Last year -- when I worked in downtown San Diego -- I walked down to the harbor and watched the Veteran's Day parade. I stood behind an elderly veteran (probably 70'ish) who was seated in a folding chair. He wore a ball cap, a Hawaiian shirt, and a pair of SAS shoes. Every time a group of soldiers or the flag came by, he would push off with one arm and then the other, and struggle to his feet. You could tell each time took tremendous effort. It must have taken at least thirty seconds or so to get to his feet. But he stood up and saluted. It was one of the most moving things I've seen.
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I grew up in the days when professional wrestling didn't have a national presence but had regional outfits. The Wright brothers and I would go with their dad to Richwoods High School and watch sweaty men throw chairs at each other. And we also watched the wrestlers, too. So, it was with great interest when I came across this story at Fast Company: "10 Things Corporations Can Learn from Pro Wrestling." Here are a few worthy snippets: An Appropriate Level of Spectacle Is Crucial: In pro wrestling, steel cages are always 15 feet high. Tall competitors are nearly 7 feet tall. Crowds are always "hanging from the rafters." Wrestling shows pull out all the stops to make their shows as dramatic as possible. On the other hand, wrestling promoters can't overdo it. Case-in-point: the now defunct-World Championship Wrestling put on a live three-hour television show every week, with the announcers…
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Whenever I'm not preaching at Mountainview, it's my privilege to give the communion meditation. Or "communion med" as we call it in shorthand. (Calling it a "med" makes me a bit queasy, like we're giving medication to the crowd). Typically, I will pick up a copy of our senior pastor's outline on Thursday and look it over between then and Saturday night. That allows me to get a good feel for his main points and then be able to tie-in the communion thought to the theme of the message. I feel like it helps to create a worship gathering that flows and fits together. This past weekend, I had my "prepared" communion meditation in my pocket and used it on Saturday night and at our first service on Sunday. At second service, God was gracious to bring to mind a story that fit well with the theme of the message…
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A number of years ago I came across an album by Randy Stonehill that had a song called "Turning Thirty." Part of it went like this: Well, now thirty ain't like fifteen And it's not like twenty-five My back's a little stiff And there're some lines around my eyes But I've still got my energy And I've got most of my hair And I'm not too old to rock 'n roll And I'm not really scared of turning thirty It was a live recording and the best part was when he ad libbed, "I wrote this song eight years ago ..." Well, this past Friday I turned forty. Or "40" for those of you who prefer numbers over letters. Now I must admit that I'm not feeling that much different than when I was thirty-nine and three-quarters. With that said, I do have a few reflections ... Life doesn't slow…
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