Dear Grayson,

Eleven. Wow.

I turned 11 in the summer of 1969. There were 2 miraculous things that happened  that summer that I often think about – even 54 years later.

It was in 1969 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took the first steps on the moon. Upon taking the first steps, Armstrong uttered those now famous words, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” In my mind, what NASA accomplished was nothing short of miraculous. The idea that we could shoot a rocket into space and have it land almost 239,000 miles away on an object that is moving 2,288 miles per hour is crazy. And then to have those astronauts safely return to the earth, which itself is orbiting the sun at 67,000 miles per hour is almost beyond belief. Almost as beyond belief as the second miracle I want to tell you about.

In 1967 the New York Mets had a record of 67 wins and 101 losses. In 1968 their record was 73-89. In 1969 they won the World Championship. The were dubbed the Miracle Mets. They were my favorite team and I can remember watching them play on TV that summer as they climbed out of a big hole. On August 14 they were 10 games behind the division leading Chicago Cubs. When the season ended they were 8 games in front. They won 38 on their last 49 games. They swept the Atlanta Braves in the divisional battle for the National League Championship and then beat the powerful Baltimore Orioles four games to one in the World Series. Definitely miracle material and as a young Met’s fan definitely beyond belief.

An argument could be made that neither Apollo 11 or the ’69 Mets were genuine miracles. They could be attributed to incredible technological advances and to “getting hot at the right time” respectively. But the third miracle I’ll tell you about was bonafide.

When I was 11 I had never been to church and knew very little about who Jesus was. But I had just moved next door to a family that did go to church and did know about Jesus. I started going to church with them when I was about 14 and the miracle began to percolate. Little by little I began to understand the gospel – specifically that I was far from God because of my sinful nature but that Jesus brought me near to God through His death on the cross where He paid the penalty that I deserved to pay for my own sins. And the bonafide miracle was that when I put my trust in Jesus and what He had done for me at age 16, God adopted me into His family and gave me a new heart – a heart that was no longer dead because of the necrotic effects of sin  but was alive to spiritual truth.

The miracle of new birth. Or as John 3 says, of being born again.

I think about those first two “miracles” from time to time. But I think about that 3rd miracle every. single. day. It has defined my life for the last 49 years. And it is within reason to say that you would not be turning 11, or be here at all, if the Lord had not done the miraculous in my life.

May He do it in yours as well!

Never forget that you are very loved,

Pop Pop

Dear Grandkids,

3 of you were with us. 6 of you were not. But here are some of my reflections from our trip last week.

Wednesday – A travel day. We flew RDU to Denver then Denver to Las Vegas. Chad’s parents (Art and Cindy) traveled with us and we met Christy, Chad, Grayson, Bowen and Miller there. Because of the time change we were there mid morning. Grabbed a rental car and drove 3 hours to Kanab, Utah which would be our home away from home for the next week. Stayed at an Airbnb which was perfect for the 9 of us to sleep, make meals, and relax in.

Thursday – Grand Canyon Day. Before heading to the canyon we hit up The Belly of the Dragon and the Sand Caves in Kanab. We then drove 2 hours  and spent the day exploring the North Rim: Visitor’s Center. Short hike to Bright Angel Point. Drove all the way up Cape Royal Road where we hiked out to the Cape Royal Overlook and saw Angel’s Window. A short drive down to the Walhalla Overlook; then down to Roosevelt Point; then Point Imperial. We were out of the park by dark which we were told was good because of the dark curvy roads and the animals that start roaming

My favorite stop was the 20 minute hike we took at Roosevelt Point to a rock outcropping where it felt like we were in the middle of the canyon (top right picture below).

Friday – Bryce Canyon Day. I’ll go ahead and say it. The Grand Canyon, as grand as it was, was somewhat underwhelming to me. Perhaps because of all the build up. Bryce, on the other hand, was astounding. It had a beauty unlike any other place that I have seen. A very different kind of beauty. Austere. Multi-hued. Triumphant. Stunning. Sublime. We hiked the rim trail from Bryce Point to Inspiration Point. Shuttled down to Sunset Point then hiked the Navaho Trail/Queen’s Garden Loop. Passed Thor’s Hammer along the way. Descended to the canyon bottom. Traversed our way through the Queen’s Garden then back up to Sunrise Point and over to Sunset Point to complete the 3.5 mile trek. It was a challenging hike but well well worth it.

Saturday/Sunday – Zion National Park. On day 1 in Zion we hiked The Narrows – a gorgeous slot canyon that the Virgin River runs through. We hiked about 2 miles up river before turning around. Most of the way we slogged through about a 1-2 feet of water. But at one spot, for about 10 yards the water was chest high. It was awesome. On day 2 we hiked up to Scout Lookout which is as close as you can get to Angel’s landing without a permit. We tried for 4 days to get a permit but to no avail. Nevertheless, the hike was amazing and definitely a highlight of the trip.

Monday – Buckskin Gulch. Located about one hour from Kanab, Buckskin Gulch is one of the longest continuous slot canyons in the world, with 16 miles of sandstone walls and stunningly unique formations. We hiked 1.7 miles down the sandy wash of Wire Pass just to get to the Gulch and then another 1.5 miles into the slot canyon and then back out. It was spectacular to say the least.

Tuesday – Las Vegas. We left Kanab Tuesday morning and drove back to Las Vegas. Spent about 5 hours wandering down the strip. We had never been there before and 5 hours was about 4 hours too long. I am not a fan of the loudness everywhere nor the lewdness nor the gambling. I am much more of a National Parks kind of guy. Regardless, here are a few pics…

Wednesday and Final Thoughts – We flew out early Wednesday and arrived back to our house around 8:30 PM. Final Thoughts: 1) Nona and I would have had fun doing the trip by ourselves but it was SO MUCH MORE fun creating shared memories. 2) The Lord is incredibly creative. His handiwork in creation that has not been marred by mankind is breathtaking. 3) By contrast, the debauchery that is so prevalent, not just in a city like Las Vegas (but as near as my own heart) is very sad. 4) We hope to have lots of shared memories in the days to come with all of you. 5) We are very very blessed and count each of you as our greatest blessings.

Never forget that you are very loved,

Pop Pop

Dear Grandkids,

Thc cat’s officially out of the bag!

Now that the oldest cousin has turned 10 you probably all know what Nona and I give you for your 10th birthday. Here is the back story…

About 15 years ago we were talking with some friends who already had older grandkids and they told us that they took each of them on a trip of their choosing when they were about 12 years old. We loved the idea and adopted it as our own. Their only suggestion was to start a little earlier than 12 because of the creep of busyness as they got older.

So we began putting money away in a “Grandkid Account” and began waiting – first of all to have grandkids and then for you guys to grow up. So last November when Grayson turned 10, we told him that we would take him on a trip anywhere in the continental United States and do whatever he wanted to do.

His choice was to go to an NFL football game to see his favorite team play – the New York Giants. The NFL schedule came out in May and he chose to watch them play the San Francisco Forty-Niners… in San Francisco.

So we just got back from the first of our nine grandkid trips. We flew to SF on Tuesday. Spent three days there and then flew back on Saturday.  We had three very full days and it was awesome. Here are some of the highlights of the trip:

Alcatraz – We left our hotel at 7 AM and walked an hour –  up Lombard Street which is crazy steep, then down the iconic curvy part of the street and then down to Pier 33. Caught the ferry across the bay and spent several hours exploring the island penitentiary, known also as The Rock,  that housed some of the country’s most notorious criminals. It was said that if you “Break the rules you go to prison. Break the prison rules and you go to Alcatraz.”

Coit Tower – The tower overlooks SF and allows for a 360 degree panoramic view of the entire city. We climbed up the Filbert steps from the Embarcadero just to get to the tower (about 500 steps) and then up another 250 steps in the tower because the elevator was out of order. Well worth it in hindsight but this Pop Pop was whooped when we finished. And we still had a whole afternoon of walking left to do.

The Cable Car Ride – After walking to Chinatown from Coit Tower, eating at Good Mang Kok Bakery, and getting a pic at The Dragon’s Gate, we grabbed a ride on one of the iconic SF cablecars. it was fun hanging on as we rode down some of the steep hills to the waterfront.

Pier 39 – It is known for it’s shopping and the sea lions. We went for the sea lions. Saw them on Wednesday and then went back Friday. They are really fun to watch as they climb all over each other and seemingly bicker and bump each other off the dock.

Muir Woods – This forest of redwoods is located about 30 minutes north of SF. We walked the 90 minute main loop and stood in awe of the beauty of the majestic hardwoods that the Lord created.

The Golden Gate Bridge – We had to cross the bridge to get to Muir Woods and then stopped at the Bridge Welcome Center as we came back to the city.  We walked out on to the bridge until we were over the bay just to say that we had done it.

 

The Game – Levi Stadium is actually located an hour south of SF in Santa Clara. It was a Thursday night game. A full house. A loud crowd full of rabid 49er fans. SF has a really good team and they beat the New York Giants pretty handily 30-12.

Golden Gate Park – Bigger than Central park in NYC, the park has lots of stuff to do. We looked at the bison, played a round of disc golf, and rode the Sky Star Ferris Wheel – first ferris wheel ride for G.

The Food – Good Mang Kok bakery, In-N-Out Burger, The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company (2x), Bob’s Donuts, La Taquria, Levi Stadium, Boudin’s Bakery.

We had an awesome time with Grayson and we are already looking forward to our trips with the rest of you. So start thinking about where you want to go.

Never forget that you are very loved,

Pop Pop

Dear Grandkids,

Here are a few frequently asked questions that I get now that I have retired from full time vocational ministry. This is what we tell people…

Will you be moving away from Durham? No. We love Durham and we love our home and we have no plans to go anywhere. Our sons and their families live within 30 minutes of us and our daughter and her family is in Charlotte – just 2 hours away.

Will you still be attending Ridgecrest? Yes!

What are you going to be doing with your time? At least for the near future I will continue to work part time at Ridgecrest – leading the College Ministry and teaching the Wednesday Night Adult Bible Study as well as leading a few of our ministry teams. Linda and I will also continue in our role as Team Chaplains at Chick-fil-A on Roxboro Road. Those 2 things take up a good chunk of my days and 2-3 nights of my week. So far I have found that I have a bit more time for disc golf in the afternoons and more flexibility as other things that I want to do come up.

What is on your bucket list? We have a Utah National Parks/Grand Canyon trip planned for October and then 9 Grandkid trips between now and 2032. When our 1st grandkid was born 10 years ago we started setting aside money so that we could take each of them on a trip of their choosing in the continental US. Our first trip is in a few weeks with Grayson and we are going to San Fransisco – to do touristy things like Alcatraz and Redwoods but mostly to see his favorite football team, the New York Giants play the 49ers.

What are some of your favorite ministry memories? I have GREAT memories of  both the 10 years we spent at Providence Baptist and the 30 years we spent at Ridgecrest. Here is a video that my friend Al Huffman put together that captures some of the memories from the Ridgecrest years.

If I had to describe the past 40 years in one word I would use the word “blessed.” And if I were to add one adverb to that word it would be “incredibly.” But even more so, I consider myself incredibly and bodaciously blessed to be your Pop Pop. I’m very much looking forward to the memories that we will make in the years to come.

Never forget that you are very loved,

Pop Pop

Dear Grandkids,

In addition to Legacy Building and Scuba Diving that I shared in my last post, here are the other two values that will drive my retirement years.

The Value of Disciple Making – As followers of Jesus, aka disciples, we are commissioned to also make disciples. This is not just something that pastors are called to do. In a sense, disciple making was a part of my job when I was a pastor. But it was no less a part of my calling as a believer. Most believers think that disciple making is for the “professionals.” Not true. And most believers think that disciple making is not something that they are equipped to do. Also not true.

Disciple making is not rocket science. But there is an intentionality behind it. You have to be willing to be with people. Disciple making is as much about “withness” as anything. Here are a few things that I think go into making disciples – which even believers that are young in their faith can do WITH others:

• model what a walk with Jesus should look like
• talk about Scripture together
• help them grapple with the tough questions of the faith
• coach them to think about everything from a biblical worldview
• be available when life is hard
• help them learn how to fight the enemy of their soul
• demonstrate grace and authenticity
• point them to great books

Bill Hull in his book The Complete Book of Discipleship: On Being and Making Followers of Christ  says, “Discipleship isn’t a program or an event; it’s a way of life. It’s not for a limited time, but for our whole life. Discipleship isn’t for beginners alone; it’s for all believers for every day of their life. Discipleship isn’t just one of the things the church does; it is what the church does.”

I’m hoping that my best years of disciple making are still ahead of me.

The Value of Step Taking – You probably already know that Nona and I walk… a lot. Like, every day. Getting our steps in is important  to us because we know that it helps keep us healthy. We both have step-taking goals that are high priority to us. Often we are out the door and walking the neighborhood by 6 AM – especially in the summer as we try to beat the heat. I’m convinced that we are as physically healthy as we are because of our step taking.

But step taking also has crossover to my relational health. I created an acrostic using the word STEP to remind me of 4 questions I need to ask everyday:

• S – Who do I need to SERVE today?
• T – Who do I need to THANK today?
• E – Who do I need to ENCOURAGE today?
• P – Who do I need to PRAY for today?

Just asking these questions each day helps me to be as relationally intentional as I am with my health. Sometimes the answers are really obvious but sometimes I have to think a bit. But always when I take the time to think these questions through there are people that come to mind that I need to follow through with. So both physically and relationally, step taking has tremendous value for me.

Legacy building. Scuba Diving. Disciple making. Step taking.

As I move forward with the last third of my life these are the values that will drive my retirement days.

In my next post (and last retirement post), I will try to answer some of the questions that I am being asked when people find out that I have recently retired. Stay tuned.

Never forget that you are very loved,

Pop Pop

Dear Grandkids,

I’ve been thinking about retirement for about 5 years. I knew that I wanted to make it to both 30 years at Ridgecrest and 40 years in vocational ministry. Those sounded like good round figures. I also knew that the numbers needed to work. By that I mean the financial numbers. We wanted to make sure that we could sufficiently provide for ourselves for the next 40 years – or however many years we have left on this earth. In other words, we didn’t want your parents (or you) to have to use their resources to care for us. Though we knew that they would gladly do so.

I also wanted to make sure that I had a purposeful retirement. Retirement is not a word that you come across in Scripture. My guess is that retirement is an industrialized nation notion. It is probably a foreign idea to much of the world. So while I don’t mind the idea of retirement I prefer to think of this next part of my journey as non-compensated intentional work for the glory of God. Work was intended by God from the very beginning to be a blessing. And believe you me I’ll take all the blessing that I can get.

A few years ago I established four values that I wanted to guide my life, not just the vocational years of my life. Hence the phrase “values-driven retirement” that I titled this post. Here are the first two for your pondering…

The Value of Legacy Building – Perhaps you know that I am a first generation believer. In other words, I am the first person in my family to become a believer in Jesus. For this reason it has been important to me to establish a spiritual legacy for our family. My hope is that your grandkids and their grandkids and their grandkids are all walking with Jesus and that our family, should Jesus tarry, is having a significant influence for the sake of the kingdom. You are now generation number 3. Nona and I are thrilled to see that our 3 kids have chosen to walk with Jesus and have chosen spouses that walk with Jesus and are raising you to walk with Jesus.

What does legacy building look like in real life? To coin a phrase borrowed by Eugene Peterson, I think it has a lot to do with “a long obedience in the same direction” – (the phrase was actually and surprisingly penned by the famed atheist philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche). Legacy building is not flashy. It has to do with consistency and character and integrity, and I hope that you will remember me for these. Yes, there are some tangible things that I am also doing – like these Pop Pop Epistles, Brick by Brick ponderings, creating shared experiences, etc. but those would mean nothing if the other things were not true.

The Value of Scuba Diving – Which is kind of a weird value given that I have NEVER been scuba diving. So what do I mean? Picture a glass bottom boat. As you look through the glass you get a glimpse of some beautiful fish IF the boat driver takes you to the right spot. This is how most people encounter the Word of God. Their experience is dependent on the preacher revealing the beauty of Scripture. He is the driver of the boat.

But what if you got out of the boat and put on some snorkeling gear and actually got in the water yourself. What if your encounter with God’s Word was dependent on your initiative and you were able to seek out the beauty of Scripture yourself. I have been snorkeling and I have been amazed to see the beauty of all kinds of God’s underwater creatures. But snorkeling only allows you to see what is just below the surface. I have been told that if you REALLY want to experience the spectacular artistry of God’s aquatic creation then you need to go deep. You need to scuba dive. Scuba diving requires personal investment.  You have to be coached in how to do it. There is risk involved. It takes time and effort. But there is also great reward.

And the same is true with regard to Scripture. There are incredible discoveries waiting to be found if you are willing to do what it takes to find them. I don’t want to be content with a surface reading of Scripture. I want to explore the depths. I want to see the beauty of God’s Word that can only be seen if I get out of the boat and go “scuba diving.”

I will share the other two values in my next post so that this one does not get too long.

Never forget that you are very loved,

Pop Pop

Dear Grandkids,

Surreal!

That is one of the words that I have used to describe my retirement so far. It is very hard to believe that I could have possibly been at Ridgecrest Baptist Church for 30 years much less another 10 years at Providence Baptist in Raleigh. 40 years of ministry sounds like a long time and it makes me seem old. And yet, I still feel like the new kid on the block – until I look in the mirror or listen to the noises I make when I try to stand up.

40 years ago Ronald Reagan was president. The Berlin Wall still stood. 911 was a number you called in case of emergency and not a date of infamy. Interest rates were down to 13%. (They had been 18% in 1981). The NC State Wolfpack were NCAA basketball champs. Seve Ballesteros was the reigning Masters champion. And the New York Mets were just 3 years away from their historic World Series win. No one owned a mobile phone. No one had personal computers. And mass shootings were pretty much unheard of.

Nona and I had been married for 2 years and none of your parents had yet to be born. Our “baby” was a beautiful golden retriever named Cassidy. We had just moved to Raleigh from the Boston area where I had finished seminary. We started doing student ministry at Providence as volunteers which turned into an internship which turned into a full time staff position. We did student ministry for 25 years and then as I approached 50 years old transitioned to other staff roles.

I think retirement is a funny word. It generally means that you stop getting paid for a job that you have been doing for a long time. Perhaps you have heard it said, “find a job that you love doing and you will never have to work a day in your life.” My job has never seemed like work. It hasn’t always been easy but it has never seemed like work. I have been extremely blessed to be financially compensated for doing something that I love. What a great way to spend my vocational years.

Fred Rogers once said, “Often when you are at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” Well I am at the end of my vocational years but most definitely at the beginning of something else. Some of that is yet to be determined but I have no doubt that this great adventure of life will continue because of the values that drive my life – which will not change just because I am “retired.” My next epistle will explain what those values are and how they will shape my retirement years.

Never forget that you are very loved,

Pop Pop

Dear Keller,

Happy birthday #7 my young grandson!

I thoroughly enjoyed our birthday clue hunt yesterday all around North Raleigh. You did a great job deciphering all the clues and getting us where we needed to be.

I have always loved a good clue hunt. About 35 years ago, when I was a student pastor in Raleigh, I started doing a clue hunt all over town for our students. We would load up as many cars as we needed with about 5-6 students and a driver each and send them out in search of their first clue. Which would lead them to the next clue. Which would lead them to the next clue. Usually there were about 10 clues per hunt and the first team back to the church would win an unbelievable prize. There may or may not have been some speeding limits exceeded and mail boxes run over in an effort to claim first place.

When I moved from Raleigh to Durham in 1993 I did the clue hunt for another 15 years until I transitioned out of student ministry. So I have no little experience in coming up with clues to challenge the mind and stump even the most brilliant of teenagers.

We called the clue hunt “The Shamus Adventure.” I picked this name for two reasons: 1) It was a play on my name – I even have some people who call me “Shamus” and 2) The word shamus is a slang word meaning detective. So it just seemed to fit.

Also, one of my favorite genres of fictional reading is murder mysteries – and I find myself trying to figure out the whodunit before all the clues are even revealed. I do love a good clue hunt.

Perhaps this is why I love the Bible so much.

• In Judges 14 we see that Samson (one of the original Hall of Faith inductees in Hebrews 11) loved a good clue hunt.
• There are clues throughout the Older Testament that reveal who the Messiah will be long before He even shows up on history’s doorstep.
• There are clues throughout the Scriptures that reveal how to have a blessed and joy-fueled life.
• There are clues throughout the Bible that reveal the secrets to good parenting and great marriages.
• There are clues throughout the New Testament that help us to understand the mystery of why a holy and righteous God would want to adopt you and me into His family – given that we are far from holy and righteous ourselves.
• There are clues throughout God’s Word that will even help you to navigate the next 15 years of your young life as you deal with lots of challenges and changes.

So maybe you can understand a little better just why I do love a good clue hunt. And I hope that you will always love a good clue hunt too as you are on your own personal Shamus Adventure. Just as you figured out all the clues yesterday I have no doubt that the clues that you find along the way will lead you exactly to where you need to go. And here is your next clue…

“Stand at the crossroads and look;
    ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
    and you will find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6:16)

Never forget that you are very loved,

Pop Pop

Dear Judah,

A very happy second birthday to you my youngest grandchild.

For much of your second year I have been studying and teaching the book of Revelation to both college students and adults. Two separate Bible studies. I have been teaching Bible Studies with groups for over 40 years but until now I had never studied this last book of the Bible. Read it, yes. Alluded to it, yes. Preached funeral messages from it, yes. But really studied it, no.

Here are a few of my takeaways and then I will tell you the main point that The Revelation is trying to communicate – which will be very relevant to you as you grow toward and grow in faith.

My Takeaways

• I was surprised more by what was NOT in it than by what was in it. For instance, you do not find words like rapture or antichrist in the book.
• The wrath of God’s judgement is going to be horrific – I do not want to be on earth to experience it.
• The Lord gives chance after chance after chance for people to repent and turn from their sin and turn to Him. He does not want anyone to experience eternal torment.
• And yet God is fair and just and righteous in His dealings with those who choose life apart from Him. He allows them to experience the known consequences of their choices.
• The unholy trinity of the dragon, the beast of the sea and the beast of the earth (aka: Satan, the antichrist, and the false prophet) are evil posers who hate the people of God and use unbelievers for their cruel purposes and do everything they can to mock the True Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Spirit.
• Eternal life in heaven with God is going to be beyond belief in the BEST possible kind of way.

The Main Point

The Revelation was written not so much to give its readers an eschatological timeline but to encourage them to hold fast to Jesus until He returns no matter when that is or how long it takes or what they have to deal with along the way.

And that’s what I want to encourage you to do. Hold fast. I have no doubt that your journey through this life will be full of fun and blessing and happy surprises but there will also be grief. Hold fast! There will be difficulties. Hold fast! There will be troubling circumstances along the way. Hold fast! There will be dark nights of the soul. Hold fast.

Hold fast knowing that the best is yet to come because the point and promise of Revelation is that Jesus WILL come again and transform this world that is infected and infested with sin into a world that unimaginably beautiful and abounding with overwhelming joy.

So hold fast!

And never forget that you are very loved,

Pop Pop