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Golf and Ministry - Is It Real?

6/22/2015

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Can golf and ministry be for real?

Can one's life be orchestrated from within their mother's womb?  By God?

One of the benefits and curses of a career Army officer is the constant movement throughout the world.  One can end up in a crappy assignment, like Eschborn, Germany in 1975 where the mud was deeper than some of the estuaries into the compound.  One can even end up in Glyfada, Greece just outside of Athens and just short of Sounion where Hemingway penned one of his books, I believe.

As I said it can be a mixed blessing.  The first thoughts when snagging an assignment like Athens, Greece looks like a birthday present from the Almighty, yet, when you have to fly from New York to Frankfurt, Germany in a completely packed military leased jetliner for 8 hours, get bussed over to the military side of the Frankfurt Flughafen, board a C141 with netting for chairs for your entire family, yup, all four of 'em and me, fly for another four hours in this incredibly uncomfortable, noisy and smelly Air Force cargo plane.  Then, land in Athens Greece at Hellenikon Airbase under armed guard and have to walk across the tarmac in the scorching heat with babies crying and wife grumbling and trying to keep a military comportment.  It just doesn't resemble the original picture of Retzina, Greek tavernas and island hopping on Greek ferries in a bathing suit.....

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That's what it looked like in 1988 when as a Major I was awarded this cherry assignment. In fact, I was assigned the tour in late 1986 and proceeded to spend months and months with and, then, away from my family for Greek Language School in Monterey California, Rotary Wing Refresher Training and Fixed Wing transition training at Fort Rucker, Alabama, DSAA Foreign Military Sales Training in Ohio and, finally, C12 Aircraft Qualification School in Andrews Air Force Base before taking the trek I referred to above. 

Athens is the 78th largest city relative to population, but has to be one of the top 5 polluted cities as evidenced by the way my clothes smelled each day I worked in the city.  In fact, it must also be one of the craziest cities for drivers as well.  It's just chaotic.  But, the Islands of Greece..... delightful!!

But, this blog is about seeking my passion and I just happened to have found it while stationed in Athens Greece in 1990.  I had become a serious Believer in Jesus Christ in 1981 and I was becoming more and more mature in my faith as I was regularly in the Word of God, attending chapel, working with the kids attending the chapel on Base and bringing up my family to honor and respect the Lord.

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I was looking quite far forward in my planning one day in 1990 when I was praying as retirement was just a short 4.5 years away.  I clearly remember asking the Lord if there was anything that might lie out there in the world back home that could involve ministry and, yup, here it comes, the game of golf?  That's right, the game of golf and ministry.  I recognized my passion for the game of golf.  In fact, I even regularly played the Athens Country Club although golf was not respected in Greece very much at this time.  As most of you know who regularly read this blog, I have an incredible passion for the game of golf.  But, I had been developing this voracious love for the Lord as well and, maybe, just maybe, the Lord had a plan.  So I asked Him.

"Lord, is there any way You can help me find a ministry serving You and the Kingdom that happens to be golf related?"

He said, "You will be an agent for Christian golfers."

What?  Did I just hear that?  An agent for Christian golfers?  That's crazy!!  That can't ever happen.  No way.  Did I really just hear that?

So, I finished my prayer time and began to look for something else in golf that I might begin upon returning to the States.

An agent for Christian golfers, ha, go figure.




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From Shagging - Caddying to ......

6/16/2015

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I was hooked!!!  One golf lesson from the Pro at Belmont Country Club and something inside of me was filled up.

I am continuing with the proposition that God places passions/desires in us while we are in our Mother's wombs and the basis for this is my own experience over the past 34 years growing up as a 'new' man in Christ and from Psalm 139:12-14 "created my inmost being; you (He) knit me together in my mother's womb and that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.."  as well as Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  The question being answered is; "Why do I have such a passion for golf and everything golf?"  I believe the Lord meant it to be so.

I had been introduced to the game in 1960 when I happened (?) upon a golf club near my home.  The Pro had me shagging on the range and shortly after engaging in that activity, he gave me a lesson.  As I said, I was hooked.

It wasn't very clear at the time, but, shagging at the Belmont CC became a job and a fulfillment for me, even at 8 years old.  I was consumed with it during the Summer of 1960.  Sure it was hot most days, but, the sun, the grass, the image of those golf balls flying off of the clubhead bouncing and, by the end of week two, I was catching them on the first or second bounce (or so I remember, lol).  I vaguely recall the positive comments from the Pro and his encouragement each and every day.

"Dad, I have been going to the golf club most days and I really love this golf stuff."

"Ah, that golf nonsense is not for you, Bill.  It's a rich man's game."

Total deflation!!!

"But, Dad, the Pro gave me a lesson and he thinks I might be good at it."

"Bill, I said it was not for you.  Just work at the club and forget about playing the game."

I couldn't.  I, just, couldn't.

Honestly, the rest of the details are quite foggy, but, I know I kept going to the club and shagging.  I, even, remember a few "loops" or caddying that I did at Belmont.  It was pretty arduous work for an 8 year old, carrying that bag that seemed overly large and heavy for just a dozen or so clubs, balls, and lots of other paraphernalia.  And, the harassment from my caddie brothers was merciless!!  But, I kept at it that summer.

The day of all days during that time came when I got home from the course and my Dad was standing in the living room with his hands on his hips with a huge grin on his face, just waiting for me to come in.

"Well, I went by the dump today and look what I found."

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It was an old canvas bag, tattered and torn in some places, with seven or eight irons, a putter and two woods.  There were scrapes and rust and dirt, but, they were perfect for me.  I pulled out one of the irons and the shaft looked like wood, but, it was, actually, an adhesive wrapping around the steel to make the shafts look like hickory.  They were beautiful.

"But, I thought you said golf wasn't for me, Dad."

"Ah, I just happened to find 'em at the dump, whatever."

"Thank you, thank, you, thank you!!!!  I can't believe this.  I have my own clubs.  I can't believe this."

Do you remember a time when you received something that you really, really wanted?  Did you let it accompany you to bed the way I did that summer?

Just sayin'.

Thanks.

In Him

Bill

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God's Leading in Golf - Desperate

6/12/2015

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I have an alarm on my Google Calendar that chimes each morning @ 6:50 AM. It's titled, "Be Desperate for God's Leading in Golf".  Why?

Because, I discovered a few months ago, that the Lord "created my inmost being; you (He) knit me together in my mother's womb and that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.." I've interpreted that to mean that when, from the moments where I was growing in my Mom's womb, God placed in me all that He wanted and meant for me to be, according to His will, His purposes, Him.  This includes, in my innermost being, my passions and desires, ie, what I was meant to be.  I have or you have or anyone has a passion for something, like, a profession, an avocation, and, as long as that passion/desire  is not immoral, that the Lord has placed that passion/desire in my very being.

Can golf be that passion/desire?  Ask Tom Lehman, ask Keegan Bradley or Ben Crane and, by the way look at these very funny video's and you might see a bit of passion.

So, I believe the Lord placed a passion/desire for the game of golf in my innermost being.  When I was just 8 years old I was riding my bike past a beautiful looking "park" or "field" wasn't quite sure what it was at the time, but, I saw a bunch of older kids sitting around the front of the big "house" that was at the center of the "park" and I rode by and asked them what they were doing.

"Caddying" was the answer.

"What's that?" was my question.

"Just shut up and sit down if you wanna caddie."  So, I sat down.

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Two weeks later and after sitting for most of that time when I could go down there, a very interesting thing happened;

I could see this tall, confident man with golf hat, white shoes and huge forearms walking toward the caddies and he must have been bad because all the caddies scattered.  I didn't know better.

"Who wants to shag?"  He boomed out.  Honestly, there was, literally no one within hailing distance but me, so, I jumped up and said, "I will."  I could hear the smirking and laughter from around the building, but, for the first time in two weeks, I was given something to do other than sitting and not being talked to, nor caddying, whatever that meant.

This man ushered me over to the other side of the street from the caddie station to a huge open park area with all kinds of golf balls perched on the beautifully mowed grass.  "Stand right about here and as the balls are hit from my student, you go and pick them up, put 'em in this leather bag and trot up to me with them when I call you in."

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"Sure, Sir."  My thought; what the heck is he talking about?  Well, I found out as I stood out there and chased balls all afternoon and "trotted" back to the tee (I found out that was where he was standing with his students).  At the end of the day he called me in and handed me $10 bucks, I believe, and said; "Wanna do this again tomorrow?"  "Yes, Sir.  What time would you like me here?"  "See you at 10 AM."

For the next few weeks, I "shagged" for the "Pro" of the Belmont Country Club, Belmont, Massachusetts almost every day. One day, it looked like one of his students didn't arrive and he called me up to the tee.  "Have you ever hit a golf ball?"  "No, Sir."  "Would you like to learn how?"  "Yessir, I sure would, but I don't have any clubs."  "Here, he said, you can use this one.  Ok, just come over here, stand this way.  Take your hands and ......."

I WAS HOOKED!!!!!

So, I'm thinkin', now, that this was the beginning of what God had put in me as a passion, because, now, at 63 years old, the game of golf, everything about it, is my passion, but, along the way, God replaced the desire to play golf for myself with a desire to serve Him and introduce Him to any golfer or anyone else, I come in contact with.

From my Mom's womb.  Go figure.....

In Him

Bill

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