Bill Bryan Memorial

Bill Bryan was the chaplain at Dallas Theological Seminary when I studied there.  My wife was in Mothers of Pre-Schoolers, MOPS, with his wife Shirley, the entire time that we were there.  Jenny became very close to Shirley.

After I graduated, the Fuller institute asked me to move my family of six to Pasadena to take over management of the project on which I had been working for the past year and a half.  Jenny and I flew to CA, and she looked for housing while I worked on three seminars with Carl George.

That week she looked at 110 houses, none of which we could afford.  At the end of the week I told Carl that we could not make it work financially, and he told me I would need to find somewhere else to work.

I was thinking through that as well as what I could do on our flight back to Dallas.  Jenny was very quiet.  Half way back she reminded me that it was her 40th birthday.  In the midst of the stress and drama, I had forgotten.  I made my first cellular phone call from an airplane to get a cake ready for us when we landed.  But that did not make a dent.

Several days later, Bill and Shirley joined us for dinner as a surprise for Jenny.  That helped get me partially out of the dog house.

That was the people they were.  That snippet did not come close to many of the stories I have heard.

His memorial service was yesterday.  His three sons spoke.  It would be worth your time as a father to hear what they had to say.  It will set a high bar for you as a father.  I do not know how long this link will be available.  I highly recommend that you watch this, click here.  The service is a bit down the page...worth looking for it.

Also, Dr. Mark Bailey's message was the best I have ever heard at a memorial service.

Speaking At Our Church

For the past several days I have been preparing to speak at our church.  That is one of the reasons that there has not been a new post.

You may want to watch this.  I am covering 2 Timothy 3:10 – 4:8 (here @ Bible Gateway).  Some of this has been written about here.  But this puts most of it together.  Click here to hear and watch the message.

Look forward to any comments you may have.

Turmoil

Life has been interesting for the past few weeks, months, and years.  I was on the phone this morning with a friend who has been dealing with a family crisis for the past few days.  He found out this morning that his father is probably in his last hours.

This friend is in the midst of leading a ministry that is going through some changes.  The changes seem to be aligning the thrust of the ministry more closely to the purposes of the Lord described in the New Testament.  Since this effort has begun, all kinds of turmoil has erupted in that community.

The Scripture warns us of this.  1 Peter 5:8 (here @ Bible Gateway) tells us that the enemy is about destroying us.  He isn’t in the business of distraction or irritation, no, destruction is his end game.  But, there is a way to avoid destruction, don’t do anything that would get his attention.  That is don’t be engaged in making disciples or seeking first the Kingdom of God.

He will leave you alone then.  You are not a threat.

Step in the direction of obedience, expect turmoil.