Cancer Update
The continuing record of clean scans, indicating no detectable cancer in my body, is a marvelous answer to prayers and the developments of medical technology.
I want to recommend Jim Allison: Breakthrough to you. His long, determined quest to find a cure for cancer, the disease that took the life of his mother led to discovering how to target the immune system to defeat cancer and the 2018 Nobel Prize for Medicine. It’s here on YouTube and streams on most platforms.
It’s very personal to me because when my melanoma was first diagnosed there was no treatment. It was a death sentence if it metastasized. By the time it did go to my lungs and brain, immunotherapy was available and effective.
I will do my next MRI/PET scans at the end of March. I’d hoped to restart donating platelets, but the MRI tech strongly rejected that idea. She told me they need the big vein in my left elbow – which is already very scarred – for the various cancer tests and treatments. I think I’ll sign up for platelet donation and see if they can use other veins. Does that make me a rebel?
Men’s Round Up
Once again, it was a family affair as Donn flew out from Kansas City to join the Breshears Boys: Gerry, David, and Colton. Yeah, I know – his name is Katsel, but he is a Breshears Boy too! Nathaniel wasn’t able to join unfortunately.
It was a joyful surprise to meet Dwight Johnson, a long time teacher at Morrison Academy. We met Dwight and Beckie in our trips to Taiwan to work with Peter and Debbie Dodd.
I did four packed workshops on Women in Leadership, probably the emotionally hottest issue internal issue in churches today. I began with many points of agreement before going down to the central issues of difference, presenting the reasons people opt for them biblically and charitably as well as being clear how I come to my “male-elder complementarian” despite being a full mutualist at heart.
The materials I used are here and there’s even more stuff here
Soma Churches is sponsoring an extended dialogue with Cynthia Westfall and me May 1–2, 2025 in Fort Worth. Details are here.
Western Professor
If plan A works, and I think it will, this will be my last year as an overloaded core faculty member at Western Seminary. I plan to make the shift to an overloaded adjunct faculty member for the next academic year. I have been handing things off to competent successors so I will do one more year as nearly full time to end with a forty five year career at Western. There is no end in sight for my role as Pastor of Pastors!
In another amazing prospect, God willing I will be in Outer Mongolia in early April, 2025. Lots of pictures to come.
Christmas in Kansas City
Cyndee joined us as we spent Christmas in Kansas City. Highlights included the 9:00 pm Christmas Eve service with Donn and Susan doing the reading and lighting of the Christ candle and Elizabeth doing a marvelous job reading Luke’s account of the birth of our Savior. Click the picture to go to the video and then click to start it:
Donn and Michael joined forces to light Luminaria and we rode the 150 foot tall ferris wheel in downtown KC.
