Author: Jeff Hampton

For Wilshire Baptist Church

Have you ever lost something? Something you cherished, wanted, needed? And you felt like you’d lost your mind searching for it?

On a recent Friday night I lost my keyless car fob – you know, the kind you keep in your pocket or purse that lets you operate your car. LeAnn and I had gone to Dillard’s together to replace Christmas gifts that didn’t fit. She was going upstairs to look at tops and I was staying downstairs to look for a belt. “Look for a sport coat too,” she said and smiled as I frowned.

Continue reading “Lost and . . . Not Lost”

For Wilshire Baptist Church

I’ve been to the eye doctor recently, hoping to get my eyes back in playing shape. I’ve been trying to wing it too long.

The problem I’ve had is when I play with Wilshire Winds, my vision gets wonky and I have trouble seeing the notes. Actually, I can see the notes, but sometimes I can’t tell if they’re on a line or in a space. And, if a composer has thrown in an “accidental” notation, I can’t tell if it’s a sharp, a flat or a natural. Guess wrong and the result is noise rather than music.

Continue reading “No More Winging It”

For Wilshire Baptist Church

Who do you like to hang out with?

At a recent deacons meeting we had a lively conversation around our table during dinner, and reflecting on it later, I’ve been thinking about affinity groups. The term “affinity group” often refers to people organized around a common goal, but I’m talking about groups of people with common interests.

For example, of the seven of us around the table, six have degrees from Baylor. In the past, that would have been unimpressive at a Baptist church, but Wilshire is much less Baylor-forward than the church I grew up in during the 1960s and ’70s.

Continue reading “From Affinity to Eternity and Beyond”