Thanksgiving

There is so much rhetoric on the origins of the American Thanksgiving, that I began to wonder if we should continue to celebrate it, but then I had an epiphany. What if we just took a day to be thankful for what we have and not grouse about what we do not have. That would be a day in which our attitudes would begin to change and maybe we could influence others to grateful.

Trials. The book of James tells us to be joyful when we have trials because they make us stronger. It’s difficult to be thankful when we have trials in life, but that is exactly when we need to be thankful. As I look back on my past, I see that the experiences that were not so pleasant were the exact experiences that created change and forced me to grow as a person. I learned from my failures and from the experiences that others may have brought upon me forced me to learn more about myself and how to relate with others better.

Family. Living in Los Angeles, the homeless people surround us in every pocket of the city. Many of them have no physical family members. I am grateful that I have a family that has been there for me when I have failed. For people whose blood family is not close physically or emotionally, I am grateful for my church family that has grown throughout my lifetime and is open for more coming into our family.

Friends. As evil as people claim social media to be, it has connected me to old friends and even has created some new friendships. I am thankful for all my friendships. I am thankful for the friends that have been with me throughout the years and have shared in my crazy antics in youth ministry, and I am thankful for the new friends with whom we can share new memories.

Fun. I am thankful that I can have fun and enjoy many of the beauties in this life, whether they are in nature or created by amazing artisans. I am thankful for places to hang like coffee shops and bookstores that allow me to continue to learn about the wonders of the world.

Jesus. I am mostly thankful for Jesus who sacrificed his life for me when I did not deserve it at all. I am thankful that he loves me no matter what I do or say. He loves me and gives me peace through the turbulent times. He doesn’t take the troubles away, but he leads me through them and allows me to learn from them.

Being thankful for what we have in life is so much better than complaining and yelling about how horrible life is and all the political wrongs in the world. I wish we could celebrate Thanksgiving every day. I wish we would be more grateful for what we have and not worry about what we don’t have. It’s day where we feast. It’s a day where we spend time with loved ones. It’s a day where we can serve, but most importantly, it’s a day where we can sit and begin to list the experiences and items in life for which we are thankful. Happy Thanksgiving! 

Life Is Precious

Two weeks ago, on a Monday, I discovered my alma mater was closing. This last Monday night, a coworker and fellow teacher lost his battle to cancer and passed away. He was a retired engineer who decided to teach in South Central Los Angeles at a STEM school. He lived each day to its fullest. He taught physics and astronomy. He was a scientist and a Christian, which for some, is a walking oxymoron. He was a gentle man. He is a reminder that we must realize that every life is precious and stop fighting with each other and begin living each day to make a difference in the world. Retired, to our beloved teacher, Brian Woods, didn’t mean sitting down and doing nothing. It meant living life and doing for others until life is over. He never stopped until he took his last breath.

As I look at our world today, I wish more of us could be like him. I wish more people would stop talking and begin working. The petty arguments of which generation is better, reminds me that we have not learned or grown from our past. We must move forward. We must begin to work to make a difference in the world. When a retired teacher takes time on his weekends to take small groups of students to clean a natural preserve in the middle of an urban community, we can stop complaining of not having time or being too tired. We must live each day to its fullest because life is precious.

Life is too precious to argue which generation is better. Life is too precious to debate politics on social media in which no one is listening. Life is precious, so we need to take the time to encourage and empower others and not discourage others. It’s time that we begin to serve others and work together to make the world a better place. we cannot rely on government officials, or any other leaders. It all depends on us as individuals.

People will fail. People will let us down, but it is people that can build us up. It’s people that can guide us to succeed. We must lean on each other in order to make the world a better place. As I shared last week, it’s the memories of people from my alma mater that makes that place special. It is people that teaches students. It’s people that cleans our neighborhoods. It’s ordinary people doing extraordinary things because when we do anything that is extra from our agenda, it is beyond ordinary.

We all must begin to live extraordinary lives. Life is short. Life is precious. May we take the time to make the most of each and every day. May we serve others, as we see that each and every life is precious. It’s how Brian Woods saw the world. He saw each and every life as precious and as a potential to make a difference in this world.

Memories of Cincinnati Christian University

Cincinnati Christian University has had a huge impact on my life.  I was a poor kid from the trailer park with Bible Bowl scholarships and a Pell Grant, I was able to obtain a higher education that gave me knowledge beyond the books. The friends that I made in college became my family. My professors were my first mentors for ministry and life. As I look back on my time in college, I do remember the knowledge that I attained from the classes, but my school was more than that. It is why I want my current students to attend college, but I know now that my time at CCU was special because of the Christian friends and professors that impacted my life. 

It was at my college that my love for college basketball began, as the experience in the stands was one to only experience with the “Bleacher Creatures” cheering our team on to three back to back to back championships within my four years there. “Sneak Day” is a day designed to give students a break from classes one day in the fall. It was full of fun, food, and craziness at a park. Late night talks with friends in the dorms, gathering of friends in the cafeteria (or the weekly run to Skyline when the café did not satisfy), the various activities we discovered on the weekends, ensembles, camp teams, Family worship on Wednesday nights, chapel services, the Science class field trip to caves that involved camping (which I hate camping, but loved that trip.), and all the other events will always hold a special place in my memories and heart, even if the buildings are gone.

This last week, Cincinnati Christian University announced it will close its doors at the end of the semester. Many are mourning, not because the buildings will be gone, but because the experiences we had will no longer be passed down to future generations of students who go to school. It as a reminder for all of us that we needed to be a light for the city on top of a hill. It reminds us that we need to teach future generations that we encounter in our lives.

The school will close, but there are somethings that no one can close. Nothing can close my friendships. Nothing can close my memories. Nothing can close my knowledge and wisdom that the professors dispensed upon my life. Nothing can close the fact that one of the most conservative colleges supported me as a youth pastor and helped me get every internship that I had. They can close and tear down a building, but they cannot close and tear down the church. The church, which is the body of Christ, is not a building. It’s living and breathing.

My hope and prayers are that Central College of the Bible can purchase the property, but if they cannot, the light from Cincinnati Christian University will burn bright in the hearts of its alumni who will continue to teach the values of the school to future generations in all of our places of ministry all around the world. We don’t need a building in one place to do that. We need our hearts aligned with Jesus.

Many years have passed since I was a student at that school. I have spent time in youth ministry and in the classroom as a teacher of both a Christian school and a public school. When the hard times in life have hit, I have had to rely on the love, grace, and comfort of Jesus. It is in those times that it has been the people of God who have shown me the love of Jesus. The church needs to rise up and begin to show the world the love of Jesus, and then they will listen to our knowledge about Him. My memories of CCU are built around the love and grace that both the students and professors showed me during my time there. I made so many mistakes, but when friendships are deep, they don’t close and shun you because you make a mistake or commit a sin, but they embrace you and encourage you to keep in the faith. 

This incident has caused many of the alumni to reflect on the good times at school, and at the dire situation that became the demise of the school. It reminds us that we need to be faithful stewards of our time and money. It reminds us that we need to take risks and attempt new endeavors, but to also recognize that we may need to go in a new direction when those new endeavors are failing. (If any of the board members had been youth pastors, they would have made better decisions in the department of failing!)

May all our Christian schools have love, grace, and wisdom with how they conduct their business. May all our churches have love, grace, and wisdom with how they conduct their business. May we all have love, grace, and wisdom with how they conduct their business. May we all gather again in heaven with a new campus and many more who went there before and after us. 

Are you an alumnus of Cincinnati Bible College, Cincinnati Bible Seminary, or Cincinnati Christian University? Post a memory in the comments on this blog!  I would love to read all the other beautiful memories!!