On my mind today

I've posted videos of Keith Green before but he's back today, this time in tongue-in-cheek fashion. In conjunction with our ECHO series be blessed today by his "So You Wanna Go back to Egypt!"

Father's Day is Sunday. I realize that may not sound like it, but that's a counter-cultural movement. If you join us on Sunday at FBC, you'll hear me say this again, but our culture has repeatedly expressed the lack of desire for fathers, their leadership and their wisdom. Single mothers are glorified and fatherhood viewed as an uncomfortable and unfortunate position. Spiritual leadership by the father is even more laughable. I contend it's exactly opposite our culture needs. Instead of less fathers, we need MORE! Our role is needed more now than ever before. While we may not have the genius displayed by "Ozzie and Harriet" or "Father Knows Best", we can certainly do better than Al Bundy on "Married with Children." One of the points I'll be making Sunday morning is this: Affirm the value of your children, exactly where they are. In our society that calls for us to live up to some unattainable standard somewhere off in the dist...

Yesterday, Julie and I took our FBC kids to Super Summer at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall. Nothing unusual there. Julie and I both love Super Summer. From 1991-2001, I didn't miss a summer of working with this wonderful ministry. Yesterday was different, however. In the past, when I showed up at Super Summer, it was as a worker. Workers get there on Saturday, prepare all weekend for the students and greet them with great fanfare (that's what you see - and believe me when I say this picture does NOT do it justice!). In the past, I knew everyone else working at Super Summer. Yesterday, I knew only a few. It caused me to look at Super Summer in a new way - or with new eyes. It caused me to see things in a new way. I didn't know where to go, or what to do. I didn't know very many people. Truthfully, the only people I knew yesterday were either my age (which would be the "old" people at this camp) or were the grown children of my friends...

A word of congratulations is in order! Twice a month, several members of FBC work at the East Texas Food Bank in Tyler. Under the leadership of Charles Garner, our workers bag rice and beans for distribution to those in need. It's a tedious job. A literal TON of rice and a TON of beans are sitting on pallets. They must be bagged into 2 lbs. sacks to be distributed. There are 12 bags to the case. In a four hour time span, they bagged and boxed 117 cases of rice and beans! WOW! Now that's a lot of work! Thanks for taking Jesus' command to feed the hungry so seriously!

Have you heard of flash mobs? It's where a group of people decide in advance they will gather at a particular time and then just as fast, disappear. Sometimes they just stand there. Other times, they dance. Like this time. Enjoy the insanity of a random flash mob dancing to MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This." Make sure to pay attention to the people who aren't in on it and their reactions.

I get lots of newsletters, both through snail-mail and email, from churches all over the country. I use them for encouragement, ideas and just keeping up with my friends serving the Lord elsewhere. Today, however, brought a sobering reminder of keeping myself pure. Gary Lamb was pastor of Revolution Church in Canton, GA. A strong church with a bright future, Gary appeared to be a guy who had it won. Appearances are often deceiving. On Sunday, he notified his church he had been involved in a 6 wk affair with his personal assistant and was therefore resigning immediately from the church. Wow. What it speaks to is this: don't focus so much on what others THINK as much as you do on what God KNOWS! If God's not pleased with your life, does it really matter what others think? If you're living in disobedience to God, does it matter if you've found success? Perhaps Gary struggled with a complex of feeling superhuman. I'm especially culpable to that, as most pastors...

After a whirlwind tour of St Louis, we're home. On a note of praise, American Airlines got us home more than 20 minutes earlier than the gate time! On a note of "boo", the people who run the airport security in St. Louis Lambert Airport were not nearly as nice as the people at DFW Airport. Fortunately, we held our tongues - the people I've read who have really had trouble with the security people are the ones who want to hold the TSA to their own printed standards, a mistake we did not make. We smiled nicely, obeyed their instructions and got home. The picture you see is us on top of the Gateway Arch, the iconic symbol of St. Louis. If you go, don't miss it unless you struggle with a fear of heights or claustrophobia. The elevators are about 6 feet in diameter - more like a port-a-john than an elevator. It's quite a view from up there, 630 ft about the city. We could see for miles all around through the portal windows. It gave us a perspective to see ...

We're here. We rolled in about 5:45 PM this evening and it's a great place. We almost took a later flight, but were too slow getting to the counter for the voucher! Ah well - we're here! It's a lot more industrial than I remember. Given that was more than 10 yrs ago since I was here last, that should be surprising. We didn't rent a car on this trip. Instead, we're relying completely on public transportation - the SUBWAY! I love subways! They take you through parts of the city you don't see in the travel brochures and give you a decent idea of what the city is really like. St. Louis is no exception. Some of our friends in Frankston will think we're crazy since all you see about subways is the murders and such but we've always used it when possible - it's the only way to go when you're not sure about the city. Tomorrow, we'll visit the Gateway Arch, Busch Stadium and whatever else we can get into. Check our facebook accounts for p...

This shot might look like any other ordination going on and, in many ways, it is. The only difference between this one and others is what Donnie Maib (kneeling) does for a living. More on that in a moment. For most of the time the Lord has allowed me to be in ministry, I've tried to reinforce to people that they can be ministers right where they are. They don't have to quit their "day job" to be active and useful in the ministry of the Lord. In fact, many times they can be MORE useful to the Lord by staying in their present job. The Lord doesn't always call you away from a "regular" job to be a minister. Sometimes (in fact most times!), He plans to use you right where you are. That brings us back to Donnie Maib. Recently ordained at Promiseland West Church, he says this about his job: "God's given me a platform," Maib said. "I don't want to be offensive or preachy, but for those searching, I'm here to share my life'...

Today is my usual day off and a welcome one at that. I've been praying, reading and catching up on my TV shows. One story that seems to keep coming up wherever I turn is the homosexual agenda. The power they seem to exhibit is disturbing to me. Exhibit A - voters in California approve Proposition 8 barring gay "marriage" in their state. Immediately, there's a clamor to overturn a democratically approved piece of legislation. Lawsuits are filed and accusations of manipulation, racism, homophobism, etc. Today, I read that the California State Supreme Court (who ruled gay marriage was acceptable forcing the issue to the ballot box in the first place) will rule on Tuesday on the constitutionality of Proposition 8 ( here's the link ). Any guesses how they'll rule? *snarky smirk* Let me be clear on this issue: I have friends that I regard as close friends who are gay. Furthermore, I have never (nor do I expect to) feared gays as individuals. Their demand...

For the first time in a long while, Julie and I got to have a full-fledged date day / night. We ended the night at Bernard's Meditteranean Restaurant in Tyler. We wouldn't have gone there had it not been for a friend who gave us a gift certificate to go there. Classy, dark, and expensive. A great combination for a date night! The food was good - I had rack of lamb (never had that before) and Julie had Veal with scampi. We washed it down with some Tuxedo cake - DARN good! Before the meal, we went to a double feature. I let Julie choose them both. We went to see "17 Again" and "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past." Here's a note on each "17 Again" - I was shocked - SHOCKED - at how moral the movie hero was. He encoraged compassion, morality and sexual abstinence. WOW! I wasn't expecting that. Good movie for a teen date or a general chick flick. "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" - Sort of a re-telling of Charles Dickens "Christma...

"The God of Heaven will give us success. We will start rebuilding." Nehemiah 2:20 That's our theme verse for our trip to Galveston this summer. On September 13, 2008 Hurricane Ike struck our Texas coastline with destructive force and devastating winds. We're going to Galveston for the express purpose of rebuilding people's lives by helping rebuild their homes. It's awesome thing to be useful to the Lord like that. Maybe you've never been on a mission trip before and you're wondering what it might be like. Here's a sneak preview of what a regular day might be like. 6:30 AM - Jim Smith and Phil Parks get up. As our foremen, these guys always lead the way. 7:00 AM - Breakfast - Prepared by our masterful chefs led by Kathy Lummus. (As a side note, let me just say I've been on a number of these trips. Only since I came here have I GAINED weight while on a mission trip - a credit to Kathy's cooking!). 7:30 AM - Out to job site. Depending...

By now you've probably heard we're going to Galveston this summer. In the last two days, I've spoken with them twice and let me say they're excited about us coming! There's really only one problem - they can't tell us what we'll be doing until about a week in advance. "WHAT?" the planner in me says. "How can I ask people to sign on for a trip when I don't even know what I'm asking them to do?!" I've had that conversation with myself numerous times recently. I've even had that conversation with some of you who are planners too (you know who you are!). At the end of the day, I've come to this conclusion - as soon as the Hurricane went through Galveston, I felt sure the Lord was leading us go there instead of somewhere else. I'm confident, despite the lack of surety in our work, the Lord WILL use us there. I can't help but think of Hebrews 11:8 - "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would...

A friend of mine sent me an email regarding another Darin Wood in this world (God help us all!). This one is a home builder who has constructed an. . . .interesting house. . . .that's a good description! Here's the link . I'm afraid to post a picture of it. Go see the story and you'll understand why.

Our own Dan Blair came to me a few weeks ago requesting I inquire about bringing a gentleman here to do a talk on the Shroud of Turin (information about the Shroud can be found here ). Being an fan of ancient Christianity, my curiosity was piqued. I called Dee German and have him scheduled to share his story with us on June 7th at 6 PM. I gotta tell you, this is no chump who got his info from the internet. Dr. German was a part of a team of scientists in 1978 who performed tests on the Shroud. He taught Physics at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO. His expertise and insight are even more poignant given that he was a self-proclaimed agnostic when he was a part of the 1978 team but has since come to faith in Christ. I can assure you this evening will be well worth you time. Join us at 6 PM on Sunday night, June 7th.

- First off, let me say how proud I am of us as a church! Our blood drive yielded 65 units! Wow! If all those who had desired to give had actually given, we'd have bumped 80 (we had several turned away for one reason or another)! Thanks to all of you who contributed to the blood drive either by giving blood or by contributing your time to help it go smoothly. We had a CROWD! Thanks. - The final of our deacon series messages was well received. Please continue to lift those who need to serve in those roles. If you haven't already picked up a recommendation form, please find them on the crescent table in the foyer. - Please continue to lift up the family of Shelley Burks-White. I've had time to spend with Judy and Johnny over yesterday and today and they're doing as well as can be expected. The single greatest comfort is that Shelley is no longer limited by the body that constrained her. - This weekend is Memorial Day - one of the poorest attended Sundays of the...

I've gotten this question a lot this week - "are we still having the blood drive?" The answer is YES! ABSOLUTELY! NO DOUBT ABOUT IT! I can think of no better way to honor Shelley's life and memory than with continuing the blood drive. Just yesterday, Frankston High School committed their blood drive to Shelley's honor and gave a number of units. Palestine Westwood High School did the same. There's been at least two blood drives in Dallas and at least one in Houston. What a privilege it is to be a part of something so God honoring and so clear in it's premise. While Shelley has gone home, others still need the blood that we will give in her memory and in her honor. I know some can't give for one reason or another - but if you can, come ready on Sunday morning to give blood - in honor of Shelley.

In case you haven't heard, here's the schedule of services for Shelley. Thursday Shelley's funeral service will be at Wilshire Baptist Church (4316 Abrams Road, Dallas) at 3:30 PM. Friday A visitation for the family will be held here at FBC from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. We'll have doors open Saturday A graveside service will be held here in Frankston City Cemetery at 11 AM. Please pray for Greg, Alyssa and Reed. Pray for Judy and Johnny Burks, her parents. Pray for Susan and Stephanie, her sisters. Pray for her church family at Wilshire Baptist in Dallas. Pray for grace and comfort for the services.

Thanks for praying for us over the last several days. We got back home last night around 10 PM. In case you're curious, it's a 953 miles round trip from here to Rogers, Arkansas. The service went quite well. I think Grandpa would've been pleased. He requested one song and Julie sang it beautifully. My father-in-law, David, spoke briefly with a testimony about Grandpa. Bro. Gary Orr, our uncle and Grandpa's son-in-law, did the funeral message. All in all, we had five preachers take part in the service. No wonder it lasted an hour! :-) Truthfully, it was more a celebration than any service I've been to in a long time. He lived an God-honoring life, leaving a legacy of faithfulness and passion for Christ that we hope we can emulate. Today, we know he's home. Thanks for sharing him with us, Lord - our lives are forever changed as a result.

By now, you've probably heard Shelley went home tonight around 7 PM. There were simply too many issues for her to overcome. Thus, the Lord gave her rest. Please pray for Greg, Alyssa and Reed during the difficult days that lie ahead.