Weekly Thought – May 5, 2020

Fred wrote much about maturity – its elements, and processes. Forgiveness is one of the key factors in mature living.

Forgive Us Our Sins

There is no way to live without violating other people or being violated. The way to even the score is not through revenge. Renowned psychiatrists find that revenge is the most unhealthy of all emotions. From a practical standpoint, I think our human nature is to get revenge, to get even. To move past this and begin the forgiveness work takes divine intervention. From my experience, it isn’t a natural trait.

The Christian faith asserts we must forgive unlike other cultures and religions which teach “an eye for an eye, or a tooth for a tooth.”

Forgiving is part of a process: living in the attitude of forgiveness, accepting the request for forgiveness, and then actually forgiving. I have had people say, “Fred, there are people I will never forgive – never!” Naively, they think withholding forgiveness is the best way to repay the hurt. We know the other person will probably never suffer our lack of forgiveness, but it certainly hurts us.

A business associate feuded with his brother 25 years before I knew him. By this time, he could not even recall the details of the estrangement, but he knew and eagerly told me that forgiveness would never be given. I had no idea of the outcome for the offending brother, but my associate developed ulcerative colitis and died a painful death. But he satisfied his aim of never forgiving.

Forgiveness should be one of those reflex emotions we develop. As soon as we realize it is required, we must discipline ourselves to act quickly. Running away from it, or denying it begins a downward slide for us emotionally, and even physically.

Forgiveness is a deep process, and we can’t just glibly say to somebody “oh, forget it!” Humans don’t forget very easily. Asking someone to forget without forgiveness is unhealthy. We tend to stuff it down into our subconscious. I find that full, true forgiveness doesn’t require forgetting.

Probably, the biggest problem we have is the need to forgive ourselves. A lot of residue of guilt is because after we confess, and receive God’s forgiveness we fail to accept that freedom. Many times I see people who refuse to accept their own humanity. Father Hesburgh, former President of Notre Dame, was given three precepts from his predecessor Father Cavanaugh: be right, be human, be humble. So often when we make mistakes, we hold them against ourselves as if we were not human. Frankly, I have never seen any reason to create a habit of forgiving others quickly, but not affording that to myself. I must be clear – this is not rationalizing. First there must be the admission, confession, and when possible restitution. If I won’t let someone else beat me for a forgiven sin, then I am not going to do that to myself.

This week think about: 1) How well do I handle forgiveness? 2) Who needs my forgiveness? 3) Who taught me the value of true forgiveness?

Words of Wisdom: “Forgiveness should be one of those reflex emotions we develop.”

Wisdom from the Word: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our offenses, according to the riches of his grace.” (Ephesians 1:7 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – April 28, 2020

Fred always remembered those who were influential in his life. He expressed appreciation for men and women who taught him, prayed for him, and opened doors for him to use his gifts. He never took his opportunities for granted and always gave thanks.

In the last few weeks we have received great encouragement from readers of our emails affectionately known as WTs. Thank you for taking the time to email. Each word of support is gratefully received.

Give Thanks

The longer I live, the more I use gratitude as a measure of maturity. I have a friend who is quite ill with cancer. We have a tradition when we talk. I say, “What are you grateful for?” And she always says “I have much to be grateful for.” Notice she does not say, “I had much to be grateful for” No, she says “I have much.” Even in these days of great illness she doesn’t relegate gratitude to the past – it is always present tense for her.

It is easy for people to give you a list of past experiences which generate gratitude, but sometimes it is difficult to express thankfulness for the current season. We need to be conscious that our greed, discontent, and losses can cause a cloud to cover us, hiding what is current. When we have significant difficulties it may blind us to what we have right before us.

As I have gotten older I find many of my friends joining the “used-ta” club. We get together and they talk about “I used-ta do this; I used-ta do that.” I made a deal with my family I would not gain membership in that one. When we fall into this pattern, we lose focus on the good things going on right now. Yes, there were some great highlights, but as I told Mary Alice early in our marriage, “The Best Is Yet To Be.”

A mature person knows the value of gratitude, but this is more than just saying thanks for specifics. It is developing a gratitude mindset. We probably only recognize a small percentage of what should generate appreciation. I think of those things I was protected from unknowingly; those things that were provided without any notice; those times when I was totally unaware… these constrain me to cultivate a lifestyle of gratitude.

Billy Graham once told me of two amazements: his selection by God and his preservation by God. Both are so vast that we could never understand the specifics. Therefore, we need to develop a grateful attitude which allows us to walk in thankfulness day by day.

A side thought: When I think about gratitude it occurs to me to ask the question: “Do we pray to fill our tool box, or our toy box?” Are we more grateful for toys than tools?

This week think about: 1) How currently grateful am I? 2) What triggers my gratitude? 3) Who models gratitude well?

Words of Wisdom: “The longer I live, the more I use gratitude as a measure of maturity.”

Wisdom from the Word: “The LORD strengthens and protects me; I trust in him with all my heart. I am rescued and my heart is full of joy; I will sing to him in gratitude.” (Psalms 28:7 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – March 3, 2020

Fred clarified his thinking by putting his thoughts in writing… a lesson taught him in his twenties. Each year we repost what he called his “personal creed.” We hope it gives you an opportunity to consider your own “credo.”

My Personal Creed

Purpose: To determine what I will become. I will become the sum of my choices, and decisions. The Creed should guide and identify exceptions.

I WILL:

1. I will respect truth by searching for it and accepting it from any source.
2. I will look for the essence of matters as the elegance of life…as Einstein wanted to think God’s thoughts after Him. “For all else is detail.” In problems I will look for the key facts like a logger looks for the key log.
3. I will endeavor to pray honestly about any subject assuming God already knows.
4. I will expect nothing but what I earn, but will accept gifts gratefully.
5. The most valuable thing I can own is myself. Thereby I can contribute my uniqueness to life. I will concentrate on my uniqueness rather than what I like to do or what I would be paid the most to do. If my uniqueness is lost, then there has been no compelling reason for my having lived. I will have failed to contribute my piece to the jigsaw puzzle.
6. I will limit extensive self-knowledge to my most productive strengths and destructive weaknesses.
7. I will construct concepts for my thinking and actions so as to minimize large mistakes and give consistency to my living.
8. I will relax in the sovereignty of God. Service will be expressions of respect and love, not ingratiation.
9. The large issues of life will be decided by faith based on Biblical authority.
10. I will respect money, but as a means and never an end.
11. I will endeavor to accept my rightful responsibility, not because I like it but because it is right, realizing that my acts affect others, and that both good and bad have ripple effects.
12. I will accept human imperfection as a reality but never as an excuse or rationalization.
13. My life will be a confluence from many profitable and interesting areas of life so as to continually broaden my base.

I WILL NOT:

1. I will not build any unreal image which enslaves me or alienates me from others.
2. I will not sacrifice my old age, but, rather adopt a refinishing method good for all periods in turning experience into knowledge, and knowledge into wisdom. I will live so that “the best is yet to be” by attention to maturity, health, relations, and capital.
3. I will not sacrifice these things for business success: a) self-respect b) health c) family d) relation with God.

Think carefully about these points this week: 1) How would I construct my own personal creed? 2) What are the essentials and non-negotiables? 3) What are my I WILLs, but more importantly, my I WILL NOTs?

Words of Wisdom: “The large issues of life will be decided by faith based on Biblical authority.”

Wisdom from the Word: “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – February 4, 2020

Fred spoke with insight, wisdom, and elegance. His ability to think was a God-given gift which he treated as a stewardship. In January, 1981 he spoke to an unnamed group in Dallas. The entire speech is powerful, but too lengthy for these brief messages. We hope these snippets stimulate your thinking.

Ultimate Goals

Recently I met an old and prosperous friend who wanted to relive earlier times. Once an active layman, he is now inactive. I asked him if he remembered the verse, “When it is day I long for the night and when it is night I long for the day.” He became quiet and then barely audible said, “Fred, that’s me.”

He needs to reorder his life. Like too many, when given the choice of filling the soul or the pocketbook… he grabbed the cash. His poor soul had been on a stringent diet.

A pastor friend told me of the large industrialist, who owned his town, but was seldom seen and never appeared in church. When he was near death he called the pastor and asked him to visit. “When I came to America I heard there was a pot of gold at the rainbow and I went in search of it. I found the gold, but lost the rainbow.”

In East Texas I first learned of pine beetles. I saw them on the trees and thought they were alive. They looked completely natural, but when I took a closer look, they were hollow. Often I have to remember how possible it is to become hollow while looking alive. The inside seems to go before the outside.

It isn’t easy to keep the inside renewed for sometimes life seems to be a lot of activity and very little being… too much slant and not enough balance. We use up the inside in maintaining the outside.

I truly wish I could help the many bored, frantic, angry, even violent and meaningless people who cross my path – people who need to laugh, to love unselfishly… those who need relief from a social life that has become rote and empty. I see executives whose business life is their only life. We live with family life fractured and scratchy… the home little more than a transfer station. Some of us have let our bodies become little more than clothes racks or display mannequins. We need to help each other on the constant internal renewal of spirit worthy of respect, attention, and affection.

Recently, the President of a large financial institution called “just to visit.” I enjoy those calls. As we talked, I sensed the pace was almost frenetic so I asked, “How are you keeping your head together?” “Work, work, work” was his answer. I highly value work, but there should also be the mystical awe of life.

Malcolm Muggeridge defines life as a mystery to be illuminated not a problem to be solved. When true awe disappears, life becomes boring and repetitive. In America (and particularly in Dallas) I fear we substitute acquisition and entertainment for genuine awe. As a poor kid in the slums of North Nashville I spent hours on the curb looking up at the stars – in genuine awe and amazement. I probably haven’t had many times with better feelings of the bigness of the world and its Creator.

Part of awe is gratitude. I have a dear atheist friend in the oil business who returned from an extremely successful venture in Australia. “Fred, one of the most frustrating aspects of being an atheist is having no God to thank when things go well and you know you are blessed beyond what you deserve. In those times it would be satisfying to have a God.”

Real meaning in life is filling the soul, finding the right perspective, and saying thank you.

This week carefully consider: 1) Have I sacrificed the rainbow for the pot of gold? 2) How healthy am I on the inside despite how good I look on the outside? 3) What triggers gratitude right now?

Words of Wisdom: “We use up the inside in maintaining the outside.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Such trials show the proven character of your faith, which is much more valuable than gold – gold that is tested by fire, even though it is passing away – and will bring praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:8 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – January 7, 2020

Fred, in his thinking on maturity, spoke and wrote about mental health. He once said, “I give a testimony rather than a medical thesis about mental health.” He used his own perspective as a traveler, not a theoretician.

Plans for 2020 begin with conversations among team members about goals for the year and campus activity. For the next two years we will be drilling down deeper with conversations among selected students and BWFLI teams. It is interesting to see the focus go from contact with 1000s to concentrated attention to 10s. The broad brush approach certainly introduced us, but the almost one on one interaction and engagement allows us to bring Fred’s principles into closer focus. THANK YOU for your participation with us through team membership, prayer, words of encouragement, and financial support. The work goes on and we eagerly anticipate 2020.

Getting Our Heads Together

Our desire for mental health is at the heart of the matter. Christ, at the pool of Siloam, asked the man “Do you want to be well?” I used to think this had to be the most useless question in the Bible. Who wouldn’t want to be well? But the more I dealt with people the more I realized not only was that not useless – it was essential to the man’s getting well.

As we look at our plan for mental health we must ask ourselves, “Do I want to be well?” If so, then simple, consistent discipline is required. A note, I am not talking about mental disease which should be handled professionally. I am writing to those who want to construct a strategy for emotional wellness as part of their general life plan. I have several good friends who serve their psychiatric patients well.
Let’s look at an exercise as we begin our conversation.

Take a card or piece of paper; draw a line from top to bottom creating two columns. On the left, write down those emotions you must discipline in order to stay mentally healthy. On the right, write the ones you recognize bring you mental discomfort or even sickness. After doing this, take a good look at both lists. The appropriate response is to create the discipline, as much as possible, to build the healthy emotions into our daily living. Part of this is to understand how they work. For example, gratitude is high on my list for desirable emotions. In order to cultivate thankfulness I try to understand exactly what it looks like when I am practicing it. I create a pattern which grows into a habit, and eventually a lifestyle. But it begins by identifying it as helpful and healthy, then purposing to build it into my life.

No two of us will have identical lists. For example, one person may have fear as an unhealthy, undesirable emotion, but only see it as a distraction from mature growth. Another, who lists fear will be paralyzed by it and unable to make progress while in its grip.

After careful study of the strength building emotions, prioritize them. Some people devise a plan and then wear themselves out trying to master each and every aspect of their “healthy person” ideal. Make a plan for enhancing the value of the good emotions. Of course, they all overlap to some degree. A grateful person will undoubtedly show kindness. And, a forgiving person will be one of grace. But determine the primary emotions.

One last word – spend little or no time trying to correct the negative emotions… that is a waste of time and energy. Let the good drive out the bad through its own momentum.

This week think about: 1) In this new year what emotions do I want to emphasize? 2) How interested am I in analyzing my own mental health? 3) Who is a good role model for me in my high priority emotions?

Words of Wisdom: “The desire to be well is essential to getting well.”

Wisdom from the Word: “When Jesus saw him lying there and when he realized that the man had been disabled a long time already, he said to him, “Do you want to become well?” (John 5:6 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – December 31, 2019

Fred prepared every New Year’s Eve for the next day… not by partying, or even stocking up on black-eyed peas. He got his paperwork in order to spend the next day doing his yearly personal audit. Establishing priorities constituted a large part of his analysis.

May your looking back over 2019 give you opportunities to praise the goodness of God. And may your hopes for 2020 be grounded in His faithfulness.

The Responsibility of Priorities

Andrew Carnegie once asked a consultant, “What can you do for me about time control?” The consultant said, “I’ll make one suggestion, and you send me a check for what you think its worth. Here is my suggestion: Write down on a piece of paper what you have to do in order of priority. Start with number one and complete it before you move on through the list.” Reportedly, Carnegie tried it for a few weeks and sent him a check for $10,000. That was big money in those days!

I constantly find people trying to accomplish their work as if they were eating dinner at a smorgasbord. They don’t prioritize, nor do they complete anything – they just graze. They don’t practice good time management. An executive asked me, “Fred, how in the world do you turn down people who want to play golf with you?” Honestly, that question never entered my mind. My time is as much mine as is my money. If I don’t let everybody else spend my money, I’m not going to let them spend my time.

For example, I was traveling with the president of a subsidiary company. Every time we stopped at an airport, or sat down for a minute he’d grab a great stack of magazines and begin reading. I asked, “Do you like to read?” His answer surprised me. “No, I hate to read.” “But every time I am with you, you spend the time reading. Why do you do that?” His answer: “The President of the parent company sends me these magazines.” I asked, “What would happen if you’d walk into his office and say, ‘Hey, Boss, you want me to make money or read magazines? I’m willing to do either one, but I can’t read all these magazines and do my job, too.’” I went on to speculate, I will guarantee the boss would laugh and say, “Throw those magazines in the waste basket. I sent them to you because I thought they were too current to throw away.”

A friend of mine works for a CEO who is influenced by book referrals from consultants. When the CEO returns from a conference he immediately issues memos requiring all direct reports to read the latest “hot title.” A man came in to see me who wrote a book and brought me a copy – a big, thick book. He said, “I’ll call you in a week and see what you think about my book. I don’t read books just because someone gives them to me. I only read what I am currently studying. Your book costs $10.90. Since I am a slow reader, it would take me two days to read it. That means I’d be making about $5.45 reading your book. I think my time is worth more than that.”

I have a right and responsibility to establish the priorities which will enable me to best use my God-given gifts.

This week think about: 1) How serious am I about my priorities? 2) Who needs encouragement in wise time management? 3) When am I most challenged to ignore my priorities?

Words of Wisdom: “My time is as much mine as is my money. If I don’t let everybody else spend my money, I’m not going to let them spend my time.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Whatever you are doing, work at it with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not for people.” (Colossians 3:23 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – November 19, 2019

Fred thought systematically. He once said about a friend, “He has an impeccable mind… everything is in place.” Fred, too, had a mind which organized for maximum usage. Mary Alice loved order, too, but in the house. She finally gave up on having his environment (covered with books, articles, scraps of notepaper, etc.) match the pristine nature of his thinking process.

2019’s Breakfast With Fred Leadership Institute schedule completed with a successful time at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Thanks to Mark Modesti and the BWFLI team for their work. And deep gratitude to President Fleming and his outstanding staff for their devotion to the growth of their students.

Four Things

(Fred categorized as an effective way to organize content. This week’s thought is built on sets of four things.)

1. Four great questions:
   
   1. Adam, where are you?
      
   2. Am I my brother’s keeper?
      
   3. Who do you say that I am?
      
   4. Do you love me?
      
2. People are searching for these four things:
   
   1. a. Identity and individuality
      
   2. Community – a sense of being home
      
   3. Meaning and significance
      
   4. Hope
      
3. Those who have a high need for achievement display four characteristics:
   
   1. They set realistic, not impossible, goals for themselves
      
   2. They prefer work situations in which they can take personal responsibility for the effort and the goal achievement
      
   3. They desire feedback about their own performance
      
   4. They show initiative in researching their environment, traveling, trying new things, and searching for new opportunities
      
4. Four elements of entrepreneurial pursuits
   
   1. The emotional strain of playing with your own chips.
      
   2. Wearing more hats and being required to handle more detail than customary
      
   3. Realization that working with people takes twice as long and at least 50% more money.
      
   4. Consider early change in lifestyle and social status understanding money alone is not the full satisfaction in life.
      
5. Four steps to helping people reach their potential
   
   1. Locate the path of potential. People cannot do anything they want to or anything they can think of, despite current clichés.
      
   2. Have faith to believe in the potential. Faith is an act, not a feeling or simply a word. Faith is acting as if it were so.
      
   3. Initiate discipline to accomplish the potential. This is the operating system.
      
   4. Have gratitude to enjoy the potential. Gratitude recognized that we have nothing but what we have received.
      

This week think about: 1) Which set of four things particularly stirs my thinking? 2) How can I organize my thoughts to be more helpful to myself and to others? 3) Who should I be investing in this week?

Words of Wisdom: “Have faith to believe in the potential (of others) knowing faith is an act, not a feeling or simply a word.”

Wisdom from the Word: “There are four things on earth that are small, but they are exceedingly wise.” (Proverbs 30:24 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – November 5, 2019

Fred lived with eyes wide open. Every experience fell into a mental file, easily accessible for future application. In a binder he accumulated what he titled “Stories.” This week’s blog gives two excellent examples of Fred’s ability to collect – and then use for the benefit of others.

Thank you for supporting the legacy work of Fred Smith, Sr. Your messages and Facebook shares are encouraging and invigorating.

Out and About With Fred

Well Done Service

I was speaking at a civic meeting in Kingston, New York. My host was scheduled to pick me up, even in the cold, inclimate February weather. A young man appeared who immediately told me he was driving me because he was concerned my host, who was older, would be nervous about the bad roads. As we rode, I found out this young man drove a delivery truck and worked in a warehouse for a local firm.

He was one of the most committed people I had met – committed to service. As we drove, he pulled into a rest stop saying, “You might find a cup of coffee or a restroom among the more pleasant things of life.”

After the meeting I found someone had taken my overcoat – a dire necessity in the cold New York weather. My driver immediately thought about an elderly man whose memory was not quite as sharp as it had been. He drove me to the hotel, tracked down my overcoat, returned to the hotel with it, and handed me a card with his home phone and the number of the closest local hospital. In our conversation he heard me say I had been having gallstone pains. He then told me I could call him any time day or night and he would be happy to come get me.

As he left he asked if he could attend the breakfast the next morning because “I just want to listen.” Afterwards he made a quick exit to his truck, bringing me an envelope which he handed me. “It’s Valentine’s Day. I know you are traveling and was afraid you might have forgotten to get a card for your wife.” It was one of those gaudy, gushy valentines which I would have never picked out, but I was proud to give Mary Alice via the man who was totally committed to service – a man with a noble spirit for whatever task, however menial.

Well Done Commitment

Eating in a country café in Grand Saline, TX I noticed a forty-ish couple sitting behind me. They looked like “salt of the earth” people. Of course, Grand Saline is the salt capital as the home of Morton Salt production! When he got up to pay the bill he came back, stood a minute, and then reached lifting her from the booth. Her arms went around his neck. He backed out the café door, putting her into his pickup parked right outside the door. I saw she was wrapped in a full body brace and unable to stand. As we all watched wordlessly, the waitress commented, “He took his vows seriously, didn’t he?”

This week carefully consider: 1) How well do I notice people and experiences around me? 2) What way can I apply these life lessons? 3) Who models this skill in my daily life?

Words of Wisdom: “A man with a noble spirit for whatever task, however menial.”

Wisdom from the Word: “I know your deeds: your love, faith, service, and steadfast endurance.” (Revelation 2:19a NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – October 29, 2019

Fred often remarked about his one liner style as an outgrowth of sending telegrams. He learned to say the most in the least number of words. He tweeted long before the technology ever developed! He was well-known for his punchy wisdom bites.

Please pray for the Breakfast With Fred Leadership Institute team as they travel to West Palm Beach, Florida to engage students in the “What’s Next Roundtable.” Your prayer and financial support is greatly appreciated.

Scattershooting with the Sage

1. I can tell a great deal about you from: the recurring subjects in your conversation, the time allocation on your calendar, and how you spend your money.
2. A good conversation should unwrap an idea like a gift package: slowly, mysteriously, and interestingly.
3. We find that most people are logical if we know the base (premise) from which they operate.
4. A job well done is its own reward.
5. Blessing is not a synonym for success.
6. Earl Palmer has on his desk a hand-sculpted sign: “It’s never easy.”
7. I’m not for the old times because I like these times when you have a bedroom and a bath, not a shared bedroom and a path. (Note: Fred remembered the hollyhock lined way to the outhouse!)
8. Opportunity is not mandate.
9. Humility is not denying the power you have but admitting that the power comes through you and not from you.
10. A man does not grow old, but becomes old by not growing.
11. Service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy in life.
12. No matter what age you are, you only have now… that is all you’ve ever had or ever will have, so at any age you have as much as you’ve ever had.
13. God does provide food for the birds of the air, but He doesn’t put the food in their nests.
14. One of our spiritual mistakes is giving God a timetable.
15. One of the greatest Christian rationales for greed is “The Lord blessed me.”

This week think about: 1) Which one liner can be applied right away? 2) ) Which one liner can be applied right away? 3) What am I doing to develop my thinking?

Words of Wisdom: “Opportunity is not mandate.”

Wisdom from the Word: “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment; the breadth of his understanding was as infinite as the sand on the seashore.” (1 Kings 4:29 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – October 15, 2019

Fred thoroughly enjoyed being a substitute teacher at the Elliott Class (Highland Park Presbyterian Church, Dallas). His influence in that class continues even years after his death. He dedicated himself to preparation for these lessons. And time the class members commented on the way he stretched them.

Ministry of Ushering

The President of this class also serves as the Head Usher. In a recent time together I asked him, “What does it take to be a good usher?” “The first thing is you’ve got to love Jesus Christ with all your heart… so much so that it comes through in your enthusiasm and warmth.”

I have to admit, that wasn’t one of the first things I thought about. In fact, in my own upbringing I surmised there was a bidding system for the center aisle on Sunday mornings which usually went to people who sold insurance or cars and wanted to give themselves an honest name. I thought you had to have a dark suit, and a lapel wide enough for the carnation, too. In fact, I figured those who didn’t really want to be in the work of the church volunteered for church work. And I must confess, in my experience, it gave the advantage of stepping out for a smoke between passing the plate and sitting down. His quick response certainly brought me up short.

Then in typical Smith fashion I started thinking about the potential in the ministry of ushering. It is an exercise of the gift of hospitality. And there are others, as well, which relate to the functions of the church.

1) Many come to the church as if it were a hospital. They might be dressed in designer outfits and not hospital gowns, but they hurt just the same. Who is in a better position to recognize the hurting than the first contact?

2) Some come through the doors who are spiritual lost, without a relationship with God through Jesus. They have not had a new birth experience. Others are believers but are still lost, having wandered off from the Shepherd.

3) Most attending formal services want a reverent atmosphere. Even though I have friends who claim to worship more fully on the golf course or in a boat on the lake, many still find a sense of communing with God in a corporate environment… a “time and place” format for worship. The mode of physical gathering changes, but the idea of bringing honor and glory to God doesn’t. The idea of reverential awe still exists and the ushers are the very first ones to set the tone.

My friend’s comment about warmth and enthusiasm emanating from a love of Jesus Christ is truly the bedrock. The ushers are the very first handshake, greeting, and contact. They serve well as ministers of grace and hospitality.

This week think about: 1) How often do I consider the ministry of my church ushers? 2) What spurs me to notice those who need a friendly word? 3) Who sets an example in my church and how can I express appreciation?

Words of Wisdom: “Ushering is an exercise in the gift of hospitality.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality.” (Romans 12:13 NET Bible)