B1. N43. O71.

It’s 2:00 AM (the first time the little hand hits the 2 during a 24-hour cycle) and I’m yelling out BINGO numbers to a room full of young men and women who just received their high school diplomas mere hours earlier. They call it “Project Graduation” – an all-night lock-in celebration complete with food, entertainment, door prizes, a mass of high school graduates, and a few parent sponsors whose high school diplomas are, well, let’s just say older.

And the parent who got stuck screeching out BINGO numbers to those whose ink was still drying on their diplomas? Yep, yours truly. The preacher. Oh, the irony! And oh, the joy! It was such a great diversion to my heavy eyelids and a good learning experience as well. Reflecting on my BINGO calling debut, there are a few lessons I learned that may be of value to you who are recent graduates and to those of us who are not so recent graduates.

Think Before You Speak

I yelled out, “B6.” And from somewhere in the middle of the room I hear, “Wait, did you say B6 or D6?”

Really?

There are four different types of people in the world:

• Those who think before they speak
• Those who think while they are speaking
• Those who think after they speak
• Those who don’t think at all

It’s 2:00 in the morning so I’m tempted to retort with, “It’s BINGO not DINGO! You should probably make sure your diploma was actually signed!” Thankfully, I thought before I spoke and gracefully replied, “Beeeeee…6!”

My ambition is to be that person who thinks before he speaks.  May that be an aspiration for all of us.

Even dunces who keep quiet are thought to be wise; as long as they keep their mouths shut they’re smart. Proverbs 17:28 (The Message)

Winners Never Quit and Quitters Never Win

I’m sure the football icon Vince Lombardi was not thinking BINGO when he coined that famous phrase, but I can tell you it indubitably applies. I called game after game watching kids get caught up in the exuberance of the contest despite their utter frustration at not winning a single game of BINGO. Some would quit and walk out of the room. Some persevered and eventually found themselves howling out, “BINGO!” And still others stuck with it and never won a prize.

But the wise coach was right, winners never quit and quitters never win. Where is it today you are tempted to quit but you know you need to stick with it? Where is it you need to press on and push through? Where is it you need to persevere even if you don’t get the prize you are expecting?

So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Galatians 6:9 (The Message)

The Room is Full When It’s Free and Empty When the Prizes are Gone

It was the craziest thing to me. New graduates. Those who are 17, 18 and 19 years old. The BINGO room was packed and there was a line waiting to get in! There was also a leisure pool, a rock climbing wall, basketball, volleyball, ultimate Frisbee and they are lined up waiting to get into BINGO? Why?

It’s simple. It was completely free and there was a prize for every game. Big prizes – like gift cards and cold hard cash. And yet, all good things must come to an end. We eventually ran out of prizes. The room emptied like air swishing out of a popped balloon and there was no longer a waiting line to get in. Since I’ve had the opportunity to catch up on my sleep I’ve wondered: Would BINGO have been as popular had each game cost something and if there hadn’t been a big prize awarded to the winner? Probably not.

And so, the lesson might be the proverbial, “Nothing in life is free.” But there is one thing in life that is absolutely free – God’s unconditional love and undeserved grace. It’s my hope that every kid who played a game of BINGO, every new graduate about to embark on a new chapter in life and every person reading this blog know that it’s completely free and the prize is the loftiest of all.

…I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:12-14 (NLT)

 

 

There’s a bit of uneasiness in the Smallwood house right now. Okay, let’s call it tension. Our oldest is graduating this weekend and will be starting college at Texas Tech University (Wreck ‘Em!) this fall. This is a testing time for moms and dads. There are days when the thought of him moving out and being on his own is overwhelming and brings tears with the blink of an eye. But there are other days when it is quite apparent it is really time for him to go. In fact, days when I’m ready to help him pack! I think it’s God’s way of preparing parents and children for a natural separation that is to occur. We live in this state of tension of not wanting him to go but also not wanting a failure to launch.

This is not the only place I find myself living in tension. Leading a church with a heart to reach those who have no connection to God generates opposing pulls. There are those who have a long history with church and its practices and those are relatively new with no previous experience of church programming. Those who have been habitually churched most of their life (including me) tend to see things through the lens of how things have always been done. While those who have no church experience tend to view things through a very different lens that includes more of a blank slate.  I think it’s God’s way of making the church labor to find the balance between the two. We live in this state of tension between the church being deep and wide. Conceivably, it’s not either/or but both/and.

We are tempted to buy into the myth that tension is bad. We are taught we should avoid tension and when it rears its ugly head we should work to resolve it as soon as possible. But what if tension is actually good?

Jesus never avoided tension. He did just the opposite. He led his disciples right into the middle of some of the most apprehensive, nail-biting situations imaginable to stretch their faith. No wonder they were ready to confront a broken world with a message of restoration and redemption after He left them. For three years, Jesus used tension to deepen their message and anchor their hearts to discoveries about God and themselves.

Tension is good.  Think about it:

• Tension between the branches of a government creates a needed system of checks and balances.
• Tension in science can lead to remarkable insights and discoveries.
• Tension in a family provides an opportunity to demonstrate commitment and unconditional love.
• Tension within a team pushes them to better perspectives and deeper relationships.

So, don’t avoid tension. Embrace it. Invite it. Pursue it if necessary. If you avoid tension, you are potentially robbing yourself of some defining moments that shape your character, stretch your faith, and clarify some powerful insights. Tension is good!

 

Are you overwhelmed, stressed and exhausted? Are you having a hard time keeping your ducks in a row, all the plates spinning or all the balls up in the air? When asked, “How are you doing?” is your immediate response, “I’m making it!” or “Well, I’m keeping my head above water!” Do you have a hard time knowing if you are coming or going? Are you looking for an easy answer, a quick fix or some instant gratification?

If that’s you, let’s do an experiment. Imagine you are standing on the fringe of one of Lubbock’s famous playa lakes.  You have an empty, clear jar in your hand and you stoop down and dip it in the lake. The jar swiftly fills with murky water, possibly some mud, a pebble or two, a water bug, and some undetermined rubbish. You bring the now full jar up out of the water and begin to observe it. What do you see? The content of the jar is mucky or cloudy at best. The chunky water is undoubtedly swirling around. And there are questionable items drifting purposelessly without any direction.

Does the jar describe your life?

What if you place the jar on a nearby table? And you sit and monitor the jar. Yes, sit. Still. For a while. Over time the sediment begins to settle to the bottom of the jar. The debris begins to find it’s direction. And the water begins to clear where you can actually see through the jar.

Does the jar describe your life?

Does it describe the life you are looking for?

Perhaps you need to just sit. Be still. Watch.

 

“Be still, be calm, see, and understand I am the True God.”

Psalm 46:10 (The Voice)

 

 

 

 

 

I remember sitting quietly at my desk meticulously working on the project that had been assigned to my second-grade classroom. I also recall having an intense headache accompanied by an aching stomach. I got up from my seat and walked to the front of the classroom to ask for a visit to the nurse’s office. I believe I got to Mrs. Winder’s desk and uttered the words, “I’m not feeling…” and spewed everything I had for breakfast all over her desk! All the day’s assignments, the papers to be graded, her family pictures and personal knickknacks that decorated her desk all littered with vomit.  I felt awful. But physically, I felt much better. And I got a free ticket home for the rest of the day. Perhaps it was payback for all those times Mrs. Winders had popped the back of my hand with the plastic ruler she carried with her as she paced around the classroom teaching?!

Mrs. Winders is at the top of a list of my all-time favorite teachers. Who else let’s a kid throw up all over their desk and still loves them? That list is a long one which includes all my elementary school teachers including Mrs. Coker Mrs. Burress, and Mrs. Anderson. Mr. and Mrs. Jones gave me a math education in junior high and high school like none other. I could have taught my college chemistry class thanks to my high school science teacher. College was complete with great professors. I will forever be grateful for my experience in Physical Therapy School including Human Gross Anatomy taught by Dr. Bernell Dalley. And seminary was such a formidable time in my life. I would pay to retake “Sacramental Theology” with Dr. Bob Stamps in a heartbeat. I am truly grateful for these great teachers that have made such a difference in my life.

And there are so many others who have “taught” me through the years. Where would I be without all that my parents have instilled in me? And all the coaches I’ve had who did so much more than coach a kid without much talent but taught me about life. There are numerous mentors including pastors, youth pastors, colleagues, friends and so many more.

May 9, 2017 was designated National Teacher Day. It is observed on the Tuesday of the first full week of May each year. It’s a day set aside to honor teachers and recognize the lasting contributions they make on our lives. It’s really a shame that we reserve it for only one day of the year. I encourage you to take some time today to think of all the remarkable teachers you have had in your lifetime. Write a note, send a card, give out a shout on social media, make a phone call and say, “Thank you!”

Mrs. Winders, I’m so sorry I threw up all over your desk that day. I’m not sure I ever apologized for that. Thank you for still loving me and for the investment you had in my life. I’m sure I deserved every one of those pops from your plastic ruler (and even more)!

Thank you to all of those who have been such great teachers in my life. I’m certain I haven’t always been the perfect student. I’m sure I’ve probably been a little stubborn, undoubtedly talked more than I’ve listened, and have even been a little disturbing at times. But I am so grateful for you and the difference you have made in my life!

Always learning,

Ryan

Sitting in the uncompromising chair staring into the dimly lit abyss to the illuminated wall across the room, I heard, “Read the smallest line you can see.” The optometrist was asking me to read the Snellen Eye Chart. You know, the visual we have all gazed at from time to time since we were children in elementary school. The one that defines if we will soon be wearing the new nickname “four eyes” or learning how to gently place a sphere-shaped plastic disc smack dab on the top of our eyeballs.

I’ve been wearing contact lenses since I was a teenager. It was determined then that I couldn’t see from 20 feet what average people can see from that distance. Unfortunately, I need to move in much closer than 20 feet. So, in response to the optometrist asking me to read the smallest line I could see without my contacts, I meekly replied, “E!” And here’s the sad part. I couldn’t even read the E from where I was sitting in that uncompromising chair, I just know the E is there!

Isn’t that exactly how we often feel with God? We can’t see God but we know He’s there. Those periods when we can’t see or feel the evidence of His work in our lives, but we know He’s present. Those times when God doesn’t seem to be moving the obstacle out of the way as we think He should but we know He’s trustworthy. Those hushed spells when we need an answer but can’t hear anything. He’s still there! Just as the E is a constant at the top of the Snellen Chart, God is faithful in our lives.

Where is it today that even though you can’t “see” God, you need to know without a doubt He is there?

 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see…

Hebrews 11:1 (The Message)