Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Just $19.00 per month

May 19, 2025

That is the price to help children at two different hospital groups. Many veterans’ organizations also ask for this amount to help their clients. I will not list these. You might think I am telling you not to support these groups. I am sure many of the ads asking you for these monthly contributions are doing a great deal of good.

The problem is that not all television ads and very few internet requests are investigated by anyone to determine where these funds are going. The amounts are not always under twenty dollars. You are targeted online for organizations like the ones you may currently be supporting.

I want to show you how to confirm that you are helping not-for-profit groups that are good stewards of your money. When I say good stewardship, I mean doing everything to use the money donated effectively for the purpose for which they state they collect money.

Many charities have been investigated over the years and have been found to have outrageous benefits for staff. Some have used funds for types of services that do not match what they advertise.

I remember years ago hearing of a major organization that paid their CEO millions of dollars a year and continued to advertise for volunteers and donors telling the public that they needed money to help others. When this information came out the group lost workers, funding, and respect.

If they had been upfront and honest with those who supported them, they would not have had the problems they did. Other nonprofits were formed around the country to provide the same services they had. Locals believed they could not trust national businesses that were disconnected from them.

Many of these grassroots groups are still thriving. The original company is distrusted by many of us. I am one of many who still remember this and other scandals.

There have also been para-church ministries that were involved in bad publicity of a similar nature. Whenever I see an advertisement for assisting any group of people or other types of good deeds, I am suspicious. Before I send money to anyone, I need to know who they are and where my money is going.

I have recently heard on the news about a person who created a GoFundMe page to collect money for people who had been through a tragedy. They were given a small portion of the money contributed. She is now being forced to pay them the money she wasted.

Once again, I must remind you that I would send no money to anyone I do not know personally. I contribute directly to those who need assistance. I will not allow money to be taken from my debit or credit card for a retailer that has a foundation that does something. If they want to fund a foundation, take the money out of their profits.

Be watching for a column that is related to this. I am entitling it “The Man with the Twisted Lip.” It also deals with how you might want to use your money. The title is based on a Sherlock Holmes story. I hope you will watch out for it.

Welcome home, Carl

May 18, 2025

Some of you would say that you lost another friend. Carl is not lost. He hasn’t been lost since he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior around the time I was born. I know he is in the presence of God which we often refer to as Heaven.

Carl and I had many conversations about Jesus and Heaven over the forty plus years that we have known each other. I met him when I joined Hamlin Memorial Baptist Church. He was our deacon for years.

He recruited me to lead Church Training classes and recommended me for the position when he stepped down. We served on the BTN committee at church for its short-lived tour. The Greene County Baptist Association joined this organization which provided training materials to churches and associations.

He was my mentor in the deacon ministry when I was first ordained. A few years later when he was the chairman of the deacon body, he asked me to be the assistant chairman. This meant I would be the next chairman. Thanks to Carl I got the pleasure of leading the congregation during the retirement of our friend and pastor.

His son Greg worked for my wife before she had our first daughter. Carl and Harriett became surrogate grandparents for our children when we moved into their neighborhood. For almost twenty years we remained neighbors and would visit them while Harriett was homebound.

As our deacon he joined me in the waiting room when Cindy had surgeries. We ministered together with the other deacons and leaders in the church. The stories I remember are too numerous to recount here. I’ll share one that very few know about.

Greg was working in Kansas City when a walkway collapsed at the hotel where he was employed. It was a story that hit our local news. We called Carl and Harriett and asked if they had heard from their son. They had a call from him. He was fine.

While they were dealing with Harriett’s health issues, I was often his sounding board. We did not live far from each other and before Carl had to stay home with her, I saw him at church every week. We had an agreement that nothing we said to each other would ever be repeated.

I used to say that I would see friends in Heaven when I arrived there some day. Today Jesus’ words have led me to believe that we are already there. It is not like we drop into God’s presence when we accept Christ. Being outside of time, He has us with Him even before our death on this planet. I know that sounds strange. Trust Him and you are with those you love who trust Him as well.

On the radio

May 17, 2025

Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Mom sang all the time as we were growing up. We never had a piano in our home, because Mom and Dad did not play any musical instruments. They bought me a cheap guitar one year for Christmas and we discussed my taking lessons. That never happened. There just wasn’t enough money in the budget.

My cousin Russ came over with his guitar from time to time and would regale us with tunes like Running Bear. But in his version, Running Bear didn’t love Little White Dove. He ran through the bushes. Russ even brought Jimmie Gately over at least once to play and sing with him. He also brought an album one time by a new comedian, Bob Newhart. The Button-Down Humor of Bob Newhart was the title. We kids were sent to bed early that night.

That was Dad’s instrument of choice, the record player. My talent ran along the same lines as his, but I had to be different from him. I played the radio. Yes, my drug of choice at first was the 9-volt AM model. It was a gift. It went everywhere with me. I did not limit myself to just one flavor on the radio. I was eclectic. KICK was the top 40 station in Springfield, but late at night, I would tune in to WLS from Chicago and other stations from all over the country. KGBX, KWTO, KTTS, and KWFC in Springfield were not enough for me.

Then my brother bought an AM/FM/SW receiver. We listened to broadcasts from all over the world. Springfield even had FM stations, KTTS, KGBX, and KWTO. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? KICK was still the predominant influence in my life. That spawned another childhood desire. To be on the radio as a Disc Jockey or DJ. They were so cool.

Bob Bright woke us every morning with not just music. He also read the news every hour on the hour and added a twenty-second weather report. One morning he was reading the weather, “Thirty percent chance of precipitation throughout the day.” And he went off script to ad-lib. “I just looked out the window here at KICK radio and I want to step out on a limb. I give it a 100% chance of rain.” Out our window, it was storming and dropping the proverbial cats and dogs.

Bob wasn’t the only radio personality in my memory. There was Bill Ring, Bare-foot Bob, Lloyd Evans, and Dan Coulter. I remember Dan because he was on the air on KICK before Bob Bright. He had the privilege of being the overnight guy on the “twenty-four-hour hit after hit after hit” station.

And I knew his brother. We were in school together in junior high and my freshman year of high school. That was about the only fascinating thing about Bruce. He had a brother that everyone listened to. Heads tucked under the covers at two in the morning with the volume so low you had to put your ear to the speaker to hear. That was to keep Mom and Dad from telling you to turn it off and go to sleep.

But then there was Cliff House. He was the husband of the Drama teacher at Hillcrest where we went to high school. Did I mention that his wife was beautiful? How many of your schoolteachers were you in love with? I think Sandy was one of only two in my life.

With all these wonderful DJs of course I wanted to be one myself. Steve Grant also inspired me. And frustrated me. He was a classmate and would join the Speech and Debate team on occasion when Radio Broadcasting was one of the events at a tournament.

There were three of us for these events. Steve, Richard, my debate colleague, and myself. Richard and I never stood a chance. Steve had that voice, even in high school, that made him the perfect announcer. Was it against the rules that he worked at KTXR in the evenings and weekends? I don’t think there were any rules for student broadcasters at that time.

While in college, Bill and I decided to drive to Kansas City to take the test for our radio broadcaster’s license. I only qualified for my third class, restricted license. When I transferred to college in Bolivar, MO, I even applied at their station. I kept it active for about ten years and then let it lapse because no one would hire me.

I did make it on the radio once. I received an award from the Northside Optimists Club and was asked to do an interview on KGBX AM. I don’t remember the interviewer’s name. I think my speech and journalism teachers had the radio on in their rooms that afternoon.

Young Girl

May 15, 2025

Not all classic music is palatable in every aspect of consideration. “Young girl” is one of those. Gary Puckett and the Union Gap was a pop music group in the 1960s and 70s. I enjoy their music. There is a problem with this song, though.

It could sound like a dirty old man who is chasing a young lady. When I was in college I had this problem as well. However, I was only nineteen. She was fifteen. According to Missouri State laws I could be prosecuted for having sex with her until she turned eighteen.

Listen to the lines of the song. He thought she was old enough. I knew that Cindy was not. I did not tell her to hurry home to her mother. I did not need to change my mind. I could not get her out of my mind even if I wanted to. I wanted to spend time with her. I wanted to get to know her better. This is the normal course of dating.

Our culture has changed since my days. Young people were taught to wait until they were married to have sex. It is better to concentrate on other things as your relationship grows. My love for this girl was not out of line. My desire to just have sex with her would have been.

When we got married, she was seventeen. Her Mother signed our marriage license. She was still in High School. I was twenty-one and had graduated from college two weeks before. The previous summer I spent ten weeks away in Pennsylvania working as a student pastor for a church through the summer missionary program of the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board.

Upon returning, I decided that we needed to be married as soon as I graduated. I did not know where God would lead me. I did not want to have to leave her behind again. We were already engaged before I had left for the summer. I knew after a few months of dating her that I wanted to spend my life with her. Not just one night.

We planned the wedding for May. I began working at a part-time job. We decided where we would live. We purchased a car of our own. Our families helped with expenses and preparations. We planned for a minister, church, flowers, cake, maid-of-honor, best man, and everything else. We even decided to go to Branson for our two-day honeymoon.

Right after graduation, my part-time job became a full-time position in a management program. Two weeks after the wedding I was told that next Monday I would be in Joplin and would serve as a manager at a new location. I was reminded of why we needed to get married when we did.

This year we will be married for forty-nine years. If anyone said it would not last, I think we have proved them incorrect. All our kids got married while still in college. When I told them they should wait like I did, they reminded me that Cindy finished high school as a married woman. Now you know why I always said they could start dating when they were thirty.

Violence and tragedy

May 13, 2025

Do you really want to know the reason for the violence? As that old movie line goes, “You can’t handle the truth.” I hope that we will try to understand why hatred, violence, and misunderstanding is rampant across our world.

Fifty years ago, I was still a teenager. Springfield was a much calmer community. Murder was almost unheard of here. St. Louis and Kansas City had high crime rates. Nothing like they have today.

Our population has increased by over 65,000 since then. That could be one explanation for the higher number of murders and assaults in Springfield, MO since 1960. What about the rest of the country and the world?

The wars in the middle east, Europe, and other places around the world have varied causes. I am going to boil it into a simple statement that many will disagree with. Wars are caused by people who feel that they have a reason to attack other people groups. My simple idea is that violence increases because we do not care about others.

Doesn’t this work for shootings, car accidents, and acts of aggression of any type? Most of us don’t intentionally hurt those that we care about. When we do not have compassion for someone else, we may harm them through accident or intention. I’ve been at scenes where the person who caused the problem states that they are sorry. Even though their direct actions inflicted pain. Others show no remorse.

A question that seems to be asked again and again is why? Is it because it is to easy to get a weapon? It is easy when weapons are as easy to put your hands on as rocks, scissors, or even your hands.

We need to look closely at what motivates those that attack. They may hate the victims. They may want something that their victims have. Would it be easier to help with the have nots. One case I heard years ago was of a teenager that was murdered for his tennis shoes by another youth that collected shoes and had over a hundred pairs.

After mass shootings there are always those that think we should strengthen gun laws. I believe the gun laws we have should be enforced heavily. If you own legal firearms, lock them away safely. I wrote a story a few years ago where I photographed over a dozen vehicles with unlocked doors that had visible weapons.

Once a person is inside of your home, make it as difficult as possible for them to steal not just weapons, but anything of value. Criminals want stolen items, and, in some states, they have made it extremely difficult to sell stolen items.

I have advocated for years that the news media should withhold the names of all accused of shootings or other violent acts. My belief is that there are times when they want to become famous or even infamous. We can’t remove the means; however, we might be able to remove some of the motivation. It could be worth a shot.

Don’t Ask, don’t tell.

May 11, 2025

This article is not about what you just thought when you read the headline. There is nothing here about homosexuals or the military. If you are truly interested in the phrase “Don’t ask. Don’t tell.” keep reading. This is not just a Springfield problem or a Christian concern. All human beings are guilty of these two errors. Asking someone a question and not really wanting to listen to the answer.

Walk down any street anywhere in the world and stop a stranger and ask the question, “How are you?” In Germany, you can say, “Vie Geht’s?” Every culture and language has one of these overtaxed phrases that are used when you are not the least bit interested but want to appear to be. While the same words can come from the mouth of one who is concerned, often the phrase is only a greeting and does not truly mean that the other person cares.

In churches, supermarkets, Wal-Mart or bars you experience the same concern or lack thereof. Often Christians are as guilty of treating each other and non-Christians with the same nonchalance. Try this the next time you think someone is truly asking about your health, disposition, or financial status, tell them how you really are.

This has been preached from pulpits with ministers telling their congregations they should be more concerned and interested in others because Jesus was. The good results usually end when someone is greeted by the same pastor who preached it and his eyes glaze over and he responds with some cliches like, “I’m sorry. I hope next week is better for you.” and turns away.

“Little Christ” is what Christianity means. Using Him as an example His followers must show the concern that He demonstrated with the Samaritan woman at the well. He went to that well specifically to see her. Then she was perplexed that a Jew would ask her as a Samaritan and a woman for a drink, He explained to her who He was and why He did not act like the Jews that she had seen before. He set a new standard for those who followed Him. Has this been forgotten in the Church?

Remember not to ask a question, if you do not want to take the time to hear the answer. Don’t ask the question, if you are uninterested in the answer. Don’t tell people you care about them and forget to prove it to them. After all, this Springfield is in Missouri and you have to show them.

One hundred years of memories.

May 9, 2025

Only about thirteen for this writer. 1963 was the year Immanuel Baptist Church dedicated a new building on the corner of Nichols and Lafontaine in Springfield. The dedication of the facility is an early memory. Another event from the 1960’s was claiming salvation in Bible School in that same church.

The one-hundred-year anniversary celebration was one of joy and tears for those that attended. As stated in a previous article, your author was there for some of the festivities. The fellowship and food were enjoyed in the Christian life center. Hot dogs, chili, cotton candy, snow cones and popcorn were some of the consumables that were provided by the Church.

The first person I encountered was Brian the music minister at that time and an old friend from another church. He and his mother, brother and sisters were members at Hamlin, where I have spent most of my years since leaving Immanuel. Brian introduced the entertainment at other events that weekend and was a blessed addition to the church staff.

Mrs. Reese was there and greeted her. In her nineties she seemed to remember the three Kensinger boys that used to roam the buildings during Sunday School, R.A.’s and Vacation Bible School. She has since gone to Heaven. Debbie, Robert, Jack, Vickie and Gary were still there to reminisce about years gone by and times, both good and bad, that were shared.

Sam, Barbara, Dona, Theresa, and Jacob were some former members that were attending and enjoyed photos that were provided by the current membership as well as some they and others brought.

Life at Immanuel in the sixties and seventies was not always roses. There were a few thorns that surfaced in my mind. The vote of confidence against pastor Short that ended his ministry there, the group that left and started Orchard Crest Baptist Church, another split that formed First Baptist of Battlefield, and the firing of Brother Hamilton.

A positive was meeting Cindy in the old youth building. I was called to the ministry shortly before we met. My decision to attend Southwest Baptist College was made while a member there.

Pastor Clyde Leonard and his family were instrumental in mine and Cindy’s lives. Clyde came to see me with Gary and invited me to a college and career class he taught. I had rejected the church after Brother Hamilton left. I know the leadership thought they had good reasons each time a minister left.

For over forty years I have watched similar situations at Hamlin and voiced my two cents worth when I thought I should. We have never had a split. At least one previous pastor started a new work after leaving us. Many of the founding members of that church came from our congregation.

How long has your ecclesia been praising the Lord and ministering to your communities? Hopefully, you will someday have a hundred years to remember and celebrate as well. Send me an invitation and I’ll try to be there.

Are You Easily Offended?

May 7, 2025

Most would say that they are not. Then there is a situation in which one does not find as much humor as might have previously been expected and upon introspection it is possible that our attitudes have changed. Such was the case on a Friday night at the MSHSAA Speech Tournament at Parkview High School in Springfield. High School speech tournaments were where this preacher boy learned to stand in front of an audience without dying of a heart attack.

A humorous presentation was made that I have listened to many times in over forty years of performing and judging this event. It was written by Mark Twain. In past years some of the characters used the “N” word in describing others in the book. That word had been replaced with a less offensive descriptive.

I see this throughout our culture. We cannot use a word but those same groups that say they are offended allow themselves to speak these words to each other. They are even lyrics to songs that are honored at their awards shows. I don’t mind being re-educated. I do not understand why the minorities aren’t held to the same high standards.

A few years ago, it was revealed that a NAACP leader that everyone thought was black was identified as being Caucasian. Hair color had been changed. A perm was used to conceal straight hair. Speech patterns had been changed to be more accepted. They fought for years to prevent white entertainers from mimicking them in movies and television. I understand.

The LGBT community have added a new letter to their name. Correct me if I am incorrect. Isn’t that the letter that a name they do not like begins with. Once again, we cannot use it. LGBTQ members can. Can we protest the use of the erm WASP.

Let’s stop calling each other names. We are all human beings. I have advocated for years that we stop calling others by two very offensive designations that they like to use for themselves and their counterparts. Let’s drop the use of Republican and Democrat or liberal and conservative. These do not fit the organizations and their constituency. I am non-partisan. The separate but equal rule applies here as well. If they are forced to live together then we will learn to see our similarities and not out differences.

How will we know who we should vote for? By getting to know who they are and not accepting who they want us to think they are. I’m tired of being lied to. How about you?

I think I’m in love.

May 5, 2025

In college, this was a saying that many guys my age used. One of my friends or acquaintances would say this when we say a beautiful girl or woman walks by. A friend of mine at Southwest Baptist College in Bolivar, MO, changed that slightly. He was a ministerial student like me. He changed it to “I think I’m in lust.”

There is a difference between love and lust. Let me define the two words. Love is not an emotion. Lust is a desire for something sexual. I do not like to use dictionaries for words like love. Secular scholars are more interested in contemporary usages of the word and not what the Biblical examples indicate.

I agree with Paul’s definition of the love of God. You’ve read it in First Corinthians chapter 13. It includes patience, kindness, lack of envy, boasting, and pride. This is what we should strive for in our romantic love.

Do you know how to define what you mean when you say “I love you” to your spouse? The Association referred to it as “Cherish” in the song in 1966. “Cherish is the word I use to describe all the feelings that I have” is the opening line. This song also tells us that all the other guys say, “I love you.”

All they want is to touch your face, your hands, or hold you. Others say they will love you all the rest of their lives. When I was dating the girls were warned not to believe us when we said that we loved them. Most of these guys would use the line, “If you really love me, we should have sex.”

I never was one to do that. I had one girlfriend that I learned later and she stopped dating me because I never tried to have sex with her. Cindy will tell you that I haven’t had that problem for a long time.

On television and in movies, young people ask their parents or other adults how you know if you love someone. For me, it was because I wanted to be with her. Not every minute of every day like the songs say. When we are apart, I need to get back to her. I hope you have someone that gives you that kind of security.

This is not sexual. That is why I say that sex is not the same as love. I do not like to use the term making love. That makes love a noun, not a verb. Love is something you do. As Paul says, “It is patient, it is kind, it never fails.”

I explain to those who say that they fell in love and have fallen out of love by adding I did not fall. I jumped in. I can leave if I do not want to continue to love. I have a choice to love or not. It is the same for you. Jump or stay where you are.

Love is a choice as the book title says. It is up to you. Like Doc Brown said at the end of the third installment of the Back to the Future Trilogy, “Your future isn’t set. Make it what you want it to be.”

ARE YOUR EMPLOYEES HAPPY?

May 5, 2025

The first part of this article is aimed at management, including owners, managers, and supervisors. The last section is for employees, so before you yell too loud and long at what they are being told, wait for yourself.

I have always been an employee of someone else. While I have been in middle management and supervisory positions, I have never been the owner or top boss. I have had good and bad bosses. I have also seen good and bad employees. I believe there are many reasons for dissatisfaction in companies.

Failure of management to consider employees’ circumstances. My first job was at a fast-food drive-in. I was a fry cook. The owners demonstrated how a boss can be a mentor, friend, and second parent. They allowed me to be a shift manager as a high school student. They worked with all their student employees’ school schedules. We were required to tell them the dates we needed off as soon as we could.

Inability to admit that you made a mistake. This is a problem for employers, management, and employees. If you are tasked with correcting mistakes that are made, please confirm if the error is yours. If it is not, can you find time to point out the problem to the one that caused it without shaming? This is a major complaint. The boss calls out other’s mistakes but never mentions their own.

When I talk about shame, I mean bringing these mistakes up in a meeting with others. If a manager does not who caused an error, he should do his diligent research. There is usually a way to find out who worked on the project. Ask each participant what their assigned tasks were. Do not ask, “Did you make this error.” The answer will usually be no.

I’ve been the one blamed for problems when I was not even involved directly. I investigated and determined where the mistake was made and spoke directly with whoever needed the refresher course. Seldom was it necessary to take it to a higher authority. At times the offender would not admit responsibility. Those were the times I simply instructed multiple people on how to complete the task correctly. This solved the problem.

No one is perfect. We must all accept responsibility for our blunders. I once had a boss tell me I spent to long on a drive calculation I was doing for a salesman. They said a mistake would not kill anyone. When I told him what had been said he emphasized to me that it was for a manlift. A mistake could endanger someone.