Beta Roomate Makes Good

Brother Mike Campbell, one of my Beta house roomates at Ole Miss in the late seventies, has made it on Wall Street. Wall Street, Algood, Tennessee, home of Trinity Assembly, of which Mike is Pastor. Here he is pictured with the exact same smile I remember. Of course, we were up to no good much of the time, me spitting Copenhagen, him Red Man.

Mike was a natural leader in college and cared deeply about his faith. I remember many arguments we had about faith (those were the days of Jimmy Swaggert, as I remember it). But Mike was convicted, and I got to see the summer and fall of his conversion. Our mutual friend and Beta brother "Rabbi", now a banker in Jackson, was a part of Mike's genesis into his current calling. I'm sure his beautiful wife, Jada, was also. Jada was your typical stunning, dark haired Louisiana belle.

Remembering....Mike was a groomsman at my wedding in 1980. I was a bartender to his brother Pat's. Mike was a fraternity football quarterback. I was one of his receivers. Mike's mother and father reminded me a great deal of my own. I lost my Jesuit High School class ring in the lake near Mike's home in Greenville, MS.

We're all proud of you Mike! It was good to see you in the Grove years ago. In -kai-, my friend:

Here's Mike preaching to his flock, copied from his church's website, www.trinityalgood.com.

Here I am sitting on my porch, listening to the birds and enjoying a time of relaxation with the Lord. There is nothing like a morning like this -- the day is fresh, the air is cool, and the sky is blue. What more could you ask for? As I sit here and reflect on God and His goodness in my life, I cannot help but remember back to when I was a teen.

We were living in the nation of Turkey. It was a great experience traveling around the country and seeing all the historic sites where the Apostle Paul travelled and preached on some of his missionary journeys. I was probably too young to truly appreciate it all, but it was still a great experience for my family. What I remember the most, while we were in Turkey, was that almost every weekend my parents would open our home to other service men and their families for good old fashioned barbeques and hospitality.

There was nothing like it when my dad would get out his homemade grill and light the fire. The smoke and flavor of the cooking would fill the air. I can almost taste it now. We kids would always ask who was coming over and most of the time it was people we know and who’s company we enjoyed. Sometimes there would be new people included who had just moved to the base.

The military had a program that assigned a family living on the base to a new family that was just moving in. They would try to match these families by interest or by job assignment. It was always interesting to meet the new families. Sometimes they had some nice looking girls who would be the right age for my brother Pat and myself. We would sponsor this family and it would be our responsibility to help get them acquainted with other families, the base, and its programs.

Likewise, God created us to be with Him but to also enjoy fellowshipping with each other. Nothing beats a good cookout where you have delicious food and great conversation; and when I was a kid, these were great times. Old friendships were renewed, some of the funniest stories were told on each other. It was a time where our families just played games and enjoyed each other’s company for afternoons on end.

I miss those times in my life. I don’t know about you but it seems sometimes as though life is moving at such a rapid pace that we don’t have time to host cookouts and get-togethers any more. And when we do host one, or get to attend one, there’s usually an agenda attached to it. You know what I mean, like a Pampered Chef or Avon party. Now don’t get me wrong, they have their place and can be quite enjoyable. But what happened to plain old summer fun? Summer has always been about vacations, cookouts, picnics, and being outdoors with others. They are what I looked forward to the most about summer.

The Word tells us to practice hospitality, and to enlarge our tents. When we invite “new” people into our circle of influence we are actually enlarging our tent and practicing hospitality. There is nothing worse than being a stranger at a new place. It’s always difficult if you don’t feel welcome you’ll not enjoy the experience of being in that place -- a place like Trinity.

It can be intimidating for new guests who are not sure where they should go, not really wanting to ask a lot of questions. Being hospitable is how we get to know new people and have them feel included in our Church Family. What better way of accomplishing hospitality than meeting someone new at our church and inviting them to a cookout and sharing an afternoon of fun. In my life, that it is what summer has always been about, and will continue to be.

Yes, I can taste the food now -- some good ribs, chicken, hot dogs and burgers. Wash it down with some cold iced tea or soda, it’ll loosen you up so you can enjoy some good company. This is something that we will, and need to do as a Church Family in order to enlarge our tent. It is always worth the time and effort and look at the memories it will produce. Oh by the way, don’t forget to eat some good cold watermelon, and top it all off with some good home made ice cream.

Summer, I sure am glad it’s here!