I have been playing drums of some sort since I was 14 years old. I am now 40. My senior year in high school I played the quad-toms in marching band. I was pretty cocky and full of myself. At the first football game of the year we were posed to march onto the field for our portion of the halftime show. I was prepared. I had my purple uniform. I had my band hat with white plume standing erect. I had my cool black drumsticks. And I had my sunglasses stowed discreetly out of sight. I began the cadence and the band marched onto the field with our backs toward the hometown crowd. When we turned toward the home bleachers I had donned my sunglasses...at 9:00 at night. We burst into our first song of the show and Frank Johnson, our band director, immediately noticed the "lead" drummer wearing sunglasses. Mr. Frank was hopping mad. Literally. He motioned vehemently from the sidelines for me to remove my protective eyewear. He stomped and paced while I pretended not to see him or maybe I pretended I wasn't sure what he was trying to communicate to me. When our portion of the halftime show ended we marched off the field and Mr Frank was waiting to pounce. I remember he asked me why I wore the sunglasses on the field. My reply was this: I just wanted to be different. He retorted with this sentence that rings in my ears still today: You're not supposed to look different. That's why it's called a UNIFORM! I didn't want to be uniform.
A few days ago, I was driving with my girls in the car. We were kidding around and I said to them that I march to the beat of a different drummer. One of them replied, "Dad, you are your own drummer." Double meaning I guess...
Apparently, I was born with an innate desire to stand out from the crowd. I always choose clothes and shoes that are just a little different than most other people are wearing. Some of the music that I listen to is a little different than many people enjoy.
In my renegade state of rebellious roguing, I have developed a great distaste for the ordinary and status quo. It doesn't help that I also tend to be a bit of an extremist. Add to that the fact that I am a very deep "feeler"...very deep...And you get this mess called me. I refuse to conform to the average and ordinary. I am not average or ordinary nor is my God. I was born to be different and dissatisfied with "normal". I was born to be a revivalist and reformist. I was born to challenge traditional thought processes and teachings. I was born to be a renegade; a rebel; a rogue. Sometimes, this makes for very interesting pastoral experiences.
Changing topics.....
Back in July my wife, my daughters, and myself traveled to Florida via Tennessee. It was good to raft the Hiwassee River in the Appalachian Mountains. It was good to spend time with a very dear friend and help her to consume the chocolate gravy that she manufactured. It was also good to go the the farmer's market and purchase huge red tomatoes for a very low price. Some of my favorite purchases (in the whole trip) were 2 pints of pure honey and a quart jar of sorghum molasses.
We went to Florida from there and spent a few days on the beach. And then on to Orlando for a week of Universal Studios and Church of God International General Assembly.
I can no longer ride amusement park rides. I get deathly ill. This is a tragedy.
I came away from General Assembly feeling proud to belong to this denomination. It is not a perfect denomination and indeed has a large supply of bureaucracy and political maneuvering. But, being a part of this denomination provides me with a covering of protection and a certain amount of camaraderie that I greatly appreciate. Church of God (Cleveland, TN) has partnered with the kingdom of Cambodia to build an entire city for poor and destitute citizens. You read that correctly...An entire city for poverty stricken Cambodians. I am proud to be an Ordained Bishop with the Church of God. I learned that our denomination has a presence in approximately 180 nations around the world. I also learned that 80% of Church of God churches have less than 100 people in attendance. I also learned that even though I pastor a small church, I am valuable to the kingdom of God and so is the church that I lead. I am proud to be a part of the Church of God.
Changing topics...And possibly closing:
I have learned to embrace who and what I am. I have disqualified myself many times because of personality traits and character flaws that I possess. I have disqualified myself many times because of horrendous mistakes that I make time and time again. But, this summer, I have learned to be who I am and not to apologize for who I am. I am a high "D" and high "I" on the DISC personality assessment. I test high for the (Romans 12) gifts of prophecy (perception), helping and compassion. I have gravitated toward leadership roles for most of my life. For the next 40 years of my life I will not run away from who I am but, instead, will embrace who I am. I will submit myself to the refining and purging process that Holy Spirit desires for me. I probably will not be uniform. I probably will be a renegade; rebel; and rogue.
In closing, I paraphrase Dr. Seuss: Today, I am me, that is truer than true...There is no one alive who is me-er than me.
Because of Jesus,
The Incoherent Messy Rambling Pastor
A few days ago, I was driving with my girls in the car. We were kidding around and I said to them that I march to the beat of a different drummer. One of them replied, "Dad, you are your own drummer." Double meaning I guess...
Apparently, I was born with an innate desire to stand out from the crowd. I always choose clothes and shoes that are just a little different than most other people are wearing. Some of the music that I listen to is a little different than many people enjoy.
In my renegade state of rebellious roguing, I have developed a great distaste for the ordinary and status quo. It doesn't help that I also tend to be a bit of an extremist. Add to that the fact that I am a very deep "feeler"...very deep...And you get this mess called me. I refuse to conform to the average and ordinary. I am not average or ordinary nor is my God. I was born to be different and dissatisfied with "normal". I was born to be a revivalist and reformist. I was born to challenge traditional thought processes and teachings. I was born to be a renegade; a rebel; a rogue. Sometimes, this makes for very interesting pastoral experiences.
Changing topics.....
Back in July my wife, my daughters, and myself traveled to Florida via Tennessee. It was good to raft the Hiwassee River in the Appalachian Mountains. It was good to spend time with a very dear friend and help her to consume the chocolate gravy that she manufactured. It was also good to go the the farmer's market and purchase huge red tomatoes for a very low price. Some of my favorite purchases (in the whole trip) were 2 pints of pure honey and a quart jar of sorghum molasses.
We went to Florida from there and spent a few days on the beach. And then on to Orlando for a week of Universal Studios and Church of God International General Assembly.
I can no longer ride amusement park rides. I get deathly ill. This is a tragedy.
I came away from General Assembly feeling proud to belong to this denomination. It is not a perfect denomination and indeed has a large supply of bureaucracy and political maneuvering. But, being a part of this denomination provides me with a covering of protection and a certain amount of camaraderie that I greatly appreciate. Church of God (Cleveland, TN) has partnered with the kingdom of Cambodia to build an entire city for poor and destitute citizens. You read that correctly...An entire city for poverty stricken Cambodians. I am proud to be an Ordained Bishop with the Church of God. I learned that our denomination has a presence in approximately 180 nations around the world. I also learned that 80% of Church of God churches have less than 100 people in attendance. I also learned that even though I pastor a small church, I am valuable to the kingdom of God and so is the church that I lead. I am proud to be a part of the Church of God.
Changing topics...And possibly closing:
I have learned to embrace who and what I am. I have disqualified myself many times because of personality traits and character flaws that I possess. I have disqualified myself many times because of horrendous mistakes that I make time and time again. But, this summer, I have learned to be who I am and not to apologize for who I am. I am a high "D" and high "I" on the DISC personality assessment. I test high for the (Romans 12) gifts of prophecy (perception), helping and compassion. I have gravitated toward leadership roles for most of my life. For the next 40 years of my life I will not run away from who I am but, instead, will embrace who I am. I will submit myself to the refining and purging process that Holy Spirit desires for me. I probably will not be uniform. I probably will be a renegade; rebel; and rogue.
In closing, I paraphrase Dr. Seuss: Today, I am me, that is truer than true...There is no one alive who is me-er than me.
Because of Jesus,
The Incoherent Messy Rambling Pastor