Unaware Influences

It is nice to receive a compliment.

It is wonderful to know that you have positively influenced someone.

When preachers get together there is usually an assortment of comments about the criticisms and complaints each one deals with at his home congregation. Preachers hear a lot of bad news. If someone does not like a sermon, the preacher is blamed. If someone does not like how the worship assembly was planned, the preacher is blamed. If someone does not like how things are going at church, the preacher is blamed. Preachers hear a lot of negative.

As someone once said, "it comes with the territory."

Mixed with the negative, however, is positive. Unfortunately, the "fault-finders" are usually much louder than the "encouragers."

No preacher is perfect. Every preacher has sin. Each preacher has his share of struggles. A member does not have to look hard to find something imperfect about his preacher.

This negativity is why positive feedback is so cherished. When you compliment your preacher, you touch his soul. Your words refresh his spirit. And in turn, you participate in his kingdom ministry.

At Tulsa this past week, I heard several positive comments. You expect such comments from friends and others whom you have known for quite some time. Yet, one comment came from someone whom I had never met.

This past Friday, as I meandered into the College Press booth (publisher of my book), Keith grabbed me and asked, "What are you doing right now?" It was between classes so I said, "Just walking around." "Ok," he said, "I need you to stay right here while I call someone." I looked at him while he grabbed his cell phone and made a call. All I heard was, "I've got Ben Brewster here in the booth."

At that moment I was not sure if I should run away and hide or stay put.

Keith then told me that a lady had come by earlier who was "a big fan of mine." In fact, she told Keith that my book had influenced her to study church history.

Within a few minutes, she came into the booth and Keith introduced us. She began to talk about the book and how much it had influenced her. I asked her about her church history studies, and she shared with me what she is currently researching.

As the conversation concluded she said, "This has been great. I got to meet John Mark Hicks recently, and then Doug Foster, and now I've had the chance to meet you. All of you are so nice."

I smiled and said, "History people are a little different. We are not used to fan clubs, so when we meet a fan we try to be extra nice."

After the conversation I remarked to my wife that it was amazing that something I had written had impacted the direction of someone's life.

Sometimes ... ok, a lot of times ... I question how much I really do for God's kingdom. Then God reaffirms me in unexpected ways.

Reaffirmation is good.

Tulsa Musings, Part 2

Day two of Tulsa is over.

There is something that always perplexes me about the Tulsa Workshop. I am captivated by the sense that I know a lot of people who I do not know. That may not make a whole lot of sense, but what I mean to say is that scattered throughout a sea of faces at the Workshop are faces which are strangely familiar. The names behind the faces escape me (although my Dad would probably know most of them), but I find comfort in the familiarity.

It is the face of an older man walking around in cowboy boots, wrangler, and a western-style belt buckle. It is by the older woman carrying her Bible as she walks from class to class. It is the person who smiles as I walk by. It is the couple that holds hands as they browse the exhibits. Sometimes, it is even the buiildings themselves who have held so many Workshop attendees throughout the years.

As exhausting as Tulsa is, I still find it hard to leave.

In a way, Tulsa provides healing. It is a reminder that the church is bigger than one's own congregation. It is a refreshing testament that there is a comforting familiarity among the faces that walk the buildings at the Tulsa Fairgrounds.

And it is an enduring treatise to the unexplained, yet comforting feeling that comes from being among people who call themselves Christians.

Tulsa Musings

Day one of the Tulsa Workshop is now history.

We made the trip with Damon and Tiffany Endel (along with their kids) and met up with Jeff and Sheri Tacker (along with their kids).

As always, there are a lot of familiar faces. Some names you remember, some you unfortunately forget. Yet, one of the strengths of Tulsa is the people. Because of the people, you are reminded of your roots. Relationships are reignited, friendships renewed, and acquaintances formed and developed.

The Tulsa Workshop has a reputation for offering good classes, and providing the opportunity for all attendees to participate in moving worship assemblies in the Pavilion.

Yet, Tulsa is about connection. Maybe the better word is reconnection. At Tulsa you have the opportunity to reconnect with God and with others who have crossed your path. And even though listening to speakers like Patrick Mead, Don McLaughlin, Rick Atchley, Mark Moore, Buddy Bell, and others is good; Tulsa is still about the people. In particular, the people who never teach a class or speak at a keynote session. Tulsa is about the people who walk the aisles in the Quik Trip Center (formerly Expo Center). The people who move from building to building to attend various Workshop events, and who will stop, talk, and reminiscence about days gone by.

God moves at Tulsa, but He moves through the people who gather. This is what makes Tulsa so special.

The Unforgettables

The Bulldogs entered Saturday's championship against Evangel knowing that to stay in the game they would have to play the best they had played all season.

Translation: protect the ball, rebound, solid defense, passing, and hustle.

They did all of those things.

Still, what they found when the buzzer sounded was not a championship, but heartbreak.

Yet, in the midst of the heartbreak is a group of girls who have become unforgettable.

In 1992, the University of Kentucky men's basketball team became eligible to play in the postseason for the first time in three years. The program had been decimated with scandal, subsequent NCAA penalties, and the departure of coach Eddie Sutton.
In 1989, coach Rick Pitino entered the picture and began to rebuild this once proud basketball program.

With the NCAA penalties came mass transfers, but Pitino convinced four players to stay: Sean Woods, Richie Farmer, Deron Feldhaus and John Pelphrey. These players realized that they would only have one shot to play in the postseason during their collegiate careers. And they still stayed.

In 1992 they entered the NCAA tournament again, cruising all the way to a March 28, 1992 showdown with Duke.

The gritty Wildcats had endured so much to get to this point. They had weathered the NCAA sanctions. Woods, Farmer, Feldhaus and Pelphrey had stayed in Lexington when it would have been easier to transfer. Now, it seemed that their struggle was going to be rewarded.

Until Duke hit a last second shot to win 104-103 in what many believe is the greatest college basketball game ever.

One shot broke the heart of an entire state.

So Woods, Farmer, Feldhaus and Pelphrey ended their college careers without a national championship.

Yet, they still left behind a legacy. Here is how veteran sportscaster Verne Lundquist described the aftermath of the 1992 Kentucky-Duke game: "Those Kentucky kids played their hearts out. They were devastated, but they showed so much class in the way they handled the loss. They didn’t make excuses. They didn’t blame anyone. They congratulated Duke and never complained. There was no way they could have known immediately they were part of what still might be the greatest college game ever, but I will never forget how classy those kids were. You remember games for a lot of reasons, but as great as that game was, those Kentucky kids were perhaps more gracious in defeat than any group I’ve ever seen,” Lundquist said.

The four seniors became known as "The Unforgettables."

Their dedication and example earned the enduring love of an entire state and an honor reserved for a select few.

C.M. Newton, Kentucky athletic director at that time, made the decision to retire each of these player's numbers. Today, they hang in the rafters at Rupp Arena as a reminder to all of what it means to love, respect and play the game.

"Today, our program is back on top, due largely to four young men who persevered, who weathered the hard times, and who brought back the good times to Kentucky basketball," Newton said.

I witnessed another group of unforgettables this past Saturday. The Bulldogs fought their way to the championship where they did battle with an Evangel team that had beat them by 13 points in their last meeting.

Yet, these seven girls left their heart on that floor. With two minutes remaining, they held on to a 6-5 lead. Their defense had stifled an aggressive offense and seemed to have set them up for victory. However, with less than a minute remaining, an Evangel player threw up a long shot that found its mark. The Bulldogs were unable to make a winning shot, and fell 7-6.

Still, they walked off the court with class. Though devastated, they did not make excuses or seek to place blame. They congratulated the other team, and left knowing they had fought hard, fought well, and fought to the end.

If I could retire each one of those girls' numbers, I would. I would hang them from the rafters of the gym where we practice as a testimony to what they did together.

Breanna Black, Hannah Brewster, Ashley Keel, Katie McKay, Rachel Shumate, Rebecca Shumate, and Mandy Sparkman -- you are "the unforgettables."

Thank you.

Sports Report

Congratulations to Drew Brewster and the Wolves for a good first season together. The boys worked hard, and even though they lost in the first round of the tournament, the future looks bright. Great job, boys!

Also, congratulations to the Bulldogs. The girls advanced to the championship game for the second straight year. They face a very tough opponent and are currently working very hard in anticipation of this match-up. Keep up the hard work, girls. I am proud of you (especially you, Hannah).

Thanks to Katie Hall for helping with practice yesterday. The girls were so glad to have you there!

Nothing Call

The call never came.

Listening intently, waiting expectantly, shuffling nervously and hearing nothing but the silence.

Deafening.

Watching the clock, staring at the stars, sitting in the dark and feeling the surrounding silence.

Shivering.

Taking issue with the obvious, but refusing to accept the fact.

Holding tightly to nothing, yet refusing to give any slack.

Nothing.

The call never came.

The voice was never heard.

The moment never changed.

Silence ruled the day.

And night came uninterrupted.

Great Guitarist Passes On

Sad news about a great musician. During the time of my first reconstructive knee surgery my Dad and I made many trips to downtown Pittsburgh, particularly to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. One day when we were leaving I noticed a sign promoting The Jeff Healey Band in concert at a local club. For a moment I thought about bugging my Dad to go, but just mentioned it in passing. Now, I wish we had gone.


TORONTO (AP) - Blind rock and jazz musician Jeff Healey has died after a lifelong battle against cancer. He was 41.

Healey died Sunday evening in a Toronto hospital, said bandmate Colin Bray, who was in the room with Healey's family when the guitarist died.

The Grammy-nominated Healey rose to stardom as the leader of the Jeff Healey Band, a rock-oriented trio that gained international acclaim and platinum record sales with the 1988 album "See the Light." The album included the hit single "Angel Eyes."

Healey had battled cancer since age 1, when a rare form of retinal cancer known as Retinoblastoma claimed his eyesight.

Due to his blindness, Healey taught himself to play guitar by laying the instrument across his lap.

His unique playing style, combined with his blues-oriented vocals, earned him a reputation as a teenage musical prodigy. He shared stages with George Harrison, B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Bray said he and many others expected the guitarist to rally from this latest illness.

"I don't think any of us thought this was going to happen," Bray said. "We just thought he was going to bounce back as he always does."

Healey had undergone numerous operations in recent years to remove tumors from his lungs and leg.

Bray and fellow bandmate Gary Scriven remembered their frontman as a musician of rare abilities with a generous nature and wicked sense of humor.

Healey's true love was jazz, the genre that dominated his three most recent albums.

His love of jazz led him to host radio shows in Canada where he spun long-forgotten numbers from his personal collection of over 30,000 vinyl records.

His death came weeks before the release of his first rock album in eight years.

"Mess of Blues" is slated for a North American release on April 22.

He is survived by his wife, Christie, and two children.