Ross Perot, Captain Kangaroo & Helen Keller (Classic)

I wrote this 8 years ago. Guess how old that makes me?

Yesterday was my 42nd birthday. It's not a particularly important milestone (like turning 16 or 18 or 21 or 40 or 65) - it's just another birthday. I've made one more revolution around the sun without getting myself killed (despite a car wreck & a minor fender-bender this last year).

I was blogging about my birthday last night and looked up which famous people were born on my birthday. There were a lot of names I didn't recognize (which, to me, raises the question of whether they're really famous - but I guess that's kind of self-centered to determine someone's fame based on my personal recognition of their existence)... and a few I did.

Yes, I was born on the same day as Tobey Maguire (the actor who played Spiderman), Ross Perot (noted rich guy & former presidential candidate), Bob Keeshan (who I loved as a kid - he was Captain Kangaroo) and Helen Keller (a deaf mute woman who did a whole lot more than learn how to spell "water"... check out the book Lies My Teacher Told Me for more info on Helen's adult life).  An eclectic bunch, eh?

Editorial Note: Here in 2014, I'd like to add J.J. Abrams (who came up with LOST and Alias and the Star Trek reboot... and is in charge of Star Wars: Episode VII), Leigh Nash (lead singer of Sixpence None the Richer), and Khloé Kardashian (Wikipedia lists her as an "American businesswoman, model, and radio host" - huh).

Which reminds me... those of us who claim to be followers of Christ need to remember that we are an eclectic bunch as well. The church has a wide variety of folks: grape farmers, traveling salesmen, truck drivers, school teachers, handymen, stay-at-home moms, contractors, small business owners, cops, retirees, mechanics... you name it. One of the guys I served on staff with had been a repo man before he became a minister of education; my best friend in Nashville was an accountant before he went to seminary.

The same thing is true when we look at the Bible: Amos was a sheep herder, Moses was a prince, Paul was a rabbinical student, Joseph was a slave, Matthew was a tax collector, Esther was a queen, Samuel was an altar boy, Peter was a fisherman, and Jeremiah was a bullfrog. (No, not really, despite what Three Dog Night told you. I was just checking to see if you were paying attention. Jeremiah was a prophet.)

Anyway, God put us all together on purpose. This eclectic nature of the church is not (in the language of computer software) a bug, it's a feature.

Enjoy it!

He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ's followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ's body, the church, until we're all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God's Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.  Ephesians 4:12-13 (The Message)