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.