Honor Indeed
My father in law lead a group of over 130, including 90+ WW2 veterans, on an honor flight this past Saturday. Honor Flight is an organization honors veterans by taking them to Washington DC to see the various war memorials and to thank them for their service to our country. I don’t know of anyone who loves his country more than my father in law and as a veteran, the son of a veteran and a pilot this is something close to his heart. So Bill is now coordinating Honor Flights in NW Arkansas. My father, who is also a veteran and my brother in law also went on the trip and worked as chaperons for the veterans. My father said that everywhere they went people took time to stop and thank each of the veterans for their service and there were little touches at the airports and with police escorts and bands that just really honored this generation that sacrificed so much in the name of love of country.
I wanted to share this with you because I think it is really beautiful and because 30 years from now I can’t imagine an organization like Honor Flight. Does anyone in our generation have this sense of honor or love of country? I am sure there are some, but they are certainly few and far between. Such great efforts to honor others and their service of country makes you stop and take notice these days.
So I sang some AC/DC in my sermon
I definitely had several surprised comments from people on Sunday after I busted out my best Bon Scott and sang part of Highway to Hell by AC/DC in my sermon. Why did this particular song make it in to my sermon? Well I was focusing on our central motivation for doing what we do as a church and I reflected on a pastor one of my seminary professors told us about. This pastor would listen to this AC/DC song before he preached because he wanted to remind himself that for many in church that day this song would be their story. They were lost and he wanted to make sure that stayed in the forefront of his mind.
As Christians our purpose is to bring God joy and praise in all we do. Jesus demonstrates that nothing gives God more joy than when his lost children come home. And so this must be our motivation for all we do as a church. It must define us. It needs to permeate all that we do. We must passionately pursue the lost and orient our missions around finding the lost sheep and bringing them home. I don’t know if AC/DC will help remind you of that reality, but I like the idea of having some regular part of our lives that keeps that reminder in front of us.
Where did it all go wrong?
Thanks for the person who suggested this video, it is awesome.
I have to stop and ponder for a minute on the most dreadful Redskins team I have ever seen. Somehow a season that at least help some sense of promise has turned into a colossal disaster. Where did it all go wrong? Well the easy answer is that it all went wrong when Dan Snyder bought the team. Snyder is extraordinarily gifted in making money. He is also good at thrown it around in really ineffective ways. What he is not good at is acknowledging his own weaknesses and getting out of his own way so the franchise can succeed.
This is a franchise that desperately needs a team president and general manager. They need football people making football decisions. They need a first class coach and they need a new organizational philosophy that relies on discipline, hard choices, solid football principles, and homegrown talent.
So how would I fix it? I wouldn’t start with a coach, I would start by finding one of the best football minds out there in some other front office and pay them whatever it takes to come over and fix this mess. Get someone from the Colts front office or someone who is out of football but would come back for the right price. I would even welcome Jimmy Johnson and his hair at this stage.
Then let that person bring in someone who can win. If Bill Cowher or Mike Shanahan don’t want the job then go get someone who does and who will invest the ridiculous hours necessary into rebuilding this team. Then start getting rid of the baggage. Goodbye Clinton Portis, you have been a workhorse, but you were always miss cast on this team. Goodbye aging defensive players. Hello brand new offensive line. Hello new quarterback. Goodbye Jason Campbell, I always liked you, but you don’t win and that is a problem.
That is only a start, but something has to be drastically done to change this franchise. I wish the next thing they would do is move back to RFK, the tiny cramped ultimate home field advantage. Things have never been the same since the move to Fed Ex Field. Oh Redskins, you make me so sad.
October 20, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Only the previously winless Chiefs dump Gatorade on the coach after beating the Redskins. The Redskins — a team that has actually won more than one game already this year.
You, no doubt, have seen this Redskins Anonymous video.
October 20, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Speaking of honor: Vince Flynn’s new book – Pursuit of Honor – !!!
October 20, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Are proud Americans a silent majority? I suspect that many of us who are proud of what our country represents (but not always happy about what it does) are waiting quietly in the wings. Then one day, when the time is right, we will happily stand shoulder to shoulder and celebrate the gift that is being an American with vets of the Middle East wars. But that is just my plan. I guess I’m just hoping that someone else joins me on those occasions.
October 21, 2009 at 5:14 am
As odd as it may appear to those who’ve known me for several years, I actually have a great deal of faith that groups such as “Honor Flight” will exist in both the near and far future.
There is an enormous portion of our society who has either served in the Armed Forces or had a close loved one do so. As the vast majority serve one “tour” before seeking employment elsewhere, the number of Vets out there is truly staggering. Much like your family’s experience with “Honor Flight”, the truly heartfelt displays of thanks, gratitude, etc. are often done quietly and without fanfare, which is what most Vets that I know actually prefer. Parades are certainly nice, but a warm handshake, hug, or free cup of coffee goes just as far, if not further.
It is an odd thing to be thanked by strangers for doing what one considers simply their job or duty. Nice, but odd. Such acts often raise feelings of pride mixed with a degree of embarrassment (not necessarily in a bad way, just a bit of self-consciousness) in the recipient.
The displays of honor, as you put it, while far more heavily produced in size (and media converage) after 9/11, have not gone away. It is just that their volume has decreased, and, well, are now being performed by those people who have had the natural inclination to do so all along.
Our Afghan and Iraqi vets need this type of support as much of everyday America will not be able to fully grasp their experiences. A hug, a handshake, and a free cup of coffee go a very very long way, indeed.
October 21, 2009 at 9:55 am
Maybe you are right, maybe there is a far greater sense of honor and patriotism than is apparent on the surface of our self indulgent and easily distracted generation. I hope that there are many small and significant displays of such honor that make an enduring difference that bandwagon displays of patriotism fail to create.