Mar 07
Jeremy LangleyCurrent Events
I don’t believe in coincidence, so when the song “She said Yes!” came on the radio during my lunch break Friday, I took it as a sign that my plans for the weekend were indeed meant to be. Just minutes before that song came through the speakers of my truck I had stopped in at Murphy’s Jewelers to pick up a diamond engagement ring. I couldn’t wait to live out the moment described in that song.
The plan to “pop the question” had been brewing for a couple of weeks. So many details had to be covered: talk to the parents, buy the ring, get the ring sized, pick out the perfect location and time, and come up with my “speech.” By Friday, all of the details had been handled – well, almost all of them. I had lunch with her parents the weekend before, and they gave their blessings. I bought the ring and had it sized. I picked out the location and had written my speech. But then plans changed. It’s life. It happens. Plan B had to be put into action – but there really was no Plan B.
I decided to wing it unless I came up with a new plan. My hopes were to genuinely surprise her. She knew the ring was coming, but she didn’t know how soon. Any kind of traditional proposal would have tipped her off and ruined the surprise. I’m glad circumstances caused my original plans to change.
The proposal couldn’t have caught her more off guard. It was a huge success.
One of my favorite things to do is look at that diamond ring on Mary’s hand knowing that in just 474 short days she will be my wife. (That’s right, we’ve set the wedding date for June 23, 2012, due to our schedules, etc. If we could have possibly done it sooner, we would have.) She has a lot of planning to do.
I now know how the guy in the song feels. — “Nothing’s been the same since she said ‘yes.’” — That’s what the song says. I’m looking forward to taking the journey with Mary by my side.
Sep 28
Jeremy LangleyCurrent Events
I have been quite upset over the last few months because I haven’t received one of those telephone surveys about the upcoming midterm elections. I say that with only a hint of sarcasm. As one with a degree in political science, I am fascinated with these scientific polls. My political science training, however, has just about ruined me because I tend to spend more time listening to the question to find that slant which is often present when the poll is conducted at a candidate’s expense.
The lady asking the questions was nice, but she really shouldn’t have been calling. She kept coughing and sniffling, so I encouraged her to take the rest of the day off. She had my permission. I’m sure her boss would understand.
She asked questions about my political affiliation. I tended to give her long dissertations as to how I felt about the state of our political system and how both parties seem to be off-base. In the end, I told her that all-in-all, I am a compassionate conservative. She said, “I’ll put you down as a Republican.” I said she could just simply list me as a follower of George W. Bush.
She asked which party I was most likely to vote for in November. I was dumbfounded. She was just plain ignorant at this point. She received another dissertation. She, again, decided that I would be voting Republican.
She asked who I would be casting my vote for in the ARKANSAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICT 4 election. WHAT?!?!? This survey is wasting my precious time on a STATE level race?!?!?!?!?!? I was a bit perturbed.
But then, she asked a question that really peaked my interest. “Do you consider yourself a born-again Christian?” I said “yes,” but what does that have to do with a state House race? She didn’t know. I don’t believe an atheist or agnostic could be elected in south Arkansas. For crying out loud! We even post the church affiliation of our elected officials on their biographies on the official Arkansas General Assembly website.
When all was done, I asked the nice lady who had paid for this survey and to whom the results would be made known. She claimed not to know but said she would find out in case anyone else asked. I asked her to call me back when she knew. My phone hasn’t rung again.
I’m still waiting.
Aug 01
Jeremy LangleyCurrent Events
This last week was a whirlwind. Not only have I been trying to comprehend the new chapter that has developed in my life, but I also spent a lot of time trying to catch up from vacation! Every time I take a week off, I regret it when I get back to work. The “to-do” list grows 10 times as fast when I’m gone as when I’m in the office.
I’m down to less than four hours before the evening worship service starts at First Baptist Magnolia. This is a very special service. I will deliver my “ceremonial” first sermon. God has given me a simple but strong message, and I hope I am able to deliver it in a way that glorifies Him. There have been a lot of people tell me that they plan to be there tonight hear me, but I hope that when all is said and done, they have heard God. It’s His message, I’m just the instrument for delivery.
I will let you know how it goes.
Until then . . .
Jul 26
Jeremy LangleyCurrent Events
Since my “big announcement” yesterday, the No. 1 question I’ve been asked is “What’s next?”. To be completely honest, 99 percent of what is to come remains unknown to me. I’m okay with that. Two weeks ago it would have driven me completely insane because I have always been the type of person who maps out his life’s goals and wants to know exactly when and where this “road map” will take me. Part of my surrender was to agree to let God be 100 percent in control of where I go from here and what I do.
There are some things that I know. For instance, I know that this coming Sunday night, August 1, at 6 p.m. I will deliver my “first sermon” at the First Baptist Church of Magnolia. I am very excited, but if I told you that I’m not nervous, you could brand me as the biggest liar in the world! I am extremely nervous about it, but I keep telling myself that it will all be okay. God is in control.
Another thing I know is that I plan to pursue a seminary degree. After talking with my pastor and our youth pastor, this seems to be the best option for someone setting out on this journey. I feel like God is leading me to the Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary in Jacksonville, Texas. I plan to start the application process immediately (why wait?), and I hope to begin classes in January. Which degree I’ll pursue is still up in the air.
All of this doesn’t mean that I’ll be making a speedy departure from Magnolia or my current job at Southern Arkansas University. The BMATS has programs for correspondence work and intensive seminar classes where you go to the Jacksonville campus for one week per course and complete the coursework at home. This looks like my best option. I still have to eat and pay the bills while I’m working on what will be my third degree, right?
Departure from my current career will come some day. I don’t know when, but I do know that God has called me to full-time ministry of some fashion.
I hope you enjoy this ride as much as I will. Speaking of rides, I guess I’d better get to moving. I have a previously planned appointment near the central part of our great state today. I’m ready to go back to work tomorrow. More than one week off on “vacation” has been nice, but I need to get back to a routine!
Until next time . . .
Jul 25
Jeremy LangleyCurrent Events Church Camp, First Baptist Church, God, Preaching, Surrendering
My future looks nothing like I had imagined it would. Over the last few weeks, I have been making plans for what I will do when I finish my master’s degree in December. Law school was one thought. A doctorate was another. I even applied for a job as a Special Agent with the FBI and was scheduled to begin Phase I testing soon (effective today, I have withdrawn that application).
God had different plans for my life, and I’ve been running from those plans for quite a while now. This morning, I publicly surrendered my life to preach the gospel. You can’t believe the overwhelming peace and joy that I’m feeling. I still don’t know what the future has in store, but I have complete peace that God is in control and that He will lead me each step of the way.
Here’s the way it went down: I spent this last week as the bus driver and a sponsor for our group at Daniel Springs Baptist Camp in Gary, Texas. We had an amazing week. Late in the week, the camp evangelist used an illustration of Peter jumping out of the boat to be with Jesus (John 21). He said that some of us needed to “jump out of the boat” and follow the path that God would have for our lives. It hit me hard. Really hard. I knew God was using the evangelist to talk to me.
I spent a lot of time in prayer from that point until we got home. When Saturday rolled around, I knew I couldn’t wait any longer, so I spent about an hour in the living room of Dustin Wisely, our youth pastor. After I finished talking to Dustin, I knew there was only one option for me – total surrender to the will of God.
This morning during Sunday School time, I spent time talking with Bro. David Watkins, our pastor, and when the invitation was given at the close of the service, I made it official. It felt great!
I was also excited that Zach Phillips, a young man who had also served as a church camp sponsor from our church, surrendered this morning as well! God is good!
I don’t know all of the details of the future, but I do know that I won’t be quitting my job any time soon. At the encouragement of Bro. David and Dustin, I will be looking into a seminary degree. There are options that will allow me to remain in Magnolia for the time being and take the classes through a combination of intensive one-week studies and online work. I will also be preaching my first sermon soon. I’ll keep you updated on that.
God is in control! I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow.
Stay tuned . . .
Jun 17
Jeremy LangleyCurrent Events BP, Congress, Oil Spill
I was a bit under the weather today, so I spent some of my time watching the Congressional testimony of BP CEO Tony Hayward. Before it began, the thought of BP’s leader being buried by Congressmen excited me, but after I watched about 5 minutes of this grandstanding, I was disgusted by the people we have elected to Congress. They made me ashamed. They embarrassed me.
Here’s what got me first: Many of the Congressmen wouldn’t even give the guy a chance to answer their questions. They would ask, and when he got two words into his response, they would interrupt with a follow-up question accusing him of refusing to answer. It was absolutely clear that these politicians were being just that. They were playing politics with a very serious topic. They weren’t concerned about how the groups could work together to come to a reasonable conclusion. They were interested in seeing how much of a show they could put on for the folks back home. Even my own representative, Congressman Mike Ross (D-Presskit), failed in my opinion. (Yes, I know it’s actually Prescott, but don’t get me started about the land of the Squirrelly Wolves… I mean Curley Wolves.) I would have liked to seen things done a little differently.
The Congressmen wanted to blame Hayward, as if he were personally responsible for the disaster. He kept trying to get it through their thick skulls that as CEO is he not a part of every decision that is made within the company. That makes perfect sense. Here is an analogy: Do you think Bobby Petrino, head football coach at the University of Arkansas, calls UA System President Alan Sugg to clear a play before it is called? No, he doesn’t. No chief executive is involved in EVERY decision.
The members of the committee kept asking Hayward if he had fired anyone yet. Hayward continually told them that someone may end up getting fired, but to date, the investigation is ongoing. They don’t want to jump to any conclusions. What ever happened to due process? Apparently, the members of Congress do not believe in basic human rights.
Congress should be taking some of the heat, too. Who passed the law that said permits must be granted within 30 days? Congress. This law removes the ability to conduct environmental impact studies. They should examine themselves before they start blaming others.
So, cut Tony Hayward some slack. He seems to be trying to do the right thing.
Aug 19
Jeremy LangleyCurrent Events
The 2009 high school season is almost here. Most people know that I did play-by-play for the Gurdon High School Go-Devils last year on KDEL-FM out of Arkadelphia. I had the time of my life, but with my busy schedule, I had decided that I wouldn’t do it again this year. Gurdon is about an hour and 15 minutes from Magnolia, so rushing there for a ballgame was rough. It was even worse when I had to drive to some of the other locales that were even further away. I decided that after one season of calling football game, I’d hang up the headset.
That changed today. I got a call from a friend and former employer who asked if I would be interested in doing the play-by-play for the Smackover High School Buckaroos. I took a few hours to think it over and shuffle my calendar, but I made it work. I accepted the offer. Smackover is a lot closer to Magnolia, so I won’t have to take off work as much or as early to make it to games this year. It will be fun to follow the Buckaroos. I’m told the color commentator for the broadcasts is awesome.
So it’s back in the saddle on Sept. 4. I’m looking forward to it. The games can be heard on KELD-FM 106.5 out of El Dorado. If you listen in the first week, please forgive me. I’m sure there will be a few kinks to work out!
It just occurred to me that one of the first football games I ever attended was at Smackover. I was in elementary school and attended a school that didn’t have football at the time. I think it was probably my first football game ever. I don’t remember who won. I just remember I accidentally cheered for the wrong team because I had absolutely no idea what was going on. Ha Ha!
Here’s a thought to leave you with: Go buy Reba’s new CD. It’s awesome!
Aug 09
Jeremy LangleyCurrent Events, Random thoughts
Kind of a strange headline, huh? Last week was kind of a bad week for me. I’d venture to say it was one of the worst weeks I’ve had in several years. I had even begun to think that the direction I had begun to take in my life was all wrong. It was as if I had missed the turn completely. I didn’t know what to do. Let’s start from the beginning.
Now, I’m not going to use specific details because I don’t want to glorify the actions of the other person, and I don’t want to risk stirring the pot anymore than it already has been by letting you know who I am talking about. I don’t even know if that person knows I blog, so I doubt they ever ready this, but I hope they do. I think the lessons I learned could help that person too.
In the course of my day-to-day life I deal with a lot of people. I deal with people at work, and I deal with people in my personal life. I like people. But last week I came across a person of whom I quickly decided I wasn’t too fond. This person said very, very mean things about me personally, professionally, and every other way you can imagine. He even had the nerve to tell me that I would never be successful in life and that my career was heading nowhere but the sewer. He also told me that he had just finished telling these same things about me to people that I look up to greatly and that I see as my mentors. I was devastated.
After this person said all of these things to me, I was mad. I was upset. I was confused. I was hurt. I didn’t know how to process it. I tried to put it all behind me, but no matter what I tried to do it kept coming back. And it didn’t stop with that one attack on Monday. An attack came again on Tuesday, and even though I don’t know the direct source of the attack, I’m 99.9 percent sure it originated from this same person I had the falling-out with on Monday.
I had just gotten out of class on Tuesday evening when the second attack came. I was distraught. I went straight home, fell on my knees, and prayed. It’s all I knew to do. I needed direction from above. I then resumed my normal nightly rituals while the battle raged on in my mind. I wanted to get back at this person, but I knew I could not do that without causing the situation to deteriorate even further. Finally it came to the point in the evening when I read a book. I like to read before going to bed. It’s just a habit I’ve formed over the years. As long as it’s not a text book, I’ll read it!
I have forgotten what I was reading at the time, and when I reached for the book on my nightstand I read the cover and felt an immediate peace fall over me. You see, the book I was reading was entitled “God is in Control.” What an awesome statement – especially in the troubling moments I had been facing. The book was written by Dr. Charles Stanley (by far my favorite TV preacher – although he has nothing on my pastor – and one of my favorite authors). When I opened to where my bookmark was placed, the headline read “God can use adversity.” Again, I am in awe.
Dr. Stanley asks, “Is God in everything?” He answers by saying, “According to what the Word says, ‘God causes all things to work together for good …’ (Romans 8:28). Just in time God demonstrates His awesome, irresistible power.”
After reading that, I wasn’t near as mad as I had been. I wasn’t near as upset as I had been. I began to understand, and I began to get excited. Because I can’t help but think that when God uses that awesome, irresistible power, it’s going to be to bring that person who hurt me to his knees. I try not to judge people, but as my grandfather – a pastor for over 40 years – always said, “You can always be a fruit inspector.” Well, in my humble opinion, the guy who said those mean, hurtful things to me is covered in rotten fruit. His actions and his personal life show it. I pray that he seeks out the saving grace of Jesus for his life if he doesn’t already have it. And if he has, I hope he finds his way back to the straight and narrow pathway that Jesus has paved for us.
After I was reminded what Romans 8:28 said, and after talking with my pastor, I decided the situation wasn’t worth worrying about. In fact, I was no longer mad at the man who insulted me. You see, through this trial, that man helped me to strengthen my relationship with God. This person didn’t tear me down like they were trying to do, they lifted me up. They told me I’d never be successful, but what they didn’t know is that I have a mansion being built by a king on a street lined with pure gold. I don’t know how that could ever be topped!
“God causes all things to work together for good …” He never ceases to amaze me.
Jul 25
Jeremy LangleyCurrent Events
I slept until noon today. It was the most refreshing sleep I had gotten in a while. Over the past week, sleep was a precious, limited commodity.
Yesterday, I returned from spending a week as a church camp sponsor with our group from the First Baptist Church of Magnolia. We took about 40 kids to the Ozark Baptist Encampment at Grove, Oklahoma. Since it’s been about 10 years since I’ve even been a camper at church camp, and since I had never been to this particular camp, I had no idea what to expect. I remembered what we had done as campers in the past, so I feared for the worst. Luckily, the 21 boys who went were the absolute best any sponsor could ever ask for.
I had several “favorite” parts about church camp, but the top of my list takes the cake. On Wednesday night after the service, I noticed two of our boys sitting in one of the open-air tabernacles on the camp grounds. I walked over to see what they were doing, and I could hear one of the boys telling the other about Jesus. How amazing! I got excited and sat down. Once there was a few minutes of silence, I cut in and made sure the boy understood the story of the Gospel. Then he prayed and accepted Jesus as his savior. I was on a high for the rest of the night! It might not have happened had that one boy taken the time to tell his friend about Jesus.
Another favorite moment of mine came one day during quiet time. Each day after lunch, the campers were to go to their bunks and read their Bibles, reflect on their relationship with God, or take a nap. The sponsors most frequently took the latter. The key point is that they were to be quiet. On Thursday, the sponsors in our cabin were late getting to quiet time, and I expected to return to a bunch of wild boys chasing each other with pool sticks (this had been the scene most of the week). However, I was wrong. I walked in the cabin to find every boy on his bunk with his Bible open. I was floored. God does still work miracles!
I never knew being a sponsor at church camp would be so much fun, either. Each day after the campers had swim time, there was a time set aside and dedicated for sponsors to go swimming. There were three water slides at the pool, and I personally tested each of them. It was fun. I also participated in the sponsor vs. camper softball game. The campers had an unfair advantage in that the Gravette High School baseball team was playing their infield positions. We lost. I proved my non-athlete status.
Softball wasn’t the only game during which I was on the losing team. I played “human fooseball” on Thursday night. Picture a life-size foose ball table with real people kicking the ball around. Yeah, it was fun, but we lost. I, in turn, was covered from head to toe in dirt.
More important than the games and fun we had at camp was the absolutely amazing worship we experienced. The presence of God could be felt in every service, and souls were saved each day. There were about 50 during the week we were there. Dustin Wisely, youth pastor at FBC Magnolia, was the camp evangelist. God spoke through Dustin in a great way. He challenged each of us to live our lives in a continual state of worship. I must admit that I needed the sermons and lessons just as much as any camper did.
I’m already looking forward to the next youth trip on which I get to be a sponsor. There’s just something about seeing hundreds of kids experiencing the joy and love of Christ that excites me! I’ve got a feeling that I’ll have my opportunity.
For now, I guess I’ll look forward to returning to my small, windowless office on Monday. Hey, at least I have a new desk chair that was delivered while I was gone.
Jul 20
Jeremy LangleyCurrent Events
Ok, I hope this works! I logged in to WordPress (the blogging platform I use) through the internet on my BlackBerry, and I’m kind of shocked it worked.
As I type this, I’m on a big, comfortable church bus (I will post pics on Facebook) heading to church camp in Grove, Oklahoma. This is the first time we’ve been to this camp, and we’re taking 40 kids from First Baptist Magnolia with us.
I’ve decided that I am going to be making a list of those things you really don’t want to hear as a church camp sponsor. So far, the list is topped by the comment, “I haven’t even had a shower today.”. It is one of my primary duties to make sure the 18 boys on the trip shower at least twice a day!
I’ll check back in later on down the road…
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