The Checkered Flag

April 24, 2018

I often find life to be a balancing act between two equally desirable but mutually exclusive goals. I’ve been on a preaching schedule for nearly fifty years, having preached my first sermon on February 1, 1970. Even with time off for vacations, that’s a lot of sermons, and a lot of sermon preparation time. For most of that time, my stomach would be so wound up on Sunday mornings that I wasn’t able to eat breakfast before preaching. So when I retired, I reveled in my newfound freedom and actually had Sunday morning breakfast. I had time to get caught up on some projects around the house, and even joined a concert band, picking up where I left off playing the bassoon, an instrument I hadn’t touched since high school.

Then, after three years of footloose and fancy free, I was asked to fill in for a couple Sundays last summer, and here I am, nine months later, still at it. It’s my own fault; I volunteered. The kicker is, I’m having fun with it. There is a tremendous amount of freedom in preaching when you don’t depend on it for your livelihood. I don’t have to put in the amount of time I give to it, and don’t feel the least bit guilty on those few occasions when I don’t show up at the office during the week. It does however, cut into that free time. The concert band is on hold, and it takes a bit of planning to get everything done around the house.

But I see the potential. The church I am supplying is in the middle of a changing neighborhood, and I am itching for the weather to break enough for me to get outside where the people are to see what we can make of our situation. Within walking distance are enough people to fill that sanctuary ten times over, and I want to see it happen. People need Christ, and we have what no one else is offering—eternal life and hope through Jesus. I am excited about the future. The retirement thing has been slowly moving to the back burner, and it’s almost completely off the stove right now. Reviving a church isn’t for the fainthearted or the lazy. It takes time and it takes work. I have the time and am ready for the work. 

A few years ago, Kyle Petty of the Petty NASCAR racing dynasty came to Jamestown at the invitation of the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame. He spoke about Victory Junction, a camp for chronically ill children that he and his wife support. These kids don’t get to do the things that most kids do, so this camp gives them and their families an experience that can be life-changing. Full medical facilities to deal with their unique issues, and camp activities for the entire family, all free of charge. Kyle’s son Adam had gotten involved in it before he was killed in a racing accident, and now Kyle and his wife have picked up the baton.

He told how he got involved. “When God gives you an opportunity, all you have to do is raise your hand and say, ‘Yes.’” That’s what he did, and it’s what I’ve done, and I am grateful tonight for the privilege of saying, “Yes.” I don’t know how my story will end, but I know I am going to go full bore for the finish line. Someone else may beat me out, but when the time comes, I want to be crossing that line on fumes. Right now, I still have plenty of gas in the tank and have the pedal to the floor. I’m always on the prowl for anyone who wants to jump in with me. I can’t promise we’ll be the first across the line, but I can say that you won’t forget the ride!