Public Safety Appreciation Weekend

I just spent an exhausting weekend with two of the greatest chaplains that anyone could ever know. Chaplain Tony Miano of Ten-Four Ministries was our speaker at Public Safety Appreciation Day on August 19th. We burned the candle at both ends---I'll let him tell our story. Check out his blog at http://thecenturionpapers.blogspot.com/2007/08/mission-durham-nc.html

Tony's website: http://www.tenfourministries.org/

Chaplain Tommy Neiman was also in town for part of the weekend. We spent most of the day Monday together and he did the service on Monday night at Ridgecrest Baptist.

You can learn more about Tommy's ministry at http://www.tommyneiman.com/

Watch this video

http://www.thehopeproject.com/

Hospital Visit

God gave me an awesome privilege back in January to lead a man named Bill to faith in Christ.

I went to see Bill in the hospital at the request of his son. We hit it off right away and became good friends.

One day when I went to visit Bill we began to talk about spiritual things. Morally, he was a good man but he had never surrendered his life to Christ.

As I shared the gospel with him, he began to weep over his sin. I asked Bill if he would like to have forgiveness for his sins and ask Jesus to be his savior.

When he said "yes", I told Bill that he could pray on his own to do that.

Before I could finish speaking, this 76 year old man raises his hands in the air, tears are streaming down his face and he cries out "Dear Lord Jesus, I have let you down so many times. Could you ever find it in your heart to forgive me? Please forgive me and please adopt me into your family. I want to be your child."

Bill got saved that day. 32 days later, he died---just one day after his 77th birthday.

I preached his funeral and was able to comfort the other believers with the news of Bill's salvation. That same news served as Bill's testimony and his witness to all of the unbelievers gathered that day.

Pray for the seeds of the gospel that were planted through the life, death and testimony of my friend Bill.

I only knew him for about 45 days here on earth---but we will have eternity to get to know each other!

N&O Article/ November 2006

Spiritual First Responder: Volunteer Chaplain Helps Emergency Workers Cope

Posted: November 20th, 2006 03:30 AM PDT

Yonat Shimron
News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina)

Nov. 17--DURHAM -- Ralph Thompson was eating a sandwich at Chick-fil-A when the call came in on the radio: altered mental status, diabetic, low blood sugar.

He rushed to his car, grabbed the spiral bound Durham County map from the rear seat, and sped to the scene.

"Ralph, you want to hold this door?" shouted Corolla Lauck, the paramedic, who spotted him as she rolled the stretcher out of the EMS truck and onto the sidewalk.

"I love it when they put me to work," said Thompson.

Every Thursday, Thompson has an emergency -- ministering to firefighters and paramedics in Durham County. It's not his main job. On other days he is the pastor of administration at Bethesda Baptist Church.

But this is Thompson's passion, his calling, as religious folk put it. Thompson's father was an assistant fire chief in the little town of Providence in Caswell County, and caring for emergency workers has been a family affair.

"Git in the truck, boy," was one of his dad's frequent orders, he says.

Five years ago, after the terrorist strikes of Sept. 11, Thompson felt compelled to minister to firefighters in a more intentional way.

"All of a sudden it came close to home," he says. "Firefighters, EMS and police saw the importance of chaplaincy in a major catastrophe."

Six months ago, Thompson added emergency medics to the list of people he offers support.

"They deal with life and death every day," says Thompson. "It's tough out there."

Thompson doesn't tell firefighters and medics what to believe. And though he carries a New Testament in his pocket, he doesn't quote Scripture. Chaplaincy, he thinks, is about relationships. He wants to be a listening ear, a friend. Usually, that means chatting up emergency workers about mundane things such as sports, the weather, their kids.

Still, there's nothing mundane about some of the issues paramedics are facing. On a Thursday last week, Thompson made a point of visiting with a paramedic whose daughter had just died, and inquiring about another who was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Gordon Smith, a paramedic who relocated from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, says Thompson paid him special attention to make sure he wasn't experiencing any post-traumatic stress.

"He made sure I was OK in the head," says Smith. "He's easy to talk to and makes you feel at ease."

'I live Scripture'

There are 80 full-time EMS workers in Durham County and another 40 part-timers. Thompson makes a point of getting to know all of them, at least by name. His routine is the same. Thursday mornings he checks in at the EMS headquarters behind Durham Regional Hospital. Then he heads out to the 15 fire stations and six EMS stations across the county.

"My faith is caring for people," says Thompson, who is 45. "When I think of the ministry of Jesus on earth, he took care of people, he met people's needs. My philosophy is, I live Scripture."

Thompson's black SUV is emblazoned with the words "Fire/EMS chaplain." On his belt he packs a portable radio, two pagers and a cell phone. If he arrives at a station and the team gets a call, he jumps back into his car and heads out to the scene right behind the crew.

Once there, he opens doors and helps EMS workers carry their equipment. And though Thompson is chaplain to the emergency workers, he often helps patients and their families, too.

Once, he received a call from a paramedic at 2:30 a.m. A man had just died of a heart attack. His one remaining family member was in shock and the paramedics had to leave for another call. Could he come over stay with the family member?

Another time, a man in distress was threatening to shoot himself, and Thompson was there to minister to the man's wife in the raw moments after the suicide.

Across faiths

A calm demeanor and a low-key presence make him a favorite in a department that includes Christians, Muslims and plenty of agnostics.

"The guys are under a lot of stress," says Mike Smith, director of EMS for for Durham County. "They talk to each other a lot, but now they have a resource, too."

Thompson doesn't get paid for his job, yet like all volunteers, he's devoted. In addition to showing up one day a week, Thompson passes out magnetic cards with his cell phone number and he tells people he's available 24/7.

Thompson knows it's not always easy getting people to talk about their problems. "You don't just walk up and say, 'How you doing?' and expect them to tell you."

But he said, if you hang out long enough, there's always a point when the subject of a conversation turns, and a leading question can get people to open up.

In a conversation with Gary Witherspoon last week, the two talked about the EMS awareness class Witherspoon was going to give at a local elementary school. As they finished talking, Witherspoon told Thompson his mother was being discharged from the hospital, even though her situation was deteriorating.

Thompson made a mental note to follow up and say a prayer.

"Chaplains talk about having a ministry of presence," Thompson says. "You just go out and be there with them. Sometimes, you can't improve on silence."

Copyright (c) 2006, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. For reprints, email , call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

"Put Your Money Where Your Tract Is"

Recently I was talking to a supervisor with Valet Parking at the hospital and came to find out that he was a believer in Jesus Christ. We talked about the opportunities to witness when working with the public. This young man impressed me with his desire to make Christ known to the people that he came in contact with.

I gave him one of our “Steps to Peace With God” tracts and briefly showed him how to use it like Dennis Nunn taught us during our Spiritual Awakening services back in January. My new friend (let’s call him “Parker”) was encouraged when as I told him how so many of you are using these tracts to witness on a daily basis.

The tract reminded Parker of an incident that he had with a fellow believer. It seems that a gentleman had offered this young man a tract in lieu of a tip along with the advice, “this is the best tip you will ever get.”

“That had happened before,” Parker told me, “several times”.

We laughed for a minute as we talked about how some Christians tip the people who serve them. It is a well-known fact that waiters and waitresses hate working the Sunday lunch shift because “Christians” are notoriously bad tippers and sometimes leave tracts in lieu of tips.

Anyway—our conversation turned back to valet parking and the incident of the tract tipper. “I don’t know what came over me,” Parker said, “but I handed the tract back to the man and told him that I didn’t need it.”

“But young man,” the tract tipper said, “the best tip I can give you is in this tract. It explains how you can ask Jesus Christ to be your Savior”.

Parker explained to the tipper that he accepted Christ as his Savior four years ago and that he appreciated the fact that this man wanted others to know Jesus.

“But you are going about this the wrong way,” Parker told him. “I agreed with him that ‘follow Jesus’ is the best advice we can give anyone.”

“Then I pointed at the young guys working for me,” Parker continued, “these guys have a hard time paying rent and buying baby food with advice and tracts. It takes money for that. Tips are how they make a living. If you want them to listen to you, you need to tip them—and tip them generously.”

Parker told me that he wanted to tell the man to “put his money where his mouth was” but decided to leave it at “put your money where your tract is”.

“How did ‘Mr. Tract Tipper’ take your comments?”

“Well, he put the tract back in his pocket, kind of made an ‘umph’ sound and got in his car.”

“Did he give you a tip?” I asked.

“No, he didn’t. The last I saw of him was the fish symbol on his trunk as he drove out of the parking lot.”

Remember—tip your wait people well—always. Tip especially well on Sunday after church. In restaurants, go ahead and give them 20% and round up to the next dollar. Don’t be a tightwad. You’ll never miss the money.

If you ever use a valet, give him at least a couple of bucks and thank him for serving you. If you have an opportunity to give out a tract—do that AFTER you tip—it will be better received.

About the fish on the back of your car—remember it is there when you are driving. It’s there when you drive away from the valet, too.

Tip generously. It’s your testimony.

Pastor Ralph
March 2007 Newsletter Column
Bethesda Baptist Church
Durham, NC

Stressed Out

Chaplain’s Notes*****Ralph Thompson, Durham County EMS Chaplain

My wife asked me the other day, “Who do you talk to when you get overloaded with stress?”

“Why do you ask?” I asked.

“Because you are stressed out,” was the answer.

My wife was right. I was stressed. How did she know?

She just knows.

Her point was made and we began to talk about the past week. As I stopped to think, I realized that I had not been sleeping like I should. I was having problems falling asleep and staying asleep.

My eating habits were all messed up. Snacks were up. Nutrition was down. Caffeine intake was too high and protein intake was too low.

My blood pressure was up and my mood was down. My expectations were high and my temper was short.

We talked about what was going on in my “real job” as an associate pastor. There were job evaluations to write and a budget to prepare. There was a class to prepare for and visits to make.

Our church was in the middle of introducing a new worship schedule that includes 3 services every Sunday morning.

Then there was home.

“The house needs to be painted,” she reminded me. “Yeah,” I added, “and it’s almost time for a new roof and the AC should have been replaced last year.”

The check engine light came on again in my wife’s car while she was driving to the doctor’s office to try and find out why she can’t seem to keep her weight up.

Then we talked about Buddy, our 14-year-old dog. We joked about getting him a hearing aid and some glasses.

We laughed about the vet strongly urging us to have his teeth cleaned and at the same time cautioning us that the anesthesia might kill a dog his age.

Guess we will put up with the bad breath. I just couldn’t see spending that much money on a gamble that the dog would live to see tomorrow—when I know he probably won’t see next year.

Then I remembered that I had been burning the candle at both ends running EMS calls with you guys and with Bethesda.

In a one-week stretch, I started out with a couple of cardiac arrests and then I went BLUE.

It seems like every call I went on turned out to be some sort of blue tag.

Some of the blue tags were light blue. You know, just a little kooky. Then there were a couple that were totally nuts. Navy blue tags. Dark navy blue.

One of the calls was so crazy that I just can’t even begin to explain it to you. If I start trying to tell you about it you will think that I am the one who should be in the straitjacket.

As I reminisced, I realized some of the job stress that you encounter on the streets. Every one of you have the day to day pressures of life that any average person has—and then you pile Code 5’s, blue tags and frequent flyers on top of that.

Not to mention the trauma. It was a trauma call that sent me over the top.

10-50, PI. It’s amazing with all the plain text radio talk we can’t seem to find any that is an acceptable substitute for 10-50.

The code talk continued on the scene. After the medic unit had left for the hospital I moved over to speak with one of the officers on the scene.

“Looks like an F-Frank to me,” he said. Another officer came up and they repeated the F-Frank talk. I thought how impersonal they made it sound.

Another officer came up. He talked about F-Frank, too. I wondered if they knew any words other than the F (Frank) word.

I moved over to the car and inspected the mangled mess and replayed the video from my mind.

A young woman, the same age as my oldest niece had been struck in the driver’s side by a much larger vehicle. I remembered the blood that streamed down her face from the lacerations on her scalp and forehead.

I remembered her eyes seemed to be fixed at one point. She was seizing. She was pinned in the vehicle. It was not pretty.

I sort of snapped out of it and came back to the present. I looked at the bloodstains and the seat that had been pushed over into the center of the car and I began to cry. As I wept, I prayed for this young lady. I also prayed for my fellow rescuers—especially that God would guard their hearts and minds.

Being the tough guy that I am I only allowed myself a minute to cry—there was still work to do. I sucked up the sniffles and checked in with command to see what I needed to do next.

Later that night my wife told me that I was stressed out (see page 1, paragraph 1) and she helped me de-brief the week.

Whew! It was good to be able to talk about it and to be reminded that we all need someone to talk to—even the preacher.

As I thought about the question of who to talk to, I remembered that my wife is always there for me. I also have a fellow chaplain that I can talk to along with a close pastor friend.

The Bible gave me a reminder that very night of where my hope and my strength come from. I was listening to a sermon by Adrian Rogers and it just happened to be on stress. He used Isaiah 40:28-31 for the passage.

28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

What an awesome promise! Everybody will have stress, problems and issues. That’s life.

But God’s promises are bigger than life. He is the source of hope.

Verse 31 is my prayer for each of you. I pray that you will place your hope in the Lord and watch Him renew your strength so that you will soar on wings like eagles and that you will be strong and not grow weary.

Have a great month and be safe out there.

Many Blessings!

Chaplain Ralph

Ralph Thompson, Durham County EMS Chaplain

A Vacation To Remember

Chaplain’s Notes/////Ralph Thompson, Durham County EMS Chaplain

It was the last week of September. We were on vacation. The condo was oceanfront. The weather was perfect. My family was excited.

I was sick.

I won’t bore you with the details of my illness—but I can tell you that there is no place like home when you are sick.

A room with an oceanfront view is no comfort when all you want is that old sofa in your own den.

On the second day my wife said, “Let’s go home. You will be more comfortable there.”

“No,” was my response.

“Why not?” she asked.

My answer began to ramble at that point. My stubborn self would not leave because we had paid in advance. I’m way too much of a tightwad to leave a paid up condo unused.

My rational self would not leave because I knew that I would feel just as sick at home. Even though I would be more comfortable at home—my wife and son were very comfortable where they were.

The verdict? We stayed right up till check out time on the last day. I figured if star athletes perform in spite of the pain then I could to.

As a husband and a father, I had duties and responsibilities to my wife and son. I promised them a vacation. I was going to deliver. Even if it killed me.

I survived and now we have another goofy expedition to laugh about in the years to come.

There was one prevailing principle that I remembered as I was curled up in the bed, in pain, moaning, crying and feeling sorry for myself.

“It’s not about me.”

That’s it. “It’s not about me”. That statement is the opening line in a book by Rick Warren titled, “The Purpose Driven Life”.

Even though Rick uses “it’s not about me” to open his book, it is not an original thought of his.

As a matter of fact “it’s not about me” was a statement that I had used for years before Rick Warren ever wrote his book.

Did Rick Warren steal my thought and use it to write a best selling book? Did he forget to include me in the credits? Did I even get a footnote?

Actually, Rick learned the “it’s not about me” idea from the same source that I did. The Bible.

We were able to salvage some good times from our vacation. We were able to get out on the beach a few times and we ate out every night.

True, it could have been better—but we made the best of the week and were still able to spend some valuable time together as a family—even if daddy was not feeling well.

My wife is a champion at “It’s not about me.” That makes it easier for me to do the same.

When we got married over 20 years ago, we promised to serve each other. The only way to do that is to think more of the other person than you do yourself. Put the other person’s needs ahead of yours.

Your personal pride and selfishness are the natural enemies to serving another person. It is difficult to be a servant to someone who should be serving you. It is tough to give up a good night of sleep to run a frivolous call.

Why do you do that? “It’s not about you”.

When you are a rookie and gung ho about EMS, you relish the calls. You serve with gusto and enthusiasm. All calls are good.

Some folks are able to work their entire career and see the good in all calls. That person is a rare bird.

Even those with the greatest attitude will sometimes qualify calls based more on their attitude at the time rather than their call to serve others.

We have to be careful to not allow bitterness to creep in and affect our attitude.

No matter how frivolous the call, or how many times we have been there—it’s not about you.

It’s about the one who called for help. It’s about the family of the patient. It’s about being a servant to others when our human nature says to be selfish.

Look at these words of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 25:

“Then the King will say…For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we [do this]?”

“The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

“It’s not about me” is the principle of giving of oneself for others. It is the standard that I seek to live by everyday.

Thanks for all you do. Have a great month and be safe out there as we “serve the least of these”.

Many Blessings!

Chaplain Ralph

Ralph Thompson, Durham County EMS Chaplain

Bless Your Heart

February brings back all kinds of memories. Warming up by the wood stove at my Grandpa’s house. Hot chocolate. Sleds, snowball fights and Valentine’s Day. It is “Heart” month.

When I was in the 3^rd grade our teacher helped us set up a Valentine’s Post Office in our classroom. Each student had a mailbox and classmates were encouraged to exchange Valentines by dropping them into the mailboxes.

Every day I would go to my mailbox hoping that someone had sent me a card. Most days it was empty. I got a card from my teacher but that doesn’t count. There were a couple of other days that I found cards in my box. They were the cheesy type—bought in bulk—signed in a hurry—and given to everyone in the class without any personal message or even thought put into it.

Most of the kids in my class had been together for more than 2 years and I was the new kid in town. Although school had been in session for 5 months—I still was not truly accepted by my classmates.

Yet, every day I would go to the box hoping that someone had remembered me. Most every day I would leave my box with a Charlie Brown complex. Nobody liked me. I wanted to be liked.

As you read this you may be thinking, “Bless his heart.” Have you ever heard that? What does “Bless his heart” mean?

It seems to be a Southern thing. You can use that expression when you feel sorry for someone. In other circumstances it is used to avoid gossip. You know what I mean. Someone will talk about the shortcomings or failures of a person and they follow it with “bless his heart.”

Common belief is that you can say anything about anyone and follow it with a sincere “bless his heart” and you are not gossiping. I don’t think that is true.

What does it mean to “bless a heart”? Our job, as Christians, is to bless the very heart of God. We do this by obediently loving people. We serve Christ by serving others. By serving others the very heart of God Almighty is blessed.

Let me share this example with you. I received an e-mail from Teressa Bays recently. She wrote that the Women on Mission had arranged for volunteers to help with testing at Bethesda Elementary School. The school was desperate for help. These women stepped up to volunteer their time. The teachers and the kids will notice that these women are full of love. My heart was blessed to the point of bursting from this news. I know that God’s heart was blessed.

There was a home that caught fire in our neighborhood in January and so many of you shared your blessings with the family in need. As I made one delivery, I noticed there was a pair of tennis shoes for the teenager. I looked in the box and realized that the woman who donated these shoes had actually bought them for herself. It just happened that there was a 13-year-old girl that needed them worse and it also “just happened” that they were exactly the right size. The heart of God was blessed by this gift.

The greatest gift that we can offer to others is the gift of God’s love. We do this by giving of our resources and ourselves and we tell them that Jesus Christ loves them so much that He took their place on the cross. Nothing blesses the heart of God more. Now—go—“Bless HIS Heart”!

Pastor Ralph
February 2007 Newsletter Column
Bethesda Baptist Church
Durham, NC