Today is one of my favorite days of the year; it is World Inflammatory Bowel Day!

 Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

Today is one of my favorite days of the year; it is World Inflammatory Bowel Day!

One of my dad's favorite pastimes when I was a kid was to pass gas in the car. He would drop a rose, that is what my wife Laurie calls it. I have never smelled a rose that smelled like that, but then again I have never dropped one either. Maybe, they smell different if you drop them, I will have to try it sometime. Just thinking about it makes me wonder what a florist shop would smell like after an earthquake? It must smell pretty bad, just say-in.

Anyway, my dad would drop a rose in the car and then quickly yell, "Quick roll up the windows (Yes this was back in the day before air conditioning) there is an oil well near by." and we would all roll up our windows complaining, "Man oh man, why do oil wells have to smell so bad?" quickly followed by, "Dad, where is the oil well? I can't see it." He would reply, "It is just over that hill over there." The only flaw in his plan was we lived in Kansas and there were no hills over there. 

Did I ever mentioned that one day my dog ran away? I watched him run away for three days; that is how flat Kansas is. 

Unfortunately, for us kids we got dropped on our heads a lot when we were young, so we never caught on. 

Well that is enough about my father's seditious remote parts. 

Back when I pestered, I mean pastored churches, I am sure I gave more than one seditious sermon that inflamed more than one congregant's bowel. How do I know that? Because, after every service one of my many, and I do mean many jobs, was to stand at the exit door and people would file by saying a few words to me as they left. Some had more than a few words, and some even had some ideas of how I could better do my job.

I was so lucky to have so many experts in the field in my church.  

Sometimes, as they coached me up, they would say, "Pastor Roger, that sermon really stunk!" 

And I would reply, "It wasn't the sermon, it was your inflammatory bowel!"

Looking back, I probably should of just let him think it was the sermon. There are many reasons why I am a Chaplain! But I must confess that after one of my seditious sermons, and as I walked through the sanctuary on my way to the front door, I could not help but notice there was an unusually rosy smell!

I remember something one of my mentor's, his name was Ken, once told me. He said, "Roger, remember that Pastor is just Greek for shepherd. Shepherds, shepherd sheep. Sheep are dumb, lazy, and smelly. They bite, and they kick, and they lay down with their feet uphill." I guess that is why we had so many sheep in Kansas, just one less thing to worry about.

I replied, "That is good counsel Ken, but why are we talking about sheep?" 

Ken just shook his head and said, "Go sit down in a pew."

When Ken said that I was reminded of an old adage. Confucius once said, "Show me a man who passes gas in church and I will show you a man who sits in his own pew." 

Laurie told me that Confucius never said that. I told her he must have since my dad told me he did and dad said he was never wrong. Well, he was wrong that one time when there was a six foot bull snake on our dirt road sunning itself and he said, "Kids come over here, I want to teach you how to pick up a snake." We came running over to have dad impart some great outdoorsman wisdom on us. He bent over the bull snake and reached down. The snake quickly bit him on the hand between his thumb and forefinger. Dad lifted his had up, with the bull snake still attached to his hand. We just looked at him and he said, "don't pick it up like that!" 

Today is World Inflammatory Bowel Day.

I am not making light of an inflammatory bowel, I am still recovering from lymphoma that attacked my small intestine and I have had more than my share of inflammation in the remote parts.  

I am using it as a metaphor for, "don't be a stinky Christian." 

Don't be that person that other people say, "if that is a Christian I don't want to be one.

• Don't be judgy
• Don't be mean
• Don't be petty
• Don't major in minors

Do be that person that exudes:

• Love
• Compassion
• Inclusiveness
• Christ

Naturally when I say this I begin to ponder.

How am I doing in this regard?

Do you ever think about these things?

Something to ponder.

Blessings,

Roger