Downtown in Memphis

What a great opportunity Laurie and I had this weekend. We were able to get away to downtown Memphis and play the tourist. It was a blast. We ate some delicious food — Sauces, The Majestic Grill, Cafe’ 61, Bluff City Bakery. We listened to some music on Beale — Beale Street on a Saturday night? We have NEVER done that. It was packed because of the Music Fest.

Check out some of our pics.

Riding the Tolley Down South Main —- Beale Street Music Festival - Note Mighty Mississippi River

W.C. Handy Statue on Beale —- E & H - Great Burger — Top Floor=Former Brothel - Walls Can’t Talk Thank God!

National Civil Rights Museum Saturday Night on Beale Street

Ted & Matt - Hope Musicians - Playing in Beale

Cool Trolley Shot by Laurie Downtown Memphis Reflection

Atop the Residents Inn

Very Special Arts Festival

                 

I wish I had a video of this, but if you listen to the beautiful version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by the late Hawaiian artist Israel “Iz” Kamakawiwoʻole, you will experience some of the sweetness of watching these special kids perform a hula dance this morning at Hope. 

We have the great privilege of hosting the annual Very Special Arts Festival put on the Memphis City Schools.   There will be over 1000 special needs kids who come through our doors to experience the music, the fun and the arts and crafts.  What a great opportunity for us to serve these children and the dedicated educators who love them every day. 

We are completely committed to serving our community with the facility that God has given us.  Later this spring we will be hosting the AP exams for Cordova High School, will have five high school graduations in our sanctuary and we will host the Memphis City School’s Principals Academy.

With all the bad press that the school system gets, I hope someone is out here reporting on this great event for these exceptional students.

Tigers Fall in National Final

Driving home tonight past the University of Memphis, what should have been a long line of cars honking and celebrating a Tiger national championship was like a funeral procession. People slowly passing by the campus in mourning over the loss.

I know someone has to lose.

And in the grand scheme of things this was just a basketball game. And the Tigers had a wonderful year — the best year of Memphis basketball ever. And they provided much joy and a tremendous amount of unity for a fractured city. And CDR was fantistic all year and gained first team All-America status. And Derrek Rose is the most phenominal athelete to put on a Tiger uniform. And Joey Dorsy was such a beast all year. And Calaperi has done a wonderful job leading these young men.

But when you invest your heart into something, you risk the pain. I have not invested as much heart energy toward a team since —- ever. The only thing that rivals it was watching my step-son who was a passionate and phenomenally skilled wrestler. I have never expended as much heart wrenching love as when he was battling it out on the mat in a close match.

Love is like that. It is a dangerous endeavor. That takes me to a favorite C. S. Lewis quote,

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless–it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

I love my step-son dearly — that is why his struggle on the mat impacted me so much. And yes, I love this Tiger team and with that love comes the pain of loss at their loss.

I guess I better end this cathartic post.  I do feel a little better getting this off my chest.

I am grateful for a great Tiger season and look forward to next year.

GO TIGERS!!!!

Wow!!! Tigers Win Big Over Texas in Texas

(Photo by AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki )

Yes, this picture looks like Tiger coach John Calipari is praying for a miracle. My take is that he is giving thanks to God for the man standing next to him —Derrick Rose. Rose was voted MVP of the south regional in the NCAA tournament after his Tigers dominated against number 2 seed Texas 85-67. What a big win for Calipari and his talented squad.

Many of The pundits have shown no respect for Memphis. (Exception is Digger Phelps)

Here is an example posted by ESPN on March 27th —- ALL of the experts picked Memphis to lose:

Will Memphis be tripped up sooner or later (or not at all)?

Bilas: Memphis (will lose), to Michigan State in Sweet 16

Davis: Memphis (will lose), to Texas in the Elite Eight

Fraschilla: Memphis (will lose), to Texas in the Elite Eight

Gottlieb: Memphis (will lose), to Texas in the Elite Eight

Rankin: Memphis (will lose), to Michigan State in the Sweet 16

Vitale: Memphis (will lose), to Michigan State in the Sweet 16

Well, well, well, look what has happened. The truth of the Tiger’s talent surfacing to the top.

It is great to be heading to San Antonio.

Go Tigers!! Sweet Sixteen Tonight

                                              

The Tigers take on Michigan State tonight in the Sweet Sixteen of the South Region.  Looks like a great matchup for the Tigers.  Keys to the game — Putting the clamps on Drew Neitzel from the 3-point line — Joey showing up and being the man he is on the boards — Tigers controlling the tempo of the game and not get into a free throw shooting contest at the end of the game.I predict at Memphis win — 81 - 74.

Be It Resolved from 2nd Pres

We had a special surprise tonight at our Session meeting. Our mother church, Second Presbyterian of Memphis, graciously sent us a resolution from their Session. Their pastor and our friend, Sandy Wilson came with the Clerk of the Session, Bill Martin and long time staffer Susan Nash. They shared with us the resolution and Sandy prayed for Craig and the church. Here is the resolution which fairly traces the history of Hope:

Resolution from the Session of Second Presbyterian Church

January 2008

Whereas Hope Presbyterian Church opened the doors of her new 5000 seat, 125,000 square foot sanctuary and her expanded 200 space parking lot to the community on January 5-6, 2008;

Whereas she, having begun in 1988, first met in Shelby Place Restaurant , then Evangelical Christian School, moving into her permanent home at 8500 Walnut Grove Road in 1996;

Whereas her sanctuary space at this current site was 80% full in the two hours that most people attend church and she had already expanded;

Whereas she has grown from a church plant of 25 to a fast-growing church of 5,954 members in 20 years;

Whereas her mission to the unchurched, their families and friends brings 6000 adults and 1100 children in their five weekend services times making her one of the largest churches in Tennessee and the United States;

Whereas she is both a local church serving the community at large, Caldwell community specifically and Mid-South churches through a multichurch network and a global church, planting and aiding churches in Mexico, Ecuador, and Kenya;

Whereas she is both a daughter church and a sister church to Second Presbyterian Church;

Be It Resolved that the Session of Second Presbyterian Church wholeheartedly congratulates Dr. Craig Strickland, the Session and staff of Hope Presbyterian Church for their leadership during these 20 years and praises God for the growth and advancement of His Kingdom through these servants.

William S. Martin Sanders L. Wilson

Clerk of the Session Moderator

January 28, 2008

Wedding on Beale Street

There it is — the Historic Daisy Theater on Beale Street in Memphis.  I am very excited about being there tonight to perform a wedding for Michael and Aubri.  This place is too cool.  It oozes of history.  It is one of those, “if these walls could talk” places.  The Daisy was built in 1917 and survived the downturn of Beale in the 60s.  In fact it was referred to in an old song by Joni Mitchell called “Furry Sings the Blues” about the demise of Beale Street through the eyes of real life blues man — Furry Lewis. 

“There’s a double bill murder at the New Daisy*
The old girl’s silent across the street
She’s silent - waiting for the wrecker’s beat
Silent - staring at her stolen name
Diamond boys and satin dolls
Bourbon laughter- ghosts - history falls
To parking lots and shopping malls
As they tear down old Beale Street
Old Furry sings the blues”

*the New Daisy is right across the street from the Historic Daisy which is the silent girl referred to in the 2nd line. It is “New” in that it was built in the 1930s!

Thank goodness the “wrecker’s beat” never came to the Historic Daisy as it has been restored to greatness due in a large part to Civil Rights leader and Executive Director Randle Catron along with the Beale Street Developmental Corporation. 

First Presbyterian Downtown Memphis

Last week Laurie had an opportunity to speak at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Memphis. After a wonderful dinner, we headed up to the sanctuary where she talked about her ministry to refugees and immigrants in the city through Multi-National Ministries. She did an excellent job and was warmly received by the people there.

Rev. Bo Scarborough graciously turned on the lights to the huge stained glass windows and this is what we saw.

          

First Pres is the 2nd oldest church in Memphis. It was founded in 1828 when there were a mere 500 people who lived in the city. Now, 180 years later they are still serving downtown Memphis with the compassion of Christ.

With the traditional stained glass beauty of First Pres in my mind, I just read an interesting blog from Dave Ferguson about the unchurched and their perception about the look of the church facility. He made this observation:

“What if I told you that the average unchurched person would be more likely to walk into a cathedral than any contemporary facility when looking for a church? It’s true! When unchurched people were shown four pics that included two contemporary church designs, a church with a steeple and a cathedral the unchurched said they preferred the look of a cathedral by 2:1 over any other option.”

Interesting insight. I think I am drawn to a beautiful building both traditional and contemporary. But the key to whole thing is what happens inside!!!

Read the rest of Dave’s post here.

Dang - Tigers Lose First of the Season

I hang my head over:

Free Throws — Vols 12-18 Tigers 8-17

Rebounds — Vols 50 Tigers 34

Score — Vols 66 Tigers 62

Painful but we were clearly outplayed tonight by a very good Tennessee team. And we still had a chance to win in the end. Just didn’t have the magic of the UAB game. Maybe we will meet Tennessee again in the Final Four. Still very proud of this team.

GO TIGERS!!

THE Game-Memphis #1 vs. Tennessee #2

The buzz around here in Memphis is all about this game tomorrow night. And it is not just around here. It is garnering national attention. ESPN’s Game Day will broadcast from inside the Fed Ex Forum all day leading up to the 8 PM tip off.

ESPN named Chris Douglas Roberts (left) Player of the Week for his stellar performances last week. Here is some of what they said about CDR:

“Let’s lock up a spot on a first-team All-America list for Chris Douglas-Roberts. He continues to make plays for the undefeated, top-ranked Tigers. The latest came Saturday night in Birmingham. CDR converted a three-point play with 6.5 seconds left. That gave the Tigers a 79-78 lead and eventual win. Douglas-Roberts finished with 32 points on 13-of-21 shooting in 36 minutes. He had seven boards and didn’t have a turnover or personal foul.” (For the rest of the article click here)

# 1 vs. #2 — Here are some stats found on U of M’s Basketball website

• No. 1 teams are 20-17 versus No. 2 teams all-time
• No. 2 teams are 10-9 in regular season games
• Last six No. 1-2 regular season games are 3-3
• No. 1 teams are 16-12 in non-league games
• No. 2 teams are 4-0 in games involving teams from the same state

I certainly hope that last stat does not hold true tomorrow. GO TIGERS!!!