Russell Young: The Real "Most Interesting Man In The World"

I have fond memories of many preachers, living and dead, but elders have been some of my best friends.  On Friday, I received word that one of the first two elders to shepherd me as a full-time preacher died of a sudden heart attack on Friday, April 26.  He was 91.

Perhaps I have never met a more diverse and interesting man in my life.  He knew John Wayne and was friends with Alvin York.  He did archaeological work, and some of his finds are housed at the University of Tennessee.  He was Tennessee's middleweight boxing champion in his youth.  He ate lunch with J. Edgar Hoover and assisted him on numerous classified projects.  He was extremely well-read and as good a historian as any I have met.  He was manager of government communications in Washington, D.C., a post that helped him to meet and work with eight presidents (Kennedy-Bush I). He was a veteran of World War II and Korea, serving in both the U.S. and Australian armies in WWII and as a marine in Korea.  He fought in the Pacific theatre and spent time as a prisoner of war. In his career at AT&T, he helped to avert at least one serious international crisis with the Soviet Union.  He authored a book on the history of AT&T.  Truly, this just scratches the surface of his achievements in the world.

But, I did not get to see him in these venues.  He regaled me with story after story the first five years I worked as the preacher for the Cold Harbor Road church of Christ in Virginia, about some of these incidents, but I knew him as my elder, a man for whom and with whom I worked in Christ's vineyard.  His influence in the community led him to study with a man from whose conversion literally dozens more have come.  I sat in with him on other successful Bible studies.  He had a rare ability to plainly tell Bible truth to people in a way that convicted and persuaded, rather than angered, them.  He knew the flock.  He gently corrected those members in error and led them back home.  He led the congregation to lovingly, consistently practice church discipline.  He counseled with Christians and non-Christians.  He and Ann were as benevolent and giving as any couple I have known--who knows how many people they helped.  They were neither afraid of nor strangers to hard work, from work days to cleaning the baptistry monthly to helping the elderly and the sick.  If he ever missed a major surgery of a member, I cannot recall it.  He had boundless energy which he apparently used non-stop to the very end.  He established congregations in Australia and Virginia, and he was a major force behind the early growth of the Cold Harbor congregation. He served as an elder in at least two congregations.  

Russell Young was a Renaissance Man in the noblest sense of the word.  He symbolized what made his the "greatest generation."  But, he challenges us with his example.  If a country boy from the Sequatchie Valley of Tennessee could achieve so much in a long, full life, what about you and me?  The church can have great and numerous leaders to guide it to great heights, if there is a will within the men among us.  For now, those of us who knew Russell will long for the endless day of reunion with him in heaven!  Praise God for "mighty men" like Russell Young!

Let Us Praise!

Prayer is an area in which all of us can grow.  How beautiful it is to be led in prayer by a godly man who seems obviously seasoned in the practice of prayer!  If we are discerning, we can see some marks of a mature, developed prayer life.  While there are many characteristics of such, one has to be the practice of praising God in prayer.

David was a man who modeled effusive praise in his prayers to God.  The Psalms teach us praise through David's writings, and at least 25 of the 150 have been catalogued as psalms of praise (or one out of every six)!  Take just one of these, Psalm 40, and notice how David lavishes praise on God as he prays to Him.  The maturity of his prayer here is in stark contrast to some prayers, noted for the abundance of the requests and petitions while notably omitting praise to God.  

In Psalm 40, David praises God for deliverance (1-2), bringing joy (3), and His works (5). Though the middle of the Psalm is a petition for help, David cannot help but return to the theme of praise before he concludes his prayer.  I love the ending.  He says, "Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, 'The Lord be magnified!' But I am poor and needy; Yet the Lord thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God" (16-17).

May I encourage us, beginning with our personal prayer lives, to give forethought and be intentional in this regard.  Find ways and reasons to praise, exalt, and magnify God. Think of His nature, His power, His love, His concern, His majesty, and His holiness.  Tell Him how great He is!  See yourself in stark contrast to His perfection and sovereignty.  What will flow from that will not be a desire to be helped, but a gratitude that will show up in your prayers.  You will feel the need and desire to thank Him specifically and at length for all He has done, is doing, and will do.  

Let us be powerful people of prayer!  Let us praise!

Paralyzed, Disabled, & Stricken

Little 12-year-old Luca has muscular dystrophy.  As a result, he is extremely limited in what he can do.  In fact, the only movements he can make are very small, feeble motions with his fingers.  Because of his disability, Luca has often imagined himself doing things most boys his age are able to do.  One day he asked a photographer if there was any way to take photos which made it look like he was in motion.  The photographer came up with the idea of posing Luca on the ground, developing the scenes around him, and then taking the pictures from above.  Thanks to Luca’s imagination and some very creative photography, this boy was able to see pictures of himself riding a skateboard, shooting a basketball, break dancing, and even climbing stairs.  Take a look (Click Here For All Pictures):

What touching photos these are.  It is heart wrenching to think about how much Luca desires to do these things but is unable to do so.  There so are many in our world today who are paralyzed or are suffering with various kinds of disabilities and problems.  Many years and millions of dollars have gone into research to find cures and fixes for today’s aliments.

It is for this reason that verses like Matthew 4:23-24 are so incredible: “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.  The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them” (emph. mine).

No disease or physical problem was ever too much for Jesus.  He was able to heal every single person that came to him!  If this still happened today, people all over the world like Luca would be desperately searching for Jesus to be healed by Him.  While it is sad such cures are unavailable today, there is good news.  God is preparing a place where “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain” (Revelation 21:4).

No matter how large or small our problems are here, none of them will carry over into heaven.  Let’s make sure we are living according to God’s commands so we can partake in this wonderful prize!

"I've Got Something More Important To Do"

Neal Pollard

In John 4:7, the Bible says that a woman of Samaria came to draw water.  She met Jesus at the well and He taught her in such an incredible way that John 4:28 says, "The woman then left her waterpot" in her excitement to tell her neighbors about Jesus. In John 4:8, Jesus sent His disciples into the city to buy food. When they return with it in John 4:31 and urge Him to eat, Jesus seems to have lost interest in physical food in favor of another kind of food, His father's will and work (John 4:34).  In both cases, the physical interest was eclipsed by the spiritual need.

How unlike the woman and Jesus we can be sometimes!  A workday, service project, gospel meeting, fellowship activity, or involvement meeting is announced, but we rarely if ever participate.  Instead, we have prioritized earthly things over these.  We let our children miss church services for their sports, homework, job, or other activities, choosing or allowing them to choose the earthly over the spiritual.  Do we ever abandon Jesus for the water pot, the food, or some 21st-Century equivalent?

I am convicted that I have often chosen the earthly over the spiritual when I worry about this world and its distractions, when I neglect prayer and Bible study, when money and material things become too important to me, and when I am not actively seeking ways to serve Christ or save souls.  An occasional shortcoming that does not characterize me is one thing, but I do not want to become like those bread-chasers in John 6.  I do not want to resort to Christ when all else is falling apart in my life.  I want to make Him the priority of my life, letting Him fix what is broken in me and use me as a tool in His hand.  I want to see Christ's will as most important and say instinctively, "I've got something more important to do than 'work for the food that perishes'" (John 6:27). What about you?

The White (And Black) Tupelo Tree

Neal Pollard

The white tupelo tree grows in abundance only in the wetlands of the Florida panhandle and south Georgia ("tupelo" is a Creek Indian word meaning "swamp"). But, in the hands of the right beekeeper, those trees wed with honey bees to make some of the finest honey in the world.  It is "prized for its mild floral flavor, high fructose content and light amber color" (Stuart Englert, American Profile, April 7-13, 2013, p. 14ff). Bees are drawn to these trees that bloom in April and May.  Famed "tupelo honey" comes from the white tupelo tree.

But do you know about the black tupelo tree? Floridatupelohoney.com gives it almost footnote level notice on their website.  They say, "Black Tupelo, Nyssa Biflora, blooms in advance of white tupelo and is used to build up bee colony strength and stores. Black tupelo produces a less desirable honey which will granulate and is typically sold as bakery-grade honey."

Now, honestly, if you are a honey lover, which would you prefer?  A honey compared by some to "fine wine" that will not granulate or a bakery grade, less desirable honey?  It seems clear-cut.

But, do not miss the fact that without the black tupelo tree, there is no premium honey from the white tupelo.  The black tupelo is vital to the survival of the bee colony which eventually yields the more delicious kind.  Black tupelo bloom first and fortify the bees for the task of gleaning nectar from the white tupelo and generating that expensive, prized honey.

Consider a very specific analogy from this example out of nature.  In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul makes the point that God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired" (18). He says "weaker members" are necessary (22) and those deemed less honorable and less presentable are still given special treatment (23).  Each part is dependent upon the other.  No member can say, "I don't need you."

Some members are more visible, more audible, and seemingly more honored.  Yet, they are not one whit above those members less so. In fact, no one in the body can survive without the rest of the body.  God made it that way. Nothing worthwhile can be accomplished without the beautiful cooperation stemming from everyone's contribution. The world cannot benefit from the salvation of Christ without all of us doing our part.  The church cannot thrive without each of us producing according to our abilities. God cannot be honored without every foot, hand, eye, and ear playing his or her part.  May we never forget that!