I have been an information junkie for a long time. God apparently wired me that way in order that I could live out my calling in life -- one that has included stints at newspaper reporting, city government, and communications with the church. As part of that unique calling, I have been known to curl up in the evening at home with a book of useless information and absorb its contents.
A few years ago, many organizations began holding Trivia Nights to raise funds. That kind of event was a natural fit for me and many of my friends who enjoyed displaying their recall in a wide range of what some consider "useless" information. It was a pasttime that was nurtured at the dining room table of a friend, Art McCormick, who was superintendent of schools in Oblong in the 1980's. Art lost a year-long battle with cancer Aug. 2 in a journey that included a diagnosis of leukemia and a bone marrow transplant.
I met Art in the course of covering the Oblong community for the Robinson Daily News during my college years at Eastern Illinois University and the year following graduation. In the true sense of the word, Art was a professional in that we were able to maintain a friendship and at the same time have mutual respect for each other as our assigned roles required. Our evening competition of a new game, Trivial Pursuit, soon blossomed into various tournaments as we extended the circle of friends. Our friendship took us to sporting events and we maintained close contact for nearly 25 years.
But the real fruit of this friendship wasn't so trivial. Art McCormick's real gift was the gift of encouragement. In 1985, I had an opportunity to move to Mattoon, IL to begin working for a larger daily newspaper. It was Art that encouraged me to make the move, a move out of my comfort zone, saying, "You have outgrown Oblong; if you are going to be able to develop your gift, you need a new challenge." Oblong was home; it was comfortable, but Art's advice proved correct.
As I moved to Mattoon, I was unaware that Art, knowing I would be covering the Mattoon school board, had already made a phone call to the Mattoon superintendent, Dr. Walt Warfield. Art told Dr. Warfield that "he's ok...he will be fair with you if you are fair with him." That phone call opened doors early in establishing my credibility in a new community. It was Art's way of encouraging me again.
Art's words of counsel and encouragement were key one other time in my life. In 1991, it was Art that again challenged me to move out of my comfort zone and purchase my own home. My wife, two sons and I were living in my parent's home they had purchased for retirement. But Art pointed out the importance of building equity financially as well as giving my family a home of their own. Once again, Art's timing was impeccable.
Along the way, there were points of disagreement. You would expect that in a relationship between a Southern Baptist Republican and a United Methodist Democrat. We would discuss the political issues of the day each from our own perspective. Art was a voracious reader and lifelong student of history. I would draw upon my political science background and how the events played in the media. Art always made room for the possibility that he could change his mind (although it rarely did in political discussions!) and his arguments certainly made me probe my own deeply held belief and convictions.
In the Bible, the New Testament character Barnabas was so named, because it meant Son of Encouragement (Acts 4). If there is ever a gift that needs to be developed within the church, it is the Gift of Encouragement. The United Methodist Reporter recently ran a story entitled Passing the Mantle. It deals with the issue facing a significant number of United Methodist churches every year -- finding models for dealing with "dying" churches in ways that are more realistic, intentional and ultimately, more hopeful.
Ed Kail in the Iowa Conference was part of a team that developed a HOSP model that talks of three stages of a church -- hospice, hospital and places of radical hospitality. Hospice churches are marked by a persistent decline in membership, attendance and mission to the larger community. It mirrors the medical concept of providing end-of-life care when a cure is not possible. And part of the key to having a dying church resurrected is passing the mantle to a new generation.
About this same time, I listened to the teaching of Tom Albin at Beulah Holiness Camp Meeting this year, talk to an aging crowd about the younger generation. "Young adults today do not want to be told what to do (by older adults)," Albin said. "They want a relationship. A true mentoring relationship in which you show them how to do it and walk with them, providing wise counsel." In short, nurturing the gift of encouragement.
And that is the gift that Art McCormick gave to me. His wife, Bev, wrote just days before Art's death, "In his heart Art was simply an encourager; he wanted to see others achieve. It was merely a part of a promise to God he was carrying out. One day, he even asked me, 'Have I done enough?'"
On Aug. 2, Art McCormick received his answer from God when God called him home. And even as my friends and I travel to Trivia Nights, there will be a noticable void at the table. Art didn't always have the answer, but he encouraged those around him to aim high, reach for the stars and never settle for less.
And that's no trivial matter...