This Sunday (June 19) is "Father's Day". I refer to such days as 'Hallmark Days'. However, this particular day has merit from a Biblical perspective. Fathers are vital. They provide us with our first image of our Heavenly Father. By design they make us who we are, for good and for ill.
This photo is my Mom (Leora) and my Dad (Howard). I focus on Dad in this piece for obvious reason.
First the 'ill'. My Dad gave me the wonderful gift of 'grousing'. When he got started no mere earthly power could shut him down. One of my favorite memories of this glorious skill focused on the rabbits in his garden. When he retired he purchased a lot and a half, a new house on an acre. The half lot became a weed free testimony to his agricultural skill. The succulent spears attracted rabbits - by the dozen. At the break of dawn you could find "Hats" in his jockey shorts stalking these furry little vermin with a pellet gun - POW! This was just the beginning. For the rest of the day he recounted ad nauseum the details of his 'safari'. While I did not affirm this skill - I got it in spades - - the grousing, not the rabbit hunting. Thanks Dad.
The good - Perseverance. When I was 12 my Dad purchased an additional 60 acre farm. It had been neglected for many years. It was covered with dead fruit trees, weeds and rocks, tons and tons of rocks. Systematically we removed the trees, stumps and brush. As the ground was tilled for planting, the rocks emerged. We had a two wheeled utility trailer. Hundreds of loads, tons and tons of rocks. It took years and unrelenting diligence. The end product was an emerald green island of productivity that evoked great satisfaction.
The application. For the past 27 years I have worked with Pastors and local churches. The goal is to see them become Healthy & Effective, making disciples fully formed in the image of Christ. Those tons of rocks barely register compared to the challenges in this endeavor. Pride, strife, biblical illiteracy, abject cowardice and more. Giving up is not an option. That green utility trailer, rocks, sweat, blisters and my Dad's example of PERSEVERANCE makes completing the task however difficult what I must do.
That field now belongs to a man that I grew up with. I get no reward other than the satisfaction of knowing that I had a role in transforming it from a patch of scrub brush to a highly productive farm. The work I do with churches lasts forever. Changed lives formed in the image of Christ.
Thanks Dad. I love you miss you and look forward to heaven and eternity.
This photo is my Mom (Leora) and my Dad (Howard). I focus on Dad in this piece for obvious reason.
First the 'ill'. My Dad gave me the wonderful gift of 'grousing'. When he got started no mere earthly power could shut him down. One of my favorite memories of this glorious skill focused on the rabbits in his garden. When he retired he purchased a lot and a half, a new house on an acre. The half lot became a weed free testimony to his agricultural skill. The succulent spears attracted rabbits - by the dozen. At the break of dawn you could find "Hats" in his jockey shorts stalking these furry little vermin with a pellet gun - POW! This was just the beginning. For the rest of the day he recounted ad nauseum the details of his 'safari'. While I did not affirm this skill - I got it in spades - - the grousing, not the rabbit hunting. Thanks Dad.
The good - Perseverance. When I was 12 my Dad purchased an additional 60 acre farm. It had been neglected for many years. It was covered with dead fruit trees, weeds and rocks, tons and tons of rocks. Systematically we removed the trees, stumps and brush. As the ground was tilled for planting, the rocks emerged. We had a two wheeled utility trailer. Hundreds of loads, tons and tons of rocks. It took years and unrelenting diligence. The end product was an emerald green island of productivity that evoked great satisfaction.
The application. For the past 27 years I have worked with Pastors and local churches. The goal is to see them become Healthy & Effective, making disciples fully formed in the image of Christ. Those tons of rocks barely register compared to the challenges in this endeavor. Pride, strife, biblical illiteracy, abject cowardice and more. Giving up is not an option. That green utility trailer, rocks, sweat, blisters and my Dad's example of PERSEVERANCE makes completing the task however difficult what I must do.
That field now belongs to a man that I grew up with. I get no reward other than the satisfaction of knowing that I had a role in transforming it from a patch of scrub brush to a highly productive farm. The work I do with churches lasts forever. Changed lives formed in the image of Christ.
Thanks Dad. I love you miss you and look forward to heaven and eternity.
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