A Well Anchored Place

Ever since I can remember watching television news programs - I can remember watching David Gergen.   (Yes, it is true, I was a nerd growing up - did I mention I was also Debate Club President?).  David Gergen, you may already know, worked as a Special Assistant or Director of Communications for four United States Presidents - Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton.  He currently serves as a professor at the "Center For Public Leadership" at Harvard University.  As a kid, I watched Gergen for the first time on the weekly television conversation/debate between "Gergen and Shields" (David Gergen and Mark Shields), on the McNeil Lehrer Newshour on PBS.

Recently, Gergen was asked by CNN's Anderson Cooper, to comment on the Presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.  He was queried about what personal and character qualities make up the soul and constitution of a good United States President.  Without weighing in on one specific candidate in particular, but speaking in general terms, this is what Gergen said; "The best Presidents are not the smartest people in the world, they are people who live their lives from...

A Well Anchored Place

The phrase, "A Well Anchored Place" has been resonating in my mind and heart for a few days now.  I love the ring of it.  Each word in this phrase connotes a sense of strength and calm:

Well...A thing that is good, and strong, not great and flashy.
Anchor...A large object that is tied to a boat that keeps it from moving
Place...A specific area of focus, as in, "We have a place to live"

I also love the mechanics of the concept of "A Well Anchored Place".  Think about an anchor on a boat.  On the largest cruise ships or oil tankers an anchor can be as large as a house.  Most anchors on large boats weigh thousands of tons.  They are so heavy they must be lifted with automatic cranks and hydraulics.  However, any large boat captain will tell you that the size of an anchor does not matter as much as where a boat is anchored.  Sand is never a good place to anchor a boat.  Small pebbles can be equally challenging as a place to moor the anchor of a boat.  The best place, to anchor a boat, of course, is a pile of huge boulders or rocks.  An anchor placed under a boulder, no matter the size of the anchor, can keep even the largest ship from floating away.

Think of that - the size of the anchor does not matter as much as the place of the anchor.

A Well Anchored Place

What Gergen was getting to in his comment about he American Presidency, of course, is that great leaders need to attach their lives to "A Well Anchored Place".  Gergen went on to say that, "Great Presidents are people who can have fun in the day to day, be at ease with themselves and their position."  The do not deliberate or plod through basic decision making processes.  They know that whatever happens to them and the country the ship of state and the ship of their lives will not be blown away.  They live from...

A Well Anchored Place

As Christ followers, we also believe that we must live our lives from...

A Well Anchored Place

The anchor of our lives might be thought of as our heart, or our deepest belief, or our faith.  Our anchor is the most sure thing about us.  And we must anchor that faith on something equally as strong, equally as sure.  Christ followers believe that that - Place - is upon or under the bedrock boulder of Jesus Christ.

Many years ago, I heard a sermon by the great preacher Earl Palmer (of First Pres. Berkeley and later University Pres. in Seattle).  In this sermon Earl talked about the large Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco in 1989.  That earthquake caused major damage to freeway systems, houses, businesses and sky scrapers.  The interesting thing is that the cause of the damage was not necessarily due to the flimsiness of the anchors (the construction of the houses, roads, buildings), but rather, the fact that the structures were not anchored appropriately.  After the huge San Francisco earthquake of 1906, buildings were made more sturdy and steady.  Fewer structures were built out of wood.  More structures were built out of reinforced concrete.  The anchors were fine.  The problem was where the structures were anchored.  The houses were not attached to the foundations in the way necessary to keep them from getting destroyed.  The houses and buildings needed...

A Well Anchored Place

Such places, according to David Gergen, and Earl Palmer, can prevent destruction and chaos, for Presidents and common citizens, and people of faith, even in the midst of the largest storms.

Do you have...

A Well Anchored Place?  Jesus Christ is that place.

All For Now,

GB