A Week of Fun-Football Follies

Are you ready for some football? This is about football - but it's about life too.

Quotes from past gridiron legends have added to football's lore and should be passed on to today's youth to increase their wisdom.  (These are good...)

1. 'Football is only a game. Spiritual things are eternal. Nevertheless, Beat Texas ' Seen on a church sign in Arkansas prior to the 1969 game.
   
2. 'After you retire, there's only one big event left... and I ain't ready for that.' Bobby Bowden / Florida State
   
3. 'The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely to be the one who dropped it.' Lou Holtz / Arkansas
   
4. 'When you win, nothing hurts.' Joe Namath / Alabama
   
5. 'Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated.' Lou Holtz / Arkansas
   
6. 'If you want to walk the heavenly streets of gold, you gotta know the password, 'Roll, tide, roll!' Bear Bryant / Alabama
   
7. 'A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall.' Frank Leahy / Notre Dame
   
8. 'There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the devil kicked out of you.' Woody Hayes / Ohio State
   
9. 'I don't expect to win enough games to be put on NCAA probation. I just want to win enough to warrant an investigation.' Bob Devaney / Nebraska
   
10. 'In Alabama , an atheist is someone who doesn't believe in Bear Bryant.' Wally Butts / Georgia
    
11. 'You can learn more character on the two-yard line than anywhere else in life.' Paul Dietzel / LSU
    
12. 'It's kind of hard to rally around a math class.' Bear Bryant / Alabama
    
13. When asked if Fayetteville was the end of the world. 'No, but you can see it from here.' Lou Holtz / Arkansas.
    
14. 'I make my practices real hard because if a player is a quitter, I want him to quit in practice, not in a game.' Bear Bryant / Alabama
    
15. 'There's one sure way to stop us from scoring-give us the ball near the goal line.' Matty Bell / SMU
    

A Week of Fun-The 10 Cajun Commandments

The Ten Commandments in Cajun... (Keeps it REAL Simple)
1. God is number one... and das' All.
   
2. Don't pray to nuthin' or nobody... jus' God.
   
3. Don't cuss nobody... 'specially da Good Lord.
   
4. When it be Sunday... pass yo'self by God's House.
   
5. Yo mama an' yo daddy dun did it all... lissen to dem.
   
6. Killin' duck an' fish, das' OK... people - No!
   
7. God done give you a wife... sleep wit' jus' her.
   
8. Don't take nobody's boat... or nuttin' else.
   
9. Don't go wantin' somebody's stuff.
   
10. Stop lyin'... yo tongue gonna fall out yo mouf!

A Week of Fun-Not Enough Cashiers

Not Enough Cashiers

1. Here are the reasons I'd Like to thank Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and my local grocer for having 25 checkout lanes and only three open at any given time....
   
2. Waiting in long lines keeps my domestic brain from going completely idle -- there's so much to learn!
   
3. I can catch up on my magazine reading without buying any.
   
4. I have time to leave my cart in line and run back to get the 13 things on my list I forgot.
   
5. I can be one of those annoying cell phone users and catch up on all my phone calls to my insurance agent, mother-in-law, and Auntie Anne.
   
6. I can catch a quick catnap now rather than on the drive home.
   
7. I can assess what other people have in their carts and get exciting new dinner ideas.
   
8. I can finally apply my top coat of nail polish with plenty of drying time.
   
9. I can run next door and pick up my dry cleaning.
   
10. I can update my coupon organizer and leave the trash in the we-never-open-enough-checkout-lanes store instead of my purse.
    
11. I can practice my standup comedy routines on unsuspecting fellow customers.
    
12. I can practice some standing yoga poses and then do those isometric muscle-contracting exercises no one else in line is Supposed to know you're doing.
    
13. I can taste test my package of the newest low-carb, zero-transfat, Splenda-saturated cookies.
    
14. I can breathe heavily on my T-bones so they're defrosted in time for dinner and I won't have to leave them out on the driveway in the hot late afternoon sun as I normally do.

A Week of Fun-Out Of The Mouths of Babes

"Everyone has feelings, except for snakes and principals."
- Donna Maria G, age 9

"The only accidents are the ones you make in your pants."
- Ari K, age 7

"Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and the world laughs at you."
- Rob P, age 8

"If life gives you nothing but lemons, make up a better shopping list."
- Steven B, age 8

"Don't eat ladyfingers - even if you know the lady they came from."
- Susannah K., age 6

"My dog had worms. I think he was going fishing."
- Emma B., age 4

"When a movie is PG-13 that means how many minutes your mom will let you watch before turning it off."
- Jon G., age 12

"Moses came down with the Ten Amendments, which were God's Bill of Wrongs."
- Susie F., age 7

"Doctors automatically know what's wrong with you. They have a sick sense."
- Beau M., age 10

How About A Week Of FUN

Exercising With Your Dog

You've seen those ads on TV promising amazing results from all sorts of contraptions. Well, there's no need to invest in fancy equipment. If you have (or can borrow) a dog, you have everything you need to get in shape now!!! The following exercises can be done anywhere, anytime.

1. Inner Thighs: Place the dog's favorite toy between thighs. Press tighter than the dog can pull. Do not attempt bare legged - dogs who favor shortcuts to success will just dig the toy out. You could be damaged.
   
2. Upper Body Strength: Lift the dog - off the couch, off the bed, out of the flower bed. Repeat, repeat, repeat. As the dog ages, this exercise is reversed - onto the couch, onto the bed, into the car and so on.
   
3. Balance and Coordination, Exercise 1: Remove your puppy from unsuitable tight places. If they're too small for him, they're certainly too small for you. Do it anyway!
   
4. Balance and Coordination, Exercise 2: Practice not falling when your dog bounds across the full length of the room, sails through the air, and slams both front paws into the back of your knees.
   
5. Balance and Coordination, Exercise 3: (for use with multiple dogs) Remove all dogs from lap and answer the phone before it stops ringing.
   
6. Balance and Coordination, Exercise 4: (alternate) For older dogs, attempt to cross a room without tripping over the dog. Get off your couch without crushing any part of a sleeping elderly dog.
   
7. Upper Arms: Throw the ball. Throw the squeaky toy. Throw the Frisbee. Repeat until nauseous.
   
8. Upper Arms: (alternate) Tug the rope. Tug the pull toy. Tug the sock. Repeat until your shoulder is dislocated or the dog gives up (we all know which comes first).
   
9. Hand Coordination: Remove foreign object from dog's locked jaw. This exercise is especially popular with puppy owners. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Remember, this is a timed exercise. Movements must be quick and precise (think concert pianist) to prevent trips to the vet, which only offer the minimal exercise benefit of jaw firming clenches.
   
10. Calves: After the dog has worn out the rest of your body, hang a circular toy on your ankle and let the dog tug while you tug back. WARNING: This is feasible only for those with strong bones and small dogs. Have you taken your calcium supplement today?
    
11. Calves: (alternate) Run after dog - pick any reason, there are plenty. Dogs of any size can be used for this exercise. Greyhounds are inadvisable.
    
12. Neck Muscles: Attempt to outmaneuver the canine tongue headed for your ear, mouth, or eyeball. This is a lifelong fitness program. A dog is never too old or too feeble to "French Kiss" you when you least expect it.

Surviving Bad Attitudes-Chapter 12 Continued

Will you be truthful enough with yourself to take a simple test to see if you’ve got a bad attitude?
Ask yourself these questions: 

-Do you see a lot more people in the world who have a better situation than the one you were born into? 

-Does it seem unfair that all the bad things have happened to you and not to others? 

-Do you feel like you got cheated somehow and that life isn’t really fair? 

If you answered “yes” to two or more of those questions then you probably have a “bad attitude”.

The truth of the matter is, life is completely fair to everyone.  This is not something that a lot of people like to hear. It puts the responsibility on you to act and make things better for yourself and responsibility is not something that a lot of people are interested in. In fact, if this is something that probably makes you angry to hear, you most certainly are suffering from a bad attitude yourself.

The truth is life is full of challenges and tragedies. Nobody has all the answers to life or understands the situations that others have gone through. Some people have been through worse than others and there is always someone who has been through worse than you.  Still, you can never imagine the fact that these others who have been through worse, have somehow managed to keep their head up high and to maintain a positive attitude regardless of their fate.

The difference between a good attitude and a bad attitude doesn’t come down to relative standards of who has been through worse than someone else.  The difference depends on whether or not you can accept the things that have come your way and face them as though they were placed there for a reason.  If you are ready to face them with a positive attitude no matter what and make the best of everything that comes your way, then a bad attitude will never be something that you will possess. If you refuse to accept the truth about what life has presented to you and refuse to overcome the negative emotions that oftentimes well up inside you, then “bad attitude” will soon become your middle name.

It all comes down to the way you look at your own personal life.  It’s impossible to really know what others have been through and therefore impossible to judge a bad attitude from the outside.  The only attitude you can really judge is your own.  So what is the verdict? 

-Do you believe that everything has happened to you for a reason and that you want to face your life as if it were a special gift basket of problems made especially for you to overcome? 

-Do you want to take on those problems with the sense that everything was purposefully placed there just for the reason of making you into the best person you could ever be? 

If you are willing to do this, you can certainly say that a bad attitude will be a thing of the past for you and there will never be another person who can judge you for who you are.  You will certainly become a person with an attitude for success.

A bad attitude is actually not so hard to overcome but the real problem comes at the beginning when a person is trying to decide if it's true that life is fair or not.  There doesn’t always seem to be enough evidence to determine if life is truly fair, so we could determine people tend to stick with their bad attitude just because it is familiar to them and comfortable.  The trick to starting to overcome a bad attitude is to recognize how much better a person’s life is when they constantly carry a “good attitude” everywhere they go.  Almost instantly, life begins to improve around them and they begin to see rewards from the new attitude they have decided to take. 

There may be some challenges along the way but, the longer they keep their good attitude, the more the benefits start to pile up and the greater things start to become. If you have a bad attitude, try it out for a weekend and see what its like to have a good one.  You might just be surprised at the changes that will come your way.

Surviving Bad Attitudes-Chapter 12 Continued)

So in dealing with a person who has a bad attitude does the truth always prevail? I can honestly say, "No", but somehow you will survive the situation even if you don't understand why God let's you go through it.

I can't reveal too much about this situation that I went through, but I believe I can give you a brief capsule of what went on and the struggle that I had dealing with it. I had someone commit suicide that was affiliated with my church. This situation could have been avoided if the folks involved would have listened and followed through with my advise the weekend before this happened. They had come to Becky and I for an escape from a bad situation and through God's help the door was opened. All they had to do was walk through it. However, from that scenario came a lie that caused conflict in my church and eventually a division that caused me to loose about 40 people. Even when the person confessed they had lied about the chain of events the damage was already done. I lost people that I had loved for over 7 years as their pastor. It was all that I could do not to develop a bad attitude then.

But the kicker came just a few years later. I read a story about the situation in a national publication of our church and then heard the testimony from one of the individuals involved at a state meeting about the event that was a total lie. I knew the truth of the whole situation and so did my wife and church, but there was one of the main individuals involved telling a story that was a complete and utter lie about the loss they had to deal with of their child. It was all I could do to restrain myself and not leave from the sound booth where I was working during that meeting. None of the sordid details that had been shared with us that lead to the event were exposed in either the publication or the testimony. It was as though they believed the lies they were telling as truth and expressed them as such.

I was mad, frustrated, and grieved at the same time. Because of having to deal with that situation, I had to leave a church I never thought I would leave and my faith in human beings was shaken to the core. And when I heard details expressed about the event that were lies in that meeting as truth, I thought to myself, "God, You know the truth. How can any parent say what they were saying that was completely opposite of what really happened?" The person involved was even paid to speak at the event.

There was no mention of the mental abuse or threats received by the individual that took their life. The speaker at the meeting/the writer of the article never shared any of the things they had shared with Becky and I when asking us to help them find a way out before something tragic happened. It was just like the truth had never happened, the plan to leave the abusive relationship had not taken place, and the person died in vain.

I had to repent after that meeting. In fact, I believe that was one of the last meetings of that nature that I ran the sound at. My family's whole life was affected by that situation and so was my church, but here was one of the main individuals involved made to look like a saint. We knew the truth, but let's face it, sometimes the truth does not win out.

I must admit even writing about this stirs me up today, but here's the point I want to make. I know the truth, God knows the truth, and one day there will be a day of accountability. Have I failed people before? Yes, I readily admit that. Have I made wrong decisions before? Absolutely. Have I been a perfect pastor all the time? No, because you can see by my other two answers I am not perfect. I can promise you that I have never tried to hurt anyone intentionally or misrepresent the truth. I don't want to believe a lie or tell one that will affect peoples' lives for a lifetime. So I have to make a choice when something like this happens-either let it get the best of me or put it in God's hands.
(Continued tomorrow)

Surviving Bad Attitudes-Chapter 12-When Nobody Believes You

Have you ever dealt with a person who had multiple personalities? If you have then you can understand the title of this chapter. Many times a bad attitude develops when you know about a situation, and try to handle it in a Biblical way. However, before you can deal with it, the story gets spread around with many different additions tagging along and before you know it you have a full blown crisis on your hands. Usually the one that knows the real truth becomes the victim in the situation because nobody wants to believe the truth since it's not as juicy as the other things they have heard. That's where grudges, bitterness, and strife arise because people want junk more than they want the truth.

Why is it so hard to get people to believe the truth?

(1) The truth is not always what people want to hear. My mind still hears the words of Jack Nicholson in the movie, A Few Good Men, as he says, "You can't handle the truth!" In many ways he was right. Most people can't handle the truth because it's not what they want to hear. By hearing it they must receive it and do something about their situation. They will either respond to it positively or negatively. Jesus Himself said, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." But let's face it, people that have bad attitudes don't want the truth because they know they will have to do something about it.

(2) The truth may mean you have to CHANGE! As I discussed in the previous chapter, CHANGE is something that most people rebel against. I read the article in the paper today about our government trying to balance the budget. There is a proposed plan to do so in place, but if it is passed it will mean some drastic CHANGES for all of us. I don't like it, but I don't like having our whole economic system shattered because of our refusal to CHANGE our way of thinking. We have been wasteful when it come to truth in this nation of ours for too long, and now the truth is coming home to roost. To survive we will have to make some CHANGES. People with bad attitudes reject the truth because they don't want to CHANGE.

(3) The truth rubs people the wrong way. Nobody wants to be convicted anymore, nor does anyone want to be judged. Yet the truth exposes both of those scenarios in our lives. If we are not living right the truth brings conviction. If we are disobedient to His Word we will be judged by Him. Truth exposes our flaws, failures, and faults before God. When we see them we either react and respond with a cry for forgiveness and mercy or we rebel and defy the most High God. that's why the altars are empty in our churches and the pews or seats hold many who have unconfessed sin in their hearts. They refuse to let people know that there is some falsehood in their relationship with God.

(continued tomorrow)

Surviving Bad Attitudes-Chapter 11 continued

These are the last few words that I want to share about CHANGES that have to take place if the church is going to survive or thrive in these last days.

(1) We have to CHANGE our attitude about presenting Christ to a lost and dying world. During Becky's Cross Ministry at Hillcrest Hospital this week she talked with a very well educated lady who commended her for the ministry to the sick that she has. She also said that she had just started going back to church recently and had found a church that did not judge her or try to figure out her past life. She further stated that they didn't seemed that concerned about why she was there, they were just glad that she was.

When I first went to Union to pastor, I encountered that attitude. Every new person that walked through the door was scrutinized, analyzed, and examined from head to toe. Within two years that spirit was gone. I have encountered the same at my current church. In fact I had to address it at both places from the pulpit. It's not any body's business to know some one's past and then to gossip about it. It is our responsibility to take whosoever walks through our church doors as a potential worker in the Kingdom of God. If we don't CHANGE our attitude about reaching the lost, welcoming the strangers, and opening our hearts to people in need then why are we there in the first place? A church is a haven of rest for all who believe not just for a selected few.

(2) We have to CHANGE our attitude about ministry. Am I a perfect pastor? Absolutely not. I make mistakes just like everybody else. I have my faults as well. Somehow we have to CHANGE the mentality of our churches that sin is sin, wrong is wrong, and right is right. When we resist CHANGE just because we don't like it, and then run people down because of it, it is sin. Gossip will send more people to hell than adultery, and my how the church loves to gossip. One good man who is a sinner told me recently, "Preacher, I know the people in your church. I live better than most of them. At least I don't get on the phone and run everybody down or try to find out other people's business all the time."

I know that many people believe once they get saved they can ever sin again, but that's not what the Bible says. The Word tells us to "Strive to be holy" or "to be holy as I am holy", but that is easier said than done. Perhaps the best way to look at it is through what Paul said to the church at Philippi in Philippians 2: 12 "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

The Message Bible says it this way: "What I'm getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you've done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I'm separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God's energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure."

If we spent as much time for ministry as we do on the negative things about ministry we fuss about we could literally CHANGE the world. But until we CHANGE our minds about ministry the church will never be what it needs to be.

(3) We have to CHANGE our minds about CHANGE. Ask yourself three different questions about CHANGE in general:
a. If I could CHANGE anything about myself what would it be?
b. If I could CHANGE anything about my family what would it be?
c. Why can't I accept CHANGE when CHANGE is happening all around me?

The answer to the first question for many would start on the outside. Most people would say they would want to change their appearance by losing weight, getting rid of the gray, or the wrinkles. Very few people would say change my attitude because that's the thing that takes the most effort.

The second answer would be that many would want their family to prosper and be blessed in this world today. Nothing wrong with that, but very few would answer that they desired to see a unity, love, or spirit of togetherness. Once again the majority would focus on the natural rather than the spiritual.

Last but not least, many would answer I don't have the ability to handle CHANGE because it's to uncomfortable. Well, my answer to that is you're wrong. When gas went up did you sell your car, refuse to travel, buy a bike, or start to walk to work or the store? Nope-you paid the extra, bought the gas, and kept on keeping on. You had to accept CHANGE. You probably didn't like it or even agree with it, but you had to accept it to survive.

Did you sell your fridge and stove because groceries have gone up in price? Have you decided it's better to go around naked because the cost of clothing has gone up? Have you gone back to candles because electricity costs to much? Nope-you had to accept whatever change came along and learn how to deal with it.

Most bad attitudes in church develop when people have to make changes, yet they do it all the time in their everyday lives. Why then does the church have to be stalemated and antiquated and continue to do the same old same old that doesn't work any more? Change is inevitable and you either go with it or you die without it. The choice is completely yours to make.

Surviving Bad Attitudes-Chapter 11 continued-This Is A Different Day

The hardest thing in life is to accept CHANGE and follow through with it. Look at these analogies with me:
-An athlete has to CHANGE his/her behavior patterns to be fit enough to participate in whatever sport they want to excel in. They must constantly change their training techniques to be able to prepare for the challenges ahead.

-A diabetic has to CHANGE his/her eating habits to be able to be healthy and keep their condition under control. Without constant CHANGE they cannot create any stability whatsoever.

-A pastor has to CHANGE his/her style based on the congregation they are ministering to. Some styles work in certain situations, but not all of them. That's why there has to be some flexibility to make things work the best.

-A business has to make adjustments to their inventory, their manifest, even sometimes to their personnel to continue to be able to compete in the world that we live in today. Without CHANGE bankruptcy is inevitable.

So why does the church resist CHANGE so much? Why is it so hard to get people to accept it and not fight it?

Well, first I believe it's because people use the scriptures I quoted yesterday about God not changing to every application of life. But think about it in realistic terms. God does not CHANGE, but He allows CHANGES to take place in us. If He didn't we would all be like we were 30 or 40 years ago. There would be no gray in our hair, no slouch in our step, or not enough breath to finish a simple task that we did when we are younger. CHANGES take place within us everyday physically, mentally, and emotionally. How many times have you said to yourself, "If I only knew then what I know now..." making reference to the fact that your circumstances would be different today if you could CHANGE decisions you had made previously.

Jesus Himself told us it was wrong to misuse the scripture and that if we did every evil work of the Word would come upon us. However, we don't want to apply it to anything that we like because we are justified in using the Word for our benefit. I will say it this way-it's wrong for a preacher to misuse the Word, it's wrong for a church to misuse the Word, and it's wrong for a Lay-person to misuse the Word. If you stop CHANGE just because you don't agree with it or don't like it and don't have a legitimate scriptural or godly reason, you will answer for it on the great Day of Judgment.

Think about that for awhile. (Continued tomorrow)

Surviving Bad Attitudes-chapter 11-This Is A Different Day

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."

Malachi 3:6a "For I am the LORD, I change not..."

Anybody with any sense knows that God hasn't, doesn't, and will never change. He is GOD now and forevermore. I can't change Him and you can't change him because He is always the same. He is an ever present help in the time of trouble, a friend that sticketh closer than a brother, and a God whose ears are open to the crys of His people. Let's just face it He is Lord!

However times have changed people, the world, and even the church that we attend today. I told my congregation that at one time you could go into any Church of God and it would be about the same, especially in the South. We had the same service structure, the same service layout, and basically thought and did the same things. In some ways I wish we were still like that, but in other ways I see why many of are churches (including mine) are not growing as they should. The one thing we hate more than any other in the Church of God is CHANGE. CHANGE is the culprit that has done us more damage than any gossiper, adulterer, or thief could have ever done. CHANGE is the one thing nobody wants to see come into their church-except for the leadership who knows some things must change for the church to survive and grow.

Why do we hate CHANGE so much?

(1) Because we will have to do things that are out of our comfort zone.
(2) Because we will have to make sacrifices that require more of our time and effort.
(3) Because we like doing the same things, running the same programs (whether they are working or not), and following the same pattern because we've always done it this way.
(4) Because if it was good enough for Mom and Day it ought to suffice for us today.

Having served as a long term pastor at my previous church I understand the value of change. This may rattle a few folks around the country that read this, but as a boy growing up we used to let our churches vote every two-four years on a pastor. We either stayed or moved depending on that Pastor's Preference vote. I went to 9 different schools growing up. It was hard on us preacher's kids, but to be honest with you our churches statistically seemed to be much better with a consistent pattern of preachers staying or going rather because the church had expressed their opinion rather than just someone staying for an extended amount of time without a congregational expression.

After 11 years in Union I was beginning to question God on whether I should stay or move. Our town was not growing due to a poor economy so there were very few people moving into the area. I would gain some, but I buried more than I gained. I felt that God had one more task for me to do and that was to build a Family Life Center, which I did a year before I moved. I gave it one last big effort, but down deep in my heart I knew God was finished with me there. Was it hard to make a change at 56 years old after being in one place for 13 years? Absolutely! We had more outreach ministries going on there than any other place I have ever been. We were involved with the community, well known, and received by them as well. But I knew I needed a change and I guess down deep even the church knew as well. I can honestly say, it was hard to move, but in life change is inevitable. It's going to happen whether you want it or not, especially if you give the Lord any control over your life.
(Continued tomorrow)

Going Into The Field

Sorry I haven't continued my blog on Surviving Bad Attitudes the past couple of days, but we've been real busy getting ready for our Tuscaloosa, Alabama Youth Ministry trip. Our Student Ministries Directors, Rev. Bill and Tammy Case, along with their assistant, Sarah Young, my daughter-in-law Candace Stone, and 10 of our young people are setting up a distribution center filled with clothing, baby goods, and toys today. Please pray with us that God will use them not only to meet the needs of the people that have lost so much, but also to minister to those still hurting from the tornado that struck the area just 2 1/2 months ago  .

These folks were empowered by our church to do the work that Jesus told us to do. Christ told us to go into all the world to preach the gospel. Alabama is just 6 hours away, but with the tornado damage our folks will see in some areas today it will appear like a Third World Country. This opportunity for them to see how blessed we are here in Upstate South Carolina that those storms didn't reach this far is one thing, but to able to help some folks who have lost everything is another. Both of these things I believe will be understood by all who have made the trip.

Jesus made some unusual requests of us about going into the harvest field.
-He said if you give a cup of water in My Name;
-He said to compel them to come into My house so that it would be filled;
-He said to clothe them, feed them, protect them;
-He said that everything that was done in His name would be blessed and honored.

So to those who represent the Donaldson Church of God in Tuscaloosa, Alabama this weekend, we salute you. Not just because you are representing us as a church, but because you are representing Him. Take care of the harvest, and God will take care of you.

Please pray for them that God will take care of them going into the field of labor for Him.

Surviving Bad Attitudes-Chapter 10 Continued-When Getting Older Wasn't An Excuse

(3) To change or not to change-that is the question.
A retired minister here in South Carolina told me not to long ago that the church was going to have to accept changes in structure, attitude, and worship if it was going to survive until Jesus comes. This came from a man in his late 70's that I love and respect as a mentor in our state. He went on to say to me "Keep the message straight and simple. Don't deviate from the truth. Preach holiness and be an example. But make sure your methods are up to date to reach a generation that doesn't know church as your or my generation knew." Sound words from a great man of the faith.

Dad ministered in Conway, South Carolina where I "grew"up literally. All I ever knew was church. My whole life has been church, but I have seen changes, both good and bad, that have changed the church as we know it. I remember being the first church in one state to use a reel-to-reel soundtrack to sing at a camp meeting. I remember being told I was going to hell because I grew a moustache. I remember playing a rocking lick on my guitar and being rebuked for being too worldly. Yep, those were the good old day-LOL!

The difference I see today in the church is the division between the young and the old is worse now than it has ever been. If you want a shout from the audience today talk about the red back hymnal and the older crowd goes wild. Mention anything about praise music that is negative and the older folk clap their hands. No wonder the young folks are staying away from the church. We don't want THEIR music, THEIR worship, and we sure don't like the way that THEY praise the Lord.

I will agree we have gone to extremes both ways, either catering to the old or catering to the young. But in the churches that I grew up in the older folks didn't look at the youth as their rivals, but as the generation they could nuture that would take up the mantle after them. In 1971 I sang in a trio on Youth Night at Camp Meeting the song, "I've Got Confidence". At that time it was very contemporary and up beat, but nobody condemned us for being worldly. In fact people seemed to really enjoy it even though it was different from the music genre of the time.

So when did it become so hard for people who get older to change? I really don't know, because there is nothing in the Bible that says getting older makes you sour, mean, or changeless. In fact to the otherside, God gives us these directions:

Matthew 9:17 "Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved."

Titus 2:2-6 "That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
 ³The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; ⁴That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, ⁵To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.  ⁶Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded."
 
The scriptures verify that it is the responsibility of the older generation to be the example for the younger generation that follows. So where is the example today? Instead of being willing to change, older people fight changes and alienate the young folks while doing it. Where is the understanding that God wants us to reach everyone with the gospel and to use whatever means we can to share the truth of the gospel? (Continued tomorrow)

Surviving Bad Attitudes-Chapter 10-When Getting Older Wasn't An Excuse

How many of you have heard the "When I was your age" stories for your mom and dad? Let me go one step further and ask have many of you have told your children or your grandchildren those same kind of stories? It's kind of funny that we have become our parents in our older age.

I remember a time when getting older didn't mean getting cranky, mean, or mad all the time. In fact, some of my greatest heroes of the faith as I was growing up were men that were my age now (57) and older. They represented to me a generation that had learned to persevere through just about everything with very few complaints. They knew what to do, how to do, and seemed to enjoy life a whole lot better than people of that same age or older today. So can somebody tell me why so many older people have lost their joy in life and their attitudes have soured on themselves and others as well?

Please understand this doesn't apply to everyone. There are some precious folks who have aged gracefully and have a wonderful attitude still today. But man, there are some that you just don't even want to be around because there is so much negative energy that comes off of them and affects everyone around them. Why have the times changed so much that we see those that are the closest to going home to be with the Jesus get so lackadaisical in their relationship with the Lord?

Here's just a few thoughts that come to mind:

(1) I've done my time.
Some older folks treat service to God and church like service on a job or a place of employment. Nowhere in the Bible do I read where anyone regardless of age or sickness ever retires from His Kingdom service. The only retirement plan that I know is the one that comes after death or the rapture (whichever comes first). For the remainder of the time we are to be active in the Kingdom work for our Lord. The worst attitudes I have ever dealt with as a pastor are from those people who think because of the years they have put in they should receive a honorable discharge from His service. I'm glad Caleb at 85 still had the drive to take a mountain for the glory of God. We need some folks who will say regardless of age I'm in it for the long haul and ready to be about my Father's business.

(2) Squatters rights.
That was a problem when the old west was being civilized. Squatters would move in and lay claim to territory that wasn't theirs to begin with. It's a shame when we look at half empty sanctuaries today that the main reason is because of those who think they have Squatters rights. It's those folk who have bought a pew, chair, choir robe, offering plate or something in the church that has to be replaced because it is broken or no longer efficient. It's the folks that have to sit in the same place every service and when a new family or individual comes in and accidently sits there sets of WW3. It's those folks who are usually set in their ways and want what they want regardless of who it hurts.

The last church I served voted to do a complete remodeling of our facility, including replacing two rows of long pews with 3 shorter rows. The church voted 100% to do the work. I told anyone and everyone that had bought a pew 20 years before that if they wanted that pew they could have it, but nobody seemed to want them. Until...one little lady let it be known she didn't like it because we were getting rid of the pew that she and her late husband had bought 20 years before. What an outrage that we would do away with such a piece of history. I very nicely called her when I heard her complaint through her mouthpiece (because she wasn't brave enough or honest enough to talk to me in person) and asked her where she wanted HER pew delivered. It was 15 1/2 feet long so the only place it would fit would have been on her porch. I told her I had two men who would help me bring it to her-we just need to know where she wanted it put when we got there. "Oh pastor, there's been a misunderstanding," she said; "You do what you need to do with the old pew because I don't have a place for it."

She was also the one who complained through her mouthpiece that we ought to at least take the plaques of the pews that were purchased and give them back to the people that bought them. As far as I know when I left there she still hadn't picked up her name plaque taken off of that old pew.

Yes, I know things have sentimental value, but if I took every pew with me that Becky and I have bought in churches throughout the years I could fill up a small sanctuary. If I took every piece of equipment that I have left behind for the next pastor that I bought, I wouldn't have to buy anything else to start a new church. When I left Union I left over $2,000.00 worth of Audio/Video equipment that I could have used at my present church. But I did so because I knew the church would use it and didn't have the funds to replace what was mine. They did swap me a $450.00 microphone (which died on me just a few weeks after I moved) for some of the equipment, but I would have been better off if I just taken my stuff and bought a new microphone. Yet again, I knew they were using my equipment and I wanted those ministries to continue even after I was gone as their pastor. I had dedicated it to God and I wanted it to continue in the Lord's work. I didn't get a tax receipt for it, but I made sure the church knew that it was my equipment that I was leaving behind so that those ministries could continue on in the church and the community.

You see, God does not recognize Squatters Rights. Once you give something to God it belongs to Him. You can't make things last any longer than they will last and styles and times do change. If we can remember that we will all be a whole lot better off the next time the word "change" comes up in a situation.

Just because it's always been done one way, doesn't means it's the only way. The only thing in most of our lives that hasn't changed is God's love for us. The rest has and will continue to do the older we get. The solution is simple-either we understand and make the changes necessary for growth and expansion of the Kingdom, or we assume Squatters Rights and dry up and die.

Surviving Bad Attitudes-Chapter 9-Keep On The Firing Line

Philippians 2 says:
2 "Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind."

5-8 "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

14-18 "Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me."

The older I get the more I see people who once had the joy of their salvation develop bad attitudes. I know that age can have an affect on you physically, mentally, and emotionally, but age is no excuse for allowing the enemy to steal your happiness and replace it with sourness. I have been on the firing line to long to allow myself to develop a bad attitude. I've got to keep on going even though I feel like sometimes packing it in and walking away. The hardest thing in the world to do is to keep smiling when everything within you says why not be like the rest of them. That's when the joy of the Lord has to kick in or we give up.

Paul says three important things to the church at Philippi that we need to take note of even today:

(1) When there is unity in the body ( I'm talking about you personally-not the church) you can be fulfilled with joy.
Many times the body wants to rebel against the mind or the spirit. Or maybe even the opposite- your spirit or mind wants to rebel against your body. When there is internal conflict going on it's hard to be vigilant against the enemy and like a roaring lion he sweeps in to devour what he can. The devil can turn your attitude negative in just a moment if something within you gets out of sync.
Keeping yourself together internally unifies the body, mind, and spirit against a bad attitude coming into a divided house.

(2) Let your mind be as Christ's.
That's easier said than done. I know we are spiritual, sanctified beings through Christ, but we are also HUMAN. It is the natural man that rebels when attacks come against our body, mind, or spirit. The human side wants revenge, wants to pout, wants to retaliate, wants to attack, wants to get angry, and wants to give up. But we must remember that Jesus kept on the firing line. He never gave up, quit, or gave in. He finished His race by fulfilling His purpose. His attitude was subject to His father's will and He never deviated from it's course. When our mind is like His, we will be determined that nothing can separate us from the love of God, not even we ourselves by developing a bad attitude.

(3) Become a blameless and harmless nation.
Does that mean we don't have any individual or collective power? Absolutely not! It simply means that we keep ourselves holy and pure in His sight with our minds made up that He will help us to live and die as an example for Him and keep a sweet spirit regardless of what comes our way. I'm not a pansy and I will fight for I believe is right, but I will not allow my attitude to overcome the good that is in me through Christ Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, it's not easy to keep on the firing line. Many times you feel you are the target. But hang in there, if God be for you who can be against you?

Surviving Bad Attitudes-Chapter 8 continued-Dealing With Streakers

(2) Streakers know how to hit-and-run.
Just like their worldly counterparts they seem to know exactly the precise moment to show up and then to depart. They gain your confidence, your trust, and raise your expectations and then quickly vanish before you see them fulfilled. I cannot tell you how many people that I have had let me down that promised me the moon and never stayed around long enough to deliver it. It's the classic hit-and-run tactic that we're talking about.

I recall one gentleman who told me that he would stand with me until the end, only to find out his ending point was different from mine. One family told Becky and me that God had put them in the church to help us reach our goals, and less than 6 months later, they said that God was moving them somewhere else.

The worst part about streakers is there is usually little truth in what they speak. They do not necessarily lie, but they speak in half-truths and say what you want to hear, only later to recant and do something different. I spent hours one time with a family that I thought was really going to help our church in Union. I visited them, assisted them financially, prayed with them, and did everything that I could do to get them grounded in the church. Yet, the end result was they left me high and dry and told people I didn't care about them. Huh?

The funniest thing that ever backfired on a streaker that I ministered to came several years back. We had won this family into our church that came from a very strict organization. Yes, even stricter than us. After one service the man in the family (and I say this loosely cause his wife wore the pants-you'll get that later) brought me a guitar and amplifier and said the Lord had told him to give it to me to sell to help me financially. He said he wanted to invest in my ministry and the proceeds were mine from the sale. I refused at first, but he was persistent and so I relented. I sold the guitar and amp and made about $250, which was big money at that time for me pastoring a small church. However, they soon left us after that because we were not holy enough for them. We had too many women wearing pants and makeup to church for them to be happy. Sad but true, 6 months later I ran into them in a local department store and guess who had on pants and makeup?

Well, at least I got blessed out of that hit-and-run attack.

Remember this before I close out this part and finish tomorrow with this subject-Streakers have no staying power. They may be there for 3 weeks, 3 months, or 3 years. They will promise you everything and tell you what you want to hear, but eventually will let you down. It is YOUR responsibility to push past the disappointment and press on. If I quit everytime someone let me down I would never have gotten started. They forsook Jesus, they forsook Paul, and yes, they will forake you and I; but hold on because God will be with you and see you through.

Surviving Bad Attitudes-Chapter 9-Dealing With Streakers

Let me say in the beginning the streakers I'm talking about are not the ones that run around without their clothing. The ones that I'm talking about are those that are like the church at Laodicea in Revelation 3:15, 16:

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."

Every church has them and every pastor has to deal with them. It's the folks that streak in and out of church that are constantly lukewarm that cause us more headaches than anyone could possibly imagine. They are the ones that complain the most, expect more than they give, and if they feel neglected will let everybody know that the preacher, the church, or God let them down. God says that they are nauseating because they are lukewarm, and lukewarm stuff either tastes bad or makes you sick.

I've had my fair share of these kinds of folks and sometimes wonder why God allows some of the stuff they do to go on. Maybe you reading this can relate to these following statements.
(1) They are for everything, yet support very little.
(2) They are with you when they feel they can get something out of it, but they're against you when it doesn't benefit them.
(3) They agree with you to your face and make you feel good about your decisions, but behind your back they are attacking you and putting you down.

The streakers always seem to know when it's time to pack up and run. It's like they have some built-in radar that warns them they are about to get caught, so they just vanish into thin air until the next go round when they begin to feel spiritual again.

Do you know what else Jesus said to John to write about Laodicea? Look at the next two verses:

Verses 17, 18 "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see."

Remember this-streakers never want to assume responsibility. They appear to know it all and have it under control, but they never want to pay the price of responsibility to make things right and be consistent. Usually any attempt on your part to persuade them otherwise is met with rebuttal or just plain rejection.

So how do you deal with streakers?
(1) You pray that God will open their eyes to see the folly of their ways and will expose their true nature to those around them.

I had a gentleman who was a leader in one of the churches that I served that was a good man, but turned out to be a streaker. As along as you preached what he liked he was with you, but when you begin to minister to the needs of others his attitude turned sour. He had no problem expressing himself negatively when things didn't go his way.

He had lost his companion and shortly thereafter I went by to visit him. Apparently I surprised him and some activity was going on in his home that was not christian, let alone activity that a leader in the church should be doing. He came to the door half dressed and out of breath and tried to make some excuses as to why he was in that condition. I didn't say anything about the situation I had caught him in, but let him know I was praying for him and left. He looked very relieved when I didn't press on going into his home. One note here to remember-if you are going to do something that a Christian shouldn't do make sure the windows are closed. I'll move on from there.

I was upset about what I had seen, but I put in the hands of the Lord and prayed that God would deal with him before I had to. Well, lo and behold he comes in the next week and resigns his positions, but makes it look like I made him do so. Then he starts to tell his story about the course of events I had caught him in trying to justify his behavior. I had not even mentioned the situation to anybody, but from that point forward he was in and out of church, and as far as I know he still is today. Instead of confessing his wrong and making things right with God, he tried to put the blame on me for something I didn't do. The sad part about it is he had done this several times before in his lifetime each time blaming the pastor or the church for his failure to stay established.

Just as I said earlier, streakers don't want to assume responsibility. That's why we have to pray and put them in the hands of God. He can deal with them and show them the error of their ways and help them to find that stable ground they need to become rooted and grounded in Him. If not He will expose them and their sins to the congregation and break the stranglehold they seem to have on their excuses. God still can do that.
(Continued tomorrow)

Surviving Bad Attitudes-Chapter 8 continued-Don't Let Anyone Steal Your Joy

Remember this passage from the wise man:

Proverbs 17:22 "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones."

The Message "A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired."

NIRV "A cheerful heart makes you healthy. But a broken spirit dries you up."

My dad was probably the happiest man that I ever knew in spite of walking thru more situations in his last years of ministry than I can remember. My dad died at my age, 57, from a major heart attack. He never got to see all of his grandchildren be born or even experience what it meant to be a great grandfather. I know he's in heaven and I will see him again. I also know that God's plan is God's plan for all of us. But I can't help but think how much different things could have been if some of the situations he faced in the latter half of his ministry had of been different. Some where along the way his joy was stolen from him. Yes, he put on a good face and really did try to keep a stiff upper lip, but you could tell many times how the stinging words of his critics affected him his last few years of ministry.

I really believe that my dad would be alive today if not for one incident that took place. He had to take a sabbatical due to his health and was out of full-time ministry for 9 months. Finally when the doctor released him our Administrative Bishop presented his name at a church where a friend of our family had recently retired as pastor. Instead of welcoming my dad as the pastor, the retired minister got up before the congregation and made my dad look like an invalid to the congregation. Needless to say, he did not get the vote to be pastor of that church.

Even though God gave my dad a church within two weeks of that situation, it seemed to rip the wind out of his sails. He lost his joy somewhere aloing the way. And for the next few years of pastoring my dad became very distant even to the people that loved him the most. About two years before he died, I saw the dad I grew up with return to who he was as God begin to restore his joy. In fact, when he passed into eternity he had been at his new assignment for just 6 weeks. Yet three weeks before his homegoing he told me he was the happiest he had been in years.

My point is God is the author of your joy. Don't let anybody or anything steal it from you. Those BA people that always get under your skin have one goal in mind and that is to make you miserable. Don't let them succeed.

Surviving Bad Attitudes-Chapter 8-Don't Let Anyone Steal Your Joy

Psalm 30:5 "For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."
I overheard a conversation while standing in line at a gas station yesterday that concluded with this phrase, "Remember, don't let anyone steal your joy!" I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but when I heard this person loudly proclaim it on the phone I thought to myself what a powerful statement.

How many times has somebody with a bad attitude stolen your joy? I can remember dozens of times being on the mountain, feeling good about things and thinking that I had every T crossed and every I dotted only to have someone with a bad attitude knock the wind out of my sails. It is very easy to have your joy taken from you especially when you're not expecting the unexpected to happen. And most of the time that's just it-when you least expect it the joy stealer comes along and strips away your smile, your laughter, and your joy.

I am a very serious person, but I also love to laugh and have a good time. I will usually use a joke or two to get a point across in a sermon or tell a funny story to help people understand that tough times don't last, but happy people do. However, at my last church and even at my current church I have had people jump me with this thing, "You shouldn't laugh in church or tell jokes. You should be serious all the time." Man, when you are already drained from delivering your soul to the congregation and you get hit with something like that it will quickly steal your joy.

My first thought is this. The wise man said in Proverbs 17:22 "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." I believe one of our biggest problems in the church is that we have to many broken spirits. Their bones have dried up and they have spiritual arthritis. It's usually these people that ruin your day and steal your joy.

Some of the fondest memories I have are of funny things that have happened in church. I served one church where we had to lock the surplus toliet paper away because an elderly lady who rode one of our buses would steal it every Sunday. She would hide it under her clothing every week until we got wise to the situation. It was so funny to see her leave the church each Sunday looking like she had had plastic surgery because of all the enlarged places on her body that weren't there when she came to church.

Another time when we were having a Jericho march around the sanctuary and a lady shouted off her hairpiece. The style at that time was a beehive with a long flow of hair that went down the back below the neckline. One lady that was marching behind her and in complete time with the music and never stopping picked it up and put it back on her head. The only problem was she put it on backwards and blinded the poor lady. It was all I could do to keep the serivce going.

I could tell you hundreds of funny things that I have seen and had happen to me during church services, but space will not permit. All I can say is that God does have a sense of humor and the more you laugh the less time you have to cry or to be depressed about life.
(Continued tomorrow)

Happy July 4th

Yes, it's that time of the year again, so I interrupt what I have been sharing about Surviving Bad Attitudes to say "Happy Birthday America!"

What does America mean to me?

-It's the most beautiful place I have ever seen. From our coast here in South Carolina to the coast of California what a grand place to live.

-It's a place where a dream can come true. Ask Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver, Walt Disney, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and countless others. They all dreamed a dream and saw them come to pass.

-It's a place where I can worship the God that I want to, go to church where I please, and not worry about condemnation or oppression.

-It's a place where I can own a house, drive a car, get a good education, make something out of myself, and continue to grow and progress each and every day of my life.

-It's a place where the good far outweighs the bad, a place where equality and sportsmanship still rule the day in spite of a careless few.

America has changed. Not every thing is red, white, and blue anymore in the eyes of some people. But I don't want to live anywhere else. This is my country, this is my home, this is my America.

Happy Birthday again!

(Blog will return next Tuesday)