My daughter Katie has determined that our family should be on the Family Feud. In fact, she’s been tweeting the producers of Family Feud for months and is now on a first name basis with Gaby, one of the show's Executive Producers. So, a short video and a bunch of paperwork later our family is now in the ‘active’ file for Family Feud. The show is alive and well and is now being produced and filmed at Universal Studios in Florida! I'll update you as soon as I know 'specifics' regarding this exciting event. I'm sure it will be 'blog worthy'!
While filling out the paperwork, we were asked this very simple question: “Tell us an interesting or unusual fact about yourself.” So while thinking about what I should write, I began to realize how blessed I’ve been to be able to do some really fun and unusual things during my life. I also discovered how many stinking contests I’ve entered (and I actually managed to win a few of them). But mostly it reminded me how fleeting accomplishments can be; not only for me, but for everyone in their "life and time", no matter HOW famous you are (or were). It only takes a few short years to change a "Who's Who" to a "Who's that?" Nevertheless, for the record, here are some interesting events in my (not so famous) life that I vividly remember:
I remember first meeting Chad and Jeremy (who?). They were a part of the original British Invasion to America in the 60s and had several Top 40 hits. Some twenty years after their shooting star of fame had burnt out, they wound up playing the two leads in a show called Pump Boys and Dinettes here in Oklahoma City. I knew the director from some of my earlier days of theatre, told her I knew how to play bass, and wound up playing opposite of them (and learning to actually play the bass, electric and upright) for about an 8 week run in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. It was really a fun time in my life, it was a great show, and I can say that I starred in a show with Chad and Jeremy (who?).
I remember the rush of standing on stage at Joker's Comedy Club (where?) long before Last Comic Standing, trying my hand at stand-up during a big contest they had one year. I took first place that night, came back for the finals, and lost out to a guy I had beaten that first night, who had entered another weekly round and won HIS way into the finals. Punchline to the story? If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try, try to quit stuttering.
I remember auditioning for the producers of You Can Be A Star (what?) in Nashville. Long before shows like American Idol came into existence, the brand new network TNN (The Nashville Network) had a show called You Can Be A Star. I auditioned for it and made it onto the show. The problem: it really WAS a show for Country and Western singers; and although I can actually tackle that genre now, Elton John’s song ‘Country Comfort’ was not what the judges (or the audience) thought of as ‘country’! But at the time it was about the only 'country' song I knew (not counting Okie from Muskogee). So I lost out to some Loretta Lynne sound-a-like from the Louisiana Hayride (I knew I should’ve sung the ‘gospel song’ I had prepared for 'the finals'). Still, I can say that I sang on National TV on the show You Can Be A Star (what?). I’m not aware of anyone from that show making it ‘big’ (including me). It was hosted by Jim Ed Brown (who? who? who?)
I remember the dry mouth of nervousness that I had always heard about, but had never experienced until that very moment. I was in Nashville (once again), back stage at the Grand Ole Opry getting ready to walk on stage to sing ‘Cream of the Crop’ (a song I wrote that won Song of the Year from the OHA) . I had seen an ad in the newspaper (what's a newspaper?) about a Nashville Starbound Competition (once again, this was many years before ‘Idol’ appeared). On a whim, I sent them a tape, wound up going to Nashville, to the Grand Ole Opry, and out of about 120 contestants that performed over the run of the contest, I won the Grand Prize (which was a big trophy and a free recording at Dottie West studios there in Nashville). Truthfully, the rush of singing on the Grand Ole Opry stage was far better than the rush of winning first place (and Dottie West's 'studio' turned out to be less than impressive).
I remember sitting in the Green Room, getting ready to sing in front of hundreds of fellow singers/songwriters at the Loghouse (where?) at the YMCA of the Rockies (get all visions of the 'Village People' OUT of your mind). It was the late 90s, and I had gone to the Christian Artists Seminar (a really top notch Christian event always held there at the YMCA, a really beautiful resort just outside of Estes Park, Colorado). At the last minute, I decided to enter the Southern Gospel Vocalist contest (even though the deadline for entry had passed). Since it was so last minute, my name was kind of ‘written in’ on the schedule without filling out all the paperwork or even paying the entry fee. As I was getting ready to go on stage to perform for the finals (with the other two Southern Gospel singers/finalists), Cam Floria (the founder of ‘Seminar in the Rockies’) came over to me and whispered, “We probably ought to go ahead and get the entry fee from you, in case you win this thing.” As it turned out, I did win it, and got 40 hours of free recording time at Gaither Studios in Indiana. Plus, I got to return the following year to be a 'featured performer'. So, there I was, feeling really 'privileged' to be sitting in the Green Room, chatting it up with folks from Avalon, some famous preacher dude, and a couple of recently signed artists. All that being said, the week I spent in Alexandria, Indiana at Gaither Studios recording my 4th CD was the most memorable part of the whole ordeal.
Searching back through my mind, I can remember winning over a dozen speech tournaments, both in debate and acting, both individual and in duets; and even placing first in the state finals of Humorous Interpretation my senior year in high school. Interestingly, one judge (from OBU) graded me down in a preliminary round, calling my piece ‘sacreligious’. Luckily I got two firsts and a second from the three judges in the final round. The very next year, I won a drama scholarship to OBU…but by then that teacher had left the school, so I couldn’t give her a piece of my mind. I remember doing dozens of Godspell performances over a two year span at OSU (I played John the Baptist/Judas, the same role I had seen Jeremy Irons play a few years before that in London). I remember being the lead singer for a darn good band during those years in college and screaming Top 40 till I was hoarse hundreds of gigs all over Oklahoma (the proms were the most fun!). I still wince in exhaustion from doing over 150 shows at the State Fair of Oklahoma over a three year span. I shiver when I recall doing an outdoor show with Bryan White in front of a stadium full of people in December (brrrrrr).
I remember way back where it all began...standing in front of large crowds many times while still a young boy (attending Willard Elementary School) in Ada. I was Annie’s little brother in Annie Get Your Gun; a featured soloist with the East Central State College’s production of Elijah; and I even won a talent contest at a John Haggai tent revival (I won an oil painting of myself and a really cool camera that I carted all over Europe and used until I got into college). All of this before I ever entered Junior High. I especially remember the very first time, back there in Ada, standing in front of several hundred people waiting for my name to be announced. I slowly walked out to the center, and with the cameras rolling, I answered a couple of questions in the general direction of the mic; then grabbed my nose as the pastor lowered me in the water. THAT moment, deciding right then to let Jesus Christ be in charge of my life, has had more of an impact on my life than all the other crowds I've stood in front of since; and was certainly worth more than any trophy, any contest or any 15 minute chunk of fame. It has had and will have a longer and more lasting effect on me than any of those other ‘memories’ I have recalled here. It is that spirit, His Spirit, that has guided me and influenced nearly every aspect of my life.
You can take the rest away, but leave me that one life changing decision...that one moment in the Son. There is no other 'interesting or unusual' event in a life that can top that!
Galatians 2:20
...it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
__________________________________________________________
The opening line from A Song For You by Leon Russell seemed an appropriate title for this Blog...so I used it. All good Okies should love Okie native Leon Russell ;)
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
HALF MY LIFE (Part Deux)
As I look back at the half of my life spent working for the ‘phone company’ (aka: Ma Bell), I suddenly realize that I now have more seniority than anyone else with the ‘directory department’ (aka: AT&T Advertising Solutions). This wasn’t true a year ago, but one by one, retirement party by retirement party the boys and girls that were working here when I started, those same men and women have left the company (either through voluntary or forced retirement) leaving me as the old man on the block (aka: crock o’ the walk).
Each retirement party brings many of the same faces, gathering once again to talk about old times, to reminisce about the way it was and to pontificate the future (or lack thereof) for the printed Yellow Pages directory. Will it go the way of the pager? Will it go the way of the ‘land line’ (aka: DIE’L TONE)? Do kids today know what we mean by 'let your fingers do the walking'? Most of them let their fingers do the talking!
Often the topic of conversation turns to pensions as we delicately pry or flat out ask how those who have gone before us have chosen to invest. Lump sums, partial lump sums, T-Bill rates; boring discussions that have a huge bearing on quality of life once the retirement door hits you in the financius maximus. All in all, as in so many things, we all complain; but we are all grateful for what we’ve gotten (or what we hope to get).
One recent retirement party, a gentleman came up to me, introduced himself as “Joe” and started the ‘looking forward to retirement’ talk, the required ‘what is up with the stock being down?’ lament, along with the gratefully honest appreciation of the pension that lay ahead. I didn’t recognize the guy, but often those that retire started out in different departments, and often the ‘first boss’ or the BFF (Bell Former Friend) shows up to celebrate the endurance and dedication necessary to make it to the ‘final party’.
I picked up pretty quickly that Joe hadn’t retired yet and he and I spent several minutes near the punch bowl swapping stories on what we were going to do with our 401Ks. As we moved towards the cheese squares our stories about ‘how it was going to be’ got a little carried away and by the time I was lapping up the hot sauce and the guacamole I realized there was no way my ‘retirement’ was going to be nearly as glorious as Joe’s was going to be. I decided he must have been a Regional higher up or maybe even a VP of something good to have been able to sock away that much pre-tax dough for his use and pleasure once he left the ‘working world’. Being the professional fact-finder that I am, I decided to do some secondary probes and find out what good old Joe’s position with AT&T was (perhaps he could put in a good word for me).
“Joe, I started selling yellow pages back in ’83, but I’m not remembering you. Did you work for directory?”
“No,” he replied. “Never did. I’ve met a few of you off and on, though. I hope we can all hang out some after we retire. Y'all are a fun bunch!"
“Yeah, salesmen tend to be somewhat extroverted. So I guess you weren’t in sales?!?”
“Oh no. I’m not really the salesman type. But it doesn't seem to matter. AT&T has SUCH a good retirement that even if you didn't do the sales thing, you'll be able to live comfortably!”
“That's probably true,” I replied. “So what part of AT&T do you work for?”
“Oh I don’t work for AT&T! I’m self employed. I work for myself!”
I nearly dropped my finger food into the cocktail wienies. “You NEVER worked for Bell?”
“Can’t say that I have! But I’ve always had AT&T phones and AT&T long distance. Here, have you seen the new iPhone?” Sure enough, he had the latest, greatest model, a 32 GB iPhone 4.0.
“But if you’ve never worked for AT&T and you’ve never been a part of this company, why do you think you’ve got a retirement package waiting on you?”
Not the least bit deterred, he continued, “You said you sold yellow page ads. I use the AT&T Yellow Pages all the time. Now, I can’t get U-Verse where I live, but I would if I could; so that's hardly my fault! Plus, I’ve been going to several of these retirement lunches lately; always a bunch of good people just like me. In fact, I’m not so sure some of them have worked nearly as hard as I have. Why wouldn’t I be included?"
I quickly deduced that finding my employee benefits hand book probably wouldn’t do any good. But a couple of things Jesus said in Matthew suddenly seemed appropriate.
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
Matthew 19:24 “And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
However, before I could quote from the hand book or the good book, Joe blurted out, "If I don't have a pension to look forward to then what's the point? I might as well die right now, go straight to heaven and skip these stupid parties!" He seemed more than a bit miffed as he whirled around and walked across the room then out the side door to join some folks who actually had quit Bell (but hadn't quit smoking) to share a Marlboro moment with them. In his haste to leave (and to light the leaves), I saw he had inadvertently knocked his name tag off and it had fallen to the ground (those things never do stick worth a darn). I picked it up and for the first time I noticed that it read: HELLO, my name is JOE C.
Oh my goodness I thought...surely his last name wasn’t CAMEL…
I was tempted to talk to him further, but as poorly as I had handled the 'pension' discussion, I figured now wasn't a good time to enter into a 'heaven' discussion (hey, he brought it up, not me).
Besides...I felt like I had basically already had one.
You're tellin' me I need to be changin' my ways.
Is that what you want me to do?
Well, the fella that lives down the street, around the corner,
claims to be a Christian, too.
I see him in the checkout line at the supercenter,
buyin' cigarettes and beer.
I promise you, I'm as good as that guy
so I don't know what you're sayin' here!
Lyrics taken from GOD'S HEAVEN
Each retirement party brings many of the same faces, gathering once again to talk about old times, to reminisce about the way it was and to pontificate the future (or lack thereof) for the printed Yellow Pages directory. Will it go the way of the pager? Will it go the way of the ‘land line’ (aka: DIE’L TONE)? Do kids today know what we mean by 'let your fingers do the walking'? Most of them let their fingers do the talking!
Often the topic of conversation turns to pensions as we delicately pry or flat out ask how those who have gone before us have chosen to invest. Lump sums, partial lump sums, T-Bill rates; boring discussions that have a huge bearing on quality of life once the retirement door hits you in the financius maximus. All in all, as in so many things, we all complain; but we are all grateful for what we’ve gotten (or what we hope to get).
One recent retirement party, a gentleman came up to me, introduced himself as “Joe” and started the ‘looking forward to retirement’ talk, the required ‘what is up with the stock being down?’ lament, along with the gratefully honest appreciation of the pension that lay ahead. I didn’t recognize the guy, but often those that retire started out in different departments, and often the ‘first boss’ or the BFF (Bell Former Friend) shows up to celebrate the endurance and dedication necessary to make it to the ‘final party’.
I picked up pretty quickly that Joe hadn’t retired yet and he and I spent several minutes near the punch bowl swapping stories on what we were going to do with our 401Ks. As we moved towards the cheese squares our stories about ‘how it was going to be’ got a little carried away and by the time I was lapping up the hot sauce and the guacamole I realized there was no way my ‘retirement’ was going to be nearly as glorious as Joe’s was going to be. I decided he must have been a Regional higher up or maybe even a VP of something good to have been able to sock away that much pre-tax dough for his use and pleasure once he left the ‘working world’. Being the professional fact-finder that I am, I decided to do some secondary probes and find out what good old Joe’s position with AT&T was (perhaps he could put in a good word for me).
“Joe, I started selling yellow pages back in ’83, but I’m not remembering you. Did you work for directory?”
“No,” he replied. “Never did. I’ve met a few of you off and on, though. I hope we can all hang out some after we retire. Y'all are a fun bunch!"
“Yeah, salesmen tend to be somewhat extroverted. So I guess you weren’t in sales?!?”
“Oh no. I’m not really the salesman type. But it doesn't seem to matter. AT&T has SUCH a good retirement that even if you didn't do the sales thing, you'll be able to live comfortably!”
“That's probably true,” I replied. “So what part of AT&T do you work for?”
“Oh I don’t work for AT&T! I’m self employed. I work for myself!”
I nearly dropped my finger food into the cocktail wienies. “You NEVER worked for Bell?”
“Can’t say that I have! But I’ve always had AT&T phones and AT&T long distance. Here, have you seen the new iPhone?” Sure enough, he had the latest, greatest model, a 32 GB iPhone 4.0.
“But if you’ve never worked for AT&T and you’ve never been a part of this company, why do you think you’ve got a retirement package waiting on you?”
Not the least bit deterred, he continued, “You said you sold yellow page ads. I use the AT&T Yellow Pages all the time. Now, I can’t get U-Verse where I live, but I would if I could; so that's hardly my fault! Plus, I’ve been going to several of these retirement lunches lately; always a bunch of good people just like me. In fact, I’m not so sure some of them have worked nearly as hard as I have. Why wouldn’t I be included?"
I quickly deduced that finding my employee benefits hand book probably wouldn’t do any good. But a couple of things Jesus said in Matthew suddenly seemed appropriate.
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
Matthew 19:24 “And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
However, before I could quote from the hand book or the good book, Joe blurted out, "If I don't have a pension to look forward to then what's the point? I might as well die right now, go straight to heaven and skip these stupid parties!" He seemed more than a bit miffed as he whirled around and walked across the room then out the side door to join some folks who actually had quit Bell (but hadn't quit smoking) to share a Marlboro moment with them. In his haste to leave (and to light the leaves), I saw he had inadvertently knocked his name tag off and it had fallen to the ground (those things never do stick worth a darn). I picked it up and for the first time I noticed that it read: HELLO, my name is JOE C.
Oh my goodness I thought...surely his last name wasn’t CAMEL…
I was tempted to talk to him further, but as poorly as I had handled the 'pension' discussion, I figured now wasn't a good time to enter into a 'heaven' discussion (hey, he brought it up, not me).
Besides...I felt like I had basically already had one.
You're tellin' me I need to be changin' my ways.
Is that what you want me to do?
Well, the fella that lives down the street, around the corner,
claims to be a Christian, too.
I see him in the checkout line at the supercenter,
buyin' cigarettes and beer.
I promise you, I'm as good as that guy
so I don't know what you're sayin' here!
Lyrics taken from GOD'S HEAVEN
Monday, July 5, 2010
HALF MY LIFE (Part One)
An interesting landmark in my life just passed and it almost went unnoticed. I started working for AT&T (Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages) when I was 27 years old (and five months to be exact). July 3rd marked my 27 1/2 year anniversary. That means I've been an employee of, associated with, devoted most of my waking hours to AT&T for over half my life! More of my life has been devoted to selling yellow pages than to NOT selling yellow pages. To quote the classic old Tennessee Ernie Ford song (that came out the year I was born), I feel like "I owe my soul to the company store." And maybe the saddest thing about that, is in 10 years or so, there may not be a yellow pages directory (at least in a physical form). It will cease to exist. It will become extinct. Poof! Nothing! I've poured over half my life into...nothing!
Certainly it hasn't been fruitless (or pointless). It's provided for my family very well. I've learned outstanding sales and marketing skills. I've been able to help hundreds of businesses grow. As the company has adapted I've been forced to learn countless computer skills. I'm highly proficient at Microsoft Excel (until the next version comes out ;). Most memorably, I've made several life-long friends there.
But then I look at all the data I've stored in my brain that is now (or will soon be) totally useless (the data AND my brain). Information on products we no longer sell. Systems we no longer employ. All those countless sales presentations I had to memorize and be able to regurgitate ad nauseam that are no longer the latest and greatest way to present the product. The devotion and dedication to being a top salesman, to developing my abilities, my knowledge of the product, and pouring myself into my job. Not to mention all the addresses and phone numbers that are still rattling around in my head pertaining to old offices from where we've long since moved (909 S. Meridian, 205 NW 63, 879-5000, 949-...uh, I think I finally forgot that one). So much stuff. So much importance. So temporal.
Fortunately, about twelve years ago I started leading worship. First one church, then another. Part-time positions; but the full time worship leader. Pouring my life into other peoples' lives through music and through relationships. It was a definite turning point in my life. If I retire from AT&T soon (and I plan on it) and can lead worship for another fifteen years or more (and I plan on it), I can surpass the nearly three decades of work with AT&T with three decades of being a Worship Pastor. So much stuff. So much importance. So eternal.
Music is nothing new to me. I've always done it. Singing, performing, writing. That's been going on for over forty years. But the devotion and dedication to being a lead worshipper, to developing my abilities, my knowledge of the music, and pouring myself into the 'job' of music didn't happen until I stepped up to be a leader. It was all kind of a fun hobby until that time. Until I applied myself; until I made up my mind to make it something more; until I got serious about it...only then could I call myself a worship leader. Only then did my outward actions match my inward desires. Only then could I fulfill that calling.
I believe God calls everyone to some level of service. It's not always to be on a staff, and certainly not to preach or be the 'music guy'. But the calling is no less significant. And God's expectations of you and His plans for you are just as important as any He has for me. Put quite simply, when we look back at our lives, into what have we poured the 'majority' of our time and efforts. Has it had any eternal significance? If not, what are we waiting on? How long do we let the things of life get in the way of life?
Occupations change and certainly the importance of them do also. A year ago I would have been 'king of the world' as the CEO of BP. Now that ship has sunk in Titanic proportions (I hear now he's running for Mayor of Atlantis ;). Looking back, did the 'do do bird' expert suddenly just become a 'do do'? When did the telegraph operator finally 'STOP' or cry out for help ...---...? When does an old salesman finally quit putting all his efforts and his life into a dying book and devote his days to a living book? When do we start focusing on 'important' things instead of 'impotent' things? There's no better GIFT or TIME than the PRESENT!
"St. Peter don't you call me, 'cause I can't go..."
I've done a few things, but I need to do mo'e!
Certainly it hasn't been fruitless (or pointless). It's provided for my family very well. I've learned outstanding sales and marketing skills. I've been able to help hundreds of businesses grow. As the company has adapted I've been forced to learn countless computer skills. I'm highly proficient at Microsoft Excel (until the next version comes out ;). Most memorably, I've made several life-long friends there.
But then I look at all the data I've stored in my brain that is now (or will soon be) totally useless (the data AND my brain). Information on products we no longer sell. Systems we no longer employ. All those countless sales presentations I had to memorize and be able to regurgitate ad nauseam that are no longer the latest and greatest way to present the product. The devotion and dedication to being a top salesman, to developing my abilities, my knowledge of the product, and pouring myself into my job. Not to mention all the addresses and phone numbers that are still rattling around in my head pertaining to old offices from where we've long since moved (909 S. Meridian, 205 NW 63, 879-5000, 949-...uh, I think I finally forgot that one). So much stuff. So much importance. So temporal.
Fortunately, about twelve years ago I started leading worship. First one church, then another. Part-time positions; but the full time worship leader. Pouring my life into other peoples' lives through music and through relationships. It was a definite turning point in my life. If I retire from AT&T soon (and I plan on it) and can lead worship for another fifteen years or more (and I plan on it), I can surpass the nearly three decades of work with AT&T with three decades of being a Worship Pastor. So much stuff. So much importance. So eternal.
Music is nothing new to me. I've always done it. Singing, performing, writing. That's been going on for over forty years. But the devotion and dedication to being a lead worshipper, to developing my abilities, my knowledge of the music, and pouring myself into the 'job' of music didn't happen until I stepped up to be a leader. It was all kind of a fun hobby until that time. Until I applied myself; until I made up my mind to make it something more; until I got serious about it...only then could I call myself a worship leader. Only then did my outward actions match my inward desires. Only then could I fulfill that calling.
I believe God calls everyone to some level of service. It's not always to be on a staff, and certainly not to preach or be the 'music guy'. But the calling is no less significant. And God's expectations of you and His plans for you are just as important as any He has for me. Put quite simply, when we look back at our lives, into what have we poured the 'majority' of our time and efforts. Has it had any eternal significance? If not, what are we waiting on? How long do we let the things of life get in the way of life?
Occupations change and certainly the importance of them do also. A year ago I would have been 'king of the world' as the CEO of BP. Now that ship has sunk in Titanic proportions (I hear now he's running for Mayor of Atlantis ;). Looking back, did the 'do do bird' expert suddenly just become a 'do do'? When did the telegraph operator finally 'STOP' or cry out for help ...---...? When does an old salesman finally quit putting all his efforts and his life into a dying book and devote his days to a living book? When do we start focusing on 'important' things instead of 'impotent' things? There's no better GIFT or TIME than the PRESENT!
"St. Peter don't you call me, 'cause I can't go..."
I've done a few things, but I need to do mo'e!
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