John Wooden as a Christian

At the passing of John Wooden, here is a reflection on his religious or spiritual life.  These are the things related to his faith that were the most meaningful to him.  I will never forget when his UCLA dynasty teams came to Pullman to play in the old Bohler Gym and the Performing Arts Center in 1973 and 1974.

I hold John Wooden up as a genuine American hero.  I always wondered why he didn't take a more active role or speak out as a Christian about Christ.   I have several books about basketball and life by him and I've read them carefully.

Another influence on Wooden was the religion of his youth – and the girl he shared it with, Nell Riley. “I was baptized with the young woman who was to be my wife later on, the only girl I ever dated, in 1927,” Wooden says. “We were juniors in high school and she was the only girl I ever went with and we had a relationship and she suggested that we join at the same time. 

"I don’t want to say that I accepted Christ at that particular time because of the fact that I did this primarily because she wanted me to. But my acceptance came gradually as time went by.”

Wooden took great solace from the Bible, a copy of which sits in each room of his home today. His favorite passage, 1 Corinthians 13, reads in part: “Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 

It is yet another theme that marks his life: “I do believe that adversity makes you stronger,” he says, “And I do believe in many ways, perhaps not in financial ways, that adversity from hard work does make you able to accept the more difficult things as they would come along later in your life.”

Religion continued to be major factor in Wooden’s life. He read Scripture daily, attended the First Christian Church of his childhood, and professed deep admiration for evangelist Billy Graham, who is a personal friend.

From Indiana to UCLA

From the book Wooden: A lifetime of observations and reflections on and off the court, by John Wooden and Steve Jamison


Randy Alcorn's blog contains this account of John Wooden's move from Indiana to UCLA.  He calls the moving events "fate."  The great coach is 99 years old and one of my heroes.

I was teaching and coaching at Indiana State Teachers College when I was offered coaching positions at both the University of Minnesota and UCLA. I was inclined to go with Minnesota because it was in the Midwest, but there was a little hitch in the offer. They wanted me to keep Dave McMillan, the fellow I would be replacing, as an assistant.

I didn’t think that would be for the best, so they offered to consider giving Mr. McMillan another position at the university, one acceptable to him. However, this would take a few days for the board to determine.

They promised they would call me Saturday at 6:00 P.M. with their decision. I told them if they could make the change and it was acceptable to Mr. McMillan, would come to Minnesota to and coach their basketball team.

Meanwhile, UCLA was waiting for a decision. I told them to call me on Saturday night at 7:oo. By then I would know what Minnesota had decided. I informed UCLA that Minnesota made the offer I would be staying in the Midwest. But fate stepped in and changed things.

On the day the University of Minnesota was supposed to call me, a blizzard hit the Twin Cities and knocked out all phone service in and around Minneapolis. Unaware of the situation, I waited patiently for the call. None came, not at 6:00, not at 6:30. My phone didn’t ring at 6:45.


However, right on the button at 7:00 P.M., UCLA called. I assumed Minnesota had decided against offering me the coaching position, so I accepted UCLA’s offer.


Almost immediately after I finished talking with UCLA, the call came through from Minneapolis. I was told about the storm. I was also told that the adjustment had been approved and they were offering me the position of head basketball coach at the University of Minnesota, the job I really wanted.

Had I been able to terminate my agreement with UCLA in an honorable fashion, I would have done so immediately. But I had given my word just a few minutes before. If fate had not intervened, I would never have gone to UCLA. 

But my dad’s little set of threes served me well: 

“Don’t whine. Don’t complain. Don’t make excuses.”

I resolved to work hard and do the best job I was capable of­—even when I discovered upon arriving at UCLA that I wasn’t actually working for the university but rather for the associated students. The president of the student body was actually my boss!

I believe that things are directed in some sort of way. I’m not exactly sure how. I also believe that things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out.

Word attack to God's Word

 At the RJC, I've been working with Cedric, a 30 year-old cousin of Billy, who recently was transferred to Shelton.  Billy introduced me to Cedric who has a heart to grow spiritually.

Cedric struggles with reading--both word attack and comprehension.  He asked me to help him learn to read more effectively while he is trying to prepare to take a GED.

In school, he was a special education student and did not graduate. We read the Bible together out loud and I provided a small, powerful book called "Prison to Praise."  He gets most of it but stumbles a great deal.

So, he doesn't get it.  He understands that and wants to learn.

I collaborated with Judy Roberts, the Kent School District teacher at the RJC to work on a third grade-level packet which was too advanced to build on. So, she provided a solid, more basic packed on syllables and word parts.  Excellent!  We'll see how far he gets over this weekend.

Consider Eric Liddell, the famous Scottish Olympian celebrated in the film "Chariots of Fire."  Liddell became a missionary in China. For ten years he taught in a school, and then went farther inland to do frontline evangelism.

Here is D. A. Carson's account:

The work was not only challenging but dangerous, not the least because the Japanese were making increasing inroads. Eventually he was interned with many other Westerners.

In the squalid camp, Liddell was a shining light of service and good cheer, a lodestar for the many children there who had not seen their parents for years, a self-sacrificing leader. But a few months before they were released, Liddell died of a brain tumor. He was forty-three.

In this life he never saw the youngest of his three daughters: his wife and children had returned to Canada before the Japanese sweep that rounded up the foreigners. Didn’t the Lord withhold from him a long life, years of fruitful service, the joy of rearing his own children?

Perhaps the best response lies in Liddell’s favorite hymn:

Be still, my soul! the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul! thy best, thy heav’nly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

fathers and sons and missions

 This Sunday, our pastor closed his sermon with a true life story of John Paton and his family being encircled by angels.  The band of angels protected his family from a tribe that was seeking to kill his family.

It made me recall this account about him--

Happy as were the Patons in their cottage home, the day came when separations were begun. John had applied for a position in Glasgow, and must go there to be examined. It was about forty miles to Kilmarnock, where he could take a train, and he had to go on foot, because he could not afford to travel in a stagecoach. His baggage consisted of one small bundle.

But the One who said, "I know thy ... poverty, (but thou art rich)," was with him, and courageously he launched out on the ocean of life.

His father, who loved this oldest son very tenderly, walked with him for six miles, and his "counsels and tears and heavenly conversation on that parting journey" were never forgotten by the son. During the latter part of the way they were speechless. The father carried his hat in his hand, and his long yellow locks fell on his shoulders, while silent prayers ascended.

When they reached the place appointed for parting, they clasped hands and the father said, "God bless you, my son! Your father's God prosper you, and keep you from all evil!"

The young man went his way, turning at the corner and waving his hat in farewell. A little farther on, he climbed the dyke for one last look, and there saw the father who too had climbed the dyke, hoping for one more glimpse of his boy. The father's eyes were not so keen as the son's, and he looked in vain for a few moments, then climbed down and started for home, his head still bared, and his heart, no doubt, still offering silent prayers for his son.

In the years that followed, temptations came, as they will to every boy, but the form of his father, as he saw him in parting, seemed like a guardian angel. The blessing his father invoked was upon him and he was kept from sin.

The years which followed were busy years for young Mr. Paton -- sometimes distributing tracts, sometimes teaching school, sometimes hard at work as a city missionary, and all the time fitting himself to be still more useful in the Lord's vineyard.

But the time came when he seemed to hear a voice plainly calling from the New Hebrides, and he longed to give his life as a missionary among the cannibals there. He thought and prayed about it a great deal, for he wanted to be sure that he was really called of God.

When he was convinced that it was the voice of the Master, he offered himself. Dr. Bates, who was in charge of the Heathen Missions Committee, cried for joy. Mr. Paton went to his room with a happy heart, for he was obeying God's call.

kicking and screaming

"Calvinism does not teach and never has taught that God bring people kicking and screaming into the kingdom," R.C. Sproul said, "or has ever excluded anyone who wanted to be there.

Remember that the cardinal point of the Reformed doctrine of predestination rests on the biblical teaching of man's spiritual death. 

"Natural man does not want Christ. He will only want Christ if God plants a desire for Christ in his heart. Once that desire is planted, those who come to Christ do not come kicking and screaming against their wills. They come because they want to come. They now desire Jesus. They rush to the Savior."

Do you want to be saved?  You might call out to God for salvation like this:

I know I am lost and cannot come to You on my own. I need to be saved, right now, Lord. Save me. I ask you to forgive me of my sins and save me. I repent of my sins and turn to You! I am jumping into Your arms, right now. 

I cannot save myself. What can I do? Who can I run to? Where should I turn?

I am crying out to You and know You will save me based on Romans 10:11-13. 

Thank you for taking all my sins and placing them on Jesus, past, present, and future. Thank you for cleansing me with Your blood and covering me with Your righteousness. 

Thank You--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for saving me. This is the beginning of my journey with You. 

"R.C. continues, "The whole point of irresistible grace is that rebirth quickens someone to spiritual life in such a way that Jesus is now seen in his irresistible sweetness. Jesus is irresistible to those who have been made alive to the things of God. Every soul whose heart beats with the life of God within it longs for the living Christ. All whom the Father gives to Christ come to Christ (John 6:37)."

How we overcome

Recently Of First Importance posted a citation from D. A. Carson.  Contemplate these biblical and powerful words:

“How dare you approach the mercy-seat of God on the basis of what kind of day you had, as if that were the basis for our entrance into the presence of the sovereign and holy God? No wonder we cannot beat the Devil.

This is "works theology." It has nothing to do with grace and the exclusive sufficiency of Christ. Nothing. Do you not understand that we overcome the accuser on the ground of the blood of Christ?

Nothing more, nothing less.

That is how we win. It is the only way we win. This is the only ground of our acceptance before God. If you drift far from the cross, you are done. You are defeated.

We overcome the accuser of our brothers and sisters, we overcome our consciences, we overcome our bad tempers, we overcome our defeats, we overcome our lusts, we overcome our fears, we overcome our pettiness on the basis of the blood of the Lamb.”

—D.A. Carson, Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 103

Suffering and the Sweetness of Christ

by Jonathan Edwards 

In the last several months, I have been on an incredible reading journey.  The most recent book is "Signs of the Spirit, " an interpretation of "Religious Affections," by Sam Storms. 

Through this book, I am invited and escorted into a deeper, deeper walk into experiencing the pleasure of the glory of God. Here, Edwards tells about his delight of soul amidst a crippling illness.

In September, 1725, I was taken ill at New Haven, and while endeavoring to go home to Windsor, was so ill at the North Village, that I could go no farther, where I lay sick, for about a quarter of a year. 

In this sickness, God was pleased to visit me again, with the sweet influences of his Spirit. My mind was greatly engaged there, on divine and pleasant contemplations, and longings of soul. 

I observed that those who watched with me would often be looking out wishfully for the morning; which brought to my mind those words of the Psalmist, and which my soul with delight made its own language, "My soul waits for the Lord, more than they that watch for the morning; I say, more than they that watch for the morning;" and when the light of the day came in at the window, it refreshed my soul, from one morning to another. It seemed to be some image of the light of God’s glory.

Kingdom of grace in Forks

Jerry Corelli, Jim Dixon and I trekked to Forks on Saturday to the Olympic Corrections Center for a concert with 19 inmates and two officers.

The chapel, pictured here, reflects effort by Chaplain Terrence Madden to make it inclusive of multiple religious expressions.  By Department of Corrections policy, the chaplain accommodates as many diverse spiritual groups as choose to meet for worship.

Jerry provided the concert with a great song about the "kingdom of grace," Jim shared an awesome testimony about the transformation in his son's life, and I preached a shortened message about the awesome supernatural work of the Lord Jesus, the King of Grace.

Jerry shared reflections on his spiritual experience with the men in between his nearly hour-long concert.  He really blessed the men.

Jim Dixon and I travel to OCC in Forks four to six times a year and are constantly rejoicing as we reflect on the blessings we receive from the men at each visit.  We are hoping to do more things with Jerry, as the Lord provides opportunities with PFC. Jim loves to play hymns with the men in our concerts.

On this visit, an inmate named Dan met with me to share his need to seek forgiveness from Jake, another inmate he abused while they shared a cell in the past year.  I did not share that I knew about the chain of incidents he spoke about that got him transferred to OCC.  I continue to correspond with Dan and Jake.

We were able to pray about surrendering this matter and acknowledging that one-to-one resolution is likely very difficult in this situation. I originally met with both men at the Regional Justice Center in Kent.

like a weaned child

The weaned child   

By Octavius Winslow

1 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.

2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3 O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.

—Psalm 131:2.

There are few lessons taught in God’s school more difficult to learn, and yet, when really learned, more blessed and holy, than the lesson of weanedness. 

The heart resembles the vine, which as it grows, grasps and unites its feeble tendrils to every support within its reach. Or, it is like the ivy, which climbs and wraps itself around some beautiful but decayed and crumbling ruin. As our social affections develop and expand, they naturally seek a resting-place.

Traveling, as it were, beyond themselves, breathing love and yearning for friendship, they go forth seeking some kindred spirit, some “second self,” upon which they may repose, and around which they may entwine. To detach from this inordinate, idolatrous clinging to the animate and the inanimate creatures and objects of sense, is one grand end of God’s disciplinary dealings with us in the present life. The discovery which we make, in the process of his dealings, of the insufficiency and insecurity of the things upon which we set our affections, is often acutely painful.

Like that vine, we find that we grasped a support at the root of which the cankerworm was secretly feeding,—and presently it fell! Or, like that ivy, we discover that we have been spreading our affections around an object which, even while we clung to and adored it, was crumbling and falling into dust,—and presently it became a ruin!

And what is the grand lesson which, by this process, God would teach us? 

The lesson of weanedness from all and everything of an earthly and a created nature. Thus was David instructed, and this was the result: “Surely I have behaved and quieted myself as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.” It may be profitable, tried and suffering reader, briefly to contemplate this holy state, and then the way by which the Lord frequently brings his people into its experience.

to live is Christ

 Greg Von Tobel, the president of Prisoners for Christ, miraculously survived an automobile accident, Saturday afternoon.  Here is his account as he recalls what unfolded.

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.  I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.  But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.   

Philippians 1:21-26

Here is a short synopsis of what I remember of Saturday.

On Saturday April 24, PFC was having its twice-yearly annual prison volunteer training session.  I left after the lunch break to go to Duvall and had planned on going back when the conference ended before 4pm.

I don’t remember much about the accident.  I do remember seconds before as I slammed head on into an immovable hill.  I remember I couldn’t move, turn the wheel,  break or slow down, seconds before impact. This 5 seconds of the whole ordeal is so totally weird and what I am struggling with the most, trying to process the slowness of time. I thought to myself this will be easy as I thought I was going so slow until I blasted into the side of the hill. Everything went black and as I awoke I could feel blood coming down my face. 

Some eyewitnesses said I sped up, probably thinking my foot was on the break when it was on the accelerator. 

All this was after I had side swiped a car throwing her into an adjacent ditch and crossed over one lane of traffic. The accident happened around 1:15 pm on route 203 inside the city limits of Duvall.

I remember the firemen and the paramedics that extricated me out of the van. They were phenomenally gentle and kind-hearted. They cut my clothes off and placed me on “The Board”.  I would grow to hate the “the Board” as I was on it for almost 2 hours. The medics asked me what hospital I wanted to go to and I said Evergreen.  

A few minutes later in the ambulance they made a judgment call and had a change of plans. They were going to drive me pass two hospitals straight to Harborview.  The word Harborview is like the word cancer.  When those words pertain to you, eternity stops.  I thought to myself, “Wow, I must be hurt worse than I had thought.”  Then I wondered how Rhonda and Ashley would react to the word "Harborview."

I arrived at Harborview about 2:30ish. I was whisked off to a room with bright lights and many people asking me questions, probing, poking, and sticking me.  There were many people in the room, I would say 10 plus.  I just remember the bright lights.

They stabilized me and then whisked me off to the CAT scan and x-rays.  The people in these departments were also extremely friendly and very kind-hearted also.  After they were done they whisked me back to the trauma room and this time it was stark empty, void of people.  Very weird. I heard over the low intercom that there were two air-vac copters less than 5 minutes away. 

Then friends and family started visiting me which made time go by ever so much quickly. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!! It made the difference.  
 5 hours after entering Harborview I was now being wheeled out by my friend Bob Jordan and then walking out on my own asking myself what just happened. I was half hoping they would keep me overnight as I was in so much pain in my chest where I had hit the steering wheel.  The slightest sneeze now sends me into extreme pain and facial contortions. They say I have a bruised rib.

From the time that they extricated me from the car I was really at peace. There were several moments of anxiousness when I heard the word Harborview. 

Once I got a grip on that I was totally at peace. I did wonder once, if April 24 would be the day that I would check out of this body suit and meet Jesus face to face. To live is Christ, to die is gain.

Mighty intercession at PFCU

On Saturday, I was privileged to facilitate two classes for the PFC University on "becoming and full-time missionary" and "speakers workshop."  I enjoyed fellowship with many, but especially the men involved at Standing Stones in Wapato. 

In the early portion of the second class, we got a call about a car accident involving Greg Von Tobel.  Greg and Rhonda are puctured, here. 


I'll let Bob Jordan narrate the events:

Today Prisoners For Christ ran its semi-annual prison training – Prisoners For Christ University. It was very well attended as the attached pictures show. Greg Von Tobel was present and did the opening introduction. He left to go home and somehow (it’s still uncertain what happened) he was involved in an automobile accident. He was transported to Harborview Medical Center in downtown Seattle. 

At approx 2:15 we were advised of the accident. We gathered all classroom teachers and students together and called out unto Almighty God for mercy and healing. Immediately afterward we sent word to the Board of Directors and other volunteers for prayer and intercession. God was in our midst as we cried out unto the Lord.

Before the end of the teaching session (we continued the training knowing this is what Greg would want) we received word that he was doing well and cogent and resting. For this we gave God great praise and thanksgiving!

The prayer time on Greg's behalf as we called on the Lord was an incredible highlight of my service with PFC.

Rhonda was at the hospital along with their daughter Ashley and her husband when I arrived. Greg looked pretty banged up and they were administering a shot of morphine. He had a contusion in his chest, but no broken bones. He had some lacerations on the top/back of his head which produced a lot of blood, but was superficial as there was no swelling or skull fracture. 

Kelly Dunn, who is a PFCU teacher and fireman, came by as well at the hospital, along with the Duvall Police Dept. Chaplain. Many others called and were preparing to come down but by then we knew he’d be released. So many prayer warriors out there made the difference.

He was released and walked from the lobby to the car under his own power. Pictures are shared to show how fast things can happen in one day – from leading the PFC University gathering to being in Harborview! 

It’s understood from the medical staff that he’ll be rather sore for a few days, but we continue to rejoice that the man of God is recovering, back home, resting comfortably, and with his family. We also praise God that the other person involved in the accident is well too, and was not hospitalized.

Bob Jordan and Greg are sharing together at Standing Stones.

Continue to pray for Brother Greg beloved, God bless you all!

Space footage and commentary

Join in on an incredible experience as a civilian, the host of a British car show, "Top Gear" is a guest passenger on a U-2 spy plane.  His commentary and footage are staggering. 

They mention "eternity," the "Big Bang," and earth as a speck of dust.  Well, which is it?

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:19-20

 9 And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”  Revelation 5:9-10

U-2 view
Ride a spy plane.  From 70,000 feet you look down 35,000 feet at a jetliner passing below at its normal cruising altitude of 35,000 ft. 

Turn up your sound and expand your picture.  Only the
International Space Station is higher. 

  http://www.wimp.com/breathtakingfootage/

Note at take-off the assist wheels on the outer edges of the wings drop off.   The wings are so long that they need temporary support until lift-off.  What is not shown is during the landing the plane actually slows to a low enough speed that two guys are actually able to grab the wing tips and put those assist wheels back on.

Hop aboard a U-2

Questions for real change

This Saturday, I'll be joining "His Harmony," from our Faith Baptist Church for a concert and follow-up sermon at the Regional Justice Center. 

Whenever they sing, they are really appreciated, maybe more than they know.  I am very excited they are coming and will be carefully inviting the men in the units they will be singing for, today.

I have been challenging the men with what really makes a difference for them. 

• How are you really changing?  
• What are you willing to do that makes a radical change? 
• What do your families and children need from you?
• Where are your sons at?
• What might you be able to do concretely for those you have hurt?

I'd like to encourage you to give this a careful read--t may just touch you.


Excerpt from "Thoughts for young men," by JC Ryle
Young men, time would not permit me to tell you all the fruits this love of pleasure produces, and all the ways in which it may do you harm. Why should I speak of carousing, partying, drinking, gambling, movie-going, dancing, and the like? There are few to be found who don't know something of these things by bitter experience. And these are only instances. 

All things that give a feeling of excitement for the time--all things that drown thought, and keep the mind in a constant whirl--all things that please the senses and delight the flesh--these are the sort of things that have mighty power at your time of life, and they owe their power to the love of pleasure. 

Be on your guard. Do not be like those of whom Paul speaks, "Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" (2 Timothy 3:4).



Remember what I say: if you would cling to earthly pleasures--these are the things which murder souls. 

There is no surer way to get a seared conscience and a hard heart towards the things of God, than to give way to the desires of the flesh and mind. It seems like nothing at first, but it tells in the long run.



Church disappointment

 

In Kevin DeYoung's blog, he deals with "Disappointment with the church"

“No one supported me.”
“I didn’t matter to anyone.”
“You didn’t even care.”

Those are among the hardest things a pastor can hear from his congregation, whether it’s about him directly or not. These lines are  also some of the most biting things a church member can say and, no doubt, one of the most painful things a church member can feel. And yet the feelings are felt, and even the thoughts expressed, quite frequently in the life of the church.

The situations which lead people to feel unloved are easy to imagine.
•    A pastor fails to visit a family after their daughter is tragically killed in a car accident.
•    A new couple visits the church for 6 months. They never get invited to the pastors’ home. So they start looking at other churches.

The scenarios are endless and they are all painful, for the sheep and for the shepherds.

So how should church members respond when they feel unloved, unsupported, or like outsiders in their church?

And how should church leaders respond when they are criticized for being unconcerned or the church is faulted for being unloving? 
If you want to read more, go to:
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/

Romans Road presentations

Michael and Howard at the Regional Justice Center came right up to me today and quietly stated they wanted to be saved.  They were sincere.  We talked and read Scripture together for about 40 minutes.  In these cases, I work together with the men on a worksheet with the "Romans Road" and follow-up verses which are--

1 John 5:11-13
 John 14:6
Acts 4:12
1 Thess. 5:9-10
1 Timothy 2:5-6

One of the men could barely read.  He dropped out of school as an eleventh grader and stopped trying to learn anything a long time before that.  He said exactly that.  He is 21.  Wow!  He really wanted to read and understand.

Whenever I share, I really focus on repentance and proven change. 

We just don't say we "believe" and then go back to life as usual.  I one is really saved it is an incredible, supernatural work,
John 1:12-13, 2 Corinthians 5:17. 

• We were dead and brought to life.  
• We were blind and now we see.  
• We were transferred from the domain of darkness to the Kingdom of His beloved Son. 

I'll be following up with these men later this week.

Easter worship at Olympic in Forks

Jim Dixon and I traveled to Forks Saturday to provide worship, concert, and sermon for an unprecedented 37 men and two officers at the Olympic Corrections Center in Forks Saturday night.

Jim and I make this trip about four times a year. We go south through Aberdeen and Hoquiam and then north up 101.

Jim and I so much enjoy serving together.  Its a long trip.  Every time we start back home, we are amazed by His graciousness to allow us to serve Him there.

Next Saturday night, I'll be privileged to share ministry with "His Harmony," from Faith, our church, for three units of men at the Regional Justice Center in Kent. They are always so well received.  They have been serving in this way in jails and prisons with PFC for over 15 years.

At Forks, I preached from Acts 26:17-20--

"...I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’...performing deeds in keeping with their repentance."

I continue to be blessed by so many faithful family and friends who support this work in prayer and financially.  It is amazing to participate with so many incredibly loving people of God. 

I want to share with you this post from Tim Challies defining why we worship regularly on Sundays.

Every Easter Saturday, that day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, I find myself pondering what it must have been like for Jesus' followers on that day. What did they do? What were they thinking? How did they spend their day? What thoughts were running through their heads? 

Their leader was dead; their Messiah had been arrested, beaten, crucified, killed, buried. Miracles had attended his suffering--darkness and earthquake--and yet still he was dead. Confusion must have reigned. Bewilderment.

It's no wonder that Christians worship on Sunday. Muslims worship on Friday, Jews worship on Saturday, but Christians worship on Sunday because that is the day when Christ proved that he had conquered death. This is why we are Sunday Christians. 

We are not Friday Christians who serve a dead Savior, not Saturday Christians still waiting and wondering, but Sunday Christians who serve a living, breathing Savior--one who is alive and one who reigns. 

He died because he had to die. Our sin demanded blood and death. And yet he rose because he had to rise. He was the Son of God; how could death hold him? How could the Creator of all that exists be held down by death? It cannot happen and it did not happen. Christ is risen.

And for 2,000 years Christians have been celebrating Jesus' conquest. I could turn to hundreds of books and songs and poems today. But allow me to turn to one of my all-time favorites, a poem that gives just a glimpse of the hope Christ offers through his resurrection.

Hungry for hope

I am distributing a Bible study on "hope," as the men get really discouraged and need to keep their hearts focused on Him. I am meeting with Dustin at the Regional Justice Center.  He is a 20's young man who is reading the Scriptures faithfully.  He made it through the New Testament a couple of times and now we are walking through the Old Testament.


I am deeply appreciative for so many faithful family and friends who continue to support me as a missionary chaplain with Prisoners for Christ Outreach Ministries. Sometimes, I am overwhelmed in thankfulness.

 I met with Mary Ann Morbley, the program director and my supervisor at the RJC, to go over the four notebooks with materials I use with the men, based on need.  I have received wonderful materials from the solid ministries of  John Piper, Ray Pritchard, and John MacArthur.  There is an ongoing problem when volunteers bring in materials that are not approved or go through Mary Ann. This places the volunteer status of that ministry group in jeopardy.

I have met with 63 men so far this month with five recommitting themselves to the Lord.  I share with a group in the E and D (or Edward and David) Units, regularly for discipleship and prayer.  My purpose is to meet with men as regularly as possible while they are at the RJC to establish a firm foundation in the Lord and the Scriptures for them.

Dustin asks questions about personal application and obedience.  He doesn't want to fit into the woodwork so that he assimilates himself into the world while claiming to be a Christian.  He witnesses to his family who are not saved.

His Dad is in the Mormon church and Dustin wants to understand what the differences are and what is going on.  I carefully avoid criticizing other groups, by RJC volunteer policy, so we open the Scriptures together. He got to see his entire family, this week, which really built up his spirit.

I received a letter from Joseph from the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.  He survived a frightening racially-driven riot in his unit, recently.  By God's grace, he was not attacked. You may recall he was convicted of a homicide as a nurses aide in Federal Way several months ago.  Joseph learned an reopened investigation continues by the FW Police Department which may result in another trial and a return to the RJC which is a remarkable answer to prayer. 

dearest place on earth

 “Give yourself to the Church. You that are members of the Church have not found it perfect and I hope that you feel almost glad that you have not. If I had never joined a Church till I had found one that was perfect, I would never have joined one at all! 

And the moment I did join it, if I had found one, I should have spoiled it, for it would not have been a perfect Church after I had become a member of it.

Still, imperfect as it is, it is the dearest place on earth to us… 

All who have first given themselves to the Lord, should, as speedily as possible, also give themselves to the Lord’s people. How else is there to be a Church on the earth? If it is right for anyone to refrain from membership in the Church, it is right for everyone, and then the testimony for God would be lost to the world!

As I have already said, the Church is faulty, but that is no excuse for you not joining it, if you are the Lord’s. Nor need your own faults keep you back, for the Church is not an institution for perfect people, but a sanctuary for sinners saved by grace, who, though they are saved, are still sinners and need all the help they can derive from the sympathy and guidance of their fellow believers.

The Church is the nursery for God’s weak children where they are nourished and grow strong. It is the fold for Christ’s sheep—the home for Christ’s family.”

–Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Best Donation,” (No. 2234), in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 37,  an exposition of 2 Corinthians 8:5 preached at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, England, on April 5, 1891.

Mom was a temple piano player in the house of the Lord

My Mom, Jean Richardson, passed into the glory of the Lord, this past Tuesday morning.  We are so thankful we went over to Port Orchard to visit with her as an entire family the previous Saturday.

She was comfortably sedated but she was able to hear Katharine, Andy, Peter, Jon, and me read comforting Scripture passages to her.

We are enjoying a celebration service this afternoon at Steel Lake Presbyterian Church in Federal Way, where Mom was a member for 46 years.  Another service in scheduled for the Adventure of Faith Presbyterian Church in Port Orchard on March 13.

I told Mom several times in her life she was a temple musician in the house of the Lord.  Mom played the piano beginning when she was 6 years old and faithfully practiced virtually every day of her life and was even able to play with amazing poise at Park Vista and Haven Care.  She was the most joyful when she was able to use her musical, hospitality, and service gifts in the local church.

Mom steadfastly loved and served in every church she was a member of from her earliest days in a little Methodist Church in Vancouver, to Boulevard Park, Long Island, NY, Steel Lake for 46 years, and the Port Orchard Adventure of Faith Presbyterian Churches.  Mom regularly read her Bible and prayed and was studying for and hosting her church women's circle Bible studies.

She loved her families and grandchildren with greatest care. She glowed when the entire family gathered together and she cooked awesome, big meals for us.

Mom also loved so many of her neighborhood friends as they participated in the birthday bunch in Federal Way. She so much appreciated when those friends came to see her in Port Orchard.

A week before Mom's passing,  Miles, Teena, and I visited with Mom.  At that point she was able to be up in a wheelchair for 20 minutes.  We shared how much we love her then I read from John 14:1-3 and all about her new home in Revelation 21 and 22.  She even asked me to reread a particular portion from Revelation. 

She laid quietly and comfortably with her eyes closed, again. When I asked her if I could pray the Lord would take her home just as soon as possible, she immediately opened her eyes, picked her head off the pillow, and answered, "definitely, yes!!!"

My brother's family, Miles, Teena, Kaitlyn, and Conner went over Monday night, just hours before Mom passed which was a great blessing for them.

Annie, my sister, who cared for Mom during these past two years in Port Orchard along with Dan, Valerie, Nate, and Natalie, was holding Mom's hand at her side when Mom passed.  Mom led Annie's Camp Fire Girls group all the way through high school.

We were able to call over to Haven Care Adult Family Home to speak with Gayle, Lauren, and Kasey the last two weeks on a daily basis.  What a wonderful year of personalized and professional care Mom received there along with Mary and the Group Health Hospice Care staff.  Mom also received great care at Park Vista before moving to Haven Care to receive daily nursing care.

I remember Mom packing a lunch for me every school day all the way through community college.  Mom and Dad never missed a concert, play, or ball game for Annie, Miles, and me.  They were able to come to Portland when I graduated from Western Conservative Baptist Seminary Seminary in June of 1984, just 10 months before Dad passed away.  Mom came to St. John for my ordination service.

Once as a senior while on the risers just before we were about to sing in our Federal Way High School concert choir, my good friend Gale quietly stated, "Well, there is Mark's Mom and Dad.  (Pointing) They always sit right there.  They are always here."  Those memories stick with me.

Mom visited Katharine and me multiple times in St. John and Union where I pastored and connected with our church families. She joyfully played the organ and piano for services.  She joined us at Faith Baptist Church in Kent where we have been members since 1992 and attended several Kidz Praize musicals and our boys' soccer games.

the perfect scam

In response to my most recent blog about Aaron, a reader and former inmate responded  in such an excellent way, I wanted to pass it on.  In fact, I am using it when I share about "deeds in keeping with repentance."

"but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance."

Acts 26:20

Here is what my reader wrote: 

I saw hundreds in prison like Aaron.  The most common phenomenon in prison (besides violence) is prisoners who become avid Christians, then fall away soon after.  

What happens is this:  

They walk around with a big, invisible box containing their problems.  Everything they do and everyone they meet is an opportunity to give their problems to somebody else so they don't have to confront them.  

A prisoner hears that "Jesus will take up your burden", and thinks this is the perfect scam.  All he needs to do is give his problems to God and he can just walk away.  He finds out, of course, that Jesus doesn't take responsibility for your problems; He offers the strength to deal with them.  The last thing the prisoner wants is to deal with his own issues, so he dumps Christianity as a waste of time and begins looking for another patsy.  

The moral?  

True rehabilitation begins and ends with taking responsibility.  Christianity can be a huge help, but the prisoner must step up. 

Of all the prisoners I knew during my stay in the Penitentiary system, the only ones who succeeded were those who took concrete, quantifiable steps to face what they had done: apologized, tried to make restitution, got a job, volunteered, and so forth.  

 When I meet an ex-con who tells me he's a man of Faith, I always ask him:  
"What exactly are you doing to repay for your crime and to better yourself?" 

Going to Church means nothing - it's only an empty exercise without commitment.  If you don't live your faith then you really don't have any.

fresh air upon release

An inmate I shall identify as Aaron recently returned to the Regional Justice Center in Kent for a "first violation" after failing community corrections officer expectations. 

After spending a large amount of time with him over the past years, it was disturbing to listen to his excuses for falling as a result of drinking and getting another woman pregnant.

The take home lesson:  
We learn the real heart of the man after he "feels the fresh air on his face" and returns to community life.  

It's just like you and me.  

What are we like after we leave church or finish a productive Bible study or prayer time?

That's the real test!


This account represents an honest side of jail and prison ministry.  From when this man first entered the RJC, he struggled with telling the truth about what he was dealing with as a result of alcohol consumption.  At first, he was charged with domestic violence with his former living partner. He wouldn't reveal what led to the split with the former partner.  

As he gets settled into the jail experience, Aaron displays an amazing capacity to actively invite other men to Bible studies and fellowship together. 


Both times he was released out of the jail system, he failed to attend any church and to pursue small group men's accountability relationships openly available to him.  He is unknowing stumbling over a very dangerous bridge.


How bad was his drinking experience, this time?  I really don't know.  Putting things together requires multiple questions to connect the dots.  He is a very clear thinking and verbal.  He winds his way around the truth as the bridge sways in the wind.  This time, I was very clear about confronting his dishonesty. 


This latest partner found him drunk in the woods.  How bad was it?  I asked him to read Ephesians 5:3-4 and Hebrews 13:5-6 with me.

3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.   
Ephesians 5:3-10


4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 
 Hebrews 13:4 

He response to me was that he "would be a lot worse off if she hadn't helped me...I feel really good with her...we love each other...we are really happy together." Well, she's pregnant.   How much was he drinking while he was "feeling all that fresh air"? 

I recommended that he reread those passages.  He finds himself in a very dangerous place on a real life swing bridge beyond whatever actions a judge or officer will take.

proclaiming Christ at the dentist office

My co-worker, Jim Dixon, travels with me on PFC trips to Forks and eastern Oregon and Washington.  He sings his own music with a guitar and plays the piano as a gifted and passionate evangelist. We have enjoyed building a rich friendship together.   He sent me this evangelistic conversation with a dental tech--

"While at my dentist the other day. a new cleaning technician was doing my cleaning and introduced herself as "Shilo."  I asked her what her name meant and she said "gift of God."  As I began to speak of the Lord it was more obvious that she was not born again."

Here, Jim is sharing with a worker when we were visiting at Standing Stones clean and sober living ministry in Wapato.

"I gave her my testimony and she asked some questions and I gave her the truth and reality of Christ. As she was talking I felt that the Lord had a word to her and told her that that word was "surrender". She immediately told me that she knew that that was a word for her and explained why.

She also said that many Christians have of lately been talking to her of the Lord. It was a great day.  I was loving the opportunity to again speak to someone of His Great Goodness."

Acts 1:8 says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

...and at jails, prisons, schools, places where we work, and at the dentist's office.