In Memory of L.F. Cardenas

IN MEMORY OF L.F. CARDENAS---ONE OF THE KING'S MEN...

To all the other KING'S Men,

This past week I was in San Antonio, TX at the annual Tri-Synod Theological Conference. It's the annual gathering of clergy and AiMs to learn, connect and as our bishop Mike Rinehart said, "tend to our self-care." It was a good three days filled with both joy and a couple of heartaches.

On Tuesday, I was told by Pastor Steve Cauley (Advent, Houston) that "Mr. Cardenas was in the hospital and not expected to live." He told me this because even as I was never L.F. Cardenas' pastor, I considered him a brother and friend on this journey of faith we all share together. This news was echoed by Pastor Larry Beck the next morning and Saturday I learned that a celebration of Mr. Cardenas' life would be held today. So, I'm writing this note in his honor and to the glory of God during the time of the funeral of which I wanted to but could not attend.

It is a great thing that we do as Lutheran Christians. We do not worship our dead, but we take time to celebrate the lives of our family and friends and remind ourselves that "our day will come, too!" I did not know L.F. Cardenas well. But, what I do know of him will never be forgotten. I did not know where or when he was born. I did not know his wife or his family. I've never been to his home and I don't know what kind of work he did when he was younger. But, I did know that he was a quiet leader at Advent Lutheran Church in Houston and I did know that he had a bad heart and had surgery in years past. This "bad heart," though, was also a "great heart" and that is what I want to relay to you...

In the Fall of 2003 I shared an idea with the Lutheran men of this synod at a gathering at Redeemer Lutheran Church on Lawndale. About 3-4 congregations were represented. Mr. Cardenas was present. We had chicken and I recall the green beans were excellent! I met many of the leaders of men's ministry in our synod over the past 25 years. I and one other member of my congregation were the "youngest" ones there and the idea I shared was about having an old fashioned "father-son-grandfather" kind of gathering to raise money to purchase LMM Master Builder Bibles to give to younger men in our synod.

The idea was simple. Throw a party. Sing. Men can sing well when they are together! Eat a good meal. Have a great keynote address. Make it lasting as we DO something for others. It would take a lot of men to make happen and that night as I shared the idea, I said, "I'll do this; I'll try to make it happen, but as of right now...we have no speaker, no date, no place and no money." All agreed the idea was worth pursuing and over the next few months, it happened!

And here is where L.F. Cardenas comes in. As the Lutheran men left the gathering that night many of them shook my hand and encouraged me to 'get 'er done'... but one man came to me, did not even introduce himself but placed a tattered $10 bill in my hand and said, "here's some seed money for your project. Good luck." I thanked him and asked who he was and then went home with a spirit of great joy and hope. And I took the $10 bill and placed it in an envelope and tucked in my office desk drawer.

And so, with the help of many leaders in our congregations, the support of Bishop Paul Blom, and many other pastors in our synod along with some additional seed money in the form of a grant from Thrivent for Lutherans, we had an event...one that men still talk about and one that has yet to be rivaled...with almost 300 men in attendance represented by 3 generations and honoring our Jr. Hi and HS male athletes, then head coach Dom Capers of the Houston Texans gave a wonderful keynote address along with words of inspiration from LMM National Director Mr. Doug Haugen and with music from the Harbor Light Choir made up of recovering alcoholics and those with other chemical addictions. See the story on http://www.elca.org/ and click Lutheran Men in Mission to open the pdf file for "Foundations" Spring 2004 issue... We raised over $5000 via a silent auction of sports memorabilia and as they say, "a good time was had by all."

At that gathering I found Mr. Cardenas among the men from Advent church. I walked up to him with a big smile, reached in my pocket and pulled out a tattered $10 bill. "do you remember this?" I asked him. He smiled and didn't say a word. I went on, "See what your $10 got us? Thank you L.F., your 'seed' has blessed the lives of many!" He told me that he was glad to be able to do this and I was satisfied that his good deed was recognized and I thought that would be the end of it...not so...there's more...

As the evening was winding down and as people were leaving the Clarion Hotel on Hwy. 290, Mr. Cardenas approached me and was carrying a big smile as well. He grabbed my hand, and place what I perceived as another $10 bill with the words, "here, this is for your next banquet!" Then he walked away and as he did I turned my hand over to discover that the $10 bill was actually a $100 bill which led me to tears to think that there are those still in this church who have such a spirit of generosity. And then the miracle occurred...one that only God could have provided...

Now, the banquet hall was even less crowded, the hotel crew was cleaning tables and I told some of the men from my congregation of L.F.'s gift...Coach Capers was standing in that circle and heard the story and then reached in his wallet and said, "here, I'll match that $100! I had a great time tonight." And now you need to also know that Coach Capers came almost an hour before the event was to begin. He signed autographs, took pictures with fathers and sons and grandfathers and refused any kind of honorarium for speaking. "I only do this kind of thing 2-3 times a year, " he told me. While we were blessed by his words, obviously Mr. Cardenas' 'seed' had blessed Coach Capers too.

And that's my story. That's my encounter with a quiet yet generous man of God. And I suppose if you ask the men (and pastors) at Advent Lutheran Church on Pinemont in NW Houston they will tell you other stories of the quiet generosity of one L.F. Cardenas. And I know they will! That was not my last conversation with L.F. We have spoken several times since then and I will miss him at our annual synod men's gathering at Grace, Conroe this weekend. And I hope as many men in our synod as well as our pastors can come and give thanks to God for the life of L.F. Cardenas and all those who have helped shape the future of men's ministry in this synod.

One man at a time; no man left behind.

Brian

P.S. I have two $100 bills in an envelope. Anyone ready for another party?

SHORT THOUGHTS AND DIRECTIVES FOR FEB 2010

"SHORT THOUGHTS & DIRECTIVES FOR FEB 2010"

KING's Men, let's be quick about this...but let us be diligent...

THOUGHT # 1 - Our annual synod conference and gathering of men will be FEB 5 -6 @ Grace, Conroe. Thanks to the men at Grace and their friends at Tree of Life for working together to be good hosts...Cost will be $25 per person.

THOUGHT # 2 - This will event will be FUN, REFLECTION, TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS and POINT to the FUTURE...you should already have some info from the synod office to insert in your bulletins and FEB newsletters and e-mails to get this word out to the men in your church...

THOUGHT # 3 - FUN--for the men who arrive EARLY on Friday...they can go golfing or fishing...for quick info about times and cost...contact CALEB SHAW springmores@hotmail.com;

There will be a meal served in the evening for all participants...

THOUGHT # 4 --REFLECTION -- On Friday evening the men who have gathered early will share in a review of the moving, "GRAN TORINO" followed by a discussion and evening prayer.

On Saturday morning, Pastor Steve Cauley will lead a 30 minute worship service modelling, "Church for Men," and how that can be used to reach out to men in our ministry areas.

Other speakers and presenters for our assembly will be the men from Living Word LC in Katy and their "mission" story to the Lutheran congregations in Peru; DICK MOELLER of Water2Thrive will also share how men in our congregations can help with this ministry and hopefully, George and some of the men from First Lutheran in Galveston can share an update on how life on the island is...

THOUGHT # 5 -- BUSINESS -- On Saturday, Norm Smith, ELCA President for Lutheran Men in Mission will be our speaker. We will hold elections and take care of our synod business that day.

THOUGHT # 6 -- FUTURE POINT --- Our synod will host the 2011 Tri-synod gathering of LMM (Austin/2009; Waco/2007. We will want to choose a site for the that which will assist men from our synod as well as NTNL and SWT. July 2011 is also the year for our National LMM Gathering in Denver. Information on that is forthcoming.

Also, our synod has the opportunity to host a 1.5 day "Man in the Mirror" training to assist men, pastors and congregations in expanding and strengthening their vision for ministry with men...late OCT or the first weekend in November may work best...and I hope we can talk about that this weekend...

And as we all walk confidently deeper into 2010 I leave you with this prayer...

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.

Body of Christ, save me.

Blood of Christ, inebriate me.

Water from the side of Christ, wash me.

Passion of Christ, strengthen me.

O good Jesus, hear me;

Within your wounds, hide me.

Never let me be separated from you.

From the malignant enemy, defend me.

At the hour of death, call me;

and bit me come to you.

That with your saints I may praise you

forever and ever. Amen.

-Ignatius of Loyola

Now go back quickly and pray that prayer in the plural for all the men in your life...us and we...

One man at a time; no man left behind,

Brian

For more information...

Velon Burnett mvburnett@sbcglobal.com

Pastor Gigee brian@newlifelutheran.com

CHRISTMAS LESSONS FROM ST. NICHOLAS

WHAT LESSONS DOES ST. NICHOLAS TEACH US?

To All the KING's Men,

May the true message of Christmas find itself creeping up on you as the last Advent days wind down! I pray that you will take advantage of the 12 days of Christmas and use them to:

• Pray, giving thanks to God for life, family, church & the world in which we live and serve;
• Reflect, taking count of blessings and opportunities to share what has first given to us;
• Thank, using that time of reflection to make a list of those who have helped us along the way...in recent days and even in years gone by and then to actually...THANK them;
• Build Up, not being content with the way things are, but observe where and why life is the way it is and then chart out a plan to add on and build up that which is good...

And here's a bit of inspiration to carry you into the 12 days of Christmas...

Most adults are aware of the decades of the crossing of traditions of Pere Noel, Weinachtsman, Kris Kringle and Sinter Klaus in order to get to the jolly of elf we've come to call Santa...and some are even aware that much of the early traditions flow from the events recounted in the 9th century by church historians on the life and acts of Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in the 4th century. In our day, he is now known as St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra, a city in Turkey and today known as "Lycian." In fact, St. Nicholas's Church still stands in the ancient area of Myra dating back to the 9th C A.D. and built over the original church in the mid-500's A.D. His story remains a household treasure there and so allow me to share 3 things that I think St. Nicholas can re-teach the church of this 21st C generation...

1. GENEROSITY----Nicholas' parents died when he was young. His father was a merchant in Patera (nearer the coast) and with his parent's inheritance he went to live with his uncle who was a priest and Nicholas began studying for the priesthood. And one of the vows of a priest is to take on a life of poverty. Nicholas' actions here are memorable as he forged ahead.

He heard of a man who had 3 daughters of marriageable age but had no dowry to offer the father of a suitor. Over a period of time, Nicholas came by night on horseback tossing a bag of gold into the window of the man's home. Soon all 3 daughters were married and with the last bag of gold landing in a shoe on the kitchen floor, to this day, thousands of young people place their shoes in the kitchen of their parents home on DEC 6 (St. Nicholas Day) and find their shoes filled with "surprises" in the morning.

2. SPEAKING OUT FOR THOSE WITH NO VOICE ---- As Nicholas became a priest, it was by surprise that he became bishop! When the old bishop of Myra died, the area priests and bishops had a difficult time finding a suitable replacement. One of the bishops said to the others, I will go to the church tomorrow morning as it has been revealed to me in a dream, that the first priest to enter the church for prayer, named Nicholas, will be our new bishop. So, unbeknown to Nicholas, he went to the church in the morning for prayers and when asked by the old bishop, "what is your name?" He replied, NICHOLAS and the priest took him by the arm and led him to the others and announced, "here is the new bishop of Myra, Nicholas." And so he began his work.

At one time, two men were falsely accused of stealing money by the mayor of Myra but it was the mayor himself and two others who were in collusion for this illegal act. Word came to Bishop Nicholas that these two men were to be executed later in the day and as Nicholas went to see the mayor to confront him of this issue of justice, it just so happened that 2 generals and a large army were passing through Myra at the request of the Emperor. The generals did not know of the two men who were falsely accused and to be executed that day. But, when Nicholas showed up at the mayor's office (with the 2 generals and the army behind them) the mayor spat out the truth and the two men were freed. Many say, "God is funny..." but others say, "God is at work when faithful people speak up in behalf of those with no voice..."

3. HOLY RAGE ----in A.D 325, Emperor Constantine called a Council of church leaders, bishops and pastors to sort out all of the information going around about Jesus and the Church...much of which was confusing to many besides the emperor. Nicholas, bishop of Myra is said to have attended that meeting. He along with others believed that Jesus and the Father were of one substance, one person and equal to each other.

Also at that meeting was a fellow Christian and priest, Arius. He was insistent that as Jesus was born of a young virgin, and thus being human, he could not be equal to God the Father. Pastors are familiar with this moment in history..."the homoousian controversy" but as Arius was making his case, Bishop Nicholas got up from his seat and for all practical purposes gave Arius a shot to the face that was noticeable enough to get him kicked out of the Council of Nicaea for the remainder of the meeting.

You see, Nicholas did two things that were wrong...A) he struck a brother in the faith and B) he struck that brother in front of the Emperor which was REALLY against the law of the day...and as a result, Nicholas was stripped of his bishop's robes, and locked up under guard for the remainder of the meeting. However, when the Council finally formed it's statement of faith, the one we know as the NICENE Creed, Bishop Nicholas ruled the day as Arius was tagged 'heretical' in his theology, Jesus and the Father ARE one and he was given his robes back to return to his work in Myra and became in essence the hero of the Council of Nicaea. HOLY RAGE...something we hear little of these days...

Luther knew holy rage when he nailed 95 statements to the Wittenberg Church door. Martin Luther King, Jr. knew holy rage when he marched on Birmingham and Washington, D.C. Nelson Mandela knew holy rage and did so by quietly living out his time in jail only later to become his nation's president and an advocate of peace and cooperation amongst peoples. I think most of us can say, "we know it; but we don't see it that often..."

Aren't those good lessons and good attributes for our men's minstry? To show generosity for Jesus' sake; to speak out for those who have no voice and to lay claim to holy rage that all of us would remain discontented until every man's knees would bow and every man's tongue would confess that Jesus is Lord of their lives...

May you have a blessed 12 days of Christmas and do be on the lookout for detailed information of how you and the men in your congregation can take part in the 2010 Annual Gulf Coast Synod LMM Gathering...

One man at a time; no man left behind,

Brian