One Pastor's Perspective

All in all, it was a good trip home.  Got to see my sister Donna from Memphis, her daughter, her son and his wife.  I think it was good for Dad to see them.  I know I enjoyed spending time with them.  Dad’s memory is getting worse and these visits are really good for everyone.  Twice this weekend, while I was sitting right beside him, he asked mom when I would be there…  Or ask Mom how long they’ve been married … Things like that.  I know a day is coming when he might not know me, and that really stinks.

BUT … it was a good Thanksgiving.  I got to watch some football with him, laugh with he and mom at the breakfast table, watch Bailey the Wonderdog (Krissy’s dog) as she loved on Mom and Dad and conned them out of table scraps and treats.  Bailey REALLY loves Mom.

We missed Elaine and Karl, but they are heading up at Christmas. That will be good, too!

Now, if I can only get over this cold/allergy attack/sinus thing/ear thing that I’ve fighting for 10 days now.  And, honestly, I tried to go see my doctor last Tuesday.  His receptionist wouldn’t allow it.  Hoping to have better luck today.

Lagniappe is a small gift, given to a customer by a vendor at the time of purchase.  You aren’t buying anything from me by reading this, and I’m not really giving you anything valuable.  Just a little insight into how my mind works, I guess … So, if you continue reading ….

One of the self-imposed rules of this blog is to be careful.  Try to avoid stepping on land mines when I can.  There are times when I am really not at liberty to blog what is on my mind, because it would get me in trouble.    As a pastor, that is more than okay.  There are times when I just can’t.  So, today I will blog a little about my trivial side!!!

When I broke my arms, one of the first things we did is get a subscription to Netflix (since I was going to be home a lot and needed something to occupy my mind).  And I still love it!!  Not as much for movies as for old TV sh0ws.  The latest show I am back into is Magnum, P.I.

When I was a kid, I never missed it!!  It was a quality show, just enough humor and just enough drama to really keep you hooked.  Magnum’s producer, Donald Bellisario, is the executive producer of NCIS and that might explain my Tuesday at 8:00 addiction.  He also produced Airwolf, Black Sheep Squadron, and the one I really didn’t get into, JAG.  I’ve really enjoyed reconnecting with Magnum and look forward to watching all 8 seasons as time allows.

Until then, if you see me riding around Florence in a red Ferrari and with fake moustache, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a Detroit Tigers hat, ask no questions …  I’m just looking for Rick and TC.

Last night a handful of Ebenezerites met to set up for Fall Festival.  Setup went well and as we were winding down I found a basketball on the court.  I couldn’t resist …  What I found was the left-handed dribbling is going MUCH BETTER than before.  There is much more flexibility in my elbow joint and I was actually able to dribble with my elbow feeling natural!!  (Before, I could dribble but the elbow felt very stiff and clunky)

Yeah, I know … Barely worth blogging about.  But to me, one of the most awesome things that has happened to my elbow in months!!  Remember, I never thought I would dribble with my left hand at all!!  I shot a few free throws and a couple of threes, tried to teach Jack Newton to dribble with one hand, and then put it all down.

All in all, a good day!!  Now praying for a great day TODAY as our Fall Festival kicks into full swing tonight!!!

It’s Monday morning, after one of the roughest weekends in a while.  Two funerals and three worship services since Friday, and I can tell the ol’ ax is dull.  It’s like I’m hitting the tree, but nothing is happening.  NO, I’m not about to go the the Post Office with an assault rifle and do bad things, so no texts or calls necessary here, please!!  I’m not out on a ledge … just knowing the blade is a little dull today.

Eccelsiastes 10:10 has this to day about that topic:  “Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.”  (NLT)  Gonna try to find a few ways to sharpen the blade on the fly this week.  Hope it works!!

Ironically, I showed the youth a video on Wednesday about a hillbilly husband and wife.  She have him a new chainsaw as a birthday present.  He tried to use the chainsaw to cut a tree and several other things, and it wasn’t working out for him so well.  When he was finally exhausted and laid out in a lawn chair, his wife picked it up, CRANKED IT, and started cutting a tree like nobody’s business.  And it all worked out because she knew how to apply the POWER to that saw.

Hmmm…  maybe I need to watch that video again ….

Man, my grandfather was awesome!!  He really was the best!!  He died over 17 years ago, but would’ve been 100 if he’d lived until today.

He wasn’t perfect, but if I can be half the man he was, I think I’ll be okay.  He had 12 grandchildren, and had of way of making every one of us feel special.  Some of my best times with him were spent in a boat or on the bank of a pond/lake with fishing poles in our hands.  In our days, we caught some fish.  And we had many days where all we did was drown worms and minnows .. (Can you drown a minnow???  Anyway …)  It wasn’t the fishing, or the cleaning fish, or cleaning the boat that mattered.  It was time that made all the difference.  That is what I remember.  That is what made him the best!!

And, I’ve got 11 cousins who feel the exact same way as I do.  He really was the best!!  Miss you, Papa!!

I am in awe of the love and concern shown to me and my family by my Ebenezer family.  If you are a part of EBC, I want you to know how much I appreciate you and that you folks mean the world to me.  If you are not … well, you need to be!!  With all of that written, many people ask me about how my dad is doing.  Sometimes I say “about the same” and sometimes I’ll even admit to “not too well.”  But I think there is a deeper answer.  One that I do not want to give, but I believe it to be true.

Dad’s disease is progressing.  That is NOT a positive thing.  Dad has NPH (normal pressure hydrocephalus), which basically is too much spinal fluid in his brain cavity.  It acts like Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson’s, or that catch-all diagnosis of dementia.  The bottom line is physically, Dad is not doing too bad.  But mentally, he is not well at all.

With Dad, the main problems are memory loss that grows more severe every day and loss of muscle control in his feet and legs.  The physical symptoms really don’t seem to be getting worse.  His memory, however, is another story.

Years ago, all of this started with small holes in his memory and thought processes.  Most of the time, you would never know he had NPH.  Slowly, however, the small holes have grown bigger.  Now there are small moments of clarity and more memory loss.  And it continues to grow.  And my Mom, who has ALREADY earned sainthood in my eyes, feels her heart break a little more everyday for her high school sweetheart to whom she has been married for almost 59 years.

Yes, there are treatments for NPH.  A cranial shunt is no longer an option, although Dad had one that helped for over 5 years.  He does have a lumbar shunt, but it only does so much.  So we place all of this in the precious and loving hands of God.  And, you’d better believe this is a painful thing for my Mom, for me, and for my family.

So many of you have asked “What can we do for you??”  Right now, pray for us.  Especially for my Mom, Janet Wike.  And know that your prayers are greatly appreciated!!

The forecast track of TS Isaac has many folks thinking about another hurricane, not so long ago … Katrina came onshore near Pass Christian, MS, and wreaked HAVOC on that region of the Gulf Coast.  In the aftermath, Ebenezer (along with many others) sent multiple teams down to do whatever we could to help.  We still remember a little storm called Hugo and all of the help we received!  In fact, Marty Coates organized a team that went in only a couple of days after.  We saw firsthand the destruction.

Fortunately, Isaac is no Katrina.  No Hugo.  But it does remind me of another hurricane named Andrew.  It was 20 years ago and my wife, my almost 2-year-old daughter and I were recovering from the culture shock that is natural when you move from Upstate South Carolina to New Orleans.  The mayor of NO, Marc Morial, issued an evacuation order as Andrew drew close.  And all of my friends laughed!! “It ain’t ever gonna hit us!  You’re a fool if you evacuate!!”

Not too many years before, I had served on a Hugo cleanup team.  I saw what a powerful hurricane can do, and what Andrew had already done to Homestead, FL.  So I packed up my Bronco II and my family, and we headed east.  NEVER FOUND A VACANCY IN A HOTEL.  And by the time we got to Atlanta, we were only 2 hours from home!!  So we drove on into Easley and had an unplanned trip home for a few days.  Andrew jogged west before he came on shore and did very little damage.  And all was well!

Isaac is on a very similar path to Andrew.  And as I sit here, 600 miles away from a city I called home and left a little of my heart in when we left in ’95, I pray for my brothers, sisters, and my seminary.  I pray that Isaac will have even less of a bite than Andrew.  I pray that this city, that has had so much disaster in the last decade, will be safe.  Just like 20 years ago.

Seems like only yesterday when he went on his first fishing trip.  It was at the pond at Buddy Rainwater’s house.  He caught a brim!!  Not long after that, he started 5K.  Seems like only yesterday.  Today, he starts the first day of his senior year in high school.  His big sister is already a second-semester senior at Clemson, due to her hard work during the summers.  She starts Wednesday.  And I find myself wondering where all the time has gone!! Here’s wishing all of our kids a great year at school, and hoping all parents will realize their kids grow up at the speed of light.  Make the most of every moment!!!

Do we have the luxury of picking and choosing which parts of the Bible we believe and which parts are fictional??  Do we have the option of deciding which parts of our lives we will give to God and which parts we will keep for ourselves because we know better than He??

A few months ago I received an envelope from a friend.  Honestly, I had no idea what it was and was a little hesitant to open it!!  It was a copy of a guest editorial in The State.  The Unitarian pastor that wrote the editorial was stating that there is a lot of good stuff in the Bible, but we have to dismiss the mystical as something fictional that was added in to keep our interest.  Honestly, I believe Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead.  I believe He healed the blind, lame, leprous, and fed 5000 with five small loaves and two small fishes.

And I believe Revelation 22:18-19, which says “¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. ¹⁹ And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” (NIV)

Friends, we don’t have the luxury of picking and choosing which parts of this book we believe and which parts are fantasy.  It’s all true.  And the very nature of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is offensive to us because it shows us that we are sinners and God is Holy, Righteous, and Blameless.  We cannot stand in His light and NOT see our sin.  And that bothers us.  And we don’t like being uncomfortable with ourselves.  The word of God is confrontational because it shows us that our base nature is not like that of God, but it strives for and desires our own will and our own way.  And Jesus Himself said that we cannot serve two masters!!  We must choose one!

And the end of the book of Joshua, Joshua challenged the Israelites with the same kind of challenge.  Choose THIS DAY whom you will serve … but as for me and my house, we will choose the Lord!!

As for me and my house, we believe the whole thing.  And we will try our best to serve Him with our WHOLE LIVES!!!

That could probably be said for every person on the Honduras team this year.  This was the first time I’ve been, but I heard from some of the veterans.  This trip was different:  Good in many ways, but difficult in others.

Sister Leonarda’s Home of Hope (the orphanage in Limon) was in worse shape than our team has ever seen it.  I had nothing to gauge that on, but it was bad.  And when Pastor Mario told me that HE thought it was bad (and I know the conditions in which Mario ministers), that made an impact on me.  I firmly believe God is leading us to help with this situation, and I am still praying about how that looks.  God will make that call, not David Wike.

There were also loops in my heart that were closed about this mission project.  There is no question of the value of this mission for me, for several reasons:

• The needs are REAL, and God has put them in front of us AND given us the ability to make a difference.  For that, He will hold us accountable someday.
• The people are REAL!  Not only the ministers and translators with whom we work, but the PATIENTS and CHURCH MEMBERS know us and love us.  Last week, an old friend of Diana’s contacted her and warned her that she had done missions work in Honduras and found that she was being hustled.  I am sure that happens, just like it happens in Florence, SC.  But I’ve seen these needs firsthand.  I’ve sweated and bled with these people.  These needs are more real than you really want to know!!
• The power of Christ is REAL!!  I told a couple of stories yesterday about how God’s power took over and did things that we could never do.  There are a hundred more stories about this.  God was so interwoven in this trip that it humbles me to think about it every time I do.  If I sit and think about it for a few minutes, it still moves me to tears every time.

In Exodus 34, we are told that Moses’ countenance had changed because he’d spent time with the Lord on Mount Sinai.  We spent ten days with the Lord in Central America, and our lives will never be the same!