Tomorrow is Opening Day in my hometown, the birthplace of professional baseball, Cincinnati, Ohio. That's right sports fans--in 1869 the hometown Red Stockings became the first pro team of America's national pastime. From long before my birth Opening Day has been a holiday in Cincinnati, along with a parade featuring local celebrities, schoolchildren and city businesses. Opening Day has always been important in my family. One of the prized possessions I had as a boy was a scrapbook my father had kept when he was young. Subject matter--the Cincinnati Reds. My favorite piece in that scrapbook is a picture from the Cincinnati Post taken of my dad and three of his high school friends camping out on the sidewalk overnight to be first in line to buy bleacher tickets for Opening Day. That picture inspired me when I was in high school to skip school with four of my friends to go see the hometown team on opening day. We didn't need to be too secretive about our adventure. I told my high school principal about our plans--he expressed envy that he couldn't join us. My oldest son, Mark, carries on the tradition. For the past several years he has taken off work and hosted an Opening Day party at his house--or at the local sports bar--wherever we can watch the Reds open the season. This year--tomorrow--the tradition continues. Mark will pull his first-grade son, Elijah, out of school to join his dad, Uncle Mike and grandfather for opening day festivities. When Ezra, Mark's youngest, wakes up from his nap he will join us. Ez will parade around the family room reciting the mantra of the day, "Baseball! Baseball! Baseball!" It's a funny thing--this bond that baseball brings between generations of males. My father and I have always been able to connect over our passion for the Reds. He took me many times to old Crosley Field when I was a young boy to see them in person. Now, with much of his faculties fogged over by dimentia, we can still watch a game together and he is engaged and conversant. Mark was born in 1976 on the morning of the first day of the World Series. Later that day the Reds shut out the New York Yankees. A great day! When Mark was about 18 months old his mother and I took him to his first game at Riverfront Stadium. He was absolutely mesmerized from the moment he saw the field. "Baseball! Baseball! Baseball!" Last year marked the return of championship baseball to Cincinnati--the Reds won the Central Division crown. It was a long time in coming. Mark and his brother Mike and I made pilgrimage to Cincinnati to see the first playoff game at the new Great American Ballpark. First post-season game in Cincinnati in 15 years. The Reds lost, but it didn't really matter. Another memory cast in bronze. But just the annual rite of spring--the return of baseball--is enough cause for celebration. A Reds' victory would be a decided bonus.

OK, so this weekend Prophet Bob Hazlett was with us again for a weekend of meetings. I have some reports to share about progress with Isaac Campbell. I felt led to have Jenn bring the twins from the nursery following the 9:00 service to have Bob minister to them. It also turned out that about half of the early service crowd stuck around to join in the prayers for Jenn and the boys. Awesome response!

The immediate need is for Isaac to absorb more nutrients through his shortened (but miraculaously grown) small intestines. He has not grown physically in over a year and his gut is often very painful. He also has been walking with a leg brace to increase stability and endurance in his right leg.

This past Sunday, Jenn felt led to NOT put the leg brace on Isaac when she got him ready for church. She asked Isaac if he wanted the brace (he ususally says 'Yes'). He said, 'No;' so Jenn left it off. When Christopher and Isaac came into the sanctuary from the nursery, they proceeded straight to the altar and marched up the steps to be in the middle of the action. We called Jenn up also and began to minster to them.

Here are some reports we have received from Jenn the past couple days:
Wellspring Family, your prayers rocked the heavens! Isaac always wears his brace for support walking. Today (Monday) Isaac is running! He still has a limp, but our little boy is running through the house without his brace! God answered that prayer! Just in time for Isaac to go to the neurologist on Wednesday. Let's see what the doctor can say about him now! :)

Later . . . Wellspringers. Isaac grew! Last Thursday he was 34.5 inches; today 35 inches!!! I am in awe watching each of our prayers being answered! It's been a year since he grew! Plus today is Isaac's first time going to his school without his brace. We are so excited for him! God is so great!

Later still . . . I have never seen Isaac this happy . . . NEVER! He is a whole different child. I am so excited for the neurologist to see him tomorrow (Wednesday)! The first time we met the neurologist he walked out of the room thinking he had the wrong child. Imagine now. A child that was not supposed to function is now running and talking!

Good Evening My Fellow Americans,



I have two sets of two numbers for your consideration. They have a lot to say about where our nation is headed.

First number--161 billion. As in $161 billion. That was the total federal deficit for fiscal year 2007. It's a lot of money, but that number represented a mere 1.2 % of the country's gross domestic product. It also represented a major reduction from the deficit in fiscal 2006.

Second number--223 billion. As in $223 billion. That was the federal deficit for just this past month of February, 2011. That's right--the federal deficit for the smallest month of the year is greater than the entire year's debt just four years ago!

Two other numbers.

The first is 6 billion. As in $6 billion. That is the maximum of budget cuts that Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid says is acceptable.

The second is 57 billion. As in $57 billion. That is the amount of budget cuts recently passed by the House of Representativies to address the crisis of deficit spending that is strangling our economy and mortgaging our childrens' future.

One other number to consider. At the current levels of our national debt--about 50 cents of every dollar in our deficit goes to pay INTEREST on the debt our nation owes.

You run the numbers.

RM

Over the years people have asked me, "What kind of church is Wellspring?"





Recently I have taken to giving them this response--"A good one."





I realize, of course, that some who ask this question are inquiring about our denominational affiliation--"What brand of church are we?"





Well, our brand name is Converge Worldwide. But what is Converge Worldwide? It is the missional name of our movement of congregations and ministries. Notice I didn't use the word denomination. That's right. Our leadership--and our member congreagations have come to recognize that denominationalism is not something we want to be about. Denominationalism divides and categorizes churches according to their distinctive doctrinal beliefs and unique church practices. Movements coalesce around the move of the Holy Spirit and Kingdom cooperation.





Over the past decade our movement leader, Dr. Jerry Sheveland, has led our group beyond denominationalism. Today we are positioned to partner with the Holy Spirit and one another and other Kingdom-minded ministries to see the Great Commission fulfilled. That is Converge Worldwide.





We used to be know as the Baptist General Conference. Today we are Converge. We have moved our movement's offices to Orlando, Florida, where they are adjacent to the headquarters of Campus Crusade for Christ and Wycliffe Bible Translators--two of the most visionary ministries of the past half century. Converge actually share space with these ministries at a state-of-the-art national training facility. Our thinking and vision have moved beyond denominational distinctives and institutional survival--we are now thinking in terms of global convergence with the Body of Christ in pursuing the objectives of the Kingdom.

I am very excited about this direction and more encouraged than I have ever been to be part of this fellowship of congregatrions and ministries that are now called Converge Worldwide.

So what is Converge Worldwide? We are. What kind of group is that? A really good one!