We moved to the sanctuary of this converted church for the main portion of the day's presentations. It's origins were catholic. I believe even the Pope would have liked what went on here today! 

Times Have Changed!

The concept of what we were doing today didn't dawn on me until about 12 hours after it began. We were a small cluster of concerned ecumenical individuals discussing the relevance of events that occurred some 2000 years ago based on the writings of individuals 500 years ago that were summed up over 1200 years ago and are still being discussed today. Let me see if I've got that right,...12 - 5 + 15 x the number gathered and divide that by the number of cups of coffee required to stay awake 'til noon. Yeah! I got it. It was great, the whole day. To think that here on the Great American Desert we can be blessed with a gathering of minds with insights that are fresh and yet founded on the same faith ideals that were taught yesterday in church is reassuring to me. We're going to do it again tomorrow starting at 8:30 am give or take a few cups of coffee and rolls, for sure! Thoughts and feelings are being shared in the spiritual department that few will ever read, even fewer will hear about, and the news clip at 11 won't happen! Lol....but it was good! My favorite thus far is my senior by at least a quarter of a century who seems to have more on the ball than pastors a third his age. Maybe that is something I have to look forward to, more genuine "meat" on the bones of my rhetoric as I "mature." This would not be most people's idea of a "good time," and hasn't been one of mine for quite some time in the overall fabric of denominational heirarchy. It wouldn't be now, if the churches were not by and large across the board shaking down to the very foundations of christendom. This is not an arena for the shy or the easily offended. The language becomes strong and, I might add, sometimes bordering on the right down abusive. Having wandered around in the political arena during my youth(entertainment for several campaigns)I have a remembrance of how politicians speak of one another when the doors are shut. This was not much different. It is encouraging, though, to see that there are some seriously straight shooters in the world when it comes to matters of faith's future in America. You see, it isn't a job anyone wants, and it certainly isn't one that would be chosen by many. To quote one such individual from history, "Here I stand I can do no ____!" I pray we fill in the blank today as Luther did 500 years ago. God bless, Preacher.

Perspectives From South Dakota!

Recent events have left many of us considering what the aftermath of a hurricane may bring for other people's lives. It occurred to me that many people are waking up on the backside of this disaster in places they would never have considered themselves before. One family in particular is living right behind our place(next street over)in a home donated for their use through a television show and a national promotion for dreams. Amy Grant hosts the show(or so I'm told, I don't watch television much, too much violence, if I want to see that stuff I work the streets). Theirs is only one story, and I haven't got all of the information needed for a real article on them, as yet. A real life view would have to come from getting to know them a little more in depth than the media has time for these days. You know what I mean when it comes to really getting to know people, you have to be "inside" their lives sharing bits and pieces to really know them. Our society is so accustomed to things being fast and easy that we often do not allow ourselves the neccessary time to know folks. Growing up in a farm community in South Dakota at a time before television was the major entertainment source gave many of us an opportunity to deal with relationships, even if we would have chosen otherwise. The thing is, we didn't really have a choice. There were so few people around that we either got to know them or we didn't go out. Sunday in church we would get together with the same faces that we saw in school, on the ball diamond, at the elevator, or the gas station. Of the 386 people living in Andover when I was growing up there was not a single one that didn't know every other person in town, and in the surrounding county for at least 30 miles in every direction. This is not about telling everybody how great things were "back when," it's simply an opportunity to point out that life has changed and that is neither good nor bad, it's just different than it was. For some in our country life has changed completely from what they knew before. Many are thankful just to be alive, and still others are bent on complaining at the top of their voices that things didn't go the way they think they should have. Lol.....Does everything always go the way you would like it to go? Just between me and you and Bill Gates I would venture that it doesn't. That's where our faith perspectives enter in. At those times when life is totally out of control we know that there is one single element that remains unchanging, God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together as one are the same yesterday, today, and forever. How well we deal with the changes and circumstances that life hands us is directly proportionate to the amount of faith we are willing to invest in God. Remember, "If you don't put nothin' in, you don't get nothin' out!" (When I write this I have a tendency to hear in the back of my mind all of the places that it could be relevant, but for the moment it applies to only one, faith) My prayer today is that everyone would have the opportunity to gather and give thanks, worship God in truth and love with friends and neighbors, and be readily accepting of the stranger in their midst. Some being unaware have entertained angels. Everyday is a new opportunity to share life. Share it with everyone and give thanks to God for the lives we have! In Christ's Love, Preacher.

What A Deal!

People, I know I mentioned that I wouldn't be talking about the biker stuff much anymore(or did I say, "At All Until Next Season?") I know I said something but I can't remember what. That happens when you get up there in years and try to keep track of 9(or is it 10)granchildren's names. The prompting of the spirit has brought about tasks the past 24 hours that I would never have dreamed of on Wednesday. That's another story for another time and place. The pics of the rallys this year are still coming in, and some of them are very similar to ones I took. The poster at the bottom, though, says it all. Labels of many kinds are placed on people, but the hardest ones to escape are the ones that we put on ourselves. I know it is much easier to say, "yeah, I'm a ________(you fill in the blank), but I just can't help it or change it; I'm happy this way; maybe this is how God planned for me to be; it doesn't make any difference; The justifications are endless and the answers are few. When we look at ourselves in the mirror and what we see is not pleasing there is a lot we can do about it. We can be 100% "honest" with ourselves and admit what the problems are and begin the process of seeking an answer that is different from the one we've been living. People don't change people, God changes people! We can help along the way, sort of like the folks that do the type of outreach at rallys that you see pictured. We can point to some of the positive decisions we've made in our own lives, and we can point the way to the one who can provide the total forgiveness for which we are so desperately in need. If there is ever going to be true change in our existence it is up to us to make it. These days(maybe it's been that way always, but I didn't live always)there are as many folks sitting in church on Sunday on their way to a "not so pleasant end" as there are truly seeking heaven's gates. Some of the places we go you can find as many people saved in back alleys as you can in the pews, the big difference is that they are out there trying to help others to find that "better" way of living. The media is focused on the upcoming big blow along the coast. People are evacuating and getting away from the danger. My most fervent prayer would be for people to run as fast away from the dark places in their lives that prevent them from walking in the light of Christ as they do from the weather. Depending on how we live, it may be far more important to focus on where we are escaping to than what we are running from. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

The sign may 'seem' as though it is putting some major labels on folks, but we all 'know' in our hearts which of these applies to us. God bless, Preacher. 

Not A Political Tongue In Cheek

Rendezvous opportunities approach here on the Great American Desert. Blurps have been arriving in my mailbox with increasing frequency the past few days. A joy to attend(although the nights can get a little chilly and damp)and a refreshing change of pace from the tech world we live in. The only technology in use at most of the gatherings of this sort that I attend was outdated by the end of the Civil War. Flintlocks and percussion caps are the firearms "order of the day," and they can be seen in use in contests that begin with the first light of dawn. Historically these "happenings" are loosely based(unless you're one of those #(*&%$purists who wants to make sure nobody is wearing cotton long johns and there's no modern day closures on your rigging)on periods of time determined long before I discovered my first. My favorite contest has to do with the axe and the hawk. There is nothing like the feel of a double blade axe in your hands on the 25 yard line. The hawk is a handy little tool that I carry most everywhere I go, but when it is at it's best it is flashing through the air with a force sufficient to cause melons to burst all over the laughing onlookers. We jeer one another, poke fun at the "newbies" and in general make everyone as miserable as we can while having a good time. All in all it's like something out of a story book, and another of the frontiersman type of things that occur out here on the plains. It's a great equalizer of men! Although being big and burly has some advantages when it comes to tossing stumps or hurling the big axe, it is not an advantage in the shooting and throwing(or spitting and chewing)! Whoosh! Talk about a level playing field, out in the woods you're so close to God's creation that you can literally taste it, and that makes for a wonderful opportunity to sit around the campfire and ponder the secrets of the universe. For NFL fans and guys who like to golf it probably doesn't sound too much like a sport they would enjoy, but it is one that brings a rare breed of individualists together for a short time. That short time provides the opportunity to find out where folks are in their faith journey. We get to encourage those who are trying to stay on the right path, and find many who aren't sure where the path is at. Wherever you find that path, though, you will know without a doubt if has been trod by disciples of Christ, it is the "right" road to be on. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Now I See A Purpose

The hour is early(morning)and my eyes are getting really difficult to manage. Times like this I'm glad there isn't a road in front of me staring back with visions of leaping hinds and tables filled by diners. Illusions like that happen to me when I'm driving(or riding)and sleep is a much needed commodity. Winter is on it's way to the Great American Desert my wife informed me this evening. There are projects we have to finish and "stuff" that needs to get done before the snow flies. I'll get out in the country and check out the geese soon to see what they have to say about winter this year. The landscape above is from a site called "Wild-Landscape" and it can be found at one of those www. places. I didn't take the time to really look around there this evening, but I bookmarked it so that I can find my way back. Doesn't that view of the ice chill you to the bones? It does me! Out in the western part of our state I have seen places where the wind has driven rain as it freezes and given me the same type of image. Somewhere in all my pics I've got one of a double waterfall frozen in mid drip. Suspended on long tentacles of ice stretching upwards a hundred feet or so. That's over in Minnesota at a very nice state park. Back to the thought, though. If anyone you know is looking for an excellent way to do the "programming" thing in their church, and they happen to be 1200 miles south of where I live, give me a call and we'll try to get together on some dates. I love the south in the winter! Southern Cal is a favorite, but then so are New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and especially Texas! That's my purpose in staying up just a little longer! Taking a little time for a plug. In a few weeks we'll be in Nashville, and that will be nice, but the really cold months are January and February, so if you know someone who knows someone who talks to God on a regular basis, put in a good word for Cheryl and Terryl(yeah, they rhyme, everybody says, "ain't that cute!)and let them know we'd be more than happy to book a whole string of engagements in the southern climes this winter. Wishing you all of the best in life, and blessings that are more than we deserve. In Christ's Love, Preacher.