It's Good to Hear Your Voice

Yesterday marked the return of local radio personality Garland Robinette, host of WWL 870 AM's Think Tank, to the airways after a five month hiatus. A medical mistake during surgery left Robinette unable to speak. In fact, doctors informed Garland and his family that things didn't look good for his voice to return. Hosting duties for the Think Tank were turned over to Tommy Tucker while Garland recovered at home. The absence of Garland and sudden replacement by Tommy prompted rumors of termination. However, WWL Radio graciously stuck by Garland in hopes of his return. How many of you have a boss that would hold your job for five months in hopes you would return? Yesterday, Garland's voice was husky and he had to take the occasional sip of water but he made it through all three hours of the Think Tank. Although Garland dedicated the majority of the show to its usually content and call-ins, he did take a few minutes at the beginning to thank those who had seen him through. The comment that I found the most interesting was related to his faithful substitute of five months, Tommy Tucker. Garland, although raised Catholic, admits to leaving his faith as he became an adult. Tommy, on the other hand, is a devout Catholic and out of his religious experience he did something that caused Garland to think. Just prior to Christmas, Tommy used the airways to begin a prayer campaign for Garland. He asked listeners to pray specifically for Garland to be healed. This was during the time when doctors were still pessimistic about Garland's recovery. However, as Garland admitted yesterday, it was at the time that Tommy began asking for prayer that he began to regain use of his voice. This experience, he stated, has caused him to rethink his position on religion and faith. It seems he has begun a new faith journey (my words not his). I write this for two reasons. First, I'm a fan of Garland and his show and I'm excited to have him back on The Big 870. Second, prayer is a powerful thing and I encourage you who read this to continue to pray for those special people in your life. Often we get discouraged because of the lack of results or the length of time that passes. Be faithful in your prayers because they are heard by a God who is faithful.

Resurrection and New Beginnings

As we gathered together this past Sunday to celebrate our Lord's victory over sin and death, some of our area churches were taking the opportunity to mark the beginning of a new chapter in their history. Sojourn, a church plant on Magazine St. that targets "cultural creatives," officially launched Sunday services. James Welch, Travis Flemming, and their ministry team had put in way more time than the typical church plant in investing in their community before attempting the much sought after milestone of a launch date. While Sojourn was gathered for worship, down the river in Arabi, Celebration: St. Bernard held their first service in their rebuilt sanctuary that had just been completed. In fact, I spoke several times to campus pastor Craig Ratliff last week and each time he was busy overseeing the final details of construction to ensure that their Easter service would go off as planned. A little closer to where I live, St. Rose Baptist Church celebrated the Lord's resurrection with an outreach to the community. Pastor Jim Louviere had been getting the congregation ready for weeks for the event. This is a church that was averaging five on Sunday morning six months ago before Jim came and gave the Holy Spirit some room to work. Now about thirty strong, St. Rose Baptist used Easter as a day to share the good news with their neighbors.

Larry Norman - Goodbye, Farewell

1947-2008

Inspirational. Controversial. Eccentric. Whatever opinion you held about Larry Norman, there is no denying the profound impact he had on Christian music. At a time when the only spiritual music available for young people were choruses and camp songs, Larry emerged on the scene with rock rhythms and potent lyrics that took the message of Christ to the air waves as well as the street. Like the great hymnist Issac Watts had done centuries before, Larry took the message he loved so much and put it to the popular music of the time. A child of the 60's, Larry's long hair and rock music was condemned by the church but embraced by the culture. He was well respected as an artist by the likes of Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead but despite such praise from high-profile musicians, Larry stuck with his evangelistic message. "He really could have been a star if he were singing about something other than Jesus," remarked Chris Willman, senior music writer for Entertainment Weekly, when reflecting on Larry's career. Unfortunately, Larry's final years were spent in poor health. In a final statement to his fans just days before his death, Larry said "I feel like a prize in a box of Cracker Jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up...I am ready to fly home." Although his presence in the music industry has been absent for several years, Larry's death leaves a void that will be felt for quite some time. As for me, Larry Norman was an imperfect man who was way ahead of his time and although I didn't agree with some of his political views I found myself profoundly affected and inspired by his music and his uncompromising message of salvation through Christ alone. I am truly sad he is gone. Larry, we love you and our prayers are with your friends and family. See you at the throne of God.

Basketball and Bibles

This past Friday night, Jaime and I joined fellow missionaries, local ministers and seminary students in assisting Lagniappe Ministries with their volunteer project at the New Orleans Hornets home game against the New Jersey Nets. It was Gospel Night at the arena which is different than the typical faith and family nights other sport venues promote. The owner of the Hornets is a committed Christian and he has Gospel Night. The game was exciting as our Hornets put on a great show in their win over the Nets. Its great to see really good pro basketball in New Orleans (CP3-MVP). After the game, we went to the American Bible Society's booth for our volunteer assignment. The ABS was sponsoring Gospel Night and had free copies of The Psalms and "Element of Life" magazines to give away. You know how people can't get enough of "free." We handed out boxes and boxes of The Psalms and magazines before the crowds finally thinned out. I was impressed with "Element of Life." Each article was a story about how Jesus had transformed someones life. The magazine appealed to the urban crowd in both design and content with an evangelist message to boot. My prayer is that many will read the articles and take the next step towards a relationship with Jesus.