Loading Room

Loading Room

If you are a Montanan or a gun enthusiast, you already know about a loading room. For those who are neither, a loading room is a designated area where you keep you guns, ammo and reloading equipment. It is the equivalent of a man cave. On Saturday afternoons in the cold of winter, you will find diehard rednecks there reloading ammo for next year’s hunting season.

It was a cold February Saturday afternoon when I knocked at the door of Tom’s loading room. I knew he would be there and I was in desperate need of blowing off some steam. I came in, slammed the door and threw my keys on bench. In no uncertain terms I told Tom I was done preaching, parenting and being a husband. I told him I was taking the next Amtrak train out of town and not telling anyone where I was going. I had it!

Tom, a man who was married for a long time and raised a family, didn't skip a beat. He just kept reloading while I kept venting. Finally, when I paused to take a deep breath, he told me to sit down and have a beer. Apparently there was no rush since the train wasn't due in town for a couple of hours.

No sooner had I taken a couple of swings from my Bud Light when Ed, my other friend, showed up. Sensing the seriousness of the situation he closed the door and sat down. Now I had an audience for my frustrations. You see, both Tom and Ed, were elders in church I was pastoring. They weren't about to let me get on that train.

What followed was the adult version of a trip to the woodshed. They let me have it. They spared no words to inform me that the pity party was unacceptable. They understood the pressures I was under but were unwilling to let me wallow in self-pity. Several hours later, I left the loading room, keys in hand, in better shape than when I came. The problems were not solved but I knew these guys had my back.

I have never forgotten that Saturday afternoon and the counsel given me. I shutter to think where I would be without the wise words of those men. The Bible says: “Faithful are the wounds of a friend who corrects out of love and concern…. As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens and influences another through discussion.”

NRA

NRA

Nope! Not the National Rifle Association. I am a member of that organization. I own guns and have a concealed weapons permit. I enjoy my 2^nd Amendment right to bear arms. If you ever visit our church you will be quite safe because a number of congregants are packing.

The NRA I want to talk about is Not Right Always. I have lived long enough to know that even though I would like to be right, many times I am not. Although thinking I am right has a nice feel to it, I have learned the hard way to think before I speak. On occasion I have had to rise above my strong convictions and admit that I was wrong.

My need to be right has more to do with perspective than reality. I don't always get the facts straight before I speak. That has led to egg on my face followed by apologies. My fact checker runs far behind my vocal skills. Consequently, humble pie is a frequent meal.

By adding a short suffix onto “right” you get “righteous.” Interestingly enough, the derivative of this compound word carries the meaning of right wiseness. Wisdom, a rare commodity in the public forum these days, takes into account not only truth but also relationships. I am embarrassed to admit the number of arguments with my wife that I felt I won based on the truth, at least as I understood it, did damage to our relationship. Truth without wisdom erodes relationships.

We are living in a culture where people not only have an opinion but have the freedom to express it. It’s when there is disagreement that relationships can start breaking down. Have we lost the art of agreeing to disagree without tearing the fabric of relationships? Are healthy relationships more important than my need to be right? I thought that was what civil discourse was all about.

A reminder from the Bible: “Grow a wise heart, you'll do yourself a favor. Keep a clear head, you'll find a good life.”

Crèches

Crèches

Judy and I went Christmas shopping at a gift store here in Bozeman. As we looked at the beautiful display of gifts, Judy mentioned that there were no nativity sets. In past years, at the same store, you could find at least half dozen different ones. This year there were none.

What's happening to Christmas? It comes at no surprise that retail sales have overshadowed the baby in a manger. It is now illegal in many places to display any Christian symbols on public property. Here in Bozeman a beautiful Ten Commandments monument which was prominently displayed on Main Street was removed and later relegated to an obscure corner in a community organization park.

As Christians, it is another reminder that we have to come to terms with the fact that our culture has turned a corner. No longer is the Bethlehem story heralded in the market place. We are left with the cold reality that our world has little interest in a Savior who has come to heal our hurts and fears. Without the hope that the Christ Child brings, we are left with a plastic tree laden with ornaments, colored lights, and tinsel. How sad!

What shall we do? This past week I saw a post on Facebook that challenged me. The title: Want To Keep Christ In Christmas? “Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you.”

It's not religious ornamentation that defines Christmas. It's Christians who are willing to put feet to their convictions and do what Jesus does. We maybe losing public appeal but there is growing opportunity to show our stuff. Into the darkness have come many shining lights: us!

Podatus

Podatus

While Elvis, Beach Boys and Beatles were the craze of the music world, I was in seminary learning Gregorian Chant. My wife is amazed when I don't recognize music from the 60’ and 70’s. I keep telling people that during those years I was locked up in a religious institution and forbidden to listen to radio or TV. My music world was an all male choir singing medieval psalmody.

The seminary curriculum consisted of a steady diet of Aristotelian philosophy, Thomastic theology and Church history. If that didn't mess with your brain, we had a weekly gathering in the Aula Maxima for music lessons. Our text was the Liber Usualis, the official Gregorian Chant book that weighed about three pounds. Here we learned to sing music of the Middle Ages.

Gregorian chant is an acquired taste. Although beautiful in a haunting kind of way, it is a far cry from today’s music. Chant is almost always sung without instrumentation. The singers are usually male (female in a convent). The notation and rhythm are unique. The musical notes are exotic: podatus, podatus subpunctus, virga, climacus and quilisma to name a few.

By now you may be asking why I am writing about this stuff. Well, I am not sure except to say that of all my seminary training the words that stand out in my mind  are “podatus subpunctus.” You know how you get a tune in your head and can't get rid of it. Well, fifty years of this phrase imbedded in my brain is ready for release.

Whatever the music style, the Bible encourages us to sing unto the Lord: “ Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing to the Lord, all the world! Sing to the Lord and praise him! Proclaim everyday the good news that He has saved us.”

Alleluia!

Bills

Bills

Ever had more bills at the end of the month than money? I'm sure I am not the only one who found themselves in the red. Having raised a family on a pastor’s salary involved not only aggressive penny pinching but on occasional miracle or two. Mortgage payments, car payments, groceries, doctor and dentist bills are but a few in a long list of monthly bills. I am not complaining just observing the reality of the bills.

What brought this to mind was a little blurb I read on Facebook. Asking the question: “What’s you favorite childhood memory?” The response was: “Not paying bills.” I remembered that there was a time in my life when I didn't have to worry about those monthly payments. Financial responsibility must be a sign of maturity.

Some years ago I preached a sermon entitled “The Blessings of Debt.” Usually I don't get much feedback on my sermons. That Sunday I got a lot of feedback; most of it negative. I was told that being a Christian I had the responsibility to stay out of debt “owing no man.” Although I agree that debt is to be avoided, most people find themselves at one time or another in debt. The point of my teaching was to encourage debtors that God doesn't hold that against them and that He has some life lessons to teach while making the payments.

My father was a font of practical wisdom. As I matured, I found myself drawing from his wisdom. On one occasion I approached him for financial advice. The church I was pastoring was behind in paying my salary and there wasn't much left in my bank account. In addition to floating me a short-term loan, he said: “If you have money problems, you really don't have a problem. When there is blood on the floor that's when you have a problem.” Those were wise words that gave me a healthy perspective.

Here's what Jesus says about money worries: “What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. Steep your life in God reality, God initiative, God provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.”

Good advise. I haven't missed a meal yet!

Steadfast

Steadfast

The world I live in today is not the world of my youth. Technology has not only quickened the pace of change, it has redefined change itself. Lest I be criticized for being an old foggy who yearns for the past, let me reassure you that I relish almost all of what modern technology has created. The horizon of my creature comforts is greatly expanded.

The problem I am faced with is the realization of my addiction to change. I find myself less and less satisfied with what I have and an increasing craving for the new. Whether it is my hunger for a new cell phone, computer, TV, or truck, it's the new that's got me hooked. I think I need some old fashioned counseling.

Then I come across this word “steadfast.” I don’t hear it in everyday conversation. If fact the only place I find it is in the Bible. I looked it up in the dictionary. It means fixed firmly in place, immovable, not subject to change. This word comes from an old English word meaning “fixed fast.” What a contrast to the world of change I live in.

Whenever I find myself teetering between the infatuation with all the new stuff our world has to offer and the need for stability in my life, I am reminded of these words from the Bible: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas.”

Here’s a song we sing at church that keeps me grounded in the reality of the Father’s love. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning, new every morning. Great is your faithfulness O Lord. Great is your faithfulness.”

Amen!

Wind

Wind

I awoke to the windows rattling. Even without my hearing aids, I could hear the wind roaring and shaking everything it touched. Strong winds are not uncommon where I live. Blowing down the east slope of the Rockies and across the valley floor, there isn't much to stop this force of nature. One advantage of this wind is that it blew all the fallen leaves into the neighbor’s yard.

Later that day, I bundled up and took the dog for a walk. Leaning into the wind, it took all I had to stand upright and move forward. Having finished our stroll around the neighborhood, I was exhausted and the dog was elated. The energy it took to buck that wind was almost too much. I enjoy fresh air at a lower velocity.

There have been times in my life when I have felt strong winds of adversity. Life

can be unpredictable and in need of a firm foundation upon which to stand. We live in a time that shuns such a foundation, choosing to build upon the shifting sands of what seems right for today. When struggles come and the ground begins to move, the integrity of our choices is revealed.

I am reminded of the story Jesus told about two builders. One built on sand and the other on solid rock. When the storm came, only one house survived, the one built on solid rock. A good reminder of how we are to build our lives. When the winds of adversity come, our foundation will be tested.

A song we sing at church says it well: “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground in sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.”

As for the wind, it is God’s breath refreshing the earth. Bring it on!