Funkyjimmer's Blog

Friday, February 27, 2004

“THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST”

Wednesday night Karon and I saw the much-talked about movie, “THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST”, produced and paid for by Mel Gibson.

Last Sunday at Church the service focused on this subject. I preached about Christ’s Passion. At that point we had not seen the movie. I had decided that anything I would say about seeing the movie I wanted to say before people saw it. I also decided that I would not comment about the movie itself until everyone who wished had an opportunity to see it. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone or prejudice anyone either for or against.

But I do want to make some general observations now that I have seen the movie. First, I strongly believe that every Christian should see the film. It has every potential to strengthen their faith. I will never participate in the Lord’s Supper (Communion) with the same attitude again, having seen the film. It definitely made an impact on me.

I definitely think younger children should NOT see it. There have been several ages suggested which children below that age should not see the movie. Some have suggested 14, 13, and 12. I think those are about the right ages to begin to consider whether or not your child should see the film. There is no exact, magical age. It will vary by the emotional and spiritual maturity of the child and their spiritual background. Children from Christian families MAY be able to see the film at an earlier age than children from another type background.

But always, parents should see the film first and prayerfully decided whether or not to have their children see it. And parents should ALWAYS see the film WITH their children and then discuss and process it afterward.

Some have said the film is a good evangelistic tool to bring people to Christ. Having seen the film, I would say, “That depends!” It depends on where you are in the process of leading someone to Christ. If you have been in discussions and study for a while and have developed a relationship then, yes, it could be a good tool. But if you are just in an initial, casual relationship with a non-Christian I’m not so sure the film would be useful.

Having said all that, I would make some specific suggestions regarding seeing the movie:
1. Prepare to see the movie by praying about your decision to see it or not. It is up to each person’s personal convictions whether or not they should see this film. In all matters we are to remember: “….and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23b)

2. Read the 4 Gospel accounts of the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life. That’s the period of His life covered in the movie. If you have children, prepare them to see the movie in much the same way you prepare yourself to see it should you decide your children should see the movie.

3. Remember that this isn’t fiction. It really happened. Maybe it didn’t happen just exactly the way you see it portrayed on the screen but it happened. We are so used to the fictional on television and in the movies that we tend to think, “Oh well, this didn’t really happen. This is just a story.” Folks, this happened. In fact, Mel Gibson says he “toned it down” from what it probably was really like. If the screen version is toned down, I don’t want to witness what really happened.

4. Remember, the physical suffering wasn’t the worst part of it. The worst part was when God turned away because Jesus took on Himself the sin of the world. And God cannot look on sin.

For me, there is one downside. It has nothing to do with making the film or the film itself. It is the commercialism of it. And I’m not talking about the selling of tickets. There is nothing wrong with that. I have no problem with Mel Gibson recovering his $25+ million dollars it cost to make the film. I don’t even have a problem with him making a profit.

I believe in the free enterprise, capitalistic system. But it was too much for me when, on my computer screen at home, a well-known Christian bookstore flashed a classy advertisement with the invitation: “GET YOUR PASSION ITEMS HERE WHILE THEY LAST. PASSION COINS, PASSION CARDS, PASSION…….I can’t remember what all else!”

*Sigh* I guess it shouldn’t bother me. They did the same thing with the Prayer of Jabez; the Lord of The Rings, and who knows what else. But I have to admit it did cheapen the whole thing for me for awhile. But I didn’t let it detract from the main focus—the Passion of the Christ.

Yes, seeing the movie is quite an experience. One for which you should adequately prepare yourself.

Jim

posted by jim 3:21 PM 0 comments

Thursday, February 26, 2004

BIBLICAL, PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF “THE TRUTH”

In my last 2 Posts I talked about the tension between speaking soothing words and telling the truth. That is not always an easy thing accomplish. So how do we do it? What is the answer? Well, I don’t have it all figured out. When I don’t have the answer myself or am trying to determine an answer, I look to Scripture.

As I pointed out a couple of Posts ago, Christ says, “Let’s be honest about who you are and what you have done.” That truth, standing by itself, is destructive. But standing along side the Cross of Christ, there is no truth that need destroy you. Rather, that very ugly truth about you—because of the Cross of Christ--can heal you.

So how does that work? Here’s an example from Scripture that helped me comprehend this concept:

On the Day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter preached the first Gospel sermon. In that sermon he tells the truth about the people listening to him: “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” (Acts 2:22-23)

Peter went on to say: “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Verse 36)

Now the truth hurt. Verse 37 of the same chapter says, “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’”

In response Peter and the other apostles spoke healing words in verses 38-40 and told them what to do: “…repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

And 3,000 of them did what they were told and were “healed” from their hurt.

So the truth about each of us is spoken in the Bible. “All have sinned…”. But Christ’s sacrifice heals us when we accept Him and His sacrifice for our sins.

I’m awfully sleepy right now. Maybe none of this makes any sense. I just don’t know. More later.

Jim

posted by jim 4:25 PM 0 comments

Monday, February 23, 2004

THE “THEOLOGY OF NICENESS” IN ACTION:

In my previous Post I talked about people who resort to the “Theology of Niceness”. Their philosophy is, “Be nice—even it isn’t true!” For example….

1) In the days when most women wore hats, the ladies would wear them to church. Invariably there would be a woman who would ask the Preacher, “What do you think of my new hat? Do you like it?” Now, what do you do? The truth is you wouldn’t put the hat on your dog in a clown act. Do you say you like it, even if you don’t? That’s what someone who adheres to the “Theology of Niceness” would do. They would be nice and say they like the hat even though they hated it—just to make the person feel good. Otherwise, they reason, they would be casting aspersions on the person’s taste and ability to choose a decent hat.

On the other hand, some folks would advocate avoiding an outright lie—just don’t tell the truth! Say something like, “Well, it certainly matches your personality.”

2) Or take the matter of the inspection of a new-born baby in the foyer of the church or maybe even in the Mall. Now to some of us one baby looks pretty much like every other baby. And some new-borns start out just plain ugly. But what do you say to demonstrate immense interest in the new baby to a new Mom or dad, who asks, “Isn’t (he/she) the most beautiful baby you ever saw? Doesn’t (he/she) look just like (his/her) (dad/mom)?”

How do you avoid lying while still staying in the good graces of the parents or the grandparents? Some advocate a response like, “Well, now! That’s a baby!”

3) Or a lady bakes you an inedible pie (at least inedible by your standards) for your consumption. Now what do you do? Well, practicing the “Theology of Niceness”, you could say, “A pie like yours never lasts long around our house!”

4) One more: If you dislike someone, if there is something about the person that is preventing you liking that person, you’re not supposed to hurt the person by telling him about it. Even if telling him could improve the relationship.

So, what is the answer? I just don’t know. In my next post I’ll discuss a practical application from the Bible of how the Truth (Christ) can bring positive changes in a person’s life.

Jim

posted by jim 10:37 AM 0 comments

Thursday, February 19, 2004

TRUTH-TELLING OR WHITE LIES?

Truth telling is important. A lot of places in God’s Word instruct us to truth telling—and the consequences for not doing so.

But there is a tough concept here: We don’t want to use cutting words that hurt—yet the Bible teaches truthfulness over lying. Truthful words are sometimes cutting words; lies are sometimes soothing words.

So, if we disapprove of cutting remarks and place great value upon soothing words, how can we live by these two apparent contradictions? Truth is often a costly and painful thing.

Some people resort to the “Theology of Niceness”. This simply means, “Be nice even if it is not true!” There are many examples of how this is carried out. In my next Blog I’ll give some examples I have witnessed. Some are pretty funny and some are pathetic!

We have created a society so devoted to kind and soothing words that it has substantially loosened its commitment to speaking truthful words. So as Christians seeking to follow Jesus we struggle: How to be kind and truthful at the same time.

That has always been one of the criticisms of Christianity by “outsiders”. They complain that Christianity says so many “bad” things about mankind. “There is no one righteous, not even one.” (Roman 3:10); “All have sinned…” (Romans 3:23) Look at all the “Woes” Jesus pronounced in Matthew 23. Jesus said some harsh things. All these words are hardly soothing syrup!

So, how do we reconcile truth and kindness? How may we be both truthful AND healing? How can we tell the truth and still bind up the wounds? I don’t know the solution, at least not when it comes to practical application with my fellow man. I guess I am supposed to have it figured out but I don’t – at least not completely.

I do understand though that we must turn to Jesus for the answer. He is the one whom the Scripture says came to bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted. (Isaiah 62:1 and Luke 43:18ff)

Yet Jesus also spoke the darkest words that were ever uttered to human beings who had hardened themselves in their sinfulness. Jesus came to both reveal the Truth and heal mankind. He showed that both truth and healing ultimately stand together.

How can this be? Because Jesus took upon Himself our tragedy. He suffered for our sins. So, in effect, Jesus says to us, ”The truth about you is that you have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But the reason this cutting truth can be made into a healing truth is that I am going to suffer and die for you. I will take the suffering for those cutting remarks that you make. I will pay the price of the suffering which truth causes. I will die for your sins.”

A child breaks a window. He or she must be confronted with the truth—YOU broke the window. Then the parent says, “I realize you cannot pay the price to replace that window. I will bear the burden to restore what has been lost.”

So Christ says, “Let’s be honest about who you are and what you have done. Standing by itself, that truth is destructive. Standing along side the Cross of Christ, there is no truth that need destroy you.”

Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32) The Truth is Christ. He said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life….” (John 14:6) Jesus is the “Truth” who can heal us.

So how do I put all this into practice in my relationships? That’s a tough one. I will wrestle with this one a while longer. Hopefully I will come up with some practical applications to put in a later Post.

Jim

posted by jim 10:21 AM 0 comments

Monday, February 16, 2004

WORDS, WORDS, WORDS

I have been thinking about this subject for over a month. The thought process began when I received a wonderful email from one of the best friends God has ever allowed me to have. Over a month ago I was struggling with temptation in an area I have struggled for many years. Because of our friendship I am able to share my struggles with my friend as often as I feel I need to. Sometimes this is pretty often.

So I wrote an email to my friend. I have written about my friend in this Journal before. He is a friend with whom I am completely transparent and honest. His responding email was exactly what I needed to hear. Notice I didn’t say, “Wanted to hear!” But it was what I needed to hear. As I read and re-read that email several times, I was so blessed. The blessing I received from that email continues to this day. I expect those words to continue to bless me for years to come. Those were powerful words!

That is what got me to thinking about the power of words—both written and spoken. In the above instance, it was the written word.

There are some “old sayings” which are not true. One saying is, “Sticks and stones may break my back but words can never hurt me.” There are many scarred people to give evidence to the falsehood of that statement.

Another statement says, “Talk is cheap.” That may be true when “talk” is substituted for “work”, or actually doing something. But other than that, talk is NEVER cheap! Talk can start—or stop—wars. Challenges are issued or peace treaties are negotiated.

Ever get a notice in the mail that you just inherited a million dollars? Well, neither have I. But those wouldn’t be cheap words! Nor would they be cheap if I got a notice in the mail (or a telephone call) that I owed someone a million dollars! Actually all paper money is just talk on paper. It represents the reality that stands behind that paper money.

But words do hurt—sometimes more than anything done physically. They have destroyed many a marriage, a parent-child or sibling relationship, and a friendship or business partnership. Words can be deadly.

But words can be life giving, too, as in the email from my friend.

Most psychotherapy has to do with just letting people talk. It is not the words of the therapist that help so much as the words of the one with the problem(s) who have been hurt. The saying, “JUST LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT IT” contains truth. When there is a trusted friend/accountability partner with whom we can share, it is like having someone help us carry a heavy load for a little while. After a bit of rest, we are able to take up the load and carry it a while longer.

God spoke the first words spoken in the Bible. (Genesis 1:1-3) God’s spoken word brought forth life. Jesus is the “Living Word”. The very one who brought our salvation is the very word of God made flesh. (John 1:1; 14) This is the Biblical witness to the life-giving power of words.

It has been said the three most powerful words in the world, in any language, are, “I LOVE YOU!” And that is exactly what God says throughout His Word. And this love was demonstrated in Christ’s life, His sacrifice on the Cross-and His resurrection.

Yep! Words are powerful. I have a feeling I’ll be writing about words in this Journal for several Posts.

Jim

posted by jim 10:33 AM 0 comments

Friday, February 13, 2004

VALENTINE’S DAY -- LOVE DAY – FEBRUARY 14th – More Thoughts

(If you haven’t read the previous Post from yesterday, 2/12/04, please do so before reading this Post.)

In my last Post I ended by saying that love means you’ll be involved with another’s life. And that means risk.

Biblically we must be involved, somewhat at least, in others’ lives. A Christian who loves as God loves cannot subscribe to the philosophy of the world which seems to be, “Live and let live!” That is a major problem with the Libertarian philosophy. There is much about the Libertarian position with which I agree wholeheartedly. But one of the major premises of Libertarianism is, “If it doesn’t affect me, I don’t care what anyone else does.” (That’s over-simplified, but I don’t have time for a detailed discussion here.)

In the first place, an awful lot of what “everyone else does” affects me a lot. Additionally, the Biblical principle is that, “I am my brother’s keeper!” contrary to what Cain said in the Old Testament. (Genesis 4:9) But I tend to digress. I didn’t intend this to be a Post about political philosophies!

My point is that to love as God loves involves risk. And God didn’t take a “hands off” policy toward us. He has been involved in our lives from before the beginning of time. And I am thankful for that.

Also, as I study Biblical love, it seems that besides involving risk, love is VULNERABLE. To me that means, “liable to be hurt”. You could mount a substantial argument that is like being at risk. I grant it is similar--with some shades of difference.

Loving is a 2-way street. When we “interfere” we become involved. Then we become totally vulnerable, unprotected.

Remember my illustration in the previous Post – about the child and the car? In seeking to save the child you become vulnerable to the car wheels rolling over you and crushing you. Also, you become vulnerable to being accused of trying to push the child into the car—especially if it were a child whom you were known not to like!

But often the decision to become involved and to become vulnerable has to be made ahead of the time of your actual involvement. As with the example of saving the child from the speeding car, when that situation occurs it is a split-second decision to react or not. There often isn’t time to make a decision whether or not to be involved in another’s life when the moment is upon you. That decision must have been made prior to that circumstance.

So the question we all have to ask ourselves is “Do I WANT to love as God loves? Do I WANT to love at a deep enough level to be willing to risk being hurt?” Am I willing to risk it even if I don’t know, or don’t like, the person—or the class of people, the race of people, the group of people, or whatever.

And I’m not talking about just being hurt physically. When we love like God loves, we become vulnerable to more than physical hurt. We become vulnerable to rejection, loneliness, being misunderstood and having our motives misinterpreted. And those hurts are far more devastating many times than physical wounds. Physical wounds usually heal with time and treatment. This other kinds of hurts often never heal.

So we live “provisionally”. We hold back for fear of getting hurt. We think, and sometimes say, ”I will help IF it doesn’t hurt me, or take too much time or cost me too much”, or whatever.

Yet the more we try to protect ourselves from being hurt often the more we get hurt. It is usually those who are most afraid of falling, the most afraid of being in an accident who end up having the accidents!

God was so vulnerable. Read John 3:16. Or 1 John 3:16 and 1 John 4:7-12. God was so involved, so vulnerable that He watched helplessly as Jesus, His only Son, was made fun of because of His supposed illegitimate birth. God witnessed as Jesus was misunderstood, mocked, beaten, tortured, forsaken, suffered and died a cruel death on a Roman Cross.

And God allowed His Son to become so involved with us that He also was totally vulnerable. All of this was a great demonstration of great love.

*Sheesh*

Love is not always a warm fuzzy feeling. It is involvement and being vulnerable. Love is having the courage to do the loving thing for a person, regardless of what that person, or others, may think. Sometimes it is doing the right thing for another person regardless of the consequences.

Loving God and His Son, Jesus; loving people – enough to become involved and vulnerable. That’s what being a husband/wife; a parent; a Christian friend is all about.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Jim

posted by jim 1:55 PM 0 comments

Thursday, February 12, 2004

VALENTINE’S DAY --
LOVE DAY – FEBRUARY 14th

Saturday is considered a day of romance throughout at least the United States. I don’t know about other countries. Thousands of cards are sent to Loveland, Colorado, at this time each year to be postmarked and sent on to someone.

Also, there is a small town in my home state, Valentine, Nebraska, where the post office receives something like 10,000 or more letters each February to be postmarked and sent on.

So, what is love? How do you explain it? There are at least 3 Greek words to express shades of meaning of the one English word “LOVE”. Preachers preach about these words all the time – agape, phileo and eros.

But I’ve been thinking about this subject for awhile. Imagine this scene: You are standing on the sidewalk that parallels a very busy street. A child you know and love, or at least like a lot, is playing along the curb of that street. A car, traveling at a high rate of speed, reels out of control as it comes to the place where the child is playing. At about that same moment, the child steps off the curb and into the path of the on-coming car!

WHAT DO YOU DO?

If you are near enough, you probably rush out, push or pull the child to safety. Maybe you escape being hit by the car. But maybe you don’t escape. Maybe you are killed, or at least injured severely. Either way, if what you do is known, you’d likely become kind of a hero with your picture in the newspapers, on t. v., etc. It isn’t every day that someone would risk or even lose their life for another.

Now, imagine somewhat the same scene: child playing near the curb of a busy street; you are standing on the sidewalk; cars are rushing by. Again, a car comes speeding crazily down the street, toward the spot where the child is playing. As the car approaches, the child steps off the curb and into the path of the on-coming, speeding car.

Same scene—with this difference: This time, the child is one you can’t stand! Maybe he or she trampled your flower bed, threw rocks at your new car, purposely broke a window in your house. Whatever the case, you can’t stand this kid – never did like him, or his parents either, for that matter.

NOW – WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT THE ON-COMING CAR?

Would you try to save this child from the same dangerous situation as readily as you would the child in the first illustration? Would your motivation be as strong as in the first situation?

None of us knows exactly what we would do unless or until we are in that circumstance. We only know what we would like to do, or what we hope we would do. Even then, we might not react the same way twice. But this has given me something to ponder. And all this has led me to wonder which of the above two actions would be the greater act of Christian (godly) love? Romans 5:7-8 indicates that the greater act of true godly love would be to save the child in the second illustration just as readily with the same motivation that we would rescue the child in the first illustration. But I wonder how many of us would or could. It seems to me that almost never would anyone willingly lay down his life for someone whom he didn’t like, or even hated. It would almost be easier to lay down your life for someone you didn’t know than for someone on your “hate-list”.

So all this “pondering” has led me to a couple or conclusions or observations. I don’t have time to fully develop these thoughts here but let me mention them.

First, Love is INVOLVEMENT.

Any reaching out in love to be involved in someone’s life contains the element of risk. If a doctor is driving down the highway and stops to help someone, he is liable to be sued for malpractice or something. Yet if he doesn’t stop he is possibly breaking the “Good Samaritan” law. Or he might even be hit by another car while helping the first motorist.

If someone is endangering himself or herself either physically, emotionally or spiritually and we seek to intervene, we run the risk of rejection, ridicule, anger or whatever. Yet godly love is involvement, even though it means risk. And if we are to love as God loves, we are to “interfere” in people’s lives.

Well, this is too long already. So I’ll stop now. But I think I’ll write more about this subject probably tomorrow.

Jim

posted by jim 7:00 PM 0 comments

Monday, February 09, 2004

INDIANA STUDENT LEADERSHP FORUM -- Follow-up Post

The weekend began okay, sort of took a "dip" and then soared to heights I could never have imagined. (More on that later.)

The "dip" wasn't getting stuck in the elevator. (See previous post.) The "dip" for me was Saturday mornng before I ever got out of bed! I couldn't figure out how to shut off the alarm--especially in the dark without my glasses. Well, I didn't want to turn on the light and awaken my wife earlier than needed. And I couldn't find my glasses. I had removed them from the night stand because they were in the way of reaching the alarm clock. I laid them on the bed on top of me -- I thought. But after vainly searching for them by moving my hands back and forth across the bed, I decided I would have to turn on a light somewhere. The bathroom light seemed the most likely because it was far enough away from the bed not to disturb my wife yet would provide enough light to locate the glasses.

Having decided that, I threw back the covers off my half of the King-sized bed and swung my feet over the side. As the feet came in contact with the floor I located the glasses! The good news is they didn't break or completely smash. The bad news is that they did get badly bent and I was a day or 2 away from being able to get them straightened!

I hate it when my frames don't fit just right. Unfortunately it affects my whole attitude so I was a mess. After attempts to do something with them myself so they would at least be tolerable for a couple of days (which resulted in more damage than my foot caused!) I was able to at least stand them on my face -- most of the time!

After that there were no more mis-haps; only great experiences. The speakers were "on target" in my estimation. To choose a favorite would be difficult. The members of the Indiana House of Representatives and the Senate were interesting, as was the Secretary of State who also addressed us. It was fun sitting in the seat of a Reprentative eating pizza and cookies and listening to the speakers. I never did figure out in whose seat I was sitting.

Congressman Pence and his wife Karen, were excellent each time they addressed the group. It was impressive that they chose to spend the weekend with us rather than at Retreat with President Bush!

Hunter Smith of the Indianapolis Colts football team blessed us with his testimony. He was so transparent and genuine. I really enjoyed former Congressman David MacIntyre and his wife, Ruthie. The other speakers were good also.

Next Post I want to tell about what we did Saturday. It was an experience--in cold and servanthood! It was a real blessing and I witnessed selflessness as I have never experienced before.

Oh yes, Monday afternoon after 3 tries by two "specialists" the glasses got straightened and my disposition has improved -- I thnk!

Jim

posted by jim 4:46 PM 0 comments

INDIANA STUDENT LEADERSHP FORUM -- Follow-up Post

The weekend began okay, sort of took a "dip" and then soared to heights I could never have imagined. (More on that later.)

The "dip" wasn't getting stuck in the elevator. (See previous post.) The "dip" for me was Saturday mornng before I ever got out of bed! I couldn't figure out how to shut off the alarm--especially in the dark without my glasses. Well, I didn't want to turn on the light and awaken my wife earlier than needed. And I couldn't find my glasses. I had removed them from the night stand because they were in the way of reaching the alarm clock. I laid them on the bed on top of me -- I thought. But after vainly searching for them by moving my hands back and forth across the bed, I decided I would have to turn on a light somewhere. The bathroom light seemed the most likely because it was far enough away from the bed not to disturb my wife yet would provide enough light to locate the glasses.

Having decided that, I threw back the covers off my half of the King-sized bed and swung my feet over the side. As the feet came in contact with the floor I located the glasses! The good news is they didn't break or completely smash. The bad news is that they did get badly bent and I was a day or 2 away from being able to get them straightened!

I hate it when my frames don't fit just right. Unfortunately it affects my whole attitude so I was a mess. After attempts to do something with them myself so they would at least be tolerable for a couple of days (which resulted in more damage than my foot caused!) I was able to at least stand them on my face -- most of the time!

After that there were no more mis-haps; only great experiences. The speakers were "on target" in my estimation. To choose a favorite would be difficult. The members of the Indiana House of Representatives and the Senate were interesting, as was the Secretary of State who also addressed us. It was fun sitting in the seat of a Reprentative eating pizza and cookies and listening to the speakers. I never did figure out in whose seat I was sitting.

Congressman Pence and his wife Karen, were excellent each time they addressed the group. It was impressive that they chose to spend the weekend with us rather than at Retreat with President Bush!

Hunter Smith of the Indianapolis Colts football team blessed us with his testimony. He was so transparent and genuine. I really enjoyed former Congressman David MacIntyre and his wife, Ruthie. The other speakers were good also.

Next Post I want to tell about what we did Saturday. It was an experience--in cold and servanthood! It was a real blessing and I witnessed selflessness as I have never experienced before.

Oh yes, Monday afternoon after 3 tries by two "specialists" the glasses got straightened and my disposition has improved -- I thnk!

Jim

posted by jim 3:55 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, February 03, 2004

INDIANA STUDENT LEADERSHIP FORUM -- First Report

It was fantastic -- in every way! It was fantastically cold! (-9 degrees below zero at the beginning of the Forum.) The scheduling of events, the speakers, the Facilitators and others who "made it happen" were fantastic. The most fantastic of all were the students that attended. There were 88. I didn't get to meet all 88. But I knew some before the Forum and I met a lot of them during the Forum. The ones I knew previously and the ones I met were fantastic. Our "Small Group", or "family", was fantastic. It didn't take long for us to become a group. And it didn't take long for me to come to respect, admire, enjoy and soon love the 7 in our family group. I miss them and and am praying daily for each of them. They all were the greatest!

I'll be posting about my experiences and observations in the next few posts. One experience was getting stuck in a very small elevator with 15 other attendees at the Crown Plaza Hotel. Now that was an experience! The doors were ready to close when a person shouted out, "Any more room?" Someone within the elevator said, "Sure, get on." When that person stepped in, the doors closed, the elevator grunted and groaned but would not move. We were only about 6 inches at the most on our way up. But the elevator was stuck, the doors were stuck. We weren't going anywhere! It was one of those elevators that had 3 sides glass. People were looking at us, pointing to us and taking our picture. But no one was doing anything to get us out.

Now I know why they put those telephone in elevators! (This one was red.) And I sure am glad they are there. After calling a couple of times and having a somewhat forceful dialogue with whomever was on the other side, they assured me "someone was on it!" My reply was, "There are 16 someones on this elevator! Get us off." At that, the lady on the other end of the line laughed. From that point they set about getting us out of the elevator. After some banging outside the door, it opened and we all exited.

It is a good thing, too, because with 16 people in a small space for about 15 minutes, the oxygen supply was fast dwindling. All in all everyone handled it reasonably well. One person (the one who stepped on last actually) became panicky because she thought she was going to run out of oxygen. One guy pulled out a huge switchblade knife and frightened some people. (He tried to pry open the elevator door with the knife, but to no avail.) Another guy started to tell about a time he was in an airplane crash on a runway. He didn't get to finish his story because the doors came open as he began his story. No one wanted to stay around to hear the end of his story.

We were none the worse for the wear and we made a memory and had an experience to tell about. I have something to Blog about and several people we don't know have pictures of us stuck in an elevator!

*Sigh* You never know.

More about the actual Forum later. But I'm ready to be a facilitator next year! It was wonderful.

Jim
jimdewing@yahoo.com

posted by jim 5:28 PM 0 comments

INDIANA STUDENT LEADERSHIP FORUM -- First Report

It was fantastic -- in every way! It was fantastically cold! (-9 degrees below zero at the beginning of the Forum.) The scheduling of events, the speakers, the Facilitators and others who "made it happen" were fantastic. The most fantastic of all were the students that attended. There were 88. I didn't get to meet all 88. But I knew some before the Forum and I met a lot of them during the Forum. The ones I knew previously and the ones I met were fantastic. Our "Small Group", or "family", was fantastic. It didn't take long for us to become a group. And it didn't take long for me to come to respect, admire, enjoy and soon love the 7 in our family group. I miss them and and am praying daily for each of them. They all were the greatest!

I'll be posting about my experiences and observations in the next few posts. One experience was getting stuck in a very small elevator with 15 other attendees at the Crown Plaza Hotel. Now that was an experience! The doors were ready to close when a person shouted out, "Any more room?" Someone within the elevator said, "Sure, get on." When that person stepped in, the doors closed, the elevator grunted and groaned but would not move. We were only about 6 inches at the most on our way up. But the elevator was stuck, the doors were stuck. We weren't going anywhere! It was one of those elevators that had 3 sides glass. People were looking at us, pointing to us and taking our picture. But no one was doing anything to get us out.

Now I know why they put those telephone in elevators! (This one was red.) And I sure am glad they are there. After calling a couple of times and having a somewhat forceful dialogue with whomever was on the other side, they assured me "someone was on it!" My reply was, "There are 16 someones on this elevator! Get us off." At that, the lady on the other end of the line laughed. From that point they set about getting us out of the elevator. After some banging outside the door, it opened and we all exited.

It is a good thing, too, because with 16 people in a small space for about 15 minutes, the oxygen supply was fast dwindling. All in all everyone handled it reasonably well. One person (the one who stepped on last actually) became panicky because she thought she was going to run out of oxygen. One guy pulled out a huge switchblade knife and frightened some people. (He tried to pry open the elevator door with the knife, but to no avail.) Another guy started to tell about a time he was in an airplane crash on a runway. He didn't get to finish his story because the doors came open as he began his story. No one wanted to stay around to hear the end of his story.

We were none the worse for the wear and we made a memory and had an experience to tell about. I have something to Blog about and several people we don't know have pictures of us stuck in an elevator!

*Sigh* You never know.

More about the actual Forum later. But I'm ready to be a facilitator next year! It was wonderful.

Jim
jimdewing@yahoo.com

posted by jim 3:00 PM 0 comments