They Never Told Me About New Car Protocol...

It's really amazing that everything thing a Pastor does can come under scrutiny, including his choice of the car he drives. That's why it's described as living in a fishbowl.

I am currently driving a 1998 Mitsubishi Diamante with 166,ooo+ miles on it. Pretty much everything on the car still works. It has a few dings, nothing serious enough to repair. It has an oil leak that I have decided to go ahead and repair pretty soon. The interior is not perfect but there are no major seat tears. The radio works but the antenna is broken and the CD player skips so I don't listen to much music while driving. I have decided there is no one I feel a deep need to impress when it comes to the type of car I drive, so it will be my car as long as I can squeeze a few more miles from it.

I remember a time, though, when I did need to buy a new car. After a bit of shopping, I found a Ford Crown Victoria that I purchased. The following Sunday, I announced the new purchase to our church. I did so a bit tongue-in-cheek just for the fun of it.

I explained that there are two views in a church regarding the Pastor's car. There are some who believe the Pastor should drive a "fine" car that reflects well the position of the church in the community. They want the Pastor "looking good" driving to a wedding or funeral. So, I noted that this was a big, luxury car with all the bells and whistles. It was a nice, comfortable car and everyone in the church could feel their Pastor was doing well.

In the other view, members believe the Pastor should reflect a modest lifestyle. His car should not be ostentatious suggesting perhaps he is too worldly. In fact, some go to the extreme of suggesting he drive an old rust-bucket just to show he is not earthly-minded. I explained to the congregation that even though this was a nice car, it was indeed used, pre-owned. I had not overly spent; I had not paid a new car price.

The members of that church laughed at the humor of my announcement, and honestly would not have had a problem with my purchase, no matter what car I drove. A fun benefit in the ownership of this car was that I often freaked out other drivers who thought an unmarked police car was pulling up behind them. The point of my story is that I am still amazed at the little everyday issues that can get a church all up in arms. There are just a lot more eternal issues to focus on.

I pray you all have a Merry Christmas and will be focused on the eternal values of this Christmas season.

I am Salty!

Our family bought it's first TV when I was in the 1st grade. Incidentally, that is when I remember us first having an inside bathroom as well, but that is a story for another time.

Sunday mornings consisted of our family of four getting ready for church. Church was never an option in our family. It was understood by all of us that church is what we did every Sunday morning. Come to think of it, church is what we did every Sunday morning and evening and Wednesday evenings.

I remember that on school mornings we were entertained by listening to the radio while we prepared for school. But on Sunday mornings, we watched TV. Christian TV at that time consisted of Oral Roberts Healing Ministry and Gospel Quartets. I was totally inspired by the Gospel music in particular, and decided at that time I would join a Gospel Quartet and become a Gospel singer. Well, God had other plans for my life, evidenced by the fact I have no musical skill.

Nevertheless, despite my lack of musical talent, I still love music and love worship. I also love to watch children worship. There is something pure and unadulterated in their expression of worship. Children often express truths in worship that we might have missed otherwise.

I will never forget one little 4-year-old boy. He would dress in suit and tie every Sunday. His hair was slicked back and he was the epitome of style. He was a well-behaved boy and loved to sing at the top of his lungs. Boy, could he belt it out.

One of the songs we often sang back then was "I Exalt Thee". That seemed to be his favorite. In his child-like understanding, he would tilt his head back and burst forth in song, "I Am Salty, I Am Salty, I Am Salty, Oh Lord!"

Well, you get the picture. We are SALTY! Enough said.

Have a great day! Make it SALTY!

All About Ministry

It has been too long since I showed up here. In fact, I have written nothing since we announced Dallise was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. With great thanksgiving I can report that she is doing well and the worst symptom or side effect she has experienced is excessive tiredness, and even with that she has not missed a day of work. I recently spoke to a client who was diagnosed with CML a few years ago. He endured everything from steroid treatment to bone marrow transplant to extensive chemotherapy, and is not a healthy man even today. We have been spared those extreme trials and we are grateful.

Now, with that personal report given, "It's All About Ministry."

I have always preached that wherever you work, whatever you do, that place is a place of ministry. I never had to practice that truth until I stepped into the business marketplace three years ago. I find that there are daily opportunities to speak a word of encouragement, pray with someone or to share my faith. There are people out there who may never step into "my church", but I can take church, no, not church, but Christ, into "my world". That may be the most important thing I can do as ministry.

While it was very difficult to adjust to not being "Pastor", I now find my job, my job ministry, very fulfilling. I have been guilty in the past of passing some degree of quiet, private judgment on those who left formal ministry. I thought they just did not have the stamina or they became jaded or disillusioned with ministry. I thought maybe they were quitters, they were giving in to satanic pressures. They were to be pitied and definitely prayed for. They just didn't have what it took. I have even thought that maybe some of those should never even have been called ministers. We read all the statistics of the numbers of churches that fail and the numbers of those who have left the ministry and we feel saddened by those numbers.

Yet, might it just be possible that God just planned, in His own wisdom and for eternal reasons we might never know in this earth, to use some "old Preachers" to carry His message to a different crowd in a different way than he started out.

I'll admit, this may sound like one "old Preacher" trying to justify his own life journey, but I gotta tell you, this feels pretty right for me at this season of my life. So, please do not feel sorry for me, please do not look at me as one who abandoned The Call. If anything, that Call is stronger than ever and I am feeling a holy liberty to pursue it as long as God gives me life. I have an idea this thing is about to become an even greater adventure than I imagined 35 years ago when I launched into pastoral ministry.

A Goodson Prayer Request

Dallise and I have been facing a new challenge in our lives since the end of 2009, and we finally know enough about it to be able to share with our friends so that you may pray for us. It sounds like really bad news at first, but then there is enough good news about the bad news that it is not quite so bad as it will seem at first.

The short story is that Dallise was diagnosed December 31, 2009 with Chronic Myeloid
(or Myelogenous) Leukemia (CML). Obviously, this was scary news. Since then after doing some of our own research and meeting with about three different Dr’s, we have discovered it is not life-threatening and is not terminal. It is a type of leukemia that is completely treatable and manageable.

There is medication, a pill, that will within 18-24 months put the disease into remission. She will still need to take the medicine on an ongoing basis thereafter as the leukemia would return without it. This treatment may produce some side effects, although in terms of cancer treatment, these should be minimal and manageable as well.

Yesterday, she underwent a Bone Marrow Biopsy to establish a baseline for measuring the treatment process. She began taking the medication last night.

While it would be dishonest to say we are at perfect peace about this, it is absolutely true to say that God is daily perfecting our peace. We will not be surprised at all to awaken one fine day to discover that God has completely healed Dallise with no further treatment necessary. If not, we still will daily revel in God’s constant grace and provision for every need.

The website noted below will give you more info if you are interested in details.

http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page?item_id=8501

Needless to say to you, our friends, we will count on your intercession whenever God brings us to your mind.

Thank you!! Thank you!! Thank you!!


Philip and Dallise