Jerry Gillespie passed from this life to the next life today. He is better off. It would be impossible to honor every friend I have who has died with a post on this blog, but Jerry is unique. So he gets this place today.
I think anyone who knew him would agree Jerry was unique. He, in fact, would be the first to agree. “Flat top” as many knew him was joy-filled man with convictions from the first time I met him. And that would be the day I interviewed for a position at Suncrest over 13 years ago. He was on the team that interviewed me, he and Shirley came to my college graduation a few months later to represent the church I was preparing the serve. He took me to breakfast on my first Monday in the office, July 15, 1996.
I needed to borrow a truck for an event my first week on staff and guess who I called? Over the years, I’ve had the chance to roast him at a surprise birthday party (I believe the enormous number of emails he was “forwarding” at the time was my topic of choice). I’ve watched him lead in behind the scenes areas like the offering counters, I’ve been to “Young at Heart” Christmas parties he hosted, backyard parties at their home, and watched him play Santa Claus himself on more than one occasion.
What would we talk about? Politics and Religion. Those may be taboo for some in conversation, but not if you were with Jerry.
Funny Stories? I have a long list of them both that he told and that happened to him. When he would tell me one, he would often start with “Now you probably can’t use this on Sunday…”(though they were typically tame). My favorite one about him is still him counting one of suncrest’s first offerings and then putting it in the night depository of the WRONG bank. (It all worked out.)
Faithful friend? Yes, to many. I experienced much of it, but talking to good men like John Wasem and the late Gene McKean made me appreciate Jerry deeply on that front.
Purdue Fan. Conservative. Family Man. Patriot. Christ-follower. And more…more than could ever be decribed here.
I got to spend about an hour at his bedside last week. I held his hand and prayed. We laughed a little and talked a little. As much as he could. I’ll miss Jerry. And I much anticipate seeing him again.
This vacation has been a blast, but something struck me each time I’ve uploaded pictures for the blog. Abby is absent (or has her head turned). Jack will pose for a picture anytime anywhere, but Abby…not so much. And even when you kind of force her to, she somehow manages to end up in the background (See her in this shot at the Lincoln Memorial?).
Well, today I figured out how to get her beautiful face in a picture. Just ask her to love a little baby and help him pose for a picture and she is all for it. Here she is with Samuel…our friends baby who she was happy to care for every opportunity she got this week.
We got a very cool tour of the capitol building today and Congressman Visclosky even came to greet us and take a picture with us on the Capitol steps. The picture here is our family in front of the Lew Wallace statue in the old house chamber. Each state gets two statues and this is one of ours from Indiana. Jenny is actually pretty sure she is a descendant of Lew Wallace through her mom’s side of the family. 
After a stop for shade and refreshment on the National Mall, we went to the Natural History Museum. The kids loved the dinosaurs and everything else, but I think their highlight was the live butterfly environment we got to walk through. Here is Jack obviously sitting next to a very large butterfly.
I caught this picture of Jack and his friend Sydney today at the National Zoo. We had a great day catching up with the Whitt Family. 
Our family is heading out for vacation so I may or may not post for a while. If I do, it will be family stuff, not ministry stuff. 
Later Monday, our whole family was pulling weeds at the church (in section Jenny and the kids volunteered to cover). I went inside with Jack and he put his flip-flops in the HUGE box that was overflowing from Sunday. He actually had a dilemma because there was a part of him that really wanted to keep the flip-flops for himself. After he tossed them in, he totally said…”I liked them, but did you know giving them makes you feel happier than keeping them?”
Monday afternoon, I went back to the golf course with Jack. It was the first time we played this year and we had an absolute blast. He’s very natural at it so I’m always impressed with his score. He’s also starting to focus more (which helps a lot in golf!). And, of course, he loved riding in the cart, using the ball washer (every hole if I let him!), walking on the island green, and sitting down for a root beer afterwards. 
After a big weekend, it was great to have a day like this. Now, we are gearing up to go see friends out of town.
Had a great Father’s day today on a few fronts…
Next Saturday June 27th, we have an incredible opportunity at Suncrest.
One hundred times more people will hear a sermon this week than preach one. So why are there thousands of articles, books, and classes on how to preach a message, but virtually none on how to listen to one? 
