August 29, 2012

1. I plan on writing more about my feelings on the death of Neil Armstrong in my weekly Monday blog–MARK’S REMARKS. For now I will simply say that I am pleased so many people in our nation, and in the world, have taken time to write marvelous things about a remarkable, yet modest, man. I think I feel sad that Neil Armstrong will not live to see the 50th anniversary celebration of Man walking on the moon.

2. I read Peter King’s blog every week. This is his account of how his latest conversation ended with one of the men I have admired from childhood—the great Green Bay Packer quarterback of the 1960s—Bart Starr. After a long phone interview, Starr told King, "Thanks for listening to me. You and your family have a very nice day."

            King went on to reflect, “I wonder now, and I've wondered after my six or eight encounters with Starr over the years: Has a classier man played in the NFL?”

3. Whatever happened to political conventions? From my childhood to recent memory, watching the Democratic and Republican National Conventions was essential television…every four years. Last week, I was caught by surprise to discover that the Republican Convention would begin on Sunday. It was off my radar. I think that with the vice presidential candidates being named before the conventions begin (not to mention the identity of the presidential candidates being a foregone conclusion), the conventions have turned in long infomercials.

4. RIP Phyllis Diller. She was one of the funniest comedians ever, and she did a great job of making fun of her own looks. She also offered great comedy when it came to the family. She had a lot of great lines; one of my favorites: “I want my children to have all the things I couldn't afford. Then I want to move in with them.”

5. Recently, a friend of mine named John Carpenter loaned me his copy of the book UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand. I had heard quite a bit about it, considering the fact that the book has been on the nonfiction bestseller lists for 90 weeks now. I'm sure they’re many reasons for this, one of them being that—as the title implies–Louie Zamperini was a man whose spirit could not be broken.

            Zamperini was one of America’s greatest runner in the 1930s. He had run in the Berlin Olympics in 1936.

            World War II erupted and Louie volunteered. He was assigned to a U.S. bomber squadron. His plane was shot down and crashed into the Pacific Ocean, and Louie spent weeks with two of his crewmates floating on two rafts. Fighting off starvation, dehydration, and sharks, one of the crewmates ultimately died. But Louie his other companion survived and landed on a Japanese occupied Island.

            They were transported to a prisoner-of-war camp. Believe it or not, floating on a raft in the Pacific was preferable to the brutality of the prison camps. Indescribable acts were committed against the prisoners. I personally cannot comprehend how Louie was able to survive his ordeal. However, he somehow did.

            Returning from the war with the Allied army victorious, Louie struggled as he tried to reconnect with society. Although he married a wonderful woman, he could not overcome his feelings of guilt for having survived and shame for having endured (the acts of degradation against him.)

            His life changed forever when his wife visited Billy Graham Crusade. Convicted by Christ, she irritated him by constantly asking Louie to come to the Crusade with her. Ultimately he attended, albeit with great hostility.

            During the invitation, Louie was ready to depart the meeting in a rage, when he remembered a promise he made to the Lord years before: he would serve God forever if He would rescue him from that raft floating so helplessly on the Pacific Ocean. Title notwithstanding, I suppose you might say this was one event where Louie was broken–by God.

            Because of Louie’s pain and suffering, this book is not an easy read, but it is a gripping one. If you are one of the few in America who has not read this book, I would encourage you to do so.

  

*Thanks to Peter King for the inspiration for this blog's title.

August 21, 2012

1. I think the Shiloh Road elders are remarkable. They have committed our congregation to engage in an elder selection process every four years. My stepping down from the pulpit would have given them an excuse to prolong that process, since we're now in the third year of our current elders’ service. However, they believed that to properly prepare the way for the preacher selection, it would be necessary to decide who the next set of elders will be. Consequently, it was announced Sunday at Shiloh that we are beginning a new elder selection process one year early. I commend our elders.

2. I like the song “Some Nights” by the group FUN; I like the video better.

3. We sure come up with some weird nicknames in our nation’s high schools. This from SI’s Peter King: “Yuma (Ariz.) Criminals. Love Yuma High's website: ‘Proud Home of the Criminals.’”

            That ranks right up there with the Celeste Blue Devils in beautiful Celeste, TX. Why in the world would a God-fearing town call their sweet boys and girls “devils”?            

            My favorite mascot is actually a college one. Wake Forest is a private university affiliated with the Baptist church. So whose idea was it to make their nickname the Demon Deacons? My guess is it was an angry pastor.

4. I think there is no better group to preach to than a congregation that is predominately African-American. Last Sunday night, I was privileged to be invited to preach at the North Tennaha congregation here in Tyler. The singing was amazing (I still hear some of their hymns in my head), and I love how they verbally encourage you as you speak. Thanks to all of those who participated Sunday evening.

5. A recently released book called THE PRESIDENTS CLUB is one that I think would be entertaining to a wide audience. Written by TIME reporters Nancy Gibbs, and Michael Duffy, this book is a rich history of the relationships ex-presidents have had with each other, beginning with Herbert Hoover all the way through George W. Bush. Well researched, the book is also replete with many anecdotes that demonstrate the humanity of all of the men who have so far served in that austere office.

            One of the more interesting areas of research pertained to the subject of-drum roll please-treason. The authors contend that both Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter were guilty of committing treason.

            Before he was elected to office in 1968, Richard Nixon used information concerning the Vietnam War, which President Johnson had presented to him in private briefings, and used it to his advantage. Through back channel negotiations with South Vietnamese leaders, Nixon promised to cut a better deal with them after the election.

            That knowledge probably motivated the South Vietnamese leadership from joining representatives from the United States and North Vietnam at the peace table, which may well have decided an extremely close election. More importantly, Nixon had no right as a private citizen to interfere with U. S. foreign policy, which is exactly what he did.

            Carter’s interference concerned going rogue on a diplomatic mission to North Korean president Kim Il-sung in 1994.

            In a very tense situation involving atomic energy and North Korea's potential to create nuclear weapons, Carter violated then President Clinton's instructions and cut a deal based upon his own opinions. Clinton and his national security team were incensed; yet, placed in a difficult position, they had to refrain from letting the world know what had truly occurred. Carter was not executing presidential foreign policy; he was formulating U. S. foreign policy.

            Probably the most heartwarming chapter in this 527-page book was on the relationship between George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, after both completed their presidencies. Overcoming the baggage of serving in different parties, not to mention the fact that Clinton had defeated Bush in 1992, the two men have grown quite close during the last decade. (Part of the credit goes to George W. Bush, who brought the two together to fund for disaster relief.)

            This is not a “public relations” relationship. Not only has Clinton grown close to the elder Bush, he has also grown close to the Bush family. Together they have raised hundreds of millions of dollars for victims of natural disasters.

            The book is available online, in your local bookstores, and also in your public library, which is where I found my copy.

*Thanks to Peter King for the inspiration for this blog's title.

August 14, 2012

1. November will get here soon enough, but I am eagerly anticipating the November 16^th release of the movie LINCOLN. Stephen Spielberg is directing this motion picture, and he is focusing strictly on the last four months of the 16^th president’s life. Word is LINCOLN is based upon Doris Kearns Goodwin’s award-winning-book TEAM OF RIVALS.

2. This may be a good sign for the future of the space program–more than 23 million people watched NASA’s live streaming of the landing of the “Curiosity” on Mars. I would love to see humans land on Mars in my lifetime.

3. Judy and I got a chance to take three of our four kids to NASA the week before last. Let me tell you, if you have kids, it is a great place to go.

            Don’t miss the tour that takes you to the old Mission Control.             

            Timothy and I obsessed over trying to a land space shuttle simulator, which is a lot harder than you would think.

            Of course, I’m an old-school junkie, so I loved looking at the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space capsules.

            Meanwhile, my kids were mega-impressed by the 363-foot-long Saturn Five rocket. Inside the building where they housed the rocket, NASA has posted nice summaries of each Apollo mission. This allowed me to sow the seeds to show Timothy and Annie the Tom Hanks’ miniseries FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON, which I hope to do soon.

            Last night, our family watched APOLLO 13 together. (If you have younger kids, be aware of the language… and a couple of scenes you’ll want to fast forward. The scenes are no worse than commercials you see today, but who says the commercials today are good for television?)

            I loved the movie and the book it is based upon. Here’s a little behind-the-scenes nugget–Ron Howard created much of the crew’s conflict in the movie for the purpose of dramatic tension. The real-life crew was much more calm than the portrayal. As for Hanks’ miniseries, based upon the Apollo space program, it is much more kid friendly, much cleaner, and much more spiritual.

4. If you ever get the chance, tour the BATTLESHIP TEXAS located near Houston. On the NASA trip, Judy and I took the kids to see the old vessel commissioned in 1912. I am amazed at how far below deck the ship extends. You can tour the depths of the ship, and the heights—all the way up into some of the crows’ nests. It staggers me to think about sailors traveling on that ship 100 years ago.

5. In addition to what I wrote two weeks ago, here are some of the things I liked about the 2012 Olympics:

A. Michael Phelps. I feel like he is the greatest Olympian of all time. He’s won more medals than anyone else and more gold medals than anyone else. Moreover, for someone who is so obviously competitive, he seems to have a balanced view toward life.

            In 2009 and 2010, Phelps barely trained. After his first loss in this year’s games, Phelps did not pull his hair out and lament his misfortune. He took responsibility and announced that, considering the work he put in, he got what he deserved.

            For example, Phelps through the years has also demonstrated more of the Olympic Spirit than I have given him credit for. I had not remembered that in the 2004 Olympic Games, Phelps gave up his spot on a relay team (sure to win a gold medal) to allow an older swimmer the chance to win his first gold medal. Gold medals are hard to come by. (I know; I still have not won my first.) Yet Phelps was willing to sacrifice for a teammate.

B. Oscar Pistorius. How did he do it? How did he run on those prosthetic legs? And the speed with which he ran… amazing!

C. Kirani James. Yes, he won the gold medal in the 400 meters. However, he also reminded us of the original dream of the Olympic Games: athletes competing at their highest level in the spirit of sportsmanship. It was moving to see James, after his semi-final win, ask Oscar Pistorius to exchange identification tags. Furthermore, he then symbolically removed himself from the Olympic Stadium spotlight and placed Pistorius in it. Truly touching. 

*Thanks to Peter King for the inspiration for this blog's title.