Charles and Andy Stanley: A painful father and son relationship

     Today's story was written by CNN's John Blake. It is an intimate account of the complex and at times painful relationship between two icons of evangelical preaching: Charles Stanley and his son, Andy.
     I found Blake's effort to be thorough, fascinating, and engrossing. And for any preachers out there who think that creating large churches or cultivating a huge readership is the key to experiencing a happy life, this account of Charles and Andy Stanley will irrevocably prove otherwise. Here is the link:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/17/us/andy-stanley/index.html

Where Is Your Heart?

            An old commentary carries the story of a soldier of Napoleon’s army who was wounded one day by a bullet that entered his breast above his heart. As the surgeon probed for the bullet the soldier exclaimed, “An inch deeper and you will find the emperor.”

            Were your heart laid open, would Christ be found there?

The Drone

            The story is told that the great concert pianist, Paderewski, played before Queen Victoria. Listening, she exclaimed with enthusiasm, “Mr. Paderewski, you are a genius!”

            “Your Majesty,” he replied, “perhaps, but before I was a genius, I was a drone.”

            I don’t know if Paderewski was ever a drone; however, there was a time when he had to work and work hard to become a better pianist. Writer Malcolm Gladwell says that “geniuses” must put in a minimum of 10,000 hours pursuing their craft before they can look forward to impacting culture.

            I hope this helps us put our own pursuits in the proper perspective. There is no such thing as an overnight sensation. As we strive to labor in the kingdom of God, it is good to remember that we will need to work hard, no matter how much talent we have.

The Hug

            Greg Krebs and his wife gave life to a baby named Chris. Chris was born with cerebral palsy. He was also severely retarded. Yet, Chris affected the lives of his parents in profound and loving ways.

            One occurred when Chris was seven. Greg’s wife worked at a hospital, and one afternoon he and Chris went to pick her up. She was running late, so they waited for her in a waiting room.

            In the waiting room was a man poorly dressed. He smelled bad too. 

            Greg walked over to the nurse’s station to inquire as to when his wife would be getting off work. As he walked back to his seat, he discovered Chris sitting by the man who reeked. The poor gentleman was sobbing.

            Greg panicked. He searched his mind trying to imagine what Chris had done to so offend the man. Greg apologized, “‘I'm sorry if my son has offended you.”

            “The man replied, ‘Offended me? Offended me? Your son is the only person who has hugged me in the last 20 years!’”

            “I realized at that moment Chris had a more Christlike love for this man that I did,” reflected Greg.

            Thank you, God, for offering the world blessings like Chris, who show us what it means to love people in an unconditional way—just like Jesus.

Story Source: When God Doesn't Make Sense by James Dobson

The Great Reward

            The story is told of an elder from a church in Scotland who was going to take a trip to the Holy Land. Enthusiastically, he said to his preacher, “And when I get there, I'd mean to climb Mount Sinai and read the 10 Commandments from the top of it.”

            With some skepticism, the preacher replied, “I can tell you something better than that to do. If I were you, I would spend some time here at home and keep the 10 Commandments.”

            Remember, when it comes to the 10 Commandments, keeping them is the great reward.

One Bad Habit

            Chemists say that a single grain of iodine will impart color to 7000 times its weight of water. A bad habit is like that–it may exponentially influence a person’s character... or life.

            Perhaps that is one reason the apostle Paul invited us to examine ourselves before taking the Lord's Supper.

Josh

           Josh was special.

            His mother experienced a very tough pregnancy and there were complications at birth, yet Josh survived that difficult beginning, for which his parents were exceedingly grateful.

            He showed talent and promise early in life, and he grew into a godly young man. His parents loved him deeply. 

            Josh learned a trade, following in his father's footsteps. After a few years of working on his own, he made the decision to leave his profession and enter into fully supported ministry.

            He was a strong leader and very charismatic—the kind of guy that affluent people wanted to be around and blue-collar guys would follow.           

            Josh could have chosen to minister to people in the United States. Instead, he saw his mission as expanding the Kingdom of God to all parts of the world, and he chose another country.

            Josh was a dynamic preacher. Crowds of people would flock to hear him. His messages also contained real spiritual meat. He was extremely sound doctrinally and no one who knew his Bible would dare accuse him of proclaiming false teaching.

            Josh committed himself to mission work. His effort paid off and he helped grow a small community of faith.

            Tragically, not everyone appreciated Josh's ministry. Some of the native religious leaders found his message threatening. They offered trumped up charges to local government officials who, unfortunately, did not always seek to do right. Events spiraled out-of-control and, incredibly, some political leaders executed Josh.

            Members of Josh's congregation were crushed. Where was God in all this? Why would God allow such a good man—with all of his life ahead of him—to die? Why did God allow him to die in such an unjust way?

            Has tragedy ever happened to you? Has catastrophe struck anyone you have known? Have you ever witnessed someone young and full of promise struck down with major illness or death—and all of that promise go to waste? Has a family member suffered an unspeakable tragedy leaving all of you wondering why God let you down?

            Maybe you suffered through a job loss. Perhaps you lost your health. Maybe you agonized through the death of one of your children.

            The truth is each one of us at one time or another has probably experienced an encounter with the painful side of life in a fallen world. It may have left you shaking your head and questioning the work of God.

            I certainly cannot account for what God actively did or passively allowed in your circumstance; however, I can say this. Returning to Josh’s story, as strange as it may sound, I'm awfully glad Josh died.

            You would think that a guy who was such a good missionary, good preacher, a guy who made such an impact on people, and a guy who was such a good man would be indispensable. The fact is… it was his death that was indispensable.

            You see, after Josh died, some of his friends buried him. Three days later, he rose from the dead. Yet, the spiritual accomplishments rooted in that 72-hour period defied description. As strange as it may sound, the tragedy of Josh (Joshua, or as we in my country call him–Jesus) was the most important event in human history. In addition, the reality that his resurrected body departed this world meant that his spirit remained—residing in the physical bodies of his disciples, which empowered them for ministry.

            I am still trying to learn from those who loved Josh long ago. What appeared to be a tragic and unexplainable mistake of God would ultimately prove to be the greatest blessing for people. God continues to work in that mysterious way.

            As for those worried about what Josh might have missed dying so young, I would say that he has had a pretty good life for the past 2000 years.