I Cried Myself To Sleep...

Last night I cried myself to sleep. The overwhelmness of the moment was far greater than even I could anticipate or want to admit. As I was in a meeti. . ng yesterday, I received a call from a Charleston area number. Saying I would let it go to voicemail. I received another call and another. On the third one I answered and it was from Denise Callahan someone like a second mother to me informing me that Bob, her husband had passed. I have dreaded that call for some time because Bob's health had been declining over the past 10 years. The news moved me to tears. As she explained in her calm and gracious tone that thanksgiving was good because he was home from the VA Hospital where he was receiving therapy because Denise could not care for him by herself and to know Bob you would agree. So why cry over Bob?

I should make this a two or three part post but for now I will just unload my raw and emotional feelings.

It was the spring of my freshman year at the Citadel and I was looking for a summer job so that I could stay in my beloved Charleston for the summer. The Athletic department knew that some of the team would be looking for jobs and so they kept their eye out for us. Ray Whitman called me one day and said they had a company interested in hiring cadets in the summer to make beds at a local resort. My thoughts were making beds equal being inside and plus all cadets could make beds..right? I agreed and that Saturday morning I signed out of the battalion and was picked up in what I thought was a snazzy ride...an Isuzu Trooper! Denise was driving and greeted us with her beautiful and assuring smile. We departed the city and crossed over the Ashley river and then the Wappoo cut on to James Island and headed South. I had never been further than the Piggly Wiggly on Maybank highway so the adventure begin. As we drove over beautiful prestine estuaries and under regal Oak canopies, I wondered where in the world were we going but it was so beautiful. The lushness of the foliage and those oak trees canopying over Bohicket road was something this upstate country boy had never seen . Finally the shade of the canopy disappeared and the sun beamed through as I saw fields of tomatoes and other crops, roadside stands of local vegetables and hand made woven baskets being manned by the world friendliest people.

As the car slowed down, we approached a sign on the left as we crossed another estuary that said, Kiawah Island. We drove further and crossed over a bridge and made a right before the security gate and pulled into Beachwalker park...and there is where I met Richard Callahan,Jr. aka Bob and my life would never be the same! Bob was a character and came off as a hardnose, actually I have a better word than that but you get the picture. He was busy lining things up and getting assignments. He assigned us to a crew and off we went. Bob and Denise had just started this company on the resort. He was a veteran and former supervisor at a local chemical plant and she was working at a dentist office. They were a blended family, Bob's two daughters, Dawn and Wendy and Denise's two daughters, Mandy and Carlie, and son, Mark. They ranged from teenagers to the smallest cutest, Carlie who had to be around 6 or 7!

This day would turn out to be an amazing day.

/////As I type this, I realize that this is a book! Anyway...as you will later read Bob became a driving force in my life and taught me tons about business! He beleived in me when no one else would or could and I am forever grateful! Honestly, if you want to hear more of this storied life...please leave me a comment. I will make me commit to writing this unbelievable tribute! I promise you, it gets better and even humorous!

You Don't Want To Drink From This Cup....

So often people come up and say, " Hi , I want to be like you!" or "I wish I had your life?" My reply is quite serious and stern as I say, "You don't want to drink from this cup!" Why in the world would anyone want my life? Jesus said to His father, "If this cup may pass", in other words I really don't want to drink this but if I have to! On the outside it must look pretty good though I would love to lose 100 pounds, yes, 100! I make no excuses but the stress and the tests caused me and note I said caused me to binge eat and put on a couple extra pounds. My faith makes my life look easy, very easy! Last week a member called after we had a great bible study and said, Pastor I want your anointing!" I looked at the phone and said, "Are you crazy? You don't want this!" My anointing comes from the process of making oil. The olive is crushed and the precious oil comes oozing out! The anointing comes only after great trials and tribulations have occurred. Many want the anointing but few wants to pay the cost for it.

This blog is a tribute to a person I will call a friend though we have never sat down and talked face to face. Two years ago I stumbled upon this fascinating young pastor by the name of Shaun King. He was planting a church in downtown Atlanta and he was certainly on the cutting edge so much so that I sowed an offering into his launch. I began to follow Shaun on Facebook and twitter and was just in awe of what God was doing in and through him. Shaun was on fire when the record breaking floods hit Atlanta, Shaun and Courageous church was there leading the way. At Hebron, we even contributed clothes and toiletries to the recovery efforts and bought them downtown to the Courageous office. It appeared that everything Shaun touched was simply gold! The earthquake hit Haiti and Shaun and Courageous was there. We purchased 2 tents through his organization. He always speaks of his family and his wife, Rai and it appeared that his life was perfect and God was positioning him to explode and certainly be noted in the 100 fastest growing congregations in the country. Shaun was and is a major speaker at all the major church planter and church growth conferences. He appeared to have arrived as we would say. I was so proud of Shaun for the barriers he was breaking and occasionally, I would send him a note to say just that!

Several months ago Shaun announced that he had preached his last series at Courageous and announced a new format for doing church that he felt God so ordained. This was Shaun King and if Shaun said it would work...hell, I believed and trusted him. He had a track record of making it happen. He has the Midas touch! It was a bold and way out of the box initiative. As the weeks went by I noticed his tweets weren't as jolly and chipper and then it happened! He tweeted he was going through the worse time in his life. Trusted members of his congregation and board decided to resign and leave the church. My church will be five years old in December so people resigning and leaving was nothing new but I could tell this really hit my friend hard. What most lay members don't understand is when you leave, a real shepherd or pastor, it hurts! He may never say anything to you but if he has ministered and poured into you, he has invested into you and it hurts to see you go! I could tell he was devastated by his tweets. I reached out to him via texting and he said he was having a rough go at it! I told I was too and we somehow made it through that day. I remember texting him the next day asking, "You yet holding on?" he said he was good and life went on.

August was a challenging month for me and from what I am hearing for a lot of other people too particularly clergy! We lost Pastor Zachery Tims who I had some acquaintance with. Honestly, I prayed God give me an out because this just seems not to be working. Everything that could go wrong or break, did! But God! My faith withheld the test and the trials and people are still being saved and lives changed regardless of how I felt! So needless to say when I read Shaun's post about stepping down as pastor, I was shocked, hurt and mad! I text him and asked him was he serious and he said, "Yes!" I did not need to go into details, he did a great job telling us in his own words at www.shauninthecity.com! Man, Shaun's out! Wow! On the outside Shaun you looked and performed like Superman. You took on gaints and won...now you out? Hummmmm! You know it doesn't have to make sense to me as long as you have peace and know this is what God has told you to do. God has amazing things in store for you brother! He must have really spoke to you on Mt. Rainier! Keep pressing and living for God! Your anointing is not gone! I know we haven't heard the last of you yet! Godspeed and favor! Your brother and admirer! And to my readers, Shaun and I share the exact same birthday and yes, I am the oldest yet Shaun doesn't recognize it! Lol...