Mother
I appreciate the many kind and thoughtful notes, calls, and email messages concerning Mother’s serious fall during the spring and the two surgeries that followed, for the purpose of removing the blood that had built up in her brain. I want to update you on the remarkable recovery that she has made for someone who is 91 years old. Her mind is alert, and she can walk, though it’s safer for her to use a walker. She even went to church with me on Sunday morning here in San Angelo.
She wanted badly to continue to live where she has for the past 48 years – in the home that my Currie grandparents built in 1935. But my sister and I felt that it would be too risky.
So, last week, Mother moved to Baptist Memorials in San Angelo, where she has a one‑bedroom apartment and will continue to live alone, as she desires.
I continue to be deeply impressed by the ministries of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Randel Everett, BGCT executive director, spoke recently in San Angelo and talked about these ministries – specifically, about how Baptist hospitals provide over $1 million PER DAY in charitable medical care. He spoke of the hundreds of thousands of children helped by our children’s ministries. He also highlighted the great work being carried out, on over 120 university campuses, through Baptist Student Ministries.
I have toured the retirement ministries in Amarillo and San Angelo and have been amazed to see what Texas Baptists do for persons who are in the twilight of their lives. Whatever my Mother needs from now until I preach her funeral, I am confident that Pat Crump and the staff at Baptist Memorials can and will provide with love, concern, and quality – all in the name and spirit of Christ. I find that tremendously comforting and feel deeply grateful and proud to be a Texas Baptist.
So, the next time you hear someone recommend that your church align with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC), please ask them to answer the following questions:
- For how many children does the SBTC provide care?
- For how many elderly people does the SBTC provide care?
- How much charitable health care do SBTC hospitals provide every day?
- To how many students does the SBTC minister on Texas Baptist university campuses?
To each of these questions, there is the same simple answer: NONE.
Moving
Mother isn’t the only one who’s moved recently. Loretta and I have just gotten moved into our barn apartment. And you know what? I think I like it. I’m a barn sort of guy!!!
Music
Sticking with the “M” theme, let’s move on to music. Loretta and I sneaked out to hear The Eagles in concert, and it was a genuinely spiritual experience for me. Yes, I know what some of you are thinking – God surely does work in mysterious ways. But I teared up when they sang Desperado, and I want this song played at my funeral.
Matt
Then there’s Matt. Matt who, you say? Matt Cassel, that’s who. This is a wonderful story. Matt Cassel started at quarterback Sunday for the New England Patriots. What is remarkable is that this was the first game he had started at quarterback since 1999, when he was a junior in high school. That’s right! He never started a college game. In that time, he wound up on the bench behind two Heisman Trophy winners and a three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback. Some guys might have given up, thinking they would never get a chance to play. But Matt Cassel never gave up, never stopped believing in himself, and now he’s starting in the NFL for the defending AFC champions. What a tremendous lesson he’s taught us about never giving up on your dream.
Modern Technology
Finally, a word about modern technology – which does not always seem very modern. On September 5, our email program crashed at the TBC office. All last week, I got no email at all – until Friday afternoon, when I got over a thousand email messages, most of which were junk email. Over the weekend, I got 551 more – again, all but about 15 were junk. Besides that, I lost all of the email messages I had received since the middle of February.
So, if you have emailed me in September and received no reply, please re-send it. I’m not ignoring you; your message is probably just lost in the middle of all that junk email. If you can’t get through to my TBC email address, feel free to email me at ddranch7@hotmail.com. The bottom line is – I don’t want to lose touch with all of you faithful friends and supporters. So please stay in touch. You’re what keeps this ministry going, and I always love hearing from you.
We plan to send out a TBC membership newsletter, containing pre-Convention information, in early October. But please don’t wait for the newsletter to make your reservations for our annual TBC Breakfast at the BGCT in Fort Worth. We’re excited about having Randel Everett as our speaker in his first year as BGCT executive director.
To make reservations for our Breakfast, which will be held at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, November 11, please email carolscott@txbc.org (you can cc me at ddranch7@hotmail.com as well).
As always, thanks for your support of TBC, your prayers for Mother, and, especially, your faithful support of the BGCT.