A Man of Integrity

Years ago while in high school I was given a book by Foy L. Smith entitled "The Days of Thy Youth". In one chapter of the book he tells the story of an old gospel preacher named Theophilus Brown Larimore.

T. B. Larimore was riding out west in a railway passenger car when outlaws came along side and halted the train. The robbers boarded the car and began demanding that the passengers drop their possessions into a bag; watches, jewelry, gold coins, wallets and anything else that could be exchanged for money. They came to Larimore and he placed a few crumpled dollars into the mouth of the sack. The outlaw asked if that was all he had and he told him it was.

As the thieves started to leave, the preacher called out to the leader who returned to him. "Sir", he told him apologetically, "I find that I have misrepresented the truth. When you asked me if that was all I had I told you it was, but then discovered I had put a one dollar bill in my vest pocket." Larimore extended his hand with the dollar bill toward the outlaw. The leader of the bandits was taken back and didn't know what to say to this. After a few moments he told his men to give the preacher back everything they had taken from him saying, "It is good to meet and honest man."

It used to be that a man's word meant something. Deals were finalized by handshakes. If someone said they'd do something, they did it. The grocery stores had counter checks without names or numbers, you filled those in. You could go into the corner store and if the clerk was busy, you'd put your money on the counter and leave yelling across the way, "Money's on the counter." Our parents left the front door unlocked 24 hours a day. You could leave your bike on the driveway, your car unlocked or your purse in the grocery basket and when you returned it would still be there untouched. Oh, there were exceptions, but they were few and far between in small town America where I grew up.

Today, however, it's a different story. We lock our doors and we have security systems installed for extra safety. Our cars have alarms and we are told never to leave valuables in plain view. Our sales slip is checked when we leave a store, our garages are locked and handshakes are just a greeting.

People fudge on their taxes, lie on their golf score and blame someone else whenever something goes wrong. We don't trust the president, politicians, lawyers, salesmen and often even preachers. We follow someone’s promise with "When I see it, I’ll believe it." We feel fortunate when the waiter forgets to put a charge on our check or the clerk inadvertently charges us too little.

Kathy and I were at a restaurant a couple of years ago in Plano. When I looked at the ticket I noticed that she had forgotten to charge us for one entire meal. I pointed this out and could tell the waitress was stunned. The manager came by and asked if something was wrong, so I explained to him the situation. He looked at me as if to say "You're complaining because your bill is too low?" It took 10 minutes to get it corrected and the manager told me he'd never had anyone do that before.

It's sad when honesty and integrity are so rare that it surprises people when it occurs. Yes, sometimes the truth hurts. Yes, sometimes being honest gets us into trouble. Yes, it's embarrassing at times to admit our weaknesses or faults. But to be viewed as a person of integrity and character far outweighs the negatives.

I hope someday that someone will be able to say about me, "It's good to meet an honest man."
As bad as it may hurt, as tough as it is to do, it is always important that a Christian, whether a follower or a leader be a person of integrity. It is only then that the world will listen when we proclaim Christ.

______________________

I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me. Because of my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.

Psalm 41:11-12

“Hauntings of the Past”

As I drove through my home town this past week I passed several times through a part of town that I rarely entered growing up in the 1950’s and 60’s. Plano was much smaller back then with a population of under 5000. The Central Expressway was just reaching that far north and the trip to Richardson to the south rambled a two lane highway going through a five mile stretch of countryside, while the same highway made its way northward to McKinney, another 15-20 minute sightseeing journey. The streets that I drove over this past week were lined with homes built and fixed up by Habitat for Humanity and other groups in Plano. The roads in this area in the 50’s and 60’s were dusty dirt roads, unless it rained of course, then they were muddy rut infested travel paths. The area was and is still known as the Douglass Community. Growing up we called it “Colored Town”.

When I think back of this era in my life I can still see the pictures in my mind of a life of segregation. I worked at A&P and often during my break would go to the coffee and donut shop across the street. I can still see the sign in the window on my right as I passed through the door, “No Coloreds Allowed”. It was part of life and I paid little attention to it. In the back of the department store downtown there were three doors labeled, “Men”, “Women” and “Colored”. On the wall was a chilled water fountain with the sign, “Whites Only” posted above it and off to the side a dirty white ceramic fountain labeled, “Colored”.

Open the newspaper to look for a house and you’d see “Houses for Rent”, “Houses for Sale” and “Houses Colored”. At the theater the “colored kids” sat in the balcony and entered and exited through the side door. There were schools for the “White” kids and schools for the “Colored” kids. As I can recall, I was only in their school once when our Advanced Science Class was asked to judge their science projects. We were amazed at how good the projects were done. Did we expect something different because they were different?

There were no riots, no major issues that I can remember. That’s the way it was in this small Texas town. We thought little of it and accepted all this as just a way of life.

As I look back it’s sad to know that life was like this for so many because of skin color. These pictures of the past are haunting reminders of the injustices and mistakes of days gone by. Sometimes you’d like to go back and just make a difference, change things and correct the wrongs that were done. Unfortunately, we cannot travel back in time. The past is past and cannot be changed or altered.

It’s like that in the church. As leaders there are times that we wish we could go back and maybe do things a little different, rethink a decision or handle a situation better. Leaders are not perfect, we make mistakes and as hard as it is we often have to “bite the bullet” and move on, living with a past failure here and there. The point is that we can’t change the past.

We can, however, change today and the future. We cannot live and serve the Lord in a world of regrets and feeling down about what has been done wrong yesterday. True leadership takes their failings, their faults, their past errors and learns from them, but they use this knowledge to do better today and even better tomorrow.

The Apostles failed several times in their following of Jesus, but you never read of Jesus reminding them of their faults and failures over and over. Their lack of faith, their lack of understanding and their quarreling were forgotten soon after it happened and Jesus went on to talk about the future with them. He wanted to make them better.

In the 1990’s the City of Plano spent more than 2 million dollars revitalizing the Douglass Community. They could not go back and change the past as painful as it may have been, but they could change today and the days that followed. Many people who lived in the community in the 50’s and 60’s still live there today. It’s their home, only now the homes are painted and the roads are paved.

Leaders need to think forward not backwards. We need to see what can be done, what works can be accomplished and what great services we can do for the Lord today. Leaders make mistakes and will make more mistakes, but the church lives by what we do today, this very moment, not by what has passed. As the Psalmist wrote, “This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

_______________

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14

Baseball’s Hottest Game

Probably the hottest game in professional baseball was a game between the Boston Beaneaters and Baltimore Orioles on May 15, 1894 in Boston. The fireworks started in the third inning when Tommy “Foghorn” Tucker slid safely into third base. At that point John McGraw of the Orioles kicked Tucker in the face and a brawl broke out, both on the field and in the stands. The umpire finally got things settled down and Tucker contemplated how he was going to get back at McGraw for his injured jaw.

          That was never to happen. With the Orioles set to bat, the Beaneaters right fielder, James “Foxy” Bannon, spotted a fire under the right field bleachers. As everyone watched he ran over to stamp it out. Everyone thought it would be put out soon and were more interested in how Tucker would avenge the third base incident and the now loud mouthed Orioles.

          Then a gust of wind came up causing Bannon to abandon his efforts. The fire spread quickly sending the bleacher spectators tumbling onto the field to get relief from the heat. The fire spread to the outfield fence and then to the main grandstands. The players ran to the locker rooms to attempt to salvage their belongings. Firefighters were called in, but soon the South Ends Ground ballpark was destroyed causing $80,000 in damage. Firefighters came from 20 miles away to fight a 9 alarm fire that spread to 12 acres, burning 200 homes and causing $300,000 in damage. The fire was determined to be caused by a carelessly tossed cigarette.

          As the firefighters rushed to the scene and hooked up the hose there was no water from the hydrant. The city had installed the hydrant, but the team owners to save money had failed to pay the $15 to have the water turned on.  The failure to pay $15 had done nearly a half million dollars in damage.

          Sometimes it’s that way in churches as well. A lot of time and effort is spent on the big things, the big events, the major efforts and the things that we see from the outside. There are times that the little things are forgotten or not given as much importance and it the scheme of things are just as important as the big even though they are not seen. What seems of little importance can often be of great magnitude down the way.

          An example is when I recently sat through a missions meeting working on a contract for some new missionaries. The congregation knows they are going and will be supported. They know they are going there to save souls. That’s the big thing. But the team had to look at a lot of “what if” or “little things” that had no impact now but could be greater down the line. What if there was unrest in the area? What if one of them became deathly sick or died. What if a family member passed away? What did it take to get settled? What would it take to bring them back? The team did a good job addressing these. They paid the “$15” to provide for the future.

          There are these little things in every part of the church work. They may not seem that important at the time, but somewhere along the way they may be necessary. No one likes policies, but you have to have them “just in case”. No one wants to worry about the little details, but without them a project can be successful or fail. Details test our patience and stamina.

          People will look to us as leaders to see how we handle the little things. Are we prepared when that time comes to face a crisis or handle a tough situation? People will follow leadership that pays attention to the little things, because they can trust them to be there for them in every situation. When they see a leader serve communion, when they watch a leader teach a children’s class, when they notice a leader serving on the pizza line or wiping tables or helping someone who is sick or praying with someone in private it’s then that they know that leaders cares for them. It’s the little things that are done that form the bonds between leaders and those who follow.

          A mere $15 in 1894 would have save hundreds of homes. It was a little thing, but like that small amount would have made a great difference in many lives, it can remind us that it’s the little things that make the life of the church grow in love and unity.

________________________

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.

Colossians 3:23

Heads or Tails?

          It was December 23, 1962 and my dad and I had just watched the Dallas Texans and Houston Oilers come to a 17-17 stalemate at the end of four quarters of the AFC championship game. Houston had been down 17-0 at the half and came back with 10 fourth quarter points to tie. There was a very strong wind in Jeppesen Stadium making it difficult to kick and pass. In the overtime, Texans Coach Stram told Abner Haynes if they won the toss to choose to defend the goal facing the clock. The Texans won the toss and Haynes said, “We’ll kick to the clock.” By rule once he said “we’ll kick” the other team got to choose the goal to defend. As a result the Texans had to kickoff into a strong wind. Fortunately for Haynes the first overtime ended 0-0 and the Texans won in the second overtime 3-0.

          In the early morning hours of February 3, 1959 in Clear Lake, Iowa Buddy Holly prepared to take off to the next town on his tour. The “Big Bopper”, J.P. Richardson had the flu and convinced Wayon Jennings to give up his seat on the plane. The other seat was to go to either 17 year old Ritchie Valens or guitarist, Tommy Allsup. Ritchie Valens won the toss. The first he had ever won he is quoted as saying. Shortly after takeoff at 12:55 a.m. the plane crashed killing the pilot and all three Rock ‘n’ Roll stars.

          In 1969 Penny Chenery and Ogden Phipps both wanted a colt that was sired by the prominent racehorse, Gold Ruler. Two mares had been sent to breed, Hasty Matelda and Somethingroyal. Phipps and stable owner “Bull” Hancock set up the agreement that there would be a coin toss between Phipps and Chenery and the winner would get the pick of the foal in 1969 and the loser the first in 1970.  Phipps won the toss and selected the filly from Hasty Matelda. The following year Hasty Matelda was replaced with Cicada who did not conceive so Chenery would have to wait for her colt to be born from Somethingroyal. When it was born the stable secretary had submitted five names for the horse that the Jockey Club turned down. They finally accepted a name Elizabeth Ham came up with for Penny Chenery’s new colt. They named him Secretariat.

          Because of a coin toss, Portland, Oregon is Portland and not Boston. The two owners of the land from the east wanted to name it after their hometowns, Portland, Maine and Boston Massachusetts. Because of a coin toss Orville Wright was the first to make a manned flight. Wilber won the toss but crashed the plane so the next try was the successful one by Orville.

          Decisions by chance can be good ones when they work out well, but at the same time can end up in disappointment or disaster just as easily. It’s always risky to make decisions based on nothing but luck and chance.

          Good decision making is made when people are prepared properly. It takes studying an issue, looking at it from all sides and carefully weighing the pros and cons to make a well informed decision. In the church it not only takes these, but it takes study of God’s Word and especially a time of prayer for wisdom and understanding.

          A lot of decisions have been made in churches that have been hasty and done without thinking it through. Church plants have failed. People have been ill prepared. Churches have gotten into financial and legal troubles many times by its leaders meaning well but not seeking the wisdom that God can give. We often say we are going to have a time of prayer, but I wonder how many people take the opportunity to pray every day. How many sit down and spend time in study and honestly seek God’s advice?

          Decisions made by church leaders and members are some of the most important decisions we will ever make. They deal with things beyond the earthly things we decide every day. They deal with the spiritual lives of people. They deal with the growth of the church. Many are decisions that will affect years to come. Many are decisions that can alter lives, affecting families, marriages, children and most of all spiritual relationships.

          It would be nice to have a coin toss to help make a decision at times. It would be nice not to have to go through hours and days of discussion and debate. It would be nice to tell a family or husband or wife, heads you do this or tails you do that. It would be easy, but of course irresponsible, not knowing the outcome.

          As leaders, let us take time every day to pray to God for wisdom to make the right choices and decisions. Let us be the example by seeking God’s call for us through study of his Word. I do believe that through prayer and trust in God’s ability to lead us that the future of the church will always be on the right track. His track.

________________________

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

James 1:5-6