The title of "My World Today" seemed as good as any other when I had a job (or 2) to go to on a regular basis. But it seemed not to fit what, it seems to have become, retirement. I'm still trying to come to terms with my life as it is, but with God's help, I'll make it through. But that is not what I want to explain right now. Why did I change the title of my blog AND why "Life Without a Briefcase"? Let me explain.
I graduated high school in 1967 and was going to business college for computer programming. Because of the Vietnam War, however, all teenage males knew that sooner or later a decision had to be made. Without going into the decision itself, or the options, MY only option was what branch of the service I was going to go into. The draft was going strong and the "Lottery" approach to the draft had not yet been enacted. The draft happened on a county by county quota. If your county had a lot of draft age males, perhaps your draft notice might not come until you were 20. But in my county, Madison County, Ohio, there was a shortage of draft eligible males so I knew my draft notice would come shortly after my 19th birthday. So I enlisted in the Air Force instead. After basic training, basic and advanced electronics schools, I was given orders to go to the island of Guam in the Pacific. What I found out was, at that time, each airman carried his own pay records in a dark blue circular tube. This tube was an incredibly odd size and shape to carry. And there didn't seem to be a good way to carry it. I was determined to find some way to carry this thing that wouldn't be so awkward yet would be securely stowed away and I wouldn't forget it. As I looked in stores, nothing seemed to fit. After a lot of searching, I found out that Samsonite had a very thick briefcase made of some type of hardened metal and plastic that was just large enough to fit the large blue tube into the front of the briefcase if I didn't put anything into the back of it. After carrying it halfway around the world, I found it to be handy to carry to work everyday. As the years went by, both in the Air Force and later in the Federal Aviation Administration, I found it to be an everyday necessity. When I started pastoring a church in Michigan and later in Kansas, I found it even more vital to carry. When I retired from the FAA I was still carrying one to my office at the church. But after I retired I brought it home and forgot about it. The other day I happened to look over in the corner of my office, here at home and saw it. I realized that I hadn't touched it since I brought it home the last day I pastored up in Parkville,MO and that was the longest I had gone since I was 19 years old without carrying one. In fact, I carried the same briefcase since I became a supervisor with the FAA in 1986 (a gift from my wife LaDonna). The only reason I had retired the earlier briefcase (I've only had 2 in my lifetime) was that it took an unfortunate stab in it's top by a forklift (another story). I realized that my life had taken a sharp turn when I looked at my briefcase over in the corner all alone. My work life, both the good and the bad were now a thing of the past. Even though I didn't specifically retire from preaching and pastoring (the Lord had just told me to resign the pastorate I was at) it seems clear now, that part is over as well. Not because I wish it to be, but because the need, for me to be either, seems absent.
So, "Life Without a Briefcase" it is!
God bless all who read this,
Dave Mingus
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Faith - misunderstood. And a truly Bad Scifi movie
A couple of items have been banging around in my head (plenty of empty space to bounce around I suppose) the past couple of days. One is of a religious nature and the other decidedly not.
I was watching a television program called "Combat Hospital", I believe this past Monday. One of the story lines centered on a chaplain serving with this particular combat hospital. While not giving away too much of the story, the drama surrounding the chaplain was on her faith. The central theme of her part in that episode was that she was struggling with her faith because she could see no reason for one soldier's loss of the use of his legs in particular, and in general any reason from God for the chaos of the war around her and the concurrent loss of life and limb thus she could see no purpose for her being there. She felt useless! That makes for a good story I suppose; I don't write TV screenplays. What it does bring up is that it is true-to-life for many in our society today. The strength of their 'faith' is directly proportional to how much they THINK they understand koo about what is going on around them. This is understandable since this ranks up high on mankind's shortcomings/sins. It is hard when your day-to-day life is a swirl of confusion and chaos; to remember exactly what faith is and isn't; what God is, and what we are.
What is faith? I'm not going to give you a dictionary explanation. Neither am I going to give you a "Strongs" or "Youngs" definition. No interlinear Bible is needed. I want to give you a definition that may help more in your day's struggles. First of all, true faith is NOT understanding why God does what He does! Faith is a relationship with God! If your faith is based on understanding either God or why things happen in your life and the lives around you; that faith will ultimately fail. In every life there are simply things that we cannot understand! We do not have the capability to understand. Our fallen carnal nature prevents us. We wish for God to explain what we do NOT have the capabiliity to understand. In the book of Job, from chapter 38:4 and continuing through chapter 40:2, God asks Job a series of questions because Job had decided God was required to answer him (Job). This is a scripture we all need to remember, especially in the times of confusion and doubt we have. Job 38:4a is a bellwether for this speech from God. "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?" I have heard some men preach this in the manner of God scolding Job for even asking; as if God said 'HOW DARE YOU ASK ME THESE QUESTIONS?' I would like to propose a different reading. I believe God is asking these questions of Job to lead Job to an understanding that all these questions God is asking of Job are elementary questions that Job must understand; have an answer to (beyond 'I don't know') for God to even begin explain to Job why He (God) does what He does.
I spent my working years studying/working on all things electronic & digital for the federal government (FAA). If you were to come to me and ask me for an explanation of the specifics of how radar works, including how the radar waves are formed; how they travel down the waveguides; why ports can be in the waveguide and not disrupt the signal, then I would, at first ask if you've had (and understood) advanced courses of algebra, geometry, trigonometry, differential and integral calculus. Have you had basic and advanced electronic theory? Do you understand the role of magnetics in electronic and waveform theory? Are you current in all computer operation theory, both basic and advanced? If all those things are true then we can start a conversation about the specifics of radar. I believe God is saying something similar (although the answers to His questions are above our ability to understand at all). We as fallen man cannot even answer the first question!! "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?" God asks and we must remain silent because we cannot answer this most basic of questions He asks of us!
If this is true (and I believe it is) why do we struggle with this so much? I believe one reason, perhaps the greatest reason is a 'two sides of the same coin' reason. We don't have a HIGH enough view of God or a LOW enough view of ourselves. We have slipped into the sin mentioned in Romans chapter 1. Verse 25 says in talking of mankind 'l exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator......" Put simply instead of the Genesis 1:26 truth 'Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image"' every time we demand of God, or suggest in our minds that God must give us an answer for us to worship Him, we are, in effect, attempting to "make God in our image". To demand of God an answer in order for us to have faith in Him is not faith at all!
We have all done this at one time or another. How can we, with God's help, correct this. First of all, retain God's word in your heart and mind! This involves reading and studying God's Word. Secondly understand that prayer is not some shopping list we give to God. Prayer is about 2 way communication with Him who has established a relationship with us. Prayer is putting that relationship into action. Any valued relationship requires that we invest our time.
Words fail me! This is a poor example to be sure but perhaps this will help. LaDonna is my wife! She is my wife when I understand her and she is my wife when I don't understand her at all. She is my wife when she does what pleases me and she is my wife when she does that which doesn't please me. In all cases she is still my wife! When I talk with her it is a two way communication like none other on this earth that puts that relationship (husband-wife) into gear. That communcation is the grease which enables that relationship to work as it should.
Again, Faith is being in a relationship with God, not about understanding God. We simply do not have the capability to do so. He is HIGH, we are LOW!
So how do we prepare for those 'earthquakes' of our lives that do not make sense to us; that we can't see how this works into God's plan?
The way I've tried to prepare is to grasp the realization that I do not understand the details of God's plan, I never have understood the details of God's plan, and I never will understand the details of God's plan, at least as long as I am on this side of that doorway we call physical death.
Item 2: Definitely not of a religious nature.
I'm a geek. I have been a geek since before the term was used to mean what it has come to mean. As any proper geek, I love sci-fi (not fantasy....flying dragons don't do a thing for me) and I watch sci-fi when I can. So this past weekend I set the DVR to record a movie that had been advertised for weeks on the SyFy channel called "The Watchmen". The way they advertised it, I assumed a good to great plot with a SciFi backdrop. Last night I got around to watching it. What the movie turned out to be was something far, far short of what I was expecting. What was received was a 3 hour movie that should have been a 20-30 minute episode on the Twilight Zone with a plot that can be summarized as this old chestnut: "The ends justifies the means". I shouldn't have watched all of it but I assumed that somewhere in the 3 hours allotted for this movie, it would get better....it didn't! And to make matters worse, the backdrop they chose to stretch this one-liner plot into 3 hours was a bad combination of the old Buck Rogers episodes in the 40's and 50's combined with badly lit poor imitation of the original 'Dune' movie (the one starring Kyle MacLachlan and Patrick Stewart, not the abysmal miniseries done in 2000 which missed the whole 'messiah' idea). Imitation may be the most sincere form of flattery but it makes a lousy backdrop for a movie.
I was trying to think of any movies I've ever seen that would come close to being as bad as this movie. I'm sure there are more but there are only two that come to mind. Number 1 was "Inside Daisy Clover". This movie was shown at the "Gloria Theater" (I believe that was what it was called) in Urbana, Ohio at about 3am on the night/morning of one of the Proms I attended while in high school. The 2nd was probably one of the "Valley of the Dolls" movies. Instead of watching these movies perhaps staring at a picture of your least favorite family relation for 2 hours would be a better use of your time. 'nuff said.
That's it for this week. I realize you may disagree with me on one or both of items I've written, so I'll relay something told about me from a Bible College professor who was confronted by a student from the church I pastored in Michigan. This professor told the student that "Your pastor (that's me folks) had the right to be wrong."
I guess we all have that right. Just don't be wrong about your faith in Christ, however you define it!
Stay close to your family and closer to God.
Dave Mingus
I was watching a television program called "Combat Hospital", I believe this past Monday. One of the story lines centered on a chaplain serving with this particular combat hospital. While not giving away too much of the story, the drama surrounding the chaplain was on her faith. The central theme of her part in that episode was that she was struggling with her faith because she could see no reason for one soldier's loss of the use of his legs in particular, and in general any reason from God for the chaos of the war around her and the concurrent loss of life and limb thus she could see no purpose for her being there. She felt useless! That makes for a good story I suppose; I don't write TV screenplays. What it does bring up is that it is true-to-life for many in our society today. The strength of their 'faith' is directly proportional to how much they THINK they understand koo about what is going on around them. This is understandable since this ranks up high on mankind's shortcomings/sins. It is hard when your day-to-day life is a swirl of confusion and chaos; to remember exactly what faith is and isn't; what God is, and what we are.
What is faith? I'm not going to give you a dictionary explanation. Neither am I going to give you a "Strongs" or "Youngs" definition. No interlinear Bible is needed. I want to give you a definition that may help more in your day's struggles. First of all, true faith is NOT understanding why God does what He does! Faith is a relationship with God! If your faith is based on understanding either God or why things happen in your life and the lives around you; that faith will ultimately fail. In every life there are simply things that we cannot understand! We do not have the capability to understand. Our fallen carnal nature prevents us. We wish for God to explain what we do NOT have the capabiliity to understand. In the book of Job, from chapter 38:4 and continuing through chapter 40:2, God asks Job a series of questions because Job had decided God was required to answer him (Job). This is a scripture we all need to remember, especially in the times of confusion and doubt we have. Job 38:4a is a bellwether for this speech from God. "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?" I have heard some men preach this in the manner of God scolding Job for even asking; as if God said 'HOW DARE YOU ASK ME THESE QUESTIONS?' I would like to propose a different reading. I believe God is asking these questions of Job to lead Job to an understanding that all these questions God is asking of Job are elementary questions that Job must understand; have an answer to (beyond 'I don't know') for God to even begin explain to Job why He (God) does what He does.
I spent my working years studying/working on all things electronic & digital for the federal government (FAA). If you were to come to me and ask me for an explanation of the specifics of how radar works, including how the radar waves are formed; how they travel down the waveguides; why ports can be in the waveguide and not disrupt the signal, then I would, at first ask if you've had (and understood) advanced courses of algebra, geometry, trigonometry, differential and integral calculus. Have you had basic and advanced electronic theory? Do you understand the role of magnetics in electronic and waveform theory? Are you current in all computer operation theory, both basic and advanced? If all those things are true then we can start a conversation about the specifics of radar. I believe God is saying something similar (although the answers to His questions are above our ability to understand at all). We as fallen man cannot even answer the first question!! "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?" God asks and we must remain silent because we cannot answer this most basic of questions He asks of us!
If this is true (and I believe it is) why do we struggle with this so much? I believe one reason, perhaps the greatest reason is a 'two sides of the same coin' reason. We don't have a HIGH enough view of God or a LOW enough view of ourselves. We have slipped into the sin mentioned in Romans chapter 1. Verse 25 says in talking of mankind 'l exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator......" Put simply instead of the Genesis 1:26 truth 'Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image"' every time we demand of God, or suggest in our minds that God must give us an answer for us to worship Him, we are, in effect, attempting to "make God in our image". To demand of God an answer in order for us to have faith in Him is not faith at all!
We have all done this at one time or another. How can we, with God's help, correct this. First of all, retain God's word in your heart and mind! This involves reading and studying God's Word. Secondly understand that prayer is not some shopping list we give to God. Prayer is about 2 way communication with Him who has established a relationship with us. Prayer is putting that relationship into action. Any valued relationship requires that we invest our time.
Words fail me! This is a poor example to be sure but perhaps this will help. LaDonna is my wife! She is my wife when I understand her and she is my wife when I don't understand her at all. She is my wife when she does what pleases me and she is my wife when she does that which doesn't please me. In all cases she is still my wife! When I talk with her it is a two way communication like none other on this earth that puts that relationship (husband-wife) into gear. That communcation is the grease which enables that relationship to work as it should.
Again, Faith is being in a relationship with God, not about understanding God. We simply do not have the capability to do so. He is HIGH, we are LOW!
So how do we prepare for those 'earthquakes' of our lives that do not make sense to us; that we can't see how this works into God's plan?
The way I've tried to prepare is to grasp the realization that I do not understand the details of God's plan, I never have understood the details of God's plan, and I never will understand the details of God's plan, at least as long as I am on this side of that doorway we call physical death.
Item 2: Definitely not of a religious nature.
I'm a geek. I have been a geek since before the term was used to mean what it has come to mean. As any proper geek, I love sci-fi (not fantasy....flying dragons don't do a thing for me) and I watch sci-fi when I can. So this past weekend I set the DVR to record a movie that had been advertised for weeks on the SyFy channel called "The Watchmen". The way they advertised it, I assumed a good to great plot with a SciFi backdrop. Last night I got around to watching it. What the movie turned out to be was something far, far short of what I was expecting. What was received was a 3 hour movie that should have been a 20-30 minute episode on the Twilight Zone with a plot that can be summarized as this old chestnut: "The ends justifies the means". I shouldn't have watched all of it but I assumed that somewhere in the 3 hours allotted for this movie, it would get better....it didn't! And to make matters worse, the backdrop they chose to stretch this one-liner plot into 3 hours was a bad combination of the old Buck Rogers episodes in the 40's and 50's combined with badly lit poor imitation of the original 'Dune' movie (the one starring Kyle MacLachlan and Patrick Stewart, not the abysmal miniseries done in 2000 which missed the whole 'messiah' idea). Imitation may be the most sincere form of flattery but it makes a lousy backdrop for a movie.
I was trying to think of any movies I've ever seen that would come close to being as bad as this movie. I'm sure there are more but there are only two that come to mind. Number 1 was "Inside Daisy Clover". This movie was shown at the "Gloria Theater" (I believe that was what it was called) in Urbana, Ohio at about 3am on the night/morning of one of the Proms I attended while in high school. The 2nd was probably one of the "Valley of the Dolls" movies. Instead of watching these movies perhaps staring at a picture of your least favorite family relation for 2 hours would be a better use of your time. 'nuff said.
That's it for this week. I realize you may disagree with me on one or both of items I've written, so I'll relay something told about me from a Bible College professor who was confronted by a student from the church I pastored in Michigan. This professor told the student that "Your pastor (that's me folks) had the right to be wrong."
I guess we all have that right. Just don't be wrong about your faith in Christ, however you define it!
Stay close to your family and closer to God.
Dave Mingus
Friday, August 12, 2011
In My Mind, What a View!
Since I left the pastorate last month, I've been using a devotional written by Free Will Baptist pastor Randy Sawyer called "Regaining Balance: 91 Days of prayer and praise". Each day Pastor Randy calls to attention a portion of scripture and guides the reader through thoughts, reflections and praise to God. I don't normally share my devotions with anyone but I seem prompted to do so today.
Today is day 18 of the study and Psalm 8:1-9 was the scripture. It begins: " O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens."
Pastor Randy asked the reader to take some time to look at a beautiful landscape or think about one. Think about how it all came into being and asked what does it tell the reader about the Creator?
This was my own poor but heartfelt response: " I've seen many places over the earth.....Of all the sights, the one I remember thinking of God and His majesty was not the most beautiful sight I've seen but one I remember well. I was flying back from Chicago to Toledo, Ohio one early evening, some years ago, on Air Wisconsin a small commuter airline. I was flying in a plane I believe was called a Metroliner; a small, perhaps 12 passenger turboprop plane. The plane never did get very high so I was able to see the coast of Lake Michigan and then the farms, towns and villages of northern Indiana and Ohio. As it was evening, the lights of the towns below started coming on but yet I could still clearly see as it wasn't totally dark yet. Even at that low altitude how small these towns and people seemed. I remember vividly these many years down the road of my life, thinking of how small and insignificant I am to the earth and society; how much the world would not even miss me should I pass from this earth.....and yet God, the Creator of all that there is, everywhere, cares for me; loves me; is concerned with my day-to-day life here on this small 'blue marble' we call earth. That this God, the only God loves me....ME!!! That He wants me to be with HIM forever eternally!!! That He provided all that is necessary for that to happen!!!. How could I not praise Him! The psalmist was right: Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"
Today is day 18 of the study and Psalm 8:1-9 was the scripture. It begins: " O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens."
Pastor Randy asked the reader to take some time to look at a beautiful landscape or think about one. Think about how it all came into being and asked what does it tell the reader about the Creator?
This was my own poor but heartfelt response: " I've seen many places over the earth.....Of all the sights, the one I remember thinking of God and His majesty was not the most beautiful sight I've seen but one I remember well. I was flying back from Chicago to Toledo, Ohio one early evening, some years ago, on Air Wisconsin a small commuter airline. I was flying in a plane I believe was called a Metroliner; a small, perhaps 12 passenger turboprop plane. The plane never did get very high so I was able to see the coast of Lake Michigan and then the farms, towns and villages of northern Indiana and Ohio. As it was evening, the lights of the towns below started coming on but yet I could still clearly see as it wasn't totally dark yet. Even at that low altitude how small these towns and people seemed. I remember vividly these many years down the road of my life, thinking of how small and insignificant I am to the earth and society; how much the world would not even miss me should I pass from this earth.....and yet God, the Creator of all that there is, everywhere, cares for me; loves me; is concerned with my day-to-day life here on this small 'blue marble' we call earth. That this God, the only God loves me....ME!!! That He wants me to be with HIM forever eternally!!! That He provided all that is necessary for that to happen!!!. How could I not praise Him! The psalmist was right: Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"
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