The Big Brother I Never Had

       The following excerpt is from the end of chapter one of my book, Mornings with Larry. I named the chapter Scared to Meet You, Larry because whenever I arrived to work each morning as Larry Browning's caregiver, I was confronted with the reality of his very hard life. At times, Larry's trials were hard for me to grasp because

Mornings with Larry can be purchased on Amazon:
 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HNQKB1L

of the relative comfort of my own life. I had difficulty reconciling my existence with his existence. This excerpt is my attempt at understanding my amazing brother in the Lord, Larry Browning. May you be comforted as you face your own difficulties and the fears/anxieties that accompany them.  

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Scared to Meet You, Larry

       When we imagine the difficulties of being severely disabled, the obvious physical restrictions come to mind. We couldn’t run, walk, throw balls, read, write, watch movies, feed ourselves, blow our nose, fish, hunt, drive, etc. Think of your favorite activities. A blind quadriplegic person probably can’t do them, or needs assistance doing them.
I asked Larry what he considered the hardest thing about his condition.
“I think loneliness is probably close to the top,” he said. “It takes away being able to do things with your spouse—like work or sitting on the couch and enjoying watching something together. I’m here by myself because Ann has to keep the yard up, maintain the house, the flowers. So a lot of times I’m just left alone. I sleep a lot, but other times I’m left to listen to the television. Basically, MS has changed the relationship with my wife from being my partner to being my caregiver. And that in itself brings a lot of loneliness.”
It surprised me that loneliness would be one of Larry’s biggest struggles. It seemed to me the worst thing would be the claustrophobic frustration of not being able to move—that “buried alive” feeling. And Larry does find that awful. But even worse is the isolation he feels from not being able to participate with others in activities that require movement or sight.
“It affects every relationship,” he says, “your relationship with your wife, your children, your friends—because all you can do is sit and talk. You can’t go down the river and fish, or go for a walk or anything.”
Loneliness.
Larry loves fellowship. He describes himself as a people-oriented pastor. His ministry involves relationships, first with God, and then with fellow human beings. Prior to the disease, he led an activity-oriented social life. Whether taking a friend down the river in his drift boat or playing church-league softball, Larry often interwove physical activities with relationships.
But now he just sits. When people visit, he talks and listens.
There are positives in all this. Although Larry detests sitting in a wheelchair twelve hours a day, he enjoys back-and-forth dialogue with others. He has the rare gift of being both a good speaker and a good listener. Larry actually asks me questions about my boring life—and listens to my long answers. He remembers the names of my nieces and nephews, and knows details about their lives. Now that is something.
“When I interact with other people,” he says, “I think less of what I’m going through and instead focus on where they’re at. It gives me an opportunity to pray specifically for their needs. Of course, I’ve always been a people person and I enjoy interaction with people.”
He finds conversation even more enjoyable if it involves a road trip. Food and fellowship at restaurants are always a treat for him. We often have breakfast at a local restaurant with a small group of Christian brothers. The camaraderie—and endless refills of coffee—energize him.
I’m glad I stretched myself and telephoned the Brownings on that summer day in 2009. My apprehension was unfounded, and I made an incredible friend. Larry and I talk about nearly everything—whether deep, surface, or over the edge. We’ve had our share of discussions about theology and Christian life. I suspect he’s more candid now than when he wore the pastoral hat. Larry’s many past adventures, whether wholesome or unsavory, always involved people and relationships. I’m thankful to play a part in his latest journey.
He’s the big brother I never had.

Good Noozers are Political Targets, but That's Not the Point!

Whether or not it was 80%, I'm not sure. But it's certainly true that the majority of Evangelical Christians voted for Donald Trump in 2016. This makes Evangelicals a political target for both the left and the right. The left aims fiery darts of shame at us (yes, us includes me). The right also has us in their sights; they see us as a useful political block of voters. So, like it or not, Evangelical Christians are thrust into the political game. Because of this, every Evangelical needs to develop a foundation of truth about who they are at the core. This way they can put politics in its proper place in relation to their faith.

My book Mornings with Larry can be purchased through
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HNQKB1L

When we are opposed to the beliefs of a certain group, we tend to paint a grimmer picture of them than actually exists. I think Evangelical Christians have been misjudged and wrongly defined by the opposition. So, it's my goal in this post to offer a more accurate description and definition of Evangelical Christianity. My focus will be on the Biblical definition.

What about this word Evangelical? Why even use it? Shouldn't I simply call myself a Christian? Well, sure, it is true that I am a Christian. The Bible refers to Christians as saints, believers, loved by God, the elect, called, the church, brothers and sisters in Christ, little children, those sanctified, body of Christ, His workmanship, household of God, temple(s) of the Holy Spirit, heirs with Christ and in Ephesians 3:6, "...partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel." I could continue leafing through my Bible for other names for Christians, but I think it is clear by these Biblical labels that God loves and cherishes Christians.

But why modify the word Christian with the word Evangelical? I think it's a great modifier because it really gets to the heart of the Christian faith. The word Evangelical comes from the  Biblical Greek word euaggelion which means Gospel or Good News. So, it would be accurate to say that we are Good News Christians. You could even call us Good Newsies or better yet--Good Noozers.

So, if Evangelicals are Gospel Christians, then what is the Gospel? Is it a political word? Well, if you think Jesus was political, then sure, it's political. But it seems to me that Jesus eschewed politics and was more concerned with issues of the heart. King Jesus said His kingdom was not of the Earth. Rather, His Kingdom was and is in Heaven.

I'm happy to be an Evangelical Xn

The Gospel is first and foremost about Jesus: who He is, what He has done and what He continues to do.

In Romans 1:1-4, Paul describes the Good News as "...the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power...." So the Gospel is about Jesus, who was human (David's descendant)  and divine (Son of God).

In verses 16-17, Paul continues to define the Gospel, "16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith.'”

Paul describes the Good News as "...the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...."  Then, Paul says that in the Gospel, "...the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith...."

What is this Gospel righteousness? In Romans 3:21-25, Paul explains what righteousness is, "21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith."

This passage describes the work of Christ. We receive the gift of righteousness, not through works, but through faith in Jesus' work on the cross. We all have sinned, but can be justified by grace through faith. Jesus was a propitiation, which means that He bore the penalty for our sins. His blood was shed for us. We can receive this gift of righteousness (also known as right standing) by believing in Jesus, who is the heart of the Gospel.

So, hopefully I've explained the Biblical definition of an Evangelical (Good News) Christian. We are not political at the core, as some would believe. Rather, the person and work of Christ defines the heart of an Evangelical. Blessings.

Larry Browning: My Boss

       When you deeply respect your boss, then your job becomes much more worthwhile and perhaps enjoyable. That was definitely the case for me when I became Larry Browning's morning caregiver. It was not an easy job. There were a lot of details I had to learn; and the work of caring for a man suffering from quadriplegia was not a joy in and of itself. However, Larry as a person, was a joy to work for.
       The following excerpt from my book, Mornings with Larry: Life Lessons from a Man in a Wheelchair, describes my first few days as Larry's caregiver. I hope you're blessed by it. The book is available through Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HNQKB1L

Mornings with Larry is available through Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HNQKB1L

* * *

Excerpt from Chapter One:

Scared to Meet You, Larry

 

       On day one, Ann introduced me to Evan, my trainer for the next two mornings. That first day, I simply observed him. He began by filling a small plastic container with about a dozen pills and pouring milk into a small glass.
We entered Larry’s bedroom, where he lay on his back on a hospital bed, his upper body inclined about forty degrees. He was awake and smiling.
“Morning, boss,” said Evan.
“Morning, Evan,” said Larry. He looked at me with his still-functional right eye. “How you doing, Tom?”
“Alright, Larry,” I said. “How about yourself?” Oops. That was my first mistake. A few weeks later I would learn that it bothers Larry when people greet him with questions such as, “How you doing, brother?”, “How’s it going?” or, ahem, “How about yourself?”  Sometimes he’s tempted to give a testy answer, such as, “How do you think I’m doing?” However, his verbal responses are always polite.
“Pretty good,” he answered me.
The greetings ended and I observed Evan as he performed the seemingly endless tasks required to care for a quadriplegic person. I had no idea all the details involved—and they needed to be done in the correct order. Squeamishness was the least of my worries.
By the end of three hours, Evan and all other caregivers on planet earth had won my respect. How would my forty-nine year old brain ever remember all this stuff?
On day two, I worked and Evan directed. Sure enough, I remembered little. Evan coached me through the routine, much of which involved learning how to properly move Larry’s body. Upon waking, he had to be moved, via a Hoyer (a crane-like lift), from his bed to the shower, then to the wheelchair. After breakfast, he needed to be raised from his wheelchair onto the therapeutic standing frame, where he stood for thirty minutes before being lowered back into the wheelchair. Fighting gravity is not easy.

Larry at the Roseburg VA,
being interviewed by me (April 2011)

     All this movement meant that poor Larry had to endure this newbie inefficiently shifting/jerking him all over the place. In the middle of it all, he and Evan got into a lighthearted debate over whether or not Larry was dead weight.
“Believe me, boss,” said Evan, “you’re dead weight.”
“Nah,” said Larry. “I’m live weight.”
At the end of day two, I reluctantly said goodbye to Evan and never saw him again. I was on my own.
Evan did great as a trainer, but I wanted a few more days with him. I felt ill-prepared to care for Larry by myself. That night I couldn’t sleep. I began day three sleep-deprived, overwhelmed and full of doubts about whether I could do the job.
Fortunately, Larry knew the routine better than anyone, and for the next several weeks he coached me through the sequences, reminding me every time I missed a step. To this day, Larry reminds me when I forget things—such as connecting the urine collection bag to the catheter. You don’t want to forget that.
More than two years have passed since those first training days, and I’m still a bit scared to see Larry each morning. To encounter him is to be confronted with his hard life, a life that’s incomprehensible to those who are healthy. To understand my brother fully would require that I lose the use of my arms, legs—and eyes.
In Larry’s words: “Being handicapped is something that—until you’ve experienced it—you really know little about it. I never would have been able to relate to someone in a wheelchair without having been in one myself. I know people who’ve spent a day in a wheelchair, and they have discovered the difficulties, but again, it’s nothing like being confined to a wheelchair for life, because there is no hope at the end of the day that I’ll be able to get out of this.”
Most nights, Larry sleeps well, but occasionally he experiences insomnia. Nobody likes to lose sleep, but at least healthy people can toss and turn, get up, perhaps make a snack or read for a while.
Larry likens a sleepless night to being buried alive. “I feel like my body is a casket; I’m inside it and I can’t get out.”
Certainly there’s truth to the saying: “You can’t really understand a man until you’ve walked in his shoes.” But in reality, we don’t walk in each other’s shoes. In every relationship there will be gaps of unknowing mixed with areas of common ground. But even if we can’t always relate, sometimes it’s just nice to hang out and enjoy each other’s mysteries. And Larry has mastered the art of hangin’ with people.

SOAP from Romans 10:13-17

Denise and I have been sticking to our church's two-year Bible reading plan. I'm in a small Life Group that discusses the Bible readings from that week. Each person shares for about five minutes a verse or section of scripture that stands out to them. We follow the SOAP method of journaling/meditating on scripture.

My book, Mornings with Larry: Life Lessons
from a Man in a Wheelchair, is available
through https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HNQKB1L

S is for Scripture. "Write down a verse or passage that particularly spoke to you." 

O is for Observation. "What do you think God is saying to you in this scripture? Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and reveal Jesus to you. Paraphrase and write this scripture down in your own words." I might add an "I" for Interpretation here. That requires using your God-given brain--considering things such as context (how the passage relates to those verses that precede and follow it), word definitions and historical context. In essence, don't interpret an isolated passage out of context from the rest of the Bible. 

A is for Application. "Personalize what you have read, by asking yourself how it applies to your life right now.... Write how this scripture can apply to you today." 

P is for Prayer. "This can be as simple as asking God to help you use this scripture, or it may be a greater insight on what He may be revealing to you." Also, listen to God as well. Write it down.

My SOAP passage for tonight's Life Group is from Romans 10:13-17  "13 For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!' 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, 'Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?' 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."

I observe and interpret this section to be a step-by-step description of how people get saved. The apostle Paul uses questions that work backwards to explain the process of salvation. The final step in receiving salvation is to call "on the name of the Lord." In order to call, we must believe. In order to believe, we need to hear the gospel. In order to hear, someone must speak/preach the gospel to us. The preacher needs to be sent.

It seems to me that, in verse 16, obeying the gospel is the same as believing. But this is an active faith that results in a real transformation of one's heart, which results in life change and a change in one's view of the world. If no change occurs, then perhaps true belief didn't occur.

Verse 17 is interesting. It implies that the gospel is closely tied to the word of God. When we hear the gospel (the word), then the Holy Spirit creates saving faith in the hearer. So, when we share the gospel with unbelievers, we should also quote scripture now and then. The Bible is powerful.

How can I apply Romans 10:13-17? If I am to share the gospel, then I should know and arm myself with the gospel and word of God. How can I share something I'm not familiar with? Next, I need to speak the gospel to hearers. I'm not saying we should bash people over the heads with our Bibles. I think honest and open dialogue with unbelievers is part of the process of salvation. Hopefully the unbeliever will ultimately believe and call on the name of the Lord.

There's also "pre-evangelism". Many unbelievers are not yet willing to hear the gospel, but they may have rational questions and a willingness to dialogue. Christians need to be sensitive to where an unbeliever is at.

My prayer is that God will use me as a sharer (preacher) of the good news of Jesus. My prayer is that God will bring people into my life who I can either directly share the gospel (evangelism) or dialogue/answer (pre-evangelism) rational questions. I pray that God will instill saving faith in their hearts. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit empower me with the word of God as I read and meditate on it.

So there's my SOAP passage for tonight's Life Group. Now if only I can keep my time within five minutes. Blessings to you all.