Gary Mintchell

Author Archive

Service

January 4, 2024

If, instead of working on making more money, we spend some time each day contemplating how to serve others better and more creatively, everyone is richer for it.
Earl Nightingale

We can preach, cajole, persuade, argue, scream, and so forth as much as we want, but

Our kids will still misbehave
People will still think of us as obnoxious humans
People close to us will not become fellow disciples of Jesus

People watch who we are which speaks more loudly than our words. Just think if we all worked on serving others better. Building products that help rather than addict. Providing a smile and a meal or a coat. Providing a ride to the doctor. Buying a coffee for the person next in line.

Add your own thoughts. Then go and do.

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Optimism—We Must Live It

January 3, 2024

Reading through the Proverbs gives those of us trying to walk that path of wisdom a sense of optimism. We are with God and God is with us as we live that sort of life.

A news item in todays feed reported an increase of American consumer confidence (after a year of almost all good economic news). The reporter added a caveat—these are opinion polls and Republicans (this year) might be reluctant to say things are getting better at the risk of saying the Democrats were right. I imagine if the roles were reversed, so would be the opinions.

On the other hand, media stokes fear about dangers of artificial intelligence. There is more violence in the Middle East. The war in the Ukraine continues killing or wounding hundreds of Russian soldiers every day while destroying cities and towns. China is (as we say in diplomatic circles) saber rattling about its intentions in Taiwan. How can we be optimistic?

Or as Barry McGuire sang the PF Sloan song in 1965 (all this is hardly new)

[Chorus]

And you tell me over and over and over again, my friend

Ah, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction

[Verse 3]

Yeah, my blood’s so mad, feels like coagulatin’

I’m sittin’ here just contemplatin’

I can’t twist the truth, it knows no regulation

Handful of senators don’t pass legislation

And marches alone can’t bring integration

When human respect is disintegratin’

This whole crazy world is just too frustratin’

But to live a sane daily life, we need some optimism.
Eve of Destruction, PF Sloan recorded by Barry McGuire

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor, who lived and died in the worst of times in Germany:

The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy.

An essential human trait is to “claim the future”, especially for those who live the with-God life. The time is ripe for us to grab this stance.

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Pride—The Sin of Hubris

January 2, 2024

When I’m serious about studying Christian thought, I love to go to the writers of the first two to three generations of the church. These people were trying to figure out what this new movement meant, what it meant to live with a risen Jesus.

Especially the Desert Fathers were concerned with pride. They knew the power of pride to bring people down.

I’ve been rereading some of the theologians of the 16^th, 17^th, and 18^th centuries. What amazes me is that these very smart and educated men all latched onto certain verses from the Bible and then built a system of theology on them. One source noted that Calvinism is “proved” by these six verses. Meanwhile Arminianism by a different set of six verses.

A few hundred years later a preacher in a small village near my home town was studying scripture and “discovered” a Bible verse. He built a “Biblical Research Institute” and started a movement called The Way International.

What I do find amazing is the hubris of people who read a translation of a translation and then proceed to tell people they know exactly what God thinks.

There is a phrase from French psychologist Émile Coué repeated by Chief Inspector Dreyfus in the Pink Panther movie series—“Every day in every way I’m getting better and better.” (Oh, that was said to help many people, but it didn’t work for Chief Inspector Dreyfus.)

The first step to knowledge is to recognize our lack. Then, dispelling hubris, we learn a little bit more each day. I think we could read Matthew chapters 5-7 everyday for the remainder of our lives and everyday realize something new to apply to our lives.

[Check the beginning of Proverbs Chapter 2.]

Posted in Christianity, discernment, pride, Study | Leave a Comment »

For Learning About Wisdom

January 1, 2024

A chapter a day for the 31 days of January. (I promise not to write about Proverbs every day, although that wouldn’t be a bad idea. My mind searches too broadly to stay on topic.)

Why read the Proverbs (and actually any other Wisdom literature):

For learning about wisdom and instruction;
For understanding words of insight;
For gaining instruction in wise-dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity;
To teach shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and prudence to the young;
To let the wise also hear and gain in learning, and the discerning acquire skill;
To understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

[Note: fear of the Lord does not mean to be afraid, rather, it means living within the awe and reverence of God however you define he/she/it.]

From the Prologue to the book of Proverbs. I couldn’t have said it better. So I won’t try. The types of people you will meet–the wise seek learning, the simple can be taught, the fool shuns learning, the scoffer cynically derides learning.

And Happy New Year 2024. Many blessings to you all for a great year.

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31 Days of Wisdom

December 29, 2023

Let’s begin the New Year with a proper state of mind and attitude.

How about 31 for 31?

January has 31 days. The book of Proverbs in the Old Testament has 31 chapters. One chapter of wisdom a day for the month of January. That should orient us for success this year.

As a special bonus for yourself, turn to the first book of the New Testament and read Matthew chapters 5-7 as a daily companion. Matthew is firmly in that Jewish wisdom tradition. Called the Sermon on the Mount, this is most likely Jesus’s standard teaching as he traveled the countryside preaching. Ground yourself this core teaching about how to live.

I retired from active soccer refereeing about seven years ago promptly gaining some weight. I started lifting weights which added muscle—and weight. Then Covid plus moving to a new state disrupted my routines not helping.

This year I made slight tweaks in workout and diet. Nothing drastic. Just eating less. Cutting out or reducing greatly foods that add weight (chips and sugary crap). Increasing aerobic intensity a little. Dedicating more effort to resistance training. 104 deg hot tub four days a week (great for metabolic health and longevity). I’ve dropped 12 pounds and more than an inch from my waist. Steel cut oats for more than half of my breakfasts helped drop cholesterol to the low side of good.

You don’t need drastic lifestyle changes unless you need to drop lots of weight. Small changes done consistently make all the difference (assuming no other overriding health issues).

Here are two tips for subtle changes with big impact. Ten fruits and ten foods added to your diet replacing ultra-processed and sugary foods.

Ten Fruits

Blueberries
Apples
Oranges (not juice)
Raspberries
Blackberries
Prunes
Tomatoes
Bananas
Watermelon
Avocados

Ten Foods

Quinoa
Eggs
Salmon
Sweet Potatoes
Potatoes
Blueberries
Almonds
Spinach
Lean Chicken
Oatmeal

Posted in Disciplines, Physical, Wisdom | Leave a Comment »

Am I Doing My Best?

December 28, 2023

Former US President Jimmy Carter tells about interviewing with Admiral Rickover the leader of the nuclear-powered submarine fleet for a position after graduating from the US Naval Academy. Rickover asked him, “Have you always done your best?” Carter reflected and answered honestly, “No, I have to say I haven’t.”

That led to a resolution to always do his best. (And immediately brought to mind several, or many, times I’ve failed to do my best.)

Writer and venture capitalist Om Malik says (about surviving a heart attack 16 years ago), “I often ask myself: am I making the most of this additional time? Why am I wasting time on meaningless things? Today, I’ve pondered this a lot. If I’m honest, I admit I do need to make a few adjustments.”

This week as we look forward to a new year and perhaps a new start these questions are a great launching for reflecting on where we go from here.

Have I always done my best? Why not?
How can I make the most of my time this year?
Where am I wasting time on meaningless things?

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Kind Hearts

December 27, 2023

Kind hearts are the garden,

kind thoughts are the roots,

kind words are the blossoms,

kind deeds are the fruits.
John Ruskin

We are approaching the end of a year and the beginning of a new one. Think not of New Year’s Resolutions or goals. Or even “I resolve to be a kinder person next year.” These never succeed.

No, rather, look at yourself. What sort of person are you? What sort of person would you like to be? Perhaps write in your journal or calendar (diary) a brief description of the person you would like to be. Here is a suggestion. Write, I will be the sort of person who

Cultivates a kind heart,
Redirects thoughts and feelings intentionally toward kindness,
Pauses before speaking then speaking with kindness,
Instinctively acts toward others with kindness.

At the conclusion of the year, people will say about me, “there went a kind person.”

Posted in Compassion, focus | 1 Comment »

After Christmas, So What?

December 26, 2023

This morning a young boy was trying out his new scooter for the first time. At first hesitant. Unsure of balance. Within five minutes joyfully pushing along the sidewalk at speed.

Christmas gift. Joyous.

An early (the first) theory about spiritual life applying to Jesus explained the complete difference between spiritual and physical life. Everything physical (called the flesh in Biblical translations) is bad, dirty, evil. Everything spiritual is pure, light, good.

And never the twain shall meet.

A substantial chunk of the first writing about Jesus emphasized his physical side. He gestated within a woman. Was born, a baby, had to be fed and cleaned, and rocked to quiet. He had to learn to walk and speak the language (most likely more than one). No story of him in ministry even suggests that he was something other than a male human being.

Ah, but another chunk of writing tries to explain how Jesus was so uniquely filled spiritually. Writers have great difficulty trying to explain spiritual things. But several letters and other writings took great pain to try to explain how Jesus was so completely filled with the spirit of God.

(Later a bunch of smart theologian types came up with the theory of the Trinity to try to explain spiritual things in human terms. It remains a hard concept to understand for many people. I understand that difficulty and sympathize.)

These writers carefully and logically disputed the Gnostic view of life. (I’ve simplified so that I don’t have to write an essay.)

After Christmas we have a life of a real man. And he taught and showed how we can each have a part of that. He wanted everyone, not just the chosen few, to have a better life. Paul tried to define that life as the fruit of the spirit—found in chapter 5 of the Epistle to the Galatians: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

We will all shortly be considering how to live in 2024. Rather than some list of “resolutions” that we’ll never follow, we could say “I want to be the kind of person who lives that life.”

Posted in Christianity, Spirituality | Leave a Comment »

Merry Christmas

December 25, 2023

In the old tradition a Feast Day of Celebration. Not necessarily Jesus’s birthday, since that exact day was not recorded. But a celebration with a fancy theology word—incarnation. A special human was born who was filled with the spirit of God. God coming to earth.

Today is almost anti-climax celebration for us. The family gathered Saturday. We attended Christmas Eve 11 pm service last night. My wife is celebrating by making cinnamon rolls from scratch for breakfast. As an enneagram type 1, it warms her heart to cook special meals and treats.

This season brings out connections that may happen only occasionally. I reached out to a nephew in prison. He has no parents. My wife reached out to a former student who suffers from mental/emotional problems. She responded with a Merry Christmas text.

Those remind us that not everyone’s celebration is without a mixture of grief or sadness. To those we reach out sending the spirit of comfort.

Still, we send wishes of Love, Hope, Peace, and Joy to everyone everywhere. Pause, take a deep breath, and bring those into your spirit, at least for a bit, today.

Posted in advent, Christianity | 1 Comment »

A Blessing for this Day

December 22, 2023

I am writing this the day after the Winter solstice. For us in the Northern Hemisphere the days will be getting longer each day for the next six months. Christmas is a feast day celebrated in ancient times as the day they definitely knew that the days were getting longer and the optimism of light and warmth grew.

It is only natural that the early Church co-opted the day to celebrate the light of God entering the world. It’s a celebration. I hope you all can find a way to celebrate this year.

I leave you with this blessing for the day from John O’Donohue:

May I live this day

Compassionate of heart,

Clear in word,

Gracious in awareness,

Courageous in thought,

Generous in love.
John O’Donohue

Posted in advent, Grace, Gratitude | Leave a Comment »

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