Unanswered Questions and Unquestioned Answers

I'm Back!!!

2011-04-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

OK, the layoff has been significant. Life has become increasingly busy but I have continued to miss blogging. Writing about what is going on in life is healthy for me so I am committed to blog a little more often.

Fortunately, my wife Brook had a great idea to blog together so all of my posts won't be on this blog. I will also be blogging at our shared blog. If you want to check out that blog you can find it HERE

It feels good to be back. Stay tuned for...well, I'm not exactly sure for what but stay tuned just the same. It will be interesting if nothing else.

The Patience of God

2009-10-21T07:57:00.000-07:00

While in a brief moment of prayer this morning I was really drawn to one particular attribute of God. Patience. I am so aware of God's patience with with me. How he waits, not in anger, but because of his love.

After meditating on the numerous ways God has and continues to display His wonderful patience in my life, I remembered that scripture typically lists things in a particular order for a reason. I know in certain passages the most important or salient person or event or ideal is listed first. I don't know for sure, but I have to wonder if Paul was listing certain attributes of God in order of their importance to him? In Paul's first letter to the Corinthians he describes love and begins with "love is patient". That's absolutely amazing to me.

We know that God is the actual emboddiment of Love and perhaps the quality Paul most appreciated about God, at least while he was writing to the followers of Jesus in Corinth, was God's incredible patience. This morning I am very much in agreement with Paul. God's patience is wonderful.

Talent and Heart

2009-10-19T05:36:00.000-07:00

This artist is performing in a show like "America's Got Talent" in the Ukraine. She is depicting the war against the Nazis in 1940's. Wow!
It is so touching to see those in the audience crying. No doubt, they witnessed many of these things taking place or they have heard so many harsh stories from their parents and grandparents. It is beyond amazing.

History Reveals Government Isn't The Answer

2009-09-18T06:48:00.000-07:00

I have been saying for a while that everything the government touches ends up broken and dysfunctional. With that in mind, why in the world would we allow the government to take control of medicine which amounts to 20% of our economy? Previous behavior is the best predictor of future behavior so I spent some time on researching their record. Perhaps we can look and see what the government has done in the past.

Here are examples of what the government has controlled and how (un)successful the government has been.

The United States Post Office: it was established in 1775. They have had 234 years to get it under control. Unfortunately, the US Postal Service is bankrupt and dysfunctional. When the number of complaints grow about customer service in the private sector businesses are very much at risk of losing everything so issues are addressed quickly. When the number of complaints grew at Post Offices across the country about the amount of time people had to wait in line they took an incredible measure. The removed the clocks from every Post Office waiting area in the country. Good Job! Idiots!

Social Security: it was established in 1935 and surely the government has gotten it right in the past 74 years, right? Not even close. The mark of well-run companies is that they accurately plan for the future through a series of investments, cutbacks and expansions. Since the government has many "experts" that wish to dictate how businesses should be run, I'm sure they know that. One would think so but unfortunately, the Social Security Administration has not at all planned for the future. The Congressional Budget Office reported just 6 months ago (March, 2009) that Social Security would continue operating with an expected surplus until 2016. However, they have since adjusted that projection. Now the CBO indicates that outlays will exceed revenue in 2010. "Outlays will exceed revenue" is congressional language for "We're Broke". Nice going "Government".

Fannie Mae: though it was founded in 1938 as a part of FDR's "New Deal", it was chartered by Congress in 1968 as a "Government Sponsored Enterprise" and surely 71 years is long enough to have been successful. If they weren't doing well before 1968, they have had 41 years to work out any kinks they may have had. That just isn't true for Uncle Sam. Years of poor business practices lead to gigantic financial losses for Fannie. The lack of revenue forced Fannie Mae to "borrow" money from the government, which sounds a lot like me borrowing money from myself, but anyway. Don't worry because I'm sure Fannie can pay itself back right away, right? No way. In the 2nd quarter of this year Fannie reported a loss of 14.8 Billion which is a lot better than the 1st quarter in which they lost 23.2 Billion. It sure doesn't seem like government interference in any sector ever works.

The War on Poverty: This program was kicked-off in 1964 and one might think that 1 trillion dollars and 45 years would be enough to become successful...since many businesses and programs in the provate sector have done so much quicker and in much less time. Unfortunately, the government needs more time and more money. In January 1988 President Reagan described this program very well.

"Today the Federal Government has 59 major welfare programs and spends more than $100 billion a year on them. What has all this money done? Well, too often it has only made poverty harder to escape. Federal welfare programs have created a massive social problem. With the best of intentions, government created a poverty trap that wreaks havoc on the very support system the poor need most to lift themselves out of poverty: the family. Dependency has become the one enduring heirloom, passed from one generation to the next, of too many fragmented families."

The largest redistrubution of wealth in human history has not ended poverty as 37 million Americans remain in poverty. So to once again quote President Reagan, "The Federal Government declared war on poverty and poverty won". I would add to his words by saying the war continues to be fought with our tax dollars...over 1 trillion of them.

Medicare: This special program began in 1965 and 44 years later it is a financial and beaurocratic nightmare. If the total amount of unfunded obligations of Medicare ($53 Trillion) were divided equally among American households, each household would receive a bill for $440,000. Since the average American income is less than $50,000 annually, imagine giving the government every penny you make, without paying any other bill or even buying food for the next 9+ years. If we all did that, again that is figuring on averages, we would simply eliminate the unfunded Medicare obligations...nothing would have been paid on the national debt or the continuation of the numerous entitlement programs. I think it is safe to say that Medicare is not the flagship of governmental success.

Cash for Clunkers: Perhaps you need a more recent reminder of government ineptitude. Here it is...the Wall Street Journal wrote that Cash for Clunkers is proof that "the feds can't even give away money very well". That statement could have been made about a number of programs, pork, projects or takeovers but the WSJ was specifically talking about this program. While I'm sure the Asian car makers are pleased with the program, it did little for the American public. Sure, a few cars were sold but the program that initially was "funded" (in this case funded is code for borrowed more money from China) with $1 billion. As we know, the program ended up costing American tax payers $3 billion and that isn't counting the amount of intrest we will be paying on the borrowed $3 billion. It may be interesting to see just how many American car companies increased their sales in the month of August, 2009...
Chrysler sales decreased -15%
General Motors sales decreased 20%
Ford sales increased by 17%
However, Honda sales increased 10%
Subaru sales increased 52% and
Hyundai sales increased 47%.

At the end of the program, which didn't come a day too soon, only 39% of the money spent by the government in this goat-rodeo of a debacle went to American companies. Since the money to buy the cars was borrowed from Asia, I guess it is rather ironic that the majority of the money returned there. Or maybe it is just one more reason why we shouldn't trust the government to handle any aspect of our healthcare.

If Americans have any remaining shred of common sense they will not allow the government to take control of our healthcare. The government seems to have the antithesis of "The Midas Touch". Every program they initiate turns out to be a drain on the American public and rarely, if ever, actually functions well.

Here's hoping Americans go vote for REAL change in 2010...and by REAL change I mean fire every elected official and elect people to actually serve the interests of the people who have elected them.

The Ultimate Super Hero

2009-09-03T06:42:00.000-07:00

I was never very interested in Super heroes as a kid...or for that matter, as an adult. However, my boys absolutely love them. Because of the really cool super power, skills (bow staff, nun chucks and throwing star skills excluded) and ability to bring justice to every situation, my wife and I are constantly reminding our boys that the REAL Super Hero is Jesus. They seem to understand and appreciate that. It might be easier for them if someone could find out that the true Hebrew meaning of "your rod and staff comfort me" should be translated to something like, "your nun chuck skills and ability to catch a bullet in your teeth brings me a lot of comfort". Until that time I think we are left with discussing the most amazing aspects of God...and they are plentiful. Here are some thoughts that may help my boys appreciate Jesus on a new level (satire should be expected).

• Jesus does not sleep. He waits.
• Jesus counted to infinity - twice.
• When the Boogieman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Jesus.
• Jesus is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.
• If Jesus did sleep he would do so with a night light. Not because Jesus is afraid of the dark, but the dark is afraid of Jesus.
• If at first you don't succeed, you're obviously not Jesus.
• Jesus doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.
• Superman owns a pair of Jesus pajamas.
• Jesus doesn't have to do anything for a Klondike bar.
• When Jesus was in middle school, his English teacher assigned an essay: "What is Courage?" Jesus received an "A+" for writing only the words "Jesus Christ" and promptly turning in the paper.
• Jesus ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and got one.
• According to Einstein's theory of relativity, Jesus can actually roundhouse kick you yesterday.
• The quickest way to a man's heart is with Jesus.
• Jesus owns the greatest Poker Face of all-time. It helped him win the 1983 World Series of Poker despite him holding just a Joker, a Get out of Jail Free Monopoloy card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades and a green #4 card from the game UNO.
• Pi is not infinite. It stops when Jesus tells it to.
• Once a grizzly bear threatened to eat Jesus. Jesus showed the bear his fist and the bear proceeded to eat himself, because it would be the less painful way to die.
• The Dinosaurs looked at Jesus the wrong way once. ONCE.
• It was once believed that Jesus actually lost a fight to a pirate, but that is a ploy, created by Jesus himself to lure more pirates to him. Pirates never were very smart.
• Oxygen requires Jesus to live.
• Jesus can eat soup with a fork.
• Jesus challenged a statue to a staring contest. Jesus remains undefeated.
• Jesus does not have to mow his lawn. He simply stares at the grass and dares it to grow.
• Bullets dodge Jesus.
• Jesus can eat a Rubix Cube and poop it out solved.
• Jesus can hear silence.
• Jesus can unscramble an egg.
• Jesus could play Russian Roulette with 6 bullets.....and win.
• On Neil Armstrong's second step on the moon, he found a note that said, "Jesus was here."
• Jesus doesn't have to stop bullets because they know better.
• When Jesus does push-ups, he does not push himself up. He pushes the Earth down.
• Achilles was supposedly the greatest warrior of all time, but he died because of his weak spot, the Achilles tendon. There is no Jesus tendon.
• The first lunar eclipse took place after Jesus challenged the sun to a staring contest. Jesus always wins.

Amazing Forgiveness

2009-08-28T05:21:00.001-07:00

I came across a prayer written by an unknown Jewish woman in Ravensbruck Concentration Camp during WWII. It may be the most amazing example of Godliness and forgiveness I have seen this side of the divine. May God bless us all with such hearts, vision and with such an incredible walk with Him.

Lord, remember not only the men of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember all the suffering they have inflicted upon us. Remember rather the fruits we have bought, thanks to this suffering: Our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, the courage, the generosity, the greatness of heart that has grown out of this. And when they come to judgment, let all the fruits we have borne be their forgiveness.

The Tangible Kingdom

2009-08-12T06:12:00.000-07:00

I typically don't write or forward a review on a book I haven't read. It is certainly not my custom to pass on a book review written by someone I don't know. However, this book was recommended to me 2 weeks ago by a dear Brother and I found this review on the website of the ministry through which he serves, Mission Alive. I can't wait to read this book and I am so anxious to do so that I also want to put the info out there on this book so others can join me. Enjoy.

Hobby Chapin is a church planter in Denver, CO at Higher Point. He shares with us his take on The Tangible Kingdom.

Hugh Halter and Matt Smay are practitioners in missional-incarnational church planting. The Tangible Kingdom is a platform for Hugh and Matt to share their stories in church planting and to extract the missional-incarnational principles from their experience.

The authors speak from the heart in addressing the tension that is present for those transitioning from traditional church paradigms toward missional-incarnational ones. Their goal is to show that the Kingdom becomes real in people’s lives when they have the right elements interacting. These elements are communion, mission, and community.

• Missional-Incarnational communities must have a deep sense of communion with God. Both on an individual and a communal level, there must be disciplines that are aimed at spiritual formation and “being” in God’s presence.
• Missional-Incarnational communities must have a deep sense of participation within God’s mission. The term “missional” indicates being sent; the term “incarnational” indicates how we are sent out into the world to live among people for the purpose of engagement. Therefore, there must be disciplines of engagement with the world.
• Missional-Incarnational communities must have a deep sense of life together—that is, community. These communities practice disciplines of togetherness as they live out a shared story in God’s life. God’s calling and sending draws them together and form deep bonds.

Without these three elements, Christian community remains deficient and the Kingdom of God distant.

The transition toward practicing missional-incarnational principles can be messy and confusing. Hugh and Matt are pioneers plowing ahead and coaching others along the journey. For those who have read many books on missional theology or missional church planting, The Tangible Kingdom provides many similar bits of information and insights. What separates the Tangible Kingdom from many others is the candid story-telling of the authors and their insight as practitioners. For those of you who have taken the plunge into this journey of practice, there will be many relatable moments with sharpening nuance.

One of the greatest strengths of this book is that it will pose a challenge that will confront tendencies to sit and talk about these principles or to abandon them along the journey for “what works.” Missional-Incarnational practitioners are defined by their “being” in the presence of God and their willingness to “do” as God sends them to participate with Him in the world. That takes leaders out into the world rubbing shoulder to shoulder with those sojourners who are willing to journey with them. This requires consistency and intentionality. I appreciate Hugh and Matt for their candid leadership and for their sharp challenge to get on and stay the course.

*Halter, Hugh and Matt Smay. The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community; The Posture and Practices of Ancient Church Now. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, 2008.

Sermon in a Song

2009-08-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

This is creative and confirms what I have shared with my wife on many, many occasions. That is that all love stems from the One who is indeed Love. God is Love...not like love or similar to love...He is Love. Therefore the love songs that the songs from every era discusses, if it is indeed love, flows from God. Classical, Oldies, Rock, Pop, all of it originates in the Being of God. This Minister of Music takes some popular, well-known songs and makes it applicable as love songs to the one who is Love. Enjoy.

Warriors, Where They May Be

2009-07-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

Some periods in my life seem to have been very simple and extremely well defined. That isn't to say that those periods were always positive or even healthy, but there is something to be said for clarity and a sense of direction.

One such time in my life was during some of my initial military training. Life was difficult by design and the situations were stressful and trying. However, I think people who stop simply being a soldier and somehow have everything within them morphed into a warrior remember the exact moment when they changed.

For me it was the moment when marching in accordance with approved military regulations was no longer important. Knowing who and when to salute, the appearance of my uniform and even when, where and how I would eat again all became peripheral details that neither greatly mattered nor were irresponsibly ignored. The lone thing that mattered was life. Surviving and being able to preserve my life and the life of those with whom I was with and the taking of the life of anyone or anything that seemed to challenge the first objective.

While that admittedly sounds gruesome and perhaps a bit barbaric, the simple truth is that without the warriors in this world, life wouldn't be as grand...or perhaps even possible for most people. Warriors on the battlefield transform history through courage, honor, bravery and brotherhood...yes, often through the taking of life. Sometimes warriors live long enough to wage battles in other areas of life. From service in those battles Warriors rarely receive medals and often they don't even receive recognition. Those things are fine for the Warrior because only soldiers care about the applause of men and the kind of glamour one can hang on the wall. The warriors of this world simply care that they gave their all for an honorable cause and that they were, collectively if not individually, victorious.

Some times in this world Warriors aren't found on the traditional battlefield. Sometimes they aren't even called Warriors. Maybe we call them Mom, Dad, Single Mother, Coach, Neighbor, Friend, Husband, Wife, Teacher, Physician, Minister, etc.
Warriors, when not on the traditional fields of battle are the people who refuse to "half-ass" life. They refuse to be defined by what are at times, really horrible circumstances. They may get down but they never quit...the Warrior's Heart beating within them demands that they die before they quit, give-up, surrender or retreat from the battle of life.

Warriors, regardless of where they are found should, at the very least, be honored. I hope we can all find a Warrior in our lives to honor. If you are the Warrior in your life...I honor you.

I close with quotes from two great Warriors who fought on opposing sides in The War of Northern Aggression (Civil War). Their statements represent the two sides present in the lives and hearts of every warrior who has experienced death all too intimately and who have also experienced what it means to really, fully live.

"The scene now presented was unspeakably grand. The resolute and impetuous charge, the rush of our heavy columns sweeping out from the shadow and gloom of the forest into the open fields flooded with sunlight, the glitter of arms, the onward dash of artillery and mounted men, the retreat of the foe, the shouts of the hosts of our army, the dust, the smoke, the noise of fire-arms—of whistling balls and grape-shot and of bursting shell—made up a battle scene of unsurpassed grandeur."

—Confederate Brig. Gen. Bushrod Johnson
September 20th, 1863 regarding The Battle of Chickamauga

"But out of that silence rose new sounds more appalling still; a strange ventriloquism, of which you could not locate the source, a smothered moan, as if a thousand discords were flowing together into a key-note weird, unearthly, terrible to hear and bear, yet startling with its nearness; the writhing concord broken by cries for help, some begging for a drop of water, some calling on God for pity; and some on friendly hands to finish what the enemy had so horribly begun; some with delirious, dreamy voices murmuring loved names, as if the dearest were bending over them; and underneath, all the time, the deep bass note from closed lips too hopeless, or too heroic to articulate their agony...It seemed best to bestow myself between two dead men among the many left there by earlier assaults, and to draw another crosswise for a pillow out of the trampled, blood-soaked sod, pulling the flap of his coat over my face to fend off the chilling winds, and still more chilling, the deep, many voiced moan that overspread the field."

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain: 20th Maine,At the end of the first day's fighting at Fredericksburg

A Great Warrior, A Strong Man

2009-07-29T08:08:00.000-07:00

I suppose that we all have people in our ancestry that have fought in wars or that have at least served in the military. I personally served in the U.S. Army and have so many relatives that have served in every branch of the military that I would be afraid to mention them for fear of leaving some out.

Today I read the story of my great-great-great Grandfather, Hillard Garrison Waldrep. He was born January 4, 1842 and he went by the name "Hillary". He was a soldier in The War of Northern Aggression (The Civil War). His story is inspiring and is certainly one of valor, bravery, courage and toughness. Here is a bit of his story.

Grandpa Hillary served in B Company of the 16th Alabama Regiment of Infantry. He voluntarily enlisted in August 1861. He served as a personal assistant to General Wood and General Preston. I imagine only certain people were allowed to serve in those roles. Since he enlisted at the rank of Private, he surely earned his position with the Generals.

In a letter written to his local newspaper and dated May 19, 1905 Hillary wrote,

"I have been shot and badly wounded several times. the first battle I was at Fisher's Creek but I only got my heel shot off. The second was at Chickamauga, where I was badly wounded by a shot through the neck. I feel it until this day, but I still like the gray (the color of The Confederate uniform). On the 22nd of July, 1864, I got shot in the foot, through both legs and through the bowels all in the same battle at Franklin, Tennessee. Those shots through my legs were in my thighs and one knee shot off. The total number of wounds I sustained were seven"

Another story from Hillary's time spent fighting the Yankees was that while serving with General Bragg Hillary shot and killed a Northern General. He told General Bragg that he thought he could shoot the General even though the General and Northern troops were very far away. General Bragg told him to give it a try so he did. Hillary raised the sights on his rifle 200 yards MORE than they already were and fired. After Hillary took the gun down from his shoulder, they saw the Yankee General topple off of his large gray horse. The horse was spooked and ran across the large field toward the Confederate Soldiers. General Bragg told Hillary that he could keep the horse, bed-roll and equipment. For what it's worth, Hillary later sold the horse for $100.

Other stories about my Grandfather and his fellow soldiers were not so glamorous. Like how the food wagons were drawn by mules and were often several days behind the troops. Often, when the wagons would catch up to the soldiers the food would be spoiled or molded. The men were often so hungry they would scratch corn out of the ground from where it had been trampled on by horses who were once fed in that area. They would simply wash and parch the corn and eat it. Despite the unsanitary conditions, starvation, insufficient clothing and multiple wounds, Hillary lived to be 88 years old. He died on July 21, 1930.

Hillary Garrison Waldrep is a great American hero and is a man for whom I have the utmost respect and admiration. May his legacy of courage, honor and grit be honored and, if needed, repeated in the lives of his many descendants.

Red Clay and Red Roses

2009-07-21T06:54:00.000-07:00

Death is part of life. Death is shrouded in fear and pain more than any other aspect of life and it just doesn't seem to be optional. Death can be tough at any age, but it seems to be more difficult for those who can't easily wrap their young and inexperienced minds around the concept. Such was the case this past Monday afternoon.

Reagan has been part of our family longer than our three sons have been. In fact, Reagan was the English Mastiff who was to be our "child" until we were ready to have kids years later. Obviously that wasn't God's plan as our oldest son was born a year after Reagan. Reagan was our 230lb baby that was determined and quite content to serve, love and play. It is only expected and natural that a void exists now in our hearts as Reagan died recently.

He appears to have simply gone to sleep and died in his sleep. We highly suspected that he had cancer as he had lost weight and seemed to age quickly over the past few months. Despite that, he never suffered and we know that far to many pet lovers have had a very different tale to tell regarding their sick pet.

After Reagan's death, my family gathered around a plot on our property where Reagan's original dog house was and we began to dig. For such a large animal a small and simple hole wouldn't suffice. After a long time of digging through the hard, red clay we finally had a very deep hole in which I could place our Gentle Giant. The boys helped me dig through the clay and we were all exhausted by the time we were finished. Alabama clay can be as hard to dig through as grief and sadness.

Once the burial was completed, the boys placed Reagan's favorite ball, a "tombstone" and some roses Brook cut from our plants. It was fitting and in so many ways beautiful. The most touching part to me was how the boys prayed to conclude the event. To hear their hearts being openly expressed to God and in their own way taking their emotions and loss to Him was amazing. Losing Reagan has been difficult for the whole family. His large stature is certainly indicative of the large hole left in each of us. I am thankful for the companion he was and for the lessons in life, loss and love the boys have learned through this process. The boys will face more significant losses in their future. We can only hope and pray that during those times they will show the same tendency to go to God with their hearts.

Ready To Roll Again

2009-07-06T05:33:00.000-07:00

I haven't been blogging for several weeks now. I have started to a few times and either my hectic schedule and/or the lack of having anything interesting or important to write have seemed prohibitive. I think it is time to write again and I think it is only fitting to begin with blogging about time, schedules and "being busy".

Several years ago I read a book by Dr. Richard Swenson titled, The Overload Syndrome. In this book, Dr. Swenson outlines how life can become unmanageable and out of control even under the best circumstances. He uses his own life as an example of how someone can be exactly where they have always wanted to be in their career, marriage, parenting, church and social lives...yet something is just not right.

Apparently the key to not falling victim to the Overload Syndrome is to create margins in life. Simply put, don't fill up every moment of every day with commitments, promises and plans. Leave room for rest, recreation, down time, contemplation, prayer, reading...anything that can be a respite from the raging river of our hectic, out of control lives.

After discussing my thoughts with several close friends and family members I have come to the conclusion that most of us have the most excruciating expectations placed on us by ourselves. I know that even my harshest critics or the most demanding people in my life don't hold a candle to the ways in which I critique myself and demand the most of the things I attempt to do in life.

I am attempting again to create margins and attempt to give myself a break when it comes to over-scheduling my time and my energy. I am hopeful that the margins will open up some time for me to relax and do the things in life I am called to do and created to do...not to mention the things in life that are simple and fun.

A Tree by a River in Tennessee

2009-05-21T06:19:00.000-07:00

23 years ago a rather robust oak tree stood nestled on the bank of the Hiwassee River in East Tennessee. A young boy and his father were camping near that tree and had just spent the day rafting the river and they decided to mark their adventure on something that could possibly prove to be more lasting than even their own memories. So with a few quick strokes of a knife their initials, that happened to be the same, were carved into the sturdy oak.

Fast forward 21 years to another father and son visiting that very place to camp and play in the river. The father recognized the tree causing the carving of years before to dance through his mind. With great anticipation and a sense of the continuation of a tradition the father began to search for the initials. After a few seconds he found them. The growth of the tree placed the initials much higher than they had been years before. Fortunately the initials were still there and visible so he was able to show his son what had been done before. His son, still being young took in all he could and seemed to appreciate knowing where his father and grandfather had been before. Knowing their previous path and knowing that he too was now on that path seemed to add to his sense of belonging and acceptance.

So fast forward 2 more years ahead, this year in fact. They visited the river again except this time the son had two younger brothers in tow. Once camp was set up and everything was ready for the night the obligatory, yet much anticipated, trek to the river bank began. What an exciting time to share with other sons in the new generation what happened in the years that existed prior to them. As they neared the familiar landing something seemed very much out of place. Something was missing. Could it be possible?

It seems that a storm or perhaps disease had taken down the tree...the initials gone. In its place a broad stump remained, sawed neatly just inches above the muddy bank. Realizing that things like this happen the dad wondered what his boys would think? How would the oldest son react to something lost that he once had taken such pride in? How would the other sons react to the "loss" of something they knew only in stories? As one could imagine, the two younger boys didn't seem to mind at all. They obviously didn't miss something in which they never felt ownership. The older son was certainly not in step with his brothers. After a moment of staring into the air where the mighty oak once stood his head dropped. He turned and began to walk away. Before he had gone too many steps he began to cry.

Seeing his son so upset, the boy's father realized what was going on with his son and he wrapped him up tightly in an understanding hug. He asked his son why the tears, though the father felt quite sure that he was crying because of his own loss. It was at that time though that his son's depth, love and sympathy stood out to him. The son looked at the father and said, "Dad, I'm so sorry for you that your tree is gone". Brought to tears himself by his son's great compassion and love, it hit him that his son wasn't crying because of his loss. The son was crying because of his father's loss. The father explained to him that trees occasionally die and that the real treasure in the tree wasn't the initials carved in the bark but rather the experience of a father and son spending time together enough to carve the initials.

Now the thing that mattered most on the river bank was that another generation of father and son stood there together...sharing an experience and vowing to share more. Perhaps there is even a new tree with new initials on that river bank now...the sign of a father and son carrying on a tradition and furthering a legacy of love.

I'm the most honored man on the planet to have carved my initials in that tree with my dad and over 2 decades later with my sons.

A Wedding and The Party

2009-04-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday night I had the great pleasure of attending the wedding ceremony of some dear friends, Tyler and Helen. I expect greatness from these two in so many areas. Being such dynamic individuals, I can't wait to see what amazing things result from their union.

There is one thing that stood out to me as particularly meaningful and I think it is worth a deeper look.

The Party...though some call it a "reception" is that thing I want to consider a bit more. I love the fact that the people involved in the lives of Tyler and Helen celebrated the beginning of this marriage. Some of the people had known them their entire lives and some just recently met them, but the fact remained that they were known individually and a party was thrown to celebrate the new aspect of their lives together.

This may seem rather common to a lot of people from different backgrounds. However, I think the evangelicals of the South have failed miserably in showing the world how to throw, attend and enjoy a party. Consider Jesus, our great example, for a bit...

When Jesus wasn't teaching, healing or off by himself in prayer you often found him at a party. He partied with the stuffy religious types and he partied with the lower class people of the day. At some parties he did miracles and at others he really pissed some people off. Prostitutes clung to him...try that at you next party and some even cried on his feet. Despite what all happened at the parties, one thing we know for sure is that Jesus partied! Why else would he admit that people called him a glutton and a drunk?

Imagine for a moment that we back up in time 2000 years and we are at a party and Jesus is in attendance. let's go to that place for a moment...

In my mind some group is playing cheesy versions of various love songs mingled with the occasional Golden Oldie. The lead singer just struggled his way through "Endless Love" with the Bass Guitarist singing the female part in a weak falsetto voice...and sounding nothing like Diana Ross, though they look similar in some ways. The band, being older and more out of shape than they remember being the last time they actually got paid for playing announce that they are taking a 15 minute break. The crowd feels like they are the ones getting a break and they begin talking and visiting or perhaps getting a refill of wine.

Not too long into the break a loud reverberation shrieks over the sound system and it causes a bit of a startle for everyone and they look to the stage. Who is it that has grabbed the lead guitar and has a harmonica brace around his neck...that's right baby...JESUS!
Jesus obviously had enough of the bad music and drab song choices so while the band is on a break he breaks into a slamming rendition of "Proud Mary". Before the crowd can calm down he goes right into a sweet Blues Traveler medley. Some guy down front who has had a little too much wine and is obviously from the Southern part of Judea starts screaming out "FREE BIRD! FREE BIRD!", but Jesus slows the pace down with a different song.

Jesus pulls a dusty piano from out of the shadows and opens it up. People don't know exactly what is about to be played but they know it will be good. Jesus launches into the crowd favorite...the one everyone knows or at least mouths along a half step late as if they know it...Piano Man! By the end of the set, drinks are held in the air, strangers have their arms around one another swaying back and forth and everyone is singing together.

When the last note has been played Jesus stands, bows and then backs up to get a running start for the way he finishes every set he ever plays...stage dive! During the time he is being passed around people are trying to touch the hem of his garment and a few want an autograph. He is finally placed on his feet toward the back of the reception hall and he hugs a few of the disciples and gives some knuckles to some others. Though he had done this kind of thing before (and would do it again) the Disciples didn't think he would really do it when they dared him to do it some 15 minutes ago.

The end result is that the party is rocking, Jesus Christ really is a super star but maybe most important to Jesus is that he has set a small example for his followers...both now and forever...of what it means to celebrate and party.

May His people learn that lesson well because as I recall, one analogy of eternity has a lot to do with a great feast and plenty of partying.

Obama Lied...and Continues to Break Promises

2009-04-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

It seems that all of the gripes the liberals had against Bush and the GOP are not all that bad now that Barry Obama is in office.

Bush was ridiculed because he "suspended Habeas Corpus" and denied those pitiful souls at Gitmo to be held without a trial. Obama was upset about that too and was especially upset about the expanse of Executive Power under Bush...right up until he became the President. Now it isn't so bad: http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/04/11/bagram/index.html

Bush was demonized for his stance on warrantless wiretapping. The Dems cried about the gross abuse by the government and how Bush was using the Patriot Act to listen to phone conversations without sufficient enough reason to obtain a subpoena. Obama was against this practice too...right up until he was sworn in. Now it seems like the right thing to do. After all, you never know when you may have to listen in to some of those gun-toting, Bible-carrying, bitter-clingers: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/obama-doj-worse-than-bush

Obama swore during his campaign that an Obama Administration would be completely transparent...not at all like the "secrets" mean old Bush and Cheney had been keeping. After all, the American people have a right to know what is going on in their government. Well, apparently Obama meant to say that the American people had a right to know what was going on in the government before and after his presidency...because what Barry knows and how Barry knows is a really big secret: http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/04/shut_up_its_still_a_secret.php

Obama was astounded at the amount of "pork spending" that was pushed through congress each year during the budget proposal process. He was so astounded that he was going to put an end to that kind of craziness...except he didn't. In the Spending Bill...uh, I mean, "Stimulus Bill" alone there were 8 ear marks...including "Green Golf Carts", a 36-hole "Disc Golf Course" (think about frisbee golf), and $150 million for "parking improvements" at a little league park in Puerto Rico. Here are more details: http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/economy/2009/02/19/finding-the-pork-in-the-obama-stimulus-bill.html%22
Should you want to read about the 8570 earmarks that total $7.7 Billion found in the Omnibus Bill for 2009 signed by Obama you can do so here: http://www.taxpayer.net/search_by_category.php?action=view&proj_id=2049&category=Earmarks&type=Project# So I guess the "No Pork Projects" promise isn't working out for Obama either.

And what about that tax cut all of us in the middle class were promised? It seems that not only have we not rec'd the tax cut but in fact, one new tax specifically targets people in the middle and lower class. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g4neALCH_2bbNQzJFmY2kAKdTwZwD979SVJO0

And as for the tax cut for any family making les than $250k: http://thevirtuousrepublic.com/?p=3142
Obama says he has 2 years to figure out how to deal with this broken promise...but that isn't what he said during the campaign.

What about the promise that lobbyist would not have a seat at the Obama table? Well, despite his campaign rhetoric about the evils of lobbyist and others who represent special interest groups, it seems that Obama has had a change of heart. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15319.html

We are less than 3 months into the Presidency of Barack Hussein Obama and so many of the issues people believed in have already shattered. Obviously, so many of these broken promises haven't been reported by the mainstream media but that doesn't mean that the proof doesn't exist. I pray that the people who felt disenchanted by the political system and sought anything other than the status quo will wake up and realize that change is not always good and those who promise to be change aren't always honest. If that happens we will only be stuck with Obama for 4 long years.

Spots...of all kinds

2009-04-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

I try to be on the lookout constantly for blind spots in life. Of course I check my blind spots while driving but I am not talking about those kinds of blind spots. I always try to imagine the areas in my life that need some work, have become unmanageable or in some way requires some attention.

So many areas of life seem to have a default setting and those defaults settings show up when your time, resources or attention is being utilized by other areas of life. The default setting can be really good and without much work or without even giving it much thought you can find yourself in a good place. For example, rest is something that most Americans don't get enough of. People don't sleep the amount the are suppose to and they don't make time for rest, relaxation or recreation. If you doubt that just check out the stress and fatigue related illnesses that seem to be more prevalent in our culture than ever. The default setting for humans is rest. If we avoid the stimulants like coffee and some pills and if we don't pack our schedules full of requirements we will rest more. How long would most of us sleep if we were allowed to get the day started when we awakened on our own...without an alarm clock?

However, the default setting for a lot of things are not good, productive or healthy. For example, exercise isn't really something that people do if left to live life due to their default settings. Exercise requires discipline and to some degree, the ability to do something at an immediate expense that will hopefully produce long term results.

With all of that said, for me to claim that I am looking for blind spots is really absurd. If I could see a specific area of life, I guess it wouldn't be a blind spot, now would it? So what got in my head to cause me to think about blind spots anyway?

This morning I was in the restroom at my office and I happen to look in the mirror on my way out of the restroom. I must have had the perfect angle because I saw something in the back of my head that looked strange. I did a double take to see if I saw what I thought I saw. Upon further review I did in deed see what I thought I saw in the back of my head....SKIN!

That's right! I saw a big patch of skin on the crown of my head. I knew I was thinning but good gracious! I didn't realize how bad it had gotten back there. The other men in my family began to bald from the front...you know, the old receding hair line. Not me though. I still have plenty of hair up front. However, it seems that the hair in the back has begun an exodus that would make the Israelites envious. I feel as though I only have one choice left...kiss all of my hair goodbye. The only thing worse than balding is to be one of those men who seems to pretend he isn't balding. Those guys are dangerously close to the dreaded "comb-over".

So even though the default setting for my 33 year old scalp had not allowed me to know the severe lack of hair I found today...now that I have found a previously blind spot, I am responsible for taking action. It seems that bald spots can help remind me of other blind spots I may have in life...and that alone reveals a whole world of clarity...bald or not.

Running Without Distraction

2009-04-09T05:22:00.000-07:00

Last week my oldest son, Elijah, participated in a fun run at his school. He was suppose to run a mile though the parents of his class all knew that many in the class wouldn't make it a full mile. Some of the young students likely don't have what it takes physically to run that far yet. The few that may be able to physically run a mile may quit early simply because their attention spans aren't very long at this point and they may...just like me...get bored with running. Elijah finished 85% of his mile...but I have no idea if he lacked physical maturity required to run that long or if he just got bored. In fact, no one really knows why he didn't complete it because he was distracted.

See, we have always stressed to our sons that they drink water, water is good for them, water is the healthiest drink, drink water instead of colas, etc. At times we have even celebrated and made a big deal about our boys drinking a good bit of water. While we still stand by those things, it may have been good for us to explain to Elijah that there are stipulations. That is to say, sometimes are better than others to drink excessive quanities of water. It goes without saying that during a run is not the time to become enthusiastic about drinking water...or anything else for that matter.

Having never run in a race like this one before, Elijah wasn't expecting people to offer him cups of water. Being the big fan of water and thinking it is incredibly cool that people are standing around with free water for him it only seemed logical to drink water as it was offered to him. Of course I am not inside his head but I can imagine that Elijah became so distracted by the water that he lost focus of the real goal. It seems that the very thing designed to help him reach his goal actually became his focus and it caused him to fall short. As most of you know, too much water before or during a workout leads to cramps and poor performance. Poor Elijah.

That's not the end of the story...to me anyway. As is my custom I have been pondering that whole scenario for the past week and wondering which areas of my life have become out of focus? Has anything in this world that God designed to be of assistance to me actually become my goal instead of God? In short, has anything been offered to me during my race of life that will prevent me from finishing well?

If I were to write about the areas in life that need more clarity, this paragraph would go on for way too long. If I were to consider every single thing that becomes interesting or exciting to me...but in the end isn't good for me at all...well, I don't have that much time. Time only allows me to pray that I will find balance and proper priorities in every aspect of life. I pray the same for you. May we never get so water-logged that we lose the ability to run and finish well.

Catch and Release

2009-04-06T05:32:00.000-07:00

There are many, many blessings involved in working a mere 2 miles from my house. The lone negative I can think of is that I rarely get to decompress after work or spend much time alone. Just like every other human, I occasionally need to be alone with my thoughts...or be alone and not require any thoughts.

There are few tasks that can be done with little thought but fishing happens to be on that list. Yesterday morning I had a chance to escape for a bit and do a little fishing. I knew of a new place I wanted to try and it ended up being absolutely gorgeous. More than one time yesterday I found myself standing on the bank and in my head I was living the Alabama version of "Legends of the Fall".

20 minutes had passed and I felt like Tristan when to my surprise I caught an Alabama Trout with my fly rod...OK, a little too much Tristan-like. I actually felt a strong tug on my Zebco bait-caster rod and reel combo. But the point is that my rod was bending like I had hook an alligator. In a minute or so I could see white belly of some fish beneath the water, his tail churning up the mud and swishing the water about with all of his might. Landing this monster on dry ground was imminent and I couldn't wait to see exactly what I had landed. My prize was just beneath the surface of the swells and whirlpools of water. When I finally pulled this thing out of his wet abode I was surprised. This wasn't a bass or crappie as I had anticipated. I caught a pretty large catchfish.

Only having a few minutes to fish yesterday and having some plans for later in the day I knew I wouldn't have time nor the inclination to skin this fish and fillet him. Plus, I am not enthusiastic about eating a scavenger fish caught in a river so I knew immediately that I would let him go. Catch and Release is popular among fishermen...especially when they have no plans of eating what they catch. This catfish started his day off in a rough way but his luck was about to get a bit better. So I stared at him once more and then tossed him back in. He looked at me as if to warn me of messing with him and then in a simple swish of his tail he was gone.

I fished a bit longer and then packed it all in and headed for the house. Once home I told my wife of my fishing adventures and she became excited about what I told her...which, by the way, had nothing to do with my catfish bounty...and she shared with me a section of a book she was finishing. The Same Kind of Difference As Me has really captivated my wife and I can't wait to read it myself. I don't usually discuss, much less blog about books I haven't read but in the case I suppose I can get away with it.

Essentially, and I must say that this is overly simplifying a beautiful story, one guy, who happens to be white, tells another man, who happens to be black, that he wants to be friends with him. Being skeptical, the black man says he will think about it. A week later the black man says he has thought about it and that something really bothers him about white people. He goes on to explain that he understands that white people "catch and release" fish. That practice blows his mind. He then contrasts that style to black people. Black people would never release a fish. In fact, they would take it around and show anyone that would listen or even possibly care their great catch, explains the black man. Then the fish would be cleaned and eaten. He explains that it is weird to him that a white man would put back or throw away the very thing that a black man would take pride in and would use to sustain him. After the analogy, the black simple tells the white man, "If you are lookin for a friend to catch and release I don't want no part. But if you ain't looking to catch and release then I will be your friend forever. Loyal."

That's an awesome story that really touches me. Being the introspective creature that I am I instantly began searching the numerous caverns of my soul for applicable situations in my life. The images of great friends that somehow...accidentally, circumstantially or otherwise...had been released. I recently learned of a friend from high school that took his own life and he came to mind. His name was Brian and his sister is Melissa. I couldn't help but thinking of the ways in which Melissa must feel that she was forced to release him and how much more painful loss is when the releasing aspect of "Catch and Release" isn't by choice.

Catch and Release can be beautiful but releasing is always difficult. Years ago when I witnessed the birth mothers of my adopted siblings handing them over to my family...unknown to them, I saw the beauty and pain of releasing first hand. To know that what we want and what is line up on different sides of life and knowing it is for the best always brings us to an impasse...a place where answers are void of significance and solace is found in hollow words.

What does it all mean and why does it matter anyway? If I can borrow some words from Kenny Rogers and twist them to fit my purposes here I think I can find some reason...in fact, it is a huge reason...why this matters. "You have to know when to hold'em. Know when to [release'em]". In this world I think we will one day live out a life of abundance or a life of regret based on how we choose the things we catch and release and the things we catch and keep. Obviously the release part isn't always up to us but in so far as releasing is up to us I want to live well.

May God also grant us all the wisdom and strength we need to treat life very differently from how "white people fish". I wonder if the next catfish I catch will be so lucky as the last one.

Attack on the 2nd Amendment?

2009-03-31T14:32:00.000-07:00

I heard last week on a local talk radio show that a bill was introduced that would do some serious damage to the rights to own firearms without the government interfering. I researched the bill (HR-45) because I didn't think it could be as bad as the caller said. I was wrong...it is worse. I try not to be an alarmist but the bill is scary. I imagine that this type of bill is the worst nightmare of the NRA and people interested in maintaining the rights afforded us in the U.S. Constitution and The Bill of Rights.

After reading the bill, the worst parts of this bill, so far as I can determine them to be, are:
1. The Atty General is in complete control of the law, enforcement of the proposed law and changes that can be made at his discretion.
2. EVERY firearm (other than shotguns and antique collectibles) must be registered with the U.S. Govt. That means hunting rifles, target rifles like .22LR and every handgun regardless of caliber or capacity.
3. ANYONE wishing to own a firearm must have a Federal License. The application process would include providing the following to the U.S. Atty General:
A. a "passport size" photo of yourself,
B. finger prints,
C. physical address,
D. proof that the firearm will be stored "safely" (which is to be understood as unloaded) out of reach or accessibility from anyone unlicensed and not 18 years of age,
E. passing a written firearm exam,
F. Authorization for the U.S. Govt to obtain any medical records pertaining to psychological treatment or evaluations.
4. A yearly fee of $25 will be charged (expect that to increase drastically over time)
5. Private sales of firearms (which means I sell my weapon to you without governmental paperwork) is a thing of the past. Each sale will be required to go through a federally licensed dealer which will charge a fee for their role in assuring that the weapons can be traced to individuals instantly.
6. The Govt will require that information be obtained on each weapon and each individual holding a license. The info includes how many firearms are registered to individuals, who the individual purchases weapons from and the serial number of each firearm.
7. It is UNLAWFUL if you have a firearm lost or stolen and you do not report the loss or theft to the Federal Govt within 72 hours.
8. It is UNLAWFUL if you fail to report any change in address to the Federal Govt within 60 days of the move.
9. Failure to comply with any aspect of this Bill can result in a monetary fine and between TWO and TEN YEARS in prison (depending upon the severity of the infraction)
10. To assure compliance with this proposed law THE FEDERAL GOVT HAS A RIGHT TO ENTER ANY BUSINESS OR RESIDENCE THAT MANUFACTURES, STORES, SELLS, DISTRIBUTES, HOLDS FIREARMS OR FIREARM RELATED ITEMS (which means parts, ammunition, operator's manuals, etc)
11. Yearly the Atty General is to make a public report available regarding the activities of this bill. I'm not sure if this means info regarding every person who owns firearms will be made public or if it will be less specific information.

The Dem controlled Congress can pass this thing without significant Rep support and Obama will sign it since he is unashamedly against guns and private citizens owning guns. It will be interesting to follow this bill and see how it may be dropped only so they can let it piggy back some other bill and be secretively hidden in 400-500 pages of some other less-controversial bill.

It seems strange to me that humans can enter this country illegally, maintain jobs and residences, utilize our healthcare system for free, receive money and food through government entitlement programs and in some places even cast a vote with less documentation, proof of identity and residence, testing and governmental regulation than a hunting rifle can be manufactured, purchased or owned.

Should this thing pass it is the beginning of the end of civil liberties for us as we know them. By the way, I can't determine if that subtle humming sound is our Founding Fathers literally spinning in their graves or our liberty being sucked out of our lives...but it is probably both.

I Have Come To A Conclusion

2009-03-19T06:37:00.001-07:00

So last week I said that I would get back to you when I decided if the gift of homebrewed beer is just an ordinary gift or if it is spiritual. Well, I have made a decision so I am getting back to you.

OK, so leaving you hanging with that question was kind of unnecessary. The answer is: of course it is spiritual. One might ask how I know that or what bit of information lead me to that conclusion. That's easy...homebrewed beer, as discussed last week, is a spiritual gift. it is so for the same reason everything else in this world is...everything is spiritual. And for what it is worth, nothing is spiritual. Think about that for a minute...

15 Gallons and not an ounce for me

2009-03-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

As many of you may know, I have an excellent hobby that I have enjoyed for several years now. I make beer at home...also called, "homebrewing". I also occasionally make wine but I make way more beer than wine. I have made some relatively unusual beers like Blueberry Wheat Beer, Peach Wheat, Strawberry Pilsner and a Chocolate Stout. I have also made some very usual beers like an American Lager, Mexican Style Lager, Irish Red Ale, Brown Ale and a German Pilsner.

So many lessons of life can be learned by seeing and understanding the really cool intricacies of brewing. For example, really small changes or decisions can create major differences in the finished product. If you fail to clean a single spoon or if you allow a single bacteria to get inside the beer it can cause you to have to poor out every drop of it and start over. But you can't be scared of that...you have to branch out and be fun, adventurous and even a bit creative. You can't brew and be scared of what may go wrong...at least not if you want to have fun and enjoy the hobby. It is better to not take yourself too seriously and play to win rather than playing not to lose. See how cool that lesson is...and all from brewing beer!

There is a more specific lesson...or maybe manifestation is a better word...happening in my brewing world right now. I currently have 15 gallons fermenting. A Trappist Style Belgian Ale is in the earliest stages of yeast being hyperactive (which is a really good thing). A Strawberry Pilsner just started secondary fermentation and is really active as well thanks to the sugar in the strawberries I added two nights ago. A Mexican Lager is almost finished with secondary fermentation...the yeast has all settled at the bottom and it is ready for bottling any day now.

There are 5 gallons in each batch for a grand total of 15 gallons of beer. For those of you who don't care to do the math, that is well over 150 12-ounce bottles of beer or over 6 cases of beer. What is really cool to me is that I will probably not drink the first bottle of those brews. It seems that some people really enjoy the beer I make and as such, have requested that I make them some.

The Mex. Lager is going to a Horse Farm in North Alabama so my friends there can have something refreshing to enjoy after a long day of work and fun. The Strawberry Pilsner is what I like to call Cana Beer...as in the the location where Jesus turned water into wine. My friend Tyler is getting married next month and that beer will be served at his reception. The Trappist Style Ale is for a friend of mine that recently found out his wife is unexpectedly pregnant. It is a huge surprise as they already have 2 small kids...and she is prego with twins!!! That's enough to make anyone drink.

So anyway, I have been reflecting on how we can use our gifts to bless other people...maybe for a special event like a wedding or maybe just for a daily reminder. I have spiritual gifts and gifts that I just enjoy giving that aren't necessarily spiritual. I can't figure out which category to put the homebrewed beer in yet. When I figure it out, I will report back to you.

Ecclesiology and Hooters

2009-03-04T05:05:00.000-08:00

After reading the title you may be expecting a play on words or you may be thoroughly convinced that I have lost my mind...if you weren't before now. But you should understand the title to be exactly what I mean to talk about today.

I love Buffalo Wings! I like the spice and I like the chicken. Until several months ago I firmly believed that Hooters had the best wings in town. Since I love wings and since I thought the best wings in town were at Hooters guess were I would go for a lunch once or twice per week? Right, Hooters. For what its worth, this isn't a fact that is a new revelation to my wife so erase any thoughts you may have of me sneaking off under the cover of darkness to indulge in one of my favorite lunches. In fact, Brook has often joined me for meals at Hooters...She really gets the fact that is revealed in a less than subtle way that is printed on the back of the shirts worn by the Hooters' Girls..."Delightfully Tacky Yet Unrefined".

So anyway, about 4 or 5 months ago I found another place in town that has bigger and better wings than Hooters and that effectively ended my lunches from Hooters. By the way, if you live in my area and wish to sample these little boned-pieces of love, affection and acceptance otherwise known as awesome buffalo wings...you can find them at On Tap. But anyway, this past Tuesday I headed toward On Tap, as the Lord intended, since Tuesday is "half off wings day" at On Tap. Unfortunately there was a wreck that prevented me from making it to On Tap so I had to turn around and find something else to do for lunch. My mouth was watering for wings so I was limited in my choices. So back to Hooters I go.

So I walk in Hooters and see a familiar face behind the bar. It is the same bartender/waitress that use to take my order. She sees me and says something like "long time, no see"...except cooler and I say hello. Her face instantly becomes serious and she says "Look!" Which seems to be a universal word when used in that way meaning, pay attention, I have to ask/tell you something. She continues, "I told my boyfriend what we talked about several times when you were in here and he didn't really think it was possible. I told him that the next time you came in I would ask you more about it and even see if we could come sometime." It was at this time that i remember having a remarkably deep conversation with her on several occasions about ecclesiology and what we were attempting to be about as a community of believers.

Like so many people, she nor her boyfriend feel welcome or at home in traditional churches but she really desires a faith community...some place where faith seems to intersect her life as well as the lives of those around her in a lasting, meaningful and relevant way. She went on to tell me that her boyfriend said he would like to try something like what we do because it sounded weird and different. I just smiled...understanding that anytime a community of faith in the Bible-belt is called weird or different it is likely a good thing. As a Hooter's Girl I imagine that she has plenty of people ask for her number so i wasn't about to go down that road...so I turned the tables on her, I mean , why stop being weird and different now? I gave her my number and told her we would love to fellowship with her and her boyfriend any time that they are ready to hangout with us. I told her the only rule we have is that we love and we insist that people belong...way before or maybe if they never believe. She smiled...understanding that we are living out exactly what she has been hungry for.

Speaking of being hungry and Hooters and Jesus...if Jesus walked the Earth today and was culturally relevant, would he say something like, "Man does not live by buffalo wings alone..."? I would like to think so.

the truth...or at least my truth

2009-02-27T13:14:00.000-08:00

Brook wrote some thing about our relationship on her blog. Unfortunately, she has some things skewed just a bit. It is only appropriate that I correct her fabrications and confabulations. Her original post appears below in black. I will do any editing in Red. Sorry Brook but the truth must be told :-)

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This is kind of like the 25 things - except there are pre-decided questions and it's about you and your spouse, not just you. Come on, play along - inquiring minds want to know! ;-)

♥ What are your middle names?
Brook and Blake (we both go by our middle names too). (Our first names are Randy and Miranda, and we are both named after our dads who are both named Randy. Both of our mom's middle names are Lynn). TRUE…and how cool is this?!?!

♥ How long have you been together?
9 years Also true

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
24 hours…technically it was one week. We met on February 22 and our first date was the following week.

♥ Who asked who out?
Blake asked me Very True. I would have been blind and insane not to ask her out.

♥ How old are each of you?
Blake is 33 and I am 28. True

♥ Whose siblings do/ did you see the most?
Mine, since they live in town. True, though we don’t see any of our siblings very often…or as often as I would like.

♥ Do you have any children together?
Yes, three sons Very much so

♥ What about pets?
Reagan (Old English mastiff), Meredith (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel), Fontana (Simese Himalayan), and 2 goldfish named Shark and Whale True again

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
having opposite interests and likes and dislikes. It's really sacrificial for us just to have fun together sometimes I would say this is true as well

♥ Did you go to the same school?
technically UAB, but not at the same time True…because I’m old!

♥ Are you from the same home town?
No We are from the same state though

♥ Who is the smartest?
Depends on the subject. He covers the left brain subjects, I take care of the right OK, I'm not going to argue this...it is way too sticky. I will say that Brook is incredibly intelligent. However, when it is to her benefit she can pretend that she is as dumb as a bag of hair.

♥ Who is the most sensitive?
hmmm...that's a tough one. I am usually more emotional about things, but Blake is more easily offended than me Brook is a drama-queen. The question wasn't who is more easily offended...however, if it had been the answer would have been the same...Brook.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
La Spada, Highlands Bar and Grill, and Surin as a couple
La Spada, Baha Burger, Pablos, Mellow Mushroom, and Indigo Joe's as a family True

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
either Bonaire or Banff, Canada Actually Hawaii would the furthest distance…but who is counting?

♥ Who has the craziest exes?
Blake I think answering this question would require a less ambiguous definition of “crazy”…though in reality it would likely still be me

♥ Who has the worst temper?
Blake's is probably the worst, but I have only ever seen it once and it was in our first year of marriage. Mine is vicious, though, and it comes to visit usually every month or so My temper is absolutely outrageous but Brook’s temper will be seen early and often. You have to really try to piss me off enough to see mine and even then you probably won't see it…or just hurt one of my boys…then you have immediate and serious issues. I win the quality aspect of this but Brook beats me out by a landslide on quantity.

♥ Who does the cooking?
I am the regular, but you would rather eat Blake's cooking. He actually enjoys it. I do love cooking…but Brook is a good cook too.

♥ Who is more social?
Umm... probably Blake umm…it probably depends on if being social means hanging out with closer friends or being a social butterfly

♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Me!! Absolutely true. I am the antithesis of a neat freak. I'm not a slob, I just don't care that much about "neat"

♥ Who is the more stubborn?
That's a toss up depending on the subject again I am way more stubborn…hands down. And I refuse to budge on that point. I am more stubborn.

♥ Who wakes up earlier?
We usually wake up around the same time, but that's a new thing. Traditionally it has been Blake That's true if by “traditionally” she means 5 out of 7 mornings…I am almost always up first.

♥ Where was your first date?
We started at Purple Onion off of Lakeshore (he was like 45 minutes late, I can't believe I waited), and then we drove around and talked the rest of the night. We talked about getting married that night. I was late because I volunteered at a church event and someone didn’t pick up their kid until late. We did talk about marriage thought that night…how cool.

♥ Who has the bigger family?
Blake by just a few I don’t feel like counting right now…but probably true.

♥ Do you get flowers often?
yes, but I buy them for myself. No one knows what I like better than me. I married the only woman in the world who told me that she would rather not receive chocolate, flowers and jewelry. Don’t worry though, she goes and buys what she wants.

♥ How do you spend the holidays?
Running around like crazy trying to see all our families! Pretty much true…except to be more candid we run around doing a ton of things with me bitching and moaning about being busy and running around doing things. Nothing says, “Happy Birthday Jesus” like driving up and down the interstate system. The holiday season alone is reason enough to never get a divorce. I refuse to make the boys hop-scotch the state of Alabama because their parents couldn't keep it between the ditches. But I digress.

♥ Who is more jealous?
Blake Blake Blake! Absolutely false. Brook has a skewed idea of jealous. I am way more protective but not more jealous.

♥ How long did it take to get serious?
It was love at first sight, so like 5 minutes if that long

♥ Who eats more?
I actually think I do, but I rarely see Blake eat since he is usually at work. I know he VERY rarely eats the food I cook, so there ya go. You will have to forgive Brook. She is mental. Occasionally her tendency to leave the road of reality and fall into some alternate universe leads to statements like this one. You can look at us and tell that I eat way more than her maybe even twice as much…end of discussion.

♥ Who does/ did the laundry?
I do the laundry. Blake is not allowed in the laundry room. I don’t touch the laundry at all…true enough. However, I did manage to do my own wash for 7 years before I met Brook. I am more than capable and I really like to do laundry…folding excluded.

♥ Who’s better with the computer?
Blake I am not sure about that…Brook rocks with photo-shop type stuff.

♥ Who drives when you are together?
Blake. He doesn't let me drive. I don't blame him. :) Good Lord, the fact that I am sitting here and am able to move my hands enough to type is proof that I drive…no exceptions. The only reason she is allowed to haul the kids around is because we own a Volvo…essentially a small tank that is impervious to missiles, bombings and the occasional car, tree, neighborhood kid and animal Brook will hit. If only Volvo could engneer some tires that don't destroy my lawn when Brook misses the driveway.

So there you have it…The Truth…at least my version of it :-)

SM Lockridge

2009-02-19T13:38:00.000-08:00

This is the audio of the famous speech wherein SM Lockridge speaks for 6 minutes about who Jesus is to him. Many would agree with him. This has always been inspirational to me. Hope you enjoy.

Revolution...Again?

2009-02-19T08:08:00.000-08:00

I am sick of the government making decisions for me. Moreover, I am tired of the government mandating that I give them money that I have made in spite of their absurd regulations on almost every industry in the country and then spending it in ways that make me sick to even consider.
For example, despite what people want to say about our government providing healthcare to those around the world, they are also making sure that our tax dollar financially supports abortions around the world as well. So my tax dollar helps pay for the killing of a child in another country...our founding fathers must be spinning in their graves.

So how else does the government shaft us with taxes? I'm glad you asked. Here is a list of just some of the taxes we have to pay:

Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax (Fed)
Federal Unemployment Tax (FU TA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration T ax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

And to think, we left British Rule to avoid so many taxes...does anyone think it is time for The American Revolution part 2?

Siran Stacy's Story

2009-02-17T12:08:00.000-08:00

If you have a few minutes and wish to be challenged and inspired...this link is for you. Warning: don't start this link without tissue handy.

http://www.finebaum.com/media/archives/show/20090216_PFRN_Hour1.mp3

Where is Robin Williams?

2009-02-10T15:00:00.001-08:00

I am enjoying Obama's Presidency...in a weird sort of way. Other than Obama and Congress trying literally screw us for generations yet to be born with this spending bill and other than thinking that one of the first acts of his presidency needed to be the funding of abortions in other countries and other than...you get the idea...

I know the media and Obama supporters will be as hesitant to admit that Obama is flawed as I was to admit the same about Bush but I must continue on the "call a spade, a spade" thought...

In an interview George W. Bush said "I'm the decider". Apparently George was caught up in the moment and failed to realize that "decider" is not a word. Let W. make up a word or say something stupid, redundant or otherwise funny and the Hollywood-types and other media people went nuts. A few days after Bush said "Decider", Robin Williams appeared on a late night show, Letterman or Leno or something, and was wearing a t-shirt that said, "I'm the decider". It was funny and people got a laugh.

If Williams is going to be consistent and fair...which I doubt as that would mean he isn't biased at all...he will now have 2 new t-shirts made. One would simply have about a thousands "uh, uh, um, uh" lines on it. I am as sick of hearing Obama say "uh" and "um" as I was of hearing Bush laugh at his own statements. Both behaviors get under my skin. The second shirt would have the following on "The NUMBERS don't reveal NUMERICAL STATISTICS". He said it and I heard it.

So is Bush and idiot and now Obama has already started doing the same thing? I don't think so. I think it was in the interest of the "left" to portray Bush as a moron. The fact that you won't hear the media discuss Obama's equally moronic statement is because it is in their interest to make Obama look good. The problem with this is that a certain journalistic integrity is expected and we should all understand by now that "journalism" and "integrity" have little in common these days. If you don't believe that, I suggest that you hold your breath until you hear the media laugh about Obama sounding like an idiot. God luck with that.

Family Genealogy

2009-02-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

Since this past summer I have been compiling a rather vast family tree. In one branch of my family I have traced back 11 generations to "Thomas Wakefield" who was born in Maryland in 1618. Another branch leads back to Scotland and the year 1628. William Waldrop was born then and he would go on to be Knighted by King Charles and received a land grant from England in the new world...We know the part of the "new World" in which he settled as Virginia.

Going through my family history has been interesting and has revealed some things to me. Some of the things are pretty obvious and others aren't. I think the more evident facts still help keep things in perspective. Here are some of my observations thus far:

1. The most obvious and yet profound observation is that most of the people in my family tree are DEAD. I have over 300 people on my family tree website and only a very small percentage of them are alive. This is a good reminder to me that death is something we all have in our future. It should be respected but not feared. The fact that one day our time in this world will end also reminds me to make days, hours and even minutes count. Even the times when the kids are driving you nuts, or your spouse doesn't seem to get you or whatever...those times are really sacred as well.

2. It has also been interesting to see how culture has changed. Some changes seem to be due to technological and/or medical advances. For example, the more recent families don't seem to have 10-15 kids. It is also interesting to see how certain social norms seem to migrate over time. If you heard of a 14 or 15 year old female getting married today, there is an assumption of pregnancy and extreme dysfunction. Seeing marriages at those ages years ago wasn't really terribly unusual. For the record, the youngest age I can find in my families past to get married is 11...she had her first child at age 12. That leads to my next observation.

3. Solomon says in the book of Ecclesiastes, "there is nothing new under the sun". I have heard and believed that by and large girls have started developing much quicker. Puberty seems to happen sooner for young people these days and menopause and andropause seem to hit people earlier as well. As it would seem though, my 12 year old relative gave birth to a child. I assume she was probably pregnant at age 11 which obviously means that she had hit puberty early. Don't get me wrong, I don't really care when my relatives first developed armpit hair or acne. I do think it is wise to look at any social, spiritual or familial issue through a broad lense. We must understand that this current generation doesn't exist in a vacuum. We are a product of people and events that have lived and died way before we ever came on the scene.

4. Statistically my great-grandchildren will not know my full legal name. How many of you know your paternal, great-grandfather's first middle and last name? I imagine some of you do but the large majority of you do not. I was at a men's retreat once that featured Gordon Dalbey. By the way, should you ever have a chance to spend some time with Dalbey I highly suggest you do so. I digress...he said "a tree with no roots, dies". That really stuck with me since I have been interested in the people who lead to me. It especially sticks with me now as I attempt to think of some way I can impact positively those who will never even know my name.

I guess I could go on for a while but those things are the 4 biggest observations that stand out to me thus far. Have a good Tuesday.

So what now?

2009-02-06T16:00:00.000-08:00

All we heard about during Bush's last 2 years was the horrible war crimes and torture tactics used by mean Americans. After we begin to see some "truth" about people and things I wonder if those so opposed to the "attrocities" of the Americans? It seems that those who blindly tossed out some of the most venomous rhetoric during Bush's administration now have to recant those statements...when under oath. They knew better...do we know better now?

Leon Panetta...

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/02/06/panetta-retracts-statement-detainee-rendition/

Or what about the people who claim the people held in Gitmo are not criminals and if freed they will go about their peaceful lives? Seriously?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,489473,00.html

Let's call it both ways if we are going to call it at all.

A Message in a Napkin

2009-02-05T09:29:00.000-08:00

Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin? Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?

The Gospel of John (20:1-7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed separate from the grave clothes.

Early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone was moved away from the entrance. She ran at once to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, breathlessly panting, "They took the Master from the tomb. We don't know where they've put him."
Peter and the other disciple left immediately for the tomb. They ran, neck and neck. The other disciple got to the tomb first, outrunning Peter. Stooping to look in, he saw the pieces of linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in. Simon Peter arrived after him, entered the tomb, observed the linen cloths lying there, and the napkin used to cover his head not lying with the linen cloths but separate, neatly folded by itself.

Was that important? Absolutely! Is it really significant? Yes!

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.

When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.

Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'.
But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because..........The folded napkin meant, 'I'm coming back!

My Prayer For Today

2009-02-02T08:25:00.000-08:00

Father, you are my shepherd! Because of your great mercies and abundant kindness, I don't lack anything.
My rest is from you as you have bedded me down in the softest meadows. You have covered me with a blanket of the warmest clouds and have given me the stars of the universe as my celestial nightlights.
My daily provisions are from your hand alone. You find me quiet pools from which to drink. Because of your faithfulness, you let me catch my breath beneath the shade of your wings and once refreshed, you send me in the right directions.
Even when the way you direct me leads me through Death Valley, when I want to be afraid and anxiousness comes natural to me…I'm not afraid. I don’t have to ever be afraid because you walk at my side. Your strong hands and boundless love bids me to feel secure.
You serve me the best food, my favorite dish in fact, right in front of my enemies. Through this you teach me from whom my power emanates and in whom I find my deliverance.
You revive my drooping head and remove all guilt and shame from my world. Oh God, my cup brims with blessing and droplets of your greatness spill over the lips of my being…proclaiming to the world that you are the Great Shepherd.
Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. May I slow down daily and allow myself to be found by you and to be redeemed by your love. At the end of my days may you find me and keep me. Then all will know that I'm safely back home in the house of my Shepherd forever and ever and ever.

Lord, make it so. Amen

A Run In The Tall Grass

2009-01-27T12:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my family rode an hour north of town to look at 56 acres that are for sale. The property was great. The rolling pastures, hardwoods and 3 ponds seemed to be the perfect mixture of a Norman Rockwell painting and the backdrop of Little House on the Prairie. I don't know that we will purchase the land but I know the most valuable part of the trip was how much fun the boys had running, exploring and getting lost in nature.

One part of the land was covered with a tall wheat-like grass that was thick and came up to my waste. I could see my oldest son's head bouncing across the field and whipping between the tall blades. My younger two boys were too short to see them so I had to occasionally call out to them and ask them to hold up their hands or at least answer me. As is usually the case, the younger two were trying to follow and keep up with their big brother. And, as usual the biggest boy was trying his best to be on his own and find his own path.

At one point while my wife and I were walking through this tall grass together I saw the youngest trying to keep up with his brothers. Had he tried to see me he wouldn't have been able to because of the high grass. He was running as fast as he could and since his brothers weren't running too fast he started gaining ground on them. As he finally got close enough to them to see them, he stopped and looked around. It was as though he had lost something or found something he wasn't expecting. Within a few moments he started to cry and yell "Daddy?"...as though he was asking, "Daddy, where have you gone". I started to run toward him to let him know that though he couldn't see me, I could certainly see him. As he began turning around he got tangled in some briars and my trot became a quick jog...I couldn't get there soon enough and he continued to cry. Finally he saw me getting near him and you could see the stress begin to dissipate.

Before I even got to him I reassured him and then once I was close enough I picked him up from the briars and wiped his tears. I made sure he didn't have any cuts from the briars and I told him that even though he could see me, I was very aware of where he was so that means he was never lost. He said, "Dad, I couldn't find you. I thought I was following you but it wasn't you". I told him that he doesn't have to find me as long as I find him and it hit me like a ton of bricks.

What amazing symbolism! What an amazing image of God.

How often do we run after a thing we think is right or believe that catching will fulfill us, only to find out that we have chased the wrong thing and in so doing have ended up in a place we never intended to go. When that happens we look for God, our "Daddy" and though we can't see him, he is certainly moving in our direction. He gets to us and removes us from the briars and holds us as we get back on the path. We learn from our Daddy that we were only lost from our perspective and that he knew where we were the whole time.

That is amazingly comforting and amazingly simple. God is a really incredible Daddy that always finds me in the midst of the wilderness.

Obama Is Like Lincoln. Seriously?

2009-01-22T08:42:00.000-08:00

I love history. I like studying the hidden stories and untold stories of history. The more I study particular times and people in history the more I realize that the popular opinions and even accepted ideas about certain historical events and people is often twisted and changed to benefit people or substantiate actions.

Case in point: With Obama's election and now his inauguration, I continue to hear how much like Lincoln Obama is. I can see some similarities. Both ran as Illinois as their home state. Both believe that bigger government is the best choice for Americans. Both are tall and lanky men.

But how closely related are Obama and Lincoln? Would the men line up on even a majority of their philosophies? I say, "absolutely not". In fact, I say that Lincoln would say that Obama should never be president...not because of his inexperience, his liberal stances or his lack of a production of a birth certificate. Lincoln would say that Obama is not worthy of the office because of the COLOR OF HIS SKIN!!! That's right. Lincoln was indeed "The Great Emancipator" but also would very much be consider a racist today. Would you like proof from Lincoln's own words? Sure. I'm glad you asked...

The words of Lincoln in September, 1858:

"I will say then that I am not nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races -- that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes nor of qualifying them to hold office nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races, which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together, there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. I say upon this occasion I do not perceive that because the white man is to have the superior position the Negro should be denied everything."

Those words sound more like George Wallace than Barack Obama. If Lincoln thinks "Negroes" are not worthy of even voting or serving as a juror, I think it is safe to say that Lincoln never dreamed it possible for a "Negro" to hold the highest office in the land. Lincoln also seems to support the idea of "separate, yet UN-equal". In fact, since Lincoln seems very much opposed to white people and black people marrying, much less having children...it seems to me that Lincoln would never even support the relationship that lead to the birth of Obama.

With all of that said, Obama wants to tie his boat to Lincoln's legacy...something that Lincoln likely wouldn't favor. So maybe Obama needs to study history a bit before claiming he is so much like Lincoln. Or perhaps Obama has studied history and he wishes to ignore the parts of Lincoln's legacy that serve him. I'm not saying we all don't do that to some degree. I'm just saying that we shouldn't be fooled by rhetoric and false assumptions.

I will also say that while I didn't support Obama and while I think Obama will be remembered in history as one of the least qualified and poorest performing presidents this country has ever seen...I also think it is time that people move forward as much as possible. Maybe these words from Lincoln will help give direction:

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

Risks, Benefits and the Death of a Business

2009-01-21T14:13:00.000-08:00

First of all I must pay homage to Clay for sending this to me...though I could have changed a few numbers here and there and it would have applied to me as well.

This letter has been making its way across the Internet. I don't know if anyone actually wrote this letter to their employees or not. I hope they did ... but it doesn't really matter. My guess is that there is no small amount of businessmen and women out there who are harboring exactly these thoughts right now. Enjoy:

To All My Valued Employees,

There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country.However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide what is in your best interests.

First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a back story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I'm sure; all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.However, what you don't see is the back story.I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you. My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the Goodwill store extracting any clothing item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.

So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations... You never realize the back story and the sacrifices I've made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds.

Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough. I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes. Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero. Nada. Zilch.

The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country.

The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why your job is in jeopardy.

Here is what many of you don't understand ... to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it.

Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep.So where am I going with all this?It's quite simple.If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child's future. Frankly, it isn't my problem any more.Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire.

You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.If you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about....Signed,Your boss

20 Questions?

2009-01-20T06:07:00.000-08:00

I read my wife's blog today and it said, "Tag you're it.... .....yes, anyone who reads this and has a blog!" It then had 20 questions that apparently I am to answer for everyone to see. Should this seem like a good idea to you...have fun with it. Otherwise, don't worry about it.

20 Questions:

1. Do you own a box of crayons? My kids have several boxes that technically I purchased. In my economy that makes them mine.
2. Do you always wear a seatbelt? I don't "always" do anything.
3. When do you shower most often? Mornings and anytime I stink.
4. What is the last thing you purchased? I purchased lunch today...wings and celery, yum!
5. How often do you remember your dreams? about 80% of the time.
6. How do you vent your anger? working out, making others around me as miserable as I am in about any way I can.
7. Where were you on September 11, 2001? On my way to work.
8. What is your ringtone? It simply vibrates.
9. What is one thing you're looking forward to? Time off this weekend.
10. Do you get eight hours of sleep each night? Only in my dreams.
11. How is your mood today? Rather pissy, but surprisingly upbeat.
12. Have you ever changed your clothes in a vehicle? I have lived in a vehicle before...changing clothes is a given.
13. What is one thing you've learned about life? That I have a lot left to learn.
14. What is something you want to do within the next week? Spend some extended time with my boys.
15. Do you care what people think of you? It depends on who we are talking about.
16. What scent are you wearing right now? Eau De End of the Day.
17. What do you carry with you at all times? My wedding ring.
18. What was the last gift you gave someone? I gave my wife and kids gifts at Christmas and I gave them a trip to the beach for my birthday a little over a week ago.
19. What's one car you will never buy? A station wagon
20. How much money would it take for you to give up the internet for a year? Surprisingly not as much as one might think.

Faith At The End Of The Day

2009-01-16T13:08:00.000-08:00

Faith is a funny thing. Faith is also dead serious. Faith is relieving though it is also a burden. Faith brings great comfort but sometimes the comfort is delivered in the form of dissonance. So faith is a paradox…I guess anything that instigates belief without proof is paradoxical. One thing that faith can never been is inconsequential…the presence or absence of faith effects behavior.
Either life has to be lived by faith or not. Stumbling happens. Shortfalls will always be. Mistakes are made. However, we know that the God of our faith not only accepts those things that seem to diminish or prove the absence of faith to us, He actually is found living, thriving and redeeming those very things. Our Creator is our foundation when we stumble over the walls of sand we have constructed in our lives. The Author of our faith makes up the difference when our life isn’t enough. The Holy One is the master of taking our mistakes and using them for His glory.

Faith is a funny thing. Faith asks things of us that are often more paradoxical than faith itself. We are called to be slow. We are to be slow to speak and slow to become angry. We are also called to be quick. We are to be quick to listen, quick to serve one another, quick to forgive one another, quick to bear one another’s burdens and quick to lift one another up.

In the moments when our faith seems to lapse and our zeal for God seems to be overcome by the life we might otherwise have without the love of our Father, we may be quick to become angry, quick to speak and utterly slow in recognizing the love we have been shown is only ours to keep in so far as it is shared with those closest to us. Forgiveness and encouragement is like love in that we can only borrow the heart of the Father to the degree that we extend His grace, mercy and understanding to others. Showing grace and doing mercy in any of their numerous forms aren’t the primary goals, as wonderful as they are. Love is the main point and to the One who establishes everything, it is the only point. Love never fails and it is the driving force behind the very inventor of life and light.

Speaking of light, when we walk in faith, we walk in the light. When we walk in the light we have continuous fellowship with God and those near us. The aspect of light is as important as the aspect of continuous. When my efforts fail and when my mind wanders I am clean. Not because sin isn’t dirty or guilt isn’t bitter, but because God is sufficient. His love is purer than my dirt is dirty. His goodness outweighs and overshadows the burdens I place on His alter.

At the end of the day God is or He isn’t. That doesn’t mean that His image is always reflected perfectly through the live we project. It doesn’t mean that we eventually come to “the end of the day”. When the dust of confusion settles, the waves of emotions calm and the clutter of chaos is swept away, we all have an “end of the day”. In that moment, who will we be? When nothing is left of our surrounding circumstances what will be left of us? The only thing that remains is love. However, in the shadows of love we find lurking the necessary inferences of the love we receive and share in turn. We find the desire to accurately express our love. We find the need to hear the heartbeat of others. We find the strength to move past the obstacles that imperfect love has placed so cumbersomely in our paths. In our desires, needs and strength we don’t find love, but we do find the clarity with which to experience the love from others and for others.

May we never lose sight of the end of the day and may we be found at the end of the day failing better than we ever have before.

Your Christ Is Too Small by Frank Viola

2009-01-13T15:55:00.000-08:00

Frank Viola has become one of my favorite authors as of late...I may have mentioned that before but it certainly bears repeating if so. The following article is absolutly wonderful and I think for many of us it is very applicable and timely. May it bless you as much as it has blessed me.

The promise of the New Covenant is this: ‚‘I will put My laws into their minds, I will write them upon their hearts. I will be their God and they shall be My people. And they shall not teach every one his fellow-citizen, and everyone his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.’‛1 ‚All shall know Me‛ . . . this is the beating heart of God. I’ll be blunt: Either you and I can know God intimately, or the gospel is a sham. One of the rewards of our Lord’s suffering is that we all shall know Him . . . ‚from the least to the greatest.‛
1 Hebrews 8:10-11. 2 1 Corinthians 12:1ff. 3 2 Corinthians 5:16-17.
Living in organic Body life for many years has taught me the reality of a major teaching in the New Testament. Namely, the Lord dwells in all of us, and He is a speaking God. But the primary vehicle He uses as His mouthpiece is His Body.2 Therefore, you and I will never know Christ deeply or intimately unless we are in a community of believers where each member is free to open their mouths and speak. We learn Christ by being membered with other believers. I’m not talking about the Sunday morning church service that most of us grew up with where one or two members of the Body have the freedom to speak to everyone else. I’m speaking of a community of believers where each member is free to share Christ with one another.
The truth is that we can’t fully know Christ as an individual. We know Him fully through the new creation. That is, we know Him through His Body.3 This understanding changed everything for me. Throughout my years of living in church life, I began to understand that my brothers and sisters in Christ were parts of Christ, and I learned to listen to my Lord through them. I also discovered that the Lord is constantly speaking. And He speaks through His own people even at times when they are unaware of it. If this is true . . . and I assure you it is . . . then how well we know the Lord depends on how connected we are to the other parts of His Body.
(This principle would also include what Christ has revealed to members of His Body in the past. Therefore, whenever I hear Christians make the claim that ‚99.9% of all I read is the Bible,‛ I cringe. Every person I’ve met who made that claim was grossly
imbalanced. And for good reason. Rightly understanding the Bible requires an interpretive community.) My journey into Body life taught me that the Christian life, in its core essence, is living by another life. It’s living by Christ. But it’s not simply living only by the Lord who indwells me. It’s also living by the Lord who indwells my Christian brothers and sisters. I live by the Lord who is in me, and I live by the Lord who is in my fellow brethren (in whom Christ also dwells). God has designed it that way. Consequently, if we will know our Lord deeply, we must be connected to other members of the Body of Christ in a concrete way. And it doesn’t hurt at all to include in that mix exposure to the great teachers of the past whom God has gifted to reveal Christ to His church. Throughout my Christian life, I’ve met believers who had their own private walk with the Lord. They never knew Christian community, yet they had an extremely strong devotional life. Every person who fit that bill, in my experience at least, was lopsided in some arena of their lives. The reason? They didn’t avail themselves of the balancing of the Body. No Christian is wired to live an individualistic Christian life. Without Christian community, we cannot grow normally in the spiritual life. We were designed to live with other Christians and receive their spiritual portion. If you doubt this, please read 1 Corinthians 12 with this possibility in mind. Even so, there’s another lesson I learned which seems to be a little known fact about how the Lord operates. I personally believe it’s God’s way of dealing with the spirit of elitism which He dislikes so much. When we first meet the Lord, He makes Himself quite irresistible to us. He wins us over with His charm. He conquers our heart with His unconditional love. He draws us near by His passion. And we fall in love. If we come into a higher vision of His purpose, we get connected with other believers. We then begin to know Him together; we pursue Him corporately. (Regrettably, many Christians never know this experience.) But there is a danger in receiving a greater revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, one that moves from shallow waters into the depths. It’s the peril of allowing our first seeing of Christ to shape the way we recognize Him for the rest of our lives! (Please read that sentence again.) I’m going to make this shockingly pointed: The Lord Jesus Christ always ends up coming to us in ways that make it easy for us to reject Him. If we are pressing on to know the Lord, He will eventually come to us in a way that makes it easy for us to ignore Him, dismiss Him, and even reject Him. I’ve watched this happen repeatedly among Christian groups that felt they had a corner on knowing the Lord.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). Do you recall the
way He came into the earth? Consider the situation. For centuries, Israel had waited for a political Messiah. They expected Him to break the yoke of Roman bondage and liberate God’s people from Roman oppression. But how did the Messiah make His entrance into the world? He came in a way that made it easy for His own people to reject Him. He entered this planet as a frail baby, born in a feeding house for animals. The King of the universe was born as a weak human being in the ill-starred town of Bethlehem, in the midst of the stain and stench of animal manure. And His parents? A needy Jewish couple. There He was. The promised Messiah who was expected to overthrow the mighty Roman empire and set Israel free from Gentile oppression. Interestingly, none of the Bible scholars who had the Old Testament memorized and knew the prophecies about the Messiah’s coming were present at Christ’s birth. The only people who were present were those who were led to the stable by revelation. All of them happened to be shepherds and pagan astrologers, not Bible scholars.
When He grew up, He ate and drank in their presence, and He taught in their streets.4 He was unassumingly modest . . . of humble origin. A mere carpenter. The son of a carpenter.
4 Luke 13:26. 5 Luke 7:34. 6 This is what the Greek text says. See Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), pp. 741-743.
He grew up in the despised city of Nazareth, fraternizing with the despised and oppressed. But more startling, He befriended sinners.5 As such, the people of God didn’t recognize Him. Why? Because He came in a way that made it easy for them to reject Him. And what about the disciples? Read the story again. Jesus continued to break out of their expectations. He couldn’t be pinned down, figured out, or boxed in. The Twelve were constantly confounded by Him. His teachings were offensive. His actions scandalous. His reactions baffling. The greatest offense of all was the cross. It offended everyone—both Jew and Gentile. The only crown the promised Messiah-King would accept was a crown of thorns. Look at Him again. A suffering Messiah . . . a defeated King . . . boy, it’s easy to reject Him. This finds us all of out, doesn’t it? One of the Lord’s most faithful disciples teaches us this principle well. Mary Magdalene was the first person to see the resurrected Christ. Do you remember what she did as soon as she recognized Him? She grabbed Him, and she wouldn’t stop clinging to Him.
Jesus responded saying, ‚Stop clinging to me.‛6 Why did Jesus tell Mary to stop
clinging to Him? Because He had somewhere to go. He was on the move. Jesus was poised to go to Galilee to see the other disciples and then to ascend to His Father. Note the principle: He was moving forward, but she was clinging to Him. Jesus was in effect saying to her: ‚Mary, stop holding on to me. There’s a new way to know me that’s different from what you’ve experienced thus far. Let me go for I must move on.‛ Do you remember the disciples who walked on the road to Emmaus? Their hopes were shattered by the Lord’s horrible death. Suddenly, the Resurrected Christ began walking beside them, yet their eyes were blinded from recognizing Him. When He engaged in the very simple gesture of breaking bread (something He had done frequently before them), their eyes were opened. Then He quickly disappeared from their sight. These stories hold a critical insight. You cannot cling to the Christ that you know today. He will vanish from your midst. Jesus Christ is an elusive Lover. Seeking Him is a progressive engagement that never ends. He doesn’t dance to our music. He doesn’t sing to our tune. Perhaps He will in the beginning when He woos us to Himself; but that season will eventually end. And just when you think you’ve laid hold of Him, He will slip out of your grasp. He will appear to us as a stranger. But upon second glance, we’ll soon discover that He’s no stranger at all. Emmaus will be repeated in our lives. We all wish to cling to the Lord that we know now. We all wish to hold on to the Christ that has been revealed to us today. But mark my words: He will come to us in a way that we do not expect . . . through people who we’re prone to ignore and inclined to write off. Perhaps they don’t talk our religious language. Perhaps they don’t use our vocabulary. Perhaps they don’t share our jargon nor parrot our religious idioms. And so we cling fast to the Lord that we recognize . . . only receiving those who talk our language, use our jargon, and employ our catch phrases . . . and all along we end up turning the Lord Jesus Christ away. I have watched this happen repeatedly. Both among Christians who gather in traditional churches as well as those who gather outside of them. What, then, does our Lord do when we fail to receive Him when He comes to us in an unexpected way? He moves on. And the revelation that we have of Him ceases to grow. I’ve seen churches and movements stop dead-in-the-water, living off of a revelation of Christ that was delivered to them twenty or thirty years ago. And they never got beyond it.
This, in fact, is the very root of denominationalism and Christian movements. It works like this. A group of Christians see an important aspect of Christ. That insight usually comes from a servant of the Lord whom God has raised up to restore a certain
spiritual truth to His church. The group is captured by it. Even changed by it. And they stand on the earth to promote and express it. But then, subtlety, they build a circle around it. And then a castle . . . and then a wall . . . and then they enshrine it. And when someone else comes in contact with them with another aspect of Christ to share, they blow it off with monumental disinterest. Why? Because it’s different from the original sighting of the Lord that they have received. In effect, the group refuses to have fellowship with other Christians who are not like them. Please don’t misunderstand. Fellowship is not having a meal with somebody. Fellowship is mutual participation and exchange. It’s a two-way street. If you and I have fellowship, that means that I receive what the Lord has given you and you receive what the Lord has given me. And we are both enriched. That’s fellowship. Allow me to confess: If I only fellowshipped with those whose beliefs were the same as mine and their understanding of the Lord was the same as mine, then I couldn’t have fellowship with myself ten years ago! Fifteen years ago I would have had to excommunicate myself from the Kingdom of God! Jesus Christ is richer, larger, and more glorious than any of us could ever imagine. And He comes to us in ways that make it tempting to reject Him.
When Peter, James, and John saw the transfigured Lord on the holy mountain, Peter wanted to build a tabernacle for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah and remain on the mountain to enjoy the encounter. But God would not allow it.7 There is something in our fallen nature that, like Peter, wishes to build a monument around a spiritual encounter with God and remain there. But the Lord will not have it. He will always break free from our frail attempts to pin Him down, box Him up, and hold Him in place. And He does so by coming to us in new and unexpected ways. ***** Many Christians fear diversity. We all love unity, but we tend toward uniformity. This tendency is most clearly seen in denominationalism. But it exists vibrantly outside of denominational lines as well. Diversity, however, is part of the nature of the Body of Christ. It’s also woven into the universe. Look at creation. Look at your physical body. Look at the unseen Trinity who brought both into existence. What do you find? Particularity with unity. Diversity with harmony. Point: Diversity is a sign of fullness. Therefore, diversity should be embraced and not feared or rejected.
7 Matthew 17:1-4. 6
Yet few things so test the human heart as does diversity. In the early years of my experience in organic church life, some of the brothers in the church held to a teaching that made ‚exercising faith‛ the central emphasis of the gospel. Their zeal for ‚living by faith‛ was not hidden by any means. It was proclaimed quite loudly. These brothers sought to persuade everyone else in the church to embrace their emphasis. And they were unhappy with any other insight or emphasis that didn’t directly relate to theirs. These men had made their particular insight into ‚faith‛ the whole ball of wax. And they wanted everyone else to conform to it. It was during those days that I learned that zealously emphasizing any particular truth, no matter how valid, and trying to persuade everyone else to embrace it was a money-back guarantee for a church split. If I feel that the Lord has given me a particular insight into an important truth, I should not try to coerce everyone else to embrace it with the same zeal that I do. An organic church should be free in this matter. Every believer is at liberty to embrace and share his or her understanding of Christ. However, an organic church will only grow when its members learn how to incorporate one another’s insights into their overall understanding of the Lord.
Until our Lord returns, we will all continue to ‚see in a mirror darkly.‛8 Consequently, a church ought to learn the fine art of weaving together the varied experiences and insights that each member brings to it. Those experiences and insights will be diverse. But they are what make up the Body of Christ. And as long as they don’t take away from the gospel, they ought to be embraced.
8 1 Corinthians 13:12. 9 James 4:7a; Romans 8:28. 10 James 4:7b; 1 Peter 5:8-9.
Sometimes these experiences and insights will constitute a paradox. That is, they will appear to stand in contradiction to one another. For instance, some in the church may emphasize the sovereignty of God in all things. They will remind the church that all difficulties which come into our lives have first passed through the hands of God before they got to us. Therefore, they are for our good, and we ought to ‚submit to God‛ through them.9
Others may emphasize that we are in a spiritual warfare, and that we have an enemy who will attack us through the circumstances of life. In such cases, the Lord wishes for us to ‚resist the devil‛ so that he will flee from us.10 So on the one hand, we should submit. But on the other, we should resist. Both are true. And both must be held in tension.
Throughout the years, I have come to see that the great bulk of Divine truth is paradoxical. For that reason, I have learned to live in the presence of spiritual
contradiction. So much so that I can take a nap in the face of it. But there is something more. With every new seeing of the Lord, there is the temptation to become proud of that new seeing. There seems to be a subtle arrogance that seeks to seep into the human heart when one experiences a deeper experience or understanding of Christ.
Let me be clear. There is nothing more opposite of the Spirit of Jesus Christ than the spirit of pride and arrogance. A famous saying goes like this: It’s possible to be ‚pure as angels and as proud as devils.‛ I disagree. If you’re proud, you’re not pure. For God resists the proud.11 We find Christ in only one issue—poverty. ‚Blessed are the poor in spirit,‛ were our Lord’s words. A spirit of poverty says, ‚I need to know Him more. I don’t have the corner on Him. I am a child in this business. I’m still in school. I’m still learning. I haven’t arrived.‛
11 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6. 12 Stephen Kaung was a co-worker to the late Watchman Nee. Stephen has been a tremendous influence on my life and ministry.
One of the greatest lessons that Stephen Kaung 12 taught me by his life was the critical importance of remaining humble in the face of the greatest unveiling of Christ. He once brought a message in 1995 that deeply impacted me. He told the story of God’s work in China under Watchman Nee. The stories he told about the work were no less than remarkable. Organic churches were planted all over China in this work. Droves of young people came to the Lord. They touched the glory of God and experienced the Body of Christ in a marvelous way. Most of the traditional churches in China didn’t like these new churches. In fact, they felt threatened by them. Watchman Nee was tagged a ‚sheep-stealer‛ because people who were dying on the vine in the traditional church were joining his work in mass numbers. As Stephen told the story, he stopped and began to weep. He said, ‚But something happened. Pride came over us. Because we had received a deep revelation of the Lord, we felt that we were special. We felt that we were better than other Christians. No longer did we talk about being part of the church, we started saying that we were the church in the city.‛ Stephen went on to say that God let this go on for a while, but eventually, He took His hand off the work. And in Stephen’s opinion, He allowed it to be scattered.
I remember having a conversation with him sometime afterwards. He very simply quoted the Scriptures to me: ‚God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble‛ . .
. ‚Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and He will lift you up.‛13 Those words possessed thunder and lighting for me. I asked him, ‚Brother Stephen, how does a group of Christians find the Lord in the depths and avoid thinking to themselves that they are special?‛ His reply was simple: ‚Only God can do that . . . our part is to humble ourselves under His mighty hand and He will lift us up.‛ Here’s a prayer to pray. Whenever you see the Lord in a way that steals your breath, that’s the time to turn to Him and say, ‚Lord, let me not lose touch. Keep my feet on the ground and cause me to always remember that I am no better than any other Christian.‛
13 1 Peter 5:5-6. 14 2 Corinthians 12:7. 15 Acts 20:27. 16 For details, see Frank Viola, The Untold Story of the New Testament Church (Shippensburg: Destiny Image, 2004). 17 Revelation 2:1-4.
For it is in times of great revelation that we need the humility of Christ the most. Recall Paul’s thorn in the flesh. God put the thorn into his life to keep his feet on the ground in the face of extraordinary spiritual revelation.14
I have often reflected on the church in Ephesus. Paul lived in Ephesus for three years raising up a church. By his own testimony, he proclaimed ‚the whole counsel of God‛ to the saints.15 Paul unveiled to the Ephesian believers the vision of God’s eternal purpose for three years. He uncorked the mystery of God to them.
Paul held meetings every day for five hours a day in a facility called the school of Tyrannus where he declared Christ and trained young workers.16 Timothy, Titus, and six other men were present as his apprentices. I’m sure those young apprentices ministered to the Ephesian church as well. After Paul was put in prison, Timothy moved to Ephesus and ministered to the church there for a number of years. Some years later, the beloved disciple John ended up in Ephesus. Apollos, who was ‚mighty in the Scriptures,‛ also spent time in Ephesus. So perhaps the church benefited from his ministry also.
Point: The church in Ephesus received the deepest and highest revelation of Christ through choice servants of God—Paul, John, Timothy, Titus, Apollos, etc. And yet, as the New Testament closes, we discover that the church in Ephesus was corrected by the Lord for leaving its first love.17 What happened? If experience has taught me anything, I would speculate that they simply stopped pursuing Him. They got stuck. They clung to the Christ that they had been given by the greatest servants of God, and they stopped there. To put it another way, their Christ was too small.
How well can you know the Lord? You can know Him in proportion to the poverty
that is within your heart. ‚Blessed are the poor in spirit, Jesus said.‛18 The opposite of that statement is what the Laodicean church said of herself: ‚I am rich and have need of nothing!‛19 A sure mark of spiritual poverty is a wide heart. If you have a narrow heart, you will only recognize Christ through some of His people. And you will be blinded to find Him through others. Jesus Christ is a lot larger than what most of us have thought, and He works through a lot more people than we would expect. So to put it in a question, is your Christ too small?

The Way We See Ourselves

2009-01-13T11:15:00.000-08:00

An old man worked at a place I managed during college. I really need to qualify that by saying though I was technically his manager, I was as qualified to manage that place as I was to be an astronaut. Anyway, this old man was full of wisdom and some of the best wisdom he ever gave me was this:

There are 4 ways in which everyone is seen. 1. The way others see you. 2. The way you see yourself. 3. The way God sees you and 4. The way you really are.

At first the statement seemed a bit weird. I thought, "what do you mean God doesn't see me as I really am?" however, the more I thought about it, I found many nuggets of truth in his statement. First, God sees me as Christ makes me, not as I really am so the statement isn't as sacrilegious as I initially thought. Second, none of us see ourselves or others as we/they really are.

Despite great attempts at vulnerability, openness and acceptance, we will never be completely known nor will we completely know anyone in this life. This may be a bit frustrating and disheartening as those of us who long for intimacy and community realize that we are attempting to do something that is never complete so we are never quantifiable "successful".

A bit more contemplation though will maybe lead to a bit of excitement as well. I am not as bad, evil, cruel or pushy as I see myself...and as some others may think me to be. For the people that see good in me...I am not nearly as holy, good, honest, well-trained, educated, etc as they think me to be. I am what we all are. I am a bit of good, mixed with a bit of bad. I am perpetually under construction. That makes me very usual. However, if I will allow this wisdom to permeate my vision of myself and others I will be blessed with clarity that not everyone has.

"It Shall Not Be So"

2009-01-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

In the past I have read the text above and assumed that when Jesus speaks about the Gentile leaders that he was implying the governmental leaders. The more I read it, the more I realize that Jesus never says that he is speaking about the government. In fact, I think the implication has to do with religious leadership.

If that is indeed the case, what might the re3action of Jesus be to the typical leadership structures and how those function within the average "church". Within the usual hierarchical, top down leadership style prevalent in the "church" today, do we see more of an attempt to control the attitudes and behaviors of others or do we see authentic, self-sacrificial servants kneeling before others? I have an opinion but what say you?

A Blessing of Freedom for 2009

2008-12-31T12:22:00.000-08:00

A Blessing of Freedom for 2009

Typically each New Year I become very introspective. I spend a good bit of time evaluating my life and the relationships I am so blessed to enjoy. I enter a time of remembering the people and experiences of the past year and even those of more distant years. I think God had his people celebrate certain feasts and events yearly for these very reasons. So this year I have done the same and after prayer and contemplation I continue to feel that 2009 will be the year of Freedom.
Freedom comes in many forms and it isn’t always what we imagine it to be. Freedom isn’t just the ability to do as one chooses. Freedom is also the ability to do as one should do. I sense that in 2009, the people of God will be more aware of the specific journeys to which God has called them, both the easy paths and those that are more difficult to traverse. While most people realize that to some degree they are immersed in a process, I feel that in 2009 God will pull back the curtain a bit for the purpose of allowing us to understand with greater clarity that our walks are not only with Him and through Him, but that they are also very much for Him. The glory God receives from the seemingly mundane and unimportant tasks undertaken faithfully by those who follow Him will be made known. Additionally, the journeys that have seen or will see tragedy and pain will be softened with the divine understanding that our security has never been found in the things or even the people that are so painfully torn from us in this world. Our identity, as strenuously as we have fought to prove and live out a reality stating otherwise, has never been found within things or even people. Our identity, our security and the sole legacy we will one day leave for those who will follow us in this world will be defined largely by the freedom we learn to live out within our relationship with the Creator…that freedom is found through the resurrected Messiah.
Freedom through the resurrected Messiah is crucial because Resurrected Lord is the impulse to ministry and to the inclination to live life intimately with others. “When He saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like a sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9). This passage of exquisite tenderness offers a glimpse into the humanity of Jesus. It tells us how he felt, and still feels, about mankind. It reveals his way of looking at the world…His nonjudgmental attitude toward people who were looking for meaning in vacant lands and who were seeking happiness in vain pursuits. We are safe in our assumption that Jesus feels the same about us today as the heart of Jesus beats the same yesterday, today and forever.
Every time the gospels mentioned that Jesus was moved with deep emotion for people, they show that it lead him to do something-often that thing providing freedom through physical or spiritual deliverance and healings. Above all, the deep emotions lead him to remove the distorted images of who he is and who God is, to lead people out of darkness into light… the very definition of freedom. Jesus’ compassion moved him to tell the story of God’s love and the freedom offered us through intimacy with Him.
So in turn, our impulse to tell our story of how we are delivered from darkness into the Light arises from listening to the heartbeat of the risen Jesus within us. Telling the story doesn’t require, and may well even prohibit, that we become ordained ministers, nor does it demand that we try to convert people by concussion with one sledgehammer blow of doctrine after another. It simply means we share with others the ways in which our journey has been orchestrated, altered and blessed by the Author and Finisher of our faith. It simply requires that our freedom is experienced in community.
The imposter recoils at the prospect of telling such story because, having not yet been totally freed from his fears, which love always does, rejection casts a dark and intimidating shadow. The tension and anxiety produced by the fraudulent one who has never walked with the Master into the light and has never danced in the circle of God’s community is present because of the realization that he must rely on himself. Fearing failure, he knows that his power is limited by his paltry resources.
The true self is not cowed by timidity. Strengthened and carried on by a power greater than one’s own, the authentic seekers find basic security and reckless freedom in the awareness of the Risen One. Jesus, rather than self, is always the indispensable core of the free person and the free community. “Cut off from me, you can do nothing” (John 15). The moment we acknowledge that when we are alone and powerless, we enter into the liberating sphere of the Risen Messiah. Hence, we are freed from anxiety over the outcome.
When the final curtain of 2009 falls, let us reflect once again with great satisfaction and exhilaration that we have again participated with God in His mission in our lives and in His will for this world He created. May we all be free for Him, through Him and because of Him! May it be so.

Divorce and Remarriage

2008-12-22T14:09:00.000-08:00

Last week a friend of a friend asked my opinion about the idea of a divorced person being permitted to marry again. I offered my opinion but I wasn't satisfied with that and wanted to do some additional research. After reading a ton of material and thinking about different scriptures and stories in the Bible I wrote the following reply. Most of this is really groundbreaking information to me. Maybe it will be a blessing to others as well. Enjoy.

In researching the idea of a divorced people who wish to remarry it seems that Paul is the most appropriate example of this. Until the past 2 days I have always been under the impression that Paul was never married since he says that he wishes that everyone would remain as him and not marry (I Cor 7:7). However there is a significant amount of information leading me to believe that Paul was in fact not married as he wrote I Corinthians but that he had in fact been married before. This is why I say that Paul had been married before, for some reason he was no longer married (I have a good theory for why that may be as well) and Paul felt that, should he so choose, he was free to marry again.

Paul was a Pharisee and the son of Pharisees according to Acts 23:6. That one statement tells us a lot about Paul. It tells us that he and his family had very rigid expectations and laws by which they lived. As a Jew and more specifically a Pharisee, though most of this would apply to Sadducees as well, his marriage would have occurred no later than his early 20's. Additionally, his marriage would have been arranged by his parents. There is no precedent or reason to think that Pharisees would not choose a spouse for their child outside of other devout Pharisees. In fact, choosing someone outside of their social strata could lead to someone being ineligible for leadership and being a social outcast.

Paul, actually prior to his conversion so it would be Saul, was a member of the Sanhedrin Counsel. The Sanhedrin members were selected and only the best of the best, in terms of knowing and following all 613 laws of the Mitzvot. An additional requirement for the Sanhedrin was that they be married. Therefore, for Paul to be a member, as we know he was based on his presence at the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:59). We also know of his membership in the Sanhedrin because only the Sanhedrin could cast votes condemning others and Acts 26:9-11 states Paul did just that. We also know this because Acts 22 states that Paul was a student of the Sanhedrin High Priest, Nasa Gamaliel. Only a younger Sanhedrin member would be allowed to study under a chief priest. So anyway, we can feel quite comfortable that Paul was married at one point. So what happened so that he became single again?

Paul wrote about such highly emotional issues that he likely would have written about the death of his wife, especially at what would have been such an unexpected death due to her age. I feel that it is unlikely that his wife died. I think it is more likely that Paul's wife divorced him due to his conversion. I say that because as prestigious as Paul and his family were, Paul would have been betrothed to someone equally prestigious in the religious circles. It is also true that Paul climbed the ladder of religious success and his wife would have received a place of honor among the other religious types due to Paul's success. It wouldn't be unlike a very young attractive Governor or Senator in the US and how it may be like someone that married into the Kennedy family...it would come with certain expectations from both sides. My best theory is that when Paul converted to Christianity his wife, with the support of her family, divorced Paul and returned to her home. Philippians 4:3 may also indicate that Paul had come to Christ at such a great cost. When Paul writes that he lost everything to follow Christ, that certainly would include his status within his religious society and very likely a marriage.

So if we can accept that Paul was married and that his wife left him after his conversion to Christianity...or at any other time for any other reason, we know that by the time he wrote I Cor he was single. We know that Paul wrote his first letter to the churches in Corinth while he was in Ephesus around the year 56 A.D and that this letter was likely only his 4th letter written of the 14 letters that became the majority of the New Testament. This would also support that early on in his ministry he was already single. The most important part of this conversation comes in the 7th and 9th chapters of I Corinthians. Paul writes the following:

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. Don't we have the right to food and drink? Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas

It seems from this passage that Paul would feel comfortable in and even entitled to "taking a believing wife". I would suggest that this is in opposition to the unbelieving wife he had previously and would also answer those people still focused on Mosaic Law who may be trying to sit in judgment of Paul for the very thought of him taking a wife after being divorced. Otherwise we must ask why would Paul defend something that he was being judged regarding? We can also tell through implication and inference that people who attempt to prevent people from remarrying are attempting to deny people freedom extended to them by God. The idea of a religious leader attempting to limit the freedom of others certainly wasn't an act pertaining to the 1st Century alone.

Perhaps we can learn a good deal about Paul from the ways in which he refers to himself. I think the Greek in the I Cor 9 text is important as Paul doesn't refer to himself in this text as "parqenos" which is "a virgin-one never married". Further in I Cor 7:7-9 Paul refers to himself as "Agamoi" which means "one previously given in marriage". He goes on to suggest to other "Agamoi" that he wishes they would stay unmarried as he is doing but that should they have within them a passion to be with another sexually that they should indeed marry rather than stay technically unmarried and "burn with passion". This verse is typically not taught as specifically speaking to the previously married among us and if it is understood in a general context it seems to be in opposition to God saying in Genesis that man was alone and it was not good. If understood as a confirmation to people have been married before and may wish to remarry, this scripture doesn't have any conflicting facets with God's opinion in Genesis.

Henri Nouwen Quote and Advent

2008-12-10T12:39:00.000-08:00

Henri Nouwen was a great writer and his legacy continues to shine a bright light on all who read his works. Despite being a big fan of Nouwen, I had never seen the quote from him I saw last night at the Disciple's Fellowship Advent Journey. I have to give props to Tyler and Helen for putting that together. It was a great chance to walk my family through that journey. Below is the quote. I pray it blesses you as it has blessed me.

"Active waiting means to be present fully to the moment, in the conviction that something is happening where you are and that you want to be present to it. A waiting person is someone who is present to the moment, who believes that this moment is the moment."

Small Group Discussion: Gender Roles

2008-12-05T10:22:00.000-08:00

Dear Fellow Travelers,
In light of our recent discussions regarding gender roles within the Biblical marriage and within the universal church, I thought it best to compile a background on the two competing schools of thought and a brief summary of each. The two primary perspectives within this discussion (though some theologians claim the Bible actually supports a mixture of the two) are known as Complementarianism and Egalitarianism.
Complementarianism holds that "God has created men and women equal in their essential dignity and human personhood, but different and complementary in function with male headship in the home and in the Church." Complementarianism maintains that men and women are equal in the sense that they bear God’s image equally. But with respect to roles in the church and in marriage, gender-based differences determine or restrict the roles appropriate for each. Specifically, there are requirements of men, and restrictions on women. Men are expected to take spiritual responsibility, often called headship, for leadership in the home and in the church. Women are restricted from holding the teaching office of the church and from spiritual leadership in the home and in marriage.
The husband is considered to have the God-given responsibility to provide for, protect, and lead the family. A wife is to submit herself to the leadership of her husband, respecting her husband and serving as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation. Complementarian thought has also been highly influential in the area of Christology and Trinitarian Theology. Since 1977 most evangelicals some complementarians have adopted a semi-subordinationist Christology, which states that God-the Son and God-the Spirit are eternally subordinate to God-the Father. While they deny any aspect of this position pertaining to ontological subordination, they nonetheless state that it is a permanent and eternal state defining the Trinitarian relationship. Complementarians hold to this view ostensibly because they believe that the Son's (and Holy Spirit's) eternal subordination to the Father is analogous to women's subordination of role to men. It is important to remember that semi-subordinationism is Neo-Arianism, a heretical teaching from the 3rd Century.
Christian egalitarianism is the belief that all people are equal in fundamental worth and moral status. All have equal responsibility to use their gifts and obey their calling to the glory of God. God freely calls believers to roles and ministries without regard to class, gender, or race. According to Christian egalitarianism gender equality in Christian church leadership (including pastors) and in Christian marriage is biblically sound. Its theological foundations are interpretations of the teachings and example of Jesus Christ and other New Testament principles. It refers to the biblically-based belief that gender, in and of itself, neither privileges nor curtails a believer’s gifting or calling to any ministry in the church or home. It does not imply that women and men are identical or undifferentiated. Christian Egalitarianism affirms that God designed men and women to complement and benefit one another.
Christian egalitarian teachings have been fundamental in the universal church’s fight against racism, slavery and gender inequality both in the church and within marriage. Jesus did not conform to a mentality unfavorable to women, but reacted against inequalities based on sexual differences. By calling women to follow him he showed that he went beyond the customs and outlook of his environment.
Complementarian and Christian Egalitarian views need not be mutually exclusive, according to some recent proposals that one can subscribe both to complementarity and Christian egalitarianism. This theoretically would allow men and women to complement each other without any form of hierarchy. This view argues that the Bible prescribes both equality and complementary positions and roles for both men and women.
I have included below a summary of each position with arguments and biblical references typically used to support both perspectives. To say the least, this is a relevant issue within the universal church and proponents of each argument are often rigid regarding their stance. This discussion shouldn’t be avoided simply because of the volatility surrounding it. Absent in the New Testament text is any reference to Jesus reprimanding or even disapproving of sincere seeking or honest questions. However, the New Testament text is full of examples of Jesus rebuking and even mocking the religious people who claimed to have a proper orthodoxy. May we never cease to seek God’s Will for each of us and may this summary help us all discuss this issue in a Godly and well-informed manner.

Grace and Peace,
Blake

A Summary of the Egalitarian Position
I. A Broad Overview of The Egalitarian Position
A. Created Equality
God created male and female as equal in all respects. Gen. 1:26-27 makes no distinction between woman and man insofar as both are equally made in His image (i.e., ontological equality), and both are given the responsibility to rule over His creation (i.e., functional equality).
B. Fallen Disorder and Hierarchy
Sin introduced into God's created order many manifestations of disorder and corrupted relationships. Among the chief examples of sin's defilement is the introduction of an illegitimate hierarchy in the relationship between woman and man. Gen. 3:16 (the curse on the woman) suggests that, because of sin, the woman would have a disposition of subservience before the man, and the man would have, in contrary measure, a disposition of supremacy over the woman. Thus, the relationship of male/female equality intended by God in creation is now defiled by the presence of a sinful and harmful hierarchical tendency.
C. Restored Equality through Redemption in Christ
Gal. 3:28 expresses the grand truth that in Christ, the false and sinful basis of male/female hierarchy has been abolished, so there is no legitimate distinction, in God's kingdom, between female and male. Full male/female equality is restored, dignity is given back to women, and servant attitudes are called for in men and women alike.
II. Primary Rationale Supporting the Egalitarian Position
A. Evidence that God's design was for male/female equality
1. Gen. 1:26-27 - shows that man and woman share the same human nature, both are made in God's image, and both are given God's commission to rule the earth. Not only is there equality of being or nature between man and woman, there is also, importantly, equality of function or task - both are commanded to rule. And note: no distinction is made to give the man a superior position in this rulership.
2. Gen. 2:18 - woman as "helper" is best understood as one who comes to complement (i.e., make complete something that is incomplete). So, far from the woman being subordinate to the man, this shows how indebted man should be to the woman. Interestingly, the Hebrew word here for helper (ezer) is used most often of God (who in no sense is subordinate to those whom He helps) in His help of others. The point, then, is that man and woman need each other and so are equal partners in this relationship, not that the woman is in a subordinate relationship to the man.
3. Gen. 2:22-24 - they are one flesh, or the same flesh, indicating full equality of person.
4. Gal. 3:28 - if it is God's purpose through redemption to abolish false and sinful distinctions that separate men and woman into classes or into a hierarchy, then this must be understood as a return to what He intended in creation, an intent that was distorted by the fall and sin but now made real again in Christ.
5. 1 Cor. 12:7-11 - Clearly, God distributes His gifts to His people as He so wills, but one's gender is not a factor in His giving any particular gift to a person. Women and men alike are recipients of all of God's gifts (e.g., see 1 Cor. 11:5 for a statement of women having the gift of prophecy). Since God's spiritual gifting is gender-neutral, and since God expects His gifts to be used in the church, it follows that men and women alike are equal in their exercise of gifts in the church.
B. Biblical Examples of Female Equality with Males
Despite the introduction of a hierarchical disposition within human beings after the fall, there are indications that God endeavored to thwart this manifestation of sin and exhibit instead egalitarian relationships even in this fallen world.
1. Female leadership in IsraelAlthough Israel was largely patriarchal (in accord with most other sin-afflicted cultures of the time and through history), God saw fit to have in Israel some expressions of female leadership. Examples are: Miriam (Exod. 15), Huldah (2 Kings 22) and Deborah (Judges 4-5) who were prophetesses; and Deborah who was also a judge in Israel. Other examples of women who had prominent roles in the spiritual formation and development of Israel, but not in official religious offices, are Esther, Ruth and Naomi.
2. Prov. 31:10-31 - provides a commendation to this ideal woman who fears the Lord and who expresses her faithful service to the Lord through business dealings outside of the home as much as her provision inside the home.
3. Female participation in Jesus' ministryThere are numerous examples of significant roles women played in Jesus' ministry, roles which, although unacceptable to the culture of the day, nevertheless display Jesus' full endorsement of women and their desire to minister. Some examples:
Luke 8:1-3 - several women who provided financially to Jesus' ministry and who even traveled with Him, learning from Him as He taught from one city and village to another.
Luke 10:38-42 - Mary was commended by Jesus for listening at His feet rather than helping the worried Martha with the household preparations. Again, Jesus encouraged women, as fully as men, to come and learn.
Matt. 15:21-28 and Luke 7:36-50 - examples of women whom Jesus held out as great examples of faith and love.
John 4:39-42 - The Samaritan woman became the first evangelist of the Gospel from among non-disciples of Jesus. This surely indicates that Jesus considered women able to teach others (men and women alike), for a witness instructs others about the central teaching, the gospel itself.
Matt. 28:1-10 and Mark 16:1-8 - Certainly God is capable of choosing those people He first wants to discover and report to others the resurrection of Jesus. Who should be those privileged people? Those first witnesses in history to the resurrection of Jesus? The Gospels of Matthew and Mark both give the names of women (Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome) who came to the empty tomb, and received the command from the angel to tell what they now know to "His disciples and Peter" (Mark 16:7). God chose, over Peter or any other of the disciples, women to be the first to witnesses to Jesus' resurrection, again indicating Jesus' full confidence in the role of women to tell others the most important message God has for people to know.
Matt. 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8 - Evangelicals uniformly understand Christ's commission to bear witness in the power of the Spirit and so make disciples as given to all of Christ's followers. Hence, proclamation of the gospel as mandated by Christ is not gender-specific.
4. Female involvement in the early Church
Acts 2 (esp. vv. 17-18) - women and men alike are recipients of the Holy Spirit.
1 Cor. 12 - as mentioned above, women and men alike are gifted by the Holy Spirit, gifts commanded to be used in the church (1 Cor. 12:7).
1 Cor. 11:5 - mention is made here of women in the church "prophesying," clearly a speaking gift used to instruct and edify those in the church. (cf. Acts 21:9)
Acts 18:26 - Priscilla (named first) and Aquila took Apollos aside "and explained to him the way of God more accurately." Priscilla, then, was exercising a teaching gift and instructing a man, who was himself also a teacher. (cf. Rom. 16:3-5)
Rom. 16:1, 7 - Paul commends two other women (besides Prisca in 16:3): Phoebe, who is a servant, perhaps a deacon, in the church; and Junia, who (if in fact a woman) is named as "outstanding among the apostles."
III. Objections to the Egalitarian Position and Responses
A. Objection: Israel's political and religious structures exhibit an almost exclusively male leadership, and this by God's calling and command. E.g., Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, 12 sons of Jacob as 12 tribes of Israel, male priests, stress on first-born sons, male kings (Athaliah, a wicked usurper of the throne, excepted).
Response: This reflects, primarily, the patriarchal culture of the time. Just as God tolerated polygamy and even introduced laws to regulate it despite His created purpose of monogamous marriages, so here He tolerated patriarchy, showing His disapproval through the women who did rise to leadership positions in Israel in spite of the cultural suppression of women.
B. Objection: You say that Jesus broke with cultural expectations and norms in permitting women participation with Him in ministry and witness to the Gospel. Why, then, did He not break with those same conventions and choose some women disciples? His choice of all male disciples suggests that He endorsed the tradition of male leadership we see throughout the Old Testament.
Response: Jesus began the process of the restoration of women to their place of full equality, a process seen continuing in the early church (e.g., Gal. 3:28, 1 Cor. 12). Jesus knew that only a certain degree of break with tradition would be possible, still leaving Him the opportunity to teach and travel freely as He did. A parallel case can be seen when Paul fails to denounce slavery, although clearly he sees it to be at odds with the freedom of the gospel.
C. Objection: Paul tells women to submit to their husbands. How can he rightly do this if, as you say, he has declared hierarchy the result of sin and now abolished in Christ?
Response: Interestingly, the fullest treatment by Paul on husbands and wives (Eph. 5:22-33) is introduced with a transitional statement in 5:21 that reads, "and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ." What follows after this verse, then, cannot rightly be seen to contradict his clear command that Christian people be subject to one another. What, then, does he mean in 5:22? He gives this as a prime example of the kind of submission that needs to go on more generally among all Christian people. Its purpose is illustrative, and is not meant to single out wives as subordinate to their husbands.
D. Objection: When Paul says that the man (1 Cor. 11:3) or husband (Eph. 5:23) is the head of the woman, doesn't he mean that the man has the position of authority and responsibility over the woman?
Response: No, and this can be shown by looking at the word translated as "head" (Gr.: kephale). This term is widely used in Greek literature outside of the NT to mean "source" (as with the "head" of a river). Therefore, what this means, then, is that woman owes her existence to the fact that man was created first and, in his incomplete state, God made from him the woman. The woman, then, is "sourced" in man. As such, this word does not suggest, as many think, that man is has some rightful authority over woman.
E. Objection: When Paul says in 1 Tim. 2:11-15 that women are to learn in submission and not to teach or exercise authority over men, and that this need be the case because of the order of creation and Eve's fall into sin, doesn't this require that women are to be in a subordinate relationship in the church, with only qualified men teaching or preaching?
Response: This traditional understanding errs because it treats Paul's specific instruction to one particular church situation as though it is normative instruction to all churches at all times. There is evidence that the church at Ephesus (where Timothy pastored) was plagued with false teaching, and that this false teaching was coming primarily from women in the church who usurped authority and taught wrong doctrine about the creation and sin of Adam and Eve. If this is the case, then we must see this passage not as precluding any and all female teaching in the Church, but as a direct prohibition to these certain women in the church at Ephesus who were false teachers.
A Summary of the Complementarian Position
I. A Broad Overview of the Complementarian Position
A. Created Equality of Essence and Distinction of Role
Male and female were created by God as equal in dignity, value, essence and human nature, but also distinct in role whereby the male was given the responsibility of loving authority over the female, and the female was to offer willing, glad-hearted and submissive assistance to the man. Gen. 1:26-27 makes clear that male and female are equally created as God's image, and so are, by God's created design, equally and fully human. But, as Gen. 2 bears out (as seen in its own context and as understood by Paul in 1 Cor. 11 and 1 Tim. 2), their humanity would find expression differently, in a relationship of complementarity, with the female functioning in a submissive role under the leadership and authority of the male.
B. Fallen Disruption of God's Created Design
Sin introduced into God's created design many manifestations of disruption, among them a disruption in the proper role-relations between man and woman. As most complementarians understand it, Gen. 3:15-16 informs us that the male/female relationship would now, because of sin, be affected by mutual enmity. In particular, the woman would have a desire to usurp the authority given to man in creation, leading to man, for his part, ruling over woman in what can be either rightfully-corrective or wrongfully-abusive ways.
C. Restored Role Differentiation through Redemption in Christ
Passages such as Eph. 5:22-33 and 1 Tim. 2:8-15 exhibit the fact that God's created intention of appropriate male leadership and authority should now, in Christ, be fully affirmed, both in the home and in the church. Wives are to submit to their husbands in the model of the Church's submission to Christ, and women are not to exercise authoritative roles of teaching in the Church in view of Eve's created relation to Adam. Male headship, then, is seen to be restored in the Christian community as men and women endeavor to express their common humanity according to God's originallycreated and good hierarchical design.
II. Primary Rationale Supporting the Complementarian Position
A. Evidence that God's design was male/female equality of essence
1. Gen. 1:26-27 - shows that man and woman share the same human nature, both are made in God's image, and both are given God's commission to rule the earth. How they are, together, to rule the earth on God's behalf, is not here explained. Thus, at this point, neither egalitarianism nor complementarianism is demanded. Clearly, the thrust is that male and female are equal in essence (i.e., both fully human, both full imago Dei, both of equal value and worth to God) and together commissioned to rule over the earth.
2. Gal. 3:28 - God's redemption and regeneration of those whom He would save involves no distinction between male and female. Gender is absolutely irrelevant regarding who may or may not be saved. The clear implication, then, is that men and women are equal in essence because their salvation comes to humans with no consideration given to gender.
3. 1 Cor. 12:7-11 - Clearly, God distributes His gifts to His people as He so wills, but one's gender is not a factor in His giving any particular gift to a person. Women and men alike are recipients of all of God's gifts (e.g., see 1 Cor. 11:5 for a statement of women having the gift of prophecy). Again, this indicates that women are equal in essence with men in God's sight, but it does not preclude the possibility that God may prescribe just how those gifts be used in the Church.
4. 1 Pet. 3:7b - Saved women (wives, in this text) are to be treated with honor, precisely because they, along with saved men, are fellow-heirs of the grace of life in Christ. It is so important for husbands to understand this principle and so respect their wives in this fashion that Peter warns that husbands who do not treat their wives with the honor accorded them by God will not be heard before God in their prayers.
B. Evidence that God's design was for male/female role differentiation
1. Gen. 2 - There are at least four features of this chapter which support the idea of male-headship (i.e., male God-given authority over female). 1) The order of creation (male created first) indicates God's design of male priority in the male/female relationship. This is also Paul's observation both in 1 Cor. 11:8 and 1 Tim. 2:13. 2) God gives instructions to Adam, before the creation of Eve, not to eat fruit of the forbidden tree (2:16-17). Implied in this is Adam's responsibility to instruct his future wife and guard her from violating this prohibition (hence, the significance in 3:6 that the woman gave to the man "who was with her," showing he failed to guard his wife as he should have). 3) Eve was created to be Adam's helper. While it is true that this same Hebrew term is often used of God's "helping" people, it is clear that Paul understands Eve's role as helper to require that woman ought to be under the rightful authority of man (see 1 Cor. 11:9-10 - "man was not created for the woman's sake, but woman for the man's sake. Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head"). 4) Adam's naming of Eve indicates, in an OT cultural context, Adam's right of authority over the one whom he named. And interestingly, Adam named his wife twice, first when she was formed from his flesh (2:23), and second after they had both sinned (3:20), indicating that his rightful authority over her continued after sin had come.
2. Gen. 3:1-7 - Eve was tempted and deceived by the serpent and ate the forbidden fruit, and then gave it also to Adam. Eve, that is, sinned first. Despite this fact, God seeks out Adam after their sin to inquire why they were hiding (3:8ff). God approaches Adam, not Eve, as the one ultimately responsible for the sin. Likewise, Paul clearly teaches that the line of sin in the human race begins with Adam (Rom. 5:12ff; 1 Cor. 15:22). But he does this in full recognition of the fact that Eve sinned first (1 Tim. 2:14). Adam only rightly bears the responsibility as the head of the sinful human race, when Eve sinned first, if he is viewed by God and Paul as having authority and ultimate responsibility over the woman.
3. Gen. 3:16 - Sin brought about, not the beginning of a male/female relational hierarchy, but a disruption of the God-intended role of male-headship and female submission in the male-female relationship. Most complementarians understand the curse of the woman in 3:16 to mean that sin would bring about in Eve a wrongful desire to rule over her husband (contrary to God's created design), and that in response, Adam would have to assert his rule over her. This understanding comes from comparing the sentence structure and terms of Gen. 3:16 with Gen. 4:7. In 4:7, God tells Cain that sin is seeking to destroy him, and so He says "its [sin's] desire is for you, but you must master it." This means, of course, sin desires to rule over you, but you in response must rule over it. Now, the exact sentence structure is found in 3:16, where Eve is told "your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." This means, in light of 4:7, Eve's desire will be to rule illegitimately over Adam (note: certainly sin could not be credited with giving Eve a loving or caring desire for Adam, could it?), and in response Adam will have to assert his rightful rulership over her. Most complementarians hold, then, that sin produced a disruption in God's order of male headship and female submission, in which a) the woman would be inclined now to usurp the man's rightful place of authority over her, and man may be required, in response, to reestablish his God-given rulership over the woman, and b) the man would be inclined to misuse his rights of rulership, either by sinful abdication of his God-given authority, acquiescing to the woman's desire to rule over him (and so fail to lead as he should), or by abusing his rights to rule through harsh, cruel and exploitative domination of the woman.
4. 1 Cor. 11:1-16 - As already noted, Paul uses Gen. 2 to support his contention that women need to display, in the church, their submission to male leadership. The woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head (11:10), because she is the glory of man (11:7), because she originated from man (11:8), and because she was created for the man's sake (11:9). Because Paul links the woman's submissive role in the Church to God's created design, it is evident that these instructions to the church at Corinth are not applicable only there, but instead are applicable universally in the Church.
5. 1 Cor. 14:34-36 - Clearly this prohibition on women speaking cannot be absolute, for Paul previously acknowledged women prophesying (1 Cor. 11:5). What complementarians hold on this, though, is usually one of two positions: either that women may never be involved in an official capacity of teaching the corporate assembly, presumably with men present, or that women may not function in the elder role of judging prophecies (a la Grudem, Carson). In either case, what is clear is the principle that women are to display their submission to male headship and learn quietly from those (qualified males only) responsible for the teaching ministry of the church.
6. 1 Tim. 2:8-15 - Again here, Paul links his command that women receive instruction with submissiveness rather than teaching or exercising authority over men (2:11-12) with God's created design for man and woman. Women are to submit to male leadership and teaching because Adam was created first (2:13), and because Eve was deceived and sinned first (2:14). And again, it is evident that these instructions can only rightly be seen as universally applicable for the Church, because the basis for them is God's created design.
7. Eph. 5:22-33 - Wives are to be subject to their husbands in response to their submission to the Lordship of Christ (5:22). The reason for this, says Paul, is that the husband is head of the wife as Christ is head of the Church (5:23). The next verse makes the matter even more explicit: "as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives to their husbands in everything" (5:24). The key notion here is the parallel of the headship of the husband with the headship of Christ. As the Church submits to Christ as the one who has rightful authority over her, so the wife is to submit to her husband as the one who has rightful authority over her. Husbands, for their part, are to love their wives as Christ loves the Church (5:25-29). When husbands truly love their wives and wives submit to their husbands, we see the sinful distortion of the male female relationship defeated and a return, then, to what God intended in his creation of man and woman.
8. 1 Pet. 3:7a - While the second half of this verse stresses the equal honor accorded to women along with men (as fellow-heirs of the grace of life), the first half of the verse clearly indicates the fundamental gender difference between a husband and his wife. She, according to Peter, is a "weaker vessel," and she needs to be treated with tenderness and understanding as such. This implies that 1) while she is fully equal in essence (3:7b), she likewise is constitutionally different from him as a woman (3:7a), and 2) the husband bears particular God-sanctioned responsibility to care for his wife, indicating his leadership and primary responsibility in their relationship.
9. Trinitarian Analogy - Complementarians understand the Trinity to present an analogy to the male/female relationship, as God designed it. God is one in essence and three in persons. The three persons of the God-head are absolutely equal in essence (in fact, they each share fully, simultaneously and without division the one divine essence), but they are distinct in function. Specifically, their distinction of function is marked by an intrinsic relation of authority within the God-head, by which the Son is subject to the Father, and the Spirit to the Son. 1 Cor. 11:3 states part of this: "God is the head of Christ." The clearest biblical example of Christ's subjection to the Father is in 1 Cor. 15:28 where the exalted and victorious Son "will also be subject to the One who subjected all things to Him." Given this understanding of the Trinity, it makes sense for Paul to say what He does in 1 Cor. 11:3. He speaks here of three authority lines that exist: Christ is the authority (head) over every man, man is the authority (head) over a woman, and God (the Father) is authority (head) over Christ. Just as the persons of God are equal in essence and yet they relate within a structure of lines of authority, so too men and women are equal in essence while relating within a similar structure of lines of authority.
C. Biblical Examples of Male/Female Role Differentiation
Despite the fact that sin has produced in woman an illegitimate desire to usurp the rightful authority God gave to man (Gen. 3:16), God has worked in Israel and in the Church to establish male-headship as the consistent and approved pattern for religious and home life.
1. Male leadership in IsraelFrom the Garden of Eden on, God has called out men and held men responsible for religious leadership. Think of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the 12 sons of Jacob as heads of the 12 tribes of Israel, Moses, Joshua, David, the male priestly order, the prophets to Israel and Judah, etc. Clearly, God purposely called out and intended to work through male leadership in Israel.
2. Male leadership with ChristClearly Jesus was not at all averse to challenging customs and traditions of men which ran contrary to the values of the kingdom of God. He lacked no courage to challenge humanly fabricated restrictions upon the wise and good purposes of God (e.g., Matt. 15:3-9; 23:1-36). And his taking of women with him during his itinerant ministry testifies to this. But what Jesus never did, though He clearly could have and was not constrained by social convention not so to do, is to choose any women to be among the twelve. His choice of 12 men continues the pattern we observe in the OT, of distinguishing a certain level of spiritual leadership as gender-restrictive.
3. Male leadership in the ChurchAs observed above, Paul explicitly restricts women from a certain level of spiritual leadership and instruction in the Church. 1 Cor. 11:1-16, 1 Cor. 14:34-36, and 1 Tim. 2:8-15 consistently require that the church's ultimate human spiritual leadership be gender-restrictive. This is reinforced by qualifications for the position of eldership which requires that one be "the husband of one wife" (see 1 Tim 3:2 and Titus 1:6), obviously indicating that only qualified men may serve as elders.
4. Male leadership in the homeEph. 5:22-33, Col. 3:18-20, and 1 Pet. 3:1-7 each establishes the correctness of male-leadership in the home. The passage in 1 Peter is instructive in a particular way not described above. Here Peter envisions situations where a believing wife is married to an unbelieving husband. One might expect Peter to say to the wife, "because you know Christ and your husband doesn't, you need to take over the leadership in your home. Don't leave the leadership up to your husband, because he won't lead your home in a Christ-like manner." But, to the contrary, Peter says even to these believing wives of unbelieving husbands, "be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives."
III. Objections to the Complementarian Position and Responses
A. Objection: This complementarian understanding is in reality a fully hierarchical view, with women subordinate to men, and as such it is intolerable and contrary to the freedom of the gospel. While it claims to uphold the essential equality of women with men, it in fact leads inevitably to seeing women as inferior, as second-class citizens, who are not as important to God and His purposes as are men.
Response: Would you feel the same way about a parent/child relationship? Or of the relationship between an employee and his/her supervisor? Do you believe we should eliminate all manifestations of relational hierarchy, as demeaning to those under the authority of another? Relationships within authority structures surround us. We live and work in them every day. We would have utter chaos without them. But such authority structures do not entail the greater human value or essential superiority of those in charge, or minimize the human value or imply the essential inferiority of those under their charge. Furthermore, if we are correct to think of the Trinity as analogous to the male/female relationship, consider this: surely the Scriptures do not intend to suggest Christ is inferior in value to the Father because He came only to do His Father's will. Likewise, the Scriptures do not intend to suggest that women are inferior to men because of male-headship. In fact, just the opposite is true, viz., men and women only experience their full humanity when they function in the manner God intended in His creation of them. We are most free as humans when we affirm the legitimate authority structure God intended, and work within that.
B. Objection: Your interpretation of Gen. 2, by which you see three indicators of male authority, is wrong. What difference does it make whom God created first? He had to create one or the other first, and it just happened to be Adam. Furthermore, remember God created animals before creating human beings, but this certainly does not indicate an animal priority over humans. And, yes, the woman was created to complete the man, but this speaks of her equality with him, not her subordination to him. Remember, God is our helper. Is He subordinate to us? And the fact that he named Eve is no proof of his authority over her. Women in Israel often name their sons, but does this, then, that females (mothers) are authority over males (sons)?
Response: Were it not for the fact that Paul understood Gen. 2 as the complementarian does, your objections might have some force. But it is Paul who observes the importance of Adam's creation first, and Paul who notes Eve was created for Adam's sake. Therefore, the complementarian stands with Scripture's interpretation of itself on this issue. The one point Paul does not address is Adam's naming of Eve. The support for this rests, then, entirely on the significance of naming in ancient near-eastern culture. Yes, a mother's naming a son shows, in part, her authority over him - until he leaves home. And remember, although animals were created before Adam, Adam was told to name the animals and this clearly indicates his headship over them. It seems best, then, in light both of cultural considerations and Paul's understanding of Gen. 2, to sustain these three points as legitimate interpretations of the male/female relationship at creation.
C. Objection: Gen. 3:16 says nothing about Eve ruling Adam, but it speaks explicitly to Adam ruling Eve. You have twisted the clear meaning of this text. Sin effected in Adam an illegitimate desire to dominate his wife, despite her continued longing for equal companionship.
Response: The two major problems with the egalitarian view here are: 1) Explaining Eve's desire as a positive or caring desire fails to account for the fact that this is part of the curse on Eve. Certainly God would not give to her the curse of caring for Adam. Rather, her desire, because it is connected with what sin has done to her, is best understood as a negative, wrongful one. 2) But if her desire is negative, then, it accords exactly with sin's desire in Gen. 4:7, i.e., a desire to usurp rulership. This, coupled with the identical sentence structure and parallel terminology between the two passages, and their close proximity to each other, leads the complementarians to their conclusion on this important text.
D. Objection: You have left out the many and significant examples of female leadership in Israel, in the gospels, and in the early church. It simply is not correct to say that the Bible exhibits a uniform pattern of religious male leadership.
Response: Yes, women do play significant religious, and at times leadership, roles throughout the Bible. But consider two things: 1) Most of the examples of female leadership appear in roles other than those of highest human religious authority. That is, there are some prophetesses and female teachers in Old and New Testaments, but where are there any women priests, women heads of tribes of Israel, women kings of Israel (Athaliah wrongly usurped the throne), women apostles (Junia of Rom. 16:7 is highly disputed), women elders in the early church? The point is that at the level of highest human religious authority, the Bible gives a clear and uniform picture of male leadership. 2) The most notable apparent exception to the above is Deborah (Judg. 4-5), who was both prophetess and judge of Israel. Given the spiritual state of Israel at the time, most see Judges not as illustrating well God's ideal for His people. Quite probably, then, Deborah's judgeship demonstrates, not how God endorses female leadership, but rather just how far from God's design and purposes Israel had strayed. In any case, it is difficult to accept the case of Deborah as normative, in light of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
E. Objection: Your use of "male headship" and your reference to passages like 1 Cor. 11:3 and Eph. 5:23 where "head" (kephale) is used, does not recognize the meaning of this term as "source." Understood this way, the Bible does not envision man as authority over woman, but source of her, since Eve came from Adam.
Response: For lexical and exegetical reasons, this understanding of kephale is completely unacceptable. The strongest lexical evidence suggests that while kephale is sometimes used of impersonal objects to mean "source" (e.g., the "head", i.e., "source" of a river) its predominate, if not exclusive, use as it relates to human beings is as "authority over," not "source." Exegetically, it becomes difficult to understand how Paul could mean anything other than "authority over" in particular passages. Eph. 5:23, for example ("the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church") is followed in v. 24 with this statement, "as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives to their husbands in everything." Here, then, subjection of wives to their husbands is linked with the husband being head of his wife. Likewise in 1 Cor. 11:3 ("Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ"), it seems impossible to take kephale as "source," for to do so requires that God be the source of Christ as Adam is the source of Eve and Christ is the source of man. But did Christ ever originate from the Father as both man and woman originated? Furthermore, the following context of this verse clearly deals with woman wearing head covering "as a symbol of authority" (11:10). Therefore, for lexical, exegetical and contextual reasons, it appears clearly best to understand male "headship" as denoting male authority in the home and the church.

Roll Tide Roll!!!

2008-12-02T08:02:00.000-08:00

2 Weeks ago the boys were invited to attend a "Big Al Kid's Club Event" at Bryant-Denny Stadium. They were allowed to roam through the awesome locker room, play on the field and have their pictures made in some very memorable and typically off-limits spots...like the 50 yard line. I would post tons of the pictures on this blog but my wife beat me to it so here is the link to her blog. Check it out...

http://brookhuff.blogspot.com/2008/12/rrrrrrrrrroollllllllll-ttide-big-als.html

Church Specifics

2008-11-26T15:41:00.000-08:00

Lately my community has been discussing the form and function of "church". We come from various backgrounds with numerous experiences and all of that leads to preferences and those aren't a bad thing. However, when people confuse their preference or even their traditional experiences with God's will or God's intent...in effect "Christianizing" their preferences or opinions it becomes rather divisive and dysfunctional. Such an event happened this week when a guest to the group became overly assertive over an issue. Listing my preferences here wouldn't help this move ahead so I will simply list some observations compiled by Frank Viola regarding what the churches in the Bible did.

They met regularly in homes. Acts 20:20, Romans 16:3, I Cor 16:19

They took communion as a full meal. I Cor 11:21-34

Their church gatherings were open and participatory. I Cor 14:26, Hebrews 10:24-25

Spiritual Gifts were employed by each member. I Cor 12-14

They genuinely saw themselves as family and acted accordingly. Galatians 6:10, I Timothy 5:1-2, Romans 12:5, Ephesians 4:15, Romans 12:13, 2 Cor 8:12-15

They had a plurality of elders to oversee the community. Acts 20:17, I Timothy 1:5-7

They were established and aided by itinerant apostolic workers. Acts 13-21 and all of the Apostolic Letters

They were united and did not denominate themselves into separate organizations within the city. Acts 8:1, Acts 13:1, Acts 18:22, Romans 16:1, Thess 1:1

They did not use honorific titles. Matthew 23:8-12

They did not organize themselves hierarchically. Matthew 20:25-28, Luke 22:25-26

My PREFERENCE would be that the idea of church return to these rather organic roots and completely abandon the more institutional model...I guess the real question for any community of believers is how God may be moving them in their gatherings.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

Egalitarianism or Complementarianism

2008-11-25T14:37:00.000-08:00

The following is my reply to my community regarding a discussion we had last night regarding women being submissive to men and exactly what we are to do with the whole issue of "women's roles".

I think the debate and questions we were discussing last night is difficult at best. I don’t think it is difficult from a standpoint of “Biblical Authority”. I think we all believe the Bible is profitable for teaching, training and edification...among other things (2 Tim 3). I also think that we are unified in the understanding that the Bible can’t be taken literally in every instance since the Bible is a collection of poetry (Psalms, Proverbs, etc.), private letters (Timothy, Philemon, etc), public letters (Galatians, Ephesians, etc.), books of history (Pentateuch, etc.), etc. For example, the very fact that any female speaks inside the church building and no man openly rebukes her for it is proof that that we don’t take I Corinthians 14 literally when Paul writes:

For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

I think this issue becomes difficult because of the ways in which the primary operational definitions have been molested for the purposes of control, domination and other forms of evil. Therefore I think it would be helpful if we establish, through Biblical example and texts what is likely meant by the teaching of the “husband being the head of the wife” and the “wife being required to submit to the husband”.

I like that Melea began in Genesis (which is never a bad place to start). Part of the curse of the fall was indeed that Eve and every woman to follow her would be ruled by their husband. That is found in Genesis 3:
To the woman he said, "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

The Hebrew word that we translate into “rule over” is “mashal”. The meaning of that word is not just to reign over, have dominion over and govern over, but this word is one spoken with emphasis. I think it is safe to say that we all have seen evidence on micro and macro levels where this curse has come to pass and in many cases continues on today.
I think this is important because of what Jesus is in relation to the fall of man. More importantly we should ask who Jesus is in relation to the fall. Jesus came to restore everything lost in the fall. The primary thing we typically consider is that we can again be restored to God and His presence for all eternity but the presence of God wasn’t the only thing humanity lost in the fall of man.

We lost the intimacy shared between the male and female. Prior to the fall they were “naked and unashamed”. That was destroyed in the fall and more specifically with the curse of God listed above. That is important because we know that we are cursed from the fall but we also know that we are called, by our lives being firmly rooted in the new reality of the Messiah, to a new life and a new standard. In the kingdom of God, that Jesus proclaimed more often than he discussed love, grace or prayer, the relationship between a man and woman is to exist in a way representative of how things should have always been and will exist again at some point. This lends great weight to the scripture found in Galatians 3:
26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

For those of us who belong to Christ, I believe that we are expected to seek transformation to the point that we no longer see nationalities, races or gender. Not just because it is right to do so, but because we are called to appropriately represent the Kingdom of God. For those who are in the Kingdom of God there is no longer male or female. According to this school of though, the qualifications within the Kingdom of God become not if one a male or female, if one belongs to a particular tribe or if they are a member of the proper religious sect. The lone qualification becomes God’s gifting of individuals and God’s calling on those people.

So what of the verses that would argue a more traditional, complementarian view?
Ephesians 5 does say:
22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Additionally I Timothy 2 says:
11 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.

These verses are the core of the Complementarian debate. They seem to place the woman beneath the man and they tend to create a spiritual hierarchy within the Kingdom of God. When considering the curse for the original sin, this seems inconsistent with God. However, just because we think something is inconsistent or doesn’t make sense, we can’t discard it and maintain any kind of integrity.
I do think it is important to consider the context in which we find these verses. I think it is interesting that we prefer the specific verses above at times to prove our position or further substantiate our comfort but we rarely like the verses around them.

The Ephesians 5 passage gets very interesting near the end of the chapter. Paul is notorious for discussing a topic and seemingly going off on a tangent only to draw it back together. He does that in the famous chapter on “love” in I Corinthians 13. Paul is rocking along for 3 chapters (12-14) discussing the “gifts of the Spirit” and seemingly inserts “love” along the way. In reality Paul is actually using the discussion of love in relation to his discussion of gifts. A very similar pattern exists in Ephesians 5 as well. Paul concludes this passage in an interesting, though somewhat predictable way for him, when he says:
He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, people have never hated their own bodies, but they feed and care for them, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

The structure of that passage doesn’t exactly make sense considering the way we read more contemporary text. However, it is important to remember that the original manuscripts are void of punctuation and what we would consider usual sentence structure.
I think the verse from I Timothy is even more revealing. For the Complementarian Argument to stand up the passage in I Timothy must not in any way be a statement rooted in cultural relevancy. That is to say that it must be immutable and not negotiable based on contemporary values. The verses directly preceding the passage about women learning in quiet submission read like this:
I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

I have yet to find the same level of zeal from the more fundamentalist followers of Jesus regarding the aspects of men lifting their hands as they pray, women braiding their hair, women wearing gold/pearls or expensive clothing. Yet if one wants to claim that they are a “Biblical literalist”, each issue can’t be interpreted on what one thinks is appropriate. Obviously, braided hair and certain jewelry were cultural issues during the 1st Century. It seems unreasonable to divorce that cultural relevancy of braided hair and that of women only learning in quiet submission and never teaching a man.

At the end of the day I think it is important to mention, as I attempted to last night, that this is a very applicable discussion and one that has divided churches and families. The fact that remains that those who wish to find substantiation of their positions, be it egalitarian or complementarian, in scripture can do so. I personally think that one way of dealing with this debate seems to more accurately reflect the heart of the God I find elsewhere in scripture than the other way does, but as Melea appropriately references in her email, “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom”.

The Lifespan of Democracy

2008-11-20T05:52:00.000-08:00

About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh , had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:

'A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:
1. From bondage to spiritual faith;

2. From spiritual faith to great courage;

3. From courage to liberty;

4. From liberty to abundance;

5. From abundance to complacency;

6. From complacency to apathy;

7. From apathy to dependence;

8. From dependence back into bondage'

Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University School of Law, St. Paul , Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:

Number of States won by: Democrats: 19 Republicans: 29

Square miles of land won by: Democrats: 580,000 Republicans: 2,427,000

Population of counties won by Democrats: 127 million; Republicans: 143million

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Democrats: 13.2 Republicans: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: 'In aggregate, the map of the territory Republican won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country. Democrat territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare...'
Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the 'complacency and apathy' phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the 'governmental dependency' phase.

Props to Mr. Culpepper

2008-11-14T08:58:00.000-08:00

Life has changed in so many ways over the past three years. Alabama is no longer in the SEC cellar and Auburn is no longer enjoying the view from the top of the SEC. Three years ago Nick Saban was in his first year with the Miami Dolphins and the thought that he would be the next great coach in the storied Alabama tradition would have been laughable. Three years ago it seemed unlikely that Tommy Tubberville would be on the hot seat at Auburn…well, some things do stay the same.
Three years ago, while attending the Alabama-Auburn game at Jordan-Hare stadium in Auburn, my perspective changed and I haven’t viewed the Iron Bowl the same since. While sitting in seats that seem to have fallen into my lap by divine providence after my wife’s prayer for the tickets, the gloom of Auburn’s 3 touchdowns in the first quarter was shattered by the cries of Mrs. Culpepper. Mr. Herman Culpepper was having a heart attack and I found him unconscious and quickly fading. It seemed like an eternity before the EMS services responded, but a nurse and I did CPR on Mr. Culpepper as long as we needed to do so. After several unsuccessful attempts with the defibrillator Mr. Culpepper was taken down the steps and through the tunnel to the waiting ambulance. I prayed in my heart that he would live though my mind didn’t hold out much hope. By halftime of that game I received word that Mr. Culpepper had indeed survived and would be fine after stints were placed. The elation I felt at that moment completely placed that game and sports in general into proper perspective. Life isn’t about events, it is about people.
I spoke to the Culpeppers several times after that day and the story we share even made headlines in several newspapers and one national publication. I had the honor of speaking with Mr. Culpepper again today and I am pleased to report that he is doing just fine. In fact, the man that Mr. Culpepper is today continues to serve as an inspiration to me and so many others. Mr. Culpepper wasn’t exactly wasting his life prior to three years ago. The devoted husband, father and grandfather was most pleased after his last heart attack that he would be able to spend more time with his family. For him, life wasn’t about finances, schedules or politics. Life is only lived to the fullest when it is spent in devotion to impacting the lives of others.
Mr. Culpepper told me today about what is going on in his life. Not surprisingly, he spoke about his family first. He said, “I have been able to spend time with my grandchildren and discuss the Lord with them”. He went on to mention that he is a Sunday School teacher and continues to be very active in his church. He also serves disabled veterans that return from Iraq and Afghanistan and helps them find purpose and direction in their lives. As Mr. Culpepper talked I couldn’t help but smile. Few things are more encouraging and uplifting than people loving and serving others. Mr. Culpepper and I discussed on so many occasions before, and again today, that God has a reason for him to still be here. In fact God has a reason for us all to be here. Mr. Culpepper is a shining example of living out that purpose to the fullest. His example becomes more inspiring as I realize he does it all with a sense of gratitude and appreciation for life itself.
Mr. Culpepper thanked me today, as he has each time we have talked, but I couldn’t let it go at that. I thanked him too. For serving others, for putting his family first and for living each day with great purpose. He said, “You and God have given me three more years on this earth”. In fairness I think he is being way too kind. The life that was given by God alone is sustained by God alone and Mr. Culpepper seems content to celebrate that fact daily.
The Iron Bowl this year has changed as Alabama is expected to win for the first time in years. With Auburn’s success the past six years that is certainly a welcomed change for Bama Fans. If I can find some reasonably priced tickets for the Iron Bowl, I will be watching the game this year from the stands for the first time since the day Mr. Culpepper was given a new lease on life. While I will be pulling for Alabama as hard as ever, I will be doing so with Mr. Culpepper in mind. The Iron Bowl is discussed all year in this state and athletic success of coaches and programs are often determined by the results of this game. Mr. Culpepper serves as an example to us all that real success in life is determined what happens off the field, out of our offices and in so many ways, what happens outside of our own lives. Life is about the people we love and those who extend that love in return. Here’s to Mr. Culpepper for showing us all how that looks.

Tongues and History

2008-11-11T15:11:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday night in our small group (Church, for those of you not in the know) we began discussing charismatic gifts and their modern day existence. In a follow up email a buddy of mine asked why these gifts seem to disappear shortly after the death of Christ and not really show up in any written account until the 19th century. Below you can find my reply. Let me preface the reply by saying that I am shooting from the hip on this one...hoping my memory of previous study serves me well. Enjoy:

I would say that many reasons exist for why things such as speaking in tongues were not written. Christians were increasingly persecuted beginning even in Acts when the followers of Jesus fled to various cities and areas. Once being a christian or gathering as christians became crimes punished typically by death, I can't imagine many people would be willing to write about manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
Of course, once Constantine beat Maxentius on the Mulvian Bridge under the sign of Chi Rho (a cool story for another day), the persecution of christians ended...in the traditional form anyway. However, for the first time in the brief history of christendom, the church was "official"...in Blake's world I would call it "institutionalized". Constantine gave churches land grants and for the first time in history, a second class of humans were established within churches...leaving us, almost 1700 years later with pastors (or pick your choice label for paid leadership within a church) and lay people. Of interest, Constantine also gave the clergy Roman Senatorial Robes which became our modern day choir robes...and some denominations still have the paid leader person preach or perform communion in robes. Anyway, all of that is important because of the ecclesiastical subjugation to government. Once the elite, popular and wealthy of Rome began to flock to the new fad of christianity the more spiritual practices of the faith would understandably decrease...in percentages anyway. Those who kept a more pure form of faith would have not been published nor would they likely have been willing to write of their experiences for fear of ridicule, demotion or some other form of embarrassment. With things like the Nicene Creed and the Edict of Milan being written by those in power, testimonies of tongues, healings and prophesy would be limited or grossly overlooked.
If we fast forward through the Middle Ages we pass through over 1000 years of Catholic controlled ecclesiology that extends well into the period of Protestant Reformation. For example, people like Jeanne-Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon were imprisoned even in the late 17th century by the Catholic Church for "Mysticism". Her form of mysticism was simply teaching people that the Spirit of God could live in them, guide them and even communicate with them supernaturally without the help or blessing of the "church". Strangely enough I still proclaim the same thing today and am sometimes met with similar skepticism...but I digress. That isn't really an environment to be too vocal or public with something like speaking in tongues.
Now with all of that said, it is important to note that even Plato mentioned what many consider to be "speaking in tongues" with the mention in some of his writings of "ecstatic speech". So obviously, charismatic gifts showing up in written form are not the gold standard of their existence or of their foundation being always rooted in God.
However, it is important to note that writings do exist indicating the practice of charismatic gifts. Origen, Tertullian, Athenogoras and Eusidius all mention these out-pourings of the Holy Spirit. The Schleitheim Groups founded in the mid 16th century were known for "waiting on the spirit of the Lord" and wait they would. If needed, they would wait in silence for days until the "Spirit" would show up in the form of charismatic gifts.

I say ALL of that to say that we can't really speak accurately about charismatic gifts being something that were and then took a break and now may be back again. I think that kind of reasoning, in addition to being historically inaccurate, is designed to cast immediate skepticism on the existence and practice of these gifts of the Holy Spirit. If we can effectively remove this argument based on their historicity, perhaps we can more clearly seek to understand what God intends for us in our present walk with Him. That is the goal after all...at least I think it is.

Monk Brawl 2008

2008-11-10T15:35:00.000-08:00

So yesterday was Sunday. Sunday is seen by many Christians to be a "Holy Day". So in Israel yesterday two opposing religious groups did what any self-respecting groups would do on the "Holy Day"....fight like hell!!!

The clash between Armenian and Greek Orthodox monks broke out in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, revered as the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection.The brawling began during a procession of Armenian clergymen commemorating the 4th-century discovery of the cross believed to have been used to crucify Jesus.The Greeks objected to the march without one of their monks present, fearing that otherwise, the procession would subvert their own claim to the Edicule — the ancient structure built on what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus — and give the Armenians a claim to the site.

I think there is a hidden gem in that last paragraph...the Greek Monks FEARED...THE PROCESSION WOULD SUBVERT THEIR OWN CLAIM. It seems that these two rather ancient groups have passed on a few things to our modern religious groups...how sad.

Kind of like a grown man peeing his pants, the video of "Monk Brawl 2008" is as equally funny and strange. To see otherwise religious people, wearing religious clothes fighting like a bunch of drunk rednecks reminds me of Jesus' labeling of the Pharisees. He said they were like a white-washed tomb...pretty to look at but dead inside. What happens in Israel, between two groups barely even recognized in the Bible Belt of America seems irrelevant and far removed...but are we really any different?

I mean, how often do we or have we gotten dressed up, called ourselves doing something religious only to have horrible attitudes, rotten behavior and ungodly actions? It is easy to spot Monks fighting in a "Holy Place" but it is much more difficult to spot the rotten and often hidden, dark corners in our own world. I pray that you will join me in using the events of the Monk Brawl as a mirror to make sure we aren't all being equally absurd.

And if I may add one last thing...based on the video, Monks fight like wounded girl scouts...pretty angry and vicious but very few wild swings actually make contact and they don't seem to hurt very badly when they do. If you are going to pick a fight with your cross-town rival Monk Gang, you better be able to back it up...otherwise you end up on Youtube.com looking like a sissy.

Revolutions Winning

2008-11-06T06:48:00.000-08:00

Now that we as a country have a new leader waiting in the wings I wonder if the new regime will deliver on the promises they were so eager to offer in the previous year. Regardless of your political ideas, most people agree that the movement behind Obama has been almost in line with something religious. With that said, I wonder more than ever what happens when the movement or revolution for change enjoys a seat of power? The following quote is from Erwin McManus and I think he asks some appropriate questions about revolutionaries becoming "winners" and churches in general. Enjoy.

"Nothing is more dangerous to a revolution than winning. When a revolution wins, it must face the prospect of becoming an institution. No better example of this exists than when Constantine began mandating national baptisms. Christianity changed from a movement to an institution, from a global revolution to a world religion. You could now become a Christian without ever having met Jesus Christ personally. This was a bad thing-like keeping the shell and tossing the egg.
The irony in this is that the force of Christianity first changed the Roman world and then relinquished its power in the name of accommodation. It’s easy to see the difference between Christianity as a religion and Christianity as a revolution when we look back to the days of Constantine and the Dark Ages that followed. It’s more difficult to see that difference in our contemporary environment because we are standing in the middle of it. Our great awakenings were born through men and women who could see that the church had lost her way. They led the church back to the third day: from death to resurrection. They called God’s people out of the apathetic to the passionate.
Real, sustainable change occurs when actions are in response to values. For too long we have focused on making sure people believe the right things and have left their concerns alone. I know it may sound like heresy, but it is more important to change what people care about than to change what they believe! You can believe without caring, but you can’t care without believing. We cannot afford to fill our churches with members who have biblical beliefs and worldly concerns. When we awaken the apostolic ethos, the heart of God begins to pulsate throughout the church of Jesus Christ. The Christian faith is to be a moving experience!"

Bass Ackwards

2008-11-03T14:19:00.000-08:00

If ever I got things backwards or out of order, my dad would say, "that's bass ackwards"...the implication obviously being that my actions or plans went against a normal or expected sequence of events. This past Sunday I think my wife and I were bass ackwards but in a good way.

Don't gasp or faint but I actually went and sat through an entire institutionalized church service. We didn't go to just any "church" either...we went to the largest church in the state of Alabama. Just this one worship time has cars backed up on the interstate and parking reminded me more of a sporting event than a place where believers of God were gathering to enrich their walks with God. We entered near the kids wing of the monstrous building and checked them in to the computerized security system and eventually found their class rooms and handed their teachers the digital printout explaining their names, DOB, potty training status...I think I saw blood type, previous medical information and mother's maiden name listed somewhere on the form. From there we walked past the in-house Starbucks...I kid you not, into the stadium-I mean auditorium. A band that looked more like a Pearl Jam setup than David with his harp was entertaining everyone and fortunately one of our friends found us and lead us to our seats in section J, row 43, seats 11 and 12.
Finally the super-pastor emerged under the sparkles of the spotlight...his incredibly white teeth momentarily blinded me when the spotlight bounced off of them and maybe burned my retina. And then the whole reason we were there happened. A family in our small-group had invited us to the dedication of their one year old.

The night before I was left with a dilemma...attend the antithesis of almost everything I hold dear within the kingdom of God and honor our brother and sister in the Lord or take a stand, not attend this mega-church and possibly offend our friends. As much as I didn't want to go I knew from the beginning that we were required to model what Jesus taught. Relationships always trump personal preference...people always win out over comfort.

So what is so bass ackwards about that whole scenario? I hear so many people say that they attend church to find a community. I think so many think that church is where faith happens and you foster relationships there that hopefully carry over into our everyday lives. Well, for us it is the other way around. We have "community" and we simply attended this church to deepen our relationships...not to find them. We went to this place not to get closer to God but to get closer to people who walk with us in our journey toward God. To many that may seem bass ackwards from the norm...to me, I just call it a new direction within the Kingdom of God as I experience it.

So was it worth it? Would I ever go back to that place again under similar circumstances? When it comes to honoring our fellow travelers on this spiritual journey and when it comes to fostering deeper relationships within what I consider our church...absolutely, I will go every time I am asked to do that.

Beati Pauperes Spiritu or Beati Possidentes

2008-10-29T12:58:00.000-07:00

In the Latin Vulgate translation of the New Testament text, Jesus himself says in Matthew 5:3, “beati pauperes spiritu” or “Blessed in spirit are the poor”. The modern church doesn’t typically reflect those sentiments, in effect, creating even more separation between Jesus and “His Bride”.

More often than not, the modern church has forgotten “beati pauperes spiritu” and in its place adopted, “beati possidentes”, or “blessed are those who possess”. The widow with a mite is no longer the standard of giving for the followers of Jesus. Read carefully the verses regarding the widow in Mark 12. This time, in what will probably be a new context for many of you:
38As he taught, Jesus said, "Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, 39and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely."
41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

It is interesting that Jesus doesn’t begin with a warning about demons or possessed people. However, Jesus does indeed issue a warning, “Watch out for the teachers of the law”. Jesus then describes what these dangerous teachers of law will do. According to the Messiah, the teachers will enjoy walking around as people of status, they will enjoy the popularity and honor others bestow on them, they will make their religion very “showy”-for the benefit of others seeing them and therefore propping up their status and credibility from a social perspective. But for our specific purpose today another description of the dangerous teachers of the law is “they devour widows’ houses”.

The idea of devouring a widow is not to literally consume them but rather to rob them, take all they have, strip them of what little remains in the midst of their loneliness. One Bible translation reads, “But they cheat widows out of their homes” (CEV). I think that is very accurate and even further sets up what is about to happen in this scene. Imagine this pompous man of religion that is wealthy, probably through less than ethical means, respected and morally bankrupt. Instead of “look(ing) after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27) and in so doing practice what the Bible labels “pure and undefiled religion” these men will look at women in need and use their vulnerability against them. Obviously, anyone that would take someone who is weak and exploit them is beyond immoral. As such, Mark 12 says these people will be sentenced to a very harsh punishment.
After describing what the dangerous teachers of the law would do, Jesus sits down and simply watches as people place their offerings in the treasury. It is as though mankind has become so predictably evil and parasitic, especially in religious circles, that Jesus turns around to those he was teaching and with a wink and a smile said, “watch this”. Not too long after explaining what happens in religious settings, particularly when it involves money, Jesus has the opportunity to elbow a disciple in the ribs as he smiles and says, “I told you”. What did he tell them and more importantly for us, what is he still saying to us?

“Many rich people threw in large amounts” is a statement that says a few things without actually saying them. For example, if people were giving in the fashion they should, no one would be able to say who gave more. The fact that the text quantifies the number of people and the amount they gave indicates that maybe there was a bit of the religious positioning going on. Maybe a relatively rich person makes sure others are aware that he put in a large sum and he feels good about it, until someone with more wealth trumps him with an even larger amount. This routine could go on for a while and many of the people involved in the financial wrangling in the house of God probably did notice the poor widow that made sure her gift went unnoticed. The last thing people want to do is draw attention to the issues in their life that are lacking or insignificant. The only person present that matter noticed the widow, and that is all that mattered.
Jesus had just spoken about dangerous teachers of the law robbing from widows and now both the religious status seekers and the widow have proven his point. While the religious are jockeying for position, the widow quietly “gives out of her poverty”. These men, thinking they have done something spectacular, have been upstaged in the eyes of God by a widow. The widows were usually just prey for these kinds of people, but not in this case, not in the eyes of God. This woman understood that the Kingdom of God has nothing to do with what one brings to the table, it has nothing to do with show and it has nothing to do with contributions. God doesn’t need money, after all, He owns the cattle on a thousand hilltops (Psalm 50). What God desires is exactly what this widow gives…everything. She obviously knew that she didn’t have enough to compete with the “religious”, but it wasn’t about competition, it was about complete surrender. The widow wasn’t able to fund a ministry, but it wasn’t about funding a ministry, it was about a sincere spirit. The widow couldn’t buy status or credibility with her offering, but it wasn’t about status or credibility, it was about obedience in the face of arrogance. In stark contrast to the religious, stands the righteous and Jesus reveals the heart of the Father by saying who gave more and who’s sacrifice was more pleasing to Him. It wasn’t about the amount, it was about the heart.

Unfortunately, this story and this lesson are largely forgotten in your average church today. Want proof? Show me a church with a finance committee, accounting committee or something similar and I will show you people that handle money well, enjoy an above average lifestyle, an above average income and are likely to be wealthy
relative to the other members of the church. I personally have never been to a church, nor has anyone I know, that had a bankrupt individual on the finances committee. Though exceptions always exist, you are not likely to see someone serve on a finance committee that also needs help from the benevolence fund from time to time.

The typical excuse given for why people are given charge of finances at any given church is because they have proven in life to be a “good steward”. While I have often heard that we are called to be “good stewards” in the midst of sermons and classes regarding finances, I can’t find the same amount of attention paid to financial stewardship in scripture. Make no mistake, we are call to be good stewards. Let’s look at the ways in which the Bible calls us to good stewardship:

I Peter 4: as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. (Grace)
Titus 1: as the steward of God (Leadership)
I Corinthians 4: stewards of the mysteries of God. (Representing God)
Luke 12: Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household (Leadership)

The other Biblical references to being a steward or stewardship in general is simply as a title or an administrative role one may fulfill. While I think we can certainly say that financial responsibility is a good thing and even a God thing, I don’t think we can omit the poor widow that served as an example for Jesus to teach his followers some 2000 years ago. Maybe Jesus still wants to use her example to teach his followers today.

Are power structures in the typical church dictated by finances? I would argue that generally speaking, churches do exactly what Jesus says the dangerous teachers of the law did and exactly what we are warned not to do again in James 2 by showing favoritism.
James 2: “1 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose someone comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor person in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the one wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the one who is poor, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? 8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.”

Lest we forget brilliant and emancipating aspects of the Kingdom of God is that the last is first, the broken made whole, the lacking is made sufficient, the blind see and the lame walk (Luke 7). Sadly the Kingdom is often portrayed to the world by church attendees in the areas of finances and power as being no different than the world. All too often, the attractive, wealthy, talented and gifted fill the roles within the leadership hierarchy and the major decisions are made, directly or indirectly by those who wield the funds. Can it be that the Golden Rule of Jesus has been traded for the Golden Rule of the world…”those who have the gold make the rules”?

So what about wealth? Often the Bible is misquoted when people declare with the best intentions, “money is the root of all evil”. Actually it is the “love of money” which is that root. Many rationalize wealth by pointing out all the “blessings” Solomon had or all the possessions Abraham or David enjoyed. While certainly God bestowed some people in the Bible with abundance in those areas, this in no way negates the words of Jesus in Matthew 19, Mark 10 and Luke 18.

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

What if Jesus is serious about that?

Tribes, Politics and Liquid Feces

2008-10-28T07:59:00.000-07:00

Today I am posting an email I sent out to my "church" in reply to one sweet female who said she is voting for Obama and then provided the link for an article that presents the Republican Party as mean, hateful, racist and corrupt...as though they have a monopoly on that. Maybe it will speak to some of you. Enjoy

I didn't gasp at the thought of you voting for Obama as you imagined some of us would...but I do think I squirted a little liquid feces into my boxer briefs. :)

I have heard others mention how tired they are of mean, cruel, racist, and whatever else political campaigns. I have also heard about the corruption run amuck in the republican run white house and congress. I hate...and I can't state it strongly enough....HATE the corruption in politics. I HATE the cruel, mean-spirited, selfish, racist aspects of life in general...politics notwithstanding.
I say all of that to bring up something I learned when I was living in Africa. The government in charge of Tanzania when I was there was corrupt...and I don't mean just a little bit. I asked some of the people why they didn't vote for a change and elect the competing tribe. Their answer was that they already did that. The two primary tribes involved in government in Tanzania had alternated control every few terms because the people had become tired of the BS...maybe this time it was that they had had enough of the Sukuma Tribe and the specific ways in which they were corrupt...though several years before they had been begging for reform and begging for the Sukuma Tribe to "Be the Change We Need". The truth was and is that the Tanzanian government was going to be corrupt regardless of who was in charge because both groups were wrong about so much. The tribes not in control were going to get the shaft repeatedly because their opponents were in charge.

I say all of that to draw the similarities between the Tanzanian system of government and our own. The Republican Tribe has been in control of the Executive Branch for 8 years...and SURPRISE SURPRISE, the people of that tribe have received special favors and have benefited. On the flip side of the past 8 years were 8 years of the Democratic Tribe being in power of the Executive Branch. Again, guess who got the favors, the benefits and even "special cigars"? Those within that tribe...well, Monica got the cigar but that's another story.
Of interest, the Democratic Tribe has been in charge of the Legislative Branch of Government for the past two years and guess what kind of laws they have passed or have attempted to pass...ones that benefit their tribe.

As I contemplate what will happen one week from today I am sure of several things...to say that I will vote for one party because the other party uses fear to motivate is myopic at best. To say that I will vote for one tribe over another because one tribe is corrupt and one isn't would be less than accurate. To say that we should support one tribe over another because Jesus would support one platform over another is absurd. Jesus can't be bought with campaign money and repeatedly said that his Kingdom isn't of this world...in effect, bypassing his chance to tattoo a donkey or elephant on his legacy. To say that I will vote for one tribe over another because one tribe will wage war is to be a poor historian. I personally packed my gear under Bill Clinton to wage war in countries that we had as much reason to be there as we do Iraq and Afghanistan...let's not forget Sudan's Aspirin Factories, The Chinese Embassy Bombing, the USS Cole, The first World Trade Center Attack, Bosnian Conflict, etc. Both Tribes wage war and both tribes manipulate wars for the good of their tribe...I have been there, done that and still have some of my "battle-rattle" to prove it. Just ask Jeff...I'm a nut job in a crowed bar to this day :)

So anyway, let's all go out and vote...or not. Vote for McCain or vote for Obama. Let's discuss in love whatever issues we want but I personally think each side should come down off our thrones long enough to objectively observe that each candidate will do the exact same thing if elected....support the agenda of their tribe while trying to limit or even destroy the agenda of the opposing tribe. You support in this election doesn't make you a christian, atheist or even moralist...it makes you an official part of a particular tribe.

We are collectively about to get exactly what we ask for...I seriously question if any of us will like what we get? It reminds me of when the people of God demanded a king. God gave them the desires of their hearts...and allowed them to soak in the pool of liquid feces they squirted in their Hebrew boxer briefs...and with that, it appears that I have come full circle so I must say, "Amen"

Who Farts During a Prayer?

2008-10-27T12:44:00.000-07:00

I love football...I love Alabama football and I love taking road trips for Alabama football. This past weekend my buddy Jeff and I traveled to Knoxville for the UT-Bama game. I could probably write for a few weeks on my observations and experiences there but today I have to write about what happened just prior to kickoff.

UT still has a prayer before their games...which I think is really cool. The prayer was only a few seconds old and was going strong when a smell began to drift through the crowd. It was obvious that the hot dogs, beer and whiskey shots during pregame parties just weren't agreeing with someone. The gentleman (and I use that label with gracious abundance and liberal doses of social blindness) sitting in front of us took particular offense to the smell and to the thought that someone would drop trowel at such a special moment. His frustration bubbled over and while the prayer continued he comments loudly "WHO F'ING FARTS DURING THE PRAYER?!?!"

I couldn't help laughing at the whole situation...and in fact, I will almost wet my pants just thinking about it right now. Why in the world was it and is it so funny? I really don't know but I think it has something to do with standards, expectations and reactions.

To the guy sitting in front of us it seemed much less appropriate for someone to fart during a prayer than to drop the "F" Bomb. Others may suggest that cursing during a prayer is worse than farting and still others may suggest that both are in poor form.

The guy in front of me never asked my opinion so I didn't offer it. Since he was looking around for the perpetrator I did have proclaim my innocence by acting equally disgusted by the scent. The person who farted didn't ask my opinion either so I didn't say anything to them...which I couldn't anyway since I don't know who it was.

But I have some opinions...want to hear them? Good...
My opinion is that the person who farted probably feels OK about what they did. The guy who cursed the foul odor and the one who did it probably also feels justified. They simply have different expectations and different standards. As funny as the whole situation is, I simply think it is interesting and it makes me wonder what areas exist in my world that I consider completely normal and other may take great exception with? Are there areas in your world that cause some to cringe but don't bother you at all? I'm sure so.

Maybe part of Paul's encouragement to us in Philippians 2 has to do with considering others...be it their farts or their language. And in case Jeff is wondering...I swear it wasn't me.

I'm Officially One of the Smartest Humans Alive

2008-10-10T15:47:00.001-07:00

OK...sometimes moving up in life has more to do with others falling behind than with someone doing well. Such is the case in this situation. After listening to a recent Howard Stern segment (warning: some potentially offensive language) I have concluded that I am one of the smartest humans still living on this planet today. I also understand more than ever how someone like Obama can win a presidential election. God save us from the morons! Shouldn't stupidity be painful or something?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5p3OB6roAg

Why Must The Past Come Up Again

2008-10-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

Arriving at my house after work is usually the highlight of my day...but not yesterday. As I was walking up our steps yesterday Elijah, my 6 year old happen to find a rusty roofing nail...with the heel of his foot. The nail stuck in so far that I had to pull pretty hard to remove it. The nail was no doubt leftover from earlier in the year when we had our roof replaced. The entire ordeal of bleeding, hold pressure and soaking in betadine was no doubt leftover from years earlier.

In an attempt to provide some source of comfort and maybe help Elijah understand that I identified with him, I shared my story about doing the same thing. It actually seemed to help him a bit. Then Brook, my wife, shared her story about doing the same thing. How weird is it that we all have to face certain pains in life and that we all have to move on past them?

As I was talking to Elijah and holding pressure on his foot I told him something that is very true..."Buddy, if I could take the pain for you so you didn't have to hurt I would do it in the blink of an eye"...and I would have. I had not yet completed the thought, much less the sentence, when I saw the beautiful irony and reminder. It seems that someone else once had a nail driven into their foot...and their hands. It was as though I could hear Jesus whispering through the ages straight into my ear..."that's what I thought too and I did take the pain".

What a great reminder...unfortunate circumstances, but great reminder of how the Creator of heaven and earth cares enough about us all to pick us up, remove our nails and help us heal? And how amazing is it that the whole time he is loving on us we can know that He is willing to take it away and carry the load himself? God continues to be more than I can ever ask or imagine.

The Heaviest Element Known to Science?

2008-10-07T06:19:00.000-07:00

The Heaviest Element Known to Science

Lawrence Livermore Laboratories has discovered the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second, to take from 4 days to 4 years to complete. Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2- 6 years. It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of morons promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass. When catalysed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Our Tax System Explained in Beer

2008-10-01T07:29:00.000-07:00

Our Tax System Explained in Beer!

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. 'Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men – the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everyones share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 ( 22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. 'I only got a dollar out of the $20,' declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10! ''Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!! ''That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks! 'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!!! 'The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!!!!!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

VISION, DEATH, CONSERVATIVES and LIBERALS

2008-09-25T07:08:00.000-07:00

"Where there is no vision, the people perish"

Proverbs 29

If you have watched the news in the past few days you have seen what many call a pending financial crash forming. The "mortgage crisis", "financial perfect storm", "2nd great depression"...call it what you will, but it isn't good and is was completely avoidable. Had the people who were SUPPOSE to be leading and serving the people of this country removed their heads from their asses or the asses of those who supported them financially we wouldn't be facing close to 1 TRILLION DOLLAR bailout...or the best example of a goat roping that has ever occurred.

I have traditionally supported republicans so let me trash them first. The accounting measure that is on the books that is causing all of this crap is contained within legislation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The legislation was born out of the rubble and over-reaction of the Enron debacle. It was designed to protect investors...which is you and me...from large companies cooking the books and having companies fleece the public---we all know that fleecing people is the government's job and they want exclusive rights to that. Who signed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act into law? George Bush. Who controlled congress when this act passed? Republicans. What's wrong with this Act specifically regarding our current crisis? It was reactionary, not visionary. It went too far to correct a problem that wasn't the primary problem with companies submitting fraudulent financial reports and in so doing, it has prohibited the sales of poor mortgages at a decreased rate and requires the companies to list the value of them at $0...which is moronic. Good job republicans!

And now for them democrats...good gracious. Inflated home prices were necessary for the democrats to claim that the economy was so great and wonderful when Bill "have sex with anything that has a pulse" Clinton left office. However, the inflated home prices were screwing the entitlement people that continue to elect democrats. So what did they demand of Freddie and Fannie? Give a loan to anyone. If they can't afford it...well don't worry about that little detail. If so many sub-prime loans will be offered that the poor people or poor planners or greedy people will be in ruins within years...well, pay that no mind because we are the government and we will burn that bridge when we come to it. And I suppose that kind of horrible vision is all fun and games until someone gets hurt...like the very people you were trying to keep happy...on both ends. What's worse than someone not being able to afford a house? Someone being lied to by government mandate and told, "You can afford it" which only leads to not being able to afford the house and being in the midst of foreclosure. Good job Dems!

And so the idiots on the right are now in meetings with the morons on the left and what is the leading thought among the galactically insane? Let's use the very people and the very systems that caused this financial hurricane to fix it. It would be like putting a child molester in charge of babysitting and carpool. Have they proven to be incompetent? Yes. Have they proven to be criminals? Yes. Have they proven to be leaders? No. So let's put them in charge of the clean up duties...how much more must we see to declare with our voice and our votes that the current systems...ON BOTH SIDES OF TE AISLE suck beyond belief and exist to pamper themselves and their wealthy contributors on the backs of our tax dollars? I hope not too much more.

And speaking of a voting voice...where has B. Hussein Obama been on this issue? He hasn't been in the Senate to actually do his job in over 3 months. What about J. "I was a POW" McCain? The same. Where is the outrage? They have not denied their paychecks. They have been getting paid for months without ever showing up to work...which actually gives me an idea. How much better off would we be to give Congress a severance package to just abandon their positions, not run for re-election and not screw anything up further...I would actually support pissing away that amount of money.

In my opinion, the number 1 requirement for leadership is to have vision...to know the potential risks and rewards found within the steps you are taking and even in the ones you are about to take. The second requirement for leadership is the willingness and ability to endure pain and to ask the same of others. This means sometimes correcting poor leadership, like we currently need to do as a country, requires pain. We as a country enjoyed the surging stock market and the ability to borrow more money than we could actually afford. Now we have to pay up.

I would love to see us pay up with something other than money...like the cost of an all-out, no holds barred, political revolution. Who's with me? Perhaps the people of God can climb out of the asses of the republicans and democrats...realizing that the answers for our times and all times have never been found in the kingdoms of this world. Participating further in these systems only perpetuates the farce. Participating further in these systems under the auspices that one side of the aisle is more closely associated with God or Jesus is blasphemy of the worst kind. Maybe while we are revolting against the intellectually and morally retarded politicians we can round up James Dobson and Chuck Colson, then tie them together with Tony Jones and Rob Bell and horse-whip them for aligning themselves and their respective religious followers with political parties. How many times must we scream the words of Christ, "MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD"

The Red Hen and The Way Things Are

2008-09-15T08:20:00.001-07:00

The little red hen called all her friends together and said, 'If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?'

'Not I,' said the cow. 'Not I,' said the duck. 'Not I,' said the pig. 'Not I,' said the goose.

'Then I will do it by myself,' said the little red hen, and so she did.

The wheat grew very tall and ripened into golden grain. Who will help me reap my wheat?' asked the little red hen.

'Not I,' said the duck… 'Out of my classification,' said the pig. 'I'd lose my seniority,' said the cow. 'I'd lose my unemployment compensation,' said the goose. 'Then I will do it by myself,' said the little red hen, and so she did.

At last it came time to bake the bread. 'Who will help me bake the bread?' asked the little red hen. 'That would be overtime for me,' said the cow. 'I'd lose my welfare benefits,' said the duck. 'I'm a dropout and never learned how,' said the pig. 'If I'm to be the only helper, that's discrimination,' said the goose. 'Then I will do it by myself,' said the little red hen.

She baked five loaves and held them up for all of her neighbors to see. They wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share. But the little red hen said, 'No, I shall eat all five loaves.'

'Excess profits!' cried the cow 'Capitalist leech!' screamed the duck. 'I demand equal rights!' yelled the goose. The pig just grunted in disdain And they all painted 'Unfair!' picket signs and marched around and around the little red hen, shouting obscenities.

Then the farmer came. He said to the little red hen, 'You must not be so greedy.' 'But I earned the bread,' said the little red hen. 'Exactly,' said the farmer. 'That is what makes our free enterprise system so wonderful. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide the fruits of their labor with those who are lazy and idle.'

And they all lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, 'I am grateful, for now I truly understand. But her neighbors became quite disappointed in her. She never again baked bread because she joined the 'party' and got her bread free. And all the socialists smiled. 'Fairness' had been established.

A Woman's Body? What?

2008-09-15T08:20:00.000-07:00

I continue to hear from people in and near my circle about the upcoming election and the reasons to vote or not vote for a candidate. While the issue of abortion has been brought up in this campaign like it has in most recent campaigns, this post is not really about politics...but it is about abortion.

I continue to hear the arguments against making abortions illegal and it seems the most common one is that the government doesn't have a right to tell a woman what she can do with her body. That's sounds really nice but I would beg to differ. I think the law has a lot to say about what a woman...or man for that matter...does with her body.

If I were a prostitute, and I am not, I would use the same argument. Who does the government think they are? I mean if 2 consenting adults want to have sex and exchange some money, why do they care?
And what about drug use...If I were a drug addict, and I am not, I would argue that the government is being unfair and overbearing in their treatment of me. If I want to use a drug that may cause harm to my body I have the right to do so without governmental interference, no?
And what about laws that imprison those who MAY be a threat to themselves? You don't even have to harm yourself...just potential threat is enough to be locked up against your will. So if I were into self-mutilation, and I am not, I would argue that it is my constitutional right to be able to do with my body anything I wish...because this same argument works for abortion rights.
In fact, I think that abortion would be more closely associated with someone being a threat to themselves and others. We can call it a choice, a right or whatever we want but at the end of the day what is being destroyed is a human that is forming and growing. If I called the authorities (government) and said that I was thinking of harming myself and my infant I would promptly be arrested and detained until a time that a professional deemed my to be sane and competent. Yet, if a woman calls the authorities and says that she wants to have an abortion they don't bat an eye...that's weird to me since "abortion" is code for "I want to have this human living inside of my body murdered and removed".

Anyway, I know that few topics are more controversial than abortion but since I am not one to shy away from controversy I had no problem dealing with it today.

I will finish with a reminder to those who claim and intend to follow Jesus, me included. Whether you are a man or a woman you are not your own. You have been bought at a price.

Hippocrates and Jesus

2008-09-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

First of all...props to my buddy Robert for mentioning the most popular statement from the Hippocratic Oath and doing so in relationship to Social Justice. The Hippocratic Oath, in its classical form, includes within the practice of medicine the declaration to do no harm...and it goes further in that vein to state "I will keep them from harm and injustice."

That's amazing to me to think that Hippocrates was concerned with the idea of injustice and the role of the physician to keep people from it. While it may be less than remarkable for someone to be concerned about justice and injustice, it is remarkable to me to think that someone largely in a reactionary capacity, like a physician in the 4th Century, seemed to understand that actions lead to unintended consequences...as such, in doing no harm the physician, according to Hippocrates, should be able to look ahead to the chain of events that treatment can cause. I think society today, specifically American Society, can learn a thing or two from Hippocrates about doing no harm and keeping people from harm and injustice.

I recall a stark contrast between the two internships I did in Africa. The area of greatest contrast was that of assisting the indigenous people. While interning with Greg Newton in Tanzania in 1998 I learned a strategy that was essentially a hands-off approach. I understood Greg to operate from the standpoint that he was there to bring the good news of Jesus and while that may well include aid of some kind in some places, providing aid to any significant degree within that tribe would likely serve as an obstacle to his real mission at some point. In 2000 my time with the Aja Tribe of West Africa was completely different. I remember a meeting, several actually, that centered around providing food for the villages who had a poor crop of corn. I also saw the almost daily visitors that would come by for money...having had the previous internship I wondered if the message of Jesus was being drowned out or lived out by the assistance. I still wonder about that today.

In my society I wonder if the entitlement programs are great ways to provide help to the down and out...I think Jesus called some people, "the least of these". Are we "doing no harm" by providing generation after generation shelter, food, healthcare, etc.? Do we keep people from injustice through the provision of basic needs or do we further enslave people through continued governmental support...never encouraging or rewarding self-sufficiency, independence or advancement?

I think it is important to remember that justice doesn't equal "easy", "comfortable" or even "natural". Some times justice is difficult. Remember the words of Twain..."Men and rivers both become crooked when the easy way is taken". If we really desire social justice and if, as followers of Jesus, we really wish to do the best things for people and do them out of love, perhaps the best thing for us to do is make sure that through aid, help or programs, we are not doing harm or indirectly creating a new form of injustice. If we will do that I think both Hippocrates and Jesus will smile on us.

And by the way...it isn't really original to link the Hippocratic Oath to Jesus. A 12th Century Byzantine Manuscript of the Oath was written in the shape of a cross. Go Monks!!!

A Night With Brian McLaren

2008-09-09T10:59:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the chance to share in a great conversation with Brian McLaren. I say that it was great because how often does a small group of maybe 20 people get to spend any meaningful amount of time with a thought-leader and author on the scale of a Brian McLaren? It was also great because it was thought provoking...and really for me it was emotion-provoking.

What I mean by that is that I left very frustrated, a bit angry and disillusioned...if you don't know me you may not realize that those emotions for me are not necessarily negative emotions at all. Typically my frustration is linked to a certain level of dissonance and my anger is due to some system in my life that just isn't completely functional. Here are some of my rather frustrating thoughts from the conversation...

1. McLaren is supporting Obama. I am not. But that's not the frustrating part. I can handle and actually value differing opinions. The frustrating part is that it seems that McLaren is putting a lot of stock in politics in general. After discussing some of the "systems" he describes in detail in his book, "Everything Must Change", I asked Brian if he feels like his participation in politics...even to the degree to endorse a candidate...is not participating in the dysfunctional systems that he says "must change". His response was that by note voting he feels that we are really voting to maintain the status quo. He doesn't like the status quo and as we have all so often heard, "the only thing required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing". I think McLaren is making the mistake made for so long by the "Conservative-Christians" in thinking that the only or even the best way to get things done or accomplish work for the Kingdom is through political means. Obviously some of the words of Jesus are political in that they are subversive. However, I think the people who most interacted and supported politics during the times of Jesus were not those primarily concerned with the Kingdom of God....probably in some form they were the Herodians, Pharisees and Sadducees. If that is indeed the case, why would any of us, Brian included, feel that not voting is some how detrimental or even negative?

2. I learned a cool yet troubling stat that Mike shared with us all last night. This stat is angering because it is yet another example of people of faith not putting their faith and walk with Jesus where their mouth is (myself included). In the state of Alabama there are 10,280 churches. That seems like a lot but it is really about one church for every 440 people in Alabama. Here is the kicker...guess how many children in Alabama are in foster care? 10,000!!! So that means that if every church...not every family or every person, but if just each church agreed to raise a child in this state the foster program would be empty. This would have amazing and far reaching effects in the state and within the Kingdom of God. Imagine the social, physical, emotional and spiritual implications of this act...yet most churches and the people that flood the church pews weekly seem more focused on politics, finances and growth strategies than on the 10,000 children within our state in need of a stable and loving home. Go figure.

3. I am increasingly aware of the arrogance on both sides of political and social issues. Though I have often tread there as well, noticing it is now pretty nauseating. For example, last night as we were discussing social justice and compassion a great question was raised by someone. The analogy that was being used was how followers of Jesus might be continuing to enable systemic dysfunction if we rescued people out of a dangerous river without ever asking why people were continually pushed or jumped into the river to begin with. He asked how McLaren would distinguish between the people who have chosen to be social victims and therefore to some degree "deserve" some of the crap in their lives versus those who are victims at no fault of their own. In keeping with the analogy...who is being pushed into the perilous water and who is jumping?
The response by some in the room...including me...was that it was a very valid question and one I often ask. Right or wrong, I am much more likely to be generous or sympathetic to those who haven't chosen to jump in the river. The reaction from some...judging the rolling eyes and the "what an idiot" looks was as though this guy was a buffoon for even suggesting that some people choose to be victims or choose to not have a great life. It is becoming increasingly obvious to me that for every Rush Limbaugh there is a Bob Beckle...for every sincere question on either side there is an arrogant reaction.

Over all the meeting was a good experience...enlightening to say the least.

Truth Becomes Relative When We Push Agendas

2008-09-03T08:46:00.000-07:00

I have enjoyed watching a certain sector of our political and media groups change their opinions quickly and drastically. The flip-flop of the week happens to be over Sara Palin. The more liberal types, specifically the women liberation folks, have long said that the more conservative groups were too dominated by males and the lone way a woman could get ahead or get into the White House was to support a Democratic Agenda and Democratic Candidates. That was one of the things that Obama has said needs to "change". And behold...a woman has broken through the "glass ceiling" on the Republican side and is she celebrated? Is she a hero to women everywhere? Hell No!

So far, Palin has been portrayed as an irresponsible mother since she has 5 children and isn't at home to raise them. She has been compared to something on par with white-trash because her 17 year-old daughter is pregnant and not married. I vividly remember the media portraying certain evangelical folks as mean and closed minded when they suggested the same about famous girls in Hollywood in similar circumstances. Palin's youngest child has Downs Syndrome...is she applauded for her willingness to love and give birth to a child that will be a challenge to her and her family? Nope! Bringing life into this world has been called a mistake. Why? Why? Why?

Where is the National Organization for Women? They should demand that their feminist supporters support this woman for VP. Where is the ACLU...demanding DNA tests from Palin to disprove the rumor about her daughter being the biological mother of her youngest child being made of anyone else would be met with mass hysteria. Has anyone asked for a DNA sample from Obama...I mean, what if one of his daughters is really the result of his wife having a little sexual action on the side? Has anyone asked McCain, Obama or Biden how they have been able or if they will be able to be good fathers and be an elected official? It only makes sense that if Palin can't be a good mother and the VP, neither can Biden be a decent husband, father or grandfather.

I love the idea of Palin being the VP candidate. Not just because of anything she stands for or because she seems to be a pretty tough lady...but because she has helped shed some light on some groups who have been able to operate under the radar and under false pretense. Just like Obama being the democratic nominee makes the need for Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to go through the country crying (and taking up donations) about inequality obsolete, Palin makes the women's rights groups less important, especially if she ends up being the VP. The "Reverend" Jesse Jackson said that he wants to cut the "nuts" off Obama...I suppose the liberal women want to lob off Palin's breast? Who knows...

And, since I am fair and balanced...why not point a finger at the more conservative groups too? I am sick and damn tired of hearing about the christian conservatives and the issue of abortion, same-sex marriage and the separation of church and state. If I can shed a little of my opinionated light on these topics for a bit you may see why I say that.

For 6 straight years we had as leadership in this country:

George Bush-a conservative, christian, republican

Congress controlled in both the House and Senate by conservative, christian, republicans

and arguably a 5-4 majority in the U.S. Supreme Court of conservative, christian, republicans.

List for me the efforts made or even discussed on the abortion issue....I'm waiting....nothing? Well "nothing" actually is the correct answer. The men and women, elected largely by christian conservatives to combat the "evils of liberalism" such as abortion and same-sex marriage did not once vote to outlaw abortion or otherwise overturn Roe v. Wade.

Well at least they outlawed gay marriage right? ....that utter silence is only broken by the proverbial chirping crickets....because we all know that these conservative christian men and women didn't have the first election regarding the "sanctity of marriage".

Well, at least we can now have the absurd notion of separation of church and state tossed aside, right? Nope...sorry, these people, again, conservative...well, you know, didn't once vote on the first aspect of this issue either...so what did these christians in "leadership" do while in control for 6 years? In fairness they did vote to begin a war in Afghanistan and Iraq...I think they voted themselves a pay raise...and um, they...well, they had to have, ummm, uh. OK, much more of that and I will be reading like Obama without a tele-prompter.

Unfortunately, it seems that agendas abound on both sides of the political aisles. We can try to push these agendas through the fear of taxes, fear of losing social security or fear of something else...at the end of the day it is difficult to see any aspects of God abounding on either side. In American politics everyone has a price, and please note that I said everyone...for some it is comfort, power and name recognition. For others I suppose it is 30 pieces of silver...but it is still a price and it is still compromise for the sake of control...not really a Godly proposition.

Speaking of "Godly Agendas" and people using the name of God to invoke emotion, reaction and zeal...a friend of mine reminded me today of this quote...can you guess who said it?

"Everyone in the country needs to turn to the one true God and ask for forgiveness, and submit to His law. We all need to turn back to our roots and pursue God and His righteousness.
We must immediately pull all US forces out of Iraq and the Middle East in general.
The government must not allow this fall into moral decay. It must forbid evil with the hand, tongue and heart. The Scripture is holy and must be in a place of honor in government.
The US is currently so immoral and debaucherous, wrapped up in material greed and sexual sin, that God will bring judgment upon it. Who can forget President Clinton's immoral acts committed in the Oval Office? After that, the US did not even bring him to account, other than that he 'made a mistake', after which everything passed with no punishment."

That's too easy, right? James Dobson? Jerry Falwell? What about Max Lucado? Billy Graham?

No sorry...it's kind of a trick question because though it sounds very christian and very conservative, the lone aspect of "liberal" politics could give it away as neither "christian" nor "conservative"...the one who spoke the above is none other than the most wanted man in the world....Osama Bin Laden.

and in the words of Paul Harvey....Good Day!

The Living and The Dead

2008-09-02T09:04:00.000-07:00

Obviously death, dying and a deep meaning and understanding of life has been on my mind lately. In the Bible I find a very fine line between the living and the dead and that line doesn't always have to do with a beating heart or functional bodily organs. Jesus claims to have come so that we might have life and have it to the full. So obviously some people live lives that are more full than others. We also hear Jesus refer to some people who presumably have decent vital signs from a usual perspective but he calls them "white-washed tombs"...nice to look at but dead and rotting inside.
I have visited this idea many times in the past and quite a bit recently. At my aunts funeral I came to realize more than ever that life and death are defined by God alone and that God's operational definition has little to do with a pulse, blood pressure or functioning brain...but it does have everything to do with the heart.

I hate to single anyone out (not really but I am suppose to feel that way, right?) so I will do my best to speak in code...
My aunt Lynda now lives. She is alive in heaven and I don't question for a minute if she is dead. She lived a life of service to God and others and her incredible faith carried her until God did call her home. We are promised in God's Word that we will never die if we have a life hidden in Him.

By stark contrast, I have another family member who is still alive...according to worldly stipulations anyway. Despite her pulse, she is as cold as a block of dry ice. She has a blood pressure but she is a calloused as the palms of a lumberjack. She may be walking and talking, much to the dismay of many, but she isn't alive. In fact, she has been dead for some time now. I don't know how she died but she did and now she seeks to insure that others die with her...or at least hangout with her in her own grave of pitiful spite, regrettable envy and limitless bitterness. She spews venom when she speaks and no one can cast a shadow of darkness over an already gloomy funeral scene like her.

I pray she will change but nothing has been a catalyst for that change yet. She doesn't have a relationship with those you would think she would die to know, her own child most specifically...and its by her choice I might add. She doesn't seek to know some of her grandchildren...who are really amazing young people, despite her siblings begging her to and reminding her that the people she distances herself from are her own flesh and blood. She is pitiful but it goes beyond that. To me, being pitiful implies that one can't do any better. She is to be pitied but she is also to be avoided. While I hate the plight she has deliberately chosen for herself, I hate more so that she has deliberately chosen it. She will die a physical death one day...alone and bitter, and my regret for her personally will be that she chose to never live.

Until that day, I pray she changes. I pray in some way she can become a more loving and kind person. Forgive my skepticism but I just don't see her changing. I am sorry for her child, grandchildren and others who continue to miss out on life with a mother/grandmother...but under the circumstances, I can't really say that they are missing anything that they would prefer to miss. I hope that hearing the good reputation and legacy of love and service her own sister left behind will mean something to her and will prompt change...in fact, if that didn't touch someone at the funeral I would encourage them to check their pulse...but being alive and being dead is what we are talking about anyway, right?

I pray that we all learn to live a full, abundant life...a life measured in love. If we don't we will be dead...in this life and in the life to come.

Seasons of Change

2008-08-28T06:57:00.000-07:00

(When life becomes overly stressful or emotional I tend to write. With the passing of my aunt, I felt compelled to write the following. The picture to the right is of my Aunt Lynda with my Uncle Arnold, her husband of over 40 years.)

Blossoms replace the somber desolation, new growth penetrates the bitter air of winter and new life explodes on the canvas of nature as God directs the symphony of his creation. Springing forth from graves of temporary death, life is renewed, new life created and potential is realized. And so it was that in the spring of the year she was delivered to the world by the very hands that knit her together. As morning’s first light shatters the darkness and forever changes that day, so the surface of the still pond was as glass until touched by the presence of the one created in God’s own image. The ripples spill forth from her arrival and will forever resonate in everyone she touched
Summer’s radiant heat is comparable to passion and love of the purist kind. A playful, jovial love forms deeper and more complex love during the frenzied pace and abundant activity of a summer day. A doting parent’s feet will carry them across the cracked earth of the most scorching dessert for the sake of their child. The tracks of her life, as traced through the hot, white sand reveal her immense impact in streams of crystal water; flowing still through the barren wilderness where few find lasting love and rich in compassion and devotion to her children and their children after them.
Autumn trees ablaze with orange covering cannot slow the pace of the pending call. Leaves falling like extinguished ashes, littering the landscape with their shades of completion and hues of culmination are silenced by the mandates of the Creator. As nature temporarily, yet stubbornly, relinquishes the final signs of life so his call to her rang out, piercing the pace of life endured and relished for so long. The created acknowledge the Creator and His will for lives to exist as seasons…and so they honor Him by finishing well. She finished well and leaves in her wake the fruit always produced by the tree of trust and obedience.
Low hanging clouds quickly transform the experiences of earlier seasons into shortened days, darker nights and howling winds. The bleakness of the season is only surpassed by the stinging, bitter cold that invades every space like a raging river after cresting above the levy. Isolation, loneliness and wonderment serve their time in the prison that is this season. Darkness attempts to answer the very questions it asks; the very questions that are only answered in time, not through devotion to the process of answering. Where is life hiding? Why is the life that was so wonderfully and masterfully handcrafted by the I AM suddenly absent and elusive…yet so very near? The cold boulders scattered abroad the brown, gray forest relieve no fears. The valleys and hilltops littered with barren trees are short on reasons. The ice formed over stagnant mountain streams offer no comfort. It is winter.
The Author and Finisher of her faith, of our faith has written another chapter to “The Great Opus of Life”. His final chapter is the best one of all as it causes the beauty of spring, the passion of summer and the questions of autumn to cower in its presence. And what of winter…the harshest and most dismal season of all? His final chapter is not captured by mere words. He can only paint this chapter across the bleak and barren canvas of winter…replacing the invading bitterness, the lingering resentment and questions of faith with hope, peace and joy. And we can never forget love…it is the greatest of his colors and it is poured liberally over his palate. Love never fails, defeat is never fatal and even death is never final.
Our solace is found on the wings of His call. The call, faint yet ever growing, is the call of all eternity and of every person. It emanates from behind the host of those who have gone before us, constantly cheering us on, always reminding us, as she often did, that God is so good, despite our circumstances. She heard his voice, she recognized his call and her entire life is summed up with her reaction to his call. Only walking at first, not wanting autumn to finish out just yet, she broke into a trot and finally a sprint. She hurried as the wind toward Him, unashamed, without regret and full of child-like blissfulness. Her confidence grew exponentially, aware that she fought the good fight. She ran the race. And now God has provided her with a crown of life, real life.
Knowing her and knowing the verses found in that final chapter, I can state with great certainty that she has taken her crown, bowed before the One we will all bow before in time and gently placed her crown at the pierced feet that transcend every season. With that, He smiled the smile that speaks “welcome home” a million times over, enveloped her soul with His and spoke the words she had longed to hear since she was knit together…”well done my good and faithful servant”.

See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me." (Song of Solomon)

Family Picture Day Redeemed

2008-08-27T08:14:00.001-07:00

I normally hate family picture day. I hate that some person we don't know sits in some studio and creates artificial scenes behind us to pretend that we aren't in an artificial studio. Then the expectation is to try and dress in ways we normally don't and make the boys behave in a way that allows someone to take the artificial pictures....ugh and sigh!

Leave it to my cool wife Brook to remedy all of that drab crap and make our family picture day one that was pretty cool. So how did she do that? I'm glad you asked:

1. The photographer wasn't some middle-aged technician with a rather large rear end, thick glasses and a salesman attitude. The photographer is Jessi. Jessi is talented, fun and best of all, she has known Brook for years...they even cheered together in high school...and has known my family since our inception. No drab technician here...Jessi rocks!!!so if you want to contact Jessi so she can "pimp" you family photo day and make it cool, you can. Her myspace page is http://www.myspace.com/siren8383

2. Brook is a lot of things...artificial isn't one of them. What you see is what you get and that's how we did pictures...We wore clothes we actually wear in real life. We went to an old church near our house so the settings are authentic and Jessi took pictures of us doing things that we do in a normal day anyway...very few posed pics.

Here are some samples of the bounty we are enjoying from an authentic family picture day.

My family...the reason life seems worth living.

My boys, from left to right, Judah, Elijah and Zion

Those crazy boys are actually all being held by me. I am holding Zion in my arms and Elijah and Judah are both perched on a shoulder..."Daddy is not a mule". But I love it and I wouldn't trade a minute with these amazing boys.

This is my HOTTIE wife!Thanks Jessi...I bet there is more of my wine in your future for doing such an awesome job!

Gone Home...

2008-08-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

Tonight around 7:35 my aunt Lynda went to be with God. She is the aunt with whom I have always been closest and with whom I have spent more time with than any other aunt or uncle I have. She fought a courageous battle against colon cancer. I think it is natural to say something like "she lost her battle with cancer", but it is difficult for me to say that she lost anything. Through her bout with cancer I saw her faith increase, her walk with God become more intimate and her love for God and others explode. Despite her absence from our tangible lives, I can only think of how she has won. With her victory comes the right to be able to echo the words of Paul, "and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day".

May we all live our lives in a way that leads us to the Cross of Jesus...the only place where peace, joy and love flows freely, the only place that shows the way to where she is now, and forever will be.

Wishin' I Was A Bit More Like "Karl"

2008-08-26T14:54:00.000-07:00

One character that I have never really identified with is Karl from "Sling Blade". It has been years since I have seen that movie but for some reason today I looked up a quote and I think this one kind of sums up how I wish I felt and reacted to the negatives in life, church, government and the dysfunctions of society as a whole.

Frank Childers: I told you I ain't got no boy, now why don't you get on outta here and let me be. You ain't no kin to me.
Karl: I learned to read some. I read the Bible quite a bit. I can't understand all of it, but I reckon I understand a good deal of it. Them stories you and Mama told me ain't in there. You ought not done that to your boy. I studied on killing you. Studied on it quite a bit. But I reckon there ain't no need for it if all you're gonna do is sit there in that chair. You'll be dead soon enough and the world 'll be shut of ya. You ought not killed my little brother, he should've had a chance to grow up. He woulda had fun some time.

To me, Frank represents the "system", take your pick, that denies the issues they have caused. It is always easier to point at the previous generation, the next generation or the thing you compete against. In some ways I suspect, perish the thought, that there is a little bit of Frank in all of us. Ultimately, refusing to accept responsibility is sometimes as painful to others as the original crime itself.
Karl seems a bit slow...OK, a lot slow. But Karl also speaks truth, a good bit of the time has some wisdom to share and despite many reasons not to be, he is good. He has what he has and is who he is in part due to the System (Frank) and in part because he has chosen another path.

In my opinion, Karl's statement is full of wisdom.
***I love that Karl feels that he can navigate the Bible enough to make sense of it but doesn't even begin to think that he has it figured out. He does the best he can with what he has...and amazingly, he trusts in what he has, or at least what he has accepted to that point. How easy would it make life if I could just accept where things are and operate with boldness out of my current position, never tempering life because of what may one day be?
***Karl recognizes lies told to him by others. He is also willing to point them out. It is great how Karl just speaks what he feels to be true and leaves it at that.
***I like that Karl feels angry, damn angry! And I like that he weighs his response with the Bible. I think it is interesting that Karl decides not to kill Frank...not because he doesn't deserve to be killed, but because he isn't doing anything productive-negative or positive- anyway. Perhaps my anger towards apathy should be relief that the apathy is preventing further harm.
***Karl recognizes that nothing lasts forever and the life that he thinks is pathetic will end soon enough...and the world will be better for it. Like or not, PC or not, this world is a bit brighter when some people die or are killed. Nothing on this Earth lasts forever...including the horrible people.
***Karl also seems to mourn the loss of life, the loss of potential. Even Karl recognizes that as tough as things are sometimes, "He woulda had fun some time". I am increasingly convinced that life isn't as much about the hand you are dealt or even how you play the hand, but is instead the attitude you have about the game. Karl, despite his feelings toward Frank, despite his loss and the loss of potential life, knows that life can be fun sometimes.

Here's to hoping that I become a little more like Karl and a little less like Frank today.

U. S. Army...A Service Oriented Church?

2008-08-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

My recent conversation with my dear brother Tyler about the role of government, political aspects of faith, etc has lead me to a thought...or at least something that seems ironic.

Tyler made the statement Saturday that any country that spends more for the military than on people is doomed for failure. In fairness, that is actually a quote from MKL Jr. (my thoughts on him may come a bit later...maybe). Now I love stats and of course, having served in the U.S. Army for 6 years, I happen to know those particular stats and I, being the jerk I am, asked Tyler which country, other than China, Iran and Russia did something so stupid. Tyler, with the best of intentions, said that the good old USA is guilty of such stupid budgetary squandering. I sent Tyler the stats concerning the U.S. Budget and Military spending comes in 3rd...behind Health and Humans Services and Social Security Administration. In fact, if you add up the entitlement programs and various other Departments that serve our people and the people abroad, the budget for The Dept. of Defense is right at 30% of the others. I then began to think deeper about the Defense budget and what all that might include...

In thinking back on my time in the Army I quickly recall that many times the purpose of a particular training exercise or actual deployment was for humanitarian purposes. The military is very good at killing people and destroying things...but we are also very good at repairing, rebuilding and replenishing. Japan, Germany, Iraq...take you pick. They have all been destroyed by us...and arguably the people in charge of them prior to the US invasion or attacks...and we have done some really cool work in the areas of constructing roads, schools, hospitals, etc. We have also given millions around the world clean drinking water, decent sewage treatment facilities and more reliable electricity. Especially in Iraq, the people didn't have near what they have now with Saddam in power...they did have government sanctioned rapes but I don't think that is a good thing.

I say all of that because as harsh as people can be on war, the US military and our recent tactics in "The War on Terror", I would say that in speaking of the atrocities...and yes, those too exist, we must remember the positives as well. People ask us to do the same thing with church, no? I can't tell you how many times I have heard, "Well, yes...it sucks and it isn't perfect and so many things aren't as they should be. People get hurt, faith gets damaged but we help a lot of people and we bring some people to know God." And I am not knocking some of that...to some degree. Let's just extend the same courtesy and grace to others...

In the same way, I would argue that the U.S. Military in general has helped more people than the American churches, especially if we are just counting service projects and what many would refer to as "missions". The military sends physicians around the world to treat people and even sends free medicine...just like some medical mission people. I would also argue that the number of people killed by our military is lower than the number of people killed over time by "christians" and "in the name of God". The Crusades, the Inquisitions...all took tons of lives. Even spiritually, I would argue that the U.S. military has killed far fewer people than the American churches have wounded spiritually.

So before we become self-righteous and more liberal in our views toward the Military...who is serving more people and harming fewer people? Even if it is a toss up the case must be made that an institution of God shouldn't even be close to one of man. But it is, no? When Jesus decides who gets to be a sheep and a goat...how many soldiers will have been "guilty" of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and setting the captive free? How many christians will be? Trying to answer that question is kind of scary to me.

What Just Happened?

2008-08-14T05:35:00.000-07:00

So today I will be working all day and attending a school open house on about 3 hours of sleep. It should be fun and exciting on so many levels. Why so little sleep? Well, I was at my weekly guys meeting last night until about midnight and on my way home I imagined my head hitting the pillow and being asleep within a few seconds...minutes at the worst.

After going into the boys room to say a silent goodnight I finally found my way to my bed. But I couldn't sleep. I knew that I was meeting the guy who has quickly become one of my favorite people, not to mention my new workout partner, at the gym for a 6am workout and the thoughts of that weren't helping me have less pressure to go to sleep. Knowing that I had some paperwork to do at the office prior to that workout and that my alarm would be sounding at 4am added even more pressure to fall asleep...but still no such luck. So I am in bed, knowing that I would have to get out of bed in 3 hours but all I could do is lay there and think...why?

The main thing on my mind was what happened earlier in the day. See, I sent a buddy of mine a political email, endorsing in a sense one of the candidates running for president based on their proposed tax changes alone. I know the buddy I sent it to doesn't get to wrapped up in politics but to the degree he does it is likely in a way most would consider more liberal than me. Something in his rather typical reply set off something in me that I am still having a hard time figuring out. I understood his reply to imply that people who have money should be forced to pay high taxes because doing otherwise is another way of "The Man" keeping the poor people poor and further exploiting people for financial gain. I am not saying that his point was that exactly but I certainly took it that way.

To back up for a minute I will say that I have traditionally leaned very much in the conservative direction politically...often explaining how it is the responsibility of Christians to vote for the conservative candidates. I have more recently become apolitical...often stating that God's Kingdom...the one Jesus talked about all the time...is not of this world so it is less important for followers of Jesus to get involved in politics. However, apparently some dissonance with the way things are and the way things should be from a perspective of the world and my faith showed up in some "jerk" type reaction...so much so that I stayed up late, missing very valuable sleep, thinking about why...

Here is a part of what I wrote to my buddy...at least he use to be my buddy (edited and amended for the sake of explanation and brevity):
As a result of business and educational decisions I am qualified and willing to work at my current job and my average work day is well over 12 hours...not to mention that I am on call 365 days per year, 24 hours per day. So am I blessed by being able to work a job that is more lucrative than let's say...working for $12000 per year as a janitor or $25000 as a garbage collector? And if I am simply blessed and that is the only reason I have the job or the income I do, exactly what percentage of my income is the government entitled to?
Additionally, saying that I am blessed seems to negate the fact that I work longer hours than anyone else I know within my given demographic and circle of friends. So I wake up daily at 4am and get home every work day after 6pm...and work many times during the weekends due to one thing or another...and for what? So I can save money? So I can make sure my children are well supported? So I can assure that my wife doesn't have to work? Or so I can make sure that someone whom I have never met can live in government housing, receive government welfare, receive government food stamps and have zero responsibility other than walking to the mailbox to collect the check?
The individuals receiving the benefits of my tax dollar don't wake up at 4am, they don't bear my medico-legal liability and they don't (for whatever reason) have the sweat equity invested in education and experience that I do. So what amount of my compensation or what percentage of my annual salary would you suggest I owe those who wish to receive checks? I can give you one figure...Uncle Sam thinks my "fair share" is 35%...on top of property tax, sales tax, ad valorem tax, gas tax, etc. When it is all said and done, about half of everything I produce goes to Uncle Sam to support Governmental Overspending, Entitlement Programs and endless bureaucracy...no thanks!

It isn't that I disagree with what I wrote entirely. My issue is that the spirit with which I typed it and thought through it wasn't considerate of the poor. I wasn't thoughtful of those in horrible situations not of their own choosing. I didn't sympathize with "the least of these". I do think faith mandates charity and love to the people who "have not". I still disagree when the government thinks it is their responsibility to mandate the same. I can't wait to hear opinions about this one...

"God Will Spank You!"

2008-08-12T14:36:00.000-07:00

I love it when my boys think I am the world's strongest man, the world's smartest human or someone that can fix anything they break. I guess having a celebrity status is one of the really amazing parts of being a Dad. Truthfully, I would love being a Dad without that part but getting the "Rock Star Welcome" each afternoon when I get home from work is awesome.

As much as I want my boys to think I am the greatest Dad or somewhere on par with Superman, I really want them to know that God is greater. When I fail as a dad, I want them to know that they have a Father who doesn't fail. When I drop the ball I want them to remember that they were created by a God who never sleeps and has never once dropped the ball.

This past weekend I realized that some of my pointing toward God as being way better than I could ever be and some of my assuring the boys that as much as I love them...God loves them so much more has started to sink in. As we were walking into a place for lunch on Sunday I reminded the boys what kind of behavior and manners I expected from them. We were all in a jovial mood and I remarked in jest to Zion (my 3 year old) that if he acted up I would have to find something to beat him with. He seemed shocked at first and then he was almost instantly comforted...like he had an Ace up his sleeve or some trump card that I didn't have. He replied quickly and with great confidence..."God will spank you".

I smiled...ok, it was more like beaming. My boy is "getting it". Even my baby understands something That I too often forget. To quote a kids song, "My God is so great, so strong and so mighty there's nothing my God cannot do". Zion adores me...and tells me so repeatedly each day. But Zion knows that there is One that I answer to, there is One that has his back when no one else does and there is One that allows a 35lb little boy to stand up to the perceived threat of a 205lb bully...Zion adores me, but Zion adores God even more. God is in 1st place in Zion's eyes and I don't ever mind coming in second place to God. May I continue to live a life that shows my boys that they aren't the only ones in the house who put God first.

Elijah's First Day

2008-08-12T06:09:00.000-07:00

Over 6 years ago I knew that today would come. When my wife was pregnant with our oldest son I tried to think about the different scenarios that would exist over the years. Today is one of the days I imagined...it's one of the days that has received a good bit of attention in my prayer life. Today Elijah went to his first day of "Big Boy School". He has done the preschool thing and the mothers day out thing before that...but this is different. He will begin a new chapter in his life today and with his new chapter comes a new chapter for our family.

It is exciting and it is rewarding to see his level of interest in learning, his discipline and his innocence. This morning he looked like such a big boy in his school uniform and backpack. Today promised to be emotional for my wife but it has also been emotional for me. The emotions for me are more along the lines of excitement and pride rather than sadness at this rite of passage.

I think my excitement is fed in a large part by Elijah's school. His school has been beyond impressive to us. From the head of the school to the teacher's aide..."impressive" is really an understatement. We first met the head of the school and we shared about an hour long conversation...a deep and refreshing conversation about the philosophy of education, the classical model of education and Biblical worldview in the shadows of post-modernity and Platonism. This guy is exactly who I want in charge of the school where my kids are educated. On to the principal...his principal knew his name yesterday when we went to the school to meet his teacher...she met him only once and that was months ago when he went to test during the application process. For what it is worth, she also knew our names. Have you ever met someone and thought that their enthusiasm was at a level that couldn't be genuine...but somehow you know it is actually authentic? Well, Elijah's principal is that woman. Elijah's teacher is kind, intelligent and a true educator (as opposed to someone who simply holds the title of "teacher"). I may have been most excited when she discussed with us her awareness that boys and girls learn differently...not because one is better than the other or because one is flawed but because God created males and females in unique ways, with unique gifts. In previous years I had some serious reservations about the quality of education being received and the level of giftedness found in Elijah's teachers...I left Elijah's school yesterday without the slightest question of what Elijah will be receiving in the area of instruction and nurturing. I am confident that Elijah is attending the exact school God has in mind for him and I have no doubt that he will flourish there.

Is it possible that the thing I once dreaded more than anything else will become something completely wonderful and exciting for my sons? How cool would that be?!?! God is in the business of miracles so anything is possible .

God Is Just Not Fair...

2008-08-08T07:11:00.000-07:00

"Pastor Joe" is a dear Brother in the faith and also happens to be a pastor at an independent baptist church south of town. He asked my opinion yesterday on a lesson he is preparing for his church and some of what he is studying is from Acts 12 and so of course I pulled up the online Bible I use and read it. Something other than what he was asking about really jumped off the screen and made me think...it has to do with God's ideas about fairness.

Some in this world demand things be "fair". I have an intellectual understanding of what "fairness' means but unfortunately I think, like most of us in this world, fairness is too often defined by whatever happens to work out to my benefit...or at least something that doesn't harm me. It seems that God doesn't really claim to be fair...other than whatever He decides He wants to do, being the gold standard in operational definitions.

In Acts 12 we read about an angel...presumably of God...setting Peter free from prison and almost certainly saving his life in the process. That sounds pretty amazing...as miracles always do. If you are Peter you must be so please, excited and honored...but what if you happen to be someone else in the story? What if you are one of the guards that was charged to watch Peter and make sure he did indeed stand trial the following day? I assure you in that case that you are emotional but you aren't pleased, excited or honored...a list of more probable emotions would be frightened, angry, sorrowful, etc. You see, after Herod determined that Peter had escaped, he ordered the guards who were to be watching him be killed...which seems to be a harsh punishment.

So was God fair to those men? How hard do you think it was for those men's family to accept the Gospel they possibly heard from Peter? I have a hard time thinking that the families of these guards were pleased with the idea of Jesus being the Messiah and I don't think they were likely waiting in line to worship the God that apparently sentenced these men to death.

What was their crime? They were not overtly evil, so far as we know anyway. The text doesn't say that they had beaten Peter or molested neighborhood kids or even had bad attitudes. And what if they had beaten Peter...what would God's reaction be? I seem to remember God hanging on a cross looking at those who had beaten Him and his reaction wasn't death for them, but pity and mercy. "They don't know what they are doing". Is that God's message for the guards of Peter...except with less grace and less pity? I have asked a ton of questions and I don't have an answer to the first question I have asked. I just think that such questions and meditation on these particular acts of God can only serve to stretch and broaden faith. I hope so anyway...anything less just wouldn't seem fair

The Name of God...A Verb?

2008-08-07T05:06:00.000-07:00

I must pay tribute again in this blog to Peter Rollins and his latest book. I can't state for certain exactly what parts of what I will write are ideas directly from Rollins as his thoughts have blended with mine and thoughts I have been cognitively chewing on for a while...so with that, what about God's very name being not at all a noun, but instead, a verb?

The Biblical text I am specifically talking about is when Moses asks God His name (Exodus 3:14). God replies with "I am who I am". Many people have read that and understand it to be a cryptic answer that could imply or be understood to be a number of things. However, like so many things in the Bible, an alternate translation is equally as viable as "I am who I am". The alternate translation is, "I will be what I will be". Even in English, this is lacking. The basic implication in the difference is that God's name become a verb rather than a noun.

So what? Well, if that is the case, God goes from a being...a person place or thing bound by usual parameters of a noun, to being an event, an interaction with His creation that takes place not just in the ideas or within the realities of beings. This would make sense in the context of so many scriptures...for example, Jesus will go on to say in the Biblical text that as we have done for others, we have done as unto God...the action of the reality of God. Additionally it would make total sense in the description of God as "God is Love" and love being best understood as a verb...it's something you do.

This is a new idea that has been bouncing around in my mind so I want to think on it a bit more. I may write more about it or I may not...who knows? However, I do like the idea...and find great meaning in the idea that God's vastness expands well beyond even the words I can speak or the meanings I can attach to God.

A Reminder of Why

2008-08-06T05:58:00.000-07:00

At times I wonder why I ask questions...or at least why I seem to ask questions some intuit as offensive or challenging. Occasionally I wonder what inside of me must exist that refuses to allow me to simply participate in systems or organizations that are not as they should be, in my opinion anyway. Though I fully realize that no system is perfect, to sit back silently and accept some skewed reality as "fine" or "OK" is just not something I have ever been able to do.

Yesterday I was reminded by Doug Pagitt that asking such questions isn't at all a form of hatred or evil. The people who seem to always challenge and deconstruct are not haters of people, faith, church, etc. but rather are people of love. Instantly I was reminded that hate is not the opposite of love...indifference is. I am a lot of things but "indifference" is not a word I have ever heard used to describe me. If I was indifferent toward church, faith or the people who participate in either I could be guilty of not loving. The contrary is true. The very fact that I love God and the things of God (admittedly not exclusively) leads to me deconstructing, asking weird and perhaps difficult questions. Additionally, love is the very thing that prevents me from accepting things as they are when I feel that they could and perhaps should be so different...or better, as I define it anyway.

So anyway, I simply was reminded why I questions...why I ask why, how, when, where and if. As I explained to a friend last night over dinner, it has nothing to do with judgement on those who find meaning in the things I deconstruct but it has everything to do with making a new way for those of us who don't find meaning, purpose or faith in those same things.

"I am a me and you are a you"

2008-08-05T06:25:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite things in the world is when I get to take my boys camping and rafting. Life seems to make sense in the woods and a usually receive a sense of clarity while in nature. This past weekend was one such time...retreating to the woods with my two oldest boys and my dad...or so that was the plan anyway (more on that another day).

My middle son, Judah, is 4 years old. He is a lot like me and I love that. He seems to think in ways that I thought at his age, which should possibly give the world pause and should certainly confuse and worry my wife. While walking through the woods this past Saturday, holding hands and not really talking about anything, Judah looks at me out of the blue and says, "Daddy, I am a me and you are a you". I instantly thought...What a brilliant kid and what an amazingly insightful, if not philosophically profound, statement. OK, before I get carried away, I don't think he has been reading my blog and I doubt seriously he has been picking up any Kierkegaard or Nietzsche at summer camp...so maybe his words have much more meaning to me than to him, but to me, my 4 year old has dropped some serious ecclesiological wisdom in my lap. Check this out...

As best as I can tell, the drive of most ministries, churches and other organized forms or gathering of faith is conformity...conformity of thoughts, conformity of behavior, conformity of theology, etc. How else could one explain the utter outrage and disgust for anything unusual or unorthodox? For example, see what kind of reaction someone endures for suggesting traditions and particular heritages forsake rather than otherwise foster a growing faith.

So back to Judah's epiphany. I find it so profound because despite the utter display of individualism in scripture, the mission for so many attempting to follow the scriptures is often opposed to individualism. Despite the phrases often used like, "Jesus, my personal saviour"...we often link said saviour to a group, denomination or corporate gathering. In so doing I think our cumulative perspectives serve as obstacles to deeper and perhaps more genuine faith.

That is to say that God is enough, big enough, loving enough, vast enough, deep enough, etc. to deal with us on personal levels and even call us to variations in our walks that resonate deeply and intimately with God, His mission, His purposes and His calling...though not always with culture, church, community or even traditional expectations. That is to say that though God is the same yesterday, today and forever; His dealings with me, or His mercies toward me are new every morning. Though God always has been and always will be, His work in me and in others, as individuals, displays God's love for diversity and variation.

Though many have been called to lead people, there was only one Moses. Though many have been called to sacrifice, there was only one Abraham. Though many have been called to walk in a new path, a new faith and a new tradition, there was only one Paul. And so the story continues...

To me, the call is never to try to fit in to the prevailing religious culture. The path never leads through a land of predictable stagnation. God isn't interested in how closely we conform to those from who we hear about God. God seems to be much more concerned with the degree to which we conform to Him. He is concerned with the degree to which we fit into His will. His path always leads through a dangerous landscape...packed with unpredictability, saturated with warfare, decorated with love and overflowing with scents of His goodness.

God smiles and reminds me that out of the mouth of babes, or 4 year olds as the case may be, His truth flows like a raging river. Celebrate, give thanks to God and cherish the fact that Gos has seen to it that "I AM A ME AND YOU ARE A YOU".

I Converted This Morning...Again!

2008-07-31T06:07:00.000-07:00

I was watching a video recently on youtube.com. If one of the videos some conservative guy that had the appearance of a man more likely to sale you a vacuum cleaner than try to trap some "Emergent Scholar" (Tony Jones) in a line of questioning asks Tony..."When were you born again?" Tony's reply was brilliant..."this morning". Tony went on to explain something I feel is universal in those who follow Jesus. The choice of who will rule my life is a daily choice at least...perhaps hourly and sometimes for me it is a minute by minute decision. With each fork in the road my day presents I am confronted with the decision to "convert" or "be born again". If I have learned anything in my time walking with God, it is that my faithfulness in surrender today does nothing to imply or facilitate submission tomorrow.

That line of thought lead me back to something I had been wrestling with before...now in advance let me tell you that I don't question my salvation, I am not using the phrase "born again" or the word "convert" to imply any aspect of soteriological perspective...so with that said, I have been wrestling with the whole idea of converting as being an ongoing process. I am thinking of it as an ongoing sense of becoming. Thinking of submission, surrender and even conversion as an ongoing, daily process opens things up for some crazy cool possibilities and some chances to consider faith in some new ways. It is exciting...what say you?

Lost...Yet Finding

2008-07-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

While at the Church Basement Roadshow, while in the restroom of all places, I saw someone I had not seen in a while. I use to attend church with this older gentleman though I haven’t been to that church in over a year. He remarked that he hadn’t seen me in a while but had asked someone about me recently. I asked what the person said and he replied that they didn’t know. Ok timeout! Let me deconstruct the conversation to that point…this person cared enough about me to ask others about me but never picked up the phone and called me or emailed me or come by my house, etc. Second, the person he was asking shared this gentleman’s level of concern. I must also remark that the level of concern these two shared is rampant in our former church as our phone hasn’t exactly been ringing off the hook since we defected from that church “silently in the night”…well, unless you consider 2 emails “ringing off the hook”.
Ok so now back to the conversation in progress…I told him that I had just been living life and enjoying God’s goodness to which he replied. “Yeah, I figured you were out trying to find yourself”. At this point I just smiled…as opposed to break the door off the hinges. It’s a good thing I had already gone to the bathroom or I may have indeed pissed myself before leaving the restroom.
I thought, “Dude you have no clue that I WAS NOT trying to FIND anything…especially myself. In fact, I was trying to LOSE MYSELF…in so far as that means lose the baggage of “religiosity” and “churchianity”…in so far as that means being free from the shackles of legalism, the removed from under the heavy blanket of insignificant and boring faith and to the degree that losing myself means finding the God I am finally growing to love.” My amazement at such a comment very quickly changed to understanding. For one thing, I know this guy and he is a good guy. I am sure he meant nothing bad by is comments. It just isn’t his nature. For another thing, I realized that he just doesn’t get it…or at least he doesn’t get me. Then my anger-turned understanding went immediately to a book title and idea (as many of my thoughts do). You see, I am finally coming into a place of peace, security and spiritual freedom…not in the presence of church membership, cool Bible studies or predictable organized religion. I am finally finding comfort in the uncomfortable Words of God found in scripture. I am finally finding solace in the inconsolable life of Jesus. I am finally finding security in the foundations of God’s mercy. I am finally learning about the man, husband and father I am to be through time with God…finding myself is the last thing I am doing. I have never been so lost in my whole life…yet I know the path on which walk is highlighted by the grace, mercy and love of God. I have never been so far away from conventional wisdom…yet I know the voice I hear, and am following is the voice of my Shepherd, the same voice previously drowned out by functions, services and committee meetings. I have never been so blind…but the only light I care to see is His anyway…what else is worth seeing? So indeed, I am “Lost, Yet Finding”

If being found means returning to my personal "Egypt"…I hope I stay lost in the wilderness of God forever. May we all be so lost!

Emergent and The Critics of Emergent

2008-07-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

For some reason I had a chance yesterday to listen to a plethora of youtube.com videos...some from the better known Emergent folks like Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones and others from people who seem to think that anything Emergent or even remotely similar to Emergent is evil, heretical and is directly from the pit of hell.

In fairness and in the name of full-disclosure I must say that I don't completely fit into the Emergent camp...However, I think it to maintain a sense of intellectual integrity I have to mention that my beliefs and interpretations/experiences of faith line up MUCH closer with the Emergent crowd than that of the more conservative, evangelical, fundamentalist crowd.

So with that, I simply wanted to mention a few observations from my youtube.com adventure yesterday.

1. The Emergent Christians (EC) and the Fundamentalist Christians (FC) speak different languages. Additionally I think the ways in which the two sides dialogue is different to a degree that makes communication extremely difficult.
It seems that it is difficult for them to even have conversations because the language used and the ways in which it is used is so different from one another. For example, the FCs seem to be asking questions that they feel like they answered a long time ago. This kind of "questioning" is designed to drive someone to what they think is a logical conclusion. The problems with this method of manipulation are numerous. One problem is that it is fraudulent. The purpose and intent of a conversation is to share, discuss and mutually understand...the stance taken by FCs in the videos are arrogant and presumptuous at best. Another problem is that through the ever changing culture, the "logical conclusions" the FCs assume to exist are not logical nor conclusive to the Emergent crowd. Therefore extreme frustration and outright anger seems to overcome the FCs when someone doesn't find "logical" what they do. Again, this is arrogant and less than insightful in my opinion.
The EC's seem to be engaged in more ethical conversations. I personally don't sense that a specific conclusion is the motivation in the questions asked by the ECs. The conversations seem to be genuine. The interaction of two people sharing lives, to me anyway, seem to mirror the conversations had by Jesus in the Gospels. Jesus seemed to only "trap" people or lead people to some preconceived conclusion when he was dealing with the Pharisees or Teachers of the Law...not with those truly seeking.
I also sense that the more ECs are fine with not having answers. It isn't that they enjoy ambiguity...I sense that instead they enjoy serving and honoring a God that is so much larger than canned answers, a God who extends a love to His creation beyond what some systematic theology can explain. Having answers and providing them to people is fine...but when the answers aren't universal or when the answers aren't comprehensive, they may be more divisive and confusing than simply marveling at mystery of God.

2. The FCs seem to be very angry. I don't know if it is frustration or just a sense of becoming irrelevant or what. To give the FCs benefit of the doubt I do think that they really believe that their faith has been hijacked by some liberal agenda and it angers them. To give my cynicism a voice and the benefit of the doubt I think some portion of their anger is due to the shifting of their relevance, which means their voice is diminishing which means they are losing control and power. To meet in the middle on these thoughts I think it is safe to mention that any suggestion that another way exists doesn't fit the FCs paradigm. To them, if another way exists they must have been wrong all of this time. The FCs have for so long operated under the assumption that "Truth" is mutually exclusive of anything other than the way they believe and practice their faith...the mere suggestion of another idea, viewpoint or theology is a personal attack on their faith and on God. To me, this seems again, rather arrogant and myopic at best.
The ECs on the other hand seem to be more calm and inclusive when discussing their thoughts about God and more importantly, when listening to the opinions, experiences and thoughts of others. I don't see any ground being gained from showing disdain, disappointment or resentment toward those who share experiences or opinions that aren't mainstream or popular. One thing I am confident about when looking at scripture is that God's story is woven through the lives of us all. The ways in which God chooses to weave and the ways in which God is manifested in our worlds is up to God and God alone. In my opinion it is disrespectful of God to place limitations and parameters on the work of God in the lives of others.

3. Both sides have staunch supporters. The Emergent Cohort I get to hangout with monthly is in no way interested in a return to the camps of the FC. I also sensed yesterday in watching the videos that many people line up behind those who hate the ambiguity and openness found in the camps of the ECs. I will say that while many people, including me, have no plans of returning to a more dogmatic, closed interpretation of God and His Word, I don't think those who choose to stay in the FC traditions are evil or "hell-bound". The same can't be said for the FCs. They are not bashful at all when it comes to mocking, belittling and being downright hateful toward those who identify more in the EC direction. It seems that for many in the more FC group, people who are EC are either from hell or will quickly be heading there. That's unfortunate...to say the least.

I had other impressions and may share those at some point. I guess the issue in my mind is that at the end of the day...not to mention the end of my life...I am responsible for the ways in which I have been faithful to God's call in my life. That's enough...nothing less should matter and nothing more is important.

Community and Communion

2008-07-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

So last night I am hanging out on my patio with Tyler and Brian, a few La Flor Dominicanas and a few Brooklyn Pennant Ales. I guess we were hanging out for several hours...I didn't keep track of time. At some point during the evening we turned our attention to a custom Brian took part in while he was in Fiji. It reminded us all of communion...people sitting around, sharing a drink and thinking of ways in which our actions and interactions intersect with God. That reminded me of my time as an intern in Mwanza, Tanzania learning from Greg.

The people of the Sukuma Tribe in Mwanza have no idea what a grape is. That means they have no idea what wine is or grape juice...so that makes more traditional communion very difficult. They were encouraged by Greg to think about communion...what it is...what it should like for them and how they may go about doing it. They came to a really cool conclusion. In their minds the Body and Blood of Jesus is so wonderful that they should only use the best things to symbolize them. So they chose rather expensive items...Coca-cola and English Tea Cookies. In my mind that was so fitting.

I know from a traditional Eucharist perspective it isn't the same but last night was refreshing to spend time with Brothers. It was good to have some laughs and some deeper theological discussion. In so many ways I imagine how I will one day feel when my three boys are all gathered together in a common place and in a common love...God must absolutely love times like last night. If He delights in his sons so much more than I can imagine, and He does, I know God had to be smiling and enjoying His sons spending time together and just sharing their lives. Man time is awesome and God is even more amazing than that. Long live Monday night Man Time on the patio!!!

Teaching Scripture...WORD of God part 3

2008-07-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

Good Morning...before I move on to the Pauline Epistles portion of this conversation I want to share an excerpt from a newspaper in Columbus, Ohio. I received a link to this article by someone mentioned in the article who has recently moved to that area. This couple was previously associated with an emergent community with which I have many connections here in Birmingham. Here is the link to the article should you want to read the whole thing.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/faith_values/stories/2008/07/25/emergent.ART_ART_07-25-08_B7_UNAQG0K.html?sid=101

The portion I find particularly concerning is a statement by someone concerned with the ways in which scripture is interpreted:

"Leaders at the church are concerned that the upstarts are too loose in their biblical interpretation. "Many times the Bible becomes the meaning derived from the reader's interaction with it," Reilly said. "There is a meaning in the text that can be found, a unique meaning that's not dependent on the reader."

As I read that quote I almost swallowed my tongue. I thought, "GOOD GRACIOUS!!!" And that is a negative, disappointed "good gracious", not an excited, glorious "good gracious". That is the precise premise that has caused my recent writings and in large part lead me to the point of disillusionment with the typical "churches".

Let's look at "loose...biblical interpretation". What does that mean? I think most of us know what the guy is saying but what is the deeper intent? To me it seems that God is powerful enough to provide any sincere seeker with a meaning of a given text. It also seems plausible and even probable to me that God can, should he so choose, use the same scripture to bring about intimacy with numerous people through various revelation. To my more traditional ears that sounds dangerous...like a slippery slope. As soon as I start to consider that aspect I am reminded that the slope is no more dangerous than our current slope.

Current slope? Yes...the slope that presents scripture as static...less than dynamic...and holds that through tight interpretation, behavior can be modified, institutionalized faith can flourish and most importantly, through labels, definitions and creeds we can pretend to have some control. That is a horribly pretentious and deadly slope. I prefer a slope of freedom over one of shackles any day. I say that because if someone is genuinely seeking God...nothing else matters. If someone is not seeking God and is instead just seeking moral code, static rules or cognitive knowledge...nothing else matters.

It seems to me that this issue is largely summed up as an issue of trust. Do we trust God to reveal Himself to us? Do we trust ourselves to seek God's revelation? Do we trust others to do the same? If we do...then there is no problem. If we don't...there is a problem...but that problem isn't mine.

OK, on to Pauline Epistles tomorrow...or perhaps Monday.

Teaching Scripture in the Gospels...Word of God part 2

2008-07-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

Here is something I have taken some time to research a bit so as to avoid putting erroneous info out there. There should be more to come.

My idea of the Holy Spirit being the lone being to teach us the meaning, application and heart of Biblical text raised a question in the mind of my lovely wife, Brook. Basically the issue, or question she had regarding such thoughts had to do with the "gift of teaching" as it is outlined in scripture (Romans 12:7). I think that is a great question...so much so that I had to address it for myself and others...so here it what I have found.

In the new testament there are many examples of the word "teaching". The Gospels are full of references...give or take 43 to be exact. In 40 of the 43 examples in the Gospels, Jesus is the one teaching. I think that is cool because it substantiates my thoughts on God, via His Spirit, teaching us still. Remember the words of Jesus, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father". In the 3 verses that don't directly point to Jesus as "teacher", we are really talking about 2 examples because Mark 7:7 is a parallel verse to Matthew 15:9. These verses are actually Jesus quoting Isaiah in saying that the teachings:

"you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: " 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules."

I was excited about that verse too...and yes, I admit that I was looking for verses that could possibly be understood in a new way that may better present the idea of the Word of God being powerful when taught by God alone and when God transforms people with it.
I think one of the precise problems with humans instructing other humans is that it is so easy to, purposefully or otherwise, remove the heart from the analyzing and dissecting and end up teaching or learning "merely human rules". Especially that could be true in the case of what Jesus was upset about...forsaking the Word of God for the sake of tradition...enough said.

The other verse in the Gospels not dealing directly with Jesus teaching is Matthew 16:12:

"Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. "

AMEN! Preach it Jesus!

I want to deal with the other aspects of teaching scripture or even teaching doctrine that is found in the rest of the New Testament...but time requires me to end for today. So far though, I must say that when it comes to "teaching" scripture or laws or morals or what not in the Gospels, it seems best if we leave it up to Jesus. First of all, God is capable of teaching anyone who is seeking exactly what He wants them to know and anyway, Jesus wasn't pleased with what others were teaching...it was diluted in the areas of transformation yet very concentrated in the ways of control and behavioral modification. Boooooo! Bad Pharisees! Bad teachers of the law!

I can't wait to have a bit more time to deal with some Pauline Epistles. Until then...