My Bucket of Balls
Today (Wednesday, March 3), I am traveling back to Austin where I will help with the
funeral of Jackson Bradley, famous golf teaching pro and devoted follower of Jesus. Jackson passed away after a rich full life of playing on the PGA tour, being a famous golf instructor, being club pro at some of the most cherished golf courses in the country, and using the last two decades of his life to share Jesus with people he loved. One of his greatest joys was in helping begin Bible studies at a halfway house that eventually became Freedom Church, a church plant made up predominantly of ex-offenders who were turning their lives around with the help of Christ.
After the post on Lynn Anderson yesterday and while preparing for the funeral message for today, I came across this powerful insight written by Miles Alpern Levin, about a month after he was diagnosed with cancer. His blog on carepages.com inspired many and I couldn’t think of a more appropriate message to share for all of us!
I went to the driving range the other day and I was thinking … I was thinking how you start out with a big bucket full of golf balls, and you just start hitting away carelessly. You have dozens of them, each individual ball means nothing to you so just hit, hit, hit. One ball gone is practically inconsequential when subtracted from the your bottomless bucket. There are no practice swings or technique re-evaluations after a bad shot, because so many more tries remain. Yet eventually you start to have to reach down towards the bottom of the bucket to scavenge for another shot 
and you realize that tries are running out. Now with just a handful left, each swing becomes more meaningful. The right technique becomes more crucial, so between each shot you take a couple practice swings and a few deep breaths. There is a very strong need to end on a good note, even if every preceding shot was terrible, getting it right at the end means a lot. You know as you tee up your last ball, “This is my final shot, I want to crush this with perfection: I must make this count.” Limited quantities or limited time brings a new, precious value and significance to anything you do. Live every day shooting as if it’s your last shot, I know I have to.” — Miles Alpern Levin, July 7, 2005.
I know Jackson would have quibbled with Miles — well actually, he would have been much firmer than quibbling — about wasting all those practice shots early in the bucket of balls. “Don’t want to groove that bad swing and ingrain those bad habits!”
Jackson wanted you to loosen up with some short shots, then he wanted you to waste nothing — not one ball in the bucket. But, we all do, don’t we. We all mess up, goober up, stumble, sin, flub up, hit a shank or two, and then we notice the bucket of balls is getting thin on balls. I know Jackson had regrets — times and people he wished he could go back and do better with. But I am most thankful that the years I knew Jackson, he lived life recognizing the preciousness of grace and the opportunity to make a difference.
And yes, Jackson, I still shank one from time-to-time because of that square to square curl the three fingers on the back swing thing that you despised and tried so hard to help me get out of my swing. Blessings, dear brother, I’ll catch you on the back the nine, where our swings will be natural, the iced tea will be sweet, and nobody will ever need to improve their lie.
Thanks Lynn!
Some people come into your life and make a lasting impression in your thinking. Others leave an indelible imprint on your heart. Others help form your character to be more Christ-like. Others invest in you and help you refine your skills and wisdom to do ministry. Lynn Anderson has done all of that for me, and more, … and is still doing it through the face of hardship and challenge with cancer.
I first met Lynn when I was in high school and he came and did a campaign in our city. When I went to college, he was my preacher and his daughter, Michelle, was in our high school group huddle. Then a few years later, Lynn included me in his first graduate student study group. Several years after that, he ministered to my father through his years of illness and did dad’s funeral. Then three and a half years later, Lynn did the wedding of my mother to Grady Jolly.
Over the years of ministry, Lynn’s been available to counsel and encourage me through some challenging and changing times of ministry. He was there when I let the elders at Westover know I was moving from Austin to Abilene, and he even preached twice a month for over two years as they waited for God to lead them to a new preaching minister. My latest book includes Lynn in the dedication. Such friends are rare treasures and to have one that keeps on growing and reminding me that the journey to Jesus is one full of wonder and excitement, even amid the pain and challenge, is a special blessing.
Thanks Lynn! Love you and am praying for you and Carolyn as you choose to live in the green leaf!
Blessing
What a blessing!
Don’t you hope that’s something folks say about you? There are certain people that enter our world and they are blessing every moment we are around them. They find ways to be helpful. They offer encouraging words at just the right moment. When something needs to be done, they do it — they don’t wait to be asked. When someone needs assistance, they step up and do it cheerfully. Some people are blessings.
But aren’t we all supposed to be? Isn’t this the heart of our spiritual DNA? In my Heartlight.org article this week on blessing, I talk about the principle of being a blessing as part of our spiritual DNA going all the way back to Abraham. One of the most important ways we can be generous with others is to share our blessings in Jesus. Peter puts it this way:
Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy (1 Peter 3:15 MSG).
This is called (in other translations) sharing our hope.
Why do you think it is so hard for us to be generous?
- Who is someone you know that is generous?
- What do you most appreciate about them?
- How can you be more like them?
Why do we not perceive sharing Jesus as a work of generosity?
- Why not send them a note and thank them for being generous?
- What blessings do you have in your life because of Jesus?
- Who is in your life because of your shared faith in Jesus?
- When is the last time you shared these blessings you have in Jesus with others?
Read 1 Peter 3:15 and notice how sharing good news is about sharing with others the reason we have hope in Jesus.
- Take a few minutes and write a paragraph giving the reason for your hope in Jesus.
- Pray that the Lord will give you an opportunity to share it with someone this week as an act of generosity!
Finally, I’m working with something new that I’d like to incorporate into my blog. I’d love to get you to share in the poll below. Thanks!
More Snowfall
For those who are used to white stuff falling from the sky, snowfall is no big deal — it may be an irritation, but you are used to winters with ice, snow, slush, flakes, and slippery muddy goo a part of your daily routine. For those of us who live in West Texas, however, an accumulation of snow is a rare event. When we do get it, it’s usually what we call dandruff snow — light flaky stuff that doesn’t stick and blows around in the wind.
This year, however, we are on our sixth major snow. And most of the snow is the moist, big flaky kind of snowfall that lets you throw snowballs, build snow men, and create snow angels. This morning’s offering looks like this from our front door:
I am doing a funeral today for a sweet lady who lived her years well and loved her Lord all those years. As I look a the snowfall today, rather than thinking about the inconvenience and mess we’re going to face for the funeral, I’m choosing to focus upon two great promises hidden in the snow:
- The grace that is ours because of God’s great love. Even in one of Israel’s worst times, God promised that if they turned to Him, He would cleanse them: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow,” God said (Isaiah 1:18). These sins are not buried under the snow and hidden from sight, but these sins are forgiven and transformed into pristine righteousness by grace!
- While the snow looks so much the same, underneath the surface view is a world of variety, specialty, and uniqueness — no two snowflakes are the same. And in a world crowded with people, all who want to find their place and be a part of a group and belong, each of us is uniquely made by our Creator’s loving hand while still in the womb of our mother (Psalms 139:13-16) and remade by grace as the artistry of our redeeming God to be useful to doing His Kingdom work (Ephesians 2:10).
Whether we are shut inside with those we know well and love, stuck trudging through difficult driving conditions and harsh weather, or whether our exterior world is sunny and bright, let’s make a point to appreciate the treasure God gives us in the people we meet today and let’s seize the opportunity to help them know God’s grace and artistry He has invested in them.
Witnesses?
When we look at ourselves and the people we know who follow Jesus, we have to admit some things. Most of us don’t look like world-changers. Most of us don’t fit the caricature of a “soul winner” who changes the world for Jesus. Most of us are ordinary folks doing ordinary things in whom Jesus wants to do something extraordinary.
But rather than Jesus making us into some weird version of ourselves so we can be useful, the Lord wants to redeem us — to take how we are wired by God to be who we are and how we are wired into relationships — and use us to touch those in our circle of influence.
The following video, called Rethink Church, captures the concept pretty well. I hope you like it. Then what follows are some questions to think about that go with this blog post and with this week’s Heartlight.org article, Catch and Release: Witnesses. Hope you are blessed by the thoughts in the article, this post, and the video. I’d love to hear from you and get your take on all of this!
You can find this video for viewing or purchase by clicking this link.
Read through Ephesians 2:1-10 and think about how the movement from “dead” to “grace” to “handiwork” is the story of the life of Peter … Mary Magdalene … of yourself.
How did that movement help the early followers of Jesus live as his witnesses to others?
How can this realization help you be a witness to Jesus?
Why do you think it was important for Jesus to choose “ordinary” people to be with him and then go out and be witneeses to others of the difference that he made in their lives? (Acts 4:13)
What are some of the things the devil places in your head and heart to try to keep you from believing you have anything to share with others about Jesus?
How could Peter have used the same excuse in his life?
How could Mary Magdalene used the same excuse in her life?
How does it make you feel to know that you are Jesus’ plan to touch the world with his grace?
How do you think that early bunch of Jesus’ followers felt when they realized that they were his only plan?
TeamWork?
Some video tidbits are too rich not to include. Most of us know we have moved past the solo acts in ministry. We are called to collaborate, even more, we are called to value our partners. Paul made the point even more emphatically. He said we wouldn’t ever achieve unity until each part of Jesus’ body did its work and we all grew up into the presence of Jesus (Ephesians 4:12-16). So, here’s a humorous example of the importance of teamwork from one of my favorite church consultant teams!