Cracked Pottery

Isaiah 46:8, "O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand."

How many items of cracked pottery do you own? Long forgotten terracotta containers in a garden shed, a backyard or garage. Broken over the years but not so much to throw away. I have a clay fire place that I burn wood in once in awhile. Over the years, the continuous heating and cooling of the clay caused cracks to appear. You might call it character, but it will be only a matter of time before it breaks apart. Yet when the fire roars it looks so cool! The flame shoots through the spaces and I don't pay much attention to the brokenness of the container.

Cops see a lot of brokenness in the course of a career. Stuff that stays with you long after an arrest is made, a case is investigated or a body is mended. I can testify to the fact that there is evil in this world and we live in total depravity. More often than not, total depravity links directly to the abuse of drugs and alcohol. It makes no difference if a person is a homeless alcoholic or a teenager addicted to drugs, the effects of abuse become evident over time with every arrest or failed attempt at sobriety. The damage inflicted is greater than what is done to a human body, it destroys relationships; separates us from friends, family and God. Yet even in the darkness of addiction, healing can happen and a spark can ignite the fire of a human soul.

One afternoon, I was using a radar gun down the street from a school and caught a guy driving well over the posted speed limit. The man pulled over and when I got to the driver's side window, the distinctive smell of marijuana wafted from the car. I told the guy I stopped him for speeding and he was more then willing to admit his poor driving. Anything  to take the focus off of the blue haze floating out of his car window. I asked to see his driver's license, registration and proof of insurance. After he handed everything over, I told him, "Now give me the rest of the marijuana you were smoking."

After a moment of surprise and a fleeting attempt to deny he was smoking pot, he handed over a small plastic bag with what was left of the green, leafy substance. I searched his car and noticed a key chain with a trinket shaped like a Tupperware bowl. It was the small white pebble inside that got my attention. It was cocaine. The guy was arrested and went to jail. I managed to turn a traffic infraction into a felony arrest. A good days work.

Months passed and the following year on July 4th, I was walking a foot patrol through a beachside parking lot when a man I did not recognize called to me from a rather nice, fifth wheel camper. It was the man I arrested. He told me that it was because I caught him that he turned his life around. Taking me by the arm, he brought me over to his RV and introduced me to his family. He announced with joy that I was the cop that helped him stopped using drugs. He insisted I sit with him and eat. He was a new man. The scars remained but a light of peace shined in his eyes.

"The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life."  Job 33:4

I don't know if this man was a believer, but I do know that when the Spirit of God dwells in you, people don't see the imperfections of our exteriors, they see Jesus. It is through our brokenness that God's grace shines through. We are created by God and when filled with the Holy Spirit, it is that light that shines though through the cracks. As the grace and mercy of the Holy Spirit grows in our hearts, the old pottery falls away and people see who we are intended to be in Christ.

Consider the words of 2 Corinthians 4:7-11 and 16-18:

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed - always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh."

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

The Big Show

Daniel 1:8, "But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way."

The Big Show is a term used in professional baseball when a player makes the roster of a major league team. Only one in 200 high school ball players will ever get this chance. If you were able to accomplish one Big Show moment, what would it be? A promotion? A successfully negotiated contract? A lifetime achievement award? For me, my selection to Deputy Police Chief with only fifteen years of experience was one of those moments.

What if achieving a Big Show moment meant you had to compromise your faith? This blog post tells the story of Terry Davis. Terry is a Christian who did not compromise when his Big Show moment was within reach. He stood in the dugout of success looking out at a major league field. His name was on the roster, it was his turn to bat, the bases were loaded and he was going to hit a grand slam. God told him to leave the dugout and go to the parking lot. Terry obeyed.

Terry is the CEO of Tri-California Events, Inc. (Tri-California) He was the marketing, special events and tourism director with the County of Monterey and started the Wildflower Triathlon in 1983. In 1994, Terry accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior and started an event management company with his wife Betsy. In 2000, the Lymphoma Society asked Terry to develop and manage a marathon event to raise money for cancer research. At this point in his career, he was a AAA minor league organizer but that all changed when Nike decided to be the major sponsor of the event. Nike guaranteed that the Lymphoma Society would receive $3,000,000 a year as a major sponsor. The venue for the marathon was in the San Francisco/Bay Area. Terry would become a major league player in the event management world. Many are called, few are chosen.

Planning began in earnest. Terry worked with vendors, government organizations and Nike executives to build an event to exceed everyone's expectations. In the middle of getting all the pieces in place, he received an e-mail from the Nike marketing group wanting to put a female twist on the event naming it the Nike Goddess Marathon. Terry read the message and his heart stopped cold. This was a sports event to help people with lymphoma and a woman battling cancer does not feel like a goddess.

Terry had invested a lot of time and energy into planning the event and knew this would change the course of his career. Yet Terry was a Christian first. He followed the one, true God; not a Greek deity.  Terry said, "My God doesn't want me to work for a goddess." He sent an e-mail recommending Nike to change the name of the event with all his reasons. Nike reps responded and indicted they were going to keep the name.

Terry told God that he wanted to do the event. God told him no. He sent a letter to Nike respectfully stepping down as race director; explaining his concerns about the name of the event and that as a Christian, he would not compromise his faith. He wrote that he would assist with the transition to a different event organizer. He was at peace.

In the weeks that followed, Terry visited all of the people, government agencies and vendors explaining why he stepped down. He shared the faith he had in Christ and people could not believe he would walk away from the money, the prestige and the fame.  Terry listed to God not the world.  Three weeks later, Nike marketing dropped Goddess from the event name, seemingly agreeing with Terry it was not a good choice of a title. It was renamed the Nike Women’s Marathon.

This was not the end of the story. Three months after the race, Nike would ask Terry back to organize the 2001 event. Without Goddess in the name, Terry was comfortable that he could honor God with the event.  He has done so ever since. Standing firm in faith allowed Terry to share the hope he has in Christ with countless people. 

 

There is no compromise, we are called to share our faith and incorporate it into our business lives. With each opportunity to tell people about the meaning of the resurrection of Christ, we chip away at the stone of unbelief. Terry continues to sow seeds of faith in the triathlon marathon and event business community witnessing and helping people to become totally committed to Jesus Christ along the way.

Where is God calling you to step out in faith in your workplace?
 

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On January 8, 2013, Terry lost his oldest son Nick in a solo motorcycle accident at Westmont College.  This post is in the memory of Nick Davis. Pray for Terry and his family that they are comforted as they deal with the loss of Nick.  For more information  go to nickdavismemories.com .