Going Home With Ken

Memorial Day started with a pleasant surprise. Ken Bowlin called to invite our family to go see his old home place in Scott County Virginia. Ken and Melinda are a very special family that has become our Greeneville family. Ken is also one of our elders at church.

Ken speaks fondly of his home place and that had piqued our interest. So when he invited we packed a quick picnic lunch and were on our way. Scott County Virginia is just over the state line.

Our first stop was at a local landmark. The Carter Family Fold. This is an important piece of country music history. They still have live music every Saturday night.

Carter Family Fold in Scott Co. Va. 

Entering it felt like entering a shrine. There were photos and crafts depicting the original carter family. There were also several photos of Johnny Cash who joined the Fold by marriage to June Carter.

From there we wound through hollows and over ridges till we came to Dolly Drive. We left the "black top" and went on a curvy washed out road/driveway. When we topped the ridge we stopped and I took this picture. What a view!


The Bowlin Home Place 

The tin roof reflecting in the lower right hand corner is the house Ken grew up in. The river in the back ground is the North Fork of the Holston River. That is Clinch Mountain at the very back. The ride down to the home place was almost as breath taking as the view.

After being introduced to Ken's brother Jim, who still resides at the home place, we ate our lunch and headed off to for a tour. As Ken walked, he told stories of home events, chores he completed, work he did for others and memories of family working together. He has an amazing memory and is a very good storyteller.


Ken sharing a story of home 

The picture above is of Ken sharing the story of the family barn he helped expand. He talked of climbing up in to the top to hang tobacco to cure in the barn. I bet if we had challenged him he would have shown us how to do it.

Ken has an intense connection to this land. He speaks very fondly of home. Yet the stories he tells with a smile on his face are of the hard work and often hard times. He talked of having to row across the river to catch the school bus. About once swimming across to get the mail, tucking the mail under his hat and swimming back. Stories about memories of searching through the rubble of their home that had burned when he was about 3 or 4 looking for coins that may have survived the fire. He told of blasting rock to make a road and then beating the rocks so that the road was relatively flat.

Since leaving the Bowlin home place, I have been thinking a great deal about home. Not an earthly home but the home that is being prepared for us. I ask myself if I am connected to that home, the way Ken is to his home place? Won't it be great when one day we get a call from Jesus and he says, "Wanna come see my home place?"

Ashville Trip Recap & Catching up

I haven't blogged in a while so I will give a little brief update.


Grace, James & Ted E. Bear 

We had a great night last Wednesday night in Asheville. Grace & James enjoyed giving the local mascot a hard time because we were there to pull for the visiting team. It was good to see Beau and Troy. Neither of them played that night but it was good to catch up with them. They are so nice to James and Grace. James regailed them with stories of his little league games. They were very patient in listening. Lexington came out on top and James and I obtained a foul ball. We walked out of the bathroom and there it was on the sidewalk, timing is everything. By the way Troy pitched last night and he pitched 6 scoreless innings. He has now gone 18 innings with out allowing a run. For the month of May he pitched 27 2/3 innings allowed 16 hits and 1 one while walking only 7 and striking out 34. Pretty good month huh. And he is just 19.

Weekend Guest We were so happy to have Joe & Tori Nims and their kids Ben and Kate visit us this weekend. We were close friends during our days in Tuscaloosa. They live in Nashville now and we don't get to spend as much time together but when we do, it is like we have never been apart. What a blessing it is to have friends like that!

Dinner Table Guys

Wednesday night, we will be forsaking the assembly to renew some relationships. Greeneville is home to the Greeneville Astros. They are the rookie league affiliate of the Houston Astros. The players in this league are just drafted in the Major League draft or just in from Central or South America. Each team can only have 15 players over 21 and only 2 of those over 23. No one can have more than 2 years of pro baseball experience. So the guys who are here are young and you can see the joy they have playing the game of baseball.

Last year, the Astros were in their first year after moving from Martinsville, Virginia. We were excited when the Astros drafted Wallace "Beau" Torbert in the 17th round and assigned him to Greeneville. Beau was from Phenix City which is about 30 miles from where I grew up. He also played a few years of college ball at Faulkner University, where Shannon spent 2 years of school. We introduced ourselves and made plans to have him over for a meal during the season.

Later during the season, James and Shannon were at McDonalds one day. James sees a group of young men there and notices an Astros hat. He says "Look Mom, Astros." with all the wonder of a 4 year old who loves baseball. Sure enough they were Astros. One came over and spent some time talking to him.

Later that week we went to a game. James and I were on our way back from the men's room when a guy in street clothes said, "Are you the kid from McDonalds?" It was Troy Patton who pitches for the Astros. He was working the video camera that night (Since starting pitchers only pitch every 5 days they get to do fun stuff like video games and chart pitches). Troy told us to meet him at the field level fence after the game and he would give James a ball. He was true to his word. He gave him a game ball that had never been used. Troy is a left handed pitcher who was drafted in the 9th round out of a Tomball High School in the Houston area.

We called Beau and invited him and Troy to lunch. The guys came over and enjoyed a home cooked meal and treated James to a game of wiffle ball in the yard. They are really down to earth guys. They came back for another meal and brought another player that James liked, Jordan Parraz.

Beau, Troy and Jordan are now in an exclusive club. They are "Dinner Table Guys". Troy and Beau are now with the Lexington Legends the low A ball affiliate of the Astros (Jordan is in extended spring training and will likely be assigned to the Tri City Valley Cats in the NY/Penn league when their season starts in June). The Legends will be playing the Asheville Tourist beginning Wednesday. It is the closest they will play to us this year. We have conflicts on the other nights they will be in Asheville so we decided to go and watch our "Dinner Table Guys".

We are all excited. James wants to carry pictures of him playing in his Pee Wee baseball games to give Troy. I will be giving periodic updates on our "Dinner Table Guys" and hopefully will be introducing a new set when a new batch of Astros arrive in June.

Jacksonville Self Portrait 

The above picture was taken on the pool deck at our hotel in Jacksonville. The bridge behind us is a unique draw bridge. Instead of two sections both rising, the middle section of the bridge is raise by the two towers. The river you see is the St. Johns river.

I would have been smiling more but I was stretching to get the camera as far away as possible. My wife looks lovely as always! It was a good trip.

Amazing Story of Forgiveness

While in Jacksonville, I heard a presentation by Azim Khamisa. Mr. Khamisa lost his only son Teriq in 1995. Teriq was working as a pizza man and was confronted by gang members who told him to give them the pizzas. Teriq refused and was shot and killed. The gang member who pulled the trigger was a 14-year-old youth.

Mr. Khamisa started a foundation named after his son that has as its mission to strive to reduce youth violence. While this is great, there is more to the story. Mr. Khamisa invited Ples Felix to work with him in the foundation. Mr. Felix is the grandfather and guardian of Tony, the young man who killed Teriq.

Mr. Khamisa and Mr. Felix go to schools and talk to 4th - 8th graders about non-violent ways to solve problems and the importance of forgiveness. This is done through the Teriq Khamisa Foundation.

Five years after the shooting, Mr. Khamisa and Mr. Felix visited Tony in prison. Mr. Khamisa forgave Tony and offered him a job with the foundation when he got out. He has also written a letter to the Governor asking that Tony’s sentence be commuted.

It is an amazing story of forgiveness. It makes the grudges we hold against people appear for what they are: petty. But this story is nothing compared to the greatest story of forgiveness of all time. If we have been forgiven so much, how can we not forgive?

Stand By or Confirmed?

What does it feel like to be sure of something? What about when you are unsure?

This week, Shannon and I went on a trip. On the way home, there was bad weather in Atlanta which was affecting many flights. Some were delayed several hours. People who had been bumped from those planes were promised the next available seat on a plane to their destination. That meant they were to fly “stand by”. Stand by means you sit and wait in the terminal and watch a board that flashes the first 3 letters of your last name. Once you saw those letters, you were no longer in stand by status, you were now a confirmed passenger.

Shannon and I had tickets in our hands. Tickets with seat assignments. We had already been given status as confirmed passengers. We sat around and read, chatted and people watched.

As you looked around the terminal, there was a difference between “Stand bys” and “Confirmeds”. The people with seat assignments walked around, read, ate food that was ridiculously priced, went to the bathroom, some even slept. Those who were “stand by” were anxiously watching the board. Waiting to hear the gate agent call their name. Waiting for any word that they had a seat saved for them on the plane that would take them to their destination. Many of us are like the people in the airport.

Some of us feel we are flying stand by. We are unsure of our place in eternity. We are anxiously waiting for our name to be called but are uncertain that we will ever get the seat. After all, we aren’t good enough. We sin too much. We don’t pray enough. We don’t go to church enough. We don’t do enough good. We can only hope for a place in Heaven.

Some Christians know they have a place in heaven. They have a freedom that comes from knowing your ticket has a seat number on it. They are confirmed in their salvation. They believe what John writes to the early Christians. Look at I John 5:13 – “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life.”

Is that right? We can know? Yes we can know.

We need to look back at the things John has written that are supposed to let us know that we can know:

This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there's not a trace of darkness in him. If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we're obviously lying through our teeth--we're not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God's Son, purges all our sin. If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins--make a clean breast of them--he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we've never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God--make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.
(1Jo 1:5-10)

Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world--wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important--has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out--but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.
(1Jo 2:15-17)

Stay with what you heard from the beginning, the original message. Let it sink into your life. If what you heard from the beginning lives deeply in you, you will live deeply in both Son and Father. This is exactly what Christ promised: eternal life, real life!
(1Jo 2:24-25)

What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it--we're called children of God! That's who we really are. But that's also why the world doesn't recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he's up to. But friends, that's exactly who we are: children of God. And that's only the beginning. Who knows how we'll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we'll see him--and in seeing him, become like him. All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus' life as a model for our own.
(1Jo 3:1-3)

For this is the original message we heard: We should love each other.
(1Jo 3:11)

And friends, once that's taken care of and we're no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we're bold and free before God! We're able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we're doing what he said, doing what pleases him. Again, this is God's command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command.
(1Jo 3:21-23)

My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love--so you can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about--not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God.
(1Jo 4:7-10)

Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God's Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we've embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God. God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day--our standing in the world is identical with Christ's.
(1Jo 4:15-17)

Did you notice how much of the message, the things he has written to insure them of their salvation involved following the commands of God?

If I had disregarding the instructions of the gate agent and wandered off from the gate because I was hungry, I might have missed my flight. Just because I was confirmed didn’t mean I could act anyway I wanted. Nor does surety in salvation mean we can sin all the more to let grace abound more. John makes expectations clear. Only two rules: believe in the name of His Son Jesus and love one another. Those expectations or rules or commands require a great deal of action. A great deal of myself being put to death so that I can really live.

How are you traveling today?

Blogging on the road

Shannon and I are in Jacksonville, Fla today. I am here to speak at the Daniel Memorial National Foster Care Conference. Shannon is along for the ride. It is the first chance we have had to fly together without her being pregnant.

Our hotel here is right across the street from Jackson's Landing and the St. John's River. It has been very nice to have this time together. Thanks to my mom, MiMi, for coming up to manage the busy lives of Grace and James while we are down here.

Faithful Foster Family

The other day at a conference luncheon, I sat next to an elderly couple. Their names are Roger & Imogene Gorsuch. Mr. & Mrs. Gorsuch are 86 years old and live in Chattanooga. They have been married 67 years and have 4 biological children. They were present at the conference to receive an honor for their service to children and families. Over a 45-year period, the Gorsuch family cared for 233 foster children. The children they served were all different. They had different skin colors and had different needs. Some stayed a few days and one stayed 15 years.

They talked about how much has changed since they first became foster parents. When the Mr. & Mrs. Gorsuch started as foster parents, they were given fictitious names for the children to protect the identity of the youth. Now foster parents are encouraged to serve as mentors for birth families when appropriate. When they started, foster parents were required to sign a document saying they would not entertain the thought of adopting the child. Now if the child becomes available for adoption, the foster family is considered first. A great deal has changed over 45 years in foster care. One thing has not; the need for people who desire to serve children and their families to become foster parents is just as great, if not greater.

Next week, the Gorsuch family will be guest on the floor of the Tennessee House of Representatives where a proclamation will be read honoring them for their service to the children of the State of Tennessee. It is nice to see this humble couple being honored for their years of service. They are a little embarrassed by the attention. They just wanted to help. The Gorsuch family can be described as what I have heard called all my life as "good people". They don’t have supernatural abilities. They aren’t much different from you or I. They are just “good people”. Good people who have the desire, the calling, the passion to make a difference in the life of hurting children and families.

May is designated as National Foster Care Month. Ina way, it is a shame you have to wait 45 years to get the recognition the Gorsuch family is receiving. Foster parents are everyday heroes. Thousands of foster parents give of themselves every day to help children obtain a better life. For some children it is going home to a better situation than was there before. For others it is a permanent connection to a family through adoption. If you know of people who serve as foster parents, give them a pat on the back or a hug for the service they give. Better yet, join them. We need more "good people" who have the desire, the calling, the passion to make a difference in the life of hurting children and families.

Doing the right thing

Andy Roddick is a very good tennis player. Now we know he is a very good sport too. Last week in a match in Rome, he was ahead and was well on his way to winning the match. He had his opponent,Fernando Verdasco, down 3 match points. Verdasco's second serve was called out by the linesman and it appeared the match was over. Verdasco was walking to the net to congradulate Roddick. Yet, since it was a clay court, the ball had left a mark and Roddick noticed the serve had been in. Roddick spoke up and said the ball was in and conceded the point. At the time, it didn't seem to matter. Verdasco made good use of his second chance and came back and won the match.

I am not much of a tennis fan but now I am a Andy Roddick fan. Simply because he did the right thing.

Mother's Day Hike

First of all, in rereading my post from yesterday, I did a very inadequate job of lauding my wife for her motherly traits. Words can't express the great job she does of being a mom.


Max Patch 
We went hiking for Mother's day. After Church and a quick change of clothes, we set out with two families from Grace's brownie troupe for Max Patch. It is spot in the Pisgah National Forest near Hot Springs, NC. It is a meadow 4600 feet above sea level. It was cleared for grazing in the 1800's and has been maintained as a bald by the forest service. The Appalician Trail crossed Max Patch. I have now hiked 1/10th of a mile on the AT. Only 2299.9 miles to go.

We took kites and I have never had so much fun flyin kites in my life. My kids had a blast. We forgot to charge our batteries in the camera so we are depending on our friends to share pictures.

Happy Mothers Day

The tradition at our house is that I fix breakfast on Sunday. Usually it is "kid's choice", which usually ends up being chocolate child pancakes (Don't knock it till you've tried it). Today's breakfast is Mom's choice and will be served in bed to the best wife and mother in the world.

I have been very lucky in my life. I have a great wife who is an excellent mother. She has taught Grace how to sew and James how to hit a ball. She has given Grace pointers on how to deal with the "Catty" nature of girls and taught James how to wrap up when he tackles. She has calmed me down when I came home to find James in a cheerleading outfit while playing dress up with the girls. She is a great mom.

The other mother's in my life have been special too. My mom taught me compassion for others by living it out. My Grandmother Jones taught me to importance of the Bible and of being hospitable to others. Both are still teaching me and my family important things all the time.

My other grandmother's have passed away. My Grandma Duer is a lesson at dealing with the pain of life with grace. The older I get the more impressed with her I am. Her mother, my great grandmother, taught me a great deal as well. She was always so elegant and kind.

There are other women in my life who have served as "second" mothers. Those folks have been in my life when I needed them.

So today, thank God for mothers. I better go get cooking!

Looking for the voice of Aslan

I am very excited about the movie version of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe set for release in December. USA Today did a feature on it the other day. I will have to choke down my initial resistance to the differences between the book and the movie (Susan & Lucy involved in the battle, polar bears pulling the white witch's sled). The bit I found most interesting is they are having trouble casting Aslan's voice. Their first choice apparently failed the test to match up the the size of the lion. Who would be your choice? James Earl Jones is the easy choice but I don't see the voice of Vader and the voice of Aslan as being the same. Any ideas?

Seeking A Lasting City - A Tease

The other day I followed a link left in a comment on Frank B.'s blog. The link was for Salt & Light Resources. It is described as, "This site is dedicated to equipping both churches and their leaders for missional leadership in a rapidly changing world." It appears to be an effort of ACU.

On the site is a link to the first few chapters of a book by Doug Foster, Randy Harris & Mark Love. The book is called Seeking a Lasting City: The Church's Journey in the Story fo God.. I have only made it through the first 5 pages and have already read half of it outloud to Shannon. Here are a few of the passages that have jumped out already:

As indispensable as the epistles are, we don’t start toddlers off in Bible classes by reading them Ephesians or 2 Peter: we start them with stories—Noah and the flood, David and Goliath, Lazarus’s resurrection, the feeding of the five thousand. Why? Because children love stories; it’s in their DNA.......

Th e nature of the church seems to be one of our favorite family topics. Overall, this is a good thing. After all, the church is one of the Bible’s favorite topics, as well. Due to the influence of individualism in the larger culture, many religious groups hardly talk about the church, or community, at all. In contrast, many of our most passionate conversations in Churches of Christ tend to be about matters related to the church. For example, we spend a lot of time discussing what is allowable in worship. Who can do what and when? Can we use praise teams? What music is best? What role, if any, can women and children have in worship? We also spend a lot of time talking about leadership. Who can be a leader? What does a leader do? What does it mean for an elder to be the husband of one wife? What in the world do deacons do? Can leaders be called things other than elders or deacons? These are all concerns related to our understandings of the church. While these conversations occupy a lot of our energy, they are not always very productive. Too often, they produce more heat than light........

Story and mission go together. The biblical record reminds us that when story becomes secondary to form, mission is lost. When the story is forgotten, doing worship correctly displaces living justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with God. And when the church becomes more a set of structures and less a way of life in the world, its focus becomes obsessively inward, and it thinks of its life as an end in itself rather than a life lived for others. When this happens—when the church’s focus moves excessively inward—quarreling and controversy rear their ugly heads. The family discussion becomes passionate in divisive ways, and we generate more heat than light. In fact, the church devours itself.....

Chew on those for a while. I know I will be.