How may I serve you?

Wow, we (www.southbrookchurch.com) closed our UNITED series today by sending our folks out to serve at seven different locations. I had the privilege to serve at Plaza Baptist Church (www.plazabaptistchurch.org) with about 85 Brookies and about 25 folks from Plaza.

I was humbled, impressed, and amazed...these folks joined together to paint the hallways and classrooms in a two-story education building at the church and handed out light bulbs and picked up trash in several neighborhoods. Meanwhile, there were hundreds of other folks at other locations throughout the area doing the same thing.

We were being the church, and it reminded me again, that serving shouldn't only be a special time or place where we do something for others, but it should be a way of life...our lifestyle...our mission...our command...it should be something in our blood...our spirit...just sayin'.

So, for anyone reading this...are you a servant? a servant leader? a servant follower? how 'bout a good ol' servant? Ask yourself, "how may I serve the people around me?"

Courteously revere one another...

"Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another." Eph. 5:21

I've thought about this verse all day....Paul is talking to the Ephesian church and he's transitioning to a conversation with them about how they should live as family.

I just can't get out of my head how life would change...sometimes drastically...if we considered to courteously revere people as we interact with them...everyone.

Think about it....courteously revere. I grew up in the baptist camp in the south and we were taught to respect folk but I have to defer to those of you who understand what it means to revere someone....one friend said "it's a step above respect."

Wow, what if we courteously (that needs no definition) revered (honored someone a step above respect) everyone we come in contact with on a daily basis...no matter who they are...what they do...what we think?

It means we totally die to self, not just talk about it...and we honor them one step above respect. How would that change the way we interact with folks?

Just a thought...

32 years....and more to come

Last week my lovely bride and I celebrated our 32nd anniversary. Amazing...it's hard to conceive that we've been married for 32 years. More alarming, our oldest son will be turning 30 in August. What's up with that? I look in the mirror and can't believe I'm old enough to have a son that age...must less four adult children.

We spent our anniversary on the beach (Belleair beach in Florida) with our daughter and Sandy's brother and sister (who by the way celebrated their 29th anniversary last week as well).

During that time, I actually spent some quiet time walking on the beach and looking back at all the activities of those years--having four great kids, staying married to the same woman (or should I say she stayed with me in spite of me), taking several occupational journeys (teacher, interior designer, principal, tractor trailer relocater, editor, writer, pastor), my wife's second bout with cancer, my myasthenia gravis, various moves (Florida, Virginia, Hawaii, Texas, Colorado, and North Carolina), parents aging and the passing away of my mom and father-in-law, kids discovering life (both joyous and prayerful moments), and the list goes on...and on...

It's hard to believe. I think I've forgotten more things than I remember, and I realize that there's still more to come. And in the midst of it all...one thing I know, God has been a constant throughout it all and will continue to be so.

That is comforting to know.

Lifelong learner

The more I travel along this journey called life, the more I realize I know less than I thought. It seems the more I read, experience, absorb, or accidentally acquire it only confirms my lack of knowing...

However, instead of giving up and forgetting about it, I'm learning how important it is to continue learning in order to live life to the fullest...knowing that God wants to take what I read, experience, absorb, or accidentally acquire and allow it to help someone else in life...He never wastes an experience...so why should I?

Resolve to get involved

In my 54 years of living, I've never been one to make new year's resolutions. Basically, I don't want to hold myself to that kind of personal accountability...

However, I've made an exception this year-perhaps because of age, place in life, or maybe the stars are aligned-just kidding. I've resolved, and challenged others to do so, to be involved. Involved in what? In the lives of others...not just involved, but present, available.

I don't want to be someone who is thinking about what I'm going to say next, or what's next on my agenda, or the things I need to complete, or the list goes on...I want to be giving them my full attention.

What was I saying? Just kidding. May your new year be meaningful.