Category: Miscellaneous

In Honor of Dr. Ralph Lightsey: “He Stirred the Gift within Me”

I found out this evening that the father of a friend died yesterday afternoon. It was not unexpected. He had been under hospice care.

The news of Dr. Ralph Lightsey’s passing brought two memories to my mind. The first was hearing him preach in the church I attended and would later serve as associate pastor. I have always been an “educated” listener of sermons and preachers. I love the process of preparing to preach. I enjoy the act of preaching. But, when I am not the one given this task, I am amazed and overjoyed to sit under good preaching. Now let me clarify what I mean by good preaching. Good preaching does not have to be loud, long, perfectly crafted sermons. Good preaching is when I as a listener am convinced that the preacher is so convinced, convicted and constrained by their love of Jesus that I can’t help but go where there are taking me. Dr. Ralph was a good preacher. I don’t remember the subject or text, but I remember that I wanted more of what he had as a servant of God. There was just a clarity to the way he preached. You had to work at misunderstanding him.

I have excerpted a couple of facts about Dr. Lightsey’s life from his obituary that are just mind blowing to me.

Dr. Ralph Lightsey, a minster of 72 years, age 93, died on Sunday, September 2, 2012 at the Ogeechee Area Hospice Inpatient Facility. Born in Appling County in 1918, he moved to Statesboro in 1965, where he lived until his death. … After serving as an active pastor for more than 52 years, he served as a supply speaker at more than 50 churches in Bulloch and surrounding counties. In addition, he was an educator. He served 16 years as Professor of Educational Research at Georgia Southern University and as an assistant to the Vice President. Upon his retirement, the Board of Regents conferred on him the title of Professor Emeritus of Educational Research. … Surviving are his wife of 67 years, [Mrs.] Wavine… [Source]

I share this with you because of the second memory that I have of Dr. Lightsey. It relates something that he did for me as I was leaving that church I was serving. He had on several occasions commended me on my preaching. I was a young man, new in ministry and to hear such kind words from a man I respected and admired was not easy. (I still have a hard time taking a compliment about my preaching!) As I was preparing to go, Dr. Lightsey gave me two gifts. One was a book on preaching and the second was a pen and pencil set that you have on your desk. I still have both. The pen and pencil set no longer works and the book is still in my ever growing library. I keep them because of who gave them to me. They are precious gifts reminders of his concern for me as I developed in ministry.

I never made the time to thank Dr. Lightsey for his words and prayers. I am sad that I will never get to say how much it meant to me for him to take time and offer words of wisdom and encouragement. I do find hope in the fact that we shared a mutual faith in our Savior Jesus and that I will see him again.

I am so thankful for the way that he stirred the gifts that were within me. I will never forget.

You Are A Missionary: Calvin Miller’s “A Letter to the Church”

Dr. Calvin Miller passed away this last week from complications of a surgery. He was a renowned pastor, writer, professor and poet. I remember encountering his thoughts on worship and the devotional life with God as I read Into the Depths of God. I think that book had more highlights per page than any other book I have ever read. I have since loaned it out and have not gotten it back. (It may be time to get another copy!)

Dr. Ed Stetzer has written a wonderful tribute for Dr. Miller and has also shared an essay that Dr. Miller wrote for a study bible. Take a few minutes this morning and be reminded of what God has called us to as the church. Here is a just a sample of what Dr. Miller wrote:

But be not proud! In redeeming the world all arrogance is precluded. There are no good, arrogant missionaries (2Co 12:5). Christ’s ambassadors (2Co 5:20) are men and women made humble by the immense size of the message given to them by Earth’s Lover. They feed on the bread they give away. They remember who they were when they met Christ, and just that little act of memory causes them to weep that that they once stumbled into grace, before they were ever called to dispense it. Now they are driven by the joy of God’s call, they are the cleansed unclean, the forgiven forgivers, the wounded healers.

Google Reader Round-up | August 18, 2012

In this week’s round-up:

Same-Sex Marriage Won’t Be Enough — An interesting article that reveals why the debate regarding same-sex marriage is about more than just marriage. It’s actually about redefining (read destroying) marriage as an institution. The author writes, “Marriage can’t be separated from biological realities. And that’s why this upheaval won’t end when same-sex marriage is accepted.” A must read.

Join or Die?: Addressing the Question of Church Membership — The age-old question regarding the necessity of church membership has remained a lively point of conversation. In this article, a strong and well-articulated case is made that being connected to a local church is a necessary reality for every believer.

The difference between attending and joining a church is analogous to the difference between dating and marriage. The Bible clearly steers us toward the latter.

Celebrating Alone — R. C. Sproul, Jr. speaks of his first anniversary after the death of his wife to cancer. This is a beautiful testimony of what God plans for each of us to experience in matrimony. I am sad for his loss, but rejoice with him in his wife’s eternal gain.

Truth, Grace and My Father’s Conversion at age 84 — Randy Alcorn recounts the details that lead up the eventual conversion of his father. It is a touching tribute to Randy’s love for his father and of God’s grace in redemption.

Naked Pastor1

  1. Link Broken. URL of original: http://www.nakedpastor.com/2012/08/11/hoop-jumping/ [↩]

Google Reader Round-up | August 11, 2012

* * * I have a Google Reader account that I use to subscribe to a variety of blogs and websites. I have an immense backlog of articles and posts that I need to read. My hope is to share stories, articles, and commentary that might be interesting to you. * * *

Here is this week’s round-up.

How The Heck Do We Pray Without Ceasing? — This admonition by the apostle Paul is not always easy to understand, let alone do. Here is a great way to think about how we can pray more diligently. I found it interesting and helpful.

Some Advice for Youth Ministers — I was very impressed by the advice in this article. As a youth pastor it can be difficult to navigate the never-ending sea of ideas. Principles for ministry are what’s needed, a philosophy of ministry that does not depend on trends or age to work.

Harm’s Way: Men, Abortion & Hemingway — “In truth, despite the feminists’ attempts to silence men on the subject, abortion is, and always will be, a matter that concerns men as much as women. Every unborn child, whether aborted or carried to term, is the offspring of a father as well as a mother, and the mere presence of “it” presents a new “thing” in his life with which he must contend. … Now, at last, the aftereffects on men are beginning to see daylight, too. ”

The Number One Failure of 90 Percent of Pastors — “Pastors are notorious for their lone ranger approach to ministry.” This is a very dangerous philosophy for ministry. No one person can do everything that is needed in a local church. We all need help. It is just not easy asking for it sometimes. If you are a pastor find others in ministry that you can share with. If you are a parishioner, make sure you pastor has these kinds of relationships. It will make all the difference in the world.

The Case for Early Marriage — This is an interesting article discussing the negative effect the purity/abstinence movement has had on marriage and our view of marrying young. The author contends that we have to change our focus from preventing sex before marriage to encouraging marriage as a way of remaining pure and faithful to our convictions.

“While our sexual ideals have remained biblical and thus rooted in marriage, our ideas about marriage have changed significantly. For all the heated talk and contested referendums about defending marriage against attempts to legally redefine it, the church has already ceded plenty of intellectual ground in its marriage-mindedness. Christian practical ethics about marriage—not the ones expounded on in books, but the ones we actually exhibit—have become a nebulous hodgepodge of pragmatic norms and romantic imperatives, few of which resemble anything biblical.”

Video Spotlight | “Stop This Train” by John Mayer

This is actually a cover of John Mayer’s song. But there is a phrase in the song that struck me. Here it is:

So scared of getting older
I’m only good at being young

How true is this? Enjoy the song. Think about how you are preparing for the rest of your life, especially getting older.

The “outtakes” at the end prove the point!!

Stop This Train - John Mayer (Tori Kelly & Passion Cover)

Video Spotlight | The Legacy Of One of God’s Faithful Servants

I came across the story, testimony and life of Aaron Aden Anderson. He was a young man who strove to share the truth of the Gospel and the hope of salvation in Jesus. He did this through personal evangelism and by making Youtube videos. He died tragically from injuries suffered in a car accident in January. He was 20 years old.

My question is this:

How long will we wait to
begin establishing our legacy?

For Aaron it was 13!

Aaron Aden Anderson

Why Supporting Chick-Fil-A Does Not Equal Supporting Jesus

Chick-Fil-AOk. So here are my two cents for what it’s worth.

There are a large number of people who have decided to support Chick-Fil-A and Dan Cathy, the CEO of the company, today with a blitz of consumption. I will tell you that I agree with and support Mr. Cathy’s in support of “traditional” marriage. I put the word tradition marriage in quotations because it is ridiculous that we have now qualify what we are talking about!

That being said, let us move on to the purpose of this post. I have been reading some of the comments on Twitter, Facebook and the news and I have come to one very simple and yet profound conclusion. Here it is:

Supporting Chick-Fil-A does NOT equal supporting Jesus.

Some may be saying, “Well that is just ludicrous. Who would ever come to that conclusion?” I’ll tell you who. Every person who looks at the church and at Christian’s and sees this “Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day” as another example of Christian’s banding together against something. I have already seen some of the insinuations in posts and tweets that I have read. I even jested in a tweet about “Christian Chicken.” What I have realized today is that supporting this company does not mean that we are advancing the cause of Christ. We, the church, has once again fallen for the oldest trick in the book. We are again fighting against everything we know is wrong, rather than standing for the one thing we know to be right–that Jesus is the only answer for a world lost in and to sin.

What this has become is the easy way for some (not for all) of these folks to say, “I did something because of what I believed. I stood up for truth, the bible, Jesus, the church.” Or whatever they think that this is going to accomplish. Let me tell you something, if God wanted Chick-Fil-A to crumble tomorrow, no number of customers would be great enough to save it.

Barnabas Piper called this move by supporters of the restaurant chain a “bold mistake.” He may be right, but for a different reason. Piper doesn’t see how this will help the church reach people who do not find the Gospel appealing or who may be searching. It probably will not. For me however, I think this may be a mistake because by supporting a company we have substituted the King of Kings with the King of chicken sandwiches.

Buy chicken sandwiches does not make (I don’t think) Jesus more beautiful, more rejoiced in, more adored than proclaiming the Gospel. We, as a church, have to get our priorities straight. If Jesus is the reason hearts, minds and souls are changed then let us get busy promoting him to our neighbors!

If people do not want to buy a chicken sandwich because of what the owner believes… that is on them. Just do me a favor, do not make it about Jesus. He’s never had a chicken sandwich and may not even like the Polynesian sauce.

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RANT WARNING | One Word Describes Sanctions Against Penn State…

That word is Pretentious.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Ok, so I may be all wrong about this. I will admit that right up front. I am not a Penn State or Paterno fan. When I saw the news conference about the sanctions imposed I was incensed.

I think that the actions or in-actions of those in power during the period that Jerry Sandusky was terrorizing and abusing children were despicable. The cover up of these abuses and the failure of the leadership of Penn State to do something as soon as the allegations came to light cannot be accurately described. This entire situation is terrible. There are no winners. Joe Paterno’s name is mud. All that he worked for has been completely dismantled by a failure of moral courage.

Here is where I am mad because of what the NCAA did. Why is the ENTIRE Penn State community getting hit with these stupendous fines and penalties when the people responsible kept them in the dark? How is doing this going to bring about the “intended cultural changes” needed at the school. The culture is changed, people. Penn State will never be the same. Ever.

Trying to make an example of an institution makes about as much sense as trying to kill a ghost. Penn State the institution is not self-aware. It does not run itself. The university is amoral. The problem was the people in charge who lacked any sense of personal honor and were more interested in covering their own behinds. Why is nobody going after them? Why are they not being tried and convicted of their roles. Oh, they got fired. That makes it all right now? The student body, faculty and community surrounding Penn State should not have to pay like this. This is ridiculous.

A few years ago in the political world we were told that there were institutions that were too big to fail. Now, we find out that there are times when something is too big, and it should fail. Give me a brake. Then we are told that the option of completely suspending the program would have unintended harm to people who were not involved. Please! The NCAA has essentially amputated both legs of the Penn State football program. They may never recover from this.

I do not have a problem with the sanctions. I just can not stand all the moralizing that was included in the press conference. The NCAA is just trying to make itself look better because in the end they failed to keep tabs on a member school.

I may be all wrong. But, something about all this does not sit well with me.

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