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iQURNAL PA1110l w01ffll 1llllf.SBO'BO. "-&. ~

J~l 97

VAN HUGH LANKFORD

Lankford • receives

doctorate Yan Hul!h ~. of North

Wllkesboro , received a doctorate In ministry from Union Theological Seminary on June 1.

The 185th commencement ex-ercise took place In Ginter Park Presbyterian Church in Richmond. Va.

Lankford. the pastor at First Baptist Church in Dobson, is the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Lankford <>( N~h Wilkesboro.

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AUG 27 9 3

}How i'.)~1You Measure Success?/ Two young medical students at the

UGiversity of Michigan had just fin-ished lheir classes one day in the spring of 1883. It was a time of great hope and anticipation for them: in a few weeks !hey would receive their medical degrees. All the hard work. t~ long hours would soon be r~wardcd - !hey would be doctors. Toey were relaxing in their rooms when lheir thoughts turned to what they would do with their lives. The two were as different in outward REV. VAN LANKFORD appearance as two men could be: the one short and stocky, the other tall and thin. "Come on. Will," the shon. siocky one was saying, "come to New York with me. We'll make a great ~m. There are a lot of wealthy peo-ple back East - we'll be rich in no time at all. What do you say?"

''I'm sorry, Ben," the other young man replied, "but the more I think at,out iL well, I'd like to practice with you, but..." "Will, you 're a fool." the other said. "The Midwest is a cheap place to study medicine, but no place 10 practice it, nothing but small to\"'1ns apd farmers, none of them with any mdnej'. You 'U never make a dime out here. The other rcelied, ··vou're J)!"Obably right, Ben. ' "Well then, come East with me. We'll travel in l;umpe, hobnob with all the ~ts of the world. We'll meet beautiful, tfch ybung women. With our talent we cad't miss." Will was silent for a moment, lhen said, "h's a tempting picture you paint. Ben, but it's just not what I want. I want first of all to be a great surgeon, the very bcsL if I have lhe ability."

The other interrupled, "And you wjll be. What's wrong with getting riclt' in the process?" Will replied, "!ilothing, I suppose. But what about 1tck people here? They need good doet0rs, 100, even if they can't always pzy~No, I think I should go back to M,onesota and give them an the help I can.""

to them in New York - they came to Rochester.

All Q(.u ~e hopes and dreams, and we all snould have such goals in life. Without hopes and dreams our lives would be pretty boring. The two doctors in the story serve us u an example of how many times our hopes and dreams lose their perspec-tive. We all tend to measure success in the same way - by the house we live in, the car we drive, and the balance of our banking accounts. Now, please do not misunderstand me. There is nothing wrong with having nice things. We should all consider ourselves fortunate for these things. However. we must rake time to ask ourselves, .. Do our possessions pos-sess us?"

A few years ago when I was the associate pastor at First Baptist Church, Wadesboro, an elderly lady in our congregation passed away and I was asked to perform the funeral. I had only met the lady on one or two occasions, so I did not f cel as if I knew her very well. In talking to her family on the days precedinJ the funeral, they told me many stones about her. I discovered that she had made sacri-fices for her two boys in years pasL I also discovered that she sacrificed her own health and well-being to care for her dying sister. During the funeral. I made the observation that it was not what this lady had in life that made her successful. She had a very nice home in one of the nicest neighborhoods as well as other nice material posses-sions. But her success in life had to be measured by what she gave. She gave herself to others.

There is a verse in the Bible in which Jesus says. "For where your treasure is, there will your hean be also" (Matthew 6:21). The story of the two doctors and the woman who sac-rificed her life for others challenges us to look at our own lives. Do we focus only on ourselves. or is our focus on others?

Sqme weeks later they parted, Ben goin_g on to New York with his dream of gtuing rich treating the wealthy and JX>Werful of the city. Will headed for Minnesota, where he would be a hqrst and buggy surgeon, helping his faiJJet, a general practitioner, the two or.-m ministering to !he sick in the small towns and farms in and around Rochester. In the years that followed nqlhing much was heard of the young doclor with the dream of gelling rich in New York. As for young Will. he with his younger brother Charles, developed the Mayo Clinic from a smaller clinic founded by their father in 1889 in Rochester. Eventually, The Rev. Van Lankford. pastor Will Mayo did treat the wealthy and or First Baptist Church or Dobson, powerful from the East, just as his is our guest columnist for the f~nd had wanted. But he did not gh month of August. .:::

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NEWS MOUNT AIRY, N.G.

AUG 20 93

We Should Give God Our Best A seminarian was spending his last

summer before his final year of schooling as a chaplain in a national park. He had duues with trimming lrecs, fccdin_g animals, and emptying tJaSb caaclllling:lhe week'. and then conducting WO!'l>hip on Sundays for the tourists.

One Sunday the pianist didn 'uhow up because she had c.ar uoublc. He asked for a volunteer from among lhc worshippers, but there was no ._ __________ ..... --~-rcspc,nsc. Then he said. "Is lhcJc any- REV. VAN LANKFORD one here who would like lO volunaeer 1hc musical ability of someone else?" . At lhis a little girl raised her hand and ~ went ~ut and d~g a hole~ buncd said, "My daddy can play the piano." has poruon or his mas1er s money. After some hesitation, a tall,dignificd When the mas1er returned lO see how looking gentleman came down and his servants used his money, he was sa1 at the piano. As he accompanied Vt:f pleased with the first lWO 10 the singing it was soon obvious that he wh,ch he said, .. Well done. good and was plafing with only one finger. But failhf ul servants." Then the third man he d1dn l miss any OOleS and his tim- came to his master and after wiping ing was perfect He played simply, the dirt off his money handed back the adcquatef y and the worship service same amount which he had been was a joy and an ~lion. given lO start with. As you c.an ima-

At lhccndofthescrvacelhc visicon gine, the master's joy turned to anger crowded around and congrawlaled as he received back the same amount the seminarian on his message. but or money which he had given. As a there was also I long line of ~le n:sult of his mismanagement. lhc congratulating the $UCSl piantSL As third man had to give his money to lhc they did so, they quickly learned that other two. Jesus sums up the parable he was a well-known surgeon from I by sayng. "For every one who has city a thousand miles rrom the park. more will more be given, and he will who was nationally known and sever- have abundance; but from him who al of them rccogn11.Cd his name from has DOI. even what he has will be the media coverage he had received. It taken away." (You may find this para-suuck some of them that this skilled. blc in Mauhcw 25: 14-30). acclaimed doctor had offcted lO them Thcmcssageoflhcparablegoes far that morning the one God-given mus- beyond just a lesson m good money ical talent that he had - making no management The point which 1 think excuse for playing with one finger or Jesus as trying lO make is we arc to be that he had no more to offer. He had wise investors of all that God has simply given freely and in full mea- given us. We arc to be good stewards sure what he had been given. of our time, talents, money, etc. A

There arc probably many of us who friend or mine once gave me a plaque arc ••one-fingered piano players." We which I think says it best The plaque have God-given abiliues, yet for reads, .. What you arc is God's gift to whatever reason we hesitate lO use our you. What you make of yourself is talents. Jesus lOld the parable of lhtt, your gift lO God." Whatever your men who were each given a cenain talent. be it great or small, God desires amount of money. The first two men for each of us to invest our lalcnts took what their master had sivcn them wisely. '11d through care and wasc invest- The Rn-. Van Lankford. pastor

'!nlS ~ch one doubled their money. of the First Baptist Church of Dob-' third man rather than investing son, Is our 1uat columnist for the

1oncy decided to pla<?safc. so month ol August. ) -

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AUG1393

7 W m~d~ C_a_n_B~e _P_o_w_e-rf_u_I----~/ We have all heard lhe old saying.

"Sud:.s and smnes may break my bone , but v.ords will never hann me." Perhaps you first said it as a child when the class bully was mak-ing fun of the way you looked. or lalked. or any imperfection which we all have. ln an auempt IO procect your self-esteem and 10 save face you said. "Sucks and stones may break mi ~"---bones bul words will never harm me. --.... The trulh of the mauer is words can huu.

Words are very powerful. 1be wolds we say communicate volumes 1 swear I readaL) Woodsmen with to qt.hers.I have always admired those special powers creep upon a ttee)ust whQ are able to master words. Take a at dawn and suddenly scream at ll at po<!l forexample.Jus tasapouerlakcs the IOp of lheir lungs. They continue an uglv piece of clay and molds it into this for thiny days. The tree dies and something beautiful, a pool is able to falls over. 1be theory is that the hol-tak~ a whole host of words and mold lering kills the spirit of lhe tree. Lhem mto a be.autirul poem. Words arc According ro the villagers, it always m1nortanl in our salvation experience. works. Ah, ~ poor native inno-Tiie i;cnptures tell us that "if you con- cents. Such quaintly charming habits es~ with your lips that Jesus is Lord of the jungJc. Screaming u trees,

~nd hchcve in your heart that God indeed. How primitive. Too bad they raised him from the dead, you shall be don't have the advanla$es of modem saved'" (Romans 10:9). Words arc technology and the scientific mind. used for many good purposes. We use .. Me, I yell at my wife. And yell u words to pay someone a compliment, the telephone and the lawn mower. th$ boosting their self-esteem. And yell at the TV and the newspaper Soincdmcs words arc used to comfort and my children. I've been known to dm)ng a time of grief. One of the most shake my fist and yell at the sky u e1m1ting things my wife and I have times. Man next door yells at his car a exJiericnccd in parenthood thus far IOL And this summer I heard him yell h~ been 10 .sec and hear our at.a stepladder for most of an after-20-month-old daughter learn new noon. We modern, urban. educated words. We cclebmte each new word folks yell at IJ'llffic and umpires and she learns. She is now starting to put bills and banks and machines -espe-lWO words to~ethcr, and we celebrate cially machines. Machines and rela-1h1s uccomphshment with her. tivcs get most of the yelling. Don't

However, we must rcali1.e that know what good il does. Machines words have a dark side as well. Many and things just sit there. Even kicking umcs ihespoken word can be hannful doesn't always help. As for people, to others. Several years ago, the well the Solomon Islanders may have 'word" gotou 1 that a famous fast food a poinL Yelling at living things does restaurant was using eanhwonns as a tend to kill the spirit in them. Sticks protein substitute in their burgers. As and stones may break our bones, but )OU can imagine, the rumor spread words will brcaJc our hearts ... " quickly across America. As a result, Proverbs 15:4 reminds us that, thefasL food chain launched a lavish ""The IOn~e that brings healing is a canQ)aign lo regain its repuwion. tree of life. but a deceitful tongue W<,tds do hun. crushes lhe spiriL" We have access lO

In his book, "All J Really Needed a very powerful resource - words. To Know I Learned In Kindcrgancn," Do our words bring .. healing." or do Robert Fulghum writes the following they "crush" the spirit or others? about the power of words: Words arc a beautiful gift from God.

"'In lhe Solomon Islands in lhe Are we using our words destructively S , Pacific some villagers practice or consuuctively? a umque form of loggins. If a tree is The Rev. Van Lankford, pastor 100 large to be relied· wnh an ax the or Flnt Bap&t Church or Dobson, natives cut il down by yelling at iL ls our guest columnist ror the (Can't lav mv hands on the article but mooth or August ~

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AUG

We Need To Keep Our Prayers Simple A woman invited some people to

dinner. Al the table she turned to her si1t-ycar-old daughter and said, "Would you Hice to say the blessing?" "I wouldn't know what to say," the little girl replied. The mOlher said, "Just say what you hear Mommy say." The little girl bowed her head and said, "Dear Lord, why on canh did J ;in¥.itc a1J dlcse ~le to dinner?"

I think we would have lO agree this is a very honest prarer. Perhaps many times prayer is nusundcmnood. We feel as tf we need the proper place. the proper time, and the proper words. It as good to know that we have a God who listens 10 our pra)crs nnd doe not judge according IO our location. circumstances, or mastery of the lan-guage. As someone once said, "Rrny as you can. 1101 as you can't"

The honest prayer which the little girl prayed at the dinner table is a reminder IO us that we have a God who wants us to be honest in our pray-er life as well. Prayer is an opponuni-ty ,for us lO truly open our hearu before God. God knows our beans already. but prayer is a time to com-municaie all our thoughlS and emo-tions to the One who knows us better tha11 we know ourselves. I believe God wants us to be honest with our feelings. He wants to know if we arc sad or angry or depressed or discour-aged. He also wants to know when we arc"bappy or excilcd or bubbling\\ ith jO}\

Children, much like the one in the st~. arc so honest and straightfor-waid. and there is no pretense about thepi. Jesus commends children for lhel( honesty and simpleness when He:says lhat we arc all to have a "child-like" faith. This is a faith so siq,lc that it boggles the mind. TI1is sa~ "child-likeness" also carries ov~ into our prayer life. .,

qne of my favorite authors on the Ch&tian life is Richard J. Foster. In hisboolc "Prayer: Finding the Heart':; Tnie Home," Foster says the follow-ing ;.about "simple prayer'':

·~ simple prayer we bring ourselves before God just as we are, wruis and all. Like childrfcn before a loviilg father, we open our hearts and ma!¢ our request~. We do not try to sort things out, the good lrom the bad. We~imply and unpretentiously share

REV. VAN LANKFORD

our concerns and make OUT petitions. We rell God. for example. how frus-trated we are with co-workers at the office or the neighbor down the strccL We ask for food, favorable weather, and good health."

The Bible makes hundreds of rcfer-caaccs lO prayer and prayer expen-ences, and of all the things the Bible teaches us on prayer, Jesus reminds us to keep our prayers honest and simple. "And m praying do nOl heap up empty phrases as tlie Gcnules do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them. for your Father knows what you need before yo ask him" (Mauhew 6:7-8, RSV).

Perhaps prayer is not only a time lO be honest with God. but also a time lO be honest wit.11 ourselves. God already knows our heans. God already "knows what you need before you ask him." May rrayer be for u~ not ~ly an opponunny to communicate wuh God, but also an opponunity to com-municate with ourselves and our feelings.

So the challenges to each of us arc: l) Malec prayer a vital pan of your life. We are 1old io the scriptures to "prny without ceasing .. which means 10 al\'ays keep the lines of communi-cation with God open. 2) Make prayer simple. Do not be concerned with "holy language." God desires a prayer from Jour heart, not fancy language. 3) Make prayer honest. God wants us to come before Him just as we arc. Tell Him your f celings, your con-cerns, your hopes. and your dreams. We can be confident in knowing that He will listen.

The Rey. Van Lankford, pastor or lhe First Baptist Cburc6 of Dob-son, is our guest columnist for the month or August. _