Tim Bauman is one of the guitarists in our worship band, and he has become a good friend of mine during the last six years since Anchor began. His father, Fred, who also attends Anchor, had a heart attack. Tim stopped by the church during the service and left word that they would be removing his father from the respirator. It was expected that he would only live another hour after that.

So it was a sad day for those of us who know and love Tim and his dad. A group of us gathered at the front of the sanctuary after the service to have prayer. Tim is a great guy, and I grieve for him.

Kevin Kay, back from his sophomore year at Ball State, wanted to play me in ping pong after the service. We’ve probably played a hundred games over the past few years, and he has only beaten me once. In fact, he’s the only person at Anchor who has beaten me in six years. But he plays a lot at Ball State, and it showed. He started off beating me the first two games (though both went extra points). I won the third game.

A new era has dawned. The age of my dominance in ping pong has officially come to an end. I can still take my game up a notch—I’m not nearly as good as I was in college—but I need regular practice. Otherwise, the next time Kevin comes back from Ball State, he’ll just beat me again. Can’t let that happen. I don’t want to use the excuse of being an “old man.” Gotta beat the young whippersnapper.