A Crushing Reality

It must have been a horrific experience. Some 50,000 people jammed together for a concert in Houston. Eight never made it out.

By now, I trust you have read the accounts of the deadly Travis Scott event called Astroworld held just over a weekend ago. It seemed a bit more real to us in Chicagoland since two of the victims were from Illinois. One of them graduated high school just a few miles from my home. Perhaps I passed him sometime at a store. Or sat in the same movie theater.

What’s surprising is perhaps that we are surprised at the outcome. In a Washington Post article titled, “Astroworld concertgoers struggle to make sense of what happened,” we learn how Travis Scott events attract a certain risk-oriented concert-goer. Note this:

“Hathim Khan and his friends had been looking forward to Travis Scott and his Astroworld Festival for more than two years.They wanted to experience the raucous atmosphere and “raging” mosh pits that Scott’s shows were famous for…’I wanted to lose my voice,’ said Khan, 21." He had flown to Houston with friends from Orlando for Scott’s concert.

Said a 22-year-old friend, Jesse Marcano, “I was ready to break a leg.” And Khan replied, “If I broke a leg, it was going to be a good thing.” Chiming in was Liselle Sanchez, 21. “Yeah, we would have made Travis proud.”

In a later story from WaPo, we read the testimony of Cynthia Lira. This 20-year-old woman was knocked to the ground during the concert and thought she would die. In the crush of people, under “a strata of bodies, everything sounded muffled to Cynthia—as though she were in an underground tunnel. The only color she saw was darkness.”

She would later compare this experience to being in a “sinkhole.” Several seconds before, she heard Travis Scott tell the crowd to “move side-to-side.” She instantly knew what was next: a massive wave would topple her. Sound like fun? Sounds like terror.

Instead, Cynthia claims a calm realization came over her—the reality that as a 20-tear-old, she could possibly die right there, crushed at a concert in Houston. Cynthia lost consciousness, and everything went black. By God’s grace, she has lived to fight another day.

Another boy who died was a mere 14. He also was a fan of rapper Travis Scott.

Okay, I admit. I don’t get it. I’ve never really been much of a concert goer. My first was a Peter, Paul, and Mary event when I was in 8th grade. That was at McCormick Place in Chicago. As you might expect, the crowd was civil. The trio faced a much bigger and boisterous crowd at the Peace March in Washington, DC, in 1971.

I would later attend an Ike & Tina Turner Revue concert in Seattle in 1970. Once the lights went dark in the auditorium, a gush of folks rushed forward for better seats. If anyone died at that event it’s because they ingested something they shouldn’t have.

Crowds tend to scare me. Because I know people. If self-interest in any form is at stake, people act out of impulse.

I guess I’m more perturbed about the fascination and dedication to “artists” like Travis Scott. I’m sad that the 14-year-old who died – and the many others in his age group – find the lyrics of Scott appealing. Beauty is not to be found in this rapper’s songs.

Most churches don’t have to worry about big crowds. Except for hyped special events. And, there too, the crowds can get ugly.

Jesus of Nazareth faced crowds everywhere in His day. I’m sure there were instances of unruly behavior. Hero worship does that to us.

On one occasion, Jesus had an enormous crowd. At least 5000 men plus women and children. It’s recorded, “Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.” Matthew 14:19 (ESV)

That’s Jesus. Giving us food for the body. And leaving our souls satisfied.

Travis Scott left a crowd dazed. And confused. A crushing reality that also left eight dead in its wake.

That’s Forward Thinking. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?

For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com

Articles of interest:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/11/07/astroworld-victims/

https://www.westernjournal.com/horrifying-scene-deadly-concert-video-shows-crowd-begging-rapper-stop-continues-singing-amid-chaos/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=AE&utm_campaign=can&utm_content=2021-11-07

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/11/11/astroworld-survivor/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F354244a%2F618d50409d2fdab56b84f48f%2F596a91f7ade4e20ee3737115%2F42%2F72%2F618d50409d2fdab56b84f48f

Vetting Our Support

I would imagine this will be a more challenging upcoming Veterans Day for many families. There was something blatantly uncomfortable about the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. For 25 American families, the return home came in the form of a casket.

For many who served in this southern Asia land, it may have felt like defeat. Like America turned its tail and ran. Rebekah Sanderlin, the wife of a U.S. Army vet said, "There are a lot of veterans who are grappling with: ‘Was it worth it? Were all of our sacrifices wasted?’" Her husband was deployed to Afghanistan up to seven times!

The costs of trying to salvage peace in that country were high. More than 2,300 Americans were killed and 20,000 wounded in the 20-year war. It’s estimated the U.S. spent around $2.26 trillion in the Afghani war for freedom. Who can even count that high?

A Pew Research survey was conducted August 23-29 – before all American troops had left Afghanistan. At that time, apparently 52% of military veterans said the U.S. decision to withdraw troops from the country was the right one. Some 47% disagreed.

I’m old enough to remember Vietnam. In fact, I was drafted during that conflict. But I chose to enlist—and avoided the service branches sending ground troops to Vietnam. The Army and Marines who served saw the most action and the most fatalities.

More than 58,000 American service members died in Vietnam. More than 150,000 were wounded. Many men who served in Vietnam and survived witnessed unspeakable horrors.

Returning home had its own trauma. The website history.com cites the example of Steven A. Wowwk, an infantryman in the Army’s First Cavalry Division. He was sent to Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, in early January 1969. By June, Wowwk had to receive advanced care.

While en route to the hospital by bus and strapped to a gurney, Wowwk and other wounded servicemen gazed out the window.They could see civilians stop to watch the small convoy of hospital-bound vehicles. Said Wowwk “I remember feeling like, what could I do to acknowledge them, and I just gave the peace signal.” He was given the middle finger in return.

Wowwk and his returning mates had invectives hurled their way. Naval officer Ford Cole remembers being spit on. Returning Vietnam vets were not met with celebratory fanfare, and few benefits, unlike an earlier generation.

Times have changed. A different American spirit emerged after the Gulf War of 1990-1991. Then, we witnessed flag-waving, yellow-ribbon cultural mobilization, and the grand celebrations. Vietnam vets were stunned. There were actually people cheering the return of soldiers.

Post 9/11, we’ve witnessed other patriotic gestures. Most notably, people saying, “Thank you for your service” to ALL who have served. American flags and pins are more noticeable.

The theme for Veterans Day 2021 is: “Honoring All Who Served.” All veterans make a sacrifice to serve their country, whether physically, emotionally, or by being away from their loved ones and missing important life moments. We can honor our military personnel by showing appreciation for their service and praying for their safety and for their families.

Mr. Wowwk is now 100 percent disabled from his Vietnam wounds. He appreciates the words of thanks he gets. But he also adds, “Deeds need to be done in addition to words.”

Sounds almost scriptural. James 2:14 reads, “Another person might say, 'You have faith, but I do good things.' Show me your faith apart from the good things you do. I will show you my faith by the good things I do.” (GWT)

Thankfully, many benefits for vets have been added since the days of Vietnam. Once again we see in this, actions do speak louder than words.

Wowwk asks, “What are you doing in addition to saying ‘thank you’?”

He asks a good question. Worth reflecting on this upcoming Veterans Day.

That’s Forward Thinking. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?

For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com

Articles of interest:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/08/15/war-veterans-families-afghanistan-united-states-government/8143821002/

https://www.history.com/news/vietnam-war-veterans-treatment

Coming Up Short

It was our basic monthly employee lunch last Friday. A trip to Culver’s. And I had a free birthday sundae coming. Oh boy.

Surprise! Three orange cones blocked the entrance. What? Another maintenance problem? (They closed the dining room in the summer when the air conditioning failed.) Nope. Blame it on another worker shortage.

Frankly, it’s getting kind of ridiculous. Even restaurants that are open are cautioning patrons about expectations of good (or at least fast) service. Fewer workers means longer waits for water, beverages, food, and even your bill.

Did I say expectations? Micheline Maynard wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post recently telling us all to “get real.” Her words, “Across the country, Americans’ expectations of speedy service and easy access to consumer products have been crushed like a Styrofoam container in a trash compactor. Time for some new, more realistic expectations.”

Micheline takes us back in time to earlier examples when we found ourselves wanting. In the 1920s, housing was in short supply. It’s odd that Detroit was one of those cities since it wasn’t too many years ago that you could buy a house in a certain Detroit neighborhood for around $1.

The second World War sucked our economy dry of a lot of our basic materials including shoes, metal, paper, and rubber. The only practical solution was to establish a rationing system. That’s exactly what the federal government did. Tires were the first of products to be rationed in 1942. Gasoline was rationed in May of that year.

I have lived through a gasoline shortage. It’s recorded that the first of the 1970s gas panics began in October 1973. That’s when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) raised crude oil prices by 70 percent. And boy did we pay!!

A few months later—in 1974, I was driving from Indianapolis to Minnesota after broadcast school ended. It was a Sunday morning. I had half a tank of gas. No problem. Plenty of stops along I-65. Which there were—only every gas station was closed or had signs saying, “No gas.”

Finally, exiting in the city of Chicago in a place I likely should NOT have been seen (and might have never been again) I found an open gas station with a line a half a block long. We waited. I filled. I vanished faster than one of my neighbors being invited to church with me. Yeah…I remember those days.

But this is different. We actually HAVE plenty of able-bodied workers. Yes, the pandemic has contributed to part of the problem. So did that absurd unemployment benefit policy by the fed. But beyond this, we are living in a time some experts are calling the Great Resignation.

That term was apparently brought to our attention by an associate professor of management at Texas A&M University named Anthony Klotz. He has identified four main causes for the many work departures: 1) a backlog of workers who wanted to resign before the pandemic but held on a bit longer; 2) burnout, particularly among frontline workers in health care, food service, and retail; 3)“pandemic epiphanies” in which people experienced major shifts in identity and purpose that led them to pursue new careers and start their own businesses; and 4) an aversion to returning to offices after a year or more of working remotely.

I honestly believe a day of reckoning will come. Mass frustration in a free economy forces creative solutions. We may not like them. And many may pay the price for refusing to work.

Proverbs 20:4 states, “If you are too lazy to plow, don't expect a harvest.” (CEV)

Yesterday was Halloween. Perhaps our biggest scare this year is that we may not get all we want when we want.

But here’s a life lesson: we never do.

That’s Forward Thinking. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?

For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com

Articles of interest:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/10/18/dont-rant-about-short-staffed-stores-supply-chain-woes-try-lower-expectations/?fbclid=IwAR2GISZ1_q2HuKu2_pPqG1EtN3Pby-wL0lOhuTR528eUYlCSTAc3DQwo07w

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/09/30/during-great-resignation-workers-refuse-accept-unacceptable/

It’s Viral

I had to make two health related decisions earlier this month. One involved the flu shot. The other, a third Covid vaccination.

May I say up front I have never cared for being sick with the flu. And I have no interest in being invaded by those ugly appearing spikey Covid thingies. They put the fear of God into millions already.

You can’t really run from it though. Or hide. The “flu bug” and coronavirus know how to seek. When the big Covid-19 scare of 2020 began, we were scrubbing down everything and putting our Target shopping bags in the garage for two weeks to make sure they were safe. But no more.

We also now seem to believe that social distancing only applies to doctors' offices, hospitals, and a few other rare types of business. Obviously it doesn’t apply to football stadiums on Saturdays and Sundays. Or concerts. Or Trump rallies. (Apparently they still have those.)

I think we do wash our hands more. And sanitizer dispensers can be found most anywhere. Even the smell of sanitizer scares off viruses.

But do the immunizations really work? Joe “I want everyone to have the jab” Biden believes so. Mr. Hold-my-finger-up-to-the-wind” Anthony Fauci is on board. But half of America isn’t sure.

I went ahead and received the flu shot. My wife thinks it’s a waste of time. But for now I said no to the third Covid vaccine. I know I’m an at-risk person.

Risk. You want risk? Get on the Dan Ryan or Stevenson expressways on a Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend. It ain’t pretty.

You know what else is risky? Going to work!! I read an article a while back about workplace warriors who show up and share their germs. The New York Times reported that, “Charles P. Gerba, a University of Arizona microbiologist, placed a (harmless) tracer virus on the front-door handle of an 80-person office. Within four hours, he found the virus on more than half the workers’ hands and more than half the common surfaces.”

Gerba claims the presence of hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes in key public areas in the workplace reduced the number of infected surfaces by 80 percent. Now we’re talkin’!

Have you ever put your kids in school or daycare when they have any or all of those signs of sickness? Plenty of people do. Guilt does not stop them. Covid has made this a much greater concern. Kids are often the super-spreaders.

Here’s something people don’t think about. The workplace diseases not so easily treated. Selfishness. Greed. Lust for power. Corruption. These are sicknesses of the soul and require much deeper attention.

Jesus of Nazareth once said, “Healthy people don't need a doctor, sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” Mark 2:17 (NLT)

Flu-like symptoms may only need bed rest and fluids. The sin virus needs the Master’s touch. For a healthy workplace, I recommend treatments for both.

I’m also on a daily aspirin regimen. This helps me “Bayer one another’s burdens.”

That’s Forward Thinking. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?

For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com 

Yesterday

I have a birthday coming up. A BIG birthday. The big “7-0.”

IF all works out, I plan to be in Carlsbad, California, with family as this memo is released. The state has many memories for me. Married in Sacramento. All three of our children were born and spent several years growing up in northern California.

In particular, I love the coastline of California. Highway 1 is among the most scenic drives in the United States as it winds through Monterey and down to southern points of the state. Gorgeous views of the ocean from various heights highlight the drive.

Just before my heart surgery in 2005, I was on a business related trip to Los Angeles. I took time to find a scenic walk along the ocean. I reflected that as much as I loved the experience, it was perhaps the last time I might see it. God had other plans for me. I’ve returned several times.

As I hit this birthday mile marker, I’ve become increasingly aware of a truth found in Psalm 39 (among other places). It reads:

“O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing[a] they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!” Psalm 39: 4-6

That reminder of “fleeting” time caused me to reflect on my “yesterdays.”

• Yesterday I was a small boy living in Seattle walking with my father to the nearby Carkeek Park on a Saturday morning.
• Yesterday I was playing Little League Baseball in Richfield, Minnesota, and watching the Twins play in nearby Met Stadium.
• Yesterday I learned that God has gifted me to speak and debate and it gave me a sense of purpose.
• Yesterday (1968) I would awaken on a Saturday morning to learn my treasured father had died. “Well before his time…” said so many.
• Yesterday I was forced to grow up when a screaming boot camp sergeant jarred me out of sleep and into military reality for four years.
• Yesterday I entered the world of media and became the TV sports personality on American Forces Radio and Television in Iceland.
• Yesterday I met the beautiful Rhonda Sawyer in Sacramento, California. We dated and eventually married. 
• Yesterday I held the first of my three children—experiencing life anew. Marshall, Adam, and Ingrid are all reminders of how precious life is.
• Yesterday I would meet two men while working in Grass Valley, California, who would greatly influence my life: Chuck Gratner and Glenn Murray.
• Yesterday I would find sweet fellowship in Grass Valley and Roseville (California), Dallas, and Pittsburgh with groups of men we called “fellowship groups.” Many of these friendships continue to this day.
• Yesterday (2005) I discovered I had diabetes. Quintuple bypass surgery would come along quickly and I joined the “zipper club” by God’s grace.
• Yesterday, after twenty years on two Chicago radio stations, I was told my services were no longer needed. I hold no grudges. No win doing that.
• Yesterday my church offered me a leadership position that enabled me to continue using that with which God has entrusted me.

Among my “yesterdays,” I discovered a Bible verse that King David knew to be true. I claim it for myself. Psalm 138:8…”The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me. Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not abandon (give up on) the work of your hands.”

In all my yesterdays, the steady hand of God has guided and protected me. Even in the toughest times.

Seven decades of life. And the call remains to follow Jesus. It was just yesterday that He gave me life.

That’s Forward Thinking. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?

For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com

Is “Them" Us?

I must first admit I do not understand the transgender mind. Or that of cross-dressers. Or the myriad of other variations of how people seek to rewire human sexuality.

To some, that would immediately discount what I am about to share. Their response might be something like, “You’re right. You DON’T understand.” And there is some truth in that.

On the other hand, I do have a rather long and experienced history of watching humanity drift into what THEY don’t understand and accept it as “normal.” In the process, souls are dragged into various stages of confusion and often depression. But not as a result of those speaking truth.

In May, singer Demi Lovato announced to the world that she is “non-binary.” In her own words, from a video posted on Instagram. "Over the past year and a half, I've been doing some healing and self-reflective work. And through this work, I've had this revelation that I identify as non-binary. With that said, I'll officially be changing my pronouns to they/them."

Some of us need a little more explanation. So Demi is saying that identifying as nonbinary "best represents the fluidity I feel in my gender expression" and also "allows me to feel most authentic and true to the person I both know I am and am still discovering.” Who knows where this discovering may end?

Becoming “they/them” is kind of an in thing. No doubt, Lovato’s announcement to her millions of fans will likely lead some to reconsider their sexual identity. They will help us all become more confused.
Regarding gender transformation, consider the words of wisdom from Wesley J. Smith, an author and a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism: “It is astonishing how the transgender moral panic has swept actual science aside,” Smith wrote in National Review. “... Rather than permit people to have their records changed, as happens now in all but two states—and to accommodate the potential future subjective, emotional desires of the very few—the objective biological reality for the many (in all but an infinitesimal number of births) must be sacrificed.”

The murky waters get murkier when we who don’t drink this "Kool-Aid" are asked to play along. This sometimes involves threatening actions by organizations if you fail to refer to these souls by their chosen pronouns. An example is what we learned in September about a policy at a university in Pennsylvania.

Point Park University likely claims to believe in tolerance. But their student body all received an email from the school's Office of Equity and Inclusion highlighting its Misgendering, Pronoun Misuse, and Deadnaming Policy. Campus Reform was able to get a copy of the correspondence which states, “any individual who has been informed of another person’s gender identity, pronouns, or chosen name is expected to respect that individual." If a complaint was filed then “action could be taken.”

Like what? Student Government President Dennis McDermott said he wasn’t sure, but felt it could reasonably be assumed that any violation, which in this instance applied to misgendering, misuse of pronouns, or incorrectly using someone’s deadname when you are aware of their preferred name and pronouns, could result in "a similar action to any act of discrimination against students on campus.”

Perhaps the school should review the findings of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Over the summer, these justices upheld a lower court ruling ordering the reinstatement of a northern Virginia gym teacher who said he won't refer to transgender students by their pronouns. The VA Supremes defended the teacher on free speech grounds.

I’m not good with calling people “they/them.” Or any other pronoun malfeasance. I might try, “Hey you.” Or, “Person in the third row 2nd from the back.” Forgive my rebel attitude.

What would Jesus do? I can’t speak for Him. At one point, He reprimanded the Pharisees for establishing rules of their own game for others to follow. He said, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!” (Made up rules) (Mark 7:9, NIV)

The pronoun game does not deserve our respect. Clear thinkers must take us back to that which is rational and right.

The battle seems to be on between “us” and “them.”

That’s Forward Thinking. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?

For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com

Articles of interest:

https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/michael-foust/ama-urges-removal-of-sex-from-all-birth-certificates-there-is-no-clear-standard-for-deciding-a-babys-sex.html?utm_source=ChristianHeadlines%20Daily&utm_campaign=Trending%20Now%20-%20ChristianHeadlines.com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=5150123&recip=553416298

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/31/1032929550/virginia-teacher-transgender-pronoun-supreme-court

God’s Love Language

I chuckled a bit when I saw this headline in Christianity Today: "Gary Chapman Doesn’t Know He’s Famous." There are possibly a few well known Gary Chapmans. There was the one who was married to Amy Grant. A few who have been arrested or served prison time. But if you simply do a Google search on that name, the New York Times bestselling author of The Five Love Languages—THAT Gary Chapman— is about all you see.

In the world of authors, I’m pleased to say I’ve had the joy of knowing several bestselling writers. There’s Kevin Leman who has made quite a living off of finding common birth order traits. There’s Jerry Jenkins who, along with Tim LaHaye, developed and wrote the immensely popular Left Behind series.

When I say these authors are successful, I mean mega-successful. Gary Chapman’s books have sold in the millions. The same for Jerry Jenkins. Kevin Leman must be up pretty high as well.

I’m a published author myself. A book I wrote for men sold just over 5,000 copies. I was thrilled. At print time, I had no delusions of grandeur.

Most self-published authors, it’s reported, will sell around 250 books or fewer. A Huffington Post article a while back claimed that a book selling 25,000 copies is described as “sensational.” So, yeah, Jenkins and Chapman are in the sales stratosphere.

According to the CT article, The Five Love Languages sold 8,500 copies its first year. Twice that amount the next year. By year four, it sold 137,000 copies. Thirty years later, Gary’s writing on love languages has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide!

How remarkable is this? CT reports, “Only six other evangelical books have reached the 10 million mark, including Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life (30 million), Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling, and Bruce Wilkinson’s The Prayer of Jabez.” Wow.

And yet, Sir Chapman doesn’t know he’s famous. He’s been on network television. On Oprah. Written up in papers like the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

I’ve been with Gary Chapman on several occasions. He’s as comfortable to speak with as your best friend. So what does it take to avoid the natural pride that accompanies great success? A true, honest sense of humility. And where does Gary Chapman find that? In the person of Jesus Christ.

The apostle Paul was on his journey to fame. But God radically changed his game plan. And in doing so, Paul learned to embrace humility. And here’s how he instructs true people of faith to live: 

“In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus. Christ himself was like God in everything. But he did not think that being equal with God was something to be used for his own benefit. But he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born as a man and became like a servant.And when he was living as a man, he humbled himself and was fully obedient to God, even when that caused his death—death on a cross. So God raised him to the highest place. God made his name greater than every other name…” Philippians 2:5-9 (NCV)

I believe this is what keeps Dr. Gary Chapman centered. He told the CT reporter, “When I wrote the book, I wrote it intentionally with non-Christians in mind.” He chose a writing style that avoids “psychology or theology terms.” Instead, his instruction is “based on a universal concept: the need to be loved.”

You owe it to yourself to read the CT article on Gary Chapman. (Link below.) It explains in detail his roots and his devotion to his faith. Despite millions in book sales, he continues to serve as a pastor. It’s all about priorities.

A well known Southern Baptist missionary, Lottie Moon, left a grave stone message for all to read about being ‘faithful unto death.” Dr. Gary Chapman cited it in agreement saying, “God, that is what I want. ‘To be faithful unto death.’”

Could it be humility is God’s love language?

That’s Forward Thinking. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.

You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?

For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com

Articles of interest:

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/october/gary-chapman-secret-fame-five-love-languages.html

https://www.amazon.com/Chosen-Have-Called-You-Name/dp/1646070208

https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/publishing-guide/chapter-4-more-proposal-detail/estimated-sales/