.Real.Greg.Lee.

I was in Crawfordsville for meetings the last 3 days.  I made the 4 hour round trip last night to make it for part of Jerry’s visitation, but could not make it to the funeral today.  John Wasem sent me the Eulogy he gave for Jerry in the service.  It’s longer than a normal blog post, but worth it…

By JOHN WASEM

In the 1960’s, Jack Warner was the last of the five living brothers to sell his stock in Warner Brothers. He sold his share for 640 million dollars. A reporter asked him, “Mr. Warner, with all the money you have, how many friends do you have in the world?” I can imagine that the interviewer chuckled with a smile on his face as he asked that question. A sober-faced Warner replied, “I don’t have a single friend in the whole world. Any other questions?” Well, I guess as the saying goes you really can be “filthy rich” and “dirt poor” at the same time.

Everybody wants friends. Everybody needs friends – often more than he realizes. Loneliness is the number one emotional ailment in our world. Mother Teresa once said, “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty on earth”. Many of us, in spite of membership in a church, know how true her assertion is – don’t we?

The number of friendless people has more than doubled in the past twenty years. Research contends that a rising tide of loneliness has left the average American with only two close friends. Personally, I think this estimate is an exaggeration and quite likely on the high end. However, for those of us who were blessed to have our life intersect with Jerry Gillespie, we had a special, unique, loyal, and God-honoring friend.

When God made the world and put His human creation in that perfect environment known as the Garden of Eden, He said, “It is not good for man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). Related to this biblical truth, Jerry told me a story one day (one of many, many stories!). It went like this …

A little boy was home one day after his family had moved again – one of several moves in a period of a couple of years. He had been in and out of schools multiple times. On this day, the boy was sitting on the front porch in a very melancholy mood. His Dad came up and the boy said, “Dad, who do you want to be – Superman or Batman?”

Dad was preoccupied with a repair project and said, “Well, son, you know, I’m kind of busy right now. Ask me later.”

“Dad, come on, who do you want to be – Superman or Batman?” “Well, okay … Superman. Yeah, I want to be Superman.”

“Why Dad? Why would you want to be Superman?” “Well, I don’t know, son. Because … he can fly, that’s why.” And Dad went on about his business.

The little boy persisted, “Dad, aren’t you going to ask me who I want to be?” A bit irritated, the Dad complied. “Okay, son. Who do you want to be – Superman or Batman?” “I want to be Batman, Dad,” the little boy said proudly and enthusiastically.

“Good, son, that’s good.”

“Dad?”

“What now, son?”

“Aren’t you going to ask me why?”

“Okay,” the father sighed, “why do you want to be Batman?”

“I want to be Batman because Batman has a friend.”

The answer stopped Dad dead in his tracks. He turned around and saw that his son had tears in his eyes. “Son, do you need a friend?”

“Yeah, Dad, I need a friend … more than I need Superman.”

 Robert Louis Stevenson once said, “A friend is a present you give yourself.” There are some things that we discuss only with people who are very close to us, people we know well and trust. These important topics will vary with the situation or the person – we may ask for help, probe for understanding, or just need a sounding board for important decisions – but these are the people who make up our core network of confidants. Jerry was in this pastor’s core network for over 20 years and I have thanked God for him so many times. I will miss him.

Friends, we need each other. We need each other more than we may admit or realize. The Lord knew this well. Is it any surprise that in the New Testament there are 21 different admonitions to Christ-followers that include the words “one another”?

• Greet one another (Romans 16:16)
• Be devoted to one another (Romans 12:10)
• Love one another (John 13:34, 1 Thessalonians 3:12 and 4:10)
• Accept one another (Romans 15:7)
• Pray for one another (James 5:16)
• Encourage one another (Matthew 5:24)
• Live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16 and 14:19)
• Bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2)
• Confess your sins to one another (James 5:16)

 In many ways, Jerry Gillespie was a living illustration of the marks of a God-honoring friend defined in the book of Proverbs. Jerry was …

 COMMITTED – “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). Jerry was a committed, loyal friend.

 Secondly, Jerry modeled friendship by being …

 CONSIDERATE – “Friendliness bears fruit for people” or as a paraphrase words it – “Kindness makes a person attractive to others” (Proverbs 17:9).

 If you want to know who your friends are, make a mistake. A God-honoring friend will not say “I told you so” or “I knew you would”. Real friends don’t kick you when you are down.

Many years ago, I received a card from Jerry. It read, “You’re a good egg … Even if you are a little cracked.” Ah, the quintessential Flatop! Funny, but how true! Jerry was one of a few people who knew just how true it was of his friend.

 Thirdly, Jerry, as most all of us know, was a true friend because he was …

 CANDID – “Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds of a friend can be trusted” (Proverbs 27:5-6).

 A trusted friend will level with you … shoot straight with you … be open, honest, and frank. Out of genuine concern for your best interest, he will tell you the truth even when it is painful. Proverbs 24:26 expresses it this way, “An honest answer is the sign of a true friendship.”

 As a God-honoring friend, Jerry proved in my relationship with him to be …

 CONFIDENTIAL – “A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person maintains and respects it” (Proverbs 11:13).

 I’m sorry but I can’t help it. This reminds me of another story that Jerry told me and probably told you too.

It’s the story of the three friends who were out fishing. One of the men said, “To pass the time, why don’t we all share our most common sin – the one that is our biggest challenge.” The first man said, “The sin I wrestle with is greed.” The next friend said, “I really struggle with lust. It very embarrassing and frustrating, but I have a hard time keeping my eyes to myself.” The third man said, “Well, my greatest sin is gossip and I can’t wait to get this boat back in the dock and get to a phone.”

A friend is one who can listen without having a burning desire to broadcast it.

Next, Jerry as my friend was …

CONSTRUCTIVE – “As iron sharpens iron, so friends shape friends” (Proverbs 27:17 Knox Translation).

Friends shape friends. What a powerful truth! A godly friend will be constructive … will be an encourager like Barnabas, the son of encouragement, as described in the early chapters of Acts. Or as Emerson wrote, “A real friend makes us do what we can do.”

                A godly friend will rejoice with his friend who has reason to rejoice … and will weep with that friend when the disappointments or injuries of life bring sorrow. A true friend will welcome his friend telling all about his or her recent victories and achievements and would never feel it was bragging. That was Jerry.

And Jerry had another great quality as a friend. He was …

CONSISTENT – “A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17).

A true friend is in your corner when they see that you are cornered. A real friend will see you through when others say you are through. A true friend walks in when everybody else is walking out. This friend will stand with you through “thick and thin”.

God wants us to have and nurture two-way, mutual friendships. Friendships that empower others by “spurring one another on toward love and good deeds”  and “encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25). And occasionally, God gives us a friend who models friendship at its best. God gave us Jerry.

A great and lasting tribute that you can pay to our friend who has now gone home … is to strive to be a God-honoring friend.

Jerry emailed me a quote that I have kept at my desk for several years now. “To be held in the heart of a friend is to be a king.” How true. And you know as well as I do … Jerry Gillespie made so of us – royalty. Good night, Jerry. See you in the morning, my friend..

Posted in Suncrest

Jerry Gillespie passed from this life to the next life today.  He is better off.  It would be impossible to honor every friend I have who has died with a post on this blog, but Jerry is unique.  So he gets this place today.

I think anyone who knew him would agree Jerry was unique.  He, in fact, would be the first to agree.  “Flat top” as many knew him was joy-filled man with convictions from the first time I met him.  And that would be the day I interviewed for a position at Suncrest over 13 years ago.  He was on the team that interviewed me, he and Shirley came to my college graduation a few months later to represent the church I was preparing the serve.  He took me to breakfast on my first Monday in the office, July 15, 1996. 

I needed to borrow a truck for an event my first week on staff and guess who I called?  Over the years, I’ve had the chance to roast him at a surprise birthday party (I believe the enormous number of emails he was “forwarding” at the time was my topic of choice).  I’ve watched him lead in behind the scenes areas like the offering counters, I’ve been to “Young at Heart” Christmas parties he hosted, backyard parties at their home, and watched him play Santa Claus himself on more than one occasion.

What would we talk about?  Politics and Religion.  Those may be taboo for some in conversation, but not if you were with Jerry.

Funny Stories?  I have a long list of them both that he told and that happened to him.  When he would tell me one, he would often start with “Now you probably can’t use this on Sunday…”(though they were typically tame).   My favorite  one about him is still him counting one of suncrest’s first offerings and then putting it in the night depository of the WRONG bank.  (It all worked out.)

Faithful friend?  Yes, to many.  I experienced much of it, but talking to good men like John Wasem and the late Gene McKean made me appreciate Jerry deeply on that front. 

Purdue Fan.  Conservative.  Family Man.  Patriot.  Christ-follower.  And more…more than could ever be decribed here.

I got to spend about an hour at his bedside last week.  I held his hand and prayed.  We laughed a little and talked a little.  As much as he could.  I’ll miss Jerry.  And I much anticipate seeing him again.

Posted in Suncrest

This vacation has been a blast, but something struck me each time I’ve uploaded pictures for the blog.  Abby is absent (or has her head turned).  Jack will pose for a picture anytime anywhere, but Abby…not so much.  And even when you kind of force her to, she somehow manages to end up in the background (See her in this shot at the Lincoln Memorial?).

Well, today I figured out how to get her beautiful face in a picture.  Just ask her to love a little baby and help him pose for a picture and she is all for it.  Here she is with Samuel…our friends baby who she was happy to care for every opportunity she got this week.

It’s been a great trip.  By the time you read this, we will be on the road home.  Jack has decided on these days with 11 hour drives that we are “living in the van for a day”.  I try to get him to say it loud enough for others to hear at each stop so I can see Jenny cringe.  🙂

As much fun as we have had, it’s always good t0 be home…at least until I head out for more travel on Wednesday…

Posted in Suncrest

We got a very cool tour of the capitol building today and Congressman Visclosky even came to greet us and take a picture with us on the Capitol steps.  The picture here is our family in front of the Lew Wallace statue in the old house chamber.  Each state gets two statues and this is one of ours from Indiana.  Jenny is actually pretty sure she is a descendant of Lew Wallace through her mom’s side of the family. 

It was actually a big day in the House of Representatives as they voted on a major climate change bill.  We got to see some of the debate in the chamber.

After a stop for shade and refreshment on the National Mall, we went to the Natural History Museum.  The kids loved the dinosaurs and everything else, but I think their highlight was the live butterfly environment we got to walk through.  Here is Jack obviously sitting next to a very large butterfly.

Posted in Suncrest

I caught this picture of Jack and his friend Sydney today at the National Zoo.  We had a great day catching up with the Whitt Family. 

They were at Suncrest a few years ago and we became quick friends.  Working for the government has them all around the world, but we vacationed at their place in Monterrey, Mexico a couple years ago and now they are in Washington DC…so we are here.  Makes for a fun (and relatively inexpensive) vacation.  They go to Ethiopia next…who knows?

It was great catching up with them, seeing their kids grow, and driving through Washington.  Jenny and I were here about 13 years ago for a grand total of 24 hours, so it’s nice to have some time now.  Tomorrow we get a special tour of the capitol building that was arrangened through our Congressman’s office.  Should be fun!

Posted in Suncrest

Our family is heading out for vacation so I may or may not post for a while.  If I do, it will be family stuff, not ministry stuff. 

I’ve actually taken the whole week off so I’ll post some pics/highlights.

-I started Monday morning playing Golf with an old friend.  Jeremy Brown was a youth pastor in Dyer when I was youth pastor at Suncrest and we did a ton of stuff together.  We later found out that we share a wedding anniversary…day and year!  Pretty ironic that we played golf together on the day we both celebrated 13 years of marriage, eh?  (Jeremy is pictured looking for his ball in the creek.  We did this much of the day.)

Later Monday, our whole family was pulling weeds at the church (in section Jenny and the kids volunteered to cover).  I went inside with Jack and he put his flip-flops in the HUGE box that was overflowing from Sunday.  He actually had a dilemma because there was a part of him that really wanted to keep the flip-flops for himself.  After he tossed them in, he totally said…”I liked them, but did you know giving them makes you feel happier than keeping them?”

Monday afternoon, I went back to the golf course with Jack.  It was the first time we played this year and we had an absolute blast.  He’s very natural at it so I’m always impressed with his score.  He’s also starting to focus more (which helps a lot in golf!).  And, of course, he loved riding in the cart, using the ball washer (every hole if I let him!), walking on the island green, and sitting down for a root beer afterwards. 

After a big weekend, it was great to have a day like this. Now, we are gearing up to go see friends out of town.

Posted in Suncrest

Had a great Father’s day today on a few fronts…

…Jack and Abby…they are a gift from God in my life, each in their unique way.  Among other things, we found the ice cream truck this afternoon and they were all smiles.

…I talked to my Dad on the phone.  He means the world to me.  I was thinking about him often listening to the Father’s Day sermon today.  In today’s world, we are always very sensitive in talking about God as Father because so many people did not have a healthy experience with their own dads growing up.  Me?  I feel like I understand the nature of God as Father because I have an earthly father who embodies so many of HIS qualities.

…Finished up our ONE PRAYER message series at West Campus with a video message.  East campus uses them 70% of the time and it was good for the St. John campus to experience the dynamic.  I’ve only heard positive things!

…We had great crowds this morning!  Unfortunately that is not always the case for churches on Father’s Day.  Maybe it was because everyone came super-casual…that was fun!

…I saw so many people walking around barefoot after the service…loved that too!  We were OVERFLOWING with donations of sandals and flip-flops for the AFRICA container.  They will be so grateful!

…We took my father-in-law out for lunch as they finished their visit to town.  It was a great weekend and Jenny is a champ as a hostess.  Had a wide variety of people in town/at our house/that we were feeding and she made it run so smoothly.  She’s the one who should have received the special treatment today!

Posted in Suncrest

I was at the cubs game today.  A few random reflections…

1.  The Indians stink except for Cliff Lee.  He pitched 7 great innings and then the cubs came back from a 7-2 deficit to win in extra innnings.

2.  I went with about 30 people from Jenny’s family, but the favorite parts were just talking about the game with my 5 year old son (pictured).

3.  It was through facebook on wednesday that I found an Indians cap to wear to the game.

4.  During the game today, I was updating my status on facebook a few times and had 17 replies from friends.  Fun way to stay connected.

5.  Yesterday someone texted me the audio version of “Go cubs Go” after they pulled it out late against the white sox.  What will I ever do with that?

6.  Trying to focus in on some family time here in the next few days.  We have all of Jenny’s family at our house for a cookout tomorrow.  Should be a blast.

Posted in Suncrest

Next Saturday June 27th, we have an incredible opportunity at Suncrest.

A scholar and down-to-earth teacher is coming to do a day-long seminar called “Revelation Revealed.  If you have ever had questions or curiosities about this unique book of the Bible, Revelation Revealed will help you to piece together the imagery of the Book of Revelation.

Dr. Robert Lowery was one of my favorite professors at Lincoln Christian Seminary and has his Ph.D. from Aberdeen University.  Revelation and End Times Study is an area of expertise for him and he has now published two books on the Subject.  Here are the details for the event:

Where:  Suncrest (West Campus in St. John)

When:  9am-4pm, Saturday, June 27.

Cost:  $10/person include materials and a boxed lunch

If you are at Suncrest, make sure you sign up this weekend.  If you are another pastor reading this, you are welcome to send people.  Contact bobby.jackson@suncrest.org

Posted in Suncrest

One hundred times more people will hear a sermon this week than preach one.  So why are there thousands of articles, books, and classes on how to preach a message, but virtually none on how to listen to one?

It’s because most people think listening just comes naturally. But that’s not what Jesus thought.

Jesus said to “consider carefully how you listen” (Luke 8:18). The state and fate of your life depends on how you listen. Teachers are responsible for teaching well, but you are responsible for listening well. Jesus wants you to listen in a way that will change your life.

That’s how this interesting magazine article by Brian Mavis in Christian Standard begins.  Click here to Read the rest of it.

It was a great read for me as I actually listen to a lot more sermons than I preach (thank you, podcasts).

Posted in Suncrest