I was going over some stuff on my computer and found the speech I delivered to the graduating class of 2007 at Wakulla High School for Baccalaureate Service. It was an honor to be selected for this event (I came in second in the voting only to Governor Charlie Crist!) Anyway, here is my copy of the speech. Some of the formatting is off because of editing between Microsoft Word and Blogger, but it should be readable. Also, the actual speech relied pretty heavily on my handwritten notes, which of course are not included in this 'cut and paste' copy.
Thank you…
Superintendent Miller, School Board members, Principal Crouch, Administrators, thank you for hosting this special time. And thank you to the class of 2007 for the honor and privilege of speaking to you today.
My pastor, Henry Jones is here today. He is the Senior Pastor of River of Life here in Crawfordville, and I've learned everything I know about preaching from him. So if something goes right, he should get all of the credit!
Those gowns feel good, don't they?!
Before I begin, I must acknowledge what was said in the introduction – that is that after nearly five years in Wakulla County and on campuses working with students, my wife and family and I have been called to a new opportunity in North Carolina. We are wrapping up our time here, and will soon be leaving for the next chapter of life that God has for us. We are excited, but also sad, because we have been a part of so many of your lives. We are grateful for that time, and we'll always be able to say that we were received as family in Wakulla County.
Class of 2007, graduation is about you! Graduation is a time for the world to come to a complete stop while every name is read, every tassle moved, every mother and grandmother can squeeze off a few more shots on her camera. Next Friday you will receive your diploma – and there 'ya go. You're done! Next Friday, the spotlight shines on you!
So if graduation is about you – then who is baccalaureate about? Who will we turn our attention to tonight – who is worth all of this trouble?
If you've ever done any flying – maybe on vacation, or a school trip, or whatever, you know the routine. "Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts for takeoff." Like that's 'gonna help! But those seemingly unimportant and tense minutes before takeoff are critical. Those flight attendants work really hard to memorize all that stuff – and you can bet that if the cabin loses pressure and the oxygen masks come out, there's not going to be a 'do-over' on announcements.
Well, we're in that really critical time before takeoff. You're not landing here, but getting ready to go onward and upward – you're getting ready to soar. There are some tense moments, some fun moments, some times to be serious, and some times to plaster each other with silly string. I'll leave it up to you to decide when the appropriate time for each activity is. But right now, for those of us that love you, we feel absolutely compelled to take one more opportunity to tell you that you are valuable, you are special, and you really make all of us so proud!
So – who is worth all this trouble? I believe Jesus Christ is. I believe that we will reflect back on this night and know with confidence that just a little time of instruction before graduation, just a little acknowledgement of who He is, and His power and influence in our lives, just a moment of reflection on His goodness and provision for us can be the beginning of a brand new thing for all of us. Class of 2007, you are blessed. And it is good and right for us to spend time acknowledging the favor we have found in the eyes of God.
It is not lost on me that not all of us here tonight share the same level of excitement about God. My prayer is that you see through me, see through those who you know to be Christians, and here my honest confession to you tonight: I am affected by the sin of the world, and, indeed, I am a recovering hypocrite. And part of my daily responsibility as a Christian is to put off the things that tie me down, the lusts and perversions that distract me, seek forgiveness from my God (who is the only one who can forgive me of my sin,) and accept the fact that without Christ, I am nothing, and with Him, all things are possible.
There are 3 important items that I want to point out to you – 3 items that are necessary for you to know before the 747 of your life takes off and this school fades farther and farther into the horizon. The first thing you need to know, is that you should, on your own, have an experience with God.
For many of us, going from an intellectual understanding of God to an actual experience of Him can be a real shock. Imagine it like this: from studying your science textbook, you understand that there is such a thing as gravity, and that it works in a particular way. Great! – Then you fall off a cliff. – Now you know what gravity is.
And speaking of cliffs, let me tell you the story of Aaron Ralston.
Ralston was a student majoring in mechanical engineering and French at Carnegie Mellon University, as well as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. At Carnegie Mellon, he served as a Resident Assistant, studied abroad, and was an active intramural sports participant. He left his job as a mechanical engineer with Intel in 2002 to return to climb all of Colorado's "fourteeners", or peaks over 14,000 feet high. That height should impress you, seeing as how some of the highest people in the state of Florida are sitting at the top of these bleachers. While on a canyoneering trip in Blue John Canyon, a boulder fell and pinned his right forearm down, crushing it. After five days of trying to lift and break the boulder, a dehydrated and delirious Ralston bowed his arm against the boulder and snapped the radius and ulna bones in his lower arm. Using the dull blade on his multiuse tool, he cut the soft tissue around the break. He then used the tool's pliers to tear at the tougher tendons. Although he didn't name which brand (other than to say it was not Leatherman), he did describe it as "what you'd get if you bought a $15 flashlight and got a free multi-use tool."
After being rescued, his arm was retrieved by park authorities and removed from under the boulder. It was cremated and given to Ralston. He returned to the boulder and left the ashes there. --- I mean, what do you do with an arm?
On September 13, 2005 he made an appearance on a radio program to promote his book. During the interview Ralston revealed several details about his ordeal, including the facts that his hand had already "died" from lack of circulation days before he amputated it, and that he used the boulder that trapped his hand as a leverage device to break the bones in his arm. After freeing himself he was still eight miles from his truck (which was a stick shift) and he had no cell phone. He had to rappel down a 65-foot sheer wall with one arm, then began to hike out of the canyon in the hot midday sun. After finally meeting with other hikers in the canyon (a family of three on vacation from the Netherlands) he was given food (two Oreo cookies, all they had) and water and ultimately rescued via helicopter by a search team.
Now, to you and me, that spot where Aaron Ralston lost his arm, under such incredible circumstances, is not sacred ground. The park service has since removed the boulder that pinned Aaron's arm, and there's really nothing spectacular there. You and I could go to Blue John Canyon and be tourists – but for Aaron Ralston, well, he's a man who, in that spot, had an experience.
Closer to home, I think about the old rusty trucks on 319, just a mile or so from here. For all the beauty and majesty of Wakulla County, the world's largest freshwater springs, miles of beautiful coastline, every day some tourist is 'gonna stop on that busy highway, cross into weeds and briars, and snap a picture of those old trucks. Did you know that in the mall a copy of that picture will cost you over 150 bucks?! Those people who stop, most with out of state license plates, are tourists – the people who actually drove those vehicles back in the day have a claim to the experience.
And so, remember the days of your youth – the places where you have been… your home, this school, your church, the altar at the front of your church – have you been an observer all this time? – have you witnessed the life of someone you knew was really a committed follower of Jesus Christ, only to feel like a tourist? You can have an 'experience' with Jesus Christ. He loves you. He cares for your future. And he wants to give you eternal life. It is important for you to have your own experience with God.
The second thing you need to know is that the supernatural is all around you.
..[if !supportLists]-->· ..[endif]-->Mrs. Burse's class…
..[if !supportLists]-->o ..[endif]-->Highest scores in the state
..[if !supportLists]-->o ..[endif]-->These kids will be here at the high school next year
..[if !supportLists]-->o ..[endif]-->Yes, they're smart. But they are experiencing unusual favor because someone prayed and connected with a God who wants to show up and show out (some would call this luck)
..[if !supportLists]-->· ..[endif]-->Jerrod, the miracle kid in my youth group.
..[if !supportLists]-->o ..[endif]-->His story was part of the fabric of our life growing up
..[if !supportLists]-->o ..[endif]-->Whenever someone whined or complained, we were always reminded about Jerrod, and how God had healed him.
Since we believe that the supernatural is all around us, we make sure we have a personal mission statement to govern how we will respond to life's situations. Here's mine: I will practice radical Christianity by identifying myself as an agent of God, establishing the Prescence of God, and demonstrating dangerous and naïve love that doesn't know its limits. --- what does all this mean?
- Identify yourself as an agent of God
- If you see a man with a black shirt and a little white tab collar, you know what he's doing.
- We need to be that obvious
- There are other agents at work:
..[if !supportLists]--> i. ..[endif]-->The agent of guilt is Satan. 2 Cor. 4:4 says, "The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ."
..[if !supportLists]--> ii. ..[endif]-->The agent of conviction is the Holy Spirit: Romans 8:13 says, "But if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live."
- Establish the presence of God
- Where two or more are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them
- When you get to college, or work, or wherever you're going after this, connect with some folks who believe that Jesus is the Son of God!
- Demonstrate dangerous and naïve love that doesn't know its limits
- Dangerous – loving like Jesus loved will get you killed, even crucified
- Naïve – loving like Jesus love means you will have to disregard the potential for return on investment. The people who received the greatest investment of Jesus' time and concern deserted Him.
Consider now how you will respond to a world that is filled with the Supernatural.
Finally, you need to know that the development of your character is now your responsibility.
Someone once asked this question, "Would you rather be well known or worth knowing?" For me, it's the latter. Making a lasting Christ-like impression on the people who mean the most to me is what really matters. I would much rather be remembered by a few dear people on rainy days as the friend who listened for hours in a coffee shop or on the phone than have my name on a building or plaque for thousands of people to pass by and see. Being remembered as a youth pastor or leader matters less to me than being remembered as someone who was a good listener, gave great advice, showed good judgment, and really cared about what I did and who I did it with every day.
For most of you, it's been your parents job to worry about you late into the night. And they will continue to love you, pray for you, and encourage you. So will I! So will all these teachers, and administrators. But the big news bulletin that you need to read before your plane takes off is this: YOU ARE A GROWNUP! It is your job to get up early, go to school or work each day, raise your family, and enjoy your life. No one will live it for you. And no one will pursue opportunity for you, on your behalf, like you can!
..[if !supportLists]-->· ..[endif]-->If you wake up one morning, and the fish are biting, you will have to load up and go catch them.
..[if !supportLists]-->· ..[endif]-->If you get a hot tip on a great job, you will have to send in a resume.
..[if !supportLists]-->· ..[endif]-->If your teeth hurt because you ate too many Skittles, and now you've got cavities, you will have to call the dentist.
..[if !supportLists]-->· ..[endif]-->And, if someone gives you the facts about Jesus, and tells you that the only way to heaven is by having a personal relationship with Him, then you will have to decide what to do with that information.
Your character development is your concern!
Ruth Barton said this: "We set young leaders up for a fall if we encourage them to envision what they can do before they consider the kind of person they should be."
There's a story told about a "halfway" house in the Swiss Alps, named this because it was located exactly halfway up one of the mountains. People climbing the peak would stop to rest before continuing on their journey. Once they stepped in side the house, felt the great warmth rush over them and heard the crackling of fire, their senses would become overwhelmed, and they'd melt into soft chairs and the soft sounds of a piano playing lightly in the background. The warm comfort of the cabin, starkly contrasted the cold, hard mountain they'd been climbing all day.
Everyday, after the climbers would eat a delicious meal, a change would come over them. About half of the climbers would say, "Hey, we're just going to wait here. We're going to settle in. The rest of you go on ahead and we'll catch you on the way back." Everyday about half of the climbers would go on up the mountain and the other half would linger behind. Those who chose to remain would wave goodbye to the others and then they'd spend the next hour or so playing games, relaxing and talking, and indulging in more coffee and desserts. But around 3:30 or 4:00 in the afternoon, something always happened among the group that decided to stay behind.
Members of the group would begin to go over to the large picture window, look up at the top of the peak, and wonder about the others. The atmosphere would go from laughter and happiness to one of melancholy. Despondency would set in as they wondered about their decision to forfeit the rest of the climb. They chose to forfeit excellence for the mediocre. And in that moment they would realize - they weren't going to achieve the goal they'd set that morning, the goal of reaching the top of the mountain.
Interestingly enough, in Latin, the word "mediocre" literally means halfway up a stony mountain." That story may be an old legend passed down over time, but I believe there are mountains we all climb, and countless "halfway" houses along the way tempting us to just sit back, relax, and take it easy. While those temptations may be inviting, despondency always comes, and we're left to watch others go on ahead and rationalize to ourselves why we aren't climbing the mountain.
My prayer for you as you close out this school years is that you look back on 2007 and see yourself continuing to press on towards the top. Rest assured, one day we will all get together and celebrate the days spent at Wakulla High School, living, laughing, and honoring our God…and if this finds you spiritually in a "halfway" house, I pray you know that the mountain of God is always worth the climb. It may be a cold, hard road, but the people along the climb make all the sacrifice worth it. You can do it. I believe in you. And Jesus waits atop the mountain for all of us…and amazingly enough He'll be with you every step of the way.
Psalm 119
Pray – in the name of Jesus, the Christ, the Strong Son of God.
Amen
