I still like family practice. Actually I am not a doctor. (Not that kind of doctor anyhow) But I often compare what I do in ministry for a local church to that of a physician in family practice. I am there with families when their babies are born. And I am there when there are tragic circumstances surrounding the process of childbirth too. And I baptize those same children as the family gathers. Life marches on. It is fun to…
Joe Bagby is not a big name preacher. He does not serve a mega-church. To my knowledge he has not published any popular books. I doubt if he has been invited to speak at well known conferences over the course of his career. But when I grow up I want to be like Joe Bagby. Joe serves the 4th and Elm Church of Christ in Sweetwater, Texas. I don’t know how long his tenure has spanned in Sweetwater, but it…
Last night I delivered a lecture on ethics in law enforcement to the Granbury Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association. During the course of the presentation I cautioned the group about accepting discounts at restaurants, because of their association with the police department. Little did I know at the time what was going to take place this morning?I joined my usual Friday morning breakfast group at the Firehouse Café bright and early today. Robert has been waiting on our table for…
When our boys were much smaller, Jan ordered monogrammed duffle bags for each of them. Each child had his own personalized luggage. They would load their bags in the car to go visit Grannie and Granddad for a few days. And of course they valued the individuality that goes with having your own bag. Randall had legos stashed in his duffle bag. Daniel carefully packed capes and swords for the trip. Mitchell was more inclined to include weaponry in his…
Pronounce me guilty. I discovered this morning that I have used a word grossly out of context for quite some time. The word is: burnout. I would love to eradicate that term from my vocabulary completely, but that is probably not going to happen. I have expressed on more than one occasion: I am burned out! It is usually a reference to work related matters. Occasionally I might mention it in regard to some volunteer driven project. I realized this…
Does anyone care? Everyday individuals in people helping professions of all kinds are going the extra mile to make a difference. Teachers put in all kinds of extra hours to help one struggling student. Nurses take the time to listen to a patient, who is lonely and scared. Firefighters and paramedics keep their skills sharp, so they can be prepared to take care of a person’s immediate medical concerns in the field. And then there are police officers. No one…
I must confess. I am careless. I leave my keys in a variety of nooks and crannies in our home previously unknown to mankind, so when it comes time to leave the house I am in deep trouble. Where did I put those keys? I leave things at the office that should go home. And I leave things at home that should be at the office. I lose grocery lists before arriving at Walmart. Our church treasurer tracks me down…
I hope to share a few images of both camp sessions during the course of this week. Maybe even a few parents can see their kids in action! Camp Impact and Camp Cornerstone are both going on during the same week on the campus of Oklahoma Christian University. We will have over 850 campers, counselors, and support staff during these sessions. The two sessions will operate on different schedules in order to optimimize the facilities. Once again I will be…
While at was at camp…the police officers I am privileged to team up with were back home doing their thing. Sgt. Michael Holly and members of his shift began their week on Monday by being summoned to a drowning. A 15 year old who would have been in Mitchell’s graduating class got in trouble in the swimming area of Lake Granbury adjacent to the city beach. I am certain that Sgt. Holly’s crew and rangers with the Brazos River Authority…
Camp Zenith is about to come to an end. Tomorrow morning well over 400 campers will pack up and say goodbye to dozens of new friends. Dozens? Some of the campers have actually met and started friendships with that many people. “Z” Groups of course encourage that process. Each camper has been in the same group of about 20 people for the entire week. It is pretty interesting to see groups begin to come together over the course of the week. Some…