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Archive for the ‘Personal Stories’ Category

Forgiving Offenders … Jesus’ Way

Posted in Church Conflict, Church Health and Conflict, Conflict with Church Antagonists, Forgiveness and Reconciliation among Christians, Personal Stories, Please Comment! on December 28, 2011| 3 Comments »

His words still reverberate in my ears.

25 years ago, I served as pastor of a small church in Silicon Valley.

People attend small churches for various reasons.  Near the top of the list is significance.

Many churchgoers want to have a say in decision-making, so leaders schedule lots of “business meetings.”

We had such a meeting one Sunday night after the evening service.

A woman made a statement in the meeting.  While I cannot recall her precise wording, she mentioned something positive about her Bible teacher, who was also a board member.

The board member interpreted her comment in a negative manner.  He quickly yelled out a response in front of the entire church, mentioning her indirectly.

The meeting was spinning out of control – and the moderator stood there in silence.

A few days after the meeting, I contacted the shouting board member and told him that he needed to apologize to the entire congregation for his behavior.

(If you sin in the presence of one person, you need to apologize to that one person.  Sin in front of a group, apologize to that group.  Sin in front of the congregation, apologize to the congregation.)

It took courage for me to speak with him.

He was twice my age.

He had been a pastor and a missionary in the past.

He was an intimidating individual.

He had vented his wrath on me at times, too.

But he had crossed a line, and he needed to acknowledge his mistake in front of his church family.

Sometimes we had guests on Sunday mornings, so that wasn’t the optimal time for his apology.

I invited him instead to make his apology during our next Sunday evening service when only our church family was present.

It was a so-so apology – maybe good for him, although not as sincere as I would have liked.

If the board member hadn’t apologized, I would have asked him to step down from the board.  Yes, leaders mess up, just like everyone else, but when we do, we need to make things right by admiting our sins and requesting forgiveness – especially when we sin in a public setting.

In this case, we forgave him, and that was that.

If this incident happened in your church, how would it have been handled?

Some Christians prefer to deny that anything happened.

Others excuse such misbehavior.

A few believers choose to avoid the sinner in the future.

Some decide to ostracize the offender instead.

And some believers quickly forgive the person without waiting for any type of confession on the offender’s part.

The church as a whole tends to ignore Jesus’ instructions in Luke 17:3-4:

“If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.  If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Notice the sequence: Your brother sins.  You rebuke him.  He repents.  You forgive him.

But we tend to ignore the rebuking and the repenting steps.  It’s too much work … and, truth be told, we often lack the courage to rebuke anyone … even our kids or friends.

So when our brother sins, we take a shortcut.  We instantly forgive him … but we really choose to overlook his sin instead.

That doesn’t help him at all.  He’s more susceptible to repeating his behavior.

And some people will choose to tiptoe around the offender from then on.

In the process, we teach our church that when you sin, nothing happens.

I seek to practice these words of Jesus in my own life and ministry.

They deal with sin realistically.

They heal relationships.

They provide true reconciliation.

This week, when a Christian brother or sister sins, gently rebuke him or her so they will repent.  In essence, Jesus says, “No repentance, no forgiveness.”  (Re-read the second half of verse 4 above.)

And when they repent, let them know you forgive them.

That’s Jesus’ way.

If Christians obeyed Luke 17:3-4, we’d have far less conflict and broken relationships in our churches.

And that’s the biblical way of dealing with sinning Christians.

So why don’t we do it?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Christmas in Saudi Arabia

Posted in Personal Stories on December 23, 2011| 2 Comments »

Today’s guest blogger is my wife Kim, who discusses how the words “Christmas” and “Arabia” could once be used in the same sentence when she lived in the Middle East more than 40 years ago.  Ah, the magic and romance of the desert …

Kim in Arabia, May 2011

It seems so long ago.  The years were 1965-1970.  It was Christmas in Saudi Arabia, where my parents were missionaries to the Bedouin people in the desert.

Photo at Oasis Hospital with Kim's father in back row, 3rd from left, 1967

We lived about 100 miles from the now beautiful, modern city of Dubai.

Dubai, May 2011

46 years ago, we traveled by open land rover on non-existing roads surrounded by sand dunes.  It took about 10 hours to travel 100 miles.

19 months ago, I went back to visit where I lived.  I took a taxi to the hospital where we used to work and it only took 1 hour and 15 minutes.  What a difference!

Kim with Taxi in Arabia, May 2010

When the Arabs asked me why I was visiting, I told them, “I lived here 46 years ago.”  With amazement, they said, “There was nothing here.”  I said, “You are exactly right.”

Kim in Front of Oasis Hospital, May 2011

Every year at Christmas time, my brothers, sisters and I came home from boarding school, either in Pakistan or India.  It was only at Christmas time that I saw my parents each year.  I counted every day for months when it was time to go home.  Home was where we had no homework and no strict schedules for two months.

We would get together with friends on the compound.  We hiked, cooked, played games, played tricks on each other, and saw our pets (cats, dogs, gazelles, goats, a donkey, a fox, and a hedgehog).

Sometimes we slept outside up on high beds to keep snakes and scorpions away.  We would wake up in the morning hearing camels eating our dried palm leaf fence.

Life was simple.  We would run around without shoes, help in the hospital, read books, listen to good music, and sit around and just talk.  I loved the simplicity.

Saudi Arabian Desert

When it came to getting a Christmas tree, we were creative.  We chose a thorn bush and brought it home to decorate.  We had fun adorning the tree with popcorn.  We wanted more decorations so we took Kotex and tore it apart to make snow with cotton.  I wasn’t sure my mom was very happy with us.

We learned to make taffy, pulling and pulling until we had a sweet, sticky treat.

But my best memory was camping in the desert.  I remember always having a sinus infection but I was determined to go – so I bundled up and went camping.  Being in the desert at night under a clear sky, you could see every star.  You could see the campfire for miles.  You were surrounded by sand dunes and the sound of nothing.  It was peaceful and quiet.

It must have been how the shepherds, Joseph, and Mary felt when Jesus was born.

Our Christmas service was held outside at night.  The glowing of candles and far off lights made the desert romantic and magical.  I was asked to play the organ and everyone from the compound came and sang Christmas carols.  This was my gift to Jesus.

Oh, the simplicity of Christmas!

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How Good Do You Feel About Your Church?

Posted in Church Health and Conflict, Personal Stories on December 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »

My wife and I currently live in Phoenix, Arizona.

When we arrived here two years ago, we had no idea how to find a church home.

So we went to the Willow Creek Association’s website, made a list of the churches in the WCA, and proceeded to visit them, one by one.

It was not an encouraging process.

Six months later, on July 4th weekend, we visited Christ’s Church of the Valley in northern Phoenix – at least a 20-minute drive from our home.

Except for a brief six-week interlude, we’ve been going there ever since.

Let me share with you eight qualities (among many) that cause believers to feel good about their church:

First, the greetings are sincere.  As we walk from our car to the worship center, parking attendants tell us with a smile, “The service is going to be great.”  Several hundred feet from the entrance, greeters smile, wave and say hello.  It’s not uncommon for us to be greeted ten times before we enter the lobby – and the greeters are stationed so we don’t have to guess where the worship center is located.

Second, the music is awesome.  The church has three worship leaders, they’re all terrific, and they work together well on stage.  We sing three worship songs – including a hymn sometimes – and enjoy hearing at least one performance song every week.

And the music is often surprising.  Last Sunday, after everyone left the stage, a lone guitar player lingered, and then sang and played a blues song about Jesus’ birth called “Baby Boy.”  The style was totally unexpected, but it worked.

Third, the atmosphere is relaxed.  You can dress the way you want.  You can bring water or coffee into the service.  Few people talk, though, because they want to hear what’s happening on stage.  The only time I’ve encountered the church police is when I tried to photograph something on stage using a flash.  (I was arrested but got out on bail.)

Fourth, the stage is creatively presented.  The last series was on the life of Joseph.  When you entered the worship center, the letters JOSEPH were spread across the back of the stage in a desert motif and stood at least six feet tall.

During the current series, “The Other ‘F’ Word” (family), there are four monitors placed on stage at varying heights.  Last week, each monitor displayed falling snow.  Really cool effect to set the mood.

Fifth, the messages are contemporary.  Don Wilson is our pastor, and although he’s not nationally known, he’s by far the best preacher I’ve heard in the Phoenix area.  His messages are biblically-grounded, well-researched, application-oriented, and delivered in a no-nonsense style.  When he talks about couples living together, or sex outside marriage, or other hot-button issues, he gives it to us straight, but in love.

Sixth, the messages include a testimony.  Most of the time, someone from the church is interviewed about the theme of the morning.  A few weeks ago, we heard a testimony from a former NFL player who is in an accountability group with Dallas Cowboy’s quarterback Tony Romo.  Last Sunday, a staff member was interviewed inside his home about the way he manages his family – and he and his wife shared some great ideas!

Seventh, the performance songs are moving.  I loved the Sunday last spring where the service began with U2’s “Until the End of the World.”  Several weeks ago, the song “100 Years” was done – a song I knew nothing about.  But it was so great I bought two versions on iTunes.  (It’s by Five for Fighting.)  The church has its pulse on where people are at both spiritually and culturally.

Finally, the church is consistently innovative.  Six or so years ago, Christmas fell on a Sunday, and some prominent evangelical churches closed their doors so their people could celebrate Christmas Day with family.  Both secular and Christian critics lambasted those churches, even though some of them held multiple Christmas Eve services.

Since Christmas Day falls on a Sunday this year, I wondered what CCV would do.  Pastor Don told us last Sunday.

The church doors will be open this Sunday from 9-11 am.  The staff will be present (in revolving shifts?).  A film about The Nativity will be constantly playing, and worshipers are invited to come and take communion.  You can bring your family to church, worship the Lord for a few minutes, and then go back home.

Brilliant.

I love so much about CCV.  It’s not heaven on earth, but it must be close, becaue I see so many CCV stickers on the back of cars all over Phoenix.

The church is having ten Christmas Eve services on its campus this year (six on its other campus), and you need tickets to guarantee you have a seat.  Based on last year’s crowd, we’ll be arriving early.

Two Sundays ago, I brought a long-time friend (the first person I ever led to Christ) to church, and he LOVED it – especially after he enjoyed scrambled eggs, bacon, and French toast after the service for free.  (All guests and their families receive a complimentary meal.)

A growing church really has to answer only one simple question:

Do you feel good enough about your church to invite family, friends, and co-workers?

If the answer is “yes,” your church is growing – and most likely, so are you.

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Tribute to a Mentor

Posted in Church Health and Conflict, Current Church Issues, Personal Stories on December 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »

How often do you reflect upon the people who have made a significant impact on your life?

Nearly twenty years ago, Gary McIntosh, a teacher from Talbot School of Theology (my seminary), stopped by the church I served as pastor in Silicon Valley.  Gary came to visit a former student, John, who was also our church’s outreach director.  John kindly introduced me to Gary.

I knew Gary from his Church Growth Newsletter and appreciated his work, as did many pastors I knew.

A few years later, when Gary was writing his book Make Room for the Boom … or Bust, he invited me to write the chapter on the rebirthed church model.  I had two weeks.  (The book has long been out-of-print, but ten years ago, I found and bought three copies at the Crystal Cathedral bookstore.)

Shortly after the book was published, Gary invited me to lecture for one of his doctoral classes at Talbot.  As exciting as that was, I valued the hours we spent together – five of them at his home – even more.

Several years later, I invited Gary to a lead a Saturday seminar at our church involving forty of our leaders.  Many of the profound changes we made to reach our community originated with those meetings.

When I was nearing the end of my doctoral studies at Fuller Seminary, the director of the final project/disseratation tried to switch advisors on me, which would have negated all the work I had already done.  (I was integrating Scripture with family systems theory and the recommended advisor insisted I use another system.)

I called Gary to ask him what I should do, and he volunteered to be my reader – and with his sterling reputation, Fuller quickly approved him.  It was an honor to have him critique my work – and saved me scores of hours of work.

Last summer, Gary invited me to attend the Society for Church Consulting conference at Biola/Talbot last month, where I met various Christian leaders who are trying to turn around churches that are struggling.

Calvary Chapel at Talbot School of Theology

With the room filled with experts like Paul Borden, Aubrey Malphurs, and Carl George, Gary hit a grand slam with his presentation on how a consultant can help turn around churches of various sizes and ages.

Beginning of Gary's Lecture on Church Turnarounds

During the conference, Gary introduced me to several Christian leaders who have already made a profound impact in my life and ministry.

While at the SFCC meetings, I also learned how many other students, pastors, and leaders have been impacted by Gary, who has already published 18 books, with three more coming out in 2012!

I thank God for raising up people like Gary who are fulfilling their calling and making a difference in the lives of so many leaders and churches.

Who has made a significant difference in your life?

When is the last time you thanked them?

With Gary McIntosh at the SFCC Conference

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Special Christmas Experiences

Posted in Personal Stories on December 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »

What is your favorite Christmas experience?

Looking back over your life, when have you had a joyous, spine-tingling, I-want-to-freeze-frame-this-feeling-at-Christmas-forever moment?

I’d like to share three of them with you from my own life – and then mention one I’m still waiting to have.

Moment Number One happened when I was ten years old.  That was the year I received a three-inch reflecting telescope for Christmas.  It meant a lot to me because my father had to work two jobs to earn the money to buy gifts for us that Christmas, and I knew how much love stood behind that gift.

I spent many hours looking at planets and star clusters and the moon in my backyard.  Months later, I took the telescope to Lake Mead, rose in the middle of the night, and explored the heavens without any interference from city lights – moments made possible by a Christmas gift from generous parents.

Moment Number Two happened a few months after Kim and I started dating.  We drove to a section of Long Beach called Naples and walked up and down the canals, admiring the Christmas displays on the waterfront homes in the cold.  Afterwards, we ended up at Bob’s Big Boy for hot chocolate.  We repeated this little tradition many times in the years to come.

I’ve seen many great displays of Christmas lights over the years, including a cul-de-sac where every home was decorated and an entire street where people drove their cars past colorful displays around them.  But to me, the displays in Naples were the best.

Moment Number Three happened at a church in the early 1990s.  The churches I grew up in did not offer Christmas Eve services.  A few years after I became a pastor, I asked the church board at our Silicon Valley church if we could hold a Christmas Eve service that December.  The board chairman told me that we could do it, but he would not come.

Evidently others felt the same way.  The night of that first Christmas Eve service, 15 people came out in a furious rain storm – and my own family didn’t even show.  I guess the board chairman was right after all.

Undaunted, we kept trying, and a few years later, several hundred people came out – including that board chairman and his family – and the services were always meaningful.  More importantly, we put Christ at the center of His own birthday.

God has blessed me with many other wonderful Christmas experiences, but those were the ones that readily came to mind.

But there’s an experience I still want to have, one that a friend had years ago.

Every year, on Christmas Eve, a group of pilgrims are escorted along a trail from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, a distance of about five miles.  Along the way, they come to the traditional site of the field where the shepherds heard the angels proclaim Jesus’ birth.

Of all the Christmas characters, I identify most with the shepherds.

I’ve never been king of anything, so I can’t relate to Herod the Great.

I was married when my first child was born, so it’s hard to feel Joseph’s pain.

There has never been a time when I’ve ridden on a camel, or followed a unique heavenly body, or had any gold in my possession, so it’s hard to fathom what it’s like to be one of the magi.

But I can easily imagine what it’s like to be a shepherd.  They were poor, isolated, forgotten men who engaged in a repetitive job and worked with relatively unintelligent beings – and they had a lot of time for self-reflection.

I once had a picture of modern-day Bethlehem that I looked at continually.  Just once in my life, I’d like to stand in that field and sense what the shepherds felt when the angels announced their Messiah had come to earth – and was hanging out in a nearby stable.

My favorite Christmas song is O Holy Night:

Fall on your knees

O hear, the angels’ voices

O night divine

O night, when Christ was born

While I cannot go back in time and experience what the shepherds did … and while I may never be able to see that field firsthand … I’ll go there again in my imagination this Christmas, and thank God that I have heard the good news about Jesus and that He is my Savior and Lord.

Do you have a special Christmas experience you’d like to share?

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Christian All-Star Month, Part 2

Posted in Personal Stories on December 7, 2011| 2 Comments »

If you could plan four worship services – using anyone throughout church history – what would they look like?

Last time, I mentioned which venues, musicians, and vocalists I’d select, along with the hymns and praise songs.

Today, I’m choosing the performance songs, readings, and preachers.

Next, I’m choosing various artists to sing one performance song at each venue.

Bono and the boys from U2 will sing “Magnificent.”

Bob Dylan will sing “When He Returns.”

Twila Paris will sing “How Beautiful.”

Chuck Girard will sing “Little Pilgrim.”

During communion, we’ll have readings from these Christian books, which have meant so much to me over the years:

*Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster

*The Cross of Christ by John Stott

*Knowing God by J. I. Packer

*Loving God by Chuck Colson

The preachers?

They have to be biblically accurate, Christ-centered, passionate, and touch both the head and the heart.

That certainly narrows the field considerably.  My selections:

*Charles Spurgeon.  He is still widely read today, 177 years after his birth.  I read from the collection of Spurgeon’s writings Beside Still Waters: Words of Comfort for the Soul every day.  He was stout and smoked cigars, but Spurgeon loved Jesus, and everybody knew it.  He could have you laughing one minute and weeping the next.  Since I’m unaware of any recordings of Spurgeon preaching (he died in 1892), my guess is that many believers would flock to hear the Prince of Preachers just one time.  By the way, you can buy many of his best writings on Kindle for next-to-nothing.

*Charles Colson.  In 1986, I attended the Congress on Biblical Exposition in my hometown of Anaheim.  It was an all-star cavalcade of preachers: John Stott, Chuck Swindoll, Howard Hendricks, Stuart Briscoe, Stephen Olford, J. I. Packer, and many others.  It was the first time I had ever heard Colson speak, and he blew me away.  The man is fearless, a true prophet of Jesus Christ, who proclaims the truth with confidence and wisdom.  Time after time, when the mainstream media wants a leading evangelical Christian to comment on a news story, they select the wrong people.  If they just went to Colson every time …

*Bill Hybels.  It’s been fashionable to criticize Willow Creek recently, not for their message, but for their methodology.  In typical fashion, no one has been more honest about his church’s shortcomings than Hybels.  Bill is humble, wise, strong, and a master communicator.  More than anyone else, I’ve patterned my preaching style after his.  Years ago, I used to write my message and then listen to his tapes because if I heard him preach first, I’d want to steal everything he said.  A pastor friend introduced me to him one time, and he seemed genuinely interested in me – a rarity among Christian leaders.  God bless you, Bill.  What a treat it would be to hear you preach among all these great preachers …

*Dr. Curtis Mitchell.  Dr. Mitchell taught Bible at Biola for many years.  I had six classes with him, and while my grades fluctuated, he taught me more about the Bible than anyone ever has.  Whenever I heard that he’d be preaching somewhere in Southern California, I’d try and hear him speak.  Mentored by J. Vernon McGee (whom he brought to class one day as a guest lecturer), Dr. Mitchell eventually became an interim pastor at Nutwood Street Baptist in Garden Grove (where I ended up on staff several years later).  When he preached for an hour, it seemed like a minute.  He wasn’t great interpersonally (Kim’s dad invited me to join him and Dr. Mitchell for dinner one night, and he seemed uncomfortable), but he was both convincing and humorous in the pulpit.

How about this for a service lineup?

“Magnificent” – U2

“My Glorious”

Welcome and Invocation – Johnny Cash

“Holy, Holy, Holy”

Reading from The Cross of Christ by John Stott

Communion

“At the Cross/When I Survey”

Prayer

Message – Charles Spurgeon

Offering

“There is a Redeemer”

Benediction

Well, that’s my lineup.

Want to try constructing one yourself?

Go ahead – dream a little!

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Christian All-Star Month, Part 1

Posted in Personal Stories on December 5, 2011| 6 Comments »

Imagine that you have been asked to produce four Sunday worship services.

You are free to choose the venues, musicians, vocalists, songs, preachers, and anything else to glorify God and transform lives.

You have an unlimited budget – and the Lord has agreed to resurrect any dead believer you want, just for one service.

Go!

Let me first choose my favorite venues.

Too many modern worship facilities are comfortable but lack atmosphere.  I want church buildings with atmosphere.

*Holy Trinity Brompton in London.  Since the British are skittish about taking photos inside their worship centers, I can only show you an exterior shot of the building, and there’s little special about it.  But the church has taken a classic Anglican sanctuary and made it as contemporary as possible.  One of the most moving services I’ve ever attended was the Sunday that their associate pastor preached on Joshua taking the land as a metaphor for rebirthing a decaying Anglican church in Brighton.  I felt like moving to Brighton just to be a part of it.

Holy Trinity Brompton, London

*Hollywood Presbyterian Church.  My father-in-law taught Sunday School there for a while, and my good friend Ken got married there, both during the tenure of Lloyd Oglivie.  The building is magnificent inside.  A horrific conflict decimated the congregation a few years ago, but the worship center is awesome.

Hollywood Presbyterian Church

*St. Paul’s Cathedral, London.  This is the mother church of the Anglican Faith, the church where Prince Charles and Lady Diana got married – and the church the Nazis bombed but couldn’t destroy.  I’ve been there on several occasions, and upon entering the building, I can’t help but weep, it’s so magnificent inside.  Although tourists aren’t allowed to take photos inside the worship center, here’s a photo of the church’s exterior along with a photo from the Golden Dome on top:

View of London from the Golden Dome, St. Paul's, London

I realize that’s only three worship centers, but I’m a bit stumped on this one.  I’ll include one more if the Lord brings one to mind.

Next, let’s choose the worship band.

I’m going with Delirious as the church house band because they brought rock into modern worship.

But they have room for a couple extra guitarists, so I’m selecting Phil Keaggy and The Edge as well.

As far as vocalists, Bono gets to trade off with Martin Smith of Delirious.  (We’ll let Bono sing his favorite song, “Amazing Grace.”)

(For those who have had the privilege of attending a U2 concert, their last set usually feels like a worship service anyway, often ending with “40,” their version of Psalm 40.)

And George Beverly Shea gets to sing “I’d Rather Have Jesus” one more time.

Other vocalists include Joanna Hogg from Iona, Kim Hill, and Chuck Girard from Love Song:

Chuck Girard and Unknown Fan

The hymns will be “How Great Thou Art,” “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” “Holy, Holy, Holy,” “Abide with Me,” “Crown Him with Many Crowns,” “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” “At the Cross/When I Survey,” and “Be Thou My Vision.”

The praise songs will be “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High,” “My Glorious,” “There is a Redeemer,” “God Will Make a Way,” “Breathe,” “Our Lives are in Your Hands,” “Sometimes Alleluia,” and “What a Friend I’ve Found.”

Those are the venues, the musicians, vocalists, and songs.

Who would you select to lead worship?

Which songs would you want done?

I’d love to hear your selections!

In my next article, watch for the four preachers who have been selected for Christian All-Star Month.  You might be surprised!

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The Museum of Your Life

Posted in Current Church Issues, Forgiveness and Reconciliation among Christians, Personal Stories on November 22, 2011| 2 Comments »

It’s quiz time.  What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when I say …

Moses?

Maybe the term “leader,” or the ten plagues, or the Ten Commandments.

Shakespeare?

Possibly “playwright,” or Hamlet, or Stratford, or even the new film Anonymous.

Barry Bonds?

How about Giants, or 73, or 762, or steroids?

Richard Nixon?

Watergate.

My wife and I visited the Richard Nixon Library and Museum last weekend in Yorba Linda, California.  The place was packed.

Entrance to Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum

Nixon is the only native Californian to be elected President.  For that reason, I heard his name a lot growing up.

He was a Congressman and Senator from California and then Vice-President under Dwight Eisenhower for eight years.  Then he ran for President against John Kennedy in 1960 and barely lost.  When he ran for Governor of California two years later and lost (to current Governor Jerry Brown’s father Pat), most people wrote Nixon’s political obituary.

I remember sitting in the living room of my grandparents’ house in Whittier – where Nixon lived and went to college – in 1968.  My grandfather said, “God help this country if Nixon isn’t elected President.”

Later that year, Nixon held a rally at the Anaheim Convention Center, just a couple miles from my house.  My friend Steve invited me to come and sing in a youth choir, which I did.  We followed a woman all through the Convention Center, certain it was Pat Nixon.  (It wasn’t.)  We later sang, “Nixon’s the One” with everyone else.

This time, Nixon barely won the election, and easily defeated George McGovern for President in 1972.

The left hated Nixon, as did the press, but a lot of significant events occurred during his Presidency, such as the first men landing on the moon …

Apollo 11 Space Suit

and Nixon’s visit to China after more than two decades of world isolation …

Statues of Nixon and Chou-en-Lai

and, of course, Watergate … the third-rate burglary of the Democratic National Headquarters located in the Watergate complex in Washington, DC.

I’m old enough to remember the Watergate hearings featuring John Dean and all the revelations of a secret taping system in the Oval Office … and the shock many of us experienced reading transcripts from those tapes … because our President, who was raised a Quaker, swore profusely on them.

The Nixon Museum has an entire section devoted to Watergate – and nothing is covered up.

And then on August 9, 1974, Nixon resigned the Presidency and flew away on this helicopter:

US Navy Helicopter used during Nixon Presidency

Nearly four years later, I got Nixon’s autograph on a 3×5 card after an Angels-Brewers game at Anaheim Stadium.  Nixon lived down the coast in San Clemente and was a frequent guest of Angel owner Gene Autry.  There were only four of us around him that night, and the Secret Service allowed us to approach the former President because he liked the attention.

When Nixon was finally laid to rest, I remember watching his funeral on television, with Billy Graham presiding.

President Nixon's Gravesite

Why am I writing about Nixon?

Because for many people, he’s remembered for only one thing: the way he left office.

How fair is that?

Nixon was also a multi-instrumentalist, and a brilliant student, and a devoted husband and father, and an expert in foreign affairs, and the author of many books, and a huge sports fan, and a lover of model trains, as we saw when we initially entered the museum:

Model Trains in Nixon Museum

He also appeared on the cover of Time more than anyone else in history: 54 times.

I’m not a big fan of former President Bill Clinton, but I thought that what he said at Nixon’s funeral was the most profound thing I saw all day at the library.  His words are etched above one of the entrances:

Quote from former President Clinton above entrance

He said: “May the day of judging President Nixon on anything less than his entire life and career come to a close.”

Amen.

We’ve all messed up in our lives.

Some of us have nagging habits we’ve never quite been able to shake.

Some of us have done some really stupid things that few people ever found out about.  (While walking around my college recently, I remembered opening emergency doors three separate times during my freshman year.  In each case, I quickly walked away so I wouldn’t get caught.  Thankfully, I’ve never opened one since.)

Some of us finally conquered a temptation as we got older, only to meet an even greater temptation soon afterwards.

If we’re going to remember Nixon only for Watergate, then maybe we should only be remembered for failing a class, or a divorce, or a temper tantrum, or overspending, or committing a crime … but aren’t our lives much more than our mistakes?

Besides, the whole world hasn’t been watching and recording every detail of our lives.

The gospel of Jesus Christ promises that those who repent of their sin and receive Christ are granted complete and lasting forgiveness by God’s grace.  The hope of every believer is that when we stand before God someday, He will not see our sin but Christ living in us.  We want the Lord to evaluate the totality of our lives rather than just focusing on our failures.

When people someday walk through the museum of your life – which may be done either through a written obituary or a memorial service – how do you want them to evaluate you?

That’s how the Lord wants us to evaluate others.

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Who Introduced You to Your Favorites?

Posted in Personal Stories, Please Comment! on November 16, 2011| 4 Comments »

I have a little Thanksgiving project for you.

Think about all the people and things in life that you love the most: your spouse, friends, TV shows, books – you get the idea.

How were you first introduced to them?

While driving across the desert several days ago, it struck me how indebted I am to others for most of “my favorite things.”

For example, I am grateful to:

*my father for introducing me to Jesus, baseball cards, the Three Stooges, Christian books, the Dodgers and Lakers, and teaching me how to play sports.

*my mother for encouraging me to use the library, love Charlie Brown, enjoy The Good Twins – and for letting me stay home from Sunday night church to watch The Wizard of Oz.

*my brother John for making me a better player by playing baseball (with a tennis ball) in the backyard for years.

*my friend Lee who introduced me to comic books (at an early age), encyclopedias, and serious chess.  (We played 98 games one summer.  I won 49, he won 46, with three stalemates.)

*my grandmother, who gave an 8-year-old boy his first transistor radio, allowing him to hear Surfin’ USA and Puff the Magic Dragon for the first time.

*my friend Steve for deepening my love for sports, and whose burning desire to compete – making me a better player – resulted in our winning the “Top Jock” awards our senior year in high school.

*Mr. Remmel, my teacher in fifth and sixth grades, for introducing me to the soundtracks of The Music Man, West Side Story, and My Fair Lady, along with Peter, Paul, and Mary.

*my friend Ken for teaching me to play table tennis in his backyard and for inviting me to his church, where I later met my wife.

*my friends Kevin and Steve, who introduced me to baseball autographs when they acquired the signatures of Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford at the Grand Hotel in Anaheim in the spring of 1967.  (Several of us duplicated their experience – and their results – the following day.)

*my friend Dennis, who introduced me to the original Hawaii Five-O and playing one-on-one in the driveway.

*my friend Edmon who introduced me to The Beatles (on a camping trip) and Simon & Garfunkel (while playing chess at his house).

*my youth pastors John and Darryl, who introduced me to a serious study of Scripture while patiently answering my questions.

*my friend Dave, who introduced me to Bob Dylan, Johnny Carson, Breakfast Jacks, and humor in the sacred halls of our seminary.

*my father-in-law Earl, who introduced me to the wonders of acquiring a scholarly library – and allowed me to pursue his alluring daughter.

*my friend Tom, who showed me the latest Christian books and records at the Bible bookstore he ran, invited me to meet John Wooden, took me to see Star Wars, and introduced me to backpacking (in Glacier National Park).

*my son Ryan, who encouraged me to master Super Mario Brothers 3, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Simpsons, Seinfeld, the Gin Blossoms, and the wonders of the Android.

*my wise and witty daughter Sarah, who introduced me to Napoleon Dynamite, the singalong versions of The Sound of Music and Les Miserables (she knows all the words), What About Bob?, The Office (on Christmas Day) and the importance of family heritage.

*my wife Kim, who showed me how to think big, go to plays and movies, travel overseas – and gave me a book on U2 (Walk On by Steve Stockman) that made me a lifelong fan.

*my friend Craig, who introduced me to Christian artists like Kim Hill, Susan Ashton, Iona, Margaret Becker, and Steven Curtis Chapman.

*my friends Russ and Ray, who showed me that a pastor and a former board chairman can be friends for life.

*Rick Steves, who introduced me to budgetary travel in Europe, thus broadening my thinking about the world – and causing me to constantly daydream.

*Dr. Archibald Hart, who introduced me to a wise integration of Scripture and psychology – as well as Mr. Bean.

*my friend Kimberley, who loaned me a DVD copy of Midsomer Murders, a British mystery show that allows my mind to travel back to England periodically.

I stumbled upon many other favorites myself, I guess, including the San Francisco Giants and 49ers, Van Morrison, the iPod and iTunes, Bach, Sherlock Holmes, 24, London, and Mozart, to name just a few.

How much poorer would my life be without all the wonderful people I’ve mentioned?  I thank God for each and every one of them.  Their willingness to share their passions and experiences with me have largely made me the person I am today.

It didn’t take long to compile this list.  How about compiling one of your own?

If you send it to me, I promise to read it.

Happy Thanksgiving 2011!

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Comparing Arizona and California

Posted in Personal Stories on November 7, 2011| 4 Comments »

It’s rained here in the Phoenix area the past couple of days, so I’ve been thinking about the differences between living in Arizona and living in California.

I’ve lived in Arizona for a total of 3 years and 3 months, while I’ve lived in the Golden State the rest of my life (years and months unmentioned).

Here are five differences I’ve noticed:

First, what about things to do?

I grew up in Anaheim, just two miles from Disneyland (or Dismalland, as some of us used to call it), and I never got tired of going there.  Knott’s Berry Farm was so close to my house that my family used to go there once every two weeks during the summer – back when it was free and you could spot Walter Knott walking around.

Birdcage Theatre @ Knott's Berry Farm

In addition, we Southern Californians enjoyed going to Universal Studios, Magic Mountain, Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, Lake Arrowhead, Big Bear, Ports o’Call, Griffith Park (and Observatory), Dodger Stadium, Anaheim Stadium … and all the beach communities, to name just a few fun pastimes.

California Coast south of Irish Beach

How about Arizona?  There’s kind of a zoo … and the movies are cheaper ($5 or $6) … and there are millions of places to eat … and you can hike up the peaks … and drive 100 miles to Sedona … and two hours to Flagstaff … but that’s about it.  Oh, wait, I forgot the Grand Canyon … it’s pretty good.

Red Rocks in Sedona, Arizona

Last summer, I was really down one day, so I drove to Cave Creek.  I heard it was cool.  But when I got there, it looked like the backside of the moon.  I went from down to suicidal in about twenty minutes.

California wins hands-down.

Second, what about the weather?

California does have its share of hot weather.  There’s Death Valley, and Hemet, and Needles, and Blythe, and Palm Springs, and Redding … but most people live near the coast, where warm days are moderated by cool ocean breezes.

Phoenix?  It’s the final stop before hell.  The weather is cool right now … until spring training starts in February … then it magically hits 90 degrees.

Dodgers-White Sox Spring Training Game, Glendale, Arizona

One night this past summer, the power went out at 11:30 pm.  It was so hot at 2:30 am that we collected the dogs and drove around town for 30 minutes just so we could have some air conditioning.

I miss California’s weather … and actually seeing a pool of water somewhere besides the bathtub.

Third, what about politics?

This is a tough one.  When I grew up, California was a pretty conservative state, electing Ronald Reagan, George Deukmeijan, and Pete Wilson to be governor … but it’s become the purveyor of illogic and screwy ideas.

Thank God that’s not true of Arizona.

While Arizona is largely a conservative state (think Barry Goldwater), people like their guns here, too.  My wife stood in line at a local pharmacy last week and left when she noticed the guy in front of her had a gun sticking out of his pocket.  There’s a gun store next to a place I used to get my hair cut.  (If you didn’t like the way your hair was cut, you could just walk next door …)

Of course, Arizona has Sheriff Joe … he must be worth, what, any 40 California politicians?

Call it a tie.

Fourth, what about sports teams?

Let’s see.  Southern California has the Lakers, UCLA and USC, the Giants (yay!), the A’s, the Warriors, the Raiders, the 49ers (7-1?), Stanford, Cal … and on and on …

Golden State Warriors Game

Arizona has the Diamondbacks, the Cardinals (play nearby, but they’re 2-6), the Suns, ASU and U of A.  Oh, and the Coyotes.

The Lakers have 15 or so championships.  The Giants won the World Series last year.  The 49ers have five Super Bowl victories.

While the Cardinals made it to the Super Bowl a couple years ago, and the Suns have made the NBA Finals several times, only the Diamondbacks have brought back a championship.

The Panda's Portrait at Chase Field

California wins.  It’s no contest.

Fifth, what about scenery? 

California has Highway 1, the ocean, the San Francisco Bay, the ocean, the San Gabriel and San Jacinto Mountains, the ocean, lots of bleak desert, the ocean, hills galore, the ocean, and rivers and lakes and streams.

Pismo Beach, California

Arizona has … it has … lots of desert … and also … hmm … there’s a lake somewhere around here … and there are mountains near Flagstaff, and more desert, and plenty of weird-looking hills, and tons of swimming pools, and lots of flat land … and even more desert.

Sunrise in Arizona Desert

My wife and I took a drive to Paradise Valley yesterday.  The homes looked cool, but you couldn’t pay me to live there.  Too much desert.

Our kids don’t want to visit us … because there’s too much desert.

Arizona loses again.

Arizona does have its charms.  I have lots of family here, so that’s great, and there are lots of churches here – some of them HUGE, and that’s good, too.  And we obtained both of our dogs – Norman and Tito – here as well.

Norman and Tito Bandito

I welcome a spirited discussion comparing the two states.  Go at it!

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