My wife said –and she shops at health food stores often– that just because someone buys organic bananas (I’m paraphrasing) doesn’t meant that they care about the environment.

So, that led me to this post today. What is our responsibility, as a Christian, to the environment?

What does God have to say about us taking care of the only planet He’s given us? Do you think He cares if we pollute, litter and tear down all of the trees? Are we culpable for the problems we create? Somewhere inside of me is a resounding YES trying to verbalize itself.

At our home church my wife realized they don’t recycle, anything. We have giant meals with hundreds of people and all of the plastic, Styrofoam and aluminum goes right straight into the dumpster. I’m proud of her because she has started the process of getting a recycling mentality into our church’s leadership, at least to whatever level she can.

There are people in our church who have downsized their cars, but was it for fuel economy or environmental concerns?

If you know me, then you know I’m not a tree-hugging, liberal, save the spotted owl, kind of guy, but I do think there is a responsibility we have to God and each other to be good stewards of what God has given us, mainly Earth.

So, if you aren’t recycling at home then start now. In fact, tonight. If you notice your church is being bad stewards concerning resources then speak up, respectfully of course. Let’s see what happens.

If you listen to the Democrats, we are all broke and the country in going to hell in a handbasket. If you listen to the Republicans, the Democrats will make the country broke and bankrupt us morally. It looks like either way, if you listen to them, we are screwed.

So I started thinking today about whether my life is really as bad as everyone tells me it is. I have job security, a loving wife and two beautiful little kids. A mortgage that isn’t going to default, a belief in God that isn’t going to fail and a marriage that isn’t on the rocks.

But then I started to think, I spent a lot of time in the car today, about all of things I have been able to do in my 35 years. We all have a list of things we want to do before we die. But when was the last time you made a list of things you were able to do if you died tomorrow.

So, here is some of my list:

I’ve watched the sun set in Key West and the sun rise in Paris

I’ve prayed at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and been to the Sea of Galilee when a storm was brewing

I’ve been to Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida in the same week

I’ve been scuba diving on a Dutch Freighter at night in Aruba and in a cavern in Florida

I’ve been to the top of the Eiffel Tower and the Grand Canyon

I’ve been to Chicago, L.A., Miami, New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston, St Louis, Dallas, Phoenix, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, D.C., San Diego, Baltimore, Las Vegas and hundreds of other smaller cities.

I’ve led worship in the Dominican Republic, Panama, Belize and Israel

I’ve spoken to groups in 4 countries

I was there when both of my boys were born

I’ve driven a bus in the Dominican, a Jeep in Aruba, and a tiny little car through the desert in Israel

I’ve ridden horses on the beach and through the woods

I’ve taken a canal boat tour through Amsterdam and Paris

I’ve been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Louvre in Paris

I’ve flown a plane solo (Cessna 172)

I’ve volunteered after a hurricane and served food at a homeless shelter

I’ve ridden a hundred miles on a bicycle in 6 hours

I’ve seen a big manta ray come up out of the sand, a 125 ft down in the Atlantic

I’ve caught a billfish, a wahoo, a tarpon, a cobia, a shark, and a dolphin in the Fla keys

I’ve been lobster diving

I saw an alligator jump out of the water and eat a baby deer

I’ve been hunting in the Everglades

I shot a 300 lb boar and had it mounted

I’ve been on the beach at dusk with my wife and little guys

I’ve been on a 16 hour car ride with an infant

I’ve been out of the country 14 times

I’ve been to Baseball Games at Yankee Stadium and in Baltimore, St Louis, Anaheim, Cleveland and Atlanta

I went to a professional wrestling match

I’ve spent a week in Vegas, twice, and only lost $5.50

I’ve been in an elevator with Drew Bledsoe and watched Mark Harmon film a T.V. episode

I’ve been the dumb hick who was lost their first time in New York

I’ve been the first to walk through the sheep field at Central Park after a hard snow (Heidi was there too)

I’ve jumped off a small cliff into the Pacific Ocean to save my wife and a student (God ended up saving them, I didn’t)

I’ve been to the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame

I’ve sailed in a boat race in February

I met Mickey Mantle and got his autograph (1987)

I stood outside and watched, from Naples, Florida, as the Challenger exploded in ’86

I and my wife have taken our 3 year old to Peru

I survived a 5 hour layover in Peru with my wife and 3 year old

I’ve played guitar in front of 800 people and for an audience of One

I’ve had the joy of doing a lot of these things with the love of my life

I’ve been used by God to minister to people through words and music

I’ve been humbled after seeing God use me to minister to people through words and music

I’ve made lots of friends and very few enemies

I’ve been given a wonderful family, both immediate and in-laws

I’ve seen a friend become a Missionary to the World

I am currently watching my 2 year play with our dog

I am looking forward to the next 35 years.

I have been blessed beyond anything I deserve. I encourage anyone who reads this list to make one of their own. Look back and count the blessings.

UPDATE (1):

I was at the ’82 National Championship Game in Miami. Clemson beat Nebraska

I was at the 1987 Miami-South Carolina game in Miami when that famous fight broke out

I was pulled over by the police in Israel and let go because I couldn’t understand them. (I think I ran a red light)

I’ve seen my 3 year give out food and drinks to kids in a poverty stricken area of Peru
I’ve watched as he played and colored with other kids in a country where everyone looked and talked differently (on a 3 year old, that can be hard)

I was given a bracelet by a border patrol agent who works the Panamanian/Colombian Border in the Darian Jungle. We were in Panama at a church service and I prayed that God would protect him and family.

I’ve been down Rodeo drive and Park Avenue

I’ve ridden on the subway in New York, Montreal, London and Paris

I’ve been on trains in the US, Amsterdam, London, Paris and Versailles

I’ve been passed, going up a steep hill, by a tour bus on our way to Mosada in the Negev

I’ve woken up to 6 inches of snow while hiking in the Pisgah National Forest

I’ve gotten lost, with my dog, while hiking in the Pisgah National Forest and had to lower that poor girl down a waterfall (only about 12-15 ‘) with a rope.

UPDATE (2): August 2011:

I’ve watched as my little shorty (1 and 1/2 year old girl) grows up before my eyes and becomes prettier each day

I’m watching my boys become more and more independent and more like me and their mother

I’ve preached to groups of men in prisons in Mexico and Panama

I rode on a motorcycle with a Jungle doctor through the streets of Managua, Nicaragua

I’ve assisted a medical team (as a fledgling interpreter) in Nicaragua

I’ve led worship in Spanish in 6 countries (including the U.S.)

Click Here to post your list of things and read the list of things my blog readers have done.

Click Here

We hear pastors rail on the evils of society (drinking, drugs, etc…) but how many speak on taking care of our selves when it comes to food and exercise? I am in South Carolina. Every church outing or meeting has Krispy Kreme and/or something fried. Most of the time, both. Now to his credit, my senior pastor has spoken about diet and exercise and he takes great care of himself. But does he represent the majority of church leadership?

Four years ago my blood pressure shot up and wouldn’t go down. The doctor told me to change what I eat and exercise or I may not be around long. I was 32 and not overly big, but much bigger than I should have been. And I was eating fast food and living a sedentary lifestyle. But I didn’t realize it. I had always been active and in good shape. Somehow over about a 4-5 year period it crept up on me. It never really occurred to me that what I eat made a difference.

But luckily I married a very health conscious Jersey girl. She didn’t even know food could be fried, and still doesn’t. But we were married 4 years before I ever caught on to what she was saying. Because I travel around town a lot I would eat out all week. I finally had a “come to Jesus meeting” with myself (after the doctor visit) and made some changes, slowly but surely.

I starting cycling about a year and half ago and it has made a huge difference in how I feel but also in how I feel about myself. I no longer see myself as lazy and out of shape. I have a long way to go, and my blood pressure hasn’t changed much even though I’ve lost over 25 pounds, but I’m getting there. (I’m 5’8 1/2 and was at 223 lbs. when I went to the doctor) To me it is as much to do with stewardship of this body God gave me as it is living long enough to see my kids grow old. (which I know is no guarantee, but I don’t want to die of something I could have prevented)

Both of my dad’s parents died of heart attacks in their 60′s and my dad, 60, had a heart attack earlier this year. I want to break that generational curse.

What is the role of pastors and church leadership, (pastors, Sunday school teachers, deacons, etc…) when it comes to stewardship of our bodies? Is it something we should be teaching? If so, how about the example we must set? What are some ways we can creatively engage our congregations or classes in healthy studies in exercise and nutrition? It seems more and more people want to eat healthier but don’t know what proper nutrition is. It’s not a matter of healthy vs. non-healthy, but what in the world does healthy mean?

With the obesity levels growing every year, and our children being offered more and more reasons to stay in doors, now is the time to actively seek the heart of God for our health.

For an excellent article on pastors and obesity read this blog by Perry Noble. (This is the second of a 2 part series. You should read the first part to hear his story. It is from the heart)