In December 1979, a tragedy occurred in my home state of Ohio. The Who rock group came to Cincinnati to perform at Riverfront Coliseum. The tickets were sold in a then-popular format called festival seating.  Ticket prices were fixed, and the best seats went to the concertgoers who could get inside most quickly. Needless to say, festival seating caused some chaos in the best of circumstances. But in Cincinnati that night, the self-centered desires for good seats led to disaster. When the doors finally opened, the impatient crowd surged forward, resulting in a crush of humanity. Eleven people were killed that night and scores injured.   I would venture that not a single person went to Riverfront Coliseum that night with idea of hurting (and especially killing) another person. But hundreds of people were primarily concerned with their own interests: getting through the door first and getting a seat close to the stage. That seemingly harmless desire met with tragic results.  
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Country music sometimes gets an unfair reputation. Some of that reputation is self-inflicted thanks to a few colorful and occasionally silly song titles. I confess that I have made fun of some country tunes. Here are some actual song titles with bonus commentary in italics. Her Teeth Were Stained, But Her Heart Was Pure     There is one you probably won’t find at Hallmark. I Flushed You From The Toilets Of My Heart    Bonus track…I took the plunge, then took the plunger I Wanna Whip Your Cow   No comment I’m So Miserable Without You, It’s Like Having You Here   Perhaps a tad too honest. I Would Have Wrote You A Letter, But I Couldn’t Spell Yuck!    But you just spelled yuck in the…never mind. I Wouldn’t Take Her To A Dawg Fight, Cause I’m Afraid She’d Win    See, this song writer didn’t care if he could spell. He just wanted to share his dawg-gone feelins’. If My Nose Were Full of Nickels, I’d Blow
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I suspect I am a rather typical guy that is trying to follow Jesus effectively. Some good stretches. Some bad. I tend to take two steps forward then one or two or three or ten backwards. In retrospect I can see that much of my stumbling, bumbling walk has been because I did not have a solid, well reasoned theology to back my desire to know God. I approached Christianity just like I approached everything else. With that ill-conceived male bravado that led me to utter such later regretted classics as… How hard can this be? I don’t need the instructions. I am sure we turn here. I measured it once already.I think it is disconnected. I am growing in my appreciation for having a good theological foundation. I have quoted Pastor Tommy Nelson who says “you cannot live a successful Christian life without good theology”. I would only amend that slightly. I think to live the Christian life successfully over many years requires good theology. You
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The King James version of the 23rd Psalm says that he leadeth me beside the still waters. That came to mind yesterday as I drove to Stillwater. The Oklahoma version…not the Biblical one. The long drive gave me lots of reflection time on what has been a very rough stretch of personal highway. Joni and I have been walking through the valley of the shadow of death during the first three weeks of this year. Yet we have been able to say, like the Psalmist, that we fear no evil for He is with us. Still, when you go to three funerals in three weeks you tend to think about larger life issues than the eighteen-wheeler blocking the passing lane. Yesterday’s home church sermon dealt with the cost of following Christ. While that was still percolating in the gray matter I listened to Andy Stanley on a podcast. Andy talked about forgiveness from his series Life Rules. That forgiveness word keeps coming up
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Today’s post will make the subject uncomfortable. He might even be a little angry at me. Men and women who serve God with humility squirm when they receive praise. But I don’t care. I have to tell you his story. One of the problems with our cultural Christianity is that we too often confuse giftedness and godliness. Someone may be gifted at speaking or writing or singing and we elevate that person in our spiritual estimation. God uses gifted people to be sure. But I am learning that God can use a regular person who is truly reflecting Jesus in ways that are supernatural. That brings me to my friend Bob. Yesterday I wrote about his beloved wife Susan finally being at rest with Jesus after a tortured battle with cancer. Susan was blessed with one of the most amazing husbands I have ever had the privilege of knowing. Bob Flickner has had a more profound impact on my walk
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A few days ago I wrote about sad news in my life and one of those topics was a dear friend who had entered hospice care as she was finally losing a long battle with cancer. Yesterday I logged into my friend Susan Flickner’s website to check on her and I found these words. Susan is now at rest in the arms of Jesus. Susan was fifty-four years old. Today I listened to a song by one of my go to guys when I need some musical comfort. Andrew Peterson has a song called Lay Me Down. In this song Peterson sings about how his final resting place could be anywhere because something else will happen when you lay him down to die. Here are the lyrics from this awesome song. When you lay me down to dieSo long, boys, so long, girlsLay me down and let me say goodbye to this worldYou can lay me anywhereBut just remember thisWhen you lay me down to
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I love to collect the stories of people who do stupid things. I am reluctant to call them stupid people because I am very likely to join their ranks at any given moment. Parker T. Hall Houghtaling was struck in the head by a New York subway train four years ago as he leaned out to see if the train was approaching.  Amazingly, he suffered only bruises, cuts, and a shoulder injury. On Friday, November 22nd, 2005, Houghtaling was waiting on the platform of the Poughkeepsie train station when he stuck his head out and, you guessed it, he was hit by the 6:26 p.m. commuter train. The Poughkeepsie Journal reached Houghtaling by phone and he  confirmed the 2002 incident. He said he didn’t remember much of what had happened in his latest brush with the New York subway. You could say he is developing quite a “track” record. It is so easy to shake your head and wonder how in the world this guy could do this once,
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