05 May 05 Fringe Benefits

Sometimes the fringe benefits are the best part of a conference or lectureship.

Now I know all you high powered executive types get some cool fringe benefits at your conferences. T-shirts, hats, calculators, tote bags (an NRECA favorite), multi-function pens, and tickets to major golf tournaments are just some of the freebies that many of you have received.

At the Pepperdine lectures, the best fringe benefit involves people. No, they are not giving away people this year. The chance to see friends and relatives, to have a cup of coffee with a piece of pie and catch up with each others is, as the popular commercial suggests, priceless.

I seem to get less and less out of the speakers and more and more out of the talks. The talks which concern our families our friends and the faithful moving of God in our lives.

We share our family pictures. We talk about the exploits of our children on the softball diamond, the soccer pitch, the stage and the classroom.

We share our cares and concerns for our children. We share angst and anguish over the decisions of our kids as they struggle to grow up. We hold hands and pray, asking God to soften hearts, to protect, to lead our children into fulfilling relationships with us as parents and with the Lord as God.

I’ll take that over a tote-bag any day.