It is tragic when a son eschews the path that his father has prepared for him.  At least when that path is one of godliness and of following Christ.  The relationship between father and son is a sacred kinship.  My father taught me about Jesus and has lived as a Christian since I was a child.  One of my regrets is that my actions a few years ago brought pain to my father.  I also have two sons.  Both of them make me proud to be their dad.  They have been wise enough to learn from both my folly and my wisdom.  It would be painful for me if they made the same mistakes or if they rejected Jesus.

That is what has happened to one of the sharper Christian minds of the 20th century.  Francis Schaeffer was a giant among Christian thinkers when he was alive.  His writings helped shape a generation of people into thinking about a Christian Worldview.  His son, Frank, began by working with his father.  In recent years, he not only has left that work, he has become an outspoken critic of what his father taught.

Frank Schaeffer now is a book author and writer for The Huffington Post.  His last book was titled, Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of it Back. The title pretty well sums up the change in his life and thought.

Now I would agree that in the Christian Right, some people and some actions are just crazy.  Every group has a “crazy uncle” that has to be handled.  In many things, I would not identify with the Christian Right.  On other things, I do.  The problem with Frank Schaeffer is that he has a pretty broad definition of the Christian Right.  That is, if you believe that the Bible is true, then you are one of the crazies.

So even though I can relate to the song that goes, “Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right” I guess to Schaeffer I will be one of the crazies.  That doesn’t mean that I buy all that everybody on the right proclaims, but I do believe that the Bible is true.  If one rejects this, with what are they left?  Here is what Schaeffer proposes:

Put fundamentalist religion in its place — in other words in the dustbin of history — and replace it with humanism, tolerant spirituality and science and we will have gone a long way to solving many other problems.

Being a religious fundamentalist of any kind should automatically disqualify a person from political office

In Schaeffer’s most recent article, he repeatedly makes disparaging comments about the Religious Right.  Here is a sample:

• Doesn’t care what is true–or even fact-based
• live life informed by self-reinforcing beliefs which are proudly non fact-based
• rooted in deep-seated resentment that can’t be cured because what is resented never actually happened.
• resist facts in particular and have a loathing of education in general
• sexual, political and social dysfunction
• hate and exclusion
• paranoid nightmare
• Religious Loony Tunes
• La La Land
• dumb religion that is the root cause of the rape of the earth and the subjugation of women
• fundamentalists share one thing in common — intolerance of others
• sanction barbarity and are fundamentally anti-democratic as well as anti-truth policies
• demand an allegiance to a “jealous God”
• fundamentalists owe allegiance (to God) over and above their country’s constitutions or the rule of law or even common decency
• no longer believes in the legitimacy of our government
• threatens violence
• American version of Iran
• Those values aren’t democratic. They aren’t patriotic. They are revolutionary and seek to impose a theocracy.

I could deal with much of this and this article would be far too long.  I will simply ask, “Who sounds like they have a tolerance problem?”

On January 11, 1960 I entered the world in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  50 years later, I look back grateful for so much in my life.  I certainly wish that I could replay some of the events in my life.  Hopefully the gray hairs on my head and on my beard indicate that I have gained some wisdom since my youth.  I am wise enough to realize that I am a blessed man.  Here is a list of 50 blessings to match the 50 years.  Many more exist than 50, but this is a good reminder for things I am thankful.

1. At the top of the list is that I have an amazing God.  As a youngster, the Spirit of God gave life to me through Jesus.  This has made all of the difference in the world.
2. I had the privilege of being a shepherd to God’s people and preaching the Bible for about 20 years.  I still miss this, but am grateful that I had that much time to do this.
3. God took a sinful, broken vessel of a man who had sinned grossly against him, his wife, his family, his church and loved him still.  I will forever be amazed at this display of grace.
4. Suzie – she has been such a strength to me.  I love her dearly and know that she loves me.
5. Cameron – my firstborn.  He can be intense and impatient, but has made his father proud so many times.
6. Leah – my second born.  Leah has never met a stranger.  Her love for life has always brought a smile to my face.
7. Carlton – my third born.  He has been the overachiever of the bunch…at football, work and marriage.
8. Bethany – my youngest.  Bethany didn’t get the best from her father, but still manages to brighten his day with her love.
9. Heath – my oldest grandchild.  As a 7 year old, we enjoy chatting, wrestling and being together.
10. Caleb – my second grandchild.  This 3 year old is a character.  So much fun listening to him.
11. Children-in-law.  Michael (married to Leah) and Amanda (married to Carlton) are tremendous partners to my kids and a delight to this father-in-law.
12. My parents.  Eugene and Lillie have always been my biggest fans.  A son couldn’t have parents with greater love than have I.
13. The opportunity to play competitive football, baseball and basketball.  I really enjoyed playing quarterback for the Sapulpa Chieftains in Oklahoma.
14. The opportunity to coach my boys in 3 sports.  I know it wasn’t easy having your dad as a coach, but they both handled it very well.
15. The wonderful people in the churches that I pastored.  They took great care of me and my family.
16. The teachers and professors who taught me to think and prepared me well.
17. My friends – I’ve lived life as a nomad being a military kid and throughout.  Some wonderful people have kept in touch through the years and the moves.
18. I’ve had the privilege to travel throughout the world.  Outside of the US, I have been to Okinawa, Italy, Germany, Israel, Russia, Switzerland and Guatemala with short stops in several other places.
19. Taking Suzie to Disney World…several times.  I love seeing her childlike joy there.
20. Living at City Place in West Palm Beach.
21. Relaxing in the sun at the beach.
22. 2 weeks in Hawaii with Suzie.
23. Seeing some great college football games live including a national championship game.
24. Working in some great hotels and for some great hoteliers.
25. Spending several years at the amazing Brown Hotel in Louisville.
26. Being a fan of the Oklahoma Sooners and the Dallas Cowboys.
27. 2 great pastors in Daniel Montgomery and Jimmy Scroggins.
28. Spending a day and a night with Suzie with nothing to do.
29. Teaching pastors in Russia.
30. Skipping class at OBU to play ping-pong with Todd Littleton.
31. Riding back and forth to Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary with Dale Perry.
32. Playing golf with Cameron and Carlton.
33. Having the grandchildren spend the night with Suzie and me.
34. Watching Mom and Dad celebrate 50 years of marriage with family and friends.
35. Listening to Cameron playing saxophone, Leah singing, Carlton playing trumpet and Bethany playing violin.  Sadly no instruments are currently being played.
36. Finding junk with Suzie at thrift shops, garage sales and auctions.
37. Riding the scooter along the beach with Suzie on the back.
38. Meeting interesting people (some famous) throughout my hotel career.
39. Learning that some of my blog writings have had a positive influence on others.
40. Co-workers – I have had many great ones with whom I have spent long days together.
41. Playing flag football with my kids.
42. Getaway weekends with Suzie on some amazing outings.
43. Watching Cameron play basketball in the AAU national championships in Utah.
44. Watching Carlton play in a state championship football game.
45. Watching my 2 daughters come into this world.  The hospitals wouldn’t allow me in when the boys were born.
46. Getting married to Suzie in the hills of Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
47. Spending 3 weeks studying in Israel in 1981.
48. Enjoying some wonderful dining experiences around the world.
49. Discovering the world underneath the ocean by snorkeling.
50. Spending a day with Suzie, all of the kids, the kids-in-law and grandkids and watching all of the joyful interactions.