IsaiahSix.org

There are people in each of our lives for whom we would go to great lengths to show our appreciation for all the time and energy they have invested in our lives. One such individual in my life is my major professor from seminary. Without his taking me¹ under his wing, I would never have had the ability to head a fine arts department or teach at the university level. He’s the closest thing to a mentor I have. And he’s retiring this year.

I learned of a retirement reception in his honor, which is to be held March 8, only last Thursday. After getting all the necessary scheduling kinks out of the way, I determined tonight I would be able to attend the reception. The only problem is, I’m now less than two weeks away from the travel dates. Airline tickets will be at a premium. A much higher premium than I can afford while maintaining good stewardship. So, I try looking up prices at a site I’ve never used before, Priceline.com, where you can name your own price. I enter my travel dates and a pretty low ticket price; they don’t like my price for flying out of Charleston but they say that if I’m willing to fly out of Greenville (four hours northwest of Charleston), they’ll accept my offer. Here’s the catch: if you name your own price at Priceline.com, you don’t get a choice of departure times. They choose your times for you. You can fly as early as 5:30am or as late as 10:00pm. And if you agree to that principle, you enter your credit card number and you’re locked in to whatever they come back with. Still, it’s a great price on the tickets and, after all, how early will they really make me fly? Right? Out of all the flights they offer throughout the day, what are the chances I’m going to get a ridiculously early flight out?

Apparently very high! My flight out of Greenville is wheels up at 6:00 in the morning! I land in Dallas/Fort Worth at 7:45 (DFW time). Even with the hour time difference, I will have flown more than 1000 miles and arrived in another timezone before the start of business. Well, that’s just bad luck. Surely my flight back has to be at a better time. Pretend I’m screaming that big X sound you hear on game shows, because I fly out of DFW on Saturday at 6:45am. Again, another 1000 miles in the air and my family will be able to pick me up at the airport in time to get breakfast together!!

Okay, back to the point of the trip. I’m going to reconnect with someone very important to me. And that makes all the other stuff worthwhile. I’m grateful to God for friends and mentors and family who enhance the lives of those around them. I pray I am able to return that favor to someone else’s life.

1. And four other guys at the time. We all remain close in spirit, if not in proximity. [back]

The Episcopal Church in the United States is facing a great deal of controversy lately. Much of the controversy?if not all of it?is perhaps well-deserved. Compromises of biblical truths have cast the denomination into a heap of criticism; it seems that many of the church’s leaders on a national level have abdicated their responsibility to hold the truths of doctrine in proper tension with social justice. In other words, in their eyes, social justice must be sought at all costs, even at the expense of the Word.

In many respects, we have much to learn from those espousing social justice. Jesus demanded it and we must seek it and provide it wherever and whenever possible. Evangelicals haven’t typically been very good on this front. So it isn’t the idea of social justice that bothers us; it is the Episcopal leaders’ view of just what social justice is that gets them into trouble.

I will occasionally receive an invitation to sing in a special service or concert from various local conductors. One of the invitations I receive on a pretty consistent basis is extended by the organist-choir master at a local Episcopal church. Last Friday evening, this church was the host for the final worship service presided over by South Carolina’s retiring Bishop. The homilest (preacher, for all you Southern Baptists) proved that not all Episcopal ministers?or churches, for that matter?are fairly lumped into the same mold as the controversial leaders of their denomination.

His sermon was unapologetically centered on Jesus Christ. He shared about several instances where he has been able to go into various speaking engagements and share the true gospel. The message was solid and encouraging on many different levels.

My wife and I have a friend who is an Episcopal priest currently serving as a chaplain at a children’s home. In all of my conversations with him, he has been rock solid in his beliefs and in more ways than one has proven that, when it comes to doctrinal beliefs and vocational ministry, the only thing he and I don’t have in common is the fact that I don’t wear a clerical collar.

So when you see news stories about all of the angst and controversy miring down the national Episcopal Church, remember that what you see and hear does not characterize all Episcopalians. And pray for your Episcopal brothers and sisters.

As one Episcopal youth minister said in a meeting I was in once, ?Contrary to what you see on the news, some Episcopalians still love Jesus.? Indeed, and contrary to what a lot of Baptists think, there will be Episcopalians in Heaven.

Tonight I sang in a worship service at a local church (more about that later) and I saw this sign in a hallway. I literally laughed out loud.

Places God
Meets Us

Upstairs and to the left

Scot McKnight posts a moving letter he received recently.