What we can learn from Joe Paterno

This is not going to be an article on football or the scandal that plagued Joe Paterno in recent days before his death, but rather a few things that I learned from an article in the USA Today written by Jack Carey.

Most people will remember Joe Paterno for his coaching longevity, his accomplishments on the football field or the scandal that eventually led to his dismissal from Penn State University. What stood out to me was something far different.

Joe Paterno had a mentor who believed in him. This belief was not just something that was said and never acted upon. The individual who mentored Paterno was a coach named Rip Engle. As the story is told in Carey’s article, Paterno had been accepted into law school, but while he was waiting graduation, Paterno was given the opportunity to be a part-time assistant under Engle working with the quarterbacks. Engle was later given the head coaching position at Penn State and was allowed to bring one assistant with him and that assistant was Joe Paterno. Paterno ended up succeeding Engle in 1966 and the rest of the story is history.

The part I am focusing on is that fact that Paterno was given a chance by someone who could help him and did help him succeed! Engle gave Joe Paterno a part time assistant job which ended up preparing him for the job that he held for 46 years. Not much was said in the article about the relationship between Engle and Paterno, but it was that key relationship and mentoring that undoubtedly took place between these two men that helped Joe Paterno become one of the most well-known college football coaches. Not many people know who Rip Engle is, but they know who Joe Paterno is!

If you are mentoring someone, what are you doing to make sure that they are advancing and progressing in their respective fields? Many professions require an internship and it is during those times that the greatest learning takes place because it is leaving the theoretical and the book learning and allowing them to put things into practice with hands-on learning. What good is a doctor, if they complete their classroom training, observe the more experienced doctors practice medicine, but then the student is given menial tasks and never allowed to do anything of substance that would allow him to eventually practice medicine and become a full-fledged doctor? What good is a lawyer that finishes law school and passes the bar exam, but is never allowed to argue a case?

I think that there is a big misunderstanding in mentoring. Mentoring is not just getting together, talking and listening, or just watching some experienced person perform various tasks within a certain field. Mentoring is spending time with people and letting them do some of the same tasks that the mentor would do. Mentoring is about making opportunities for the one being mentored so that they can grow and develop.

Too many times we can place too much stock in education. I am not discounting education in any way. I have a B.A , M.A. in Theology and a Master of Divinity, so I am not against education. I think too much emphasis is placed on education and too little on letting people learn hands on. I would not want a pilot flying a plane, if he hasn’t had the proper amount of classroom training along with time in the flight simulator and the right amount of flying hours. The balance here is education with practical training.

The same is true for pastoral ministry. We have enough people out there that are saying, “Watch what I do and learn from me”, but not enough pastors who are willing to take a risk and let people learn by doing.

I think the words of Mark Dever are so applicable in this context of mentoring,

God raises up young men who watch their life and doctrine closely and are gifted to teach his Word publicly. Hire them when they’re a cub. Let them chew things up around the house for a while, and you’ll have a lion that loves you for life! Young pastors make mistakes. But young pastors—if they’re called and equipped by God—can stay for a long time, and have deeply fruitful ministries for decades

Remember, not many people knew who Rip Engle was but they knew who Joe Paterno was. May we be people who not only mentor others but give others a chance to learn by doing and by making opportunities for them to do so!

Shrimp Basket -Pensacola, FL

Some of the best places to eat in a community are the ones that are locally owned and operated.  Like I have said in an earlier post, we try to never eat at places that we can eat at home (chain restaurants, etc.)

Last year, when our flight was delayed, we had the opportunity to go to a place that is relatively close to where my in-laws stay when they are in Florida.  The Shrimp Basket  is a great place to eat if you are looking for some great seafood.  We ate here in 2010 and enjoyed it so much, that I told my son that we would go back when we were in Florida again.  I found out that they have some All-You-Can-Eat Specials.

So my son and I walked down to the Shrimp Basket on a Wednesday afternoon in between rain showers to have some shrimp.  As soon as we arrive and are seated, it begins to pour down rain.  My son was a bit disturbed, but I knew that in Florida, the rain comes and goes and that we would be fine when we left.  We ordered our shrimp (he had the kids portion and I had the All You Can Eat.

I enjoyed having lunch with my son because we were on vacation and we were not on any time schedule.  We talked and laughed and had a great time.  Our food arrived and we enjoyed it to the fullest extent!  The AYCE shrimp comes with a generous portion of shrimp, fries or new potatoes (red skinned potatoes) and shrimp slaw.  I am not a big fan of coleslaw because most of the time it is prepared with too much dressing where it is almost like soup than slaw.  The slaw at the Shrimp Basket is just right, not too much dressing and it even has shrimp in it!  Another thing that I almost forgot about, is that the Shrimp Basket has their own hot sauce!  Yes, their own hot sauce.  If you are a hot sauce junkie, like I am, this sauce is a worth a taste.  I cannot begin to describe the flavor, but it is the most unique blend of hot sauce that I have ever had.  It even goes great if you mix it with their cocktail sauce.  I only wish that I had bought a bottle to bring home! For some reason, it is unavailable online in their store.

The Shrimp Basket has 11 locations in the FL/AL area.  It is a place to definitely make time to visit if you are nearby one of their 11 locations! The food is out of this world and the friendly service with a smile and Southern hospitality!

 

Bonefish Grill – Pensacola, FL

While on vacation in December, my wife and I had the opportunity to have dinner with her sisters and their husbands (without kids!) at the Bonefish Grill in Pensacola, FL.  I had heard so many good things about this place that I was eager to dine there.  We had a great time together.  The six of us had not been together since our wedding in 2004, so this vacation was a family reunion of sorts.

When on vacation, one of the “rules” that we have is that we cannot eat at a restaurant that we have back home.  If we choose to eat out, then we want to experience some of the local food rather than a big chain restaurant that we can eat at in MN.

Bonefish Grill is definitely a go-to place.  We got there a bit after 5:00 and the parking lot was starting to fill up.  We tried some of the Bang-Bang Shrimp.  They were wonderful. A bit spicy with a kick, but I have never been known to shy away from the spicy food items!  For my main entree I had the Jumbo Sea Scallops and Shrimp.  They were more than likely fresh because of the proximity to the Gulf.  Something unique is that they offer signature sauces with each of their entrees:  Warm Mango Salsa, Chimichurri Sauce (which is more Italian), Lemon Butter and Pan Asian.  I tried the Chimichurri Sauce which was outstanding.  My wife was undecided when it came to the signature sauce for her entree, so our server brought her out a sample of each!  This was great because I got to try the Mango Salsa, but the Pan Asian was the best sauce by far.  I enjoyed my choice, but when I go back, the Pan Asian sauce is for me.

If you are looking for a nice place to enjoy great company and great food and service.  Bonefish Grill is definitely a place worth trying!

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,900 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 48 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

On vacation

Right now I am on vacation and I have not had consistent internet access to be able to post. When I get some time and access, then I plan on posting a good bit. I have a couple of restaurant reviews, some lessons that I have learned while being on vacation and a few other things. Thanks for your patience and stay tuned.

Happy New Year

Its That Time Of The Year Again

Well, I am on vacation and have been since last week. Besides dealing with the rain, everything has been good thus far. It has been a while since I really had any substantial time off where I could do nothing and get away with it. My wife and I were able to go for a long walk on Monday morning and not have to worry about running to the next thing on our schedule. I just got back from taking my son to lunch, just he and I, no one else and again no time pressure to go do something or be somewhere. We walked about 1.3 miles to and from the restaurant, again no schedule or time pressure to deal with. As I am writing this, I am sitting with my five month old daughter and we are enjoying the nice Florida weather. It is 70 degrees and I am sitting outside in shirtsleeves in December! I could not do this in MN in the winter.

I have been taking time to do a lot of reading that I am unable to do during a normal week/month. I have been reading slowly and deliberately through the Gospel of Mark, instead of trying to read hurriedly. I have been able to read and really think about what is being said contextually, but looking at the meaning of some of the words that catch my attention. I noticed in Mark 1 the word immediately is used often in referring to the manner in which people followed Jesus when He called them. The KJV uses the term straightway, which is also a good term. I am also reading some e-books that I have downloaded in recent weeks. One of the titles that I am reading is Randy Alcorn’s Money and Possessions, this is a recently revised edition that was available for free on the Kindle (for me, the Kindle app). I look forward to seeing how many e-books I can read before my vacation ends in early January!

From the family corner, we welcomed our daughter into the world five weeks early in July(one day before our 7th wedding anniversary). It is a blessing to be a parent! My son is doing well in Kindergarten and is learning how to read. I am enjoying listening to him sound out words and reading small sentences. My wife is staying busy managing things on the home front as well as working a part time job from our home.

From the ministry perspective this year has been a different one. I have not preached since September 2010. Not exactly sure why this has transpired. I have also not been able to teach in a formal setting either. I would be lying if I did not say that this was difficult, but I also have to remember that for reasons unbeknown to me that if nothing changes between now and December 31, that this is the will of God for me. I am wondering when I am asked to preach, if I will forget how to since it has been so long since the last opportunity. Part of me questions if I have done something wrong in my life to come from the year 2010 which was full to overflowing with a large number of preaching and teaching opportunities, to 2011 in which the opportunities were non-existent. Nothing has changed in the search for a pastoral ministry opportunity. I have not sent out any resumes in quite some time because the opportunities do not exist. I am quite active in my local church, but there’s a large tension there because I currently work a secular job that takes up 45-50 hours a week and I have a family that also needs my attention and time. I then try to do what I can in the area of church ministry, but feel quite inadequate because I am not able to devote more time to it and then the tension exists between my full time job and the desire that
God has placed in my heart for full time ministry (1 Timothy 3:1). It would be nice to be able to replace the secular job with a full time ministry opportunity. Recently, I have been told by a couple of well-meaning individuals that I should just stop looking for a place of full time pastoral ministry and just pour myself into my secular job and be a good layman. I understand what they are saying but I do not necessarily agree with it. Why would God allow me to go to Bible College and graduate? Then after seven years in a secular job, allow me to serve in full-time vocational ministry for three and one half years in a difficult situation that taught me a lot about how ministry was not supposed to be done. Then God provided an opportunity to attend seminary exactly ten years after I had graduated from college. It took me eight years to complete two degrees (M.A. in Theology/Biblical studies and an MDiv degree). I may be wrong but I do not think that God would call me into the ministry, allow me to complete my undergraduate and graduate education and then leave me hanging. I could be wrong, but I do not think so. There are plenty of people who serve in local churches with no aspiration or desire for full time pastoral ministry. I often wonder how many men are out there who are in the same position that I am in, all done with their education and no place to go? I have seen men looking for ministry positions, get so entrenched in their secular jobs that when the time comes for full time ministry, they never make the transition because they have been disillusioned along the way.

I apologize for being so reflective, but it usually seems to happen naturally this time of year since we are ten days away from a new year. I am not one to make resolutions because I do not like to over promise and under deliver. I do not know what 2012 will bring. I pray that I will love God more than I have, that I will love my wife and my children more, and that God will grant me greater opportunities to serve Him that I did not have in 2011.

Thank you for reading and I do appreciate your comments (not the spam)

E-Books – they are here to stay

I enjoy a good book and have always enjoyed reading.  While in college and seminary, I did a fair amount of reading and as a result of those experiences, learned to appreciate different books and authors.  Over the years, I have amassed quite a collection of books. Unfortunately, because I do not have an office (see my earlier post on this), most of my books are currently in storage.  I do have some in the living room and some on a small shelf in the bedroom.

In recent years, books have evolved from the printed page to the electronic edition or e-book as they are commonly referred to.  Amazon has revolutionized the e-book with their Kindle device and the Kindle app.  So now, you can acquire loads of books on your Kindle or iPad or Mac without taking up a lot of physical storage space.  Not to be left out, Apple has the iBooks platform for the  iPad and iPod touch.

I enjoy an e-book because I can read them anywhere and I am not having to lug around a lot of books.  I can remember while in seminary working on a paper, that I would have either one or two canvas bags full of books.  Now, if I were in seminary, I would be able to have most of my sources on my MacBook and not have to lug around those bags of books.

Here is where the difficulty lies with e-books….for me.

Out of sight, out of mind.  Right now, as I am writing this, I am sitting adjacent to my bookshelf in the living room and I am looking at several volumes.  With the e-book, unless I open the reader app (either Kindle or iBooks) then I sometimes forget that I have the e-book!

In addition to my e-books, I also have Logos Bible Software and that also has a ton of books as well.  Currently in my Logos library, I have approximately 2000 titles, but again, unless I have Logos open, I sometimes forget that I have a book within the collection.

With my print books, I can see them on the shelves and I know that they are there.  With my e-books, I sometimes forget that they exist.

Does anyone have a solution to this issue?

Office, anyone?

I think I am in need of an office.  You might say that is a tall order or why would you need an office.  Let me explain..

I have been working for the better part of 20 years.  In all of my work history, I have been privileged to work for three different employers.  The first employer I worked for in Jacksonville, FL was while I was in college.  When I first started there, I did not have a desk or a cubicle, but then changed jobs and I had a place in the “cube farm” near a window, which was great.  I kept that job for eight years, when the Lord graciously opened up an opportunity for me to serve in full-time vocational ministry in administration at a Baptist mission agency also in Jacksonville, FL.  This was a step-up and with the job came a nice office that also had a window.  Although I did not spend much time in the office because I stayed quite busy, it was nice to have a place that was mine.  I had a desk and a credenza and was able to make it look nice.  During my tenure, we relocated and I had another office in the back of a warehouse type building.  This “office” was not the greatest.  It was hot in the summer and it did not have a window. It was adequate, but again, it was a place that I used to work and think.  I left there to go to seminary in the Twin Cities.  When I moved, I gave up my “office” and realized that if I ever had one again that it would be a while.  My books went into boxes and tubs and only kept the ones that I needed to use for seminary, etc.  When I was single, my “office” was in my living room, bookshelves, desk, etc.  It worked for a while.  Then when I got married and we moved into a larger apartment, then I was able to secure the 2nd bedroom for a quasi-office (it was also a guest room).  I had my desk and some of my books, the rest were in storage. I could go there early in the morning or late at night to study, think, read, meditate, etc. without disturbing anyone. We had our first child in 2006 and shortly thereafter had to move to a bigger place.  This place was bigger in square footage, but I lost my office space again.  My son needed a room and therefore due to space constraints, my desk, file cabinet and bookcase have resided in our bedroom in one corner for the last 5 years or so.  My wife has been patient, but has expressed on different occasions that she wished there was somewhere I could move my desk, file cabinet, bookcase, etc.  I agreed with her, but said that would not be possible unless I was able to find a job that came with an office.  I have worked for the same company since I arrived in the Twin Cities nine years ago. I am a cube dweller, with no window.  I am thankful to have a job – office or not.

The other day, I was thinking how nice it would be to get my desk, file cabinet, books out of our bedroom and have a place for them away from our apartment.  As I write this post in the living room, I am sitting next to another bookcase that is filled with a majority of my books (overflowing).

Not only does an office provide space for such things as desks, file cabinets, and books. It provides someone a place to call their own, a place to think, ponder, meditate and brainstorm.  A place where one can close the door and commune with God.  A place where one can read and write.

I was able to do a fair amount of studying at my desk in my corner of our bedroom.  Now that I am finished with seminary, I do not spend as much time at the desk as I did.  Mostly because it is overrun with paper and I try to organize it only to find myself buried in it again.  My work desk is neat mainly because there is very little paper involved in my current line of work (all electronic via email). Having two children does not lend itself to having a place to go for quiet reflection in our apartment.

There are others who are able to study in places like Panera Bread or Starbucks.  I have always envied these folks and wondered how they could do it with people coming and going, the noise factor, etc.  I like to have it somewhat quiet, but not pin-drop, library quiet.

Maybe someday I will be able to own a home where I can create an office space or I find employment or better yet return to full-time vocational ministry that would afford me office space.  Then I would be able to relocate the desk, books, file cabinet, etc.  For now, I will live with it in the corner and hopefully one of these days, be able to fully tackle the organization of my desk and hopefully not be buried alive by paper while in the process of trying to go paperless and waiting to see if the Lord will allow me this small request to get these office things out of our apartment sometime soon!  I know my wife would be extremely happy when that day arrives and she would probably be very glad to help me load the desk, file cabinet, books and bookcases and gladly watch them depart.

Until then, we wait…..

(yes, we are still looking for a full-time pastoral ministry opportunity – Jan 2012 will mark two years in our present search)

This really happened…

One Sunday evening, while I was helping in the collection of the evening offering, I saw something that I have only heard about and have never seen until that point. I was passing the offering plate during our observance of the Lord’s Supper. I was at the next to last row and as the plate came towards me I noticed that it was quite full, lots of loose bills. As it came to the end of the row, a lady put a $10 in and then started to grab money out of the plate. I grabbed the plate and told her that she could not do that. She said that she needed $7 back. I had heard of people making change, but this was unbelievable and she was not discreet by any means. When I got in the lobby and the other ushers were there, I told them what had happened and we got her $7 and I took it back to her discreetly.

Took a lot of guts to try to make change on the fly, but next time, make change before you leave home… or better yet, give the whole $10 and let God bless you later one instead of trying to nickel and dime God with the tipping that most people do!

Five Years Ago

Five years ago today, my mother went home to be with the Lord. It was a relatively short battle with cancer. I miss her very much not only for myself but for her two grandchildren. Joseph recognizes her picture but he was only 5 months old when she passed away. My daughter is 8 weeks old and we honored Mom’s memory by giving her name as Catherine’s middle name. We had actually decided on Catherine’s middle name before her first name.

A lot has taken place in the last five years. We are thankful for Mom’s life, the legacy and memories that we have and will be able to pass on to her grandchildren. Most of all, I am thankful that Mom was a believer. She put her faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and I had the privilege of baptizing her upon her profession of faith.

2 Cor. 5:8 – …to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

Romans 1:16 – For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.