“All hardback books $5, all paperback books, $3.” That’s what the sign said at the bookstore at the Orange County Convention Center the week of my denominational chaplains commission meeting and general assembly. In no time flat, I had picked out six books for a total of $27.00. A bargain even I couldn’t resist.
Two of the books are about relationships, one is about the sacraments, and another focuses on the Lord’s Prayer. Currently, I’m reading a book by Tim Keel titled “Intuitive Leadership: Embracing a Paradigm of Narrative, Metaphor & Chaos.” I won’t bore you with trying to re-state all that the book talks about, but the major point, very well told in the book, is that the world has changed and continues to change is fundamental ways. We all know it. We all feel it, though we can’t often name it or understand it or the meaning of it. We see it in the blur of technological change and how quickly the latest gadget is obsolete. We see it in how differently Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and Gen Nexters relate to authority and work. How, asks Keel, is the church to live in and be relevant to a world so dramatically different than that of a generation ago?
The world of healthcare has changed just as rapidly. Healthcare workers have changed. Patients have changed. Treatment and payment models have changed. It turns out that the religious experts and the healthcare experts face similar challenges. How can healthcare keep up with a changing landscape where our success depends equally upon quality measures and patient satisfaction scores? Keel’s message to the church is just as relevant to the hospital, I think. The church can’t just proclaim a message and expect to be heard and believed. The message must be lived in order to be heard.
Hospitals too must live out their mission. It isn’t enough anymore to be the experts in fixing broken bones, unclogging arteries or curing infections. They must live quality and they must also live care and compassion. In short, the answer for both, it seems to me is the sixth book I purchased. That book is by Gary Chapman. It is a collection of stories about how one person touched the life of another. The title is simple. The message is profound. “Love is a Verb.”
Blessings to you all,
Jerald
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Daytime dreams
Glimmers
August 6, 2010
The tall young man in the tan suit haunts my daytime dreams. I saw him last week while at our denominational meeting in Orlando. We had several days of meetings with chaplains only, followed by meetings to discuss and vote on matters of importance to the whole church.
Wednesday night was set aside for worship. Franklin Graham, Billy Graham’s son, was the speaker and Israel Houghton and New Breed provided the music. Israel’s Latin-soul-gospel music was high energy and inspiring. The over 13,000 in attendance at the Orange County Convention Center were on their feet almost the whole time. It was during the music and praise that I saw him. He was on the back row of the section in front of me. He was in the fourth seat from the end of the row as you go from the right to the left. He was standing, like all the rest, not as animated as most of the crowd. A young woman stood at his side. His head was clean-shaven. A mask covered his nose and mouth. A mask.
I watched the singers and felt the power of the music, literally and figuratively. Then my eyes would go back to the young man in the mask. I wondered what he was thinking. Was he afraid? Was his faith intact? Did he wonder about God’s power, or love for him? Does he wonder if God really sees him and if God sees him, does he care?
As I watched him, this man I may never know, I whispered a prayer for him. “God bless the tall young man in the tan suit, that one, right over there in the back row. Give him strength for his battles and healing for his body.” “Bless his family and those who care for him and about him.” “Bless the medical team as they work with him and give them success.”
After Franklin Graham spoke, more music followed. At some point he slipped out with his family and I don’t even remember his leaving. But he haunts me still in my daytime dreams.
Blessings to you all,
Jerald
August 6, 2010
The tall young man in the tan suit haunts my daytime dreams. I saw him last week while at our denominational meeting in Orlando. We had several days of meetings with chaplains only, followed by meetings to discuss and vote on matters of importance to the whole church.
Wednesday night was set aside for worship. Franklin Graham, Billy Graham’s son, was the speaker and Israel Houghton and New Breed provided the music. Israel’s Latin-soul-gospel music was high energy and inspiring. The over 13,000 in attendance at the Orange County Convention Center were on their feet almost the whole time. It was during the music and praise that I saw him. He was on the back row of the section in front of me. He was in the fourth seat from the end of the row as you go from the right to the left. He was standing, like all the rest, not as animated as most of the crowd. A young woman stood at his side. His head was clean-shaven. A mask covered his nose and mouth. A mask.
I watched the singers and felt the power of the music, literally and figuratively. Then my eyes would go back to the young man in the mask. I wondered what he was thinking. Was he afraid? Was his faith intact? Did he wonder about God’s power, or love for him? Does he wonder if God really sees him and if God sees him, does he care?
As I watched him, this man I may never know, I whispered a prayer for him. “God bless the tall young man in the tan suit, that one, right over there in the back row. Give him strength for his battles and healing for his body.” “Bless his family and those who care for him and about him.” “Bless the medical team as they work with him and give them success.”
After Franklin Graham spoke, more music followed. At some point he slipped out with his family and I don’t even remember his leaving. But he haunts me still in my daytime dreams.
Blessings to you all,
Jerald
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