Greg Warner is one of the world's leading journalists specializing in religion. He's been executive editor of Associated Baptist Press since 1991. In that capacity, he's written or edited most of the articles that tell the story of how Baptists concluded the 20th century and stepped into the 21st.

Unfortunately for us all, Greg has a bad back. Last week, he underwent his seventh spinal surgery in the past six years and his 12th back procedure in the past decade. Although his surgeon feels good about the latest operation, Greg began a 90-day sick leave that is expected to lead into permanent disability retirement.

Long fight

Greg fought this as long as he could. Those of us who worked alongside him, particularly at large Baptist gatherings, knew where to look for him when he wasn't sitting in his chair behind his laptop computer. We often would find him standing or pacing, but often we'd locate him in an out-of-the-way spot somewhere, lying flat, trying to give his back some relief. And nearly always, he still would be working—interviewing someone on the phone, or typing with his laptop perched on his chest. 

Greg's courage and commitment to his task—not to mention his legendary tolerance for withering pain—kept him on the job years beyond what anyone could expect. But finally, on the advice of his doctors, he delivered news to the Associated Baptist Press board of directors  we long had dreaded.

The doctor says …

“You are aware that my chronic back condition is increasingly limiting my ability to work and travel,” he wrote to the board. “The inevitable day has come when I must tell you I am no longer physically able to do my job. I cannot give ABP the performance that it expects of its chief executive or I require of myself. … For more than 10 years, I have continued to do my job despite degenerative-disc disease and failed-back syndrome. Chronic, intractable pain now prevents me from sitting or standing for more than a few minutes at a time. For the past year and a half, your encouragement and cooperation has allowed me to continue in this role while working from home. Despite those accommodations, my health has continued to decline. … My doctors tell me the natural course of this disease will produce only worse symptoms and more limitations. So I am making the tough decisions now that will put me in the best position to manage the pain and give me the best chance to reclaim a healthy lifestyle."

We've posted a complete story on Greg's situation elsewhere on our website. You can read responses to his news from Baptist leaders. But I want to say a few things about my fellow editor and friend.

Colleague and friend

Greg has been one of Baptists’ premier journalists for almost three decades. It’s hard to imagine covering religion news—particularly what’s happening to and among Baptists—without Greg standing in the middle of it all, reporter’s notebook in hand.

When Greg was a young associate editor of the Florida Baptist Witness, he helped redefine what a Baptist newspaper could and should be. He’s always been after the stories that explain faith, and life and doing church. Whether it’s covering Baptists’ initial response to AIDS—one of his early ground-breaking news packages—or church architecture, the “Baptist battles” or the impact of changing worship styles, Greg has helped all of us understand the context in which we share our faith. We can’t repay the debt we owe him.

Many times, I’ve watched Greg work on a difficult story, and I’ve pondered what makes him a great journalist. And every time, I’ve come back to three basic ingredients: He’s naturally curious, the first requirement to be a decent reporter. He’s also 100 percent pure integrity, and he believes everybody deserves the truth. And finally, he just loves the Lord and Christian people and believes he can help them grow by telling them the truth and trusting them to make sense of it all.

That's why Associated Baptist Press has become strong and will remain vital to Baptists and other freedom-loving Christians for years to come. Greg always has understood  Christians make the best decisions when they have good information. Greg has made sure they got great information.

But bottom line—this just plain hurts. Saying Greg is a respected colleague is only the start of it. For almost our whole adult lives, he’s been a traveling companion, confidant, soulmate and fellow baseball fan. I can’t imagine doing this work—especially going to big Baptist meetings—without him.

This week marks the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. 

Thousands of Americans—most of them people of color well acquainted with discrimination and persecution—marched on Washington to demand the promises of the Declaratioin of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. They changed history, as well as the lives of Americans of every race and creed.

And the highlight of the event was Dr. King, who delivered one of the great speeches of all time, and arguably one of the two or three most effective speeches in U.S. history.

On this anniversary, ponder his words anew. Here is the full text of that speech:

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
 

The morning newspaper carried two headlines that deeply disappoint those of us who like to think "everything's bigger and better in Texas":

• "Texans without coverage top U.S."

• "Texas SAT scores slip further behind U.S."

What? Can it be? We're not supposed to be leaders in bad stuff. But our Lone Star State ranks dead last in the percentage of uninsured residents. And, to add insult to injury, our SAT scores stink.

As a group, we're more vulnerable than the rest of the nation. Oh, and our children aren't all that ready for college.

If you click on the links to those stories, you'll see where the analysts spend quite a bit of time talking about race and ethnicity. Obviously, those factors impact issues such as poverty, education and insurance. We're a border state with a disproportionately high number and percentage of first-generation and undocumented residents. The language barrier alone impedes SAT scores. And the covert nature of living beneath the immigration radar blocks access to insurance.

Those aren't the only factors, though. For example, the same paper talks about how Texas is doing better than average when it comes to employment. Problem is, so much of our economy is built upon low-wage jobs that full-time workers can't afford insurance. And parents who hold down two and three low-wage jobs don't have time to read to their kids and check their homework.

We could explore scads of reasons for these problems and double that number of options. But I want to mention two solutions, and they both involve Texas Baptist churches.

What if we decided nobody within easy driving distance of our churches would go without basic healthcare and disease prevention? And what if we decided every elementary-school child in Texas would learn to read so well that he or she would enter middle school with the tools to prepare for college?

Both these goals are scalable and doable—if we make them a priority. Working together, we could operate free health clinics in every community, and we could tutor children across Texas.

These initiatives would produce three tremendous benefits:

• Texas residents would be healthier, and our children would be better educated.

• These improvements would strengthen our economy. Healthy workers are more productive. And an educated workforce is the strongest engine for every sector of business and industry.

• Most importantly, we would earn the right to speak to every Texan not just about physical health and education, but about spiritual strength that comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

These goals are inherent in Texas Hope 2010, the Baptist General Convention of Texas program to present the gospel to every Texan by Easter 2010 and to make sure nobody in the state is hungry.

We can do this. We must do this.

David Garland is an inspired—and inspiring—choice as interim president of Baylor University.

Garland has been an asset to Baylor since he joined the George W. Truett Theological Seminary faculty 11 years ago. As a professor of New Testament, then associate dean for academic affairs and most recently as dean, he has provided exemplary leadership.

Garland embodies multiple characteristics that commend him to lead Baylor during the coming months:

Teaching & research

• David Garland is the perfect blend of teaching mastery and research excellence.

He is one of the foremost scholars of the Gospel of Mark in the world, and his books—particularly commentaries—have been praised by academics and ministers for years. He's a world-class scholar whose research is respected by his peers. But he's also a scintillating lecturer and a sensitive mentor-teacher.

A personal note: He was my teacher when I attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in the early ’80s. Time and time again, I left his classroom yearning to study the New Testament, amazed at how he mined truths from ancient words that set hearts on fire today. He revealed such wonderful truth in the Bible that he made me want to go out to preach, and I wasn't even called to the pastorate. I loved going to his class every day.

For several years, Baylor has been divided between those who revere its legacy as a great teaching school and those who want to see it rise in the ranks of research institutions. Garland can speak authentically—and listen empathetically—to both "sides." He demonstrates that passion for forming lives in the classroom and zeal for exploring worlds of ideas in the library and lab can reside together, in harmony.

Honor & integrity

• To paraphrase Jesus' description of the Apostle Nathanael: "Behold, a Baylorite indeed, in whom is no guile" (John 1:47, sort of).

Baylor's problem with disharmony and division the past decade or so has developed because too many people have been working too many agendas. Suspicion and distrust have infused dysfunction in the "Baylor family." They may call themselves Bear kin, but they simply haven't trusted each other, often wondering about motives and agendas, to say nothing of what's going on behind each other's backs.

But David Garland is not like that. He is honest and sincere and full of integrity. His word is plain and true. He's up-front and transparent. Baylor will be able to know that what they see is what they get. And they can begin to trust again.

Garland can do this because (a) he understands that biblical ethics, starting with truth-telling and trustworthiness, is at the heart of the Christian gospel, (b) his life is patterned after that gospel, and (c) he is true with God, with himself and with others.

Beyond that, his actions and demeanor exemplify truthfulness. Anyone who has worked with him or known him well or for long instinctively understands his inherent honesty. And his honesty instills honesty in others.

Smart & experienced

• OK, a corollary. He's no fool; he wasn't born in the Bear Pit yesterday.

I can imagine some of you who read the previous section were saying to yourselves, "Yeah, then (fill in the blank—the regents, the faculty, the alumni) will eat his lunch."

He's smarter than that. He's been involved in two top-flight academic institutions for more than 30 years, and he knows how people behave, at their best and their worst. He's not naive. But I believe he's an integrity evangelist; he can convert bad actors to better behavior.

Open & inclusive

• David Garland is a role model of openness and inclusion.

One of the beautiful aspects of Truett Seminary is that it has become a place where people from many backgrounds and perspectives have come to learn togther. And a vital part of what they have learned is to trust and accept one another.

I can't overstate how remarkable that is, given the context of conflict out of which Truett Seminary was born. Truett began when the six Southern Baptist seminaries were dying—at least as many of us had known them. I don't want to belabor the point, but ultra-conservatives (sometimes called fundamentalists) had gained control of the SBC schools, and only one type of thinking was welcomed. Some so-called moderate Baptists wanted their schools to be not quite the opposite—bastions for their kind of thinking. But Truett has become the true opposite—a place of learning and preparation for ministry where people who hold the range of theological perspectives are respected. A fundamentalist and a moderate can both feel at home at Truett, not because the faculty and other students all think as they do, but because their right to think for themselves and search and learn is honored. Because the Baptist principle of the priesthood of all believers truely is affirmed.

This spirit can help restore unity at Baylor. Baylorites need to see that they can disagree, still love Baylor and even respect each other. David Garland leads by example, and the "Baylor family" can learn from him during this interim.

Diana

• Despite his enormous gifts and abilities, he wed over his head.

He is married to Diana Garland, dean of Baylor's School of Social Work. Like her husband, Diana Garland embodies the perfect blend of teacher and scholar. She's world-renowned for her research and practice in church-based social work. She's a gifted author. And she's the kind of beloved teacher whose students would follow to the ends of the earth but, better yet, follow her example into the poorest homes and neediest neighborhoods and most sensitive congregations, wherever the people whom Jesus called "the least of these" reside.

She's a strong, funny, energetic, passionate and compassionate, faithful and inspiring teacher, dean, minister and friend.

David and Diana Garland are an exemplary couple who make Baylor proud.

Great job, regents

All of us who love Baylor can and should expect great things from Baylor. The board of regents have done well to choose David Garland, and we can pray with confidence that Baylor will grow in unity in the coming months.

The eyes of the world have been fixed on China for the past little bit. I don't know about you, but the people who live at our house have stayed up waaaay too late too many nights, watching people run, jump, swim, vault, row and whack volleyballs.

Most likely, the 2008 Summer Olympics will be remembered as the Michael Phelps Games. What an amazing, talented, dedicated athlete. I'm in awe. But over and over, I've been reminded of what people of faith call grace—unmerited blessings. Phelps has perfect physique for swimming. Except that he doesn't have gills, he could be an excellent fish. He's made the most of his physical gifts, but he wouldn't have landed on that winner's stand without the help of God's design. And he's been blessed by excellent teammates, which he readily admits. Plus a remarkable mother, a great coach and, last but certainly not least, that famous half-stroke in the 100-meter butterfly.

Familiar places

Olympic sports are mesmerizing. But what I've enjoyed most has been seeing sights of China I witnessed firsthand almost three years ago. Scenes of Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and crowded Beijing streets take me back to a special place and time.

A group of us traveled to China with Buckner International as part of its Shoes for Orphan Souls program. Like many other groups who visited orphanages around the world, we placed shoes on children who do not know their parents. Shoes provided one tangible expression of our care for them. But better still was the opportunity to hold them, to hug them, to play games with them and to attempt, despite significant language barriers, to express Christ's love. 

Unforgettable children

China's children are especially close to my heart, because the young ones we met are victims of social engineering. In an attempt to control the nation's burgeoning population (China is home to 1.3 billion people) the government has decreed that each family is to have only one child. Parents want sons, because in their culture, the son is responsible for caring for his mother and father in their old age. Tragically, many little girls are aborted each year. Other girls are abandoned. And the same fate awaits many handicapped children. In the calculus of their culture, girls and handicapped children are liabilities.

One day, we visited a large state-run orphanage in Beijing. We saw room after room of children, most of them mentally or physically handicapped. Eventually, we came upon a room full of the most beautiful little children you've ever seen. Every one of them was a girl, and every one was slated for adoption in other countries. But, unless caring people intervened, all the other children had to look forward to was an entire childhood in that orphanage and then, most likely, life on the street.

I was enormously relieved to learn Buckner is involved in helping the Chinese childcare authorities—kind, gracious and enormously understaffed people—develop an extensive foster-care program. Placing these children in Chinese homes is a gift that will produce a lifetime of positive consequences. 

What's next for the children?

So, the Olympics has reminded me of the children of China. Would you join me in praying for them every day? If you have the opportunity, take a trip with Buckner to minister in an orphanage somewhere in the world. And if God is leading you, open your heart and your home to an orphaned child. 

Michael Rodriguez wants to die tonight. He thinks his execution by lethal injection might be his ticket to heaven.

He's wrong. Not because God won't forgive sins, even big sins like murder. But because the only life whose sacrifice was significant enough to save souls was God's Son, Jesus Christ.

Texas Seven & Aubrey Hawkins 

Residents of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex remember the murder that brought Rodriguez to his death appointment. 

Seven inmates escaped from a South Texas prison and drove north. They were robbing a sporting goods store on Christmas Eve 2000 when Irving police Officer Aubrey Hawkins interrupted holiday festivities with his family to take the call. When Hawkins pulled into the parking lot, the convicts pumped at least 20 bullets into his squad car. He died at the scene.

The escapees fled to Colorado,  where six of them were captured and the seventh committed suicide as law officers closed in.

Ready to die?

The six survivors have been sentenced to death. Five of them  have appealed, but Rodriguez says he's ready to die,  according to a story in today's Dallas Morning News .

Before he escaped from prison, Rodriguez was serving a life sentence for paying a hit man $2,000 to murder his wife, Theresa, and luring her to her death.

On Death Row , Rodriguez claims to have found God. "Judge, I have changed immensely since coming to Death Row and realize my punishment is just, and I wish to be accountable," he wrote in 2006.

The Morning News reports he wants to die so that  making restitution for his crimes can help him get into heaven.

Path to heaven

That won't work. No matter what he does—or allows others to do—Michael Rodriguez cannot save Michael Rodriguez. That feat is reserved for Jesus. The Apostle Paul explained it this way: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name (except Jesus Christ) under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

The good news for Rodriguez and everyone else is that God has provided a pathway to heaven, and it's open to all people. The Apostle Paul points out everyone, not just killers like Rodriguez, needs salvation, and it is available to everyone. He spells it out this way, with New Testament verses referenced in parentheses:

•   "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

•  "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans  6:23)

• "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

•  "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

•  "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)

•  "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1)

•  "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)

• "I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)

On a day when a cop killer  pays for his crime, we may not revel in the fact Michael Rodriguez can repent and go  to  heaven. But the gospel is good news for all sinners.

Including you and me.

Joanna and I spent a long weekend at Lake Hamilton in Arkansas with our friends Brent and Jackie. We split the costs of housing, food and renting a pontoon boat for a day. But at least we don't need to buy a new coffee pot anymore.

Jackie and Brent are remarkable friends who have had a permanent impact on our lives. We all met at Bellevue Baptist Church, a smallish congregation on the western edge of Nashville, Tenn., in 1986. At the time, their girls, Alayna and Andrea, were preschoolers. Our oldest daughter, Lindsay, was, too. And our youngest, Molly, wasn't even born until a few months later.

Halcyon days

Brent calls that Nashville period "our halcyon days," and I agree. Bellevue Baptist had an unusual composition back then—a mess of young families with small children, almost no middle-aged adults, and a large group of seniors. Everybody knew everybody, and church felt like extended family. Our girls played with scads of kids, and numerous surrogate grandparents doted on them. Church was the hub of our lives, and we reveled in it.

Eventually, we took new jobs and moved away. Joanna, Lindsay, Molly and I trekked to Kentucky for a few years and then back down to where Jo and I grew up,  Texas. Brent, Jackie, Alayna and Andrea eventually returned to Brent and Jackie's hometown, Memphis.

Undiluted friendship

By that time, we knew distance wouldn't dilute our friendship. And we strengthened it with numerous shared vacations to the beach. Now, our girls are all grown. Ironically—you'd think this would be easier with four people instead of eight—we can't always finagle a week off at the same time. So, we try to meet for a long weekend somewhere in-between their home and ours.

Mostly, we laugh. And play Hearts, which Brent usually wins. I haven't figured out if he's a better card player or he just cares more about winning. Either way, the results are the same. (Here's my theory about Hearts and just about any other table game: The point is not winning. The point is setting aside time to be together, tell stories, laugh and generally enjoy each other's company. That's the same reason professional baseball has stayed afloat all these years. People like going out to the ballpark to sit and visit.)

Cleanliness is next to You-Know-What

The place where we stayed at the lake had a coffeemaker that keeps  java warm in a stainless steel carafe. Sometime during the weekend, Jo mentioned our coffee maker—which also has a carafe—needed to be replaced. She described the deep, dark coffee gunk that lined the inside, as well as our futile efforts to clean the carafe. The hole in the top is too small for our hands, so we haven't been able to scrub it. And "The Blob" was about to take over the carafe.

Jackie knows I've got this obsessive/compulsive thing about cleanliness. So, she beamed as she told us how to restore our coffee maker:  Drop a tab of automatic-dishwasher soap into the carafe and fill it with hot water. Let it sit for awhile. Rub the insides down with a stiff brush. And—ta-da!—look inside.

I'd be lying if I said I couldn't wait to get home. Hanging out with friends at the lake is waaaay better than heading for home to face down a corrosive carafe. But after we got home and unpacked the car, I couldn't wait to try Jackie's cleaning advice.

When I dumped the dishwasher-soap water out of the carafe, it looked like a sewer exploded. Ebony water and tar-looking chunks of fossilized coffee flowed down the drain. But when I looked inside the carafe, it practically shined like the top of the Chrysler Building. After a second soap-soaking, it looked brand-new.

I was mesmerized. Jo was amazed. We called Jackie to offer our praise and gratitude.

So, what does my coffee carafe have to do with you?

Sometimes, our lives remind me of our old coffee carafe—lined and coated with the detritus of the daily "stuff" of our lives. When we look hard, we're disgusted. We may cover for it by saying, "Well, that's just the way life is." Or we may be so put off, we quit looking, pretending the grimy buildup just doesn't exist.

Of course, it's still there.

If we're not faithful, we lose hope of restoration—of being made clean and new.  And yet Jesus Christ has the power to make us brand new.

For some folks, this never has happened. They're far from God, and the corrosion of life's disappointments and difficulties seems overwhelming. But Jesus has the power to clean our darkest stains and give us new lives. We only have to accept his offer of a new start, and the gunk of our past lives is loosened and washed away.

For others of us, that's already happened. But just as our coffee carafe will need to be cleaned again, our lives get consumed by the muck and mire of living in a real world of distractions and disillusionment. Thank God, Christ cleanses—again.

The key is to allow Christ to infuse our lives. His purity can overpower our impurity. His goodness is stronger than our wickedness. His selfless love transcends our selfishness.

OK, every analogy breaks down. Our coffee carafe didn't have any say-so in getting cleaned up. But, as humans, God gave us control over what happens in our lives. So, to allow Christ to work in us, we must open up. And that makes all the difference. 

Football fans can be sooooo touchy.

In my last blog , I wrote about Brett Favre's desire to come back from retirement and play quarterback in the National Football League at least one more year. I've been intrigued by Favre's perplexing flirtation with retirement. Here's one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game. He's earned esteem (and millions of dollars) and won two Super Bowls by making split-second decision. But he couldn't decide whether to hang up his cleats. First, he came back to "his" team, the Green Bay Packers . And now, he's been traded to the New York Jets .

And me being me, I'm always wondering about the spiritual implications of life. Retirement, of course, is one of life's major milestones. And the decision to retire or not is enormous. For some folks, it's a financial deal. But not Favre. He probably doesn't even know how much money he has, much less how he could spend it.

So, I've been wondering if the source of his angst is identity. He's been a standout football player since he was a little kid. His identity's been tied up in being a football hero. Giving that up is hard. And from a theological perspective, if his identity were a child of God, and not a football hero, he never would have to give it up. Even after he retired—or, worse still from a Packers standpoint, got traded to the Chicago Bears.

Don't pick on the pack

But a Packers fan apparently thought I was picking on the Cheesehead Nation. He was irate that I would use my "religious platform to critique a football player." Football player. School teacher. Banker. Plumber. Nurse. Truck driver. Preacher. Wal-Mart greeter. What ever you "do for a living," faith ought to offer a critique. First, it should critique how well you work. If we're truly grateful to God for the gift of work and service, then the way we perform reflects our gratitude. Think of work as praise and service as worship. On top of that, our faith relationship to God in Christ ought to critique who we are as a person. We were created as a child of God. We were born to love Jesus. How well we live out those relationships "critique" every person on the planet.

Then, the Packers fan got personal. He wanted to know why God made Brett Favre selfish as well as a spectacular quarterback. And he wondered how a good and loving God could allow all Packers and Packers fans everywhere to undergo such humiliation as they've endured the past few weeks.

I feel his pain. I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan. We've had our share of fabulously talented yet obscenely selfish players. And The Book of Football Humiliation contains far more chapters about the Cowboys than the Pack.

Fabulosity and foibles

But since I can't help but think about the spiritual meanings behind the fabulosity and foibles of football, the writer's question points to a great theological truth: God gave Brett Favre the talent to become a great football player. But if Favre's a world-class selfish prima dona (and I don't think he is), then he got there all by himself.

God gives us talents and abilities. It's up to us to use them. Favre spent years honing his skills. He also dipped deeply into the well of desire, and he pushed himself to be the best. He succeeeded, with all due apologies to my Cowboy heroes Staubach, Aikman and Romo. I believe God enjoyed watching Favre and the Pack play football on Sunday afternoons, because Brett  stretched his abilities to the maximum and exulted in the thrill and beauty of the game.

The same could be true of every one of us. God loves it when we do our very best, and especially when we find great joy and gladness in stretching and exercising our gifts.

But as for selfishness. God wants us to be like Christ—selfless. We are most like Christ when we exalt others and sacrifice ourselves for their blessing. Unfortunately, all of us fail. Maybe your sin is selfishness. Maybe it's lust. Or greed, gossiping, laziness, rage, or something else. (I know mine, but I'm not going to tell you.) When we excel at our flaws, we're outside the will of God. That's not God's desire for us.

We're free—to succeed or fail

But here's the amazingly ridiculous part: God gives us the freedom to fail. That's because, in the game of life, freedom is part of the price of admission. We can't be totally free to exercise our gifts if we're not free to flaunt our flaws. Freedom is reciprocal. It's not a one-way street.

So, Brett Favre has been free to become a superb athlete and, just maybe, a selfish one, too. What are you free to be?

OK, I'm showing my age, but I'll nominate the un-retirement of Green Bay Packers quarterback—and future Hall of Famer —Brett Favre as the sports story of the sumer. At least until the Olympics start, and everybody in the world talks about some kid 99.9999% of us haven't even heard of yet.

When I was young, I always gravitated to the bit story about the big, hot star. Like my friend Dustin, who's in his 20s and is all about Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers , who just about ruined his life, to say nothing of his career, with drugs and alcohol. Then he came to faith in Jesus and has turned his life around. He's so grounded now that—even though he starred in the Home Run Derby before the All Star Game and is a bona fide superstar—he'll tell you the best thing about his life is his relationship with Christ.

Come to think of it, I'm with Dustin. That's a great story.

Whippersnappers or geezers?

As a kid, I always was like a moth drawn to an eternal flame—the eternal part being youth and the flame being the Dallas Cowboys, my team. So, in that tradition, I'd be following the exploits of Tony Romo and scouting out the prospects of the new crop of rookies.

But now I'm older—not old, but older—and I always want to know what's up with the old guys.

This year, of course, the oldest of the old is Brett Lorenzo Favre . He'll be something like 83 years old when the season starts. (OK, 39, but in "football years," that's 83.) Since last season, when he had a banner year in his 16th autumn as a starter for the Packers, his life has been a soap opera.

Nobody expected a geriatric quarterback to play so well. But play he did, and the Packers had a terrific season. I joined countless others who normall root for other teams in hoping they could win the Super Bowl. (This is a big deal for those of us to remember the "Ice Bowl ," 40 seasons earlier, when Vince Lombardi's dynastic Packers tore out Tom Landry's young Cowboys' hearts and stomped 'em flat on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field.)

How great would it have been for Favre to lead the Pack to win—and this is not coincidental—the Lombardi Trophy and ride off into the sunset of retirement a World Champion. Just like John Elway .

I'll take the old guys

See, "old" guys like me root for "old" players like Favre, even when they play for a franchise that historically breaks our hearts. (I can't believe I'm saying this, but if Pudge Rodriguez and the Yankees make it to the World Series, and the Yanks are down 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth in the seventh game, with one man on and Pudge is up to bat, I'll root for old-man/former Ranger Pudge.)

Unfortunately, the New York Giants beat the Packers in the NFC championship game, and Favre didn't go to the Super Bowl. But he had a whale of a year, and everyone wondered if he'd be back.

Will he? Won't he?

In March, he said nope. He was quitting. But almost before the equipment manager could clean out his locker, he was saying, "Now, wait a minute." And by summer, he was adding, "On second thought … ." At least he gave the sports radio guys some football to yammer about during the early summer. And then yesterday, he showed up at the Packers' summer camp, itching to play.

Now, if you follow football, you've been in on Favre's will-he/won't-he business. You'd think the Pakers management and coaches would be thrilled to get him back. You'd be wrong. Seems they want to get on with his replacement, whose name keeps slipping my mind. (By the way, for those of you who understand church more than football but have stayed with me thus far, whoever replaces Favre in Green Bay will be like Joel Gregory replacing W.A Criswell at First Baptist Church in Dallas. Tough to follow a legend.)

A better question: Why?

While all this will-he/won't-he business has been going on, I've been intrigued by another question: Why?

Brett Favre may or may not have thought of it this way, but "Why?" is an intensely theological question. And I wonder.

Why, after retiring and "crossing the Rubicon ," as one Packer muckety-muck called it, would Favre want to come back? Why risk injury that could damage his quality of life? More frightful, why risk damaging his reputation, relegated to backup status behind some kid who was in, oh, third grade when Favre threw his first NFL touchdown pass? Even more astonishing, why risk being traded and wearing anything other than a Packers' uniform in his waning days?

Pros and cons

The more I think about him, Favre seems like a metaphor for all the folks who can't quit—at anything—when just about everyone else thinks they should. Here are some theological pros and cons of this can't-leave-well-enough-alone syndrome:

• Pro: Brett has more to offer. He just came off a fantastic year and believes he's "got more in the tank." Playing at least another year is just good stewardship of the gifts God has given him.

• Con: Brett's ego is in the way. He thinks that in the season when he turns 39 he'll still be better than QBs who were in elementary school when he came into the league.

• Pro: Playing quarterback is his calling. God made him to do this, and he should do it as long as he has the ability (or believes he has the ability).

• Con: He's in denial. He's creaky, slower and vulnerable, but he can't see it because he won't see it. An older quarterback's greatest strength is his experience and wisdom, but when it comes to his own ability, he whistles past the mirror.

• Pro: He loves Green Bay, loves football, loves the camaraderie of a season. It's part of his identity, part of who he is, and he's just fulfilling that niche in his life one more year.

• Con: For all his success, fame and wealth, he's not a fully self-actualized individual. His identity is so tied up in wearing a football uniform on fall Sunday afternoons that he can't identify the human being underneath the helmet.

• Pro: He's unselfish. He's willing to risk all kinds of bad things to help his teammates.

• Con: He's selfish. He's willing to risk jeopardizing the franchise in order to fulfill his own personal desire to hang on to this life he's known since he was a kid.

Actually, the truth probably hides among all those pros and cons. Life is complicated that way.

From Favre to us

And so it is with all of us. But I can't help but think the restlessness we find in our lives has to do with more than the "stuff" of our lives. We're forever restless until we become the person God intended us to be.

Part of that is calling or vocation. We're most productive, happy, fulfilled and useful when we tap into the gifts and abilities God has given us and put them to good purpose. For almost two full decades, Brett Favre has done that on Sunday afternoons.

But most of it is relationship. We can't be what God intended us to be until we're who God made us to be—creatures made in God's image and in love with God, expressed in our relationship with Jesus Christ.

The good news for all of us is that we don't have to retire from being a Christ follower.

Do you ever wish you were poor?

Kind of absurd, huh? With the price of gas hovering around $4 and the cost of groceries going up, poverty is more straining and difficult than it’s been in a long time. Who would want to be poor?

But lately, I’ve been thinking about the word “poor” in a new light. It all started a few mornings ago, during my devotional time. The Bible readings for the week had been focused on “God’s Ability to Provide.” This was a Sunday, and the Scripture passages from the Old Testament, New Testament, gospels and epistles all followed the theme.

Poverty as metaphor

Then I read a passage written by Laurence Freeman quoted in A Guide to Prayer for All God's People : “Poverty is an essential human experience to pass through. If we don’t pass through it, we don’t break into reality. … We call it ‘poverty’ only because material poverty is a metaphor for us to understand this spiritual condition. It is called poverty because poverty is a state where we have touched rock-bottom (the ground of our being), where we have no further resources of our own while remaining dependent upon our Creator. Theoretically or theologically, there is nothing very special about that. The lived experience of it, however, is cataclysmic. It is knowing who we are. It is being simply realistic. Poverty of spirit is almost another term for reality. When we are genuinely poor, we can see ourselves, our life and our relationships in a bright, clear light.”

That bit of commentary on Matthew 5:3 brought two longstanding thoughts together for me. And like nuclear fusion, they created a spiritual explosion in my heart.

Blessed are the who?

First, almost all my life, I’ve pondered that first Beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

What is “poor in spirit”? What’s that really mean? The poor in Jesus’ day were so dependent, often beggars. Why would he want us to be like that? And what’s the significance of the order here? Jesus mentions nine reasons to be “blessed,” and he names the “poor in spirit” first. What’s up with that?

Second, for years, I’ve said I’d rather minister among poor people than try to start a church among the wealthy. Rich folks are so self-reliant, they don’t know they need God. They don’t sense any dependence upon anyone or anything other than their own talent, brains and hard work. But the poor, they know they have needs. Their needs are obvious, and when you meet their needs in the name of Christ, you have their attention.

No neutral ground

Problem is, I’ve always objectified Jesus’ statement and all those people. I’ve treated all this as if I were just an observer, not part of the situation.

By most of the world’s standards, I’m pretty rich. My family and I have enough resources to provide for all our physical needs and even most of our wants. And being the Type A, compulsive guy that I am, I take pride in controlling most aspects of my life. Yep, I’m rich.

Surprise blessing

But Jesus says it’s the poor—at least the poor in spirit—who are blessed.

And Freeman says the difference is reality. If I’m rich, it’s all about me. But if I’m poor in spirit, I realize it’s all about God. I have no resources; they all belong to God. Only when I recognize that I’m utterly, completely dependent upon God for everything—only then do I face reality. Only then do I know the truth, which is, indeed, liberating. And Jesus blesses the poor in spirit first, so could this be the key to opening all the other blessings? Intriguing.

So, rich or poor? What’ll it be?

The Baylor University board of regents has fired President John Lilley.

A statement released by the university this morning said the board “voted today to begin the search for a new university president.”

The statement cited regents Chairman Howard Batson as saying the vote “was necessary in order to unite Baylor’s many constituencies and move the university forward in its next period of growth and renewal.”

Lilley’s removal “represents the regents’ acknowledgement of a need for unifying leadership as Baylor strives to achieve its goals under Baylor 2012,” the statement cited Batson as saying.

The statement did not cite specific reasons for removing Lilley, who has been president since January 2006.

Baylor has been torn by division for most of this decade, since it announced its Baylor 2012 long-range vision under the leadership of previous President Robert Sloan.

In the prepared statement, Batson said: “We believe that Baylor must demonstrate its commitment to excellence in all areas, including communication and the building of relationships within the Baylor family.  Change is always difficult, but Baylor has a solid leadership team in place, and the university continues to experience unprecedented success in many areas. The board is confident that the university will be able to press forward and continue its progress during this time of transition.  The board is appreciative of Dr. Lilley’s service to Baylor, which includes a variety of significant accomplishments.”

In an e-mail statement, Lilley said: “Two and a half years ago I was invited unanimously by the board of regents to come to Baylor. I did not come to Baylor to advance my career. Gerrie (his wife) and I were reluctant but finally were persuaded to come because of the unanimous vote and the promised prayers of the regents.  

“We felt that we could help to heal the wounded hearts left in the wake of the conflict that preceded us. Despite the board’s unanimous vote, it became clear immediately that the Baylor board of regents reflected some of the deepest divisions in the Baylor family.  

“I am proud of the work my colleagues and I have done to bring the Baylor family together and to help the university achieve the ambitious goals set forth in our mission and vision 2012, documented in our annual report just presented to the regents.  

“I deeply regret the action of the board, and I do not believe that it reflects the best interests of Baylor University.”

The regents named one of their members and a former board chairman, Harold Cunningham, as acting president until an interim president is named.

The Baptist Standard will report more information as it is available. Multiple interviews are scheduled throughout the day.

Baylor University President John Lilley has been fired for failing to “bring the Baylor family together,” reported Howard Batson, chairman of the university’s board of regents.

Regents voted to remove Lilley from office, effective immediately, during their summer meeting July 24. The vote was taken by secret ballot, and the vote total was not announced to the board, Batson said.

Batson cited Lilley’s inability to unite Baylor’s various constituencies at least nine times in a 20-minute national teleconference with reporters and several times in an interview with the Baptist Standard shortly after the regents’ vote.

Lilley became Baylor’s president in January 2006, at a time when Baylor’s constituency had divided over the administration of the previous president, Robert Sloan, and particularly Baylor 2012, a decade-long strategy plan.

For two and half years, Lilley worked to strengthen Baylor but could not foster unity, Batson said.

“The board really thinks Baylor needs a new president who can bring together and unify the various constituencies of the university,” he said. “We felt like Dr. Lilley came at a very difficult time in the history of Baylor, and we acknowledge that. We do appreciate his service a great deal.”

Lilley could have stayed longer—possibly until his contract ends in 2010—if he had agreed to participate in a transitional process, Batson said.

Under terms of the proposed transition, Batson would have been authorized to appoint a presidential search committee “sometime before the end of 2008,” he said. Lilley would have remained in office until his successor was selected.

“This could take from months to years,” Batson noted. “With John in place, we could take more time to do a thorough search. We probably saw John serving out much, if not all, of his contract. But he didn’t want to do it under those terms. …

“The reality was we felt unless he was willing to transition, he would not have the support of various constituents of the Baptist family and move the university in the successful way it is moving. …

“He didn’t want to work under those conditions. The board felt it could have worked very well, but he did not, and we respect his reasons.”

In an e-mailed statement, Lilley expressed his disagreement with the regents’ decision.

“Two and a half years ago, I was invited unanimously by the board of regents to come to Baylor,” Lilley said. “I did not come to Baylor to advance my career. Gerrie (his wife) and I were reluctant but finally were persuaded to come because of the unanimous vote and the promised prayers of the regents.  

“We felt that we could help to heal the wounded hearts left in the wake of the conflict that preceded us. Despite the board’s unanimous vote, it became clear immediately that the Baylor board of regents reflected some of the deepest divisions in the Baylor family.”

Lilley expressed satisfaction with the work he and his team accomplished during his tenure.

“I am proud of the work my colleagues and I have done to bring the Baylor family together and to help the university achieve the ambitious goals set forth in our mission and vision 2012, documented in our annual report just presented to the regents,” he said.

“I deeply regret the action of the board, and I do not believe that it reflects the best interests of Baylor University.”

In both interviews, Batson affirmed what he called Lilley’s “significant accomplishments” achieved during the past two and a half years. They included:

• Baylor’s highest-ever ranking by U.S. News & World Report—75th—among national doctoral-granting universities, an increase of six places.

• Attracting a “large and diverse student body,” including last fall’s enrollment of 14,174, the university’s second-highest total.

• Record endowment, “now crossing the billion-dollar mark.”

• A record 402 students enrolled in Baylor’s Truett Theological Seminary, including “more  students interested in ministering in the local church.”

• Athletic successes, including the men’s basketball team’s return to the NCAA tournament, the women’s basketball team’s continual appearance in the tournament, men’s and women’s tennis teams’ Big 12 championships and anticipation of an exciting football season under a new head coach, Art Briles.

• Classification as a university with “highest research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

• Extensive construction on campus, including the $42 million Brooks Village residential center and the $30 million football training/practice complex.

“John has left Baylor better than he found it. John had a passion for the research element of (Baylor) 2012,” Batson said. “We are appreciative of his service and love for the university.”

  The regents selected one of their own, Harold Cunningham, as acting president with “full authority” to lead until an interim president is chosen, Batson said.

Cunningham is immediate past chairman of the Baylor regents and served as Baylor vice president twice—for special projects and for finance and administration.

“Harold has a track record of proven leadership and is well respected within the Baylor family,” Batson said. “Harold is the perfect person to do this.”

Acting president is not the same thing as interim president, Batson stressed, noting the regents will begin a process to designate the interim president. That person will not be a candidate for the presidency, he pledged.

After the interim is chosen, the regents will begin a search for then next president, he said.

Despite Lilley’s firing and his predecessor’s departure under a cloud of controversy, the regents do not expect difficulty “drawing top talent to Baylor,” Batson said, noting, “We will be open-minded and do an international search.”

The regents want someone with strong leadership skills and academic background, as well as ability to build consensus, he said.

“We want a unifier of the Baylor family; that’s always a good thing,” he said, adding that “connections to the Baptist family are a must.”

“The largest mandate is we need a new president who will listen to all the voices of the Baylor family and bring us together under the vision of 2012,” Batson said.

A reporter noted many people think the regents themselves—or at least some of the regents—are a significant part of the ongoing conflict at Baylor and asked Batson what the regents will do to restore trust among the “Baylor family.”

“Actually, I think the board of regents is more unified than I’ve seen it in a long time,” Batson said. “We may not agree about every motion, but I see the board functioning in a healthy fashion. … At the end of the day, we can walk out of our meetings as a unified, functioning board.”

This story will be updated as other interviews are completed.