care for people that God loves and values.

When Jesus came, He never forgot who he was or how it was like Him to act. He loves His enemies and died to save them… He said from the cross, “Father forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.” When He was attacked, He kept on loving… when people were coming to crucify Him, he carefully replaced an ear lopped off of one of the guards by one of His followers. He tells us all, "You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. Matthew 5:43-45 (MSG) We are never more like the One we are following than when we love our enemies. Jesus didn’t let the opinions, words, threats, abuse or accusations of others change Who He was or how He treated those around Him. Next time we feel threatened by someone we perceive as an enemy, I challenge us all to do like Jesus tells us… pray for them, give them your best self and love them. Many people won’t know what to do with your kindness, it will drive them crazy.

(P.S. TBH. There’s a part of me that is not really looking forward to the opportunity to practice this one…)

Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!

Parents, Are You Becoming Ambivalent?* Words from COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, are you becoming ambivalent? In elementary school, my mother decided I needed to learn how to play the guitar. I was thinking great, I’ll learn 70’s rock and roll guitar. She was thinking I would learn classical country or bluegrass. She was paying for the lessons so guess which kind of guitar teacher I was learning from? My friends were learning “Johnny B. Goode,” I was learning the guitar version of classic Irish fiddle tunes, because it was my instructor’s favorite. These were not even the lively fiddle tunes of Riverdance, but the slower more dirgelike songs. Sitting still for more than 30 minutes a day to practice guitar after all day at school was difficult enough for me, but add in a little ADHD, an aversion to practice, and the fact that I was not thrilled to learn the songs being taught… surprise... I didn’t become a guitar player. My mother, however, was not shaken, she put me in the school talent show… it was miserable. My face got hot, my fingers were shaking, it was not good at all. The audience gave the obligatory clap when it was over, but had I been able to raise my head from the traumatic shell shocking embarrassment as I played, I’m sure I would have seen forced grimacing smiles to cover the “get this poor kid off the stage” that their minds were silently shouting. It was like a slow motion train wreck that rewound and started over every time I messed up and started the song over. I had become ambivalent to playing guitar. On one hand, I liked the idea of playing the energetic music of rock and roll guitar to the delight of audiences everywhere, on the other hand, that was not what I was learning or practicing. So, not surprisingly, I fell away from guitar. My friends went on to play in garage bands, learning new rifts of the great guitarists of the late 70’s and 80’s classic hair bands. Some keep playing all their lives. While I was glad my mother cared enough to get me guitar lessons, I never owned it, never loved it. It never became a personal passion to me to play the guitar. It didn’t resonate within me, so when it became more difficult to keep practicing with the increasing distractions in my life, I didn’t stick with it. My puppy love with the idea of playing the guitar grew cold.

Jesus warns that many will fall away from their relationship with Him, when things become difficult and the world begins to fall apart. If we just like the idea of being a Jesus follower, it won’t be enough to live out our faith and keep loving people, when things continually get tougher in this world. Jesus says, “And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:10-13 (ESV) When we are truly personally lovingly attached to Jesus, there is a joy that goes with us. Even when things get difficult and the world is not what we expected, we will keep on loving Jesus and loving others, even our enemies. If our relationship with Jesus is real we won’t fall away, we will have enough love and joy supplied by Him to make it through the difficult days. This pandemic has brought some difficult days, and it promises to bring more before it’s all said and done. There will be a temptation to quit living out of joy and love and start living out of fear and frustration. Keep loving Jesus. Don’t let your love grow cold.

Hang in there people! God it with us! I’m praying for you all!

Parents, Don't Miss Where God Is At Work!* Words From COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, Don’t miss where God is at work. Within 10 days, we had moved our three girls out of three different colleges in three different cities, celebrated the college graduation for one of the girls, said goodbye to our Chattanooga church and community, moved three girls for their summer internships and programs, one to the rural mountains of East Tennessee, one to downtown Atlanta, Georgia, and one to work at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, OH, celebrated an engagement party for our son and his fiance’ in Alabama, listed our house, sold our house to another minister of education’s family who, just like us, had a boy and 3 girls, and we were completely moved out of our house and into our rental home in Ohio… in 10 days! Our heads were spinning, but we were joyful and strangely at peace in all these major life changes that happened so quickly. How did all this happen? A couple of years ago, Anita and I felt a call to Dublin Baptist Church in Dublin, OH from our church in Chattanooga. This would mean a big change in our lives as we had served for 12 years in Chattanooga: our children had completed high school there, we had watched God work in the lives of the the people in our church and community in many ways, we had celebrated births, second births, graduations and weddings, we had grieved deaths, tornados and divorces, we had connected with people as we studied God’s Word together, we had established our lives and ministry there, our parents were close enough to be with them in a couple of hours… a move to Ohio was a big deal. We wrestled with God back and forth, one day ready to go, one day not ready at all. As we struggled, Anita journaled our decision journey… Family and friends gave us scripture and encouragement along the way and we began to see some patterns in all of it. We realized God was doing things only God could do. As we intensely, sought His guidance through this period of about 3 months, He kept revealing His plans one step at a time… We listened as best we could. One of the men on the personnel team at DBC asked the question, “Why Dublin?” and I quickly quipped, “because it's the greatest place on earth, right?” The committee roared with laughter. Sensing later that the question needed a better answer, the pastor in me needed an acronym (since apparently that's the only way God talks to many of us preachers, haha)… So, here were the things God was saying to us from the scriptures to answer the question “why D.U.B.L.I.N.?”

Don’t miss where I am at work! (John 5:17, 19-20, Phi.1:6, Eze. 36:26-28,32)
Understand that My plans always supersede yours! (Isa. 55:8-9, Pro.19:21)
Believe that it is for My Glory, the Gospel and your Good!(Isa. 48:11, Rom. 1:16-17, 8:28, Jer. 29:7)
Lean into My Word! (Heb. 4:12, John 14:23,26, Psm. 119:138, Isa. 55:10-11)
I will show you My immeasurably more! (I Cor. 2:9, Jam. 1:9, Eph. 3:20-21)
Now is the time and I will do it! (Isa. 14:24)

As Henry Blackaby reminds us in his famous workbook, “Experiencing God,” God is always at work, find where He is at work and join Him in it. Jesus says in John 5:17 (NIV) "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." Even in this pandemic, God is at work! Don’t miss it, join Him in it, not just for the work, but mostly for the relationship with Him and His other children who are also at work with Him. There is a strange Joy and Peace in the craziness when we join Him where He’s at work.

Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!

Parents, It All Comes Down To How We Love.* Words from COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, It all comes down to how we love. I had the privilege of working with some really great people when I worked for the Universal Cheerleaders Association for a couple of Summers in College. My first camp was in a cheer country town in Kentucky, (seems like almost every town in Kentucky is known for basketball and cheerleading), with some really good people who were talented instructors. The days started early as everyone went to breakfast, had a wake-up/warm-up routine, then instruction began and lasted until almost dark with a couple of short meal breaks during the day. In the evenings, we did individual coaching sessions with the squads before they were evaluated. Each instructor was given several squads to spend a few minutes with, helping them prepare. My first day, I was given a squad that had regularly competed for the National Championship. After the signature cheerleading “ready, okay” the entire squad did standing back tucks (which, at the time, only a few squads in the country could accomplish). My mouth dropped open and that was just the beginning. I tried to hide my amazement and intimidation as they executed what I saw as a flawless routine. Their coach, however, who was not happy with their performance, made them do it again. I moved on through a couple of other squads and then to a squad of sweet special needs girls. I was able to help them add a simple trick to their routine and then “had to” move on to check back on the super-squad. I’m ashamed to say it, but because I wanted to try and validate myself as an instructor, more than I wanted to help some really courageous special kids, I spent more time with the super-squad, that really didn’t need my help. They already had some of the best coaches in the country. They already knew how to do cheerleading, as well as anyone... and they knew it. The special needs squad coach thanked me for spending time to help them, but as I look back in regret, just a few more minutes with them would have helped them much more than any time I could spend with the superstars. As a pastor, I can sometimes be tempted to seek professional validation by spending my time with the scriptural, and doctrinal super-stars, when it is usually those who are still trying to figure out this whole Faith thing that I could best spend my time with. I regret some of the times that I invested hours with people who knew the Word of God well... some of them mean as snakes, and only a few minutes with some who pronounce the book of Malachi in a way that almost rhymes with Mariachi, who were some of the most genuine and caring people I’ve ever met.

Jesus was criticized for spending time with those who weren’t polished Bible scholars and didn’t know all the religious “rules”. But He said, It's not those who are well that need a doctor. He was always about loving “the least of these.” Jesus tried to remind the Bible superstars of His time that Faith is more about relationships than it is about knowledge… “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” John 5:39-40 (NIV) You see they valued knowledge of the scriptures over lovingly connecting their lives with Jesus and loving the ones He loves. If they connected with Jesus in love they would love those around them, regardless of their imperfections. They preferred to try to validate their position as a knowledgeable teacher, rather than love people like Jesus did. Loving people like Jesus, “the Living Word” is real life, knowing the scriptures well, but not loving, takes away life and its joy. Correct doctrine and scripture knowledge is really important, ask any former cult member who has been deceived by false doctrine, but it is most important that we love like the One the scriptures point to, He is Truth.

Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!