On Serving Leaders

The Great Leader

2010-11-11T12:30:00.000-08:00

Jesus is, of course, the greatest leader ever! I have endeavored to lead in the Christian way all of my adult life. God has been gracious in placing me in places where I could lead and I am grateful for that.

Today, I must confess that since the death of my son Frederick (Rick as I knew him), life has taken a dramatic downturn for me. There is a huge hole in my life that seems impossible to overcome. I believe I will have this hole for the rest of my life. Rick has been incredibly important to me all during his life and continues to be important to this day.

My daughters, Jamie and Holly have been very special during this time. They both think of Rick and the thoughts bring tears to their eyes with each thought. Both daughters have taken special time to be near to me and see that I am doing o.k. They are so good at doing that. Our entire extended family has gathered around us, including all those who have come to Write About Jesus. I cannot begin to thank all these folks for their expressions of love. Thank you, anyway.

John Ortberg, pastor of the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Menlo Park, CA has written a book entitled "Get Out of the Boat." I am presently reading this book that, so far, is speaking to me. From this point on (November 11,2010), I am going to get out of the boat that has been overwhelming me and binding me to earth. I want to be what God wants me to be and if He has something in these last years of my life, I want to accomplish His task.

This is not going to be easy for me, so I am asking for prayer support from all my family and friends.

Jesus is the GREAT LEADER and I am privileged to follow Him.

AFTER THOUGHTS AND CONTINUED EMOTIONS

2010-09-20T11:43:00.000-07:00

Through the years, I have conducted many funerals, provided sympathy to folks who needed it, given encouragement to keeping on when life screamed to "Give Up." Up to now, I thought I was pretty good at it.

Many years ago, a young couple regularly attended the church of which I was a pastor. Along with her folks, they owned a resort on the Lake of the Ozarks. In the realm of important things in their life, number 1 was their marriage and their children. Number 2 was probably their extended family. Number 3 was their business. My guess was the the Lord ranked somewhere in the top 10. I really did like them. They were good folks.

One day, the Dry Cleaning and Laundry folks came by to deliver some clean clothes and the driver of the vehicle asked me if I had heard about Jerry_________'s death. Jerry was a young man in his late 20's. There was a gas leak on the pump at the boat dock at his resort. Jerry got in the water, put a pipe wrench on the pipe that was leaking and was immediately electrocuted by a short in the pipe. I will always remember his wife saying, "I don't ask for him back, I just want the Lord to take me too!" A big hole was felt by Liz as Jerry was taken from her. He just wasn't going to be seen again in this life. I tried to minister to this very nice lady, and perhaps I did, but there was no way for me to feel her pain that day. Today, I know what she was feeling.

We read about tragedies that take place on the streets, in homes, during recreation, traveling and murders and we say, "That's too bad, and it really is; however, when the tragedy walks in our front door and the victim is someone in our family, those words are hallow and almost meaningless. Today, I know what a particular family that has experience one of those tragedies feels.

I see the looks of unbelief in the faces of Cindy, Sue, Jamie and Holly and it makes me want to cry. I feel the hurt that Kendall and Guy feel by the loss of their special brother-in-law. Today, I know that feeling.

To all of you who have expressed sorrow, caring, prayer support, I cannot begin to express my thanks to each of you. Whether you have experienced such a loss or not, your caring is helping all of us move on with our lives. We have a wonderful Savior in Jesus Christ. He is real and cares for each of us. Today, I know that feeling more than ever.

RICK, A MODEL SERVANT LEADER

2010-08-10T12:34:00.000-07:00

Of course, all of us who are of the Christian faith understand, Jesus was the real model servant. He did it flawlessly. Here on this earth, it is sometimes very difficult to cross paths with leaders who serve first. I am now going to brag! My son, John Frederick Smith II, was such a person. As a little boy, he was always called Ricky, the Rick part taken from his middle name. Throughout his elementary years at school and on the basketball court or baseball field, he was Ricky. Singing with his family's singing group, One Accord, he was also Ricky during those formative years. In high school, he dropped the "y" off of Ricky and was Rick Smith. By this time, he was becoming what he would ultimately be as a man, and that is being very concerned about people who didn't have much or were not popular in school. There was one girl at St. Charles High who was not pretty and definitely not in the mainstream of being one to whom others would gravitate. Not Rick, he always had time to make her feel like she was the most important person in the world.

Not long ago, Rick backed into a parked car in the parking lot near his office. Going inside to find the owner of the car, he discovered it belonged to a lady who had been domestically abused. As a matter of fact, she did not have a left eye. Rick took care of her car and made it possible for an eye to be implanted in her face. Wherever we would go, Rick would always find people of "less stature" and say "Hi" to them and engage them in conversation. One evening at a grocery store, we were there to buy a few items and he bought a coke. I wondered what that was for, but as we were leaving the store, he handed it to the security guard and said "I thought you might be thirsty." That kind of thing happened all the time.

Rick passed away earlier this summer. He was 42. Oh how much our family misses him. How his wife and little daughter miss him. Rick was a board member of the Kessler Park United Methodist Church School Board. His friends liked to sit by him at the meetings because he was a fun person who was the master of the one liner. Often, he would sing at gatherings and captivate his audience with his voice and his sense of humor.

Rick was not in this world to be served, but to serve. He had a dynamic personality and would always light up a room. At his funeral, the church was packed with standing room only. The testimonies from people whose life he helped to be better was overwhelming. I had no idea of his influence in Dallas.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Dallas Morning News had 142 comments in his guest book that accompanied his obituary.
I have had over $7800 given to the A.S.K. Kindergarten College Scholarship fund in his name. What a testimony of great serving leadership. I love you Rick, wish you were still with us. Christmas at the Smith household will be a little dimmer this year, but heaven will be a great deal brighter. Sue, Jamie, Holly and I are sad in one way, but happy for you that you are with Jesus. That is always a good thing.

HE WALKS THE TALK

2010-01-14T10:33:00.000-08:00

Far too many of us who claim to be followers of Jesus are actually viewers of those who are on the front line doing the work of presenting Jesus to those who are in desperate need. A young man who is on the front line in St. Louis, MO is Jason Julian, who direct Urban-K Life in that metropolitan area.

Jason played football for the University of Tennessee, located in Knoxville. For those of you who are unfamiliar with college football, the University of Tennessee plays in the highest level of that sport and in one of the toughest conferences in the United States. Jason, who is white, married the love of his life. who is black and they live in the heart of one of the toughest neighborhoods in St. Louis.

Jason volunteers his time working in the public high schools of St. Louis. Not only does he work hard to become friends with the students by eating lunch, often bringing McDonalds' food for consumption, he builds RELATIONSHIPS. He is an unpaid football coach at Vashon High School and really teaches those kids how to play, not only football, but the game of life.

Recently, the administration of the public schools contracted with Jason to help correct the dropout rate in the high schools. A few K-Life workers have been hired to work in two schools, Beaumont and Sumner. The dropout rate in those two schools is an American tragedy.These K-Life folks are working hard endeavoring to eliminate that problem. They work with the attendance offices of the two schools, check the names of those not in school and go to the students' homes encouraging the students to get to school. One recent day at Beaumont, the attendance level was 85%! That was astounding, showing that building relationships with students is the way to go.

A building in the heart of St. Louis City, near the location of old Sportsman's Park which once was the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, has been donated to Jason. This location is in the center of the area in which Jason works. This building was valued at over 1 Million Dollars!!!! Volunteers from all around the metropolitan area are coming in to get the building renovated so Jason can have this facility to help do the work Jesus has called him to do.

God is doing a great work through this SERVING LEADER. Jason is a friend I greatly admire. He is what REAL LEADERSHIP is all about,

TIME FOR SOME MORE QUOTES

2009-11-15T16:16:00.000-08:00

It's been a good while since I have posted any quotes from leaders, so today I decided to select a few for you to read. I just found a book given to me by Lou Brock and entitled "Quotations; The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans." I believe you will enjoy what these Americans have to say.

"Since 16 years of age, my every morning prayer is, 'O, God, don't let me die until I'm dead.'"
Thomas S. Haggai

"Eternal life in His Son Jesus Christ is All of God. I can make no effort to attain it. I can only accept what He offers, believe and trust in Him." Billy Graham

"There is nothing more important in your business or personal life than integrity."
Sam Fox
"It's nice to be praised, but it's more important to be the best at what you do, be happy in God's will and be happy in your work." Archie W. Dunham

"Most people have an inner person that holds the keys to their social, leadership, and relationship performances."
Louis C. Brock

"The Preservers of History are as Heroic as its Makers."
Engraved on the front of Pat Neff Hall, Baylor University

"You have to know where you want to go and what you want to do. Then you have to have a strategy to get there. And you have to stay focused."
Joseph E. Antonini

"Everyone has special gifts from God. The challenge is to use those gifts well, on the field and when the game is over."
Henry "Hank" L. Aaron

"Try to do better today than yesterday."
Darrell Royal

"The thing I enjoy the most is putting underprivileged high school graduates through college."
Alber A. Robin

IT'S TIME TO CHANGE

2009-10-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

For several years now, I have been thinking, praying, and dreaming about how to help the children who grow up in homes where there appears to be little hope for success, even in the United States of America. For too long, I have watched millions of dollars spent on programs to help the nation's high school students emerge from the cycle of poverty and lack of education. Some have been helped, but for the most part the money has not been well-spent.

We have been watching the decline of public education, especially in the large cities of America. St. Louis, for example, had at one time one of the best public school systems in America. In fact, the first kindergarten in America was in the St. Louis Public Schools. We have seen learned educatiors come and go in their vain attempts to correct the many problems that are now associated with city schools. Part of the problem stems from the fact that the average tenure of a school superintendent is three years. In those three years, there cannot be long-range planning and our problems cannot be fixed in three years.

It is my conviction that we need to take the following steps to fix schools and in the process fix what is wrong with America.

1. Every parent of every newborn child must enroll in the Parents As Teacher Program. This program was the brain-child of Dr. Arthur L. Mallory when he was Commissioner of Education in the state of Missouri. PAT is now in every state of the union and in many foreign countries. PAT has a proven track record of success. Dr. Mallory is on board with what we are endeavoring to accomplish.

2. Parents and children need to be told and shown that there is no financial reason for the child not to have a post-secondary education. This needs to be continuously underscored in the kindergarten. Scholarships must be waiting for the children when they go through these programs and graduate of a secondary institution.

3. There must be after school financial literacy for the children beginning in kindergarten. Local churches can be the home for this activity. Through the third grade, various leaning and fun activities must be a vital part of this program. There will be field trips to various colleges and universities.

4. We must have dinners, think-tanks, and direction for parents which will be lead by Christian educators who have a track record for knowing what they are doing.

5. Colleges and universities must be visited and come on board with scholarships and other means of financial assistance.

We have begun the America's Scholarship Program where money will be placed in interest earning accounts for the kindergartner who goes through this program and graduates for high school. This is where the reader of this blog comes into play. I am asking interested people who feel this program makes sense to help us financially. Nine out of every ten dollars will go for scholarships. The other dollar is for administrative costs. I would ask you to pray about this and then give as the Lord leads. Make your check out to "One Accord-K." Your gift is tax deductible as One Accord is a 501-c-3 Not for profit corporation. Send your check to P. O. Box 1364, St. Charles, MO 63302. Understand that the results from this program will take place 13 years from next year's beginning of kindergarten.

Our children need your help and so does America.

A SPECIAL KIND OF SERVANT

2009-10-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

Hal Herweck, Jr. is my brother-in-law. That makes him the brother of my wife, Sue. Hal is a very interesting person who possesses energy "far above those of mortal men." He seems to never need sleep. He travels the world over in his job with Phoenix Textiles. He drinks Dr. Pepper. He has two children, Wendy and Trey. He has six grandchildren, who are so often the object of his affection. Hal's wife, Nancy, was the long-time organist at Ridgecrest Baptist Church in St. Charles.

In the early 1980's, Hal, along with Reverend Jay Piper began a gospel music program on KCLC-FM, a station located on the campus of Lindenwood University in St. Charles. The name of the Program is "Hooked on Gospel." Every Sunday morning at 5 am,"Hooked on Gospel" hits the airways on 89.1 on the FM Dial. Reverend Piper died shortly after the program began and Hal has been carrying on since. With music ranging from Contemporary to Southern Gospel to the old hymns, Hal goes into countless homes each week endeavoring to uplift the Christian and share Jesus with those who are unsaved. While on the staff of First Baptist Church of St. Charles, along with his radio program, Hal began reaching young people at St. Charles High School. He has a keen interest in sports, especially high school wrestling and football. In 1982, St. Charles won the state championship in football and Hal developed and published all kinds of spirit items for fans to take to the final game in Kansas City. Until Steve Jacob retired as Athletic Director at SCHS, there was a poster that Hal printed that was hanging in the window of Jacob's office at SCHS.

Hal is a life-time St. Louis Cardinals' fan. Still, he often goes to games and lives and dies with the Cardinals. He is a season ticket holder. His entire family joins him in their support of the Redbirds. In fact, Cardinals' baseball is almost religion to all of the Herwecks.' Hal played church softball into his 60's when he suffered a leg injury that forces him to not only limp, but walk with a cane. In spite of this handicap, he continues his trips abroad even though it is extremely difficult for him to get around. An interesting thing about Hal is he never complains. Not one complaint have I ever heard come from his lips.

Now in the latter part of 2009, Hal continues to arise early on Sunday mornings, make his way to KCLC and continue his ministry. He is the personification of continuing to do what he has always done when everything says "STOP!" Hal is a true servant and is doing everything he can to help son Trey with his young church The Refuge.

Hal is a huge supporter of sister Sue and her writing Christian music. He often has her on his program as she shares her talent with the audience that continues to grow. The world says: "Stop Serving!" Hal continues to ignore this and probably will until the Lord calls him homes and says "Well done, good and faithful servant."

ONE OF GOD'S GREAT SERVANTS

2009-08-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

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?"

2009-08-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

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.

ALWAYS A BLESSING

2009-07-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

Dr. Arthur L. Mallory is a hero of mine. I used to have several heroes. Now I have three, Arthur, Stan Musial, and Billy Graham. Graham and Musial are nearing the end of their lives and both have been consistent in the kind of individual each is. I know Arthur knows more about education than anyone I know. Having served as president of Missouri State University and Commissioner of Education for the state of Missouri, Arthur is always willing to share. The idea for Parents As Teacher (PAT) was Arthur's and PAT is now in every state and several foreign nations. Arthur calls PAT Missouri's best export. We continue to work on our kindergarten program and visualize what an impact it can make on our nation. Part of the problem in establishing the kindergarten program is a great problem in education. The average tenure of superintendents of schools is three years. This is one reason schools do not implement visionary programs. All of us know that 13 years is a drop in the bucket in the sequence of time. In those few years, we could change schools dramatically and reinvent our cities. Arthur used that thought saying this program could "Reinvent the City of St. Louis." During my last visit to Springfield, he and I met and continued to brainstorm on how to get this program from a thought to reality. Meeting with Arthur is always a blessing.

I am ready for Sue to come home. She has been incredibly busy with her chosen career. The good thing about her schedule is that she is doing something she loves to do. All too few of us can claim we are doing something we love to do. We might like it, but we do not have the passion about what we are doing compared to Sue's passion for writing Christian songs.

Some of us from my high school graduation class are endeavoring to put together a reunion for at least three classes. This would bring together several folks we have not seen since graduating in a previous century. In all my years at Greenwood (starting in kindergarten through high school graduation), there were only two guys that i did not like. Sadly, I still do not like them because they were bullies. I wonder if I am the only person who had that kind of experience during school years.

I have been so negligent to writing a blog. I am going to do better. Even a few lines is better than what i have been doing.

SPECIAL TIMES

2009-06-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have been very special. First, Sue and I flew to Dallas to attend the high school graduation of our oldest granddaughter, Lauren Lucas. Lauren is the daughter of our oldest daughter, Jamie and her husband Kendall. We were met at the airport by son Rick, who lives in Dallas. This was on Thursday and after arriving in Dallas, I spent a few hour riding with Rick for some errands he was facing. Friday evening was the big event and Sue, Rick and I ventured to Denton, TX and the home of the Lucas family. There awaiting us were Kendall's mother and step-father. Kendall's father passed away a number of years ago and she married a fine Christian man some time following the death of John Lucas. Later, daughter Holly, son-in-law Guy and their children arrived. It is usually a whirlwind when Holly, Guy, Jacob, Houston, and Violet arrive on the scene. This time was no exception. Always fun to have at least part of the family together. The graduation was held on the campus of North Texas University, where Lauren will attend college next year.

On Saturday, we had a reception for Lauren at the home of Rick and Cindy in Dallas. This time, all of our family was there as Cindy, Rick's wife and their daughter Hudson joined us. This was a great time of fellowship, watching the children play on the trampoline, drive Hudson's little car behind the garage, play ping-pong, play basketball before eating the terrific dinner.

In the evening, we went to the Texas Theater to view Hudson's dance recital. It was terrific. By the way, the Texas Theater was where the authorities found Lee Harvey Oswald following the assassination of President John Kennedy.

Sunday, Sue and I drove back to Denton for the worship services of the Denton Bible Church. Kendall is worship leader there and Tommy Nelson is their great pastor. He is always more than terrific when preaching or leading a Bible Study.

Monday, it was back to St. Louis and facing a busy week. Tuesday evening, my friends Dan Bench, who is the CEO of Windermere Conference Center at the Lake of the Ozarks, and Arthur Mallory, my friend who knows more about education than anyone I know, were to meet at the Stan Musial statue that stands in front of Busch Stadium. We were late because of a truck burning on I-70 and traffic was backed up almost to St. Louis International Airport. We finally arrived and went to the Media entrance where we were to meet up with Lou and Jackie Brock. They were late because of the truck burning. While we waited, we met John Mozailak, the General Mananger of the Cardinals, John Utlett, the PA announcer and finally went into a dining room to eat and wait for Lou and Jackie. Upon their arrival, they suggested that we go into the ballpark and find our seats. WHAT SEATS THEY WERE!!!! Second row next to the Cardinals' dugout. Sue could almost hold hands with Cardinals manager, Tony LaRussa. In the stadium, we met the Cardinals' owners and I met Jack Clark, a former slugger for the Cardinals when Whitey Herzog was the manager. After the game, we met former Cardinals' pitchers Cal Eldred and Alan Benes. Tony LaRussa came through where we were and that was a bit exciting. Sue wanted Lou to sign a ball for a friend of Holly's,but left the ball in our car. Jackie suggested that we come by after the game and have Lou autograph the ball. It was there that the evening concluded with Jackie, who is a great prayer warrior, led us in prayer.

By the way, we are praying about Lou Brock having a baseball camp with some good Christian stuff at Windermere.

I'm tired after writing all of this.

BLESSINGS on you who read this and those who don't.

THE GOLD STANDARD

2009-05-16T07:23:00.000-07:00

I have a number of books in my library on the subject of leadership. I have been an avid sports fan since my late days in elementary school. In high school, I played basketball, football, tennis, and track. In those endeavors, we were fairly successful; however, if I had the knowledge contained in Coach Mike Krzyzewsi's new book entitled "The Gold Standard," I would have been a much better player and a much better leader in the days that followed.

"The Gold Standard" is a book about organizing, selecting personnel, building relationships, setting standards rather than rules and building a championship organization. The methods utilized by Coach K, Jerry Colangelo, and the incredible staff brought American basketball back to the status of Olympic Champions in 2008. Reflecting on the past and building on the good things of that reflection also discovering the things that previously led to less than the expected, brought the gold medal back to the United States.

In reading this book, I have found the best writings of leadership on the market today. Developing outstanding relationships, communication from coaches to players and players to coaches, transforming individual egos into a team ego, establishing a plan on the court that includes ideas from players as well as coaches, are strategies every coach of every team and every leader of every corporation should incorporate. "Imagine how much better your team can become if you can engage the mind and spirit of each individual and, even more, imagine the level your team can achieve if you share the same mind and spirit." Coach K uttered that and how true it is.

Coach K is a great coach of Duke basketball. He was a great coach of the 2008 USA basketball team. Reading this book will give you insight how to build a great team or a great organization. I greatly value its contents, especially when his players messed up his hair as the gold was secured.

NO WONDER THERE ARE SO MANY DIVISIONS

2009-03-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

Segregation is a BAD thing. The history of the United States proves that over and over. Sadly, I remember that when I was growing up, the only theater in Springfield, MO that would admit African-Americans was the Landers Theater. There was a catch to that as those American citizens had to sit in the second balcony rather than any place in the theater. Blacks attended high school at Lincoln High instead of Springfield Senior High. It took a lot of black and white people to make things so much better. As a baseball fan, I have learned about the Negro Leagues and there is a museum celebrating the history of those times. Buck O'Neil began this piece of history. It shows how bad segregation was. Even after the color line was broken by Jackie Robinson, for several years the black players had to stay in facilities different from the white players. I had the happy privilege of meeting Buck at Lou Brock's home several years ago.

Do you believe segregation is over? Certainly not. One of the places where it is most evident is the Congress of the United States of America. Is it any wonder that Democrats and Republicans dislike each other and have so much trouble doing good things for our people? Think about it. There is an aisle. On one side of the aisle are Democrats and the other side of the aisle are Republicans. Would it not be a good thing if members of Congress did away with this stupid way of trying to do business? Why not have the Congress set up so that a Republican sits next to a Democrat so that friendships may develop and do away with the idea that only good ideas come from one side. Athletic events are often won because of teamwork. It just might be that teamwork will fix the United States of America.

A sideline for you. In two meetings last week, I asked those in attendance who was Branch Rickey. Can you believe that not one person knew. Of course, he was the man that broke the color line in major league baseball by signing Jackie Robinson.

On a personal note, a very special man who was my pastor at First Baptist in Springifeld recently went on to meet our Lord. Dr. Thomas S. Field was a great preacher, man, husband, father, grandfather and friend. I cherish his memory.

LISTENING TO JIM ROHN

2009-03-03T13:27:00.000-08:00

Several years ago, I became acquainted with a man by the name of Jim Rohn. I didn't meet him personally, but I bought a lot of his materials and became very impressed with what he said on DVD and in his writings. Today, I want to share a part of his book entitled "7 Strategies for Wealth & Happiness." I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

"The tide comes in, and then what? That's right. . . it goes out. It's been that way for at least six thousand years of recorded history. It gets light and then what? It turns dark. . . That's the way it's been for at least six thousand years.

If, when the sun goes down, a man says, 'What happened, what happened?' We would surely know that he just got here, right?

The next season after fall is . . . right again. And pray tell, how often does winter follow fall? Every time without fail for at least six thousand years. True, some winters are long and some are short; some are difficult and some are easy. But no matter what, they always come after fall. It isn't going to change.

Sometimes you can figure it out, sometimes it's a puzzle. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it is a disaster. Sometimes it sails along, sometimes it gets all tied up in knots. You see, it's not going to change. After six thousand years of recorded history, life is a mixture of opportunity and difficulty. That's the way it is.

Whenever I speak, whether I address business executives or high school kids, my message is always the same: " The only way it gets better for you is when you get better. BETTER IS NOT SOMETHING YOU WISH; IT'S SOMETHING YOU BECOME."

What a message for all of us today.

INTERESTING SALARIES AND SO-CALLED LEADERSHIP

2009-02-23T11:13:00.000-08:00

The current economic difficulties going on in America are very interesting not only because of poor policies by banks and other financial institutions, but because of poor leadership and high salaries. In the St. Louis area, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, nonbank lenders - investment firms, insurance companies and the like have sharply slowed their lending in St. Louis, bankers say, so borrowers are returning to banks. Nationwide banks restrict lending as their capital levels shrink. Bankers are seeing an influx of deposits as investors pull money out of the sickly stock and bond markets.

In the old days in major league baseball, if players had a good season, they usually received a pay raise. If they had a bad year, they would have to take a pay cut, often a large one. The Bank of America is about to go under. Interesting that their president was paid more than $20 million in 2007. Paid $20 million in one year and has led his bank to the steps of having to be purchased by someone because of poor management. The is unbelievable! But if that is happening at Bank of America, you know it is happening in financial institution all across our country.

Like everyone else in the United States, I don't know if our new president's bailout will work. I pray for him everyday as I do other leaders. Hopefully it will. But it will not work with the amount of greed that surrounds the financial world in America.

Education is another area where the salaries for administrators is out of proportion to what is paid to professors in college and teachers in elementary and secondary education. Ohio State University is being lead by E. Gordon Gee. Because he runs the largest campus in the US with more that 50,000 students and a budget of $4 billion, he thinks colleges should get more funding. Funding for what? To raise his salary? Ohio State wrote checks in the amount of $1.3 last year to Dr. Gee. What do college presidents do? The salaries for coaches in colleges is out-of-sight. Greed and more greed.

A friend of mine who used to be a college president and is a great educator when asked what a college president does by a prospective president said this: "Get out on the campus. Meet students and faculty and pick up the trash." That would be a good idea for Dr. Gee.

No matter how you slice this, the financial problems come from greed. The folks who work in financial institutions had to learn this somewhere. Was it in the universities where Dr. Gee wants more money?

JESUS, A REAL LEADER, MADE IT SIMPLE

2009-02-17T08:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I was watching James and Betty Robison on their program "Life Today." James used to be an evangelist who traveled the United States and foreign countries preaching the Gospel of Jesus. It appears that he was pretty successful in those endeavors; however, today he is taking a far different approach of sharing that message. The Robisons work together on their program endeavoring to help the poor in foreign countries by drilling for water. They even have Beth Moore teaching each Wednesday. Sue and I are big fans of Beth, who is a very special teacher.

The Robisons had Governor Mike Huckabee as their guest yesterday. He is such a breath of fresh air in today's economic and political environment. Sue and I had the privilege of meeting the governor at a Vitae program last January. We felt he was the real deal then and he just underscored those feelings yesterday. He reiterated some thoughts from his book entitled "Do the Right Thing." What a novel idea that is for an American politician. What a novel idea for presidents and officers of banks in America. What a novel idea for journalists in America. What a novel idea for administrators and professors in the universities of America. What a novel idea for teachers in elementary and secondary schools in America.

The governor went on to discuss something that most religions make as an integral part of their teachings: "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." Jesus, of course, taught that. Gov. Huckabee suggested that if all of us would do that simple thing, there would be no need for all the laws on the book of the United States and other countries. Think about it! If we did that simple thing, I would not have to lock the doors to our house, carry the keys to my car in my pocket, lock the bank vaults at night, have no military or police. What a difference that would make for the world.

Harrison Ford appeared in movie entitled "Clear and Present Danger." In this movie, Ford was endeavoring to do the right thing and one of the men in the movie who was corrupt said to Ford: "Gray, Jack. The world is gray." There in is our problem. No right or wrong in America, just gray.

Jesus, the Robisons, Beth Moore, and Mike Huckabee understand how to solve our problems. It would be a novel idea for our politicians to learn a few simple truths.

IS THIS LEADERSHIP?

2009-02-05T07:53:00.000-08:00

If you are anything like me, you have to wonder what is being taught in business schools and homes in the United States? For those who have had the privilege to going to college and manage to secure jobs in corporate America, that is a good thing. But what are they teaching? Have colleges and American homes taught our sons and daughters to make all the money they can any way they can? Do executives in the financial world care only about themselves and have little or no feelings about anyone else? From personal experience, I can cite examples where there have been opportunities to reach out and help those less fortunate and yet the banking world is opposed to doing so. It is sad that in America, there are executives who make twice as much in one year than it would cost to help hundreds of young people begin a college fund.

The main problem as I see it has to do with greed, selfishness and poor leadership on the part of executives and boards that direct Wall Street. If Jesus were the leader of Wall Street, what decisions would He make? Would He endeavor to line his own pockets, or would He find a way to help those in need? You don't have to read very far in the Bible to find the answer to that.

In reality, if "Serving Leadership" were the mission of executives in the financial world, we would see a different America and the world. We would see poverty and try to end it. We would see folks who have great health issues and endeavor to find a way of healing. We would look at our educational system and fix it.

Rick Warren came to St. Louis and shared not only the spoken word, but gave a copy of his book "Purpose Driven Life" to every high school senior in the St. Louis Public Schools. To those few teachers who complained about his Christian message in the public venue, I would cry out "Get a life!" Dr. Fred Neiger was professor of Bible at the University of Missouri. He always said the following: "No man is fully educated until he knows the Bible." What a novel idea for universities, colleges, high schools, middle schools and elementary schools to teach. I really believe that would top any idea that is being taught today.

I am praying of Barack Obama and our leaders to be serving leaders and direct the United States toward a Godly approach to all of our problems.

FROM THE 5O'S TO THE PRESENT

2009-01-23T06:39:00.000-08:00

I graduated from Greenwood High School in Springfield, MO in 1952. Those years in high school were filled with fun, learning, sports, and dating. It was a very safe time. When I was in the first grade, my mother let me ride my bicycle to school, a distance of a few miles (I was tempted to say five miles, but I know it wasn't that far). Traffic back then did not resemble what it is today, so it was pretty safe. We never worried about some pervert kidnapping you off the street.

Springfield was a quiet city of some 70,000 residents at that time. We rode our bicycles everywhere. When we had a baseball game at Memorial Stadium, we knew we would ride down a long hill on the way to the stadium. That also meant we would have to ride up the hill on the way home.

The choir at Greenwood practiced two days a week. We always had Christian music to sing and I never gave it a thought that my friend, Maynard Ginsburg who was Jewish, could have a problem with the lyrics of the music. At Christmas, we would roll the piano out in the hall by the stairs and sing Christmas Carols at noon for at least two weeks.

Sports at Greenwood were a great experience. We had football, basketball, track, golf and tennis. Sadly, no sports for girls, although we had some girls who could run fast and hit a softball a long way. I participated in football, basketball, track, and tennis. We had great football teams, fair basketball teams, and great track teams. We were a close-knit group of young people who established some life-long friendships.

Today, Springfield is a city of about 180,000 residents and after my father died in 1998, I walked downtown and for the first time in my life felt a little unsafe. I had been on the square in Springfield hundreds of times and never felt unsafe. But 1998 was far different from 1952. What is the difference? We know there is much more crime today. There are more homeless people, and it appears that there are a lot more people living on the dark side of life.

In many ways, life today is much better with all the gimmicks that are at our disposal. The Christian message continues to be heralded around the world, but there is a lack of respect in our nation and for our people. I hated the democrats who were Bush bashers. I happen to think George W. Bush is a very good man. I hate it when the republicans start throwing rocks at Barack Obama. He is the President of the United States and I honor him for that.

Wouldn't it be special if somehow we could bring some of the good attitudes of the 50's into the 21st century and combine those good attitudes with the good things of today? Children could ride their bikes to school, black kids and white kids would just be kids together having fun. Sounds like the United States of America.

A TIME TO BLOG AGAIN

2009-01-15T08:01:00.000-08:00

Most of you who read this blog are aware that during the holidays, our family became aware of the fact that Sue's earthly father, Hal Herweck, Sr. had only a few days to live and actually died during those days. All who knew Hal were better for having that relationship. I had the privilege of paving the way for him to receive his high school diploma from Christian High School and he graduated with his granddaughter, Abbey Herweck LaRose. Usually Hal was the one serving, so it was a special for me to do something for him. We miss him, but we know in whom he believed and who was his Lord and Savior.

Sue and I spent most of the holidays and a couple of weeks after with cold, sinus, headaches wondering if we would ever get well. She finally did and is back in full swing writing in Nashville. For me, the battle continues, but I am feeling much better today. Because of feeling better, I decided it was time to blog again and thought I would begin by sharing a few quotes with you. Here goes:

"To solve any problem, here are three questions to ask yourself: First, what could I do? Second, what could I read? And third, who could I ask?"
Jim Rohn

In one of the many documents that came to Winston Churchill's way, a civil servant had gone out of his way to be grammatically correct and had clumsily avoided ending a sentence with a preposition. Churchill scribbled in the margin: "This sort of English up with which I will not put."

There is an old saying, "Whether you believe you can or you believe you can't, either way you're right."

"If you see your work only a job, then it's dragging you away from what you really want to be doing. If you see it as a calling, then it is not longer a toiling sacrifice. Instead, it become an expression of you, a part of you."

Dr. David Nevin

To his children when they went out for the evening, the father always said this:"Remember who you are and remember whose you are!"
Hal Herweck, Sr.

"The one thing I want you to pray for is this: That I will not take credit for the successes of these things whatsoever, because if I do, my lips will turn to clay."

Billy Graham

A REAL CLOSE FAMILY SERVANT

2008-12-23T22:04:00.000-08:00

Through the years, it has been my good fortune to cross paths with serving leaders who serve in various categories. One of the very best family serving leaders has been Sue's father, Hal Herweck, Sr. Sue and I were both divorced and came into each other's lives in 1976. From 1976 to July 4, 1979, we dated and sang together in the gospel group, "One Accord." Sue and I were married on that July date and blended our families together. She had two daughters, Jamie and Holly. Rick, my son, and I moved to St. Charles when he was four years old. Putting the two families together was special for each of us and was made easier than most situations such as this because each member of the family wanted the blending to take place.

Anyone who is or has been married knows that getting married not only includes the bride and groom (and in our case children), but in-laws also. Enter Hal Herweck, Sr. Hal is a great role model for everyone in our family. If you want to know how to treat your wife. look in Hal's direction. LaVerne, his wife, was, is, and always will be "The Queen." He lovingly and forcefully modeled how his children should treat their mother. If one of his children talked back to "The Queen," he would say the following: "Who do you think you are talking to?" "Would you like to pick your teeth from my fist?" He always opened the car or house door for his bride. He did so many things to make life as easy as possible for "The Queen" and his children.

When Rick and I entered the picture, he treated us as a son and a grandson immediately. We simply were part of the family. How often he and "The Queen" would take the grandchildren to their modest lake home. There, they would raise the American Flag with their granddad. Hal would take them fishing and they loved that.

Hal and "The Queen" loved to come to One Accord concerts. It was not unusual to find them traveling a great distance to hear us sing and more importantly be with a part of the family. Many times they expressed how much fun it was for them to be so heavily involved. When One Accord needed financial assistance, there they were.

My mother passed away 15 years ago Christmas eve. There at that difficult time in my life were Hal and "The Queen" giving their support. Five years later, my father passed away and they were there again. In time of need, they were incredibly present.

Now, to see Hal in the last days of his life having little recall of the many great times he enjoyed and made possible, is difficult to experience. However, he still knows who his is Savior and most of the time remembers the names of most of his family. He can't express himself like he once did, but you can still see the marks of Christ all over him. Would it not be a good thing to be able to see those marks on all of us?

SPECIAL SERVANTS

2008-12-13T08:08:00.000-08:00

I feel I am especially blessed to have so many friends who are serving those around them in very special ways. Sue, of course, serves her family and those who write and those who enjoy Christian music. It isn't easy to do this living in St. Charles when the real thing to do is live in Nashville full time. That would be much easier. Her father and mother live here and she feels a real need to assist them in any way she can with their health concerns.

Ed Watkins has been my friend for many years. Sue and I often vacation with Ed and Janet. They are special "trench buddies." Everyone needs a trench buddy. Ed is heading up a very important program of how "Volunteers Impact Prosperity." Rick Warren sees this as a model for America. Ed is also heavily involved in MOHELA's seeding of a kindergarten program for 200 "at-risk" children who enter kindergarten next academic year. Janet, a great singer, leads the praise and worship of the Church of the Shepherd United Methodist Church, a place where the Gospel is both preached and sung.

Harlan Pals and Ben Blanton have been instruments God has used to help so many folks. Harlan continues to do volunteer work as co-chairman with Ed in the VIP program and is also helping in the kindergarten program. Ben furnished the building supervisor when we built Christian High School in O'Fallon. He more than encouraged the vendors to lower their prices and built an outstanding building where Christian young people can receive an excellent education. He was heavily involved in the building process of Lindenwood University. That project, my friends, is a modern day miracle.

Down in Springfield, Dr. Arthur Mallory is serving on more boards than I have fingers and toes. He is the founder of the Parents and Teachers program that he continues to say is "Missouri's best export." PAT is in every state and several foreign countries. Arthur is one of my heroes. He knows more about education than anyone I know and at one time was asked to serve as Secretary of Education for the United States. Too bad he didn't take that job!

Barbara Reibold and Beverly Thieme are nearly identical twins. I knew them at Greenwood where their beauty was never challenged. They are still beautiful physically and more beautiful inwardly as they endeavor to help needy folks with their Sunday School outreach. They cook a breakfast for disadvantaged people, go by and pick up many of them, see that their needs are taken care of and especially encouraging these people as they uplift them with not only a serving attitude, but by putting feet to all of this. By the way, Arthur Mallory is the teacher of this class.

I am growing weary of receiving phone calls from folks with political agendas. I am tired of Republicans and Democrats. I have made up my mind to find out what kind of leadership these folks want. Accepting more of the same greed and lining their pockets will no longer work. I want ONLY leaders who know what real leadership is all about. That leadership is called Servant-Leadership and only serving leaders need apply for my vote and my money.

THE SERIOUS AND FUNNY SIDE OF JESUS

2008-12-01T09:29:00.002-08:00

A number of years ago, a book was written about the Humor of Christ. As I have read the Bible, it is interesting to see if you can find some things that might be taken as humor in the life of Christ as we view it from God's Word.

One day, Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and as usual, great crowds were pressing to hear His every word.He noticed two empty boats and stepping into one of the boats asked Peter to push the boat out into the water and He used the boat as His pulpit. I wonder what words came from the lips of Jesus! The Gospel of John ends with the apostle saying if all the words of Jesus were printed, the whole world would have difficulty holding them. Did He talk about how to end suffering? What about making enough money to survive? Perhaps He shared how to be a good parent. That would be a good word for the 21st Century.

When Jesus was finished speaking, He said to Simon: "Now go where it is deeper and let down your nets and you will catch many fish." Here was a non-fisherman telling the professionals what to do. Strange!! Peter shared with Jesus that they had worked all night and had caught nothing. The fish simply were not biting. In the King James translation, Peter said: "Nevertheless, we will do what you say. We have FAILED catching fish, NEVERTHELESS (faith) we will do what you say. Sue wrote a song for One Accord"s final recording project that was called 'Nevertheless.' Janet Watkins sang the thunder out of that song.

When the disciples followed the instructions of Jesus, they caught so many fish it appeared that the boat was sinking (FORTUNE). Following the success of doing what Jesus said, Peter realized he was a sinful person. I wonder, however, if Jesus didn't have an inward chuckle at the fruitless labor of professionals and then their success in following His simple instructions.

The entire experience is one many of us have endured. We have a task to do and FAIL. We take the problem to our Lord and with FAITH, believe His instructions, only to have FORTUNE as the result.

That's not a bad idea for a sermon: "Failure, Faith, and Fortune."

THE SERIOUS AND FUNNY SIDE OF JESUS

2008-12-01T09:29:00.001-08:00

THE BEGINNING PHASE OF A SONG WRITER

2008-11-10T08:41:00.000-08:00

The Baylor revival team had conducted a revival in the First Baptist Church of Laredo, TX. It had been a difficult week and everyone was discouraged. Dick Baker returned to his room after the service one night, "longing for a fresh glimpse of anything holy." The yearning in his heart cried out for answers.

"I had a longing for Jesus," Dick said. "I had never written a song, but I got out of bed, turned on the light, and wrote the first stanza and chorus. It was so simple, " he added, "I didn't have the nerve to even introduce it or to say anything about it there in Laredo. But I kept working on it, and the following year at Ridgecrest, NC, I finished another verse and put it down."

Months later, Dr. B.B. McKinney, head of the music department for Southern Baptists, visited Baylor University. Dick approached him and asked what he needed to do with the song. Dr. McKinney took the song and carried it back to Nashville. He had it set on a metal plate, free of charge, and sent it back to Dick.

"That great man encouraged me," Dick said," and he personally began to promote and use what began as a 'longing' in Laredo," The song, a favorite with old and young alike has been translated into Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, and German hymnbooks. Since then, Dick Baker has written over 400 songs and choruses, but none speak to the heart better than "Longing for Jesus."

Incidentally, it was Dick Baker who first published one of Sue's songs entitled "Giving You Back to Jesus."

A GREAT WEEKEND

2008-11-05T09:13:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, I attended a MOHELA Board meeting at MOHELA. I entered the meeting with a prepared statement regarding the proposed kindergarten program for "at-risk" children in the St. Louis Public School System. I have been upset by the continuing delay of getting the program off of the ground, so I called for an "Up or Down" vote for the pilot program. By the time the dust had cleared and the question called for, we now have a program called "Early Childhood College Funding Program of Missouri" by a vote of 5-2. We are now on the road to assisting children who need a bit of help in making them more productive. By the way, for what it is worth, I was re-elected chairman of the MOHELA Board.

After that meeting, I headed for St. Louis International Airport and a flight to Dallas where I would see not only my son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter, but also Sue. Friday was halloween and we went around Rick's neighborhood with Hudson and saw things I have never experienced with halloween. First, I have never seen so many children "trick or treating." They were all over streets, sidewalks, lawns, having a great time. It was a great time for me just to observe, besides the walking that is always good. After returning to Rick's home, we gave out a huge amount of candy (also had a lot leftover).

Saturday, Rick and I drove to Waco to see the Baylor-Mizzou football game. I have degrees from both institutions and he has a degree from Mizzou. It was a great game to see and Baylor gave Mizzou more than they wanted as the Bears lost to the Tigers by the score of 31-28. That evening, we saw the Texas-Texas Tech game on TV. What a great game that was with Tech winning in the last second of the game.

I came home Monday and prepared for a Kindergarten meeting on Tuesday. We will move this program rapidly and have it ready for the 2009-2010 school year. Also I voted on Tuesday and won some and lost some. That is the way elections go. The good thing is there will be a peaceful transition of power in January. That is always a good thing.

AMERICA NEEDS A REAL NEW POLITICAL PARTY

2008-10-28T12:36:00.000-07:00

I have watched elections come and go. I have heard promises made and few promises kept. Every campaign, both Democrats and Republicans promise change is coming to Washington, but nothing ever changes. Charlie Reese, former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel has addressed this as follows:

'Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. Have you ever wondered why, if both Democrats and Republicans are against deficits, why do we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, why do we have inflation and high taxes. You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations, the House of Representatives does." Reese goes on to say that one hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country. His final statement is: "We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess."

I am convinced that neither of the present two political parties in the United States will ever do anything about our problems. Time has proved that and change of power has done nothing to change these problems. In fact, they just make it worse. We began to have energy problems in the Carter administration. Since that time Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton, and Bush 43 have had 28 years to do something, and nothing has been done to free us from foreign oil.

I am proposing a new political party called "The Serving Party." People in this party will serve the people of the United States. No one becomes a member of the party without being a servant. I want a president who serves our people. I want two senators from each state who serve the people of their state. I want representatives who represent us. The election that is upon us will once again prove that nothing will change. Being an elected official is not a license to do what is necessary to make sure his/her pockets will be filled for retirement. Being an elected official is for one purpose TO SERVE. Frankly, I am tired of Democrats and Republicans. President Truman called the 80th Congress a "do nothing Congress." That was true then and it is true of Congress now.

If you think this a good idea or a stupid idea, let me know.

THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY

2008-10-21T19:12:00.000-07:00

Write About Jesus was very fast-paced and since I was not feeling well before the event, the event itself and then Monday evening at the St. Charles Convention Center with my friend Dr. Arthur Mallory and Governor Mike Huckabee and many other pro-life citizens of our country was almost too much to believe.

WAJ was inspiring, a time of learning, having fellowship and little time to sleep. Of course, it is always fun to be with the clinicians Sue invites to this event. The veterans of WAJ and the new clinicians were a perfect faculty and mixed well with the registrants. It is special for me to watch the interaction of clinicians and registrants, clinicians and clinicians as well as registrants and registrants. We missed a lot of folks who usually attend the workshop, but we met a lot of new folks who became instant friends.

One of the things I shared at worship was that not only should the folks learn a lot about song writing, but they should expect a blessing. The blessing might not come from WAJ, but there should be a blessing. The second thought was that great undertakings usually come from great feelings. The folks attending WAJ should endeavor to obtain great feelings because I believe great songs come from great feelings. Dr. Mark Tolbert, our interim pastor said: "We should say 'Yes God. Now what is the question?'" If you want the blessing and the great feelings, say "Yes God. Now what is the question." The blessing and the great feelings come from God, not WAJ.

I could write a book about Arthur Mallory. He is the perfect serving-leader. He has always been that. He was president of Missouri State University and led that university into an expansion program that made a small college into a great university. After leaving MSU, he became Commissioner of Education for the state of Missouri. He was the best commissioner we have ever had. Parents As Teachers was Arthur's idea. To this day, he says that PAT is the best export Missouri has. I have had the privilege of listening to him and tapping his brain. He knows more about education than anyone I know.

Arthur was the Master of Ceremonies for the Vitae program last evening. He and Governor Huckabee made for a great program. Gov. Huckabee made an excellent speech, sharing many experiences he endured in his bid to be president of the United States. I was impressed by his personality and how he made those around him feel comfortable. Sitting at a table with the governor, Arthur, Sue, and our friends Ed and Janet Watkins was just about as good as it gets.

SOME THINGS I WISH I HAD SAID

2008-10-08T10:36:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of statements I wish I had been the first to make. Thinking back to my early years of going to church with my parents, I recall some statements by a few of my pastors. Dr. Willis E. Howard was the pastor under whose leadership I accepted Christ as my Savior and was baptized. He was a great preacher and always came into the morning worship wearing a tux. During his sermons, he would frequently ask: "Listen, are you listening? Are you sure you are listening? He later wrote two books entitled:"Are You Listening?" and "Are You Sure You are Listening?"

During my teens, Dr. Fred C. Eastham was our pastor. He was a man's man. He used to say "I'd Rather Be a one legged optimist than a four-legged pessimist."

Charles Wellborn was my pastor at Seventh & James Baptist Church. He was a student at Baylor when that campus experienced a student-led revival that spread to Dallas, Houston, Ft. Worth, Atlanta, Birmingham and other cities across the south. Wellborn once said: "We Baptists are many, but we are not much."

Jim Rohn, one of the great motivational speakers of our day, once made an inspired statement. As he was in a hurry to get to the airport and was caught in traffic, he said the following: "Let's turn this frustration into fascination." He was looking at all the cars causing the delay.

My friend Ed Watkins once told me: "I would rather have influence than power any day."

President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said: "Freedom and opportunity are not a license to climb upward by pushing other people down."

It is always inspiring to read materials that make an impact on your life. It is interesting that you don't have to have a personal relationship with people who are inspiring. How inspiring Jesus must have been to persuade the first disciples to leave their work and families to follow him. No that is REAL inspiration.

WINDERMERE - A PLACE TO REFLECT ON EARLIER TIMES

2008-09-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, Sue and I drove to Windermere, a Baptist conference center located on the Niangua arm of the Lake of the Ozarks. This was the weekend to celebrate Windermere's 50th year. Several singing groups were there along with a preacher or two. When One Accord was singing on a regular basis, we sang many times at Windermere for conferences such as WMU, Single Adults, Sunday School, etc. In fact, our children nearly grew up at Windermere. We were scheduled to sing at this celebration, but sadly, our lead singer, Bill Ursery told me he had been diagnosed with throat cancer. Bill is a dedicated Christian who graduated from Belmont University and at one time sang with the Jake Hess group. We had to cancel this time and are earnestly praying for Bill's recovery.

More than 1500 decisions for Christ are made annually at Windermere. It sits in a cove and the surrounding area is perfect for water skiing and sight seeing. At the 50th year celebration, a men's quartet from South Haven Baptist Church sang and did a good job. Their bass was outstanding and could easily sing for any professional group. The highlight for Sue and me was the appearance of Russell Newport who at age 87 sang as though he were in his 30's. Russell is a great tenor and had the opportunity to sing with the Metopolitan Opera in New York city. He used to be the choir director in the church in which I was saved and grew up. His signature song was "The Holy City," and anyone who came to that church and endeavored to sing that song made a fatal mistake. He/She should have chosen another song. This evening at Windermere, Russell sang some old songs such as "Oh, How I Love Him," "Redemption Draws Nigh," "The King is Coming," and others that truly were outstanding. I cannot express my admiration and love for that man. He has a bachelor's degree from William Jewell and a master's degree from Harvard.
My friend, Bob Speake who is as former major league baseball player once said that if you wanted a full-time job, all you had to do was follow Russell for a day. Russell has often said that if you sing correctly, you should be able to sing all of your life. He is truly a testament to that statement.

Dr. Arthur Mallory, who is chairman of the Windermere Board was there and as always was fun to be with. Dan Bench, the Windermere CEO was there and had dinner with Sue and me. He takes no salary for his work. Russell, Arthur, and Dan are truly serving leaders.

I have to get some of Russell's CD's. I know they will be incredible.

A REALLY GREAT MEETING

2008-09-05T17:04:00.000-07:00

On August 14, I attended one of the greatest secular meetings I have ever attended. Actually, it was not secular in that many of us in attendance felt the presence of the Holy Spirit as the meeting progressed. The purpose of the meeting was to present a program for at-risk kindergartners in the St. Louis Public Schools. In attendance were Ed Watkins, Dr. Arthur Mallory, Dr. Sue Stepleton, Mrs. Kathy Lambert, Mr. Brad Lambert, Mr. Harlan Pals, Mr. Bob Peters, Reverend Lynn Mims, Ms. Kapree Graves, and Mr. Michael Lause. Representing the MOHELA staff were Mr. Ray Bayer, Will Shaffner, Ms. Mary Stewart, Dr. Jim Matchefts, Scott Giles, and Cheryl Stevens.

Mr. Watkins stated that we have assembled a very credible group and asked the following question: "Wouldn't it be wonderful if on the first day of kindergarten, teachers told their students they expected them to have a post-secondary education?" Dr. Mallory addressed the fact that we have such assembled such smart people gathered with the same goal. He said Dr. Stepleton has a high reputation nationally for her work in "Parents as Teachers. Mallory also stated that research shows the most significant learning and brain development occurs from birth to five years of age. Dr. Stepleton explained that brain development shown in MRIs of babies taken post-birth differed from those exposed to good stimulation and those who were not.

Mr. and Mrs. Lambert are the founders of Connections to Success. Mr. Lambert explained that their program helps those who have experienced homelessness, violence, incarceration, welfare and other tragic events. Lamberts are putting together the program we need to begin excellent education at an early age.

Mr. Pals described "Lifeline," as giving people an opportunity to record milestones in their life. With that program, a person will have a lifetime record of his or her skills and talents.

Reverend Mims closed the meeting with a blessing and prayer that moved each of us. What a meeting!

The MOHELA Board will hear details of the program on September 12.

DALLAS, TX IN AUGUST

2008-08-06T13:01:00.000-07:00

Friday, August 1, Sue and I flew to Dallas to be with two of our children and their children (grandchildren). It was hot when we left St. Louis and even hotter when we arrived in Dallas. Temperature over 100 every day and very hot at night. The temp did not keep us from having a great time.

Friday evening, Rick, Cindy, Hudson, Sue and I went to the ballpark in Arlington to see the Texas Rangers play the Toronto Bluejays. First time I had seen the Bluejays in person and former Cardinals' Scott Rolen and David Eckstein play north of the USA border. I consumed a gallon of lemonade and endured the heat better than Sue. It was good to return to Rick & Cindy's home for more liquids and a bed.

Saturday, we ran some errands and that afternoon, Jamie, Kendall, Lauren and Alex joined us for a bit of family reunion. Always it is a blast when members of the family get together. Lauren and Alex took such good care of Hudson and Hudson had a blast with her older cousins. For me, it is fun just to watch and listen to the stories that come from such a get together.

Sue and Alex left Sunday morning for Colorado and the Christian Artists' Seminar at Estes Park. Sue has been teaching there for a number of years and it is kind of sad that this will be the last year for the conference. The rest of us chilled out Sunday afternoon before Rick and I went to the ball game. Again it was very hot, but the fellowship was great and there was a breeze. Leaving the game, the wind was blowing so hard that it was hard to walk in it.

Monday, Rick and I went to Ft. Worth to attend to some business of Carpenter-Smith Southwest. It was at a new Baylor hospital and I teased Cindy by asking her if she did more business with Baylor or TCU (where she graduated). I checked e-mail and Dana, who works with Rick and Cindy, got my boarding pass for my trip home. That evening, we again went to the ballpark and saw the New York Yankees. There were many Yankee fans in attendance and it was really a good game. On the way to the car, I heard someone say something about "old man," but didn't think anything about it. When we arrived where there was a man with a walkee talkee, Rick asked them to get someone from security. He told them if they didn't get there soon, the drunk with the loud mouth who had some remarks about his dad would find himself on the ground. He was not fooling. When the guy arrived where we were, he was not about to take Rick on. I don't believe I have ever seen my son so mad. Kinda made me proud.

Tuesday, I received my goodbye kisses from Hudson. She is so beautiful, bright and charming. Hugged and kissed Cindy goodbye and Rick and I went to the airport for my trip home. It was difficult for me to say "goodbye," as I tried to put my arms around Rick (He is a big guy). Once again, time well-spent with those you love so very much.

"IT'S OUR SHIP"

2008-07-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

Some months ago I shared from a book given to me by Randy Etter, a fellow board member of the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority. It was entitled "It's Your Ship" and was authored by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff, the former commander of the USS Benfold. In this book, there are great leadership principles and every person in a position of leadership should sit down and discover what made the USS Benfold a great ship.

Following "It's Your Ship," comes another book by Captain Abrashoff, this one entitled "It's Our Ship." I want to share some thoughts from this book, which is so insightful in making a ship, business, school district, church, or any other type of organization great. How about this:"Welcome people aboard before they are aboard." If you hire someone new, find a way to make them feel a part of the organization before they actually begin work. I liked this a lot: "Treat your people and your shipmates the way you would want your spouse or child treated in the workplace."

Here are some thoughts from the book that I have especially found helpful in leadership:

"Pick out promising people early."
"Whenever possible, develop leaders within their current jobs."
"Leading is largely people watching"
"Make truth-telling your own personal prerogative."
"Never let people know what you want to hear - they will tell you."
"The first law of leadership in today's world is to give people irresistible incentives to collaborate for a purpose that enhances everyone.
"The two big motivators in people's lives are love and respect."
"If you make an honest effort to build a relationship, they will cut you some slack even if you fumble once in a while."

That's a small sample of the many "goodies" found in "It's Our Ship." I recommend it highly to anyone who is in a position of leadership or aspires to be a leader.

WHY BE AN EDUCATOR IN THE PRESENT SYSTEM

2008-07-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

Education is a difficult field in which to grow. The only one way to advance is controlled by the colleges and universities of America. That would probably be ok if the universities were making any advances in the field they control. So you want to teach, then you go to college, take your courses, get a degree and then you have to pass some kind of examination to get a job. A degree is not enough because the teaching in the university is not doing its job. Its a bit like Dirty Harry telling his supervisor that his mouthwash is not making it.

One of the depressing things about education is the lack of empowerment teachers receive from administrators. Administrators are limited as to the kind of positions they have in any school. The Board of Education approves the positions. If a teacher wants to move up, the question is "move up to where?" In elementary and secondary education the only up is (and that is debatable) is administration. What can a principal do to facilitate a move of that kind? The answer is not much because upward mobility is controlled by colleges and universities. No matter how great a person might be, he/she cannot move up because of the system. Because of this, many excellent teachers choose to move to another career. Even if he/she decides to go back to college and receive an administrative degree, participating in that requirement does not guarantee one will receive what is necessary to be successful.

Presently, teachers are their worst enemy. If you are a really great teacher, your salary is no better than the poorest teacher in a school. This is because of a salary schedule that is based on the number of years you have taught in a school system. I know that negotiations became a part of schools because of poor administrators. To date, there are probably more poor administrators in the field of education than any other field. I taught a class of teachers at a local university one evening and there were 28 teachers in the class from all over the greater St. Louis area. Not one of those teacher felt any kind of appreciation or empowerment from their principal. How can one grow in that kind of environment.

One thing would help. Administrators need to show appreciation to members of his/her staff. Tell them they are doing a great job if they are. Encourage them in any appropriate way. That would at least make the environment in their building one of happy feelings. Not much good teaching goes on in a bad environment. There should be a lot of smiles in a building. Now there is a novel thought that you will unlikely hear in an administrative class at the university

IT HAS BEEN AWHILE

2008-07-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

June was a very interesting month for me. As I look back, I didn't get much done and I really didn't feel like blogging. The first Monday of the month, I went to a monthly breakfast for guys and gals who used to teach at St. Charles High School. That is always fun, but this time I learned that Jim Williams, the former and successful football coach at that school was really in the probable final stages of cancer. Jim has gone to Duke University at least twice to try new things related to treatment of cancer. I was told that the doctor told Jim that he had about a year to live. I have been praying for him for a long time and continue to do so.

After that, I had a muscle strain in my right shoulder that was painful and kept me from doing things and also from getting a good night's rest. After that calmed, suddenly my right foot was very painful. It felt like a sprain, but I could not remember doing anything that would cause that. Following several days of walking difficulty, as suddenly as it came, the pain was gone and I could walk normally.

Holly and her children then descended upon us in prelude to her brother-in-law getting married. It is interesting that the two Zabka boys grew up in California and both married girls from St. Charles. Small world. The boys were fun and Violet so cute, all three more than enjoyable. Our house was and still is a complete wreck, but Sue and I are enjoying the week together. Monday evening, we went to the Cardinals-Mets game and it was a great game and a glorious night. Hard to believe we are having resort weather in St. Louis the first week of July. After returning home, we went to bed, drained, totally exhausted, needing the great night's rest we received.

During all of this Sue's father was taken to the hospital. I stayed two nights with him in the hospital and that contributed to the tiredness that was almost overwhelming me.

Also, during this time, I was sick and Sue got mad at me. Her anger was not because I was sick, but because of the reason I was ill. I had not been taking the medicine prescribed by my cardiologist. She was mad, Holly was mad, Ed Watkins was mad, Ray Bayer was mad and Ed told me he was going to tell his wife and then she would be mad. Now I am taking my medicine to feel better and to escape the wrath of so many.

I have been reading a new book entitled "It's Our Ship" and will share some of the good things from this book at another time.

MEETING WITH REAL SERVANTS

2008-06-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

This week I have had the privilege of meeting with some of God's special servants. Being with individuals who have a service mentality is inspirational and motivating.

First, I met with Ken McClure. Ken has spent most of his adult life in government service. He was director of budget research for the Missouri Senate, was a judge on the Missouri Public Service Commission, chief of staff for Governor Matt Blunt, and now serves as an Vice-President for administrative services at Missouri State University. In addition to those occupations, Ken is a strong Christian who continues to serve his Lord on a daily basis.

Second, I met with Dr. Mike Nietzel, president of Missouri State University. Dr. Nietzel is leading Missouri's second largest university to even greater heights. I shared my vision of MOHELA's Kindergarten program and requested that he provide scholarships for individuals who go through this program and graduate from high school. He readily agreed to do this.

Thirdly, I met again with Dr. Arthur Mallory, who continues to have great impact, not only on my life, but also the lives of all who come in contact with him. Arthur began the Parents as Teachers program that is now in every state and several foreign countries. He continues to underscore the impact this program has on the children and parents who are part of the program. All the research underscores what happens when children are brought up in this program. As a former president of Missouri State University, Commissioner of Education, and president of the Missouri Baptist Convention, he brings great ideas into every conversation. He is one of my heroes.

Fourthly, I spent Friday evening at the Ameristar Casino in St. Charles. I was not there to gamble, but to help honor a great servant who leads a great service program in St. Charles. I can't remember all the things in which Ed Watkins has had a hand; however, there are many. He helped in the building of the Highway 370 corridor which runs from I 270 to I 70 at Mid-Rivers, here in St. Charles. He started Sports St. Charles, been involved in EDC, Partners for Progress, helped raise funds for the 10,000 seat Family Arena, the Hyland Sports Arena at Lindenwood University, helped me in the building of Christian High School, sang with Sue and me in One Accord, built the Baseball Camp for hearing impaired children that brought such great baseball folks to the camp as Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Ozzie Smith, Joe Torre, and football hall of famer, Roger Wehrli. Ed is a great servant.

I spent all day Saturday announcing four high school all-star baseball games at Lindenwood. When the day was over, I was bushed, but thankful I could still do something like the announcing and be in the presence of folks like Ken, Mike, Arthur, and Ed. I am a blessed person

JUST SOME THOUGHTS

2008-05-31T09:01:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I just have not felt like writing a blog for the past week or so. I haven't had any brilliant thoughts to share, in fact, it has been a time of assorted things coming into my life.

I am happy about our proposed kindergarten-college program. It is not what I visualized at the beginning of the process, but turns out to be better than what I originally planned. I was told the the "devil is in the planning" by my friend Dr. Arthur Mallory. Truer words were never spoken. Then MOHELA has been going through the problems that the student loan industry is facing at this time. I had not thought about partnering with other agencies, but now having these people "on board" will bring this program into reality. Praise the Lord for this!!

Rick Sullivan, who was appointed to head the St. Louis School District by Governor Matt Blunt let the air out of my balloon when we met in his office. His main concern was being able to track the children because of the extreme problem of knowing where the children were, as there is much moving in, out, and around the district. It appeared that he was not in favor of our program. As quickly as the air was removed, he made it better by suggesting that we partner with Habitat for Humanity who has the ability to track "at risk" children and that can help make the program work. He then said that he wanted this program in the St. Louis School District.

Originally, I wanted to begin the program in the 2008-09 academic year. Finally, I realized that this would not happen. Then it occurred to me that Habitat for Humanity could identify the students who would be in kindergarten in the 2009-10 school year. This would allow Parents as Teachers to work with the students and their families from January 2009 until school started in August. God has good ideas does He not!

There are many things to do and I want to have a brain storming lunch at MOHELA that will include someone from Habitat, Sue Stepelton from Parents as Teachers, Arthur Mallory, Diana Borisaw, Rick Sullivan, Ray Bayer from MOHELA, Dr. Doug Petty from the St. Louis Clergy, Ed Watkins and me. Hopefully, this meeting will help to finalize the plans needed to make this program work for the children.

Ray Bayer has told me that we can have office space at MOHELA without charge. God is GOOD. ALL THE TIME.

I would appreciate any prayer support readers might supply for this project.

ACCEPT THE CHALLENGES OF LIFE

2008-05-15T18:10:00.000-07:00

I have a book in my library entitled "The Power of Focus." Two of the authors are famous for writing the very successful books which we are all aware. Those are the "Chicken Soup for ........" Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen have been a vital part of the motivational speakers' industry with an emphasis of improving our lives. "The Power of Focus" is a book that reminds me so much of my wife Sue because she is the most focused person I know. She is almost possessed with the desire to write and improve her writing. Yesterday, we drove past Hazelwood West High School where she taught prior to turning to writing full-time for Jesus. She has NO desire to return to the teaching profession. She was emphatic with that as we passed the school.

In "The Power of Focus," there is a thought by Ralph Waldo Emerson. It reads as follows:

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

As we face the challenges of life, there are no shortcuts. Endeavoring to find your place in the world oftentimes must be accepted by individuals close to you. For example, when a husband is afforded the opportunity to move upward by moving to another location, his wife must be a willing participant. It also works the other way when a husband fully supports the plans of a wife to find her place, even though there may be challenges in making the family operate smoothly.

Some action steps outlined by the authors to help the reader are listed below:

1. Do you recognize what you are good at and what energizes you?
2. Do you fully utilize your most-enjoyed skills?
3. Does your work further some interest or issue that you care deeply about?
4. Do you see yourself, through work, as making a difference in the world?
5. Do you view most days with a sense of enthusiasm?
6. Do you feel a sense of meaning and purpose for your life?
7. Do you have active goals this year relating to your purpose?
8. Are you living your life to the fullest now instead of hoping that things will work our someday?

Tough challenges in answering the questions; however, they call attention to many of our needs to make life better, not only for ourselves, but others. That really is a challenge.

A CALL TO ONENESS

2008-05-08T15:56:00.000-07:00

Today, I had the privilege of speaking to the St. Louis Clergy, a group of ministers who not only preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, but support public education in St. Louis. What an outstanding group of men and women. I shared a bit about our "College Begins in Kindergarten" program and had quite a few folks come up afterwards and share their interest and desire to be a part of this thrust.

That was a gratifying experience, but paled in comparison to the Black clergymen who are beginning a program that was featured today on national television. They have issued "A CALLTO ONENESS.". Their purpose is to promote cooperation, collaboration and commitment among African-American men for the betterment of our communities. Two of their objectives are: (1) To call African-American men together for a weekend of discussion, reflection, prayer, and recommitment in order that we may be reconciled to one another, to our God as we may understand God, and to our wives, mothers, and sisters who continue to love and support us. (2) To assert the moral strength and guidance of the Black religious experience in support of public school education."

During the weekend of May 30-June 1, a State of Emergency Panel Discussion is planned. The panel will consist of a variety of disciplines that reflect the many shades of blackness. On May 31, a Day of Information and Implementation will feature classes that ask the question: "How do we address the moral issues and concerns that face black men in our community." June 1 will be a day of worship, witness and reconciliation. This day will feature 20,000 men marching to Tandy Park for a venue of speeches and a platform for reconciliation. Along the route of the march will be women stationed along the streets to surround the men, showing their love and appreciation.

It is always a good thing to be in the presence of greatness. Today, I had that opportunity.

A DAY WITH SERVING GIANTS

2008-05-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Ed Watkins and I left St. Charles at 7:30 am to drive to Windermere, a Christian conference center located on the shores of the Lake of the Ozarks. 176 miles to Winderemere aand 176 miles back to St. Charles at $3.49 a gallon. That was the only painful part of the trip, but it paled in comparison to what my son Rick paid to fill his Tahoe. $81 was the price for that.

Windermere is a beautiful Christian conference center with great facilities and is located, in my opinion, on the finest part of the lake, the Niangua arm. The water in that area is almost always clear and beautiful.

Dr. Arthur Mallory, chairman of the Windermere board and Dan Bench, the CEO greeted us and took us over the campus to see the varied parts of the center. It was fun touring and visiting. A highlight of the tour was a visit to the prayer chapel that is located on a hill that overlooks Windermere on one side and the lake on the other. What a special place for being alone with God!

During lunch we began a two-pronged conversation. Could we come up with a plan to bring people to Windermere during the off-season? The four of us talked and listened. Ed is in the beginning of a program for non-profit organizations to count the number of volunteer hours that help those folks and verify those hours on the internet. That was one way we could help Windermere. I suggested that perhaps having a state Upward basketball tournament at Windermere. What a great expereience for those little folks to come to Windermere and play basketball and have spiritual experience. Last year more than 1500 decisions for Christ were made at that facility. Arthur suggested that we find a way to bring minority kids to Windermere. I mentioned a man to Ed and he said that person was the perfect individual to make that happen. So Ed and I will meet with him and a leader in the Black churches of St. Louis and bring them to Windermere for more discussion about reaching those important kids.

Dan Bench is a special servant. He served our country in the United States Marine Corps. He SERVES as president/CEO of Windermere for zero salary. It is so easy to see his love for the center, its employees and it volunteers. What a servant! Arthur serves on many boards and is THE expert in the field of education.

Before driving back to St. Louis, Arthur agreed to help us in any way with the MOHELA "College Begins in Kindergarten" program. His first task will be to talk to Senator Kit Bond and seek his help. Sen Bond is the former auditor of the state of Missouri and two-time governor. He has represented us in the US Senate for many years and has great influence.

The drive back to the city, with a stop in Jefferson City for ice cream, was a great time of reflection. I was in the company of Christian Serving Giants. What a great experience!!!

THE LEADER'S TOUGHEST JOB

2008-04-24T16:36:00.000-07:00

Usually when one is appointed to a position of leadership and has the responsibility of leading people, he/she must take the time to know the people, maybe even something about their personal lives, and learn how the company or corporation functions. A good friend of mine said that during the first year on a job, you usually just learn where the water fountain and restroom are located. If a leader is interested in moving the institution forward, he seeks wise counsel and makes decisions that are best for all. If he/she makes a mistake in judgement and decisions, the best thing to do is admit it. It is like making a mistake in parenting. When a mistake is made, don't try to bluff your way through, admit you were wrong. A number of years ago, One Accord was practicing in the worship center of Parkway Baptist Church in St. Louis County. I was at the piano and my son, Ricky, was sitting in the choir loft when suddenly he got out of his seat, walked across the platform and the many cords we had on the stage. I immediately leaped from the piano bench and loudly said:" Ricky, how many times has daddy told you not to walk across the microphone cords!" His meager reply was: "Daddy, Kenny asked me to come down." There I was with egg on my face, foot in my mouth knowing full-well that I had made a BIG mistake. How to correct it was my goal. I certainly apologized to Ricky, but didn't let it stop there. During the next several weeks, I often took the opportunity to tell people in front of Ricky what a bad mistake his daddy had made. The bottom line in that story was I should have trusted him. He was always easy to discipline and I should have had more confidence in him than I showed.

The leader of an organization has to EARN TRUST. It doesn't come just because you are an executive, superintendent of schools or CEO. There is always a question if the person is trustworthy. One becomes trustworthy when he/she endeavors to do the right thing. Bruce Weber, head basketball coach at the University of Illinois said:"No matter your position, you must be willing to carry the ice." A preacher must always be willing to set up the chairs. Chaplain Brown, in his making friends in the Regimental Area said: "A chaplain is the only one who can loaf and still be doing his official duty." He meant by that statement that the chaplain just doesn't stay in his office, but does his best to create relationships and build trust.

If the principal of a school or superintendent of schools is not trusted, then he/she has a BIG problem that probably will not be resolved until the individuals either change or leave. Doing the right thing in the treatment of employees will build trust.

A VISIT TO THE "OLD HOME TOWN"

2008-04-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, I went to Springfield for a couple of meetings. Ken McClure and I are working on some things regarding today's One Accord. Ken and his wife, Joey, were in One Accord in the early years. In fact, Joey gave us the name and then they were married in the First Baptist Church of Springfield.

I also had a meeting with Dr. Arthur Mallory. I wish all WAJ'ers could meet Arthur. He has always been a leader and as I have said many times to many people, he was the best commissioner of education the state of Missouri has ever had. Parents as Teachers began in his brain and that organization may be the best export the state of Missouri has in the 21st century. Arthur is helping with the "College Begins in Kindergarten" idea that I have fostered. He will make a great contribution to that endeavor.

Finally, I went to the cemetery where my parents were laid to rest. That is always a very sobering time for me. As I stood above their graves, I had to reflect on their lives and what they did for me. They were always giving and loved doing so. They believed in me and helped me so much educationally. After leaving the Army, I went home and got things ready to go to Baylor. My mother said she wished she could go with me and my dad said: "Why not?" We'll come to Waco on Sunday and will bring you back home. My mother and I were deep into Oklahoma when she discovered she had her house shoes on. There were so many special things. My dad would always go way out of his way to help anyone. He had a vision for Branson before Branson did. As I stood over their graves, I could not help but think what death did to their bodies and silenced these very giving people. The first time I went back to Springfield after they died, I felt like an orphan because for the first time in my life I didn't have a place to stay and no parents with whom to share. Not only that, I lost great prayer support.

How grateful to Christ we should all be when we stand over graves of loved ones, that there is more. There is more because of Christ. Hallelujah. As John Hagee says: "Hallelujah to the Lamb of God."

WINDERMERE - A PLACE TO EXPERIENCE GOD

2008-04-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

Windermere Conference Center, located on the shores of the Niangua arm of the Lake of the Ozarks is a place where thousands of decisions for Christ have been made in the 50 years the ministry has been in existence. I believe my first experience there was in 1961 when I took a group of young people (I was young then, too) from First Baptist Church, Springfield, MO to have a retreat. My friend Gordon Kingsley was the featured speaker and we even had a quartet to bring some inspirational music.

A little later, I became pastor of the Lakeland Baptist Church of Sunrise Beach, MO and we would go to Windermere often when they would bring in special speakers. One time, we loaded up Harold Klee's cruiser and took a long boat ride to hear the greatest orator-preacher in the history of the Southern Baptist Convention. Dr. R.G. Lee preached his famous sermon "Pay Day Some Day." Through the years, I have heard that sermon several times and through the word pictures that Dr. Lee painted, you were in the middle of what was going on. I have never heard a preacher with the command of the English language like Dr. Lee. Somewhere I have the video of the 1,200th preaching of that sermon.

In the 1980's, One Accord had the privilege of singing at Windermere numerous times and being there, hearing the word, enjoying the fellowship and experiencing the lake were always great times in the Lord. On one of our albums, there is an insert picture of Jamie, Rick, and Holly at Windermere when they were little kids wearing shirts with the title of a song Sue wrote for them entitled "Father, Can You use a Child Like Me?" I told Sue that we also have a picture of our bus parked next to the Harding Auditorium where we sang so many times.

This past weekend, so many memories came flooding my mind as Sue and I participated in the weekend retreat of the Windermere Board of Advisors. A good friend of mine from college days is Dan Bench and he is the administrator-CEO of Windermere. I had not seen Dan in 50 years. That was great. Dr. Arthur Mallory is chairman of the Board and he invited Sue and me to participate in the activities. Sue sang "Over and Over," and "Mary, For a While" and did a great job. I spoke to the group about some things on my heart and so it was a time of giving and a time of receiving. Christianity is a lot like that. Windermere is a special place to experience it.

FEW SERVE

2008-04-01T09:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some headlines that are not unfamiliar to anyone who has interest in either local or national news: BROWN HIRED TO COACH UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL; BLACK ASSUMES PRESIDENCY OF UNIVERSITY; SMITH ELECTED TO CONGRESS; JONES TO TAKE SUPERINTENDENCY OF DISTRICT; JOHNSON NEW CEO OF AREA'S LARGEST CORPORATION.

Without attaching real names to positions such as the above, one main ingredient is missing from each headline. What is missing is one of the things that is wrong with today's America. So many take positions because of upward mobility and the salaries and prestige attached to the position rather than doing what the positions demand. One should SERVE as basketball coach; One should SERVE as president of a university; One should SERVE as superintendent of schools; One should SERVE as CEO. One should SERVE as a Congressman or Congresswoman.

As I view decisions made by individuals who know little about leadership and yet they are in positions of leadership, it makes me want to cry out "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" I don't know a lot about a lot, but I do know what makes a good leader. I could list a bunch of characteristics that a great leader should possess, but that is not the purpose of this blog. What I want to do is underscore some decisions made by one of the best superintendents of schools that I have seen anyone serving in that capacity can make. That has to do with endeavoring to help with weakest students in the district. This lady has brought corporations, clergy, and the school district together to do some great things. In doing these things, she is SERVING as superintendent. Last week, I had a breakfast meeting with the president and CEO of what one person calls the greatest export of Missouri. That lady is SERVING in her CEO position.

As Chairman of the Board of MOHELA, I want to serve the state of Missouri and help our at-risk children be able to see the need for post-secondary education and realize they can have that experience. I want the state to see that College begins in Kindergarten. Nehemiah was a leader who SERVED. Jesus not only SAVED, He SERVED. In the final analysis, perhaps the best way to save is to SERVE.

A SPECIAL KIND OF SERVANT

2008-03-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

I was on my way to the doctor's office this afternoon and was a little early, so I decided to go by Christian High School in O'Fallon, MO. CHS is a part of the Living Word School District of which I was the administrator during the nearly spectacular growth period in the late '90's and early 2000's. There were several serving, people on the teaching staff at that time and I had the happy privilege of hiring a number of new teachers, many of whom are still teaching there. One of those teachers who touched me in so many special ways was Francie Blackwell. Francie is a cute, vivacious lady who now has children in and considering college. MERCY!

When i walked in the door, she saw me and ran, threw her arms around me and made me fee so special. She talked about those years when we were just getting started and how lives are being changed today because of that work. Francie is always so encouraging and appreciative. What a special servant she is to elementary students.

Several years ago, I took Bill Weber, a friend of mine , to see one of the elementary schools. Francie was having PE in the parking lot and the kids were having a ball. They were exercising to the following:

"Jesus is our strength and power
He'll be with us every hour."

Bill could not believe it. He cried. Here was this gruff. strong man in tears because of the way Francie was teaching those youngsters.

Through the years, Francie has sent me cards at Christmas, Easter, birthdays. She is a thoughtful, energetic, loving, caring kind of lady who comes into one's life all too infrequently.

Since we began Write About Jesus, I have had the privilege of meeting a young lady who personifies the same qualities of Francie. Stacey O'Hara shares her love in so many special ways. Encouraging comments on my blog, checking to see how I feel, obvious love for Christ - all these things spill over into my life and I am so thankful. I have been working on trying to develop "Willing Learners," and Stacey has shared some really good things that help me in that endeavor.

One of the very best things about WAJ is the caring family that has been created. I treasure that and the relationships I am privileged to share.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SERVING

2008-03-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

For a few years, Sue and i worked at St. Charles High School. She was a jack of all trades serving as an English, Journalism and Drama teacher. During her stay at SCHS, a strange and funny event took place and she wrote a story about it that was on the front page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and picked up by the Associated Press and printed in newspapers all across the United States. Indeed, there was a question about it on a syndicated game show.

Jean Mudd, an English teacher at SCHS was sponsoring Mark Twain days and a part of that special event was a scheduled frog jumping activity. Mrs. Mudd anxiously awaited the arrival of the frogs, and as the date for the event drew closer, the frogs had not arrived. It was incredibly cold in St. Charles at that time and it was discovered that the frogs had been left in the outside mailbox over the weekend. In opening the box, 42 frozen frogs were found. They had been exposed to 3 nights of sub-freezing weather.

They were immediately taken to Dan Odom's first hour biology class and his students gathered round as Odom worked feverishly to revive them. Frogs are cold-blooded animals whose body temperatures adjust to the ambient temperature.

Odom immersed the frogs into a cold-water bath and into progressively warmer baths as they began to show sings of movement. Then in an act of rare heroism and servanthood, he applied mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to four of them and the back pressure-arm life method of resuscitation to the remainder.Mrs. Mudd said it was a rare sight to see the 6-foot-5 Odom "bending over all these little limp frogs and coaxing them back to life."

In the end, not one frog was lost and none seemed to worse for the ordeal when put through their paces. Now that was truly a different kind of serving.

The question on the game show was this: "Can you give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a frog?"

By the way, Dan Odom and I were the sponsors of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at St.Charles High and we had the largest huddle in the state of Missouri.

32ND ANNUAL PRAYER BREAKFAST FOR GREATER ST. LOUIS

2008-03-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

Last year at this time, I had the happy privilege of introducing Governor Matt Blunt and Rick Warren to each other at the Greater St. Louis Annual Prayer Breakfast. That was a lot of fun and I suffered from a bit of "Head table Mentality" from that experience. Today, was the 32nd annual prayer breakfast with around 2500 in attendance. It is indeed one of the most attended prayer breakfasts in the United States.

Frank Cusamano, a local TV and Radio sports personality was the emcee and he did an excellent job in that capacity. Included in the program was the Mayor's Welcome, the County Executive's Welcome, Old Testament Reading, New Testament Reading, prayer for Mayors and other community and state leaders. There was also a prayer for our National Leaders, especially President Bush.

The speaker for today's prayer breakfast was Mr. John Aden who is Senior Vice President of International Operations for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. It was obvious that Mr Aden is a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. His message suggested that each of us has a "God-Sized Hole." In order help fill the hole, we must recognize that God created us to Love Him. Filling the "God-Sized Hole" is more than a one time event. It is not just accepting Christ as Savior, it is a growing event. Filling the "God-Sized Hole" turns us to others. Filling the "God-Sized Hole" will lead to the real thing. That is a spirit-filled life.

Aden continues to be a very successful business person. He always starts the day in "The Word." He and his family have grown through the book "Experiencing God." After studying that book, his entire family and extended family have moved from being religious to committed lives dedicated to Jesus. In the final analysis, isn't that what God desires for all of us?

KINDERGARTEN - A PLACE TO CREATE

2008-03-02T11:46:00.000-08:00

I feel I had a good start in school. I began kindergarten at Greenwood Elementary School on the campus of Missouri State University. We had 30 students in our class, 15 boys and 15 girls. Greenwood was not a private school, but you had to enroll early to be admitted. I believe my mother enrolled me when I was three days old. Miss Dora Henicke was my teacher and she had a great room in which to teach. We had a jungle gym, a storage locker for your shoes and other items, work benches with vices, an area carpet and a real opportunity to learn. I wish I would have become a "Willing Learner," but I as grateful for my year in kindergarten.

The first kindergarten in the United States began in the public school system of St. Louis, Missouri. Today, the district is plagued with so many problems that many corporate leaders in the city have given up. The district has been taken over by the state of Missouri. The present superintendent, Diana Borisaw (sp?) is a godly lady who really wants to do some special things to create a new climate for education in city schools. She has involved the clergy of the metropolitan area and making progress. Sadly, however, she is not going to continue as the leader of the district (By the way, she is a SERVANT-LEADER).

My friend, Ed Watkins and I, along with MOHELA are endeavoring to develop a program that will change, not only St. Louis, but the state of Missouri and the United States. It is strongly felt that we must begin in kindergarten and create "Willing Learners." Being a "Willing Learner" is not a natural thing, but they can be developed and we want to make sure that happens. I have some ideas, but need help in this endeavor.

Last Friday, I was in Springfield meeting with Arthur Mallory. He is a special friend and by far the BEST Commissioner of Education the state of Missouri has ever had. Several years ago, he began one of the best educational programs in the world when he created "Parents as Teachers." He gave me the name of the lady who is head of that organization and she has already e-mailed me so we can begin conversation on how that organization can help is in our kindergarten effort.

Meanwhile, if you have any ideas on how to create "Willing Learners," please let me know.

Sue came home last night at 8:10 pm. It is now 2:10 pm the next day in St. Charles, and she is still sleeping. I am looking forward to hearing all about her trip to the far east.

LEADERS SHOULD BE SERVANTS FIRST

2008-02-23T12:20:00.002-08:00

Almost daily I see so-called leaders fail to maximize the potential of those they are supposed to be leading. I see this as a reflection of what is being taught in colleges and universities across America. I encounter corporations, businesses, schools and institutions that are less than what they should be because of poor leadership. It is sad to see an organization with poor morale and the leader is either not aware or does not care. Sometimes a false feeling of importance keeps a leader acting as though he/she is someone more special than those they should be leading.

Last week, I had the opportunity to meet a lady who serves as she leads. She has built a nation-wide business that is more than flourishing. Maxine Clark is the chief executive of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. Maxine is the past president of Payless ShoeSource, Inc (Sue cannot pass a Payless store without going in). Maxine Clark cares about the employees of Build-A-Bear. She is putting so much in making sure their needs are being met. They can even bring a dog to work. She does not act as though she is above anyone else, rather goes the extra mile to be of assistance. Maxine was named a Customer-Centered Leader in the 2005 Customer First Awards by Fast Company. She was named one of the Wonder Women of Toys by Playthings magazine and Women in Toys. She has authored "The Bear Necessities of Business: Building a Company with Heart," which was published by Wiley.

I told Maxine that she needs to go to Baylor and help the Baylor Bears win some football games. She replied that she is opening a Build-A-Bear store in Waco.

Maxine Clark personifies a great leader. Without a doubt, she is one.

LEADERS SHOULD BE SERVANTS FIRST

2008-02-23T12:20:00.001-08:00

Almost daily I see so-called leaders fail to maximize the potential of those they are supposed to be leading. I see this as a reflection of what is being taught in colleges and universities across America. I encounter corporations, businesses, schools and institutions that are less than what they should be because of poor leadership. It is sad to see an organization with poor morale and the leader is either not aware or does not care. Sometimes a false feeling of importance keeps a leader acting as though he/she is someone more special than those the should be leading.

Last week, I had the opportunity to meet a lady who serves as she leads. She has built a nation-wide business that is more than flourishing. Maxine Clark is the chief executive of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. Maxine is the past president of Payless ShoeSource, Inc (Sue cannot pass a Payless store without going in). Maxine Clark cares about the employees of Build-A-Bear. She is putting so much in making sure their needs are being met. They can even bring a dog to work. She does not act as though she is above anyone else, rather goes the extra mile to be of assistance. Maxine was named a Customer-Centered Leader in the 2005 Customer First Awards by Fast Company. She was named one of the Wonder Women of Toys by Playthings magazine and Women in Toys. She has authored "The Bear Necessities of Business: Building a Company with Heart," which was published by Wiley.

I told Maxine that she needs to go to Baylor and help the Baylor Bears win some football games. She replied that she is opening a Build-A-Bear store in Waco.

Maxine Clark personifies a great leader. Without a doubt, she is one.

AN OLD STORY

2008-02-13T17:23:00.000-08:00

In going through some materials to be used at the new One Accord website (under construction) I ran across an article from the "Tulsa, OK Tribune." It was dated December 3, 1964 and was an article about my grandmother Smith who had been a sixth grade elementary teacher in Billings, MO ( just west of Springfield) in 1901 and 1902.

The picture in the article shows my grandmother who was 84 at the time was meeting with one of her students, Elmer Jones for the first time in 62 years. Their meeting took place in the home of Mrs. Smith's niece where Mrs. Smith was staying in Tulsa. "I hadn't seen Elmer since the close of school in the spring of 1902," she said."Naturally, he has changed a lot, but he still resembles the boy who was my student, although larger than I had him pictured."

Jones declared that Mrs Smith "looks a lot like I remembered her during all these years - she sure looks good to me. . I guess I have thought of her a million times over the years."

How did the former teacher and student get together after all these years? "My cousin from St. Louis was visiting with my wife and me and we were talking about teachers who had made an impression on us." Jones said.

I mentioned Rose Smith and my cousin said 'Why she's an aunt of my sister-in-law, Mrs. Burd who arranged for our visit. I'm sure happy she did."

For those of you who teach today, you just never know the impact you are having on your students. God bless our teachers.

HOW BLESSED WE REALLY ARE

2008-02-04T07:30:00.000-08:00

If you have food in the refrigerator,
Clothes on your back, a roof
Overhead and a place to sleep...you
Are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank,
In your wallet, and spare change in a
Dish someplace...you are among the
Top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If you woke up this morning with more health
Than illness...you are more blessed than
The million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of
Battle, the loneliness if imprisonment, the
Agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation...
You are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear
Or harassment, arrest, torture, or death...you
Are more blessed than three billion people in the world

If your parents are still alive and still married...
You are very rare, even in the United States.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face
And are truly thankful...you are blessed
Because the majority can, but most do not.

If you can hold someone's
Hand, hug them or even touch them on the
Shoulder...you are blessed
Because you can offer healing touch.

If you can read this message, you just received
A double blessing in that someone was thinking of you
And furthermore, you are more blessed than over
Two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.

Have a good day, count your blessings, and pass
This along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are.

THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE

2008-01-30T16:44:00.000-08:00

James C. Hunter has written a second book on leadership, this one called "The World's Most Powerful Leadership Principle." It emphasizes the process of becoming a servant leader.

To lead is not to be "the boss," "the head honcho," or "the brass." Servant Leadership is actually a robust, revolutionary idea that can have significant impact on an organization's performance.

Servant Leadership turns bosses and managers into coaches and mentors. Hunter suggests that the Servant Leader should determine the mission, values, standards and accountability. Servant leaders do not take a poll or take a vote when it comes to these critical fundamentals. When these things are in place, the servant leader turns the structure upside down. They focus on giving employees everything they need to win, be it resources, time, guidance or inspiration. Servant leaders know that providing for people and engaging hearts and minds foster a workforce that understands the benefits of striving for the greater good. The emphasis is on building authority, not power; on exerting influence, not intimidation.

Here are some thoughts about leadership:

Just because a person can do the job well does not mean that he or she can inspire and influence others to do the job well.

I encounter far too many professionals in our educational institutions who see their roles primarily imparting book knowledge to a "bunch of kids" they don't really car much for.

It has been suggested that managers do things right while leaders do the right thing.

You do not manage people, your lead people

One of the operative words in our leadership definition is the ability to influence others for good.

John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach of UCLA had this to say about this book: "For years I have highly recommended James Hunter's first book, "The Servant," to all my friends and acquaintances. I truly believe that "The World's Greatest Leadership Principle" will be of more value to all concerned about becoming and being an effective leader."

THE SERVANT

2008-01-23T10:31:00.001-08:00

"The Servant," by James C. Hunter is a simple story about the true essence of leadership. Sue heard Mr. Hunter speak at a Christian gathering some time ago. Joe Weller, Chairman and CEO of Nestle USA said "'The Servant' is an intriguing quick read that you will not be able to put down until you have experienced all of its life-changing treasures". As for myself I found it to be very inspiring.

In this absorbing tale, you watch the principles of servant leadership unfold through the story of John Daily, a businessman whose outwardly successful life is spiraling out of control. He is failing miserably in each of his leadership roles as boss, husband, father, and coach. To get his life back on track, he reluctantly attends a week-long leadership retreat at a remote Benedictine monastery.

To John's surprise, the monk leading the seminar is a former business executive and Wall Street legend. Taking John under his wing, the monk guides him to a realization that is simple yet profound: The true foundation of leadership is not power, but authority which is built upon relationships, love, service, and sacrifice. These principles don't demand special talents; they are simply based on strengthening the bonds of respect, responsibility, and caring with the people around you.

Let me share a few quotes from the book:

1. Kindness is how we act, not how we feel.
2. The greatest opportunity we have to pay attention to people is by actively listening to them.
3. Once you begin to look for people doing things right, you suddenly begin to see things you've never seen before.
4. Humility to me is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking about yourself less.

What kind of leader are you?

JESUS ON LEADERSHIP

2008-01-17T17:11:00.000-08:00

C. Gene Wilkes has written a very interesting book on leadership called "Jesus on Leadership." He is a Baptist pastor in Dallas and I shared with the folks at the 2007 WAJ workshop some thoughts he had regarding "Head Table Mentality." He is an excellent writer and I recommend this book highly. Let me share a thought or two from his writing.

Jesus wants servant leaders to be follower first. Douglas K Smith has written:

"In the 21st century organization, all leaders must learn to follow if they are to successfully lead...Leaders at all levels and in all situations must pay close attention to situations in which their most effective option is to follow...not because the hierarchy demands they 'obey,' but because performance requires them to rely on the capacities and insights of other people."

Biblical leadership always begins with a God-sized mission in the form of a call by God. Leadership begins with mission. Without mission there is no need or motivation to lead. Servant leadership finds its motive from God's commissioning a person to carry out a divine plan among a group of people. Becoming servant to the mission and a follower of the God who called you is the heart of a servant leader.

Jesus teaches us that we learn to lead by learning to follow. How powerful is that from my perspective. Henry Nouwen and his coauthors observed this about Jesus' life:

"Obedience, as it is embodied in Jesus Christ, is a total listening, a giving attention with no hesitation or limitation, a being all ear. When used by Jesus, the word obedience has no association with fear, but rather is the expression of his most intimate, loving relationship. Jesus' actions and words are the obedient response to this love of his Father." A lot of pastors need to understand this.

Wilkes stated these words: "Action is the response of obedience.

A BOOK ON LEADERSHIP

2008-01-12T10:40:00.000-08:00

Captain D. Michael Abrashoff, former commander of the USS Benfold in his book "Its Your Ship," provides a number of management techniques from the best ship in the Navy. The story of Captain Abrashoff and his command of the USS Benfold has become legendary inside and outside the Navy.

When Abrashoff took over as commander of that ship, a ship armed with every cutting-edge system available, it was like a business that had all the latest technology but only some of the productivity. The slogan on board the ship was "It's your ship," and Benfold was soon recognized far and wide as a model of naval efficiency.

Abrashoff's secrets of successful management include the following:

SEE THE SHIP THROUGH THE EYES OF THE CREW.

By soliciting a sailor's suggestion, Abrashoff drastically reduced tedious chores that provided little additional value.

COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE

The more Abrashoff communicated the plan, the better the crew's performance. His crew would eventually call him "Megaphone Mike," since they heard from him so often

CREATE DISCIPLINE BY FOCUSING ON PURPOSE

Discipline skyrocketed when Abrashoff's crew believed that what they were doing was important.

LISTEN AGGRESSIVELY

After learning that many sailors wanted to pursue the GI Bill, Abrashoff brought a test official aboard the ship - and held the SAT's forty miles off the Iraqui coast

Abrashoff left the Navy in 2001 and became the founder and CEO of Grassroots Leadership, Inc, in Boston. You can visit his Web site at www.grassrootsleadership.com.

Randy Etter, one of MOHELA's Board of Directors gave this book to each member of the Board. Thank you, Randy.

TIME WITH GRANDKIDS

2008-01-07T13:33:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2007 was so special because we had all of our children and their children in our house for several days. As I have mentioned previously, out family has increased from 5 to 13 and that number can cause a disruption of daily routines. Now, that is not the largest number we have had in our home (125 FCA members from St. Charles High) but having small children and a number of new toys scattered all over every room can lead to total chaos. Houston and Hudson, both three, played very well together. Lauren and Alex paid a lot of attention to Jacob. They are so beautiful could anyone not like attention from them?

This past weekend was fun being with Jacob, Houston and Violet. Violet is so cute and when they flashed her picture on the screen at her dedication, the congregation oohed and aahhed. The boys like to wrestle with grandpa and also like for him to tickle them. Of course, that is huge fun for me. Guy and Holly purchased a basketball goal for the boys and that will be fun playing with them in Nashville as well as here in St. Charles.

MOHELA is in the process of forgiving 1.4 M in student loans of those who are in the teaching profession. That amounts to $3200 for each person identified.

Sue thinks I should share my feelings about the books I listed in the last blog and perhaps I shall start that next time.

Wednesday, I am on the way to Springfield. Some of my high school classmates are having lunch as we plan to get the class to gether in 2009. Planning starts way in advance.

Arthur Mallory and I will meet to discuss some ideas I have about a Christian school. He knows more about education than anyone I know.

Hope 2008 is off to a great start for you. GO STACEY O'HARA!!!!!!! Bring us a winner.

Thanks for the "happy birthday" messages. I certainly am appreciative of your thinking about me.

GOOD READING FOR SERVING LEADERS

2008-01-03T16:49:00.000-08:00

I thought I would begin the new year by sharing some books I have enjoyed on Servant-Leadership. Of course the number one book is the Bible in general and the book of Nehemiah in particular. Some other books written by outstanding authors are currently available.

THE POWER OF FOCUS by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Les Hewitt, HCI

ON BECOMING A LEADER by Warren Bennis, Addison Wesley

THE SERVANT by James C. Hunter, Crown Business

THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE, James C. Hunter, Crown Business

THE LEADERSHIP GENIUS OF JESUS, William Beausay II, Nelson

JESUS ON LEADERSHIP, C. Gene Wilkes, Tyndale

THE HEART OF A LEADER, Ken Blanchard, HB Honor

THE SERVANT LEADER Ken Blanchard U Phil Hodges, Countryman

THE SERVING LEADER Ken Jennings & John Stahl-Wert, Berrett-Oehler

FOCUS ON LEADERSHIP, Larry C. Spears & Michele Lawrence

SYNCHRONICITY, THE INNER PATH OF LEADERSHIP Joseph Jaworske, Bennett-Koehler

MEN IN LEADERSHIP, Bob Briner, Holman Reference

MORE LEADERSHIP LESSONS OF JESUS, Bob Briner & Ray Prichard, Broadman & Holman

SERVANT LEADERSHIP IN THE REAL WORLD, Kurt S. Takamine, AmErica House

THE SOUTHWEST AIRLINES WAY Jody Hoffer Gittell, McGraw Hill

THE SERVANT LEADER WITHIN Robert K Greenleaf, Paulist Press

LEAD ON John Edmund Haggai, Kobrey Press

THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE Stephen R. Covey. Simon & Schuster

THE 8TH HABIT Stephen R. Covey, Free Press

LEADERSHIP Rudolph W. Giuliani, Hyperion

THE 21 IRREFUTABLE LAWS OF LEADERSHIP John C. Maxwell, Thomas Nelson

ON BECOMING A PERSON OF INFLUENCE John C. Maxwell, Thomas Nelson

DEVELOPING THE LEADERS AROUND YOU John C. Maxwell, Thomas Nelson

NOTHING TO FEAR - LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP FROM FDR Alan Axelrod, Portfolio

WHEN THE BUCK STOPS WITH YOU - HARRY TRUMAN ON LEADERSHIP Alan Axelrod, Portfolio

2008 has a lot of potential for us to develop Serving Leaders in all walks of life. All of us can be leaders even though not all of us can be CEO. To accomplish what Jesus did and continues to do is astonishing. Certainly we can learn a lot about leading from Him.

POST CHRISTMAS 2007

2007-12-30T08:56:00.002-08:00

Christmas 2007 is over at the Smith household. Sue and I have experienced non-stop special times that began when we picked up Jamie, Kendall, Lauren and Alexandra from St. Louis International Airport Christmas morning. After getting them situated in two of our five bedrooms, Sue and I went back to the airport to get Rick, Cindy, and Hudson and delivered them to the third bedroom. Our bedrooms have stayed pretty much the way they were when our children lived here. Things were relatively quiet with only one small grandchild until Holly and Guy arrived with their two boys and a baby. Fourteen people were now in place to have beautiful chaos from Thursday until Sunday. Now the house is quiet and Sue and I have pledged to do nothing for a couple of days. To say that our house is a disaster area is putting it mildly, but what a special time each of us enjoyed.

It is very special to me to sit and watch the interaction between our children, their spouses, and the grandkids. There is always so much love that flows from each one. They truly love one another. The humor constantly puts you on the floor laughing. There is a serious touch of caring and the ever-present telling how much they love each other. That is pure joy for me.

Kendall was sick much of the time with a toothache. I know that is not fun, but he carried on very well under the constant pain. We took him to the dentist on Wednesday and he received antibiotics that eased the pain. One of the presents we always give the adults is a candy cane wrapped with a $100 bill. Jamie spent hers before we opened the many presents. Sue is incredible in buying, wrapping, and giving out presents. In spite of the work, she truly loves to give to our family.

We had turkey, ham, BBQ, and finally ham, beans and cornbread. One day, I made five trips to the Mid-town IGA. One of the employees said he had never seen me so much in all the years we have lived here. Paper plates, napkins, toilet paper, artificial sweetner, incredible numbers of coke, diet coke, caffeine free diet coke, mountain dew, dr. pepper, diet dr. pepper, caffeine free diet dr. pepper, pepsi, A&W Baptist Beer, donuts, and paper towels were but a few of the items purchased. Rick went with me several times and saw some people from the past.

Yesterday morning, Sue and I took Rick, Cindy and Hudson back to the airport for their trip back to Dallas. It is always sad when our children leave. This was no exception. This morning at 5 am, we took Jamie, Kendall, Lauren and Alex to the airport and found the largest crowd I have ever seen at the terminal. People we standing outside to get in. They barely made their flight. Later this morning, Holly, Guy, Jacob, Houston, Violet and Kona crammed themselves into a heavily packed van and left for Nashville. I believe Alexandra described Christmas with grandma and grandpa the best when she said:" Thank you grandpa, it was a blast."

Thank you Jesus for our family and your blessed birth.

POST CHRISTMAS 2007

2007-12-30T08:56:00.001-08:00

CHRISTMAS - 2007

2007-12-22T07:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas is so much hard work. Sue goes 24 hours a day in preparation for the day when all of our children and grandchildren will be here. She ALWAYS does such a great job in decorating the house, shopping for all the presents, and preparing the meal. At dinner, we will remember that Jesus is truly the reason for the season and be grateful to our heavenly Father who made it all possible.

Christmas eve will be spent at Sue's parents' home. All of her family will be there and when our kids were still living in St. Charles, they were a large part of the evening. A highlight of Christmas past was when her father read the Christmas story from the King James version. He can no longer do that, so Sue's older brother will carry on the tradition.

Jamie and Rick's familes will be here Christmas evening while Holly and her troop will arrive the 26th or 27th. When they arrive, we will open presents. Rick has already sent presents by UPS.

As I look back over the years, I am grateful for the way God blended our family. No one was ever called stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother or stepsister. We truly blended and the girls wanted to call me dad and Rick wanted to call Sue mom from the very beginning. It seemed we immediately had a great family. Rick and I moved to St. Charles when he was four years old. It was just Rick and me for seven delightful years and then came Sue, Jamie and Holly and it was even better.

Sue and I have talked about buying a new house from time to time. Our children do NOT want us to do that. They love to come home. Their rooms are pretty much the same as when they lived here. Lauren and Alex, Jamie's two daughters have said to Sue and me: "Grandma and Grandpa, we just love to come to your house." Silently I ask myself why because they live in a much newer house. However, I love it.

After our children leave, Sue and I will go to Branson and have a short couple of days with our friends Ed and Janet Watkins.We always enjoy being with them. We will play dominos, discuss plans for the future, relax and thank God for His blessings on both families.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas time and that 2008 is the very best year yet for you!!!!!!!

SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT NEW YORK

2007-12-16T15:45:00.000-08:00

Sue wanted to go to NY to see the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and hear her song performed as part of the Tabernacle's Christmas program. She wanted me to tag along and so I did even as President Kennedy accompanied Jackie to Paris. It was a fun time for the two of us to have time together, attend the Christmas program, tour NY, learn the train schedules and walk, walk, walk.

The Brooklyn Tabernacle is, of course in Brooklyn. My earliest remembrances of Brooklyn had to do with the Dodgers before they sadly moved to Los Angles. The Tabernacle is located in the confines of a beautiful old theater. It is very ornate and its beauty is only exceeded by the friendliness of of the members. The auditorium has balcony boxes along the sides of the walls. When I was a kid in Springfield, those were my favorite seats at the Gilloiz Theater. Those boxes at the tabernacle were decorated with Christmas trees.

Here are some of my impressions of the Christmas program.

1. The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir is BY FAR the best choir I have ever heard.
2. Taranda Greene sang Sue's song and it was incredible.
3. Taranda Greene sang "Oh, Holy Night" better than I have ever heard anyone sing it and I have heard some great ones.
4. Pastor Jim Cymbala is the real deal. Previously, I never liked having a pastor take over after a concert, the effect of which, for me, was to ruin the message of the concert. He was prepared and did a fantastic job in concluding the evening.
5. Carolyn Cymbala, Jim's wife, is a very talented and gracious lady who led the choir in such a dynamic way.
6. Tony and Taranda Greene are very special and kind people who can really sing our Lord's message.
7. I loved it when pastor Cymbala came out of his office and said: "Where is this great song writer?" When someone says something like that about Sue, it is an incredible blessing to me.

I liked Brooklyn even late at night.

If I lived in the NY area, I would not own a car.

It was fun walking around NY on Friday. We passed by so many beautiful decorations, people in a hurry, people from many different nations (does anyone live in NY?) heard so many different languages. Only English appeared to be missing. In Sue's blog, she went into detail about the various sites so i will not go that way. I loved the walking and my left bun was sore from all that exercise.

When we arrived home, we found nearly nine inches of snow in St. Charles. I like snow somewhere I am not; however, I must admit it was beautiful. The trip was great but there is no place like .....

QUOTES AGAIN

2007-12-08T08:07:00.001-08:00

It has been some time since I posted a number of quotes, so I thought just before Christmas might be a good time for this activity.

"Don't wish it was easier; wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems; wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenges; wish for more wisdom."
Jim Rohn

"I am ready to meet my Maker - but whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter."
Winston Churchill

"I am absolutely convinced that with good leadership, freedom does not weaken discipline - it strengthens it. Free people have a powerful incentive not to screw up."
Captain D. Michael Abrashoff
former commander, USS Benfold

"Real communication happens when people feel safe."
Ken Blanchard

"The biggest battle going on every day is between your own ears."
Jack Canfield

"The true test of the effectiveness of the leader is this: Are your people better off when they leave than when they arrived."
James C. Hunter

"The first duty of any leader is to create more leaders."
A Wise General

"Leaders nurture a vision and at the right time declare it, so others can rally to the cause."
Bob Briner

"Leadership is a noble spiritual gift to be honored and highly esteemed."
Bob Briner

"Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave."
Jesus

I have all kinds of leadership books in my shrinking library. At my age, I felt the necessity of giving a large number of books to my pastor. The books on leadership, however, remain as a special part of my life. I like sharing some of the thoughts with those of you who take time to read my blog.

Jesus is lord and so it will ever remain.

CROSSING PATHS

2007-12-04T11:00:00.002-08:00

I continue to be a person that God places special people in my life at just the right time. When I need a boost or a confirmation regarding a decision, a "God-Thing" always happens.

In high school, I didn't even know I needed direction from God. He, however, sent Howard Butt and Frank Boggs to Springfield for a youth revival sponsored by a college young peoples' group. A few of us from Greenwood went to a college assembly and heard Butt speak and Boggs sing. That experience planted a seed.

When I was an undergraduate, I was struggling with a decision about changing schools. A strong Christian believer was God's person to speak to me and help me take the right direction. He never knew he influenced me.

I was at Glorietta Baptist Assembly for student week when my parents called and said I had been drafted into the United States Army. That was a bit of a low for me, but after arriving at the Army base, I met a Chaplain who was just the right person to provide the proper direction for me and made it possible for me to attend Baylor University.

It was perhaps the lowest part of my life when I lacked direction and confidence. My secretary encouraged me by saying that I had so much going for me; however, she never knew or realized that her comments were so greatly needed and meant so much to me.

In the living room of my home in Springfield a good friend made a statement about divorce that spoke to me. He said that divorce is falling short of God's ideal. God's ideal is for one man and one woman to remain together, but like so many other areas of life where we fall short of God's ideal, divorce is also one of them. He didn't know he helped me.

Another friend pointed out to me a truth that continues to be a blessing. He said: "Influence is so much more important than power." That still strikes a chord in my life and helps me in leadership.

You have undoubtedly helped someone by something you said or a deed you accomplished, yet you are unaware of it. As believers in Christ, let us join together to share some of the things we have experienced or some wisdom Christ has given us with those with whom our paths cross. In the movie "Radio," Ed Harris said maybe he should not have done all those things for the boy they called "Radio." Debra Winger, his wife, said: "Helping someone is always a good thing!" Debra didn't know she was preaching a great sermon.

CROSSING PATHS

2007-12-04T11:00:00.001-08:00

I continue to be a person that God places special people in my life at just the right time. When I need a boost or a confirmation regarding a decision, a "God-Thing" always happens.

In high school, I didn't even know I needed direction from God. He, however, sent Howard Butt and Frank Boggs to Springfield for a youth revival sponsored by a college young peoples' group. A few of us from Greenwood went to a college assembly and heard Butt speak and Boggs sing. That experience planted a seed.

When I was an undergraduate, I was struggling with a decision about changing schools. A strong Christian believer was God's person to speak to me and help me take the right direction. He never knew he influenced me.

I was at Glorietta Baptist Assembly for student week when my parents called and said I had been drafted into the United States Army. That was a bit of a low for me, but after arriving at the Army base, I met a Chaplain who was just the right person to provide the proper direction for me and made it possible for me to attend Baylor University.

It was perhaps the lowest part of my life when I lacked direction and confidence. My secretary encouraged me by saying that I had so much going for me; however, she never knew or realized that her comments were so greatly needed and meant so much to me.

In the living room of my home in Springfield a good friend made a statement about divorce that spoke to me. He said that divorce is falling short of God's ideal. God's ideal is for one man and one woman to remain together, but like so many other areas of life where we fall short of God's ideal, divorce is also one of them. He didn't know he helped me.

Another friend pointed out to me a truth that continues to be a blessing. He said: "Influence is so much more important than power." That still strikes a chord in my life and helps me in leadership.

You have undoubtedly helped someone by something you said or a deed you accomplished, yet you are unaware of it. As a believer in Christ, let us join together to share some of the things we have experienced or some wisdom Christ has given us with those with whom our paths cross. In the movie "Radio," Ed Harris said maybe he should not have done all those things for the boy they called "Radio." Debra Winger, his wife, said: "Helping someone is always a good thing!" Debra didn't know she was preaching a great sermon.

CROSSING PATHS

2007-12-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

I continue to be a person that God places special people in my life at just the right time. When I need a boost or a confirmation regarding a decision, a "God-Thing" always happens.

In high school, I didn't even know I needed direction from God. He, however, sent Howard Butt and Frank Boggs to Springfield for a youth revival sponsored by a college young peoples' group. A few of us from Greenwood went to a college assembly and heard Butt speak and Boggs sing. That experience planted a seed.

When I was an undergraduate, I was struggling with a decision about changing schools. A strong Christian believer was God's person to speak to me and help me take the right direction. He never knew he influenced me.

I was at Glorietta Baptist Assembly for student week when my parents called and said I had been drafted into the United States Army. That was a bit of a low for me, but after arriving at the Army base, I met a Chaplain who was just the right person to provide the proper direction for me and made it possible for me to attend Baylor University.

It was perhaps the lowest part of my life when I lacked direction and confidence. My secretary encouraged me by saying that I had so much going for me; however, she never knew or realized that her that her comments were so greatly needed and meant so much to me.

In the living room of my home in Springfield a good friend made a statement about divorce that spoke to me. He said that divorce is falling short of God's ideal. God's ideal is for one man and one woman to remain together, but like so many other areas of life where we fall short of God's ideal, divorce is also one of them. He didn't know he helped me.

Another friend pointed out to me a truth that continues to be a blessing. He said: "Influence is so much more important than power." That still strikes a chord in my life and helps me in leadership.

You have undoubtedly helped someone by something you said or a deed you accomplished, yet you are unaware of it. As a believer in Christ, let us join together to share some of the things we have experienced or some wisdom Christ has given us with those with whom our paths cross. In the movie "Radio," Ed Harris said maybe he should not have done all those things for the boy they called "Radio." Debra Winger, his wife, said: "Helping someone is always a good thing!" Debra didn't know she was preaching a great sermon.

ARCHIE A. LYLE - A MIRACLE- PART TWO

2007-11-23T19:11:00.000-08:00

Archie graduated from Baylor and enrolled in the seminary in Ft. Worth. While studying at the seminary, he was pastor of a church in a nearby town. At the beginning of that pastorate, the local newspaper ran a story about Archie and someone who read the story called him and told him of a man with the same name who lived in Jonesboro, AR. Archie wondered if this man could be his father and made the trip from Texas to Jonesboro to seek the answer. He found the man with the same name and asked him if he knew the lady who was his mother. Making a long story short, this man was his father. After meeting him, Archie never saw him again.

Doing well in his Texas pastorate, Archie had several churches talking to him about becoming their pastor. One such church was the church in Missouri where he found Jesus. While pastoring this church, they became the second leading church in baptisms in Missouri, so Archie was on his way. Lorene, his wife, was a strong teacher and a great supporter of missions. This was a good combination in the leading of the church.

After resigning his church, Archie was on his way to Peoria, IL with some other folks and was involved in a terrible accident. Archie, a passenger in the car in which he was riding, was the sole survivor. Three individuals were killed in that collision. I had just returned from Ridgecrest, NC after singing with One Accord. I drove to Springfield, IL where Archie was in critical condition in a hospital in the Illinois capital. His head was greatly swollen, with his hairline pulled back to the center of his head. Archie always had great hair. Slowly the swelling disappeared and Archie recovered. Because of the accident however, Archie's short-term memory was greatly affected. He can still remember the days at Baylor with no problem, but sometimes has trouble remembering where he is. A short while ago, he went to the grocery store and could not remember how to get home and ended up close to Kansas City. I gave him one of my cards to put in his wallet and told him to call me anytime he had a problem.

Archie continues to be a testimony for keeping on when circumstances scream to stop. His favorite sermon that he preaches is" Four Things God Doesn't Know:" 1. God doesn't know a sinner He doesn't Love; 2. God doesn't know a sin He doesn't hate; 3. God doesn't know a better plan of salvation; 4. God doesn't know a better time to be saved than right now. He can still preach that sermon and he still loves our Lord Jesus.

ARCHIE A. LYLE - A MIRACLE

2007-11-18T18:53:00.001-08:00

Archie A. Lyle is a long-time friend of mine. We met in a Greek class at Baylor. Archie has overcome unbelieveable diffictulties to even be living. He lived with his mother until he was 3. He never saw his dad. His mother left the home (if you could call it that) one time and put him in a tow-sack and nailed the sack to the wall with him in it. I know that is hard to believe, but never-the-less is true. At age 3, his mother gave him away and he was placed with foster parents. (Many years later, Archie had the privilege of leading his mother to the Lord when she was on her death bed).

While in high school, Archie joined the National Guard. He was 15 at the time. At age 16, he resigned from the National Guard, dropped out of high school and joined the Marines. Upon arrival at Paris Island, he was asked by the Marine barber where he was from. He said "St. Louis." The barber replied: "Well, you better start singing the St. Louis Blues because your hair is about to come off.

By the age of 17, Archie was on his way to Korea. He landed at Pusan and then made the trip by ship to Inchon which is on the Yellow Sea side of Korea and a few miles west of Seoul. Their unit made its way to the capital city and fought their way to Chosan, which is just a few miles south of the Chinese border in North Korea. Shortly after battling their way that far north, China came into the war and surrounded Archie's unit. The temperature was 38 degrees below freezing and they turned and started fighting in the opposite direction. Archie was shot in the cartridge belt and he yelled out: "Three clicks to the left and you got me." The clicks were on the sight of the gun. He stopped to eat in the cold and had rice. He started eating the rice and it kept moving around and he discovered it was magots. He fought his away across the 100 miles from Chosan to Hungnam where the United States Navy was there for the rescue. Out of 300 in his company, he was one of 12 that made it out of the trap.

Archie returned to the United States and married Lorene Willoughby. He went to a trade school and became a journeyman painter. In the early 1950's, Archie felt the call to preach. He had no education, but took the GED and passed. When the letter came, he had Lorene read it because he was afraid he failed. He passed and with his wife and now two daughters, went to Texas and enrolled in Tyler Jr. College. He then became the pastor of a Baptist church and learned to preach while on the job.
The story will continue next time.

A VISIT TO SPRINGFIELD

2007-11-15T13:01:00.000-08:00

Springfield, Missouri is my hometown. I still have a number of friends there as well as a few relatives. One thing is missing when I return to that city. I always had a place to stay when my parents were living. Now that they are deceased, I feel a bit like an orphan when I return. I always like to drive by the house that my parents owned for so many years. It is a large yellow brick house that one real estate person said was one of the ten best built homes in Springfield. After my parents died, the people who bought the house trashed it and it was sad to see what they did. Now, someone else owns the house and they have restored it pretty much to the place it was when my parents were living. When I lived in Springfield, I owned a three story English Colonial home. Inside, it was very special with a large living room and a fire place. There were so many special things about that house that I wished that I could have moved it to St. Charles and Sue would have had a blast putting her touch on the inside.

I had a meeting with Ken McClure and Dale Moore. Both of these gentlemen are employed by Missouri State University. I have known Dale for a short time, but I have known Ken for many years. He has had several important jobs for the state of Missouri. He was director of budget research for the Senate Appropiations Committee; He was a judge for the public service commission; He was the chief of staff for Governor Matt Blunt. It is always fun to be around Ken. One time in the 1970's we were singing at a church that had a dress code. For men, your hair could not touch your ears or your shirt color. He sent me a little drawing of a man with a crew cut and under the picture wrote "Jesus." The pew I was sitting in shook as I tried to control my laughter. Ken, Dale, and I are talking about forming a Southern Gospel Quartet and I have lined up the necessary personnel. I can't sing worth a lick anymore because of sinus, but I may be able to play the piano. Bill Ursury and Scott Landon from our church will join us and this has the potential of being a pretty good quartet.

While in Springfield, I met with Arthur Mallory, who is a special friend. Arthur is the former president of Missouri State University and the former Commissioner of Education for our state. He always has great insight into any area of education and I like to run ideas past him. He told me about a man who has taken the job as interim president of a university. Arthur told him that he will want to be the president and that has come about. He asked Arthur what he should do as a president. His reply was that he should walk around the campus and speak to the students, smile a lot, and pick up pieces of paper both inside and outside the buildings. If he would do those things, he would be a successful president. Arthur began the Parents as Teachers program that now is in many foreign countries as well as the U. S. A former president of the Missouri Baptist Convention, Arthur SERVED our denomination very well. He is one of my heroes.

Dave and Bitty Fay are long-time friends. Dave and I went to high school together and were best friends. I dated Bitty and we have always been good friends. They invite me to stay with them and that is always enjoyable. This time, Bitty got out some old pictures from dances we attended and Dave forwarded them to me. I sent them to Sue to see if she could pick me out and she did that with little trouble. Dave and Bitty will come to St. Louis this summer, stay with us and we will go see the Cardinals.

I am fortunate to have a few good friends who have been friends for such a long time. God is good all the time.

SPECIAL PEOPLE

2007-11-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

In high school, I had the privilege of knowing George Kieffer. George was and is such a good natured person. We often teased him in a good natured way. Dan Rich and I often had fun at George's expense and we enjoyed his reaction to many of our attempts to tease him. Sometimes in class, Dan would sit on one side of George and I would sit on the other side. One of us would reach for one of George's leg in order to squeeze it just above the knee. When George would react to to that squeeze the other of us would squeeze the other leg and we always enjoyed George's loud reaction. Frequently, we would put a tack on the chair before he arrived for class knowing full-well that when George "got the point," he would yell out. We had such a good time when he did "get the point." Two days a week, we had choir first hour. George lived across the street from school and he was always late to choir. We found out later that he had three sisters and only one bathroom. We would see him running across campus and it always provided a laugh for the entire choir. The great thing about George was that he was so good natured and I realized that if there was anything wrong with our relationship, it had to be my fault. In our senior yearbook, he wrote the following: "You've been one of my best friends in spite of the calouses on my knees." At our last reunion, George, Dan and I enjoyed talking about those early days.

In college, I met another fellow who had the same makeup as George. His name is Wayne Nelson. I have never seen Wayne out of sorts about anything. He just operates on an even keel. One time, we were in Kansas City and on our way to William Jewell College to see our friend Gordon Kinsgley and play some tennis ball. On the express way, I pointed out that there was a highway patrol officer ahead of us. Wayne's response: "What's the speed temperature?" Whenever one of our friends or I would be mad about something, Wayne was always the same. I have played a lot of basketball and softball with Wayne and whether he won or lost, he was always the same. If he made an error or missed a shot in basketball, his respone was always "My aching back!!" Last summer, he and a few of our freinds met at our house and we played "Horse." He and I were the last two standing and we must have hit 10 shots in a row before he finally missed and I won the game. His response was "My aching back."

It is interesting that both George and Wayne became ministers of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Both continue to reflect the love of Christ in their devotion and disposition. They enjoy a good time as would Jesus. Not only would I like to be more like Jesus, I would like to be more like George and Wayne. They truly represent our Lord in a special way.

WAJ - 2007 RELATIONSHIPS

2007-10-27T19:02:00.000-07:00

Each year as the date for the Write About Jesus Workshop gets closer to the opening evening, Sue gets into her feelings of not having any idea as to writing a new song and becomes totally focused on making the workshop one that those attending will find inspiration not only to write better, but be a better Christian.

Developing a program for both experienced writers and those in the initial stages of writing for Jesus is not an easy task. Fortunately, we have a faculty who is good in both areas. As important as improving as a writer and learning the technical skills that are required, it appears to me (not a writer) that perhaps the best thing that comes out of WAJ is relationships. In the field of education, I have long insisted that emphasizing the four "R's" is vital. Reading, "Riting," "Rithemetic," and Relationships This should be part of the curriculum of every school and especially in Christian schools.

I felt something special at this year's WAJ. From the beginning in 2000, there has always been a good spirit; however, this year a special spirit was something that was unseen, but very real. There appeared to be a spirit of unity, helpfulness, a universal desire to learn, and warmth. Perhaps it was the influence of Jesus that was present in each of us. I know I want more of whatever it was. In the competition there was not a spirit of competition. It seemed like everyone was pulling for everyone to do well and if someone else won, that was ok with the other competitors. That has to be the influence of Jesus. Through the workshop and the discussion board, we are building a Christian family that is getting better, not only at writing, but at caring for others in the family. That is relationship building and I am grateful to all the registrants and clinicians for making this happen.

The Ugliest Old Lady Who Had Great Influence

2007-10-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

Aunt Jane Prestige grew up in Texas a long time ago during the reconstruction period of our nation's history. She married at an early age and had two children. Her husband died early in their marriage leaving her with the two children and a lot of work to do. She literally built their home. She split the rail, placed logs and lumber into place, painted, cooked, maintained the yard, took care of the animals. My friend Chaplain (Lt Col) John H. Brown said she had one and half teeth and they didn't meet. Because of what she did to keep her family going, everyone respected Aunt (as they say in Texas "Aint") Jane. It always seemed to take a long time to walk in front of her house. If you asked as question such as "Think it will rain Aunt Jane?" Her reply was straight to the point. "Your thinker is as good as mine, what do you think?"

Chaplain Brown said she preached the greatest sermon he ever heard and she preached it on her front porch. She said: "John, I've seen happy days and I've seen sorrowful days, but through it all, I can say blessed be the name of the Lord." My guess is that she didn't give that thought much attention, but it was incredibly moving to Chaplain Brown. Without her knowing it or having any idea that this was meaningful to someone, that message has been preached in Army chapels around the world. It has been preached on ships at sea and on the battlefields of Korea. It has been a message that has touched soldiers, sailors, marines, and civilians in the United States and Europe. I continue to share the story and some of those who hear me will continue the legacy.

You don't have to have a college education, be a commercial Christian songwriter, a professor, or a minister to have a message. Sometimes the great messages come from unexpected places. That makes listening very important.

ANOTHER DIRECTOR OF INFLUENCE

2007-09-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

Russell Newport is a friend of mine. I grew up in his choir at First Baptist Church in Springfield, MO. About a year before I joined the choir, he assumed the position of director. The choir at that time was both small and ineffective. Russell accepted the position as choir director temporarily for fourteen years. A basic policy he introduced was if you didn't come to choir practice, you didn't sing. When I missed practice or a Sunday service, I would go a long way out of my way to keep from seeing Russell. Harmon Chapman was a member of the choir and was also an artist for his high school newspaper. Each practice, Harmon would draw a cartoon and circulate it among members of the choir. We were practicing to present a concert of "The Elijah," by Felix Mendleson. One of the cartoons Harmon drew was of a little bearded man standing next to Russell with a caption of Russell speaking to the bearded man. It read: "I don't care if your name is Felix Mendelson, you haven't been to choir practice and you can't sing with us." Another cartoon pictured Russell with a machine gun in his hand saying: "Sing Altos! Sing!" I remember a practice when we were rehearsing an anthem and Russell stopped the choir and said: "It's Naaaked ladies, not Neked."

Russell has a Bachelor's degree from William Jewell and a Master's in business from Harvard. For several years he owned several dime stores in Southwest Missouri. My friend Bob Speake once said that if you wanted a full days work, all you had to do was follow Russell.

Russell was a great positive influence on so many young people at FBC. He gave voice lessons to members of his choir without remuneration. My friend Jerry McMahon became very interested in Christian music and singing because of Russell, a believer who generously gave of his time to so many different people and causes.

What I haven't told you is what a great singer he is. Russell always said that if you sang properly, you could be a good singer all your life. Now in his middle 80's, Russell is still a great tenor. I mean great tenor. He could have been a star with the Metropolitan Opera in New York if had chosen to accept their offer. He studied voice at the New England Conservatory and also in Los Angeles and San Francisco. He has been tenor soloist with symphony orchestras and oratorio societies around the world. He appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and as soloist on ABC and CBS religious presentations.

Most of all, Russell loves the Lord Jesus. Rather than embarking on the singing road in the secular world, he chose to serve Christ with his marvelous vocal instrument. No one, I mean No one can sing "The Holy City" like Russell. I will ever be greatful for his influence on me.

A DIRECTOR OF INFLUENCE

2007-09-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

On the long bus ride from Kansas City, MO to Ft. Leonard Wood, I had several hours to contemplate what would lie ahead for me in the United States Army. After receiving uniforms, equipment, an orientation, and a fancy haircut it was Sunday and so I thought it would be the right thing to go to chapel. I was surprised to find a chapel full of young men and a chaplain who preached a great sermon. I went back that night and became acquainted with Chaplain (Major) John H. Brown. His name was as common as mine.

Chaplain Brown was an officer of great influence. A chaplain really has no power, but he can have great influence. In the reception station at Ft. Wood, Chaplain Brown was greatly respected throughout the unit. The cadre loved him because he was often in the company areas not only meeting them, but also the recruits. Sgt. Martin was Catholic, but he loved Chaplain Brown and often made his Sunday announcement like this: "Protestant worship services begin in ten minutes. All men who want to go to church fall out to my right and I will pick my details from those left!" Of course, nearly everyone got in line to go to church.

Services at the chapel where Chaplain Brown preached were always filled to capacity not only because of announcements like those of Sgt. Martin, but because he preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was one of the best pulpiteers I have heard. We would often go on field trips and have services in the field for the men.

Chaplain Brown served our country in Korea. Some of the stories he shared with me were both inspirational and sobbering. One day he and his assistant were in a jeep pulling a trailer up a hill and they kept hearing what he called a "Chinese Burp Gun." Some Americans came running down the hill and told them to turn around because the Chinese were coming by the thousands. Chaplain Brown told his assistant to turn the jeep around and unhook the trailer and get out of there. His assistant said he could turn the jeep around but for him to get out and start running. With bullets hitting all around him, Chaplain Brown crossed a river and climbed a ledge to safety. Later he asked about his assistant and found him. Brown was told that it was a good thing that he left because there were bullet holes through the windshield in front of where he had been riding.

At Ft Wood, Chaplain Brown was moved from the reception station to the 5th Training Regiment because of the jealousy of the Post Chaplain. In that unit, the crowds became so large that they had to move their services from the chapel to one of the movie theaters. After that, a new post chaplain wanted him to move to the fort's housing area and try to build up Sunday School. I left Baylor that summer and helped him organize a new Sunday School. My job was to get it all on paper. His job was to get people to fill the various positions. In June there was a regular attendance of 150. The first Sunday of September was the first Sunday for the new Sunday School and there were over 800 in attendance. People followed him, not because of any power he had, but because of his great influence.

I would like to be that kind of person - a real director of influence.

REUNION TIME

2007-09-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

Friday, September 7 was the day for our high school reunion. The day began early for me as I had to chair a meeting of MOHELA that began at 8:00 am. I was dressed in slacks, shirt, tie, and sport jacket. At 10:00 am, I dismissed myself from the meeting and started the 210 mile drive to Springfield.

There was not a time for me to change my dress because our group was to leave Springfield at 2 pm for the bus ride to Branson. Everyone else was dressed appropiately for Branson. I was still in my board meeting attire. At Branson, suddenly the rain stopped and the sun came out and I was still in my more formal dress. It was very hot as we toured the Landing and then ate at the Candlestick Inn, which overlooks Branson. After the Soji Tabuchi (spelling) Show, we returned to Springfield and finally at 11 pm I was able to switch to pajamas.

We were able to tour the original Greenwood building on the campus of Missouri State University which now houses the School of Education. The building shows wear and tear after all these years, but we enjoyed reliving special days of an earlier life. There was a swimming pool in the building and it now houses the ceramic division of the art department. Ceramic materials are now in the pool structure which is plainly in view. We then toured the new Greenwood and had lunch in one of the Commons areas of Missouri State University.

In the evening, we dined at Riverside Inn in Ozark, MO and had a time of remembrance as well as a skit, and trying to remember the businesses on the Springfield square when we were in high school. I gave out a lot of door prizes, including an autographed baseball by Lou Brock for Jerry Fallin's grandson.

Sunday we met informally in an area of Fay Ollis's apartment. Wayne Niederhuth, our class president, gave a devotional and then I went to the piano and we sang some Christian choruses. Good time!!

For me, the most striking thing about those in attendance, was their Christian commitment. Our original class had 28 members. Six are now deceased and 17 attended the reunion. Mike is a trustee in his church; Paul is a trustee in his church;
Wayne is a pastor; Jerry is a leader in his church, FBC-Orlando, Fl: George is a pastor, David, Beverly, Barbara, Ann, Gigi, and Bill are active in their churches.

Today, I went to the Christian Businessmen's Prayer Breakfast. Cal Thomas was the speaker. God is really GOOD.

Greenwood High School - Springfield, MO

2007-09-05T19:21:00.000-07:00

My mother enrolled me in Greenwood shortly after I was born. I began formal education in Greenwood's kindergarten along with 29 other children, a class of 15 boys and 15 girls. Greenwood was not a private school, but a school located on the campus of Missouri State University that served as a training school for prospective teachers. I was blessed to have excellent teachers along the way and spent 13 years in that school.

It is interesting to note that even with 30 young people in our class, each one graduated from high school and matriculated into college. Not everyone graduated from college, but most did. Still today, I enjoy relationships with several of those classmates.

This weekend, I will return to Springfield for a reunion with at least 17 members of my class. Of the original group, six have died which makes the turnout for the weekend remarkable. We plan to go by bus to Branson for dinner and the Shoji Tobuchi Show. The trip to and from Branson should be a good time catching up because we always take up where we left off. On Saturday, we will visit the building that housed Greenwood when we were students. It is now the education building of Missouri State. Memories will be voiced and so many good times remembered. Saturday evening, we will meet for dinner at Riverside Inn in Ozark, MO. My uncle Will Keltner took me there when I was about 3years old. During the evening, we will have some entertainment by a couple of classmates, a challenge of their recall about Springfield, and I am going to give each member of the class some kind of remembrance of the evening. I plan to give Jerry Fallin a baseball autographed by Lou Brock for his grandson. Sue helped produce a mini-yearbook of those who will attend the reunion. In that little book are answers to some questions and pictures of classmates, their families, a look at the old days and a view of previous reunions. Sue worked that into her altogether too busy schedule and if there is one person who has no appreciation of the book, they will have to deal with me.

Sunday morning, we will meet for brunch and a message from our class president, Wayne Niederhuth. Wayne is a pastor and has also served as a Navy Chaplain. We will sing a few choruses of praise before ending the reunion. It is so special that almost all members of the class are active in a church. My first remembrance of the hymn "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful" was not singing it in church, but in the processional to begin the elementary Christmas program at Greenwood.

Sharing these remembrances on the blog is for my benefit I guess. I hope it rings a bell of thanksgiving for all that God has given you. God truly is SO good.

FUN DAY WITH A GREAT LADY AND MAN

2007-08-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (Aug 28) was such a fun day spent with Lou and Jackie Brock at their home and at MOHELA. For those who are not baseball fans, Lou played for the St. Louis Cardinals and had over 3000 hits and 938 stolen bases in his illustrious career. He still holds more World Series records than any other player in the history of major league baseball. Both Lou and Jackie are outstanding Christians and it is always special when Jackie prays. The Holy Spirit takes us to the throne of grace and touches the very heart of God. The Brocks have been instrumental in establishing worship services each year during the Hall of Fame induction day at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

In 2002, Lou was presented with the Horatio Alger Award for Distinguished Americans along with Judge Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court, former Secretary of State Heny Kissinger, etc. Obviously, not every one receives this award and is inducted into this society.

Lou is extremely intelligent. It is always fun to have a Biblical discussion with him. He has great insight into spiritual matters. He said: "I had a lot of successes in baseball, but to me success is when you make the most of your natural abilities and combine that with a spiritual awareness in such a way that you are living according to the Word of God - then you have true success." Brock recalls that before each game he said a prayer during the national anthem. "I still say that prayer when I wake up," he says. "I thank the Lord for the breath of life and then I say, "Let your will be done today - not mine." That prayer gives me the courage and strength to do what needs to be done each day of my life."

As we walked through the work stations of MOHELA, people reached out to touch him, shake hands with him, get an autograph and/or picture. Employees of MOHELA thought of friends and parents who would have loved to have the opportunity just to be with him. They also loved Jackie's ring from the 2006 World Series.

In the book, "Only in America," Lou has written the following on the inside of the book:

"To: John and Sue

We love you!

Lou Brock and Rev. Jackie Brock

Now that is SPECIAL!

PLANNING TIME

2007-08-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

It has been a little more than a week since I have blogged. During that time, I have been planning a reunion for my high school class. I started attending Greenwood in kindergarten and finished high school at that same institution. Greenwood is an interesting institution in that it remains the only school of its kind in Missouri. Located on the campus of Missouri State University in Springfield, Greenwood has been a training school for prospective teachers since its inception 100 years ago. We always had a number of student teachers. If prospective teachers could survive our class, we knew they would make good teachers. When I was there, we had 15 boys and 15 girls in each class. Athletically, we always had really good teams and defeated schools that were much larger. The Greenwood of 2007 is much different. Tuition is much, much, much higher and by law they cannot dictate the number of boys or girls in a class. Sadly, that meant the end of the football program that had been so successful. Those in my class, however, still have so many memories of good times shared and lessons learned. I believe the arrangements we have made for the reunion will be well-received by all of us.

For some time, I have been giving thought to how the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA) can help the students in the St. Louis School District to not only want to go to college, but help them financially to do so. Helping in high school is too late, so my focus is on kindergarten. The first kindergarten in the United States was in the St. Louis School District. Once a very proud and effective district, their performance of late on standardized testing has been deplorable. These negative results have caused the state of Missouri to take over the responsibilities of running the district from the elected Board of Education. On August 20, the MOHELA Board will have an opportunity to approve a program that will begin to move the St. Louis School District in a positive direction. MOHELA has hired my friend Ed Wtkins to help get corporations in St. Loouis to line up with MOHELA to finally achieve the goal of once again having a great school district in St. Louis. I will write more about this later if the MOHELA approves our plan.

I am too old to be having this much fun. Regardless, it is happening

A LOT OF STUFF

2007-07-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

Holly and Guy Zabka, our younger daughter and son-in-law, are delightful and talented young people. What oftentimes ends in disaster became a classic marriage after the soon-to-be mother-in-law introduced them. Guy comes from an excellent Christian and talented family, his father having written the original theme song for the long running television NBC program called "The Tonight Show." Guy's brother, Billy, was the mean kid in the movie "The Karate Kid." Holly was chosen to be a member of the varisty St. Charles High Dance line when she was a freshman and a cheerleader in her junior and senior years. Enrolling in Missouri State University, Holly was a member of the university's dance squad known as the Sugar Bears. Following graduation from MSU, Holly became a cheerleader for the St. Louis Rams. She grew up singing with One Accord and ended up loving Christian music.

Holly and Guy just had a beautiful baby girl. When Granddad says beautiful, we know it has to be true. If you have one brain, you cannot help but see the hand of God in the birthing process. How precious that is and to think that Jesus came into the world through the process is almost unbelievable. Almost unbelievable!

The Zabka's two sons, Jacob 6, and Houston 3, were at first a bit standoffish with their little sister, but now have warmed to the addition to their family. Those boys make me laugh and be grateful for their lives. I told Jacob I was going to arrange for him to go to a baseball camp next summer sponsored by the St. Louis Cardinals. He told me he already knew how to play baseball.

Sue and I have a little car for the grandkids to drive on the basketball court in our backyard. Houston says it is his car and grandpa says it is his. We tease each other as each says "my car."

I came home on Saturday to face some challenges which I will share at another time. Sue and I are indeed grateful for Jesus, family, and friends.

It's getting close to WAJ!!! Watch for announcements on the web site.

PEOPLE OF INFLUENCE - PART TWO

2007-07-10T14:02:00.000-07:00

Last week, I began a series of blogs on people of influence. In continuing this process, I have thought of several folks who have exhibited influence on my life. Today, I want to focus on my wife, Sue, who has grown into a person of influence.

As a public school teacher, a person has little power over her students, but can greatly influence them. Sue was a high school journalism teacher and at one time also taught English and drama. What a schedule - yearbook, newspaper, dramatic productions. Sue did her job and did it well. After taking some time off to work for One Accord, Sue went back to teaching. Finally, she had only journalism and English to teach. Producing the high school newspaper was also part of that job. Properly influencing students in journalism is an area of great need in our country and Sue did just that in underscoring the responsibility of making sure stories are accurate, truthful, and well-written. Editorially speaking, many radio, TV stations and newspapers should embrace Sue's teachings. During these years, many of her students went on to college and have shared with her how much the years in her classes have meant to them. On the wall in our office is a plaque from her students at Hazelwood West that reads:

Mrs. Sue Smith
The Great Advisor at Hazelwood West
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord.
"Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give
you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11
With Love from the 1998-99 Gazette Staff

Josten's Yearbook Company representative, Jim Combs, said Sue was one of the two best journalism teachers in the greater St. Louis region.

She went off to Nashville as a relatively unknown "Want to Be" Christian writer with the desire to be the best she could be. She has influenced so many aspiring writers personally and through WAJ. Like her mentor, Dave Clark, she is just as happy when one of her friends finds success in the writing field as when she does. She loves sharing her experience and expertise, the result of which is a number of people who write about Jesus better than they ever have. WAJ is a story of influence in itself.

Sue is greatly loved by her parents. Can you believe how very proud they are of her accomplishments? It was their influence as Christian parents that made her the special person she is today.

As a mother, she is dearly loved by Jamie, Rick, and Holly. They love to say that Sue Smith is their mother. She is just as proud to say that they are her daughters and son. Sue's consistent godly life has influenced each of them to be more like her in the endeavors in which they find themselves. Each of our children always, always tells her how much they love her. Influence? You better believe it. Our son-in-law, Kendall Lucas, is minister of praise and worship at the Denton Bible Church in Denton, TX. He loves to tell folks about the music his mother-in-law writes.

Sue is a great wife. We are not together as often as many married couples, but that is alright because it has allowed her to follow her dream. She has, by example, lived the Christian life in front of me. Influence? You better believe it.

Growing up, my early heroes were Stan Musial in baseball and the Blackwood Brothers and Statesmen in Christian music. Today, Lou Brock is a hero, not only because of all he accomplished as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, but because of his commitment as a Christian. All these folks were and are people of influence. Into that category has come Sue Smith. Influence? You better believe it.

PEOPLE OF INFLUENCE - PART ONE

2007-07-03T10:32:00.000-07:00

More and more I am interested in people of influence and so I am beginning a series of blogs about people who have had great influence on my life.

To begin, I have to start with my parents. My dad was born in the family home on a farm between Ozark and Springfield, MO. He only went to the 8th grade because he was needed on the farm. Later, he went to work for a company owned by his uncle in Springfield and sold butter to grocery stores in that city. When asked how he met his wife, his response always was at the zoo where she was in a cage. Later, my father became a wholesale milk salesman for Foremost Dairy. He chose a route that went to Branson long before Branson was a great place to vacation. I remember he would often break the roads on snowy mornings just so the people who lived in that area could have their milk. He serviced them in a creative way. There was a restaurant in Forsyth, MO called "Paul's Cafe." Paul was having difficulty in obtaining meat delivered from a Crane, MO meat company. My dad said he went to Crane every day and he would deliver the meat order to Paul. That is just one example of his caring. Taking care of people six days a week, getting up early every day to meet people's need. I don't think he ever saw me play football, basketball, tennis, or run track because of his work. He was a great role model for a son. Early on, I can't remember his saying that he loved me, but I knew he did. In his family, that just wasn't done. Later, he did say that not only to me, but to Sue, Jamie, Rick, and Holly. He went to Sunday School and church regularly, and helped in any way he could. He was a good and faithful husband and father.

My mother took care of me in the formative years not only because she wanted to, but because of my father' job. She enrolled me in Greenwood where I went to school for 13 years, beginning in kindergarten. She was strict. I still have the 15 inch ruler she often applied to my backside. She was always incredibly interested in me and my activities. In adulthood, I jokingly called her "Nosey Mary." She would sit me down and inquire what was going on in my life. She did the same to Rick before Sue and I were married. In the years when it was just Rick and me, she would always want to help if he were ill. As a believer, she helped introduce me to Jesus and took me to the pastor's study to confirm my decision. My mother and Mrs. Leona Jones often sang duets in sunday schoold departments. They would practice over the phone. My mother was an alto, so you can imagine how that sounded on our end of the phone. When I was home, she would have me play the piano when they practiced and also when they sang in front of folks. She was president of the Women" Missionary Union of FBC, Springfield, and loved researching stories of those who served as missionaries. She attend most of my programs in elementary school and a few of my athletic endeavors in high school. Later in life, she managed the Kentwood Arms Hotel, which was THE hotel in Springfield. My mother was a classy and attractive lady.

What was the influence of my father and mother? Let's take a look:

1. She told me about Jesus and influenced my decision to accept Him as Savior.
2. They were both role models of a godly life.
3. Without a doubt they revealed their love for me.
4. They were interested in my activities and later in life, came to One Accord concerts in cities a good distance from Springfield.
5. They loved Sue, Jamie, Rick, and Holly very much.
6. They helped me financially many times.
7. We are always lovingly received when visiting them.
8. They took care of Rick and me when we were ill.
9. They saw that I had a good education.
10. They saw to it that I learned how to play the piano.

They were married for 65 years, before my mother passed away in 1993. My dad died in 1998. Some kind of influence!

REFLECTIONS OF THE WEEK

2007-06-27T18:48:00.000-07:00

Thursday evening, I picked up Dr. Arthur Mallory at the Drury Hotel and took him to a restaurant where we met the Senior Management Staff of the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA). We had a great time getting acquainted and sharing thoughts about MOHELA.

Friday morning, Arthur and I went to MOHELA Headquarters where we spent the next several hours listening to Arthur and thinking about where we were going. Arthur shared thoughts about what a good organization should look like. Here are some of his thoughts:

1. A good organization ought to smile a lot.
2. A good organization ought to get its books (Know what it is doing).
3. A good organization ought to know the landscape.
4. A good organization ought to change.

Early Saturday morning, Rocky, our dog, and I got into Sue's car to go to Dallas. Our son, Rick, had surgery on his sinus and had his tonsils removed. Cindy, our daughter-in-law, had asked Sue and me to come and help them during this time. Sue had flown to Dallas on Wednesday and had helped in taking care of our granddaughter, Hudson. She is a beautiful little girl who is a delight to be around. Saturday evening was family time as daughter Jamie and her family came from Denton, TX. It was a joy to be with them. Our granddaughters Lauren and Alexandra and I have developed a tradition. When we shake hands, I have a $20 bill and they like to shake hands almost as much as do I.

I spent two days driving Rick all over Dallas to take care of business that had been on hold because of his surgery. I love being with him. He and I moved to St. Charles in 1972 when he was four and we had seven years when it was just "Ricky and Dad." Those were special bonding years that continue to this day. Sue and I have three great children and following her divorce, the desire of her heart was to meet a guy with a son. She immediately became "Mom" to Rick and they have a wonderful relationship.

I saw a lady at QT in Springfield on the way to Dallas. She said: "God is good!" I replied: "All the time!"

Friends For a Long Time

2007-06-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

It is interesting to visit with someone from years gone by. This week has been such a time. I have known Wayne Nelson for many years. He has been a pastor and then took the training to become a hospital chaplain. Wayne has always had a great disposition. In fact, I have felt that if there was anything wrong with our relationship, the problem had to be me. Wayne lives in Georgia and he and his wife, Mary came through St. Charles on their way to her high school reunion. Sue and I took them to dinner on Tueday evening and enjoyed a good time with them. Yesterday the time was spent on the golf course with another long-time friend, Dr. Tom Trimble. My relationship with Tom goes back in time and he and Wayne went to the same high school in Columbai, Mo. Tom is president of Christian Psychological and Family Services with offices in St. Louis and Nashville. He was the one who told me about Sue and that she was expecting me to call. Whenever we get together, we take up where we left off as though time and distance are non factors. That is so special.

Next week, Sue and I will take high school friends of mine to a Cardinals' game. Dave and Bitty (real name Martha) Fay are huge Cardinals' fans. This has become an annual event for them and us. I have a standing invitation to stay with them whenever I am in Springfield. We will be having a high school reunion in September and I have asked Dave to draw what the public squrare in Springfield looked like when we were in high school. As an exercise for the old folks at the reunion, I will have them locate the businesses on the square in the right place when we all lived in Springfield. That will be a lot of fun.

On Thursday, I have invited another long-time friend, Dr. Arthur Mallory to come to St. Louis and have a workshop for the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA). Arthur has been president of Missouri State University and the commissioner of education for the state of Missouri. He is a very strong Christian, having been the past president of the Missouri Baptist Convention. I have asked Arthur to lead us in sharing "What a Great Organization Should Look Like." Arthur is always inspiring. This should be both informative and fun.

God has always been faithful in placing the right person in my life at the right time. This was never a conincidence. It is just the way God works. There was a time when something happened to me that should not have happened because it was against the law, but God supercedes American law for His purpose. The result of this was having a relationship with just the right person who opened the door for me to go to Baylor. What a powerful God!

Sue goes to Dallas on Wednesday to be with our son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. Rick is facing surgery and they wanted us to help them. I will drive down on Friday evening and be there until Wednesday of the following week. I am driving to take Sue's car to her so she can drive to Nashville on Monday.

I have to announce two high school all-star baseball games on Saturday. As always, I need prayer.

BOOKS AND THINGS

2007-06-07T06:16:00.000-07:00

Through the years, I have spent a lot of money on books. While serving as pastor of the Lakeland Baptist Church located on the shores of the Lake of the Ozarks, I developed a pretty good library of Christian writings, and used them in preparation of sermons and counseling. In 1983 I gave most of those books to my pastor, Jay Piper. Jay was a great pastor and was so supportive on One Accord's singing ministry. We even had him sing with us one time when we hosted the Blackwood Brothers. Not long after I gave the books to Jay, be became terminally ill and died at the age of 41. We sang at his funeral.

As the years have gone by, I accumulated more Christian books. Commentaries, books authored by well-known writers as well as books not so well-known. I used those in preparing sermons while serving as interim-pastor of two churches in the St. Louis area. As Sue and I began "down-sizing," I looked at all the books and decided to call our pastor, Dr. David McAlpin, and see if he would like to look at the books and take anything he wanted. Yesterday, he came by and reviewed the authors and took three boxes of books with him. He took old books and new books and a set of commentaries. His son just graduated from Liberty University and David took some for his son. It was fun visiting and I enjoyed his reaction when seeing some of the older books written by men who have gone on to be with Jesus.

David McAlpin is a rare breed. I have been around preachers much of my life and he is one of the few who listen when you speak, and look you in the eye while listening. I told him he had the first characteristic of a serving leader. Sue and I are so fortunate to have David as our pastor.

I have a very important MOHELA board meeting Friday. The Missouri legislature has passed legislation and Governor Blunt has signed the bill that will allow MOHELA to give 315M dollars to the state for building repairs at state universities. Included in this bill are provisions that will allow MOHELA to do things that were previously not allowed. One of the things I want to do is pilot a program for parents of kindergartners that would encourage them to begin saving for college and MOHELA will help them by matching their savings.

At our Friday board meeting, I have asked Dr. Robert Spence, one of our board members who is also president of Evangel University, to share with us some of the things he believes MOHELA can do for private universities that use our services. Dr. Spence is a great Christian who has led EU in a marvelous way. I look forward to hearing from him.

I write this on the seing in our backyard. It is a very pleasant morning to be outside, especially with Service Master cleaning our carpets.

Serving your family - They Deserve it!

2007-05-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

Today was a very interesting day. I am sure Sue will go into more detail about it on her blog; however, it was special for me to see three people I have grown to love go back in time and visit some places that had been special to them.

We drove east of I-70 toward St. Louis to find the old Calvary Baptist Church. Sue's dad taught himself how to lead singing and lead a choir and became the music director at Calvary. The church had great preaching from a pastor who was incredibly talented. Not only was he a sensational pulpiteer, he was great on the organ and piano. Reverend Nelson Reagan was a great influence not only on Sue's dad, but caused her to want to learn to write. The music, under the direction of Sue's dad had to be great. This little church grew to number over 1000 in Sunday School and had to move their service to the Pauline Theater where the aroma of popping corn caused worshippers to sometimes stray in their concentration. Today, the building still stands as a church and is suprisingly well-kept. We took a picture of Sue in front of the church and also one of her mother and dad. We drove by the house where Sue's parents lived when she was born. Except for the church, the surrounding area has not been as well-kept as we might like. The memories of Sue and her parents were memories of great joy. That is a good thing.

We drove south on Goodfellow ave. to CoteBrilliant street only to find that the four family flat where they one called home was no longer an edifice. A vacant lot between two houses brought a little sadness. Not far from that address was a school where Sue went to kindergarten. Although it appears that the building could use a bit of "fixin' up," it is still in use and is a very attractive place of memories for Sue. We then headed west on Natural Bridge to Brown road and drove to another elementary school where Sue was a student. That school was close to her home, which at that time was on Bobb Street. We drove by the house where Sue lived until she went to Oklahoma Baptist University (a poor choice of colleges when Baylor was available). The house on Bobb is still an attractive frame house and Sue and her parents recalled many joyful events that happened while they resided there.

We drove back to St. Charles on I-70 and had lunch at Cracker Barrel. It was fun for me to listen and watch mother, father, and daughter look back at their very special hereitage. One of the most special things that they enjoyed and still enjoy, is that Jesus is Lord and He has directed their paths.

A Week of Press Conferences

2007-05-18T16:08:00.000-07:00

This had been a week of press conferences. Wednesday, MOHELA held two press conferenes, one at the Science Center in St. Louis and the other in the board room of the Metropolitan Community Colleges in Kansas City. Business, education, government, and labor leaders met to discuss national and state recommendations for addressing challenges in engineering, math and science. At these meetings MOHELA announced the details of new investments to help Missouri address these challenges. Following the meeting in St. Louis, we flew to Kansas City to announce the MOHELA initiative on the western side of the state. The press conferences were attended by a capacity crowd in both cities with television crews from three cities in Missouri as well as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Kansas City Star.

Today, a press conference regarding volunteerism was held in the Holiday Inn in Wentzville, MO. Rick Warren was very interested in what is taking place in the Westplex area of Missouri. One important announcement was that the city of St. Louis is joining in our effort. Governor Matt Blunt has already pledged his support. I made a presentation regarding the characteristics of serving leaders. John Howard, the great American cycilist was present and he shared a bit about his outstanding career and his winning endeavors in three olympics.

God has been opening new doors for me this year and I am grateful for that. It is a good thing to have the opportunity to represent Jesus in the secular world. When I speak of serving leaders, where could I find a better one than the Son of God.

Have a great Memorial Weekend!

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER & A TRIP TO MISSOURI' CAPITAL

2007-05-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the National Day of Prayer. President Harry Truman (a Missourian) began that program in 1952. My day began by attending the St. Charles Mayor's Prayer Breakfast. Patti York is our mayor and she is a very attractive lady who has led our city in a very special way. My friend Ed Watkins was the MC of the event and he asked me to bring a "Dove Award" to the breakfast so we could honor Sue for her achievements. That was fun to hold the award up so all could see. Todd Worrell was the featured speaker. He is a former great relief pitcher for the Cardinals and later for the LA Dodgers. Todd is presently the pitching coach for Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis. That school is outstanding and they are fortunate to have some fine students who are the sons and daughters of professional athletes who have been excellent in their field. Todd stressed the importance of relationships, especially having a relationship with Jesus.

After the prayer breakfast, Ed and I drove to Jefferson City to meet with some of the elected leaders of Missouri. We talked to Rep Sally Faith who is a WAJonian. Also we visited with Lt. Governor Peter Kinder, Senator Chuck Gross and Rep. Tom Dempsey. Tom had just returned from Springfield where he had accompanied Governor Matt Blunt to the Prayer Breakfast there. Former Senator and Attorney General John Ashcroft was the speaker and according to Gov Blunt and Rep Dempsey, he was dynamite.

I had scheduled an appointment with Governor Blunt for Ed and me. I talked to him, his chief of staff, and deputy chief of staff about the direction the Missouri Higher Loan Authority would be taking following the passage of Governor Blunt's "Lewis and Clark Program" in the Missouri House. The Senate has already approved it. We will be funding $350M to help colleges and universities in Missouri with some of their building projects. I believe it is a good program and will not affect any student from obtaining a loan from MOHELA. Ed shared some things that resulted from Rick Warren's visit to St. Louis a few weeks ago that involves volunteerism in Missouri. Governor Blunt was a good listener and said he would help us. He is 37 years old and looks about 25. More importantly, he is a great Christian. PRAISE GOD FOR THAT. It is special to have such a man as the leader of our state.

Ed came away so excited about our visit and the promises Governor Blunt made. It was a good day.

I will be glad to have Sue home for a while. She is special.

SHE'S ALWAYS BEEN A WINNER

2007-04-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

Sue Herweck Smith has always been a winner. God blessed her by sending her to Hal and LaVerne Herweck so she could have outstanding Christians as parents. Always a good student, Sue was highly successful in high school, Oklahoma Baptist College, finally graduating from Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis.

A long-time friend of mine called me and said he had word of an alleged "88." and she was expecting me to call. An "88" was code for Tom and me indicating a girl was a fox. I was not too hot on blind dates, but decided to call and ask her out. I planned to take her to a fine restaurant for dinner, if she was indeed an "88." We went to a restaurant in St. Charles that at that time was a special place. This was the beginning of a special relationship, not only for Sue and me, but also for her daughters, Jamie and Holly, and my son, Rick. We blended our families into one and agreed that no one would ever be called "step-anything." Sue was immediately mom for Rick and I was dad for Jamie and Holly. Rick, Jamie and Holly remain brother and sisters today, enjoying a close relationship with each other.

Prior to our marriage, Sue and the girls had joined One Accord and had become an integral part of the group. Sue not only sang with the group, she also sang some solos and played the bass guitar. Jamie and Holly joined Rick, singing as the "One Accord Kids." Sue had already begun writing and we were singing some of her songs. We still have people call us for the song that was her testimony, "I Came to Love You Early." Recognizing Sue's talent for writing was not difficult and as we began to get exposure as a singing group, individuals in Nashville saw what the members of One Accord knew.

Tonight, she won her second and third Dove Award for writing a Christian musical and a children's musical. With the success she has experienced, one might think she would believe she had arrived as a writer. NOT SO!!! Sue continues to study, pray, read her Bible, and grow as a writer. Not only is she a great writer, she is also a great wife and mother. What can we say about her accomplishments as a writer? CONGRATULATIONS Sue, you deserve a lot of credit. Jamie, Rick, Holly, and I love you and we thank Jesus for all He has done for us.

MORE THOUGHTS ON EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

2007-04-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

There is a new leader at a place where I used to work. It is so sad to see the direction he is taking the organization. Morale among the employees is extremely low, and if he looked around to his back, he couldn't find anyone following. It is not because he is a bad person, he is simply using poor skills in leadership.

I am enjoying the book Sue gave me entitled "The Leadership Skills of Billy Graham." It is so interesting to see him at work in a way one would never see him in a crusade. Dr. Graham has been included in "Good Housekeeping's" most-admired list for decades. It appears that every person on that list is a positive person. When we think of Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and my friend Dr. Arthur L. Mallory, we think of positive persons. It is interesting to discover that Dr. Graham's family nicknamed him "Puddleglum." Puddleglum is a character in C.S. Lewis's book series, the Chronicles of Narnia. Puddleglum is a brave but glum creature, always expecting the worst. Graham's family used this name for him with humor and affection.

Dr. Mallory told a group of Christians that he learned long ago that if he went into his job as president of a university or commissioner of education in a bad mood that some employee would have to go home with a bad headache or and upset stomach. Mallory, IKE, and JFK used engaging smiles to make people feel better and let them know that they were worthwhile employees and that went a long way in their success as leaders.

One of my teachers in high school wrote in my yearbook: "Keep that big smile, it's an invaluable asset." In leadership, it is an asset.

Real Leadership is Hard to Find

2007-04-05T10:33:00.000-07:00

A number of years ago, a young man who took over the presidency of Missouri's second largest university at age 31, was confronted by his dad with this proposal: 'Why don't you take a cut in pay, mow your own lawn, and prepare your own meals and provide some leadership in education?" Dr. Arthur L. Mallory left Missouri State University and became the best commissioner of education Missouri has ever had. Following his tenure as commissioner, Arthur became president of the Missouri Baptist Convention where he again provided great leadership.

Dr. Mallory is a servant leader and a dedicated Christian. His entire family serves our Lord in various capacities and it was a privilege for me as Chairman of the Missouri Higher Education Authority (MOHELA) to give him a plaque indicating our appreciation for his leadership to Missouri students and families.

Sue recently gave me a book entitled "The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham." I have not completed reading this accounting of Dr. Graham's leadership, but what I have read suggests that he was not much of a speaker or leader until he gave himself totally to Christ. Could this be the key to great leadership? When you study leadership, very little credit is given to Jesus as a leader; however, even if you take the fact that He was the Son of God out of the equation, the fact remains that more that 2000 years after he lived, more that 75% of American adults claim belief in His deity and more that 2 billion folks worldwide claim that same belief.

Rick Warren is pastor of a church that has 70,000 believers. When you look at the ministries of Dr. Warren and Dr. Graham, you must conclude that these folks have some special abilities in the way of leadership. President Woodrow Wilson said: "Absolute identity with one's cause is the first and great condition of leadership." Jim Collins, who authored "Good to Great," said this: "We were surprised, shocked really to discover that real leadership requires a paradoxical blend of humility and 'ferocious resolve.'"

The world tries to keep the leadership of ministers, preachers, and popes in the church. Sadly, we as believers often do the same. But when you think about it, the greatest leaders in our world are believers. You and I might be one of those hard to find leaders if we would do what Billy Graham did a long time ago - give ourselves totally to God.

TRANSFORMATION

2007-03-31T18:47:00.000-07:00

When Sue comes home from Nashville, she usually heads straight to the bed to recover from a lack of sleep and a time of continuously being on the move. While in TN, she keeps a rather hectic schedule and when she arrives home, I endeavor to make home a quiet place with little responsibility for her.

This past week, Sue came home on Thursday evening and was totally wiped out. I told her she should go to bed without an exact time to get up. She could actually just become a part of the bed. No interruptions. This usually gets her revived for another trip to Music City.

Friday, however, was a different story. We got in my car and headed for Springfield, MO. Some of our friends invited us down for the Gaither Homecoming program that was to be held in the Hammonds Student Center, home of the Missouri State University basketball Bears. Holly used to cheer in this building when she was a Suger Bear (we have some nice pictures). Usually when you go to the Hammonds Center, you go for a basketball game. Concessions, ushers, usherettes, band, cheerleaders, NCAA banners hanging fomr the ceiling along with the jerseys of players whose numbers have been retired. The arena is an intimate setting for basketball. Tonight, however, there was no basketball in Hammonds. Ernie Haase provided tickets for Sue and me (a big thanks to Ernie) and we were about six rows from the stage on the floor. During the evening, we were blessed by the singing of Joy Gardner, Lynda Randall, Russ Taeff, Ben Speer, Jeff and Sheri Easter, Signature Sound and the Gaither Vocal Band. Jeff and Sheri sang a song that Simon Hawkins and Twila Labar wrote and we were excited about that for both of them. Then Jeff began to talk about a special song that became a number one song for them and was written by a lady by the name of Sue Smith who was present for the concert. That was really special and brought tears to my eyes.

As good as that was, it was not the highlight for me. When the homcoming friends sang "We Are Standing On Holy Ground," I was reminded that a basketball arena had been transformed into a holy place, not by flowers, special lighting, or anything like that, but the very presence of Jesus who made the difference. He can take an arena and make it a very special spiritual place. Miraculously, He can do the same thing with a life who will allow Him to do so. That is amazing!

FEELINGS IN GROWING OLDER

2007-03-24T09:28:00.000-07:00

As a young person, I observed people dying, both senior and young, but I really did not stop to consider what life would be like as I entered those latter years. When I was younger, I kept making plans for the future such as buying a home, getting a new car, possible career change, taking care of my children, crossing paths with the "right" people, how best to serve the Lord, dealing with parents who were getting close to the end, etc. Now as I enter the latter phases of life on this planet, making plans for what is left in life is taking a turn I never considered until recently. About two months ago, I broke off a piece of a tooth that anchored my bridge. That led me to consider how much money I wanted to invest in my mouth. Instead of thinking about buying new things, I am thinking my present car may be my last. I find myself thinking I have accomplished so little with the talent God has provided and that makes me sad. For the umpteenth time, I saw the ending of the movie, "For the Love of the Game." This is story about an older pitcher who played for the Detroit Tigers and was played by Kevin Costner. In the movie, Costner goes by the name of Billy Chapel and he is pitching a perfect game against the New York Yankees in the House that Ruth Built, Yankee Stadium (The great announcer Vince Skully said the Cathedral of Yankee Stadium became a Chapel during that game). In this game, Costner reflects on events in his life and finally realizes his need for his girlfriend (Kelly Preston) and his desire to spend the rest of his life with her. Previously, she had told him that he did not need her. The story ends with Costner telling her that after pitching the perfect game, this moment should have been the happiest time of his life, but because she was not there it was far less than that and he realized his need for her to be part of his life. The story ends with passionate kissing in the JFK airport.

This made me think again of how important Jesus is and how he has prepared the future for my latter days. God has been so good to me. Only He could have worked out my meeting Sue and blending our families so successfully. In our family, no one was ever called "step" anything. Jamie, Rick, and Holly were and are brother and sisters. Sue was mom and I was dad. Our children and grandchildren continue to be so precious. Holly will give us another granddaughter in July. Sue's writing career is more that we could have planned. I am involved professionally with folks I would never have thought possible. My friend Ed Watkins and I have some plans for educational institutions we believe will be of signiicant help in shaping education in public schools. Ken McClure, a long-time friend, continues to open doors for me. I just visited with Dr. Arthur Mallory who is one of my two heroes and that was special. Our WAJ workshop, under Sue's direction, is fourishing and assisting so many in their pursuit of serving God as a writer. Although I have some health concerns. the important things are good and I can still go on our patio and shoot baskets pretty well. I have no idea how my life will end, but as the song writer once penned, "I know not what the future holds, but I know who holds the future." His name is Jesus.

A Day with Rick Warren and Governor Matt Blunt

2007-03-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday began at 5 am when I had to roll out of bed and go to St. Louis for the Greater St. Louis Prayer Breakfast. It is heralded as the largest prayer breakfast in the United States. My joy was to meet Rick Warren and greet Governor Matt Blunt of Missouri and introduce them to each other. Warren was just as advertised, kind, gentle, and very real. As usual, Governor Blunt, who is a very committed Christian, was his kind self.

The prayer breakfast was a very spiritual experience, with Old Testament and New Testament readings and a prayer that surely made its way to the Throne of Grace. Pastor Warren, in his address to the business leaders of St. Louis, emphasized the powerful role of the church in the 21st century and shared that the church is the only organization in the world that has the volunteer man (and woman) power to change the world.

Following the breakfast (by the way, the food was not that good), a press conference was held in a room at the America's Center which is attached to the Edward Jones Dome, the home of the St. Louis Rams. I had the privilege of introducing Pastor Warren and Governor Blunt to the press. There was lots of talk of volunteerism in the four county area adjacent to St. Louis. That area is called the Westplex and a study has been done regarding the number of volunteer hours given to the not-for-profit organizations in St. Charles, Warren, Franklin, and Linccoln Counties. Both Warren and Blunt are vitally interested in the volunteer effort.

Paastor Warren then made his way to meeting the college bound seniors who attend school in the public schools of St. Louis. In this meeting, he emphasized that each person had a purpose and each one had to find his purpose in life. In addition, he gave a copy of his book to each student in attendance (800). It was heard that a few teachers felt Warren's message was too religious and he was informed of this during the question and answer period. It was interesting that he closed in prayer, not only for the students, but also for the teachers. With the problems in urban public schools, the teachers' complaint was an example of the knats and alligators.

For me, the final session with Pastor Warren was at the Bogey Club where lunch was served and he proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus to the affluent leaders of St. Louis. At the conclusion of time at the Bogey Club, Warren gave the audience a chance to ask him any question they had. He was a man with a message and was genuine in his every endeavor.

P.S. Pastor Warren gave each person at the breakfast and the Bogey Club a copy of the "Purpose Driven Life."

Will We Ever Learn to Listen?

2007-03-04T13:01:00.000-08:00

Dr. David McAlpin is our pastor. He is a gifted communicator and a better person. Today he shared something about listening and that trigerred some thoughts of mine.

One of the great faults of the American citizenry is that we don't really listen to each other. Much of the time we are wanting to interrupt with our special "expertise" about whatever the subject might be. Failing to listen to what is being said and endeavoring to understand what the speaker is saying is a large part of the reason there are so many divorces in our country. In Congress, Republicans do not listen to Democrats and Democrats do not listen to Republicans. Each party is so intent on pushing its agenda that they act as though no good idea can come from the opposing party. If you are a Republican, certainly no good idea ever came from a Democrat, and if you are a Democrat, Republicans are clueless. Liberals do not listen to conservatives and conservatives do not listen to liberals. Is it any wonder that we are in such a mess in Iraq!

James 1:19 say this: "My dear brothers (and sisters), take note of this: Everyone should be quick to LISTEN." On our way home from church this morning, I said to Sue that the art of listening should be taught in our schools. I don't remember hearing anything about that until graduate school in the counseling curriculum. Upon returning home, I looked in Anita Woolfolk's "Educational Psychology" textbook that I used to teach a class of that name, and I found these thoughts on page 488 entitled "Reaching Every Student:"

"Mrs. Perez and her fourth-grade class are working on a unit on social skills in social studies. They are learning the skill of LISTENING to someone who is talking by doing the following:

1. Look at the person who is talking.
2. Remember to sit quietly.
3. Think about what is being said.
4. Say yes or nod your head.
5. Ask a question about the topic to find out more.

According to the text, that came from "Including Students with Special Needs: A Practical Guide for Classroom Teachers' by Marilyn Friend and William D. Bursick.

Those social skills should be taught to presidents, senators, representatives, governors, music writers, husbands, wives, boys, girls, dogs and cats. Every person in America needs to be taught these social skills and apply them in their activities.

In leadership, I teach that LISTENING is the first characteristic of a serving leader because of its importance. A nation's policies would be altered, friendships would be strengthened, marriages would find healing, writers would have more patience, and the United States would be a greater country if these "special education" truths were practiced.

Will you give real listening a try? It might be surprising what you will learn.

CHANGES IN THE WAY WE DO THINGS

2007-02-28T15:07:00.000-08:00

God bless the teachers in the United States. As I have watched the teaching profession evolve while being a part of that endeavor, and as president of a board of education, I am glad I do not have to put up with all the nonsense that spews out of mouths that reside in Washington and in state capitals. Boards of Education are responsible for many problems in education because it appears that some members are more interested in seeing their names in print and their image on television than making sure young people are given a good education. There was, of course, a time in education that the teacher knew more than the student, and parents were very supportive of the teacher. Sadly, that day is long gone and everyone knows more about teaching than the teacher. I have said for several years that the two greatest assets a school district has are its students and its teachers. We can have school without a board, superintendent and principal, but we cannot have school without a teacher and a student. In spite of this, many districts treat teachers in a negative way rather than assist them in making their task easier.

As I look at the church and see the great diversity in styles of worship, dress, music, and preaching styles, I wonder where we are going. The Muslim world appears to be more united in what they believe and have no toleration for disrespect to their god. Do you ever wonder if modern day Christianity has the intestinal fortitude to stand face to face with the fanatics of this terrorist threat? I marvel that many of our missionaries put their lives on the line on a daily basis. Am I willing to do that? Little by little, we see the opportunities we once had taken away in the name of political correctness. When I was in elementary school, we had a Christmas program in which all students wore white. My earliest remembrance of "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful" was not from singing it in church, but as the students marched into the gym for that program at school. In high school, at Christmas time, we used to roll the piano out into the hall, sit on the steps and sing Christmas Carols. At the time I thought nothing about one of my really good friends being subject to those special times for me since he was Jewish. He never said a word about it one way or the other. I was certainly insensitive to his needs and beliefs.

We do need boards of education, superintendents, and principals. They certainly have a lot on their plates; however, they need to do everything they can to make teaching more enjoyable and let the teachers know they are doing everything they can to be supportive. That would be a great change. We also need to be more caring in regard to the religious beliefs of friends who do not believe like we believe.

In the 21st century church, the way we worship doesn't have to be the way we used to do it. Mordern day music in the church is certainly drawing people; people do not dress up to go to chruch, it is casual. Many folks like that. Praise and worship is not new. The church has been doing that for centuries. It is just different from days gone by. What is important in church? The important aspect of worship is that "Jesus Christ is the same today, yesterday, and forever." We may change the way we worship, but God forbid that we ever attempt to change that eternal truth. May we never be afraid of change if it is necessary, but let us resolve that God's Word is eternal. As the song writer once penned: "He Never changes."

DREAMS OFTEN TAKE DIFFERENT ROADS

2007-02-23T12:53:00.000-08:00

Throughout my life I have had personal dreams as well as dreams for the institutions with which I have had interest. As a teenager, I used to dream of singing and playing the piano with a gospel quartet. I loved the Sensational Statesmen and the world famous Blackwood Brothers. On the athletic side, I used to dream of playing baseball and basketball with some of the great players. Although I played high school football, I knew there was no possibility of even having a dream to play in college. At Baylor University, I was the voice of the Baylor Bears' baseball team. I knew I was the Harry Caray or Jack Buck of the Southwest Conference. In elementary school into high school and even into college, I dreamed of being the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals and broadcasting their games on the 50,000 watts of clear channel radio. WOW!

Life hasn't exactly turned out like I had dreamed, but it has taken turns that brought some of the early dreams into a different reality. Although never singing or playing the piano regularly for a major quartet, I have had the privilege of appearing with those groups on stage as a member of One Accord. I have never had the experience of playing baseball and basketball with the great players, but I have had the privilege of knowing Stan Musial, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith, Ricky Horton, and Albert Pujols. I have not had the privilege of broadcasting the games of the Cardinals, but I have met the present announcers, Mike Shannon and John Rooney.

For serveral years, Sue and I talked about developing a workshop to assist people who had the dream to be a Christian song writer and help them develop. In reality, Write About Jesus has been more than that. Not only do registrants have the opportunity to learn a great deal about the craft, they get to interact with fellow registrants and the great Christian writers who make up the WAJ faculty. Many times registrants talk about the clinicians who "open their lives for others to see." Is WAJ what we dreamed? NO, it is much better. Isn't that just like God. You have dreams and He makes them better than you dreamed. I would not change the way things have turned out even though they are not what I envisioned.

Today, I have the opportunity to dream for the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA). This organization has been and continues to be a blessing for many folks. As Chairman of the Board, I have the privilege of dreaming of a direction no one has yet dared to go. It will be interesting to see how God directs this. After all, He is the one who put me here.

The End of the Beginning

2007-02-06T14:18:00.000-08:00

All my life I have anticipated the future and wondered what God had for me in the days ahead. Educationally, I have endured several institutions, most of which have contributed something to my life. When I was drafted into the United States Army, I was confused about what God wanted. Little did I realize that this would be a tremendous experience that would reshape my focus and direction. I have stated many times that graduating from college has opened more doors, but the time spent in service for our country did more for me personally.
The first Sunday, I went to chapel and Chaplain John H. Brown spoke to a chapel full of individuals who had just entered the army. A great message from a man of God was not anticipated, but was experienced. I did not realize that this was the beginning of a special friendship that would redirect my life. This man, Chaplain Brown, preached the Word of God to countless numbers of soldiers and brought inspiration to many who thought their lives were at a standstill. For me, it was the road to Baylor and the good things that awaited me there.
The years following have been interesting, rewarding, and more numerous than I can believe. A divorce moved me across the state of Missouri and the beginning of the One Accord ministry. Who would have guessed that this would become a ministry that would take me all across America and other countries. Who would have guessed that I would have a blind date with Sue that would lead to blending our families. Soon after our marriage, we sang to 2600 single adults at Ridgecrest, NC and in order to hopefully encourage many of those who were "single again," we shared our testimony. Not only did Sue and I share, each of our children told how much they wanted this marriage to happen.
I will always remember encouraging Sue to quit her teaching job and give her full attention to writing about Jesus (Sounds like a good name for a workshop). Observing how hard she has worked and the many great things she has accomplished continues to be incredibly inspirational.
Becoming the administrator of Living Word Christian School and having the opportunity to grow that institution was a challenge to move that little know school from near obscurity to a place of respect. We grew from 230 students to more than 700 in four years, built a new high school and began a second elementary school.
Now, although I feel God still has some good things there for me, I am beginning to think about the end of this life. Not very many years left for me. How do I prepare for passing from this life? How much money should I spend on my teeth? Is this the last car I will buy? What about the need to leave instructions regarding my funeral? What things can I say to my children and grandchildren that will help them? Make sure Sue knows about the various things I have taken care of that she takes for granted and may not know when and how to do them. Make sure I have more assets than liabilities. Will I get to see my grandchildren grow to adulthood? Will my health hold out?
I could go on with this kind of thinking; however, I have made certain of the most important thing. I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal saviour and I know He will take care of the beginning that follows the end. Is that not great assurance! I know that "Jesus Paid it all and all to Him I Owe." That knowledge allows me to not understand the future, but believe it and accept it. The end of the beginning is not that bad.

Quotes from Ann Graham Lotz

2007-02-04T07:07:00.000-08:00

... from Just Give Me Jesus
“When we face an impossible situation, all self-reliance and self-confidence must melt away; we must be totally dependent on Him (Jesus) for the resources.”
“Like Moses, do you respond basically, ‘Here I am , Lord, send Aaron!?’”
“Jesus has given me ample resources to meet the spiritual needs of others because He has given me Himself and He has give me His Word. But in order to meet the spiritual needs of the multitude, I have to spend hours alone with Him in the prayerful meditation of His Word so that my spiritual needs are met.”
“Don’t concentrate on what you lack, concentrate on what you have. Then give all of it to Jesus for His use.”
“It is very humbling to admit that all I have to offer Jesus is ‘five loaves and two fish.”
“Remember the servants at the wedding in Cana? They had the thrill of knowing firsthand that water went into the pitcher, but wine came out.”
“There are times I have been afraid to step out and offer Jesus the little bit that I have, because everyone would know I only have a little bit!”
“No one would have even known a miracle had taken place, except that Jesus had lifted up five loaves and two fish in front of everyone when He asked His Father’s blessing.”
“How had He accomplished the miracle? The formula is really quite simple. The disciples gave it all. Jesus took it all. God blessed it all.”
“The wonder is that when I gave it all to Jesus, He accepted it!”
“Twelve baskets of leftovers!....There could be no coincidence or mistake in the fact that there was obviously one basket of bread for each of the twelve disciples.”
“In the end, the disciples had more than they had in the beginning!”
“The same God who performed a miracle at the wedding in Cana is our God today. But we have to give Him absolute authority and freedom to act.”
The book entitled “Just Give Me Jesus,” by Ann Graham Lotz is terrific. I believe it will help you in your Christian journey. Give it a try.