Category: Uncategorized Page 33 of 71

Ah, March. Gentle breezes, new life, departing snow birds, and basketball.

I should report that officially, one half way into the first round, my bracket is wrecked. Among other surprises, which Big Ten team does anyone expect to win its first round match – Illinois or Michigan? I got that one backwards.

Maybe I’ll do better today, but I’m sure glad that no wagers were riding on this.

For the record, I was 10-6 on the first day. Pretty poor. Anyone do worse?

In a long post about what is really important, Jeffrey Overstreet raises some very good questions. This one line, for us information freaks, is quite convicting:

Confession: I know more about the upcoming Wolverine movie than I do about what’s going on in my brother’s life right now. How sad is that?

There is a further thought that arises from yesterday’s accounting of the conflict between Paul Hume and President Truman.

For the bulk of his seven plus years in office, Harry Truman had the same press secretary. This man, Charlie Ross, had been a childhood friend of Truman’s, and had become a respected reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The importance of this appointment went beyond the ability of the man to handle the press. He was also able to handle Truman.

Just a few days before this controversy broke, Charlie Ross died in his chair at the White House from a sudden and massive heart attack. He was 65 years old.

Those who knew the relationship between Ross and Truman suspect this: that if Ross had been alive, the moment he saw Hume’s review of Margaret’s performance, he would have known what Truman’s response would be. He would have intervened and the letter would never have left the White House. He would have been able to have calmed Truman and brought sense to the matter.

In other words, Charlie Ross made Harry Truman a better man. That is a truism. Others make us better. In fact, to be all that we are capable of being demands having the right people around us.

Over the years, God has brought people into my life who have made me a better man. They are not the ones who agree with me necessarily. But they are the ones who know me, who stand with me, and when necessary, those who correct me.

Few men have all the gifts necessary for doing all that is expected of them. I know this is true in pastoral ministry. The greatest blessing for anyone in ministry is to be a part of a team of people who complement one another, who make each other stronger, and who can then be so much more useful for the kingdom.

(This is, by the way, the strongest argument for multi-staff ministry where that can be accomplished.)

In David McCullough’s biography of Harry Truman, there is an intriguing minor character named Paul Hume.

Hume was a music critic for the Washington Post during Truman’s White House years. Truman’s daughter, Margaret, was an aspiring singer.

Margaret Truman’s career took off not because of her vocal gifts but because of the novelty of being the president’s daughter. Reviews tended to be soft and reserved out of respect for that relationship.

Generally, that was true. But then there were the honest ones.

During Truman’s second term, Margaret performed in Washington to an audience consisting of her parents, the British Prime Minister, and 3500 others. Afterward, some gave the performance its expected praises. Author John Hersey remarked privately, however, that “she was really pretty bad that night”.

Paul Hume said so publicly. After speaking positively of her stage presence and her personality, Hume said, “Yet Miss Truman cannot sing very well.”

Miss Truman’s father responded in a very un-presidential way, writing a scathing letter the next day after reading Hume’s review. Among other ‘pleasantries’, Truman said, “Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you’ll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!”

This created quite a controversy and was in the end an embarrassment to the president. But this is not what intrigues me.

Shortly thereafter Truman took a huge political risk and recalled General Douglas MacArthur from Korea. MacArthur’s popularity was very high, and this move, while history has shown it was warranted, was universally criticized when it happened. Few, very few, people in the country supported Truman. But among those was Paul Hume who sent to the president a letter expressing his support.

To be able to speak clearly and honestly without being swayed by admiration or disdain for the person is an admirable trait. It is the ability to have clear vision in spite of emotion. I’m impressed by Mr. Hume.

Years later, Hume was in Kansas City to review a concert of Maria Callas, and decided to drive out to see the newly established Truman library in Independence, Missouri. Truman was there, and seems to have forgotten all the bodily harm he had once pledge to deliver. Hume reported that the two had a wonderful visit.

My heart yearns for reconciliation among men. Our emotion too easily clouds our vision. That’s sad. I’m touched by the model of Mr. Hume.

Geoff and I continue to write articles for the local newspaper, articles we assume are read mostly by a church-attending population, which dictates our approach. This was my month. What I say in this article is nothing new to those of you who hang around HPC, but it is, I trust, important.

I’ve occasionally railed against Barbie Dolls because of what they do to girls’, ordinary girls’, self acceptance.

Not it appears that it is Photoshop that is the culprit in many a false image.

Sara Zarr is an author of young adult fiction, and I appreciate her candor and courage in this post about a photo shoot for her third novel. It’s a fascinating account, to me. But more importantly I appreciate her willingness to admit the struggle involved in looking good, maintaining good health, and accepting ourselves as God made us.

She says,

I am just really tired of and sad about my friends and random women and girls being so unhappy with themselves because they don’t look like women they see in magazines, who are uber-retouched, limbs lengthened, flesh carved away, etc. And tired of men thinking that’s how women look.

There is a bit of language here. But, hey – she was a bit upset.

Time Magazine sees Calvinism as a <gasp> culture shaping movement. Wow!

This is actually quite a good summary.

The elders of Hope Church have been wrestling with some weighty issues recently, and so this last Wednesday night we discussed a new, honest, evangelistic strategy. It goes like this: “Come to Jesus, and someday, you, too, may be able to become an elder and suffer and bleed, just like us.”

We decided that was a bit too honest, and probably not very effective.

A pastor friend wrote me a great note to go along with this. I alluded to him that our elders are facing some difficult things, but I have not told him a thing about the details. Nevertheless he said, “Read Psalm 62. This is just the crap that humans do to each other without realizing feelings are at stake. They act out of fear. All of us. Hang in there.”

He can speak accurately because he has been there. He’s walked down the path that leaders in the church must walk.

I share this not to garner sympathy for me, but to encourage prayer for leaders in the church. Those who take ministry seriously bear burdens they cannot share with even their own families. Pray that God will grant them grace and perseverance.

Pray mostly for their encouragement.

And who knows. Someday maybe you, too….

One of life’s imponderables for me has been this: how can a highly trained athlete, at the elite college or professional level miss an unhindered and unobstructed shot from fifteen feet directly in front of the basket? Shouldn’t these guys make it every time?

Seems so to me. Here is though a fascinating article on the stats and history of the shot.

The article contends that a team’s free throw ability does not correlate with its win-loss record. I understand that for a team that dominates its opponents, winning by fifteen to twenty points per game. I’d like to see the stats which correlate a team’s free throw average and games won by five points or less.

I still have little respect for teams and players with a low free throw average.

March madness comes. I think I’ll fill out my bracket based on free throw percentages.

I received this e-mail message yesterday from a friend. The entire message, as follows, arrived unscathed in my inbox.

“Our email is not working.”

I confess that I’m still puzzling over this.