I Want

Ok, I agree with my wife and kids. I may be a bit hard to shop for.  It’s not that I have risen above materialism, but I can’t really think of much that I desire from the mall. So for those curious about my “wants” on this my 58th birthday, here is a partial list (off the top of my head) –

I want my children and grandchildren to know how much God loves them and how beautiful and gifted they are.

I want everyone in my family – near and far – to become more radically committed to Jesus and his mission of love in the world. This includes me.

I want to pray with someone today as they say yes to Jesus and enter the family of God.

I want churches in Orlando, Birmingham, Starkville, Oxford, Tallahassee, Charlotte, Hattiesburg, Lexington, Nashville, Knoxville and Tampa to begin transforming hospitality ministries to the Chinese scholars God is bringing to their communities.

I want to laugh more.

I want to be a better lover of people.

I want peace and deliverance from pain and worry for my dear mom and other family members.

I want my “son” Runner (China) to find the love of his life and continue to grow as a mighty man of God.

I want to go to heaven, and to hear the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

I want to dance… probably just in heaven.

And I want my fellow June 17-birthday-buddies to have a wonderful day.

• Rivers Rutherford, my favorite country music writer/performer and dear brother in Christ
• Mitch Schrenk, my Orlando buddy and a source of great encouragement and laughter
• Larissa Lam Chiu, my sister in California that is one of my favorite worship leaders/song-writers

Thanks for all the birthday greetings. Pray that all my wishes will be fulfilled.

Cotton and Family

In addition to love, several things tie my family, the Loftins, and Carolyn’s family, the Covington’s, together – Mississippi, the Christian faith, the Mississippi State Bulldogs and King Cotton.

Until recently I have not paid much attention to cotton or the role it has had in my life. I pray that these notes and my photograph (taken near my mother’s hometown of Thomasville, GA) will be threads that better connect our family with our heritage, and bind us closer to each other.

Picking cotton by hand in the South was a very hot, tiring and laborious task. The sack was approximately twelve feet long for an adult male. A good picker could pick 350 pounds a day, four to five sacks full (www.cottonginmuseum.org/Museum). The first attempt to develop a mechanical cotton picker was in 1850. The first horse-drawn cotton picker was used in 1905. Mechanical cotton picking began to be practical in 1943, but the use of the machines did not begin to spread until the 1950s.

When Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1794, American farmers began to notice that cotton plants produce far more seeds than fiber. With each 100 pounds of fiber, the cotton plant produces approximately 155 pounds of cottonseed. The first cottonseed mill of any commercial importance was built in 1834 in Natchez, MS. The number of cottonseed mills in the U.S. rose to a peak of about 900 just prior to World War I. Since that time there has been a steady consolidation. At the present time there are less than 30 mills in operation (National Cottonseed Products Association).

Jack L. Loftin and Cotton
Jack Layfette Loftin (1920-2008) grew up on farm in south Mississippi that grew cotton among other crops. This was a farm, not a plantation. There were no slaves, just fourteen children. As one of the youngest, daddy didn’t have to endure as much cotton picking as his elders, but he had vivid memories. He loved to tell me about how big and heavy the cotton sacks were, how hot it was, and how scratched up he would get. I think these tales were meant to inspire me to work hard and never complain.

Today the Loftin family still has a connection to cotton. Collier and Bea Lovelace Tillman still grow cotton on their land around Slaughter, MS. Due to the generous estate planning of H.E. Covington and others, proceeds from the cottonseed business helped Ashley, Jonathan and Memes in countless ways, including education.

John E. Covington and Cotton
John Ellis Covington (1927-2008) spent a major portion of his life in the family business, Mississippi Cottonseed Products Company. Cottonseed crusher G. W. Covington bought the Jackson, Mississippi mill of the American Cotton Oil Company in 1923. Three years later Covington, John Perry, and other Mississippi crushers and bankers formed the Mississippi Cottonseed Products Company (MCPC), which then owned thirteen mills with eighty-three presses. By 1930 MCPC and nine other companies with a total of 178 mills owned about 45% of the cottonseed crushing business in the USA (Cinderella of the New South: A History of the Cottonseed Industry by Lynette Wrenn). With much sadness in the Covington clan, MCPC was sold in 1981. John was directing the mill in Kennett, MO at the time.

John became a banker, but his first love was always cotton. I remember numerous times when he would look at the shirt I was wearing and ask, “Is it 100% cotton?” He abhorred poly-cotton blends.

Longing and Thanksgiving
My daddy grew up farming cotton, and John worked with cottonseed for over three decades. I have wondered what memories flooded their minds as they rode by cotton fields throughout their lives. Today I rarely see a field without remembering my father and my second father. I miss them both. As I drove past a field last fall, I heard myself say aloud, “I’d love to hear another story about cotton.” I allowed myself to cry a bit, but I was smiling. I thanked God for these two men. I thanked God for heaven and reunions. I thanked God for cotton. And I thanked God for what cotton will always represent: hard work, family and cherished memories.

In loving memory of Jack L. Loftin and John E. Covington.
Written for my wife and children as part of our 2010 Christmas celebration.

Uncomfortable Dilemma

Let me make some assumptions about you the reader, and then pose a situation for you to consider – a moral dilemma.

Most readers of this blog have chosen to follow Jesus. You are eternally thankful for the grace of God demonstrated in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. You have confessed your sins and asked for God’s forgiveness, according to the sacrificial act of Jesus on Calvary. The Spirit of God abides in your life and gives you power and direction as often as you listen and yield. You love God, and on some level want the world to know the transforming love of God.

Most readers also love their parents, siblings, spouse, children and grandchildren… or whatever “family” they hold to right now.

What if…
Imagine that you and two other people are in a confined space with no hope of release, rescue or escape. The threesome includes a family member that you greatly love, a stranger and yourself. You and the family member have a clear and growing relationship with Jesus Christ. The stranger has adamantly declared that he/she is not a Christian.

The powerful person responsible for your confinement suddenly makes you aware of pending doom. All three of you have been exposed to a deadly toxin. There is one dose of antidote. You alone are responsible for administering the antidote. It cannot be divided or shared. It must be administered in the next ten minutes or all will die.

Who will live and who will die? And why? What does your choice and rationale suggest about your values?

On this Memorial Day, I am thankful for those who gave their lives in military service for the USA. I give thanks and pray for those families that are remembering mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, sons and daughters.

A Mother’s Voice

Sully, our yellow Lab puppy, is 5 months old. He is 95% wonderful – affectionate, obedient, funny, etc. But his love for other dogs causes trouble. If he sees another dog and I don’t have a good hold on his leash, off he goes. His passion for four-legged friends makes him ignore the danger of crossing the street as well as my urgent commands and pleas. This drives me crazy.

Mothers know something about that feeling of desperation. After years of prayer and training, mothers ultimately watch their children run off according to their own passions.

Today I honor three mothers – Sarah Davis Loftin, Carolyn Covington Loftin and Ashley Loftin Gilland. God used and is using their faith, knowledge, life experience, prayerful sensitivity and undying love to provide guidance for their children. Like other children, I listened at times, but sometimes my passions made me run headlong, foolishly. Sorry Mom.

Although only God is characterized by perfect love, these mothers have shown their children unfailing love. Their love has involved patience, forgiveness, pain, joy, celebration, prayer and hope. Their love has honored Christ.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers and potential mothers! May all your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and beyond remember your voice and the voice of the One you follow.

Faithful Lovers

Weddings are full of emotion. As I stood by Jonathan (my son) last Saturday, tears came flooding in at several points. I could feel the eyes of Ashley and Meme (my daughters), but I knew better than to look in their direction. With Herculean effort, I stayed somewhat composed.

There were many intense moments in the service for this “best man.” When beautiful Mary Ashton stepped out from the rear lobby and made her way down the aisle to stand with her groom. The tender exchange of vows. The music. And there was an unexpected exhilaration as Pastor David read the Scripture.

I have attended and performed about two hundred weddings, and many of them included a reading of I Corinthians 13, “The Love Chapter.” But this time was different.

Yes, the chapter pertains to the love of husband and wife. And, yes, it is a challenge for all our relationships. But I had missed a broader and perhaps more profound application.

We all know that love is not primarily an emotion. It is an unconditional commitment characterized by tangible actions on behalf of others. But when we connect I Corinthians 13 with the parable of the Great Commandment (Mt. 22:37-40) and the Great Commission (Mt. 28:19-20), the Love Chapter becomes far more than a wedding text.

If I am not finding ways to use the resources God has entrusted to me (energy, time, finances, prayer, influence, etc.) to communicate and demonstrate God’s love to those who are not aware of God’s grace, then all my religious activities are in vain. They may be well intended, but if my prayers, worship, stewardship, and Bible study are not accompanied and flavored by a participation in God’s mission in the world, I am not faithfully loving Jesus.

Pray that we will all be “faithful lovers” for the glory of God and the good of the world.

Listen to this song, People of God by Michael Gungor; I think its lyrics relate well to these thoughts.