Truths I Wish I’d Known in High School

In just a couple of weeks I will be traveling to my hometown of Chillicothe, Ohio to celebrate my 50th High School Reunion. Wow! That is a lot of mileage on the life odometer and you can’t roll it back. A few years ago my great-niece asked my advice about navigating the emotional ups and downs of the high school years. Here is what I told her. 1.    I wish I had known that my high school years did not define me for life My teen years were a mixed bag of memorable highs and incredible lows. Now I realize that I am grateful for what I once considered some of the difficult moments of my life. In many of those spiritual valleys you could not have begun to convince me that God was molding me or that those experiences could ever be of value. Had I been the coolest guy or the best athlete I most likely would not have developed a sensitive spirit
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Jesus Keeps No Stats

I lived in the performance driven world of sports virtually my entire career. In our broadcasts we usually measured value not by character but by statistics. Numbers like how many tackles for loss or how many yards gained per carry defined value. Character was a nice bonus but performance was king. I remember a comment from Northwestern University football coach Pat Fitzgerald that really impacted me. He was talking about the impact of negative stats on a football player’s performance. Coaches often rail about the need to reduce “missed” tackles and they keep track of each miscue. Coach Fitzgerald had a different philosophy. His staff does not keep track of missed tackles at all. The staff evaluates each play by their effort even if it does not produce perfect results. His next comment stuck with me. “I don’t like to put negative results in their minds because you become what you think about.” It immediately hit me how profound that
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Contemplating Life Without Forgiveness

I recently discovered an immensely talented musician/producer/singer/songwriter from my hometown of Chillicothe, Ohio. Jerry Salley’s career in bluegrass, country, and gospel music has been remarkably successful. I am not sure how I missed hearing about his music but count me grateful I found him. His most recent album, Bridges and Backroads, was produced during the pandemic year and it features a tribute to our mutual hometown of Chillicothe. But one song keeps resonating in my heart as I listen to the album. Without Forgiveness opens during a wedding ceremony as he observes the starry-eyed love of a young couple. They are beginning a journey the writer knows will not always be idyllic. Relationships are hard and often messy. The chorus of the song sums up what that journey could look like if you choose the path of selfishness and pride. Without forgiveness,Life’s a long and empty road.Without forgiveness,We’d give up and just let go. I’ve had a long term and
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Training Camp for Jesus Followers is Now Open!

I love football. The opening of football training camps gets my juices going. I watch some of the greatest athletes in the world getting ready to play a highly skilled game. So what do they start with every summer at training camp? Footwork and technique drills. Coaches demanding constant repetition of fundamental skills. The best teams are the ones that most consistently execute the basic fundamental aspects of their craft. Legendary Coach Vince Lombardi famously began each training camp by gathering wide-eyed rookies and grizzled veterans around him. He would begin by holding the pigskin in front of him and solemnly proclaiming this truth. “Gentlemen, this is a football.” From that rather rudimentary start he would detail the importance of understanding the fundamentals of the sport. I can learn something from that approach. When I first came to faith many, many seasons ago I was so excited to learn the fundamentals of faith. How do I study the Bible? How
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We ALL Bleed the Same

Recently I had the privilege of breaking bread (toast to be accurate) at a breakfast meeting with Pastor/Educator Patrick Nolan. He is a black friend with a smile as big as Texas and heart for the Gospel that is even bigger. Patrick is the pastor at Vibrant Life Baptist Church. We had the most amazing conversation about racial issues, the church, and our culture. Here is what my friend posted on Facebook. “As we were sitting together and sharing life it occurred to me that people were listening and watching as we had honest conversations about race, religion and politics. Now I believe those who were looking on saw more than an old black guy and a young white guy eating together at the “lunch room” counter. I believe they saw in a real life illustration that the best way to break ethnic barriers is not by rhetoric but rather by relationship!“ I can only challenge him on the young
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The Legacy of a Loving Father

Singer Dan Fogelberg was one of my favorite singer/songwriters. Today I thought about a song written about his dad called “Leader of the Band”.  Fogelberg’s father was a musician and he passed that talent down to Dan. Parts of the lyric made me think of my Dad in his final years.. The leader of the band is tired and his eyes are growing oldBut his blood runs through my instrument and his song is in my soul  I thank you for the music and your stories of the roadI thank you for the freedom when it came my time to goI thank you for the kindness and the times when you got toughAnd, papa, I don’t think I said ‘I love you’ near enough  My Dad knew how much I loved him. Still I wish I had told him more. But this is the portion of the song that continues to impact me as a son. My life has been a poor attempt to
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Please Play This Song BEFORE Posting or Tweeting

I have teased for years that I want to develop an app that asks you to pause and pray before you hit send. Failing that, maybe I can convince you instead to play a song recorded by Glen Campbell. The lyrics are from a poem written by Edgar Albert Guest in 1914. Guest immigrated from England in 1891 at the age of 10. He was a newspaper reporter for the Detroit Free Press before becoming a syndicated author of poetry. He became known as the “Peoples Poet” and was said to have published a new poem everyday for 30 years. His works were not critically acclaimed but they connected with the public. Fifty-one years after Guest published “A Creed” the words were put to music by Glen Campbell in a song titled “Less of Me”. (Click on the link to hear it) Let me be a little kinder,Let me be a little blinderTo the faults of those around me,Let me
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