Dan's Thoughts

Trish #53

Today I have been trying to respond to your emails. About fifty of you wrote to comment on Trish’s decision to run in the Phoenix marathon and quite a large number of pledges which we did not expect so soon. One of you asked, “Is she going to run in Nashville too?” The answer is “yes.” Her therapist believes that these marathons are tangible goals that are good for her morale and ongoing therapy. Friday, we will see if her doctor agrees with this, and we believe he will.

Wherever we have been all over Nashville today, people have stopped to ask us about Trish’s decision. One young lady in her twenties said, “Trish, you are my inspiration. If you can run after all you have been through, then I can do what I need to do.” As we were walking away, I heard Trish say softly, “thank you Jesus!” (That’s better than what she said the day it really dawned on her what she had committed herself to do!)

But isn’t this the way it is supposed to happen? Isn’t one of the gifts of maturing the joy of seeing younger people being impacted by your life? As St. Paul was teaching about Communion, he said this: “I delivered unto you that which also I received.” In other words, what I am saying and doing is nothing that special. I learned it from someone.

Several times in his career, C. S. Lewis laughed about his reputation as a creative writer. He realized that he was often merely paraphrasing and simplifying the thoughts of others. He knew that his success was based upon his ability to make eternal truths fresh for a new generation. It’s a god thing to know. Knowing that is what caused Trish to turn the corner after hearing that young lady say, “you are my inspiration” and say to her Lord, “thank you Jesus!” After all, she is only delivering “that which she has received.”

Yesterday I wrote to you about Charles Green. I’m afraid I spent the entire email talking about his age. I’m not sure that was right. OK, so he’s seventy-nine and still rides a motorcycle. The question is, since he is preaching a series of meetings at our church, “Can he still preach?”

Well, yes, he can. Last night I was trying to figure out where he was going at first. Then he started quoting the entire first chapter of the book of Hebrews. He said that we would know all we needed to know about God even if the entire Bible disappeared except for that particular passage from Hebrews. Then he proceeded to demonstrate his point.

I said he “quoted” the passage. That doesn’t do justice to his message. His annunciation and inflection made one almost believe that the author of the Hebrews was addressing us directly. As he quoted the passage, I noticed something else: a spiritual force that made my soul feel alive. The writer of the Hebrews (every time I use that phrase our Sr. Pastor, L.H. Hardwick, shouts out loud “PAUL!” He has been doing that since I first started working with him twenty-one years ago. But I digress!)

Charles Green is a representative of a generation whose ministers who are mostly retired now. To hear him is a real privilege then since the voice of that generation is getting increasingly scarce.

I thought about that today as I watched my son-in-law study. He is an incredible expositor of scripture, despite his young age and is currently finishing his bachelors at Belmont. He wants to go to Vanderbilt for his Masters in classical studies. So a new generation of ministry is emerging before my eyes. There is precious little time for Pastor Green’s generation to “deliver that which they have received” to people like my son-in-law.

So what is it exactly that I want them to deliver to him?

I said yesterday that what I really like about Pastor Green is the spiritual quality that seems to flow from him. It is a result, I think, of a lifetime of being on an adventure with God. One doesn’t do that without making up his or her mind everyday to turn from pettiness and offense, from fear and competition – all those natural human things – and just keep “being imitators of those who through faith and patience, inherit the promises.” When people have been able to do this, they have something to give to the rest of us.

Trish made a decision this week. She didn’t shake kingdoms. She didn’t overturn governments. She didn’t write a world-class novel. She just decided to run a marathon to raise money for a Haitian hospital.

Last year, as she lay in a coma and the social workers prepared to talk to our family about donating her organs, a Mexican cleaning lady laughed and said, “this woman will live and will be completely restored. Jesus told me!” Something flowed out of the cleaning lady and into us.

Today, a young lady said to Trish, "you are my inspiration!”

Trish is delivering that which she received. That’s what we are all supposed to do and it is the only way, that the world is spiritually renewed. It’s a pretty important job.

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Please remember that we are not going to send out any more of these emails as a mass mailing from our church. If you want to read them, simply pull up our webpage listed below, look for the words “DAN”S THOUGHTS,” and click on those words. You are always welcome to send them to others. In a couple of days, we will have the entire collection of emails about Trish as well as those about Montelle Hardwick. I will try to write everyday or nearly everyday. And don’t hesitate to write me about any of your thoughts or questions. dan@christchurchnashville.org

Dan