Twelve

Twelve years! Do you remember when you were twelve years old? You were on the verge of becoming an adolescent. Soon you would no longer be considered just a “kid”—you would be a teenager! I remember being a star Little League baseball player as a twelve-year-old. Like Barry Bonds, I was in a race to set the single season home-run record in my city. However, in spite of my name being in the paper every week, I could hardly wait to turn thirteen because then I would be in the Babe Ruth League. There you played by the same rules used by grown ups. You could take leads off of the base and tag up on fly balls, just like the Red Sox! As far as education, twelve was the end of grammar school. It was time for junior high school, which meant I would be changing classrooms to go from English to math, rather than staying in Mr. Ferraro’s room all day since he taught all my classes. And yet, while twelve places one on the edge of a new stage in life, twelve also represents the end or the completion of the stage in which one currently find himself. As much as I wanted to be in the Babe Ruth League, I would miss seeing my name in the local paper every week. And as much as I looked forward to moving from classroom to classroom in junior high, I would miss being in the senior class of grammar school. I’m writing on the significance of twelve because on June 3rd I celebrate my twelfth year as senior pastor of Pentecostal Tabernacle. Much has happened in those years. In my family life, my oldest daughter will legally become a woman and my wife and I were finally able to purchase a home. At PT, our congregation has grown dramatically, paid staff has increased, renovations have taken place, and most importantly, many lives have been changed by the grace of God. So rather than look forward to the challenges and excitement of getting to my teen years as a pastor, I think I’ll sit back this week and appreciate God’s blessings in my life with regard to the last twelve years. I hope that you will take time out to do the same, no matter in which stage of life you currently find yourself. For, in spite of...
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The World’s Most Influential People

One morning I was reading Time Magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. Of course this list contained what I would call “the usual suspects”: Oprah, Hillary, Barack, Leonardo, etc. However, I was struck by a number of other things such as: Osama bin Laden still being on the list after all these years The number of people of whose names I’ve never heard That President George W. Bush was left off of the list while Raul Castro (Fidel’s brother) was included The inclusion of only two leaders in the Christian faith: Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria In his book, Discovering the Leader Within You, Dr. John Maxwell defines leadership very simply: Leadership is Influence, nothing more, nothing less. If this is the case, then these 100 individuals are not simply world influencers, they’re also world leaders. And whether or not I agree with Time’s list, one thing is certain: These are very important people whom I need to be aware of because they in some measure influence the world in which I live. As we ponder the reasons these individuals made Time’s list, I ask: Are you a person of influence? What kind of influence are you for God and His Kingdom? And finally, who are the people who have influenced your life (for better or worse)? The Bible says, “As iron sharpens iron, so people can improve each other” (Proverbs 27:17, CEV). More than likely, we will never make Time’s list. However, we all can make up our minds to accomplish something this year that will improve the lives of others for good. As usual, I invite your...
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What Men Want

The March issue of the magazine Men’s Health had an article entitled “What Makes Men Fall Love?” by David Zinczenko. Being a man who fell in love 29 years ago and is still in love after 24 years of marriage, I was curious about currently attracts my fellow males who are still involved in the pursuit of happiness. So I decided to read this article, and I discovered (according to a national Harris Interactive Poll) that “sixty percent of men deem friendship the most important thing in a relationship. Sex comes in at a skimpy eight percent.” The writer continued by stating four things a man wants in a woman. Ladies, are you ready to find out what your prince charming is in search of when he comes knocking at your door? Gentlemen, are you ready to discover what you did not know you wanted when you knock? Well, here we go: 1. Men want a woman with a passion in something other than her man. Wow! How humble! How selflessly not desiring to be the center of her universe! Sorry, I could not help myself on this one. 2. Men want a woman who has no problem with guy time. This means she needs to be ok with him spending time hanging out with his buddies from time to time. 3. Men desire a woman who has a strut. Now that’s a word I have not heard in a very long time—strut. However, this means that a man wants a woman with “attitude”, “sassiness”, “confidence”, “charisma”, “charm that shows she can be a little bold and a little daring.” Folks, I’m quoting what the article says. 4. And finally, drum roll please! Let’s open the envelope carefully. Men want a woman with a good taste in ties. In other words, he wants a woman who can provide him with a little gentle guidance in areas of life where he may not feel confident. Again, emphasis on the word “gentle”. So, ladies and gentlemen, are these the four qualities that top your lists of what you need to be to your man, or what you have to have from your woman? How do these four qualities compare to the capable woman found in Proverbs 31 (New Living Translation)? Is there really something to this list? For example, #4 resonates with verses 11 & 12, which say that “Her husband...
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Anna, Diana, and Sanjaya

Michael. Oprah. Mariah. Shaq. Diana. Tiger. Denzel. Elvis. Sanjaya. Sanjaya? They say that you’ve made the “It” list when people only have to use your first name to refer to you. “Michael” once referred to Michael Jackson, but now it refers to Michael Jordan. The others are Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, Shaquille O’Neal, Princess Diana, Tiger Woods, Denzel Washington (smile, ladies!), Elvis Presley, and American Idol’s Sanjaya Malakar. This year marks the tenth year since Princess Diana’s death, and yet she’s still on our “It” list. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal (“The Summer of Diana,” April 26, 2007), at least fourteen new books on her life are set for publication this year. In his book Serious Times, Dr. James Emery White states that on the day before Princess Diana died, Mother Teresa, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, passed away. The sad fact is that Newsweek magazine dedicated forty-seven pages to cover Diana but only four to Mother Teresa, a nun destined for sainthood in the Catholic religion; the coverage proportion occurred in the rest of the media as well. Anna Nicole has been deceased two months, and yet she’s still one of the hottest news topics. Compare news coverage of her death to that of the death of former president of the United States Gerald Ford, which took place around the same time. Mother Teresa, Gerald Ford, even Elvis Presley have all accomplished something that makes them newsworthy. Princess Diana and Anna Nicole? What makes them so newsworthy? Is a woman who simply married into royalty more newsworthy than a nun who inspired 4,000 nuns to dedicate their lives to helping the poor in over ninety countries around the world? Is it more uplifting, educational, and inspiring for us to know the accomplishments of a former president or a stripper who married a ninety year-old billionaire? And what are we to make of Sanjaya Malakar? Is the news media reporting news to us, or simply telling us what should be considered news? More importantly, we must consider our young people. What is the effect of the media constantly telling them which people are to be considered important, at times offering individuals that are neither good role models nor newsworthy? How does this affect the way people think in view of the Bible, which tells us “Do not let the world around you squeeze you into...
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