ONE OF GOD'S GREAT SERVANTS

It was a special and fortunate day for me when I was privileged to meet Gordon Kingsley, Jr. Gordon is the son of a Baptist preacher who had a special gift of reaching young people for Jesus. Gordon did not fall far from the tree. He is a scholar, orator, humorist, athlete, and friend.

Gordon has pastored churches, taught English in college, been a dean of faculty, and finally president of William Jewel College in Liberty, MO. Following his retirement from Jewel, he went to be the Headmaster at Harlaxton College in Great Britain. He remains in that position today. Gordon's quiet personality and quick wit often take you by surprise when having conversation. His work as an orator is 2nd to not many.

About 20 years ago, Gordon gave the baccalaureate address at William Jewell, in which he quoted these gentle and relevant lines that he adapted from Robert Fulghum.

All Gordon really needed to know about how to live and what to do and how to be, he learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of you university mountain, but there in the sandbox at kindergarten. These are the things he learned:

Share Everything
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that are not yours.
When you hurt somebody, say "I'm sorry."
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Every day, learn a little, and think a little and
draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work
and love, every day, a little.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the big world, watch out for
traffic, hold hands and stick together.
Be full of wonder. Remember the little seed in the
yoghurt carton. The roots go down and the plant goes
up and nobody really knows how or why. but it does
and we are all like that.
Cats and hamsters and white mice and puppy-dogs and
even the little seed in the yoghurt carton - they all
die. So do we.
But always remember the first word you learned in the
first book you read, the biggest word of all: LOOK.
SEE.
Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The
Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and
politics and equality and sane living.

You can build a life on this. Or a government. Or a world.

Think what a better place it would be if all of us - the whole world - had cookies and milk at three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if all governments had a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are, no matter where you are on this crazy, mixed-up planet - when you go out into the world, it is always best, to hold hands and stick together.

Special servant-leader, thy name is Gordon Kingsley.

"DO YOU BELIVE IN ANGELIC INTERVENTION?"

The winter edition of Baylor Magazine featured a story about what Americans think and believe about angelic beings. "The co-directors of the Institute for Studies of Religion were surprised when more than half of those responding to their latest survey on religious belief said that a guardian angel protected them. Fifty-five percent of Americans surveyed - not just evangelicals, but the entire United States -agreed with the statement, 'I was protected from harm by a guardian angel.'

Dr. Rodney Stark describes the result as 'extraordinary' in a new book detailing the findings called WHAT AMERICANS REALLY BELIEVE. 'I would have believed 10 percent or less would have had an experience with a guardian angel.'

Stark also tells a story that a journalist related to him at a news conference where the survey results were unveiled. She recounted her own experience of years before, when she was pregnant. Wearing high heels, she stepped off a curb and started to fall. Before she hit the ground, she felt hands on her arms, lifting her up. But when she looked around, no one was there. She believes a guardian angel saved her from harm.

Another man reported to the Baylor researchers his account of being pulled from a burning car by a rescuer he never saw."

I am wondering if any of you blog viewers have had experiences such as these. Talk about servant leaders, angelic beings must be counted at least as servants.

A TIME OF GREAT FELLOWSHIP, LISTENING, & LEARNING

Last night, Sue and I had dinner with Lou and Jackie Brock. The Brocks were both tired from the many recent activities that have called for their help. The recent All-Star Baseball game that was held in St. Louis demanded their presence at many of the events that surround this special game. Then shortly after that event, they made their way to Cooperstown, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Lou, of course was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1985. He and Jackie make contributions not only with Hall of Fame events, but they add a spiritual dimension for the great players of the past. When Jackie Brock prays, heaven is brought much closer to earth, and that is more than a good thing. Arriving back in St. Louis from Cooperstown, the Brocks had to speak at the travel convention of which they were a part. When we picked them up last night, their luggage had not been unpacked.

At the restaurant, I began to share with Sue, Jackie, and Lou about the proposed Kindergarten program which is close to my heart. I shared with them that the research clearly shows that children in the Parents As Teachers program do well and are prepared for the learning experience that awaits them in school. I shared that I wanted kindergarten teachers to share with their students that there was no financial reason for them not to have a post-secondary experience. I did not sense much response from the Brocks until Lou said I had hit the warm spot in his heart. We began to share how we can make this work. Jackie, a former teacher, indicated that we should not forget the older children and I shared with her how this is part of the overall program.

If anyone thinks Lou Brock was just a great baseball player and the "Base Burglar" as he was called in his playing days, they are dead wrong. He is deep into the Bible and a strong believer in our Lord Jesus Christ. He and Jackie make a great team as they work together to accomplish so much. Serving Leaders, your names are Lou and Jackie Brock.