A One-armed Inspiration

Kevin's story will make you grateful for what you have and challenge you to rise above any challenge!

Donors or Owners?

By now you've probably heard the story about the wealthy University of Connecticut football donor who has asked for his $3-million donation to be refunded because he disagreed with the selection of the new football coach and he is dissatisfied with the current athletic director.

I'm not a UConn fan, or alumnus so I don't have a dog in this fight, but I think the story gets to a bigger issue. When do donors become owners? Either your donation is a gift, or it's a purchase of power and decisions. Churches, universities, and non-profit organizations that rely on donations to live out their mission and purpose shouldn't be held hostage by wealthy, or influential people. Was UConn's athletic department obligated to follow the wealthy donor's advice over someone who has been a 40+ year ticket holder, paid tuition for their children to go to the university and never missed a home game? If "yes" then why? If yes, then how is this not a purchase of influence?

This is a dangerous slope and a nasty precedent. It's why we have big time laws on this issue in regard to political campaign contributions. I'm not saying the benefactor doesn't have legitimate concerns, or the right to express his opinions on the football program, but at what point does a donation become a purchase? Now if his donation had clearly stated that it gave him the right to make decisions for the athletic program upon the university's acceptance that is different. Every day people endow gifts and make significant contributions to non-profits while specifying how they would like the funds to be used. For example, someone may want to endow a chair in a specific field of study, or they may want to contribute funds to build a new facility for the arts at the school, etc. However, even these donations have to be approved by the board of trustees, or leaders. The organization or institution wants to make sure any and all donations support their mission and purpose. This is why designated contributions can be ugly.

If someone wanted to give our church 2-million dollars to begin a ministry dedicated to promoting the Wican movement our leadership would decline the offer because it is in direct conflict with our stated purpose and mission. However, let's say someone approaches leadership and wants to donate funds to build additional children ministry facilities. We're all in and we would even appreciate their input on the facility! But if they wanted to dictate how our children's ministry leaders lead and what they teach (content, style, volunteers, etc.) we would probably pass on the offer. What's the point of having leaders in certain areas if you are not going to empower and trust their leadership? Why would anyone want to serve when at any moment their role can be made obselete by someone trumping it with more cash?

In this day and age of GTMF (get the money first) leaders would do well to consider the potential "hidden" costs of big donations and remain faithful to the nature, purpose and mission of their organization. Donors need to remember the difference between a gift and a purchase. True gifts have no strings attached. When I give something to you it is no longer my responsibility. It is yours and you are responsible with what you do with with it. By giving I have done my part. Now when I purchase something that is different. I have a stake, claim and ownership in the purchase. I have expectations and we are legally bound by warranties, terms of service/purchase, contracts, etc.

Jesus promoted equal sacrifice. He wasn't as impressed with the size of the gift as he was the cost of the gift. Yeah we're talking about sacrifice. Remember the story of the poor widow in Mark 12:41ff? Her gift was greater than the big donors because it was given at great cost to her. Jesus was also concerned about the attitude of giving. What's the motivation and the attitude of the giver's heart?

I really believe God has blessed certain people with wealth and the ability to use their wealth to be a blessing to others and bring glory to his name. I have been the recepient of their generosity more than once and I thank God for their faithfulness and calling. I also believe there are people who have wealth and use it to influence and control others as they attempt to gain additional wealth. These people are driven by greed and power. And don't be fooled, they are often found in churches. Hollywood and literature have provided us with a fairly accurate picture of their world. They give, but they give with strings, consequences and conditions that may be implied or stated. Scripture says God loves "a cheerful giver". Hard to imagine a "cheerful giver" asking for their money back.

A Debt of Prayer

Governments (state, city, county and federal) get a lot of criticism. Yes, much of it is merited. We've all got an opinion about government and our leaders. Just about every state is in dire financial trouble like the federal government. In South Carolina we've got our hands full. If we are going to rise above our current state of affairs it's going to take a lot of wisdom, bipartisan agreement and courage to make some unpopular decisions. These don't come easy.

Criticizing the government without digging in to do our part is like complaining about the weeds in the yard, but not lifting a finger to do anything about them. I'm not so naive to believe we are all going to agree on everything. However, I'm not so young that I can't remember days when our leaders rolled up their sleeves, set aside political rhetoric, made concessions and hashed out legislation that served the people for the better.

Christ-followers do Scripture and our Savior a huge disservice when we talk about the government, spread rumors and join the negative voice. James has strong words in this regard:

James 1:26
26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.

Scripture counsels us to pray for those in authority over us:

• 1 Timothy 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
• Romans 13:1-4
  Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

You and I share the responsibility to pray for our leaders regardless of their party affiliation, whether we voted for them, or like them. It's time the church took the lead in showing the way. I'm not big on church sponsored political rallies (both parties use them) because it takes the focus off the Gospel and puts the emphasis on humanity, which is deeply flawed. But I am a strong advocate of praying for our leaders, especially those with whom I disagree.

The next time you are at your hair cutter, the hardware store, coffee shop, or break room and the conversation is a negative take on government try holding your tongue and simply pray for those in leadership. I promise you will feel better and I know that prayers offered in faith are heard!

A Not So Civil Discourse

Language means something, or at least it used to mean something. Today we exchange words, phrases, opinions, and remarks with little consideration for how, or where they will land. Although I've gotten better, I still need to practice living out my grandmother's advice: "If you don't have something nice to say don't say anything at all." You could also throw in, "You don't have to say everything that comes to mind." Ouch, still working on this one.

Whether it's acidic political rhetoric, Tweets tinged with vinegar by players on opposing teams, or Facebook postings laced with supposition and lacking facts, we are drowning in a culture that is immune to truth, common courtesy and simple respect. Opinion based on supposition seems to be readily accepted and repeated instead of questioned, or confirmed. Lincoln said, "To sin by silence makes cowards of men."

Let me give you an example. Recently I was hanging out with some guys when the favorite subject of the South (college football) came up. The topic was Clemson's new offensive coordinator, Chad Morris. One guy (a Clemson fan) quickly stated, "He's never coached in college and has no experience! It's a bad move." No one spoke up so I decided to challenge the statement with truth. I said something to the effect of, "I'm a Kentucky fan, but I do know that is not correct. I believe he coached last season at Tulsa and prior to that he was a very successful, tenured head coach at a Texas high school football power house." Now, I know this may seem relatively minor and I probably should have picked something more significant, but the point still holds.

First the facts. According to Clemson athletics website:
Prior to coming to Tulsa, Morris had an 82 percent winning percentage as a high school coach in the state of Texas. He led Lake Travis High School to back to back undefeated 16-0 State Championship seasons. He won three state titles overall and played in six state championship games in his high school career.

This is how rumor, innuendo and half-truths ruin careers, reputations, character, companies and organizations. It's like sowing bad seeds that yield ugly plants. Once they have grown they begin to choke out everything around them, including truth. These weeds are choking our culture. It's time we all exercised some weed control:

Ask yourself:
1. Is it true?
2. How do I know it's true?
3. Is it worth repeating?
4. Who will be affected by repeating this?
5. (For Christ followers) How will repeating this exalt Christ and build up His church?

I don't personally know Michael Vick, or Lindsay Lohan and yet I have commented on their lives or repeated something I heard, or read about them to others. There's nothing wrong with opinion, this blog is often full of it (opinion that is). However, opinion based on fact, or personal experience is better than opinion based on supposition, prejudice, hatred, anger, rumor and lies.

My grandmother had another saying or belief: Everyone has at least one redeeming quality. I need to remember that the next time I'm tempted to open my mouth without knowing all the facts, or seriously considering the outcome.

Heroes Then and Now

As we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr., Day we are reminded that heroes come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Dr. King fought for the very rights endowed by God upon every human. He gave his life fighting for others. 76-year old, Dory Stoddard gave his life protecting others in the Arizona shooting last weekend.

The retired construction worker used his body to protect his wife, Mavy from the gunfire of a madman in the mass shooting that took place outside a Tuscon grocery store. His pastor remembered his life during a memorial service today:

"Dory Stoddard … didn't die a hero, he lived a hero," his pastor Mike Nowak told several hundred mourners gathered for a memorial service at the Calvary Chapel in northeast Tucson.

"He completed his heroic act of kindness one final time with his wife, Mavy," Nowak added.

Mavy was among the 13 victims who survived the shooting that claimed six lives. Dory Stoddard didn't plan on being a human shield. However, like all heroes, he simply put others ahead of himself and acted with all the maternal instincts of a lioness putting her life on the line for her cubs. He did exactly what the Apostle Paul admonished all husbands to do in Ephesians5. And that is to live sacrificial lives that puts our wives ahead of us as Jesus did the church. Dory Stoddard gave his life so others could live. Rest in Jesus Mr. Stoddard, rest in Jesus!

Stay With the Herd

Stay with this entire video! See what happens when this baby water buffalo faces lions and crocodiles! 21 men from our church are gathered at a state park this weekend for their annual winter retreat. Last night after viewing this video we were reminded by retreat leader, Pastor Ken Forester the importance of staying with the herd! The herd provides encouragement, accountability, help, and strength for facing the Enemy. Who's in your herd? Are you trying to go it alone? Scripture says the Enemy prowls like a lion waiting to devour Christ followers. Don't be fooled, there's no Long Ranger's in Jesus' model for His followers. We need the herd.

Winter Storm

Yep that's nearly 6" of snow in my front yard and some places near us are reporting up to 9"!

Life and "routine" will be disrupted this week and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. There are things within our control and things beyond. Weather is beyond and reminds us we aren't in charge. Time to renew, refresh, read, relax, write and refocus.

Talk, Argue, Second-guess & Debate Later!

(Picture of mourners gathered in AZ holding hands after the fatal shooting)

Before we start jumping to conclusions based on rumor, supposition, innuendo and a lot of misinformation about the Arizona shooting tragedy let's focus on what we know. Let's pull the soapboxes out from under the political media pundits (from both major parties) and agree to discuss and debate vitriolic political rhetoric, access to handguns, unstable people and the rest of it at a later date. None of that matters right now. Right now we need to pray. We need to pray for:

• The victims of the Arizona shooting who are battling for their lives.
  
• The families of those who were killed at the hands of an unstable person.
  
• First responders, leaders and citizens of Pima County, Arizona.
  
• All of our elected officials (local, state and national) and their families.
  
• The alleged shooter who is obviously deeply troubled and his family.
• Leaders to lead with wisdom and discernment and that reason will prevail.
  

A friend shared a recent post from Pastor Mark Batterson's blog that contained a blessing (based on Deuteronomy 33) for the new year from a pastor (Joel Schmidgall) at his church. I think its worth repeating. After praying for the above concerns maybe those of us who follow Christ might consider this blessing as a covenant for 2011:

May you be full of life and good health. May you be surrounded by authentic friends. May you find strength in the Lord when others tear you down. May you live by the covenant God has given and hold his Word dear to your heart. May God bless the talent He has given to you, that it would be realized in full potential for His purposes. May you find rest and peace in the midst of God’s presence. May this be a year of abundant provision for your every need. May God give you resolve and persistence to overcome for His good purposes. May you live in thankfulness and lead others into righteousness. May God give you the courage to speak grace and truth. May you grow into the place of leadership God has destined for you. May the favor of the Lord drench the fullness of your life. May you trust the living God to guide & protect you. May you continue to live with the knowledge of your salvation. God is your protector and helper in all times. May you experience the fullness of God’s destined blessing this coming year. Amen.

Getting A Degree, Now There's a Concept!

Kudos to Stanford's big time quarterback Andrew Luck who has decided to remain in college for his redshirt junior year and finish his degree. "I am committed to earning my degree in architectural design from Stanford University and am on track to accomplish this at the completion of the spring quarter of 2012," Luck said in a statement released by the California school.

Luck's father, Oliver Luck is a former NFL quarterback and the AD at West Virginia. He noted that his son did not postpone entering the draft because of the current contract negotiations with the NFLPA and the NFL:

"This is a win-win for him. He gets to spend another year at Stanford, be part of team that will be highly ranked again next year, finish his degree and enjoy Palo Alto.....It's not like the NFL is going anywhere, it's one of the best run leagues in the world. It will still be there when he graduates."

It may be old fashioned in this day and age of one and done college b-ball players and football players who simply use college ball for a couple of years just to increase their NFL draft prospects and signing bonus, but it's certainly refreshing. You gotta love his father's take on his son: "Call him old school," Oliver Luck said. "He comes from a faction of people who believe you go to college to pursue your degree."

Going to college to get your degree, now there's a concept! I know a lot of kids leave early to provide for their families and avoid a career ending injury. I get that. But for those of us who really do believe that NCAA commercial line: "There are over 380,000 NCAA student athletes, and most of us will go pro in something other than sports" it's refreshing.

Good luck Mr. Luck and since I don't have a dog in the PAC-10 dogfight I'm going to cheer for you in 2011 as long as you aren't playing and SEC team, or Clemson.

50 Is BIG Business

Just before Thanksgiving I hit the big 49. I've never made a big deal about age. In fact, I've always been pretty content with my age, except for childhood when we all wanted to "grow up".

I was doing just fine in the early part of my 49th year until two, separate, but strangely connected things happened. The first was opening the cabinet where we keep our pills and vitamins to discover a bottle of "Centrum Silver". I thought it was one left by my parents when they were visiting, but later learned that my wife had actually bought it for us because she got a good deal on it. Good deal????? I just wasn't prepared to find a bottle of Centrum Silver vitamins waiting for my personal consumption at age 49. It clearly states on the bottle that it is a vitamin for people 50+! I am not 50, yet! Taking it at 50 and above is just fine, but not BEFORE 50! This really tore me up. This from a guy who never gets upset when people older than my youngest child refer to me as "sir", "mister", or "that older guy". Yet, this silver bottle pushed me into a world where I wasn't chronologically cleared to fly yet. I refer to this day as "Centrum Silver Day".

The same day (Centrum Silver Day) I came home and started combing through the mail. I was expecting a letter. However, I wasn't expecting a letter of welcome with a membership card and dues invoice from AARP! Convinced it was a conspiracy to plague and oppress 49-year old's, I promptly sent the entire envelope and its contents to the shredder. Imagine trying to register someone for a retirement organization well before they are even in the decade of legal retirement? Yes, I know they started lowering their membership eligibility age years ago in an effort to include more people and increase their bottomline. Translation? More cash on hand for AARP. The card/letter even stated that I could begin using the membership card upon turning 50. Ha, ha, bet they wouldn't sit on the payment until my 50th birthday!

I thought the matter was settled until last week when yet another AARP kit arrived. Are you kidding me? I have no doubt that 10,000 Boomers turning 65 every day for the next 19 years is just too much to wait for at AARP headquarters when the eligibility age for membership is now down to 50. Think about all those dues. If you take half the Boomer population (35m) and multiply it by the $16 AARP annual dues that's more than $560 million! Pretty soon they will be offering them to everyone who has a child in grade school, or a silver car, or people who still use snail mail. 50 is indeed BIG business. For more insight into the affects of Boomer retirement see Ellen Goodman's recent article on the subject.

Wonder how long it's going to take AARP to send me another kit since I shredded the second one?

Happy at 49 and looking forward to 50, if God is willing!

2010 Religion Stories of the Year

Click the link below to review and see the top 10 religious news stories of the year according to the RNA (Religious Newswriters Association)

2010 Religion Stories of the Year]