First day notes.

It’s been an awesome first day. Lectures are like a big family reunion. It’s a time to be with so many who share so much in common, to sharpen and be sharpened.

We’ll visit the reunions, the meetings, the meals, the side programs and “book display area” but by the way, there’s a lectureship going on and today I want to talk about that:

That’s what started this program 73 years ago as the Student Lectureship. It lasted two weeks to a month and classes were dismissed. And it is what brings thousands back every year.

My first lecture of the morning was Jim Garner. Jim is a humanities professor here. One of the neat features of the FHU lectureship is that they spotlight a lot of their teachers. Jim is...well...a little on the sharp side. You ask what I mean. Well he has degrees from both Harvard and Yale, he has been a lawyer, a successful top business executive, a missionary, and now he is a college professor. This guy is passionate! He introduced the Psalms this morning. Here are some of the notes I took as he spoke:
“Why do people write poetry? They want to say something beautiful. “the purpose of literature is to instruct, the purpose of poetry is to …” Samuel Johnson. 40% of OT is poetry, God is saying look for beauty. He knows we are touched by beauty. If we get to the end and don’t see the beauty, the Psalms have failed on us. Psalms is a way of expressing emotion. In a distinctive way. The heart of poetry is the metaphor, a speaking picture, to teach and delight. “Poetry is painting that cannot be seen. Just as art is poetry that cannot be heard” Divici
“I wonder how many people have quoted the 23rd Psalm? Doubt, fear, hurt grief are all common themes of the human experience.
“One question we ought to ask of any scripture is “what does it ask me to do?” is not an ammunitions dump from which to launch munitions as another. “Who does this passage tell me to be?” Who is the hero of the OT? Christ! “the law is the schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.” FIND the beauty of the Psalms this week…

After Jim’s lecture I stayed for chapel: Jessie Robertson who taught Greek and is now completing his PhD work spoke on the 23rd Psalm. Here are some random notes from his excellent lesson: “Abraham at times looks more like the father of the fearful than the father of the faithful.” Issac, Jacob - all feared. Notice to each: “Know that I am with you...I will not leave you…” Joseph - Gen 39:2...far from home, in hostle enviroments, surruonded by people who did not know or believe their God...BUT God’s presence sustained them, comforted them, enabled them...still does for us. “I will fear no evil for you are with me.” Moses-he was reluctant. “who am I?” “I will be with you” Ex. 3:12.

The 1:30 time slot found me at the “Youth ministers’ workshop”, a side track of the program. I heard Kevin Langford out of Oklahoma speak on Family Ministry. He gave some challenging statistics from a personal survey he has conducted with over 500 young people in churches of Christ: 89% had NEVER, EVER had a family Bible study. Once a week 5%, twice a week 2.6%, three times a week 3.7%. So how do we get the Bible back in the center of the home. Kevin discussed the value and question of viability of youth ministry.

At the 2:30 lecture Dennis Loyd, associate editor of the Gospel Advocate, elder at the Granny White church, retired professor of English at Lipscomb and my friend spoke on elders. He gave five imperatives for elders to consider. The first two were discussed powerfully today: 1. Know yourself. 2. Know your young people. My favorite line of the day was “God never addresses His children as ‘hey, you’. He calls us by name.” Elders should work to know the children and young people by name.

At 3:30 I attended the Open Forum. Big deal every day. A Q&A session with open floor microphones for anyone. It gets, well, interesting at times. For many this is their favorite part of the program, for many others it denotes all that is wrong about the program. I may devote more time to this program soon.

Lunch today was at Jack’s Creek Bar-b-que. I know at least one guy who would come every year for many years, really, just for Jack’s Creek. It’s some of the best and is waht we’d call “a hole in the wall”. Supper was at Catfish Cabin at a table that sat 24.

There are special “official” meals all during the week. There are night lectures but I’m catching up on this blog and other work tonight.

So, what do you want to know about, what do you want me to blog about, about the lectures?