SCATTER SHOOTING, PART FOUR
BY MARK TERRY
Scatter shooting while wondering where W. A. Criswell bought his white suits. Summertime has arrived in Texas. It’s 94 degrees today.
I was sad to learn of Charles Stanley’s passing. He was an excellent preacher. He was able to show the practical application of doctrine better than anyone else. During our first four years in the Philippines, FBC Atlanta sent me a package of his sermon cassettes (!) every month. They were like a stream in the desert for me.
I read on the internet (so it must be true) that gray hair can be reversed. No thanks! I earned every one of my gray hairs by raising teenagers and grading papers.
I had mixed feelings about the Executive Committee’s vote, declining to elect Jared Wellman. I felt bad for Jared Wellman. I don’t know him, but I’ve heard lots of good things about him. If Dwight McKissic says he is a good guy, that’s good enough for me. On the other hand, all along I hoped the EC would elect Willie McLaurin. He’s done a good job at the EC as the interim director, and it is past time for an African-American brother to lead an SBC entity. So, I hope the new search committee will choose him.
Speaking of elections, I hope Bart Barber will be reelected in June. It is the usual thing for an SBC president to be afforded a second term. We should do so again. I wish Mike Stone had waited until next year to run again.
I read online that the Christian Publishing House will publish an updated edition of the American Standard Version, which was originally published in 1901. That was the Americanized edition of the British Revised Version. The American Standard Version was the basis for the Revised Standard Version (1952) and the New American Standard Bible. The popular English Standard Version is based on the Revised Standard Version. Crossway Bibles purchased the rights to the RSV from the National Council of Churches. Then, Crossway hired a group of conservative Bible scholars to “Evangelicalize” it. When I was in my first year of study at Southwestern Seminary, I had Dr. David Garland for OT Introduction. He taught from the American Standard. I’ve never known anyone else who used it. Perhaps more will use it now.
You really don’t understand a doctrine until you can explain it to a child.
The New England Centenarian Study found that 85% of folks who reach 100 years of age are female, and 15% are male. So, it’s not looking too good for me and William Thornton.
I plan to start a local support group, and I hope and trust it will spread throughout the land. This is a support group for husbands whose wives are addicted to Hallmark Christmas movies like mine is. While she watches Hallmark movies on the big TV, I’m relegated to watching sports on the little TV. Oh, you’ve never seen a Hallmark Christmas movie? Well, there’s no need to spend 90 minutes watching one. I can tell you the standard plot they use. Jennifer Collins was raised in picturesque Cedar Falls. She went away to college and did not return. After college she achieved great success in the city, but now her Aunt Sally is growing old, and her bakery is failing. Somehow, in those intervening years, Jennifer has forgotten the real meaning of Christmas. In response to a distress message, Jennifer returns to Cedar Falls to help Aunt Sally, and meets a handsome deputy sheriff, who is amazingly still single. When they “happen” to meet, romantic sparks fly. In the meantime, Jennifer rescues the town’s Christmas parade and tree lighting, and she and Deputy Bob rescue a stray dog, who is in remarkably good condition for a stray. In the end, the bakery is saved; the Christmas parade succeeds; the Christmas tree lights work; Ralph the dog is rescued; and Jennifer and Bob kiss. And they all lived happily ever after. The End. So, if you want to join my support group, just say so in the comments. We won’t sit in a circle and share our feelings; no, we’ll sit on couches, eat pork rinds, and watch sports.
On a serious note, our church sponsors a Celebrate Recovery program. The response has been terrific. I hope you’ll consider sponsoring one at your church.
