In a post appearing in this space last week, enLighten’s Marlin Taylor shared a message regarding his decision to step down from the position he has held as the channel’s Chief Shepherd since its birth nearly nine years ago.
As you’ll read … it’s not about full retirement, but simply stepping back from day-to-day management of the channel. Unless the Lord has other plans, he’s not planning to walk away from Southern Gospel and enLighten … and you may well still hear his voice on the channel for quite some time to come. If you haven’t yet done so, please take a minute to read.
A Pastoral Word . . .
We’re pleased to bring you another inspiring message from Reverend Mark Adams, Senior Pastor of Redland Baptist Church in Rockville, Maryland:
In the Dallas, Texas, area publication … D Magazine, Michael Mooney shares this, “The Most Amazing Bowling Story Ever”:
“On any given night at a bowling alley in America, you might find someone who has bowled a 300, a perfect game. A good bowler on a hot streak can roll 12 consecutive strikes. For a competitive bowler, however, the “holy grail” night is a perfect series—three consecutive perfect games. A 900. In the history of bowling, there have only been 21 perfect series.
A couple years ago Bill Fong was three rolls away from just that—perfection.
On a January 18, 2010, league night at the Plano Super Bowl, Bill Fong had rolled 33 consecutive strikes. The crowd of fellow league members stopped to watch, as on frame 34, Bill Fong gathered his ball, walked up, and rolled another strike. And then he rolled another on frame 35, and the crowd went wild. But something was wrong. Two frames back Bill had begun sweating profusely and feeling dizzy. But he was just one roll away from history. Bill pulled the ball to his chest, took his usual five steps, and released the ball perfectly. People actually started applauding before the ball reached the pins. That’s how perfect the roll was. It curved exactly where it was supposed to, made contact with the pins at precisely the right spot. Pins flew, the crowd cheered. And the number 10 pin wobbled, but settled back onto its base. Standing. 899. One pin short of perfection.
Heartbroken, Bill headed home. The dizziness that began on frame 34 had not improved. Bill staggered into his bathroom and threw up. The walls continued to spin. Bill was having a stroke. Already struggling with high blood pressure, the events of that Monday evening turned a delicate situation into a deadly one. But Bill never realized he had suffered a stroke until he had another one later. His doctor found scar tissue, and was told about the league night. Apparently, the only thing that saved Bill on the night of the 899 was that number 10 pin staying up. If that last pin had fallen, Bill’s doctor feels certain that his body, already in the midst of a stroke, would have pushed his blood pressure even higher. That, most likely, would have killed Bill immediately on lane 28. What felt like the worst thing that could have happened turned out to be the very thing that saved Bill’s life.”
As you look back over your own life, can you see a time when “a pin has not fallen” a time when, you know now, God was at work? At the time you were disappointed and wondered why God would allow this bad thing to happen, but now you look back and see that God does indeed, “…work in ALL things for the good of those who love Him.” (Romans 8:28)
I have experienced several “standing pins” in my own life and each of them encourage me to trust God more deeply, acknowledging the fact that He always knows what is best for me. My own “standing pin” experiences make me proclaim, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!” (Romans 11:33)
© 2013 Mark Adams
A-men and A-men!
