The Joys of Having an Older Brother
I grew up in close proximity to my older brother. It seems we did just about everything together. We shared a bedroom until we were in junior high school and we went to the same summer church camps, the same MYF, the same set of mutual friends. We both played in the high school band and went to the same college where we even roomed together for a time. (That only lasted one year!) We got married to two wonderful women in the same summer and we both ended up in the United Methodist ministry. But there were differences. He was clearly the "first born", the A-type leader, always needing to excel. He became the Asbury College Student Body President while I headed up the College Republicans. (I even shook hands with Spiro Agnew!) He was named "Mr. Asburian" while I enjoyed my time on stage as a drama major. He basically dated one Asbury coed and was engaged when he was a sophomore while I waited until I was a senior to find a woman would have me. We are so much alike, and we are also very different. He has published almost a dozen books and has had an incredible ministry in just four appointments. He planted St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Orlando, which is now the largest church in Florida and he has spent the past 20 years at Hyde Park UMC in Tampa. We haven't always gotten along or agreed and it is probably best that we are separated by half a continent, but all I can say is I am incredibly proud of my older brother.
Come Friday we will pass another marker in our lives. We will turn 65. We have shared so much of our lives, and yet so much of our lives has been lived in entirely different places and spaces. We have so much in common, yet we are so different. It's hard to believe we are turning 65, but on the other hand, those childhood years and college days seem light-years in the past. It's been a great journey this far and I am so glad I have had an older brother to lead the way, even if it is only by 4 minutes. Happy Birthday, Bro! And may God continue to bless your ministry in the years ahead.
On Sunday we will be receiving an exciting group of new members--wonderful young adults who have found their way here and who bring amazing gifts to the life of this church. It's a great time to be a part of this great church! Thanks be to God.
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