A Man of Many Talents

So much for a semi-daily blog, huh? At the risk of stating the obvious, I will admit that I have been a little absent from blogging over the past two months. But what may not be so obvious are my myriad reasons for doing so. Changes are coming, my friends, changes are coming. And those changes have much to do with my absence and even more to do with why I write today.

Today marks both the end of a chapter and the start of a new one for Katie and me – and really for all of our immediate family members as well. For starters, today is significant as this is the last day for me at my current work location, the same location at which I have been for nine months now (nine months, now there’s an interesting choice of words that relates to another upcoming change). Tomorrow morning I begin work at a new location, with new co-workers and a very different outlook on my career. I am staying with my current employer, but I am transferring to a new branch where I will work part-time hours. Today is also the day that marks my ‘official’ acceptance into the graduate program at Converse College in Spartanburg. I say ‘official’ because we were fairly certain all along that I would be accepted, but the actual final decision was made yesterday when the graduate committee met.

As a result of my acceptance into the master’s program, the part-time status at work is necessitated by that decision I made to go back to school. I will be in school full-time as I try to finish as quickly as possible so I can begin teaching as quickly as possible. In many ways, this will be the beginning of the fulfillment of a dream that I have and have had for some time. Without philosophizing about dreams and desires too much and boring you with some emotional story about me trying to “find myself,” I will say this: I have spent the past few years being fairly successful at jobs I can’t stand; I think it’s time to go after something I know I will love.

This decision-making process has indeed been emotional and it has been tough. It affects and will affect so many of the people that I love and that, in and of itself, has forced me to pause and really consider everything – and everyone – involved. Know that I have done exactly that.

And while I have your attention, I want to let you know that one passage from Matthew 25 has particularly helped me during this process. The Parable of the Talents is one of Jesus’ parables that I would normally put in the category of ‘uncomfortable’ as it has a tendency to make people – including myself - at least a little uneasy. Recently, however, I have taken it as more of a challenge. I really believe that God expects us to take chances for Him (or steps out on faith, if you will) while we are on earth. He is not, I believe, so much concerned with what these chances are as long as they are something (that’s probably a grammatically incorrect sentence, but hang in there with me). After reflecting on that parable and what Jesus’ intention was, I think the main point has to do with the one-talented servant and his laziness. I think God is saying to that servant and to us as well: “If you would have tried anything I could have blessed it. If I don’t like it, then I won’t bless it. But please try something.” The point is that this one-talented servant didn’t try anything at all. He took his talent and buried it in the ground. As a result, Jesus calls him wicked and worthless. Personally, I don’t want to be wicked and worthless. So I took the parable as a challenge. And I really started to think about what my talents are and how I could use them to not only do what I want to do, but – and more importantly - what God wants me to do as well.

So here I am. I’m in my last day at my current branch, twelve days away from going back to school and just a few days away from moving in with my in-laws.

Gasp.

Yes, you read that correctly. Katie and I are moving in with her parents. Which I do not think is really as bad as it may initially sound. Their current situation – big house, plenty of room, supportive of our decision – gives us the opportunity to accomplish what we need to accomplish. With Katie still lacking a class and student teaching before she graduates and with a new baby on the way, this gives us both the chance to afford and finish school without a mortgage payment and all those other bills that come with owning a house. Which of course, leads to the final step in this process: selling our house.

We have had some people express interest in the house and have actually shown it quite a few times, but we obviously have yet to sell it. Once the house is sold, we will be free and clear of major bills and we will be able to really concentrate on school and making sure our new addition (somewhere around December 9th) has all that he or she needs.

So, in the end, this decision and these changes have as much to do with me as they do with my family and my God. I truly believe that I can make a difference as a teacher (and hopefully one day as a professor) and this profession will provide with the opportunity to pursue other things that are important to me and my growing family.

I think I am finally beginning to learn what is truly important in life, what it is that really matters (learning that your wife is pregnant will cause a man to really start thinking about those sorts of things). It may have taken me a while to grow up (not that I am necessarily there yet) and realize that there is more to life than 49er football and Bruce Willis movies, but I think I am beginning to learn. And for those of you who are reading this and have hung in there with me all these years, I thank you for your support – past, present and future. I am under no false pretenses that this will be easy, but I do know that I am passionate about it and this is what I really want to do.

And I promise that I will try to keep my blog updated on a more regular basis!

Double-speak and No Pun Intended

I’m a big fan of quotable quotes. Whether they come from speeches, movies, television shows or song lyrics, if a phrase is timely, humorous, cynical or satirical, I take note of it and make an attempt to share it (or use it in conversation) at some point.

Along with Mark Twain, Yogi Berra is one of my favorite quotable people. He is a former New York Yankee catcher, where he played Hall of Fame baseball with the likes of Mickey Mantle and Joe Dimaggio for a number of years. “It’s Déjà vu all over again” is probably his most famous quote. But his most recent quotable quote, “They give you cash, which is just as good as money,” can be heard in an AFLAC commercial and its wit fits right in with some of his more famous lines.

In today’s blog, I have chosen to include some of Yogi’s best from over the years. I have put my most favorite quips at the top and again at the very bottom. Feel free to add your own personal favorite (whether from Yogi or someone else). Enjoy…

I usually take a two hour nap, from one to four.

Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.

90% of the game is half mental.

I really didn't say everything I said.

I knew I was going to take the wrong train, so I left early.

If I didn't wake up, I'd still be sleeping.

If you don't set goals, you can't regret not reaching them.

We're lost, but we're making great time!

I knew exactly where it was, I just couldn't find it.

It gets late early out there. (Referring to the sun conditions in left field at the stadium)

You can observe a lot just by watching.

Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel.

Steve McQueen looks good in this movie. He must have made it before he died.

You better cut the pizza in four pieces. I'm not hungry enough to eat eight.

Once, Yogi's wife Carmen asked, "Yogi, you are from St. Louis, we live in New Jersey, and you played ball in New York. If you go before I do, where would you like me to have you buried?" To this, Yogi replied, "Surprise me."

I always thought that record would stand until it was broken.

If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.

It was hard to have a conversation with anyone - there were too many people talking.

Pair up in threes.

And, finally, another of my personal favorites:

No, you didn't wake me up. I had to get up to answer the phone anyway.

Whatever You Do To The Least Of These...

I am looking at well over a week now since my last blog. In an effort to keep my job, I have chosen to refrain from blogging while at work. I think you would agree with me that, in the grand scheme of things, keeping food on my table is at least a little more important than providing a daily updated blog for my legions of devoted fans. But being the devoted fans that you are, I’m sure you will understand and will therefore wait with baited breath for my next installment. And here it is:

The word Christian gets thrown around quite a bit these days. It gets thrown around so much that the word itself has lost its meaning.

What is a Christian? Who are Christians? Am I a Christian? Are you a Christian?

CNN’s Anderson Cooper declared recently that 85% of Americans claim to be Christian. Eight-five people out of every hundred in this country follow the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. Now, that’s pretty amazing. One would think that with numbers that high, this country had finally figured out how to love our neighbor and our God (certainly not in that order, however). After all, any Christian should be able to tell you that those are the two greatest commandments. But the evidence proves to the contrary and I have two timely examples that I think will validate my point.

In case you don’t know, I live in Greenville, South Carolina. While this fair city is not necessarily the "buckle" of the Bible belt, (Nashville, Tennessee is; trust me, I know) it could certainly comprise a notch or two of that belt.

As in most Southern cities, there is a church on every corner and enough Christian television and radio stations to keep the averaged home-school kid sheltered from anything having to do with the outside world. Luckily, we also have a strong representation of the beloved ultra-conservative version of religious political activism. I write with a hint (only a hint) of cynicism here because, as the contemporary bumper sticker so proudly proclaims, "the Religious Right is neither." And that political special interest group, led by guys like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, is exactly what exists in cities like Greenville.

This "Religious Right" is evident everywhere here, much to the chagrin of Christians like me who would rather open wide the doors of the church than padlock them securely shut. This phobia of actually letting into our church people who look different than we do was, for me, epitomized last Friday night as I arrived at the Elton John concert here at Greenville’s own Bi-Lo Center.

Looking for a reasonably priced parking space, we turned left off of East North Street. Quickly we saw, standing right there on the corner, a group of well-dressed Christians protesting with signs and slogans the concert itself and the "Sodomites" who were apparently not only performing (Elton John is a homosexual), but would be attending as well. Some of the signs were blatantly condemning, some included references to Scripture and some were just outright disgraceful.

Then, once we had found a parking space and made our way to the entrance of the Bi-Lo Center, we ran into another group. Their signs were bigger, more colorful and more offensive. You almost had to trip over these guys just to get inside. Anyone who entered the arena from that main front entrance saw the protestors in all their glory and were hopefully as disgusted as I was.

I sarcastically muttered to myself, "I can’t imagine why homosexuals think Christians hate them." My wife heard my utterance and chuckled painfully as this topic represents an ongoing dialogue between the two of us. I can’t speak for her, but I’m pretty sure she would have joined me had I mustered-up the nerve to do what I really wanted to do: walk up to and apologize – on behalf of loving Christians everywhere - to every single person who saw those signs and was offended, especially those who happened to be gay. But I did nothing like that. I simply stood and stared at the painful exhibition on display that afternoon. My heart sank and I could almost hear the entire evangelical world collectively take two huge steps back in our fight to preserve whatever tiny bit of ground we had taken in our battle to show the gay community that we do not hate them, that God does not hate them.

I have only one question for those protestors: what exactly did you expect to accomplish with actions such as those? If their goal was to alienate more non-believing homosexuals with their actions, then they did exactly that. If their goal was to try and bring more people to Christ (shouldn’t that always be our goal?), then they failed and failed miserably.

On a more positive note, I heard a story recently about another Christian who looks at things a little differently than these Christian protestors do. This particular Christian was in a setting that put him in direct contact with a man who was obviously gay (he had announced his sexual preference to the group he was with earlier in the day). It was also obvious that this man had a rather large chip on his shoulder. The entire situation struck a cord in the heart of this Christian and he felt something needed to be done.

So, when the time was right and he was sure an encounter would not bring unwarranted attention to himself or the other man, this disciple of Christ approached the gay man and apologized. He apologized for how Christians had treated homosexuals in the past. He apologized for the hate-filled venom that had been spewed at gays by Christians in the past. He told him that Jesus Christ – the One whose example we follow – taught us to love our neighbor, not hate him and that he was ashamed at the way gays had been treated by preachers and leaders who claim to be Christians. It was a simple conversation and also fairly one-sided. When it was over, the other man thanked him politely, accepted his apology and the two went on their separate ways.

Now, I pose this question to you: which individual or group of individuals displayed the more Christ-like characteristics? Was it the boisterous, judgmental group of protestors or the humble, apologetic man who personally reached out to a societal outcast?

I don’t recall too many instances in the Gospels that found Jesus on a street corner calling-out people for their sins and condemning them. I do, however, find several instances in which Jesus Himself ate dinner with "sinners" and even had a few meaningful conversations with them. While it is important to note that Jesus did not condone their behavior, He did not shun them either. God forbid we should ever forget that.

I am not ignorant or naïve enough to think that there are not some in the homosexual community who hate Christians. Hate for Christ and what He taught and what His followers believe exists in groups all across this country, all over the world. But what I saw from this group of protesters the other night is the same type of hate that non-believers display every single day. They protested a concert in which the headlining act was an openly gay man and made complete fools out of themselves in the process (on a related note, I haven’t seen any instances where these protestors have picketed adult bookstores or strip clubs – and there’s quite a few of them here; they don’t stand outside bars and harass patrons as they drunkenly stumble to their cars each night; and they certainly can’t be seen standing outside the state capitol demonstrating against politicians and the lies they must have told to get to their respective offices).

They affected no lives, changed nobody’s heart. The only thing they did accomplish is to confirm what should be an incorrect stereotype – both in and out of the gay community – that Christians hate both the sinner and the sin.

Yes, the word Christian gets thrown around quite a bit these days. And maybe the word itself has lost some of its meaning. But Jesus Christ never intended for His Name to be synonymous with a judgmental attitude, condemnation or hate. Until we, as Christians, realize that and put it into practice every day of our lives, we have a long long way to go.