Life with The Swell Guy!

The Dilemma

This morning I had a 7:30am transfer in Memphis. There was just enough time for a quick breakfast. The first place I came to was Jim Neely's Interstate Bar-b-que. Imagine real BBQ in the airport! Destiny, right? It must be lunch time somewhere...

It's Redneck Tuesday!

Life was never the same for Bubba once he discovered Winders and got himself hooked up to the Interstate Inter-net Super HIghway.

As usual, your caption comments and suggestions are welcome.

It's Vending Machine Jesus Monday

Do you only go to Jesus when you want something? Do you get upset when you don't get what you ask for? Check this out.

At the Gun Show

Jordan and I went to the gun auction today. I had never been to one. The place as packed. It was a good thing to do on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Eric and Walt joined us for a while before they went to meet their wives for the Grits & Groceries dinner club. Then Earl dropped in for a while. There were a few highlights including:

- I got what I was looking to buy.  Same for Earl

- We set a new Greenwood County record for most pick-up trucks and baseball caps in one place that was not Wal+Mart

- David, the intense auction helper on the far left, knows how to rock the mullet

- The auctioneer was quick and quick-witted

- I kept wanting to say the Dwight Shrut line "Did you get your tickets?  To the Gun Show"

Good times.

The BBQ Song

Happy Saturday. I hope you enjoy this tribute to southern BBQ.  My favorite line is "When my life is through...bury me in BBQ".

Thanks to Eric for the pointer on this post!

Four Bacon Products That Are Not Bacon - #1

Path

Denine and I are part of a small group that meets every other Monday night. One of the things we do in our group is work at getting to know each other better so we are more able to minister to each other's needs. After we have greeted each other when we get together we do an "ice breaker" question to get things rolling. I am usually responsible for the question and I attempt to find questions that help us learn more about each person as they take their turn responding.

One early questions in our small group was a how we came to follow Christ. This one took a while to go around the room. I knew it would, but it was so worth the time. This question reveals so much about the person and the journey of their life to this point. For some, it was the first time they had ever discussed this topic and it gave them a great opportunity to actually put their coming to faith into words.  Their faith - their story - their words.  Wow.

As the stories unfolded we heard of broken and messed up lives. We heard about broken dreams. Broken homes and marriages. We listened and we witnessed the pain. There were stories of addiction and lives careening out of control. Some talked of being a complete wreck, while others simply spoke of something missing in life. Not every story was dramatic, but every story was different and beautiful.

Here is the thing. Not one person said they came to Christ because of a single sermon or something someone said to them one time. I'm not saying this does not happen, but I am saying there usually is a process. We love the stories of people turning on a dime and coming to Christ. Yes, we love it.  But again, it more often takes a little time and more than a little grace.

Christ-followers love the scripture that talks about the parts of the body of Christ, but we so quickly forget what this means or how it works. For me, I do not need to be the person that brings someone to Christ, but I do live to help move people closer to Christ. Do you understand? Does this make sense? It is indescribable when someone you know and are helping makes a decision, but I do not need to be "the guy". I believe the more important measure is if the believers in the body are helping move the people put in their path towards following Christ.

In a well functioning church, there should be a measure of people coming to Christ for the first time. It is a significant sign of health as well as our purpose as a body of believers. I do not believe this same measure falls on us individually. We are simply responsible for our part.

Why am I mentioning this now? It seems so many Christ-followers measure their life by how many people they have led to proclaiming Christ . If this is the only measure, I fear we become a "bullhorn guy" and lose our ability to practice our unique rolls, gifts, in the kingdom of Christ. We can easily fall into the trap of trying to bully people to make life decisions.

 As the faith stories in our small group attest, people take many paths in their journey towards Christ. In most cases, it is the path they needed to take to find Christ. Many may have regrets, but the path they took has value in how they became the person they are and what their witness becomes to others.

Once we put down the "salvation scorecard" and start helping, praying, and caring, we can begin to understand our own unique rolling in helping people find Christ. So often it is just being one small part in helping them get just a little closer. The end result may happen with or without our knowledge, but we still must do our part. We must believe for it. We must pray for it. It is OK if we do not know the end of the story if we did our part in the story.

So what does this do for us? It helps us understand our role. It is freeing. It gives us reason to slow down and spend a few more minutes with those put in our path with the full knowledge that one conversation or limited time may not lead to a decision for Christ, but it can help move that person to what is next in their journey.  Do you see this?  Do you comprehend? We do not need to see the end result to be part of the process.

So let me encourage you to do your part. Be part of the solution, but remember it is not about you.  It is about Him. 

Peace to you,

Zig

1 Corinthians 12:19-25 (The Message)

But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn't be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, "Get lost; I don't need you"? Or, Head telling Foot, "You're fired; your job has been phased out"? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the "lower" the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it's a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn't you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?

The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't, the parts we see and the parts we don't. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.

Bacon Explosion Update

Swell Guy friend and reader Trampus Campbell mentioned that he was going to try his hand at Bacon Explosion after reading "The 10 Greatest Moments in Bacon History" post.  He went for it and was kind enough to send a bunch of great photos that were included with these e-mails:  

#1 - Bacon Explosion

I went ahead and attached all of the pictures I took.

I was a bit disappointed in the bacon explosion.  It should be called Italian Sausage Explosion because that was definitely the dominant flavor.  I may try it again one day with country sausage instead.  It was not bad, just not what I expected.

Trampus

#2 - I just realized that I have some photos after it is cooked.  I will try to send shortly.

#3 - Here are the other pics.  I was much happier with the Tyler Florence Flan that I made the same day.

Great field report and photos! I look forward to hearing about Bacon Explosion v2.0. T and I were discussing his cooking adventure on last Saturday's group bike ride and I asked about his family's reaction. He says they were curious, amused, and a little cynical (kind of what I get from home writing this blog some days). Well done, TC.  

Good Advice for Men - No. 18

Treat children with decency and respect. Do not encourage any sort of begging, but be eager to buy when they offer items or services of value whether you actually need it or not.

It's Redneck Tuesday!

She said clean every bit of junk out of the living room. I'll show her clean every bit of junk...

As usual, your caption comments and suggestions are welcome.