Wednesday, January 16, 2008

I FEEL SORRY FOR WALLING AND McLAUGHLIN

In my pre-Memorial Drive days I was just beginning to receive invitations to speak at workshops and meetings. To a young man who felt he wouldn't even be invited to most of his kids' birthday parties, it was surely a charge! One can hardly imagine my thrill at being called to speak at the workshop in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. I was so pumped....for a bit.

Friends rode with my family and we stayed at a widow lady's house who was a member of that local congregation. David Powers (famous David Powers) was the main speaker in the auditorium while I was the main speaker in the church basement. I stepped up to preach and there they were.....everyone who rode up in the car with me and the lone widow lady.

Since that experience I have been sensitive to opposing speakers' lists. I got my Pepperdine Lectures booklet today. I noted a big mistake. Jeff Walling and Don McLaughlin speak opposite me every morning for three days in a row. I bet when Jeff and Don read the schedule they'll be heartsick to find they are on the same time as me. No telling just how many people I will draw from their crowds. I hate it, but that's the way the schedule crumbled.

I shared my concern with Dusty and he reminded me that a couple of years ago when at Pepperdine he and Rick Atchely must have had about a thousand attend between them. That's amazing. What a crowd. I just hope against hope that Jeff and Don don't carry hard feelings. I would imagine in my class alone there will be somewhere under 860 in attendance.

I just hope they won't be too hurt.

8 comments:

Matt said...

Thanks for sharing that. It made my day!

Wes said...

lol

Shane Coffman said...

I doubt they'll be too heartbroken. You see, in Malibu if no one shows up for class, you just go to the beach. Not a bad consolation prize.

In fact, it's almost worse to have people show up!

Stoogelover said...

You gave me a laugh at 10:30 when I should be showered and in bed. I was in the gym one of your first years at Pepperdine when you said, "They announced Terry Rush was teaching here and everybody got up and left." I've always wondered why so many people would be at the main 11:00 keynote when I was in the lunchroom eating by myself??? Didn't they know where I was? BY the way, the BEST place to teach a class is one of the rooms in the AC building ... it has mirrors on three walls so your audience appears to be three times larger!

Anonymous said...

I feel sorry for the attendees that have to chose between the 3 of you. Of course I hear Donny Mac all the time so I could skip him at a lectureship and split my time between you and Walling.

Ya really can't go wrong attending any of these sessions.

I agree with Shane it might be better to have no one show up so you can just go to the beach. Or you could speak at the beach and everyone would show up.

Anonymous said...

Listen, Mac and Walling ARE going to be hurt. No matter what. OK? So big deal.

Face it. They're ALWAYS hurt - by EVERYTHING you do. OK? So tell me somethin' I DON'T know.

What can you do? NOT be you? I don't think so.

Those two are just going to HAVE to learn (at long last, after all these years) that having the biggest crowds and the love and respect of millions is YOUR domain, NOT theirs.

Well, tut, tut...cry me a river.

I'm not saying that doesn't mean that they don't ALSO have their own little, valuable, helpful, cute, un-glamorous work to do in the kingdom. Because they DO! What they do is VERY cute. It's cuter than MOST! And the kids love it. But it's just DIFFERENT from YOUR work. And...not as important. Or...intellectual. Or...cool.

So what?! You don't care. You don't hold that against them.

You know that we ALL have OWN jobs to fulfill in the body. And we need to just do them. They're no different.

Listen, Mac and Walling happen to be two of my personal favorite old, mashed up, knarly, but still useful toes. OK? Good! What's wrong with that? Toes are good! Everybody NEEDS toes! So BE a good toe.

YOU happen to be...the brain.

And long, flowing, gorgeous wind-swept hair.

So what's the big deal?

What you gonna do? Not think?

Not blow in the wind?

You're HAIR, for cryin' out loud! You HAVE to blow in the wind. That's what hair does! People expect it. Hair gets a LOT of attention - well, excuse me! You are HAIR - it HAPPENS!

And brains THINK! And people are drawn to THAT! It's not your fault.

And toes...do...you know...whatever they do...inside a smelly shoe all day. Fine!

All is GOOD!

So everybody just get over it. Powers did.

Now go preach at that thing, man. And let 'er rip. Then let's move on. Amen.

Anonymous said...

Whose Jeff Walling?

Dusty Rush said...

I don't know who "brothergroucho" is - but that's the funniest thing I've read in a long time. I'm cryin'!