I am a fortunate man.  The man in this picture is my father.  Today is a special day for him.  

       Today is his 22nd birthday.  

That doesn't mean that he is 22 years old.  He is older than that but I would say that he has the inner attitude of someone who is 22 but with many more years of experience.  You can see his youthful attitude in this picture.

Why do I admire my father more than any other man?

He lives as a consistent Christian witness.  He makes being a Christian admirable and respectable.  He makes Jesus attractive by living a consistent Christian life.  There is no phoniness about him.  He doesn't say one thing and do another.

He has been a pastor all of his adult life.  He was my first pastor, my best pastor, and I was taught under his pastorate more than any other pastor in my life.  He taught me proper theology, filled my life with a love for the things of God and a love for people.  He taught me God's Word.  He taught me that everyone is one  heartbeat from eternity and needs to know about the salvation that God offers to every person thru Jesus.

He is a stark contrast to many pastors that I have met and the measure to whom I compare other pastors.  He doesn't preach one thing and then live another.

For example, some pastors I have met seem to have the attitude  "if you don't want to come to my church anymore, good luck to you."  I recall, when someone would leave my father's church (which was very rare), how he would visit the person, asking them to return, he would pray with them about their decision and would privately agonize in prayer about the person's decision.

In other words, he recognizes that being a pastor is a serious calling.  People's souls are on the line.  A good pastor cannot be cavalier about people's relationship with Christ and His church.  Being a pastor is serious business.

Before you think that my Dad is austere and overly serious, a real kill-joy, you also need to understand that he also gave me the ability to laugh.  I have incorporated most of his jokes into my repertoire (and my sons have as well).  

He helped me to see that a real Christian is a fun person.
A real Christian doesn't repel, but, rather, attracts people.
A real Christian is positive, even when things look bleak.  
A real Christian is consistent.
A real Christian is a real man.

Thanks, Dad.  You do well.

Happy Birthday!!

I was fortunate over the last three years to serve with our military in Germany.  My time there taught me two important lessons about being a gentleman.  One from a German and one from a U.S. Army Colonel.

I was on a German train traveling to a conference.  It was a bullet train and I reserved my seat (you have to pay extra to get a reservation).  When I got to my seat, a German man, a bit older than me, was sitting in my seat.  It didn't matter that there were other seats available, he was in MY seat and I had PAID for that seat.  I showed him my ticket and he got up and moved to an  empty seat.  What I didn't know was that he was sitting with his friends.  He moved across the aisle and continued his conversation.  I wasn't very friendly, I was upset that this guy could just sit in my seat.  But I put in my earphones, listened to my iPod and tried to not act angry.  As I sat there, listening to my CHRISTIAN music, God talked to me and said I was wrong.  I was full of myself and was not acting like Christ.  Finally, after several stops, I got up and went over to the man and apologized to him (in very broken German) and asked him to trade seats with me.  In perfect English, he said, "no, it was my fault.  It was my pleasure to let you sit there."  Now, I felt even more foolish.  This man said it was his "pleasure."  

On another occasion, I was at a US Military hotel in Seoul, Korea and I was standing at the deli, ordering a sandwich.  I noticed someone had taken the previous number and had thrown it on the ground.  I thought about picking it up, then I thought, "I didn't put it down there, I'm not picking it up."  I ordered  my sandwich and sat down.  Shortly after that, a Colonel came thru the line.  He saw the number that was on the ground and he bent over, picked it up and threw it away and then got back in line.  God spoke to me, He said, "so you thought you were too good to pick that up, huh?  Look at that Colonel.  Even though he is in charge and could have ordered a number of men to pick up that number, he did it himself."  Then I was reminded of the story of the Centurion in Matthew 8.  This Centurion was commended for his humility and faith.

So these two simple stories, I hope, help to spur you into thinking what it means to be a gentleman.  A gentleman thinks of others.  He doesn't get to thinking he is better than anyone else.  A gentleman doesn't think that he is above doing tasks that don't seem worthy.  

Yesterday at Target, when a woman ran over my toe with her shopping cart, I didn't erupt.  I told her not to worry about it.  When a man asked to sit next to me while I was waiting at the pharmacy for my prescription, I simply stated, "yes, it would be my pleasure."   

Are you willing to allow God to make you into a gentleman's gentleman?