A Theological Chorus Line

Some of you have asked me how I enjoyed my 40^th class reunion last week at Princeton Seminary.   A quick answer would simply be, “It exceeded all of my expectations.”    And yes, everyone was older, and most of us were not in tip top shape, including me.  Yet old friendships were immediately rekindled.  It was nice.
 
An experience like my reunion makes me think that life is like a big chorus line, with each dancer doing their part in step with all the others, as they link arms and kick up their heels.   So for instance, seminary could be thought of as a theological chorus line.   At the reunion, we were gathered in graduating decades under one big tent, class reunions from the ‘60s up to today’s budding young theologians.  I was in the class of 1973, and my son, Andy, was in the class of 2003.  He walked the same campus sidewalks and sat in the same lecture halls and classrooms that I did thirty years earlier. Even separated by 30 years, Andy and I are part of the same line, dancing to the same tune. Both of us were as impressed as we met first year students and those about to graduate come May.  These newly minted theologians are in the chorus line too!

Sardis, too, is one big chorus line of believers, stretching back to 1790 and even before. Every time we observe All Saints Day I think of those who came before us with gratitude, and hope that those who follow after us will look back and say that we were faithful in our time.

We are all a part of some chorus line. Which ones are more important to you?

What A Class

I don’t know how many of you attend your class reunions.   I have never attended a class reunion.  There were close to 1,000 members in my graduating class from Penn Hills High School. I enjoyed those days at one the largest high schools in the state, but sometimes I envy those who had small classes and continue to stay in touch.   I’m told they demolished the old building and have a state of the art new one, so I will never walk those old halls again.

After I tossed the tassel at Slippery Rock State College, Corrine and I moved on to our new life as newlyweds.   The funny thing about our courtship is that she and I attended the same high school but never knew each other.   Truth is I knew who she was, but she didn’t know me.   We met ‘officially” on the first day of college.   Best thing that ever happened to me.   You would think we would have made it back for a reunion, but no.   Slippery Rock is now a university, which makes no sense to me.   But I was pleased to see one of the players for the St. Louis Cardinals was drafted out of Slippery Rock!

I graduated the first time from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1973.   The second time was when I received my Doctorate of Ministry in 1990.   The class of 1973 was once labeled, “the worse class ever to come through seminary.”    In some ways the recognition is deserved.   Those were turbulent times.   The summer before I arrived the students had locked the Trustees in the library conference room and would not let them out until they made a statement condemning the war in Vietnam.   Eventually the trustees survived the ordeal but never made any public announcement.

Members of our class often led the community protests and three of our own were  arrested by the FBI for pouring cement onto a railroad switch in an effort to prevent the construction of munitions at the at the foundry in Pennsylvania.    Like I said, turbulent times to study the Bible and theology.

And yet, out of the class of 73 came some of most amazing people I have ever known.  Many went on to lead large and prestigious churches all across America.   Some moved on to become professors, or lawyers, a College President and heads of major foundations, like the Lilly Foundation.   It was quite a class and I’m proud to be a part of it.

So, for the first time ever, and thanks for the gift you provided, I will be attending my very first class reunion, the 40^th Anniversary of the Class of 1973 from Princeton Theological Seminary.   The seminary even lassoed me to be on the “Reunion Committee”.    It’s been fun connecting with my old class mates inviting them to the reunion, which will include the Inauguration of our new president,  Dr. Craig Barnes.   You might remember, Dr. Barnes was with us a few years ago and remembers Sardis fondly.   I will give him your best wishes. Have you been to a class reunion? What should I expect?

 

   

Sticktoitiveness

I don’t believe there is such a word as “Sticktoitiveness,” but my old mentor Dr. Robert Holland made it up and said it was the most important ingredient in life.   Nothing of lasting importance ever happens without sticktoitiveness, the ability to “stick with it.”

Last week I read a great article that tells a story really demonstrating this quality.  Construction began on the La Sagrada Familia, a famous basilica in Barcelona and “one of Europe’s most popular  tourist attractions,” in 1882. Not sure how long they thought it would take to complete this architectural masterpiece, but it’s still not done, and won’t be complete until 2026, 13 years from now and a full 144 years after construction began!

Antoni Gaudi, the original architect of the basilica, was known as “God’s architect.” He is quoted in the article as saying of the basilica, which was only one-quarter completed at his death in 1926, “my client is in no hurry.”

How good are we at sticking to it?  It takes sticktoitiveness to keep a marriage intact, to raise a child, to chase a dream or to build a life.   In the book of Hebrews, the author talks about the importance of “perseverance” in life and faith: “Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, with our eyes kept on Jesus.”   

Don’t quit, don’t ever quit.   Remember, our client is in no hurry.

The Beatles and the Bucs

Clint Hurdle

Even if you hate sports, you need to know that something happened in Pittsburgh last week that hadn’t happen for twenty-one years! The Pittsburgh Pirates made the major league playoffs. It is quite amazing that one on the most pitiful and losing franchises has had such a dramatic turnaround.  
 

Clint Hurdle

There are lots of reasons for the renaissance of the team. Good players always help. Yet most insiders credit the manager, Clint Hurdle. He knows baseball inside and out, but more importantly, he understands people and life, and is a master motivator. He was accepted at Harvard on his academics, but instead choose to play baseball. At one time he struggled with staying sober, so he went to AA and started to read and take his Bible seriously.  It turned his life around.

As the “Skipper of the Pirates” he sends daily inspirational and encouraging text messages on his smartphone to his players. Often he quotes Shakespeare or the Beatles.  They love him for it.  As he once said, “They never care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

 Here is a quote from John Lennon that Hurdle has framed on the wall in his office at PNC park:  

When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life.  When I went to school they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I wrote down, “happy.” 
They told me I didn’t understand the assignment. 
And I told them they didn’t understand life.

P.S. I’m pulling for my Pirates. Even if they get clobbered by St. Louise in the division playoffs, they at least made it out of the basement. Go Bucs.

It's That Time of Year...

One of our members, Jim Monroe, once gave me an excellent piece of advice on how to have a plush green lawn. He said, ‘I only know two things about grass seed.  It won’t grow if it is still in the bag and it needs water.”  

 Well, it is that time of the year when many folks are plugging or aerating their yards, spreading grass seed, and clothing it with a thin layer of straw, all in the hopes of having a great lawn come spring.  Growth never happens overnight.   It takes time and care and patience.
 
I’ve thought about what Jim shared and think it applies to most of life:  “It won’t grow if it’s still in the bag and it needs water. “  Jesus said the same sort of thing about seeds and life and growth.  The sower has to sow them; they won’t grow in the bag.   Children and youth, and all of us, won’t learn the Bible and grow if we are not in Sunday school or attending a Bible Study.  We won’t worship God if we’re not in worship.  We won’t experience the warmth of Christian fellowship if we don’t participate in all the wonderful ministries like Mustard Seed Groups and Circles, Youth Fellowship, Senior Link and the other myriad choices.   Like grass seed, we won’t sprout and grow and come to life if we stay in the bag.

And then comes the water.   Now, to be honest, I am jealous of my neighbors who have sprinkler systems that automatically water their lawn.   I have to lug out the hose and sprinkler and keep moving it around.   Most of the time I just leave it up to the good Lord to water my lawn.  

I think it happens a lot like that in church.   We lean on the goodness of each other, and especially the work of the Holy Spirit to quench our thirst; we let God do the watering.   No wonder Jesus talked about “living water” that comes from Him and Him alone.

Yep, Jim was right.  “It won’t grow if it is still in the bag, and it needs water.”   Same with us.

Oh, the Good Old College Days!

 

One of the books on my summer reading list was Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz.   It was made into a movie, but was a box office bust.   I am not a movie critic, but in my humble opinion I would not rent the movie at Red Box for even a dollar. The movie was nothing like the novel.

The story is an intriguing one that gives you a peek into the complex admissions process at Princeton University.   Like a lot of great universities, Princeton has a huge treasure chest of talented and superbly qualified applicants hoping to be in the next freshman class.   It is a tough task discerning who gets in and who gets the thin envelope.

Since Corrine and I lived in Princeton for three years, I was familiar with a lot of the local color in the book, like the little out-of-the-way hoagie shop on Witherspoon Street where the sandwiches will make you feel like you are dining in heaven.  Or the Small World coffee shop that will give Starbucks a run for their money, and where on any given day you might bump into John Nash, the Nobel Laureate winner profiled in A Beautiful Mind.

I think every town has wonderful little spots that are known only to the locals.  It’s where you find the best food in town, without prices that will melt the plastic off your credit card.  Every college town especially has places like these, and they become a part of our lives.

 I think about our college students, especially our freshmen, who are now starting to feel more confident and able to find their way around campus without looking at a map.  I hope they have found the right friends and are getting a feel for their classes.   I hope they miss home, but not too much.  I hope they are enjoying all of the wonderful fall festivities that come alive on a college campus.   I hope they know how much they are loved.  I hope they know we miss them.

More than anything, I hope you will join with me in praying for our college students.   It does not matter where they were admitted; they all need our prayers.   It’s not always smooth sailing at school, so a little spiritual support goes a long way.  

Anyone up for joining me in praying for our college youth?

Sunset at Montmajour

I was fascinated to read  that “the Van Gogh Museum says it has identified a long-lost Vincent Van Gogh painting that spend  125 years in a Norwegian attic because it was thought not to be authentic." Makes me wonder what’s in my attic!

The painting, “Sunset at Montajour”  is of a dry landscape of oak trees, bushes and sky with the classic thick brush stokes that only Van Gogh seemed to perfect. They have been able to pin point the exact day it was painted, because Van Gogh described the painting, which he had done the previous day, in a letter to his brother, Theo.  

What caught my interest, was that Vincent expressed in two different letters that he considered his painting of “Sunset at Montajour” a failure. In fact, he felt the same way about one of his most famous paintings, “Starry Night”. I had to chance to see “Starry Night” when we visited the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. It will take your breath away. Can you imagine thinking it was a failure?

You could spend a life time trying to figure out all of the complexities of Vincent Van Gogh, far too many for me to explore. But I wonder  about the powerful sense of failure  inside of him that seemed to be the canvas on which he painted his life. He painted approximately 900 paintings in his lifetime, but only sold ONE during his life time. I find that unbelievable, but also amazing. He kept on painting when no one else seemed interested  or cared about his art.

 It takes a real passion to do what you love , especially  when the rest of the world passes you by without a glance of recognition. I admire individuals who follow their passions. For Van Gogh, It was painting. What’s yours?