What better way for the Axe to fall than to say goodbye with our friends from Audio Adrenaline.
No tears. It’s simply time to shut-up and start making a difference somewhere. But we’re not disappearing completely. You can find us on Twitter and Facebook.
In the words of Forest Gump, “That’s all I’ve got to say about that.”
Do you want to save someone’s life…literally? Invite them to church.
A study by researchers at Yeshiva University and its medical, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, found that attending religious services may significantly reduce the risk of death.
The study found that those who attend religious services at least once a week showed a 20% decrease in the overall risk of mortality than those attending no services at all.
Lost on the researchers is the irony that by helping someone find “life,” you can save them from a sure death.
They say the test of character is who you are when no one is watching.
PGA golfer JP Hayes proves that there is still honesty and integrity in sports.
During the second stage of the PGA Tour qualifying tournament last week, Hayes discovered that he had unwittingly used a prototype golf ball not approved by the United States Golf Association.
No one would have known. But Hayes, honoring the tradition of a game where the players police themselves, turned himself in and was disqualified.
On his 12th hole of the first round, Hayes’ caddie reached into his golf bag and tossed a ball to Hayes, who played two shots — a tee and a chip onto the green — and marked his ball. At that point he realized the ball he was playing was not the same model with which he started the round — by rule, a two-stroke penalty.
“I realized there was a penalty and I called an official over,” Hayes said, according to the newspaper. “He said the penalty was two shots and that I had to finish the hole with that ball and then change back to the original ball.”
On Thursday night, Hayes realized that the errant golf ball might not have been on the approved list.
Hayes had a choice: He could have said nothing and kept playing, with no one aware of his mistake. Or he could turn himself in and let his mistake cost him a 2009 PGA Tour card. He chose the latter.
Hayes, 43, is refusing to blame his caddie for the error, saying he should have spotted the errant ball because it did not have a model name on the seam.
Had Hayes kept the error to himself he likely would have gained millions…at least hundreds of thousands. His take on the error? Now he can spend more time with his family.
Wouldn’t it be great if instead of being known for being against things we stood for honesty, integrity, character, personal accountability, love and caring about others more than ourselves?
What if we realized that there is one who is always watching? Maybe then we would behave differently.
How about this? 85,000+ fanatics screaming and jumping as the Sooners beat Texas Tech.
Imagine if we got that excited about spreading the Gospel, serving others, and following God. What kind of difference could we make then?
A couple of years ago many churches were looking to emulate the Starbucks culture and retail atmosphere.
Turning the tables, Beyond Relevance shared this great video that shows what might happen if Starbucks decided to emulate a church.
I loved the locked doors, the greeters standing around talking to each other, and the first time visitors. And what about the lesson on giving? Classic.
Coffee is good – all the time…and all the time – coffee is good!
This would be funnier if there wasn’t some truth to it.
Every church has one. If you don’t think so, look in the mirror.
No…not the election.
Who’s fault is it that we have become reliant on the government to solve our societal issues?
Christians have become a pawn in the political process and we allowed it to happen.
Meanwhile, our society is full of people who need help – the homeless, young women considering abortion, kids who are starving, families breaking apart, and more.
And where are we? Canvassing for our favorite politician so that they can cure everything that is “wrong” in our country.
Pastor Greg Matte of Houston’s First Baptist Church puts it this way:
…government policy has stepped into theology. The beginning of life and definition of marriage are theological issues, not political… We redefine family and look to government as the lone savior – and here we sit.
Baby Boomers moved from biblical values to “do your own thing” which included raising their kids to enjoy a lazy Sunday morning instead of church.
We now raise our kids on the sporting fields while shoe polishing our SUVs each weekend with “Go Team! On to the ‘ships!” instead of teaching the difference between eternal rewards and plastic trophies.
All valid points. So, now what?
Roxanne Wieman at Relevant Magazine has some great ideas:
We do not rest our hopes for change on a political party or candidate…. in January when Obama takes office, we get up and we continue our sojourn to follow Jesus. We live our votes for life, for justice, for peace, for equality.
We comfort our friend who tells us she’s considering abortion. Then we gently tell her why we believe life in the womb is precious. We help her find alternative options … and we stick by her side all through the pregnancy and birth and after. She is not a statistic or a faceless evil to us.
We love beyond racial, gender and sexual lines. We reject stereotypes. We embrace individuals. We work for reconciliation.
We do not talk about “that side of town,” we live there and work there and mentor there. We are a part of educational reform, and ESL, and rehabilitation.
We recycle. We reduce our imprint. We consciously make our purchases, recognizing the global implications. We strive to “live simply that others may simply live” (Ghandi).
We personally pray for our soldiers in Iraq, for the citizens of Iraq, for our leaders who are making tough decisions that affect millions of lives. We really do pray, and we believe our prayers matter.
We continue to work hard in the jobs God has given us, saving our money and stewarding our resources. We tithe. We donate. We volunteer.
We continually challenge each other to deepen our understanding of whole life ethics and Jesus’ call to follow Him.
Rather than sitting around and “grieving” the election results like James Dobson, it’s time we stop blaming the government, look in the mirror and heed the words of Jesus:
Mark 12:30-31 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
If you really want to make a difference in the issues that plague our society, that’s where we start. It’s time to stop going to church and time to start being the church.
Forget about those grumpy people sitting in the pew next to you who never speak or the people who walk past you in the halls racing to beat the Baptist to Luby’s…religion makes people nicer. Maybe.
Paul Bloom makes the case…or not…that religious people are nicer.
There is evidence within the United States for a correlation between religion and what might broadly be called “niceness.”
In Gross National Happiness, Arthur Brooks notes that atheists are less charitable than their God-fearing counterparts: They donate less blood and are less likely to offer change to homeless people on the street. Since giving to charity makes one happy, Brooks speculates that this could be one reason why atheists are so miserable.
In a 2004 study, twice as many religious people say that they are very happy with their lives, while the secular are twice as likely to say that they feel like failures.
But not so fast.
Society Without God by Phil Zuckerman looks at the Danes and the Swedes—perhaps the most “godless” people on Earth.
They don’t go to church or pray in the privacy of their own homes; they don’t believe in God or heaven or hell. But…they’re nice to one another. They have a famously expansive welfare and health care service. They have a strong commitment to social equality. And—even without belief in a God looming over them—they murder and rape one another significantly less frequently than Americans do.
A 2005 study by Gregory Paul looking at 18 democracies found that the more atheist societies tended to have relatively low murder and suicide rates and relatively low incidence of abortion and teen pregnancy.
The positive effect of religion in the real world is tied to a community component—rather than a belief in constant surveillance by a higher power. Humans are social beings, and we are happier, and better, when connected to others.
The Danes and the Swedes, despite being godless, have strong communities. Most Danes and Swedes identify themselves as Christian. They get married in church, have their babies baptized, give some of their income to the church, and feel attached to their religious community—they just don’t believe in God.
Bloom has simplified it for us all. It’s not about God, its about community. Just donate blood, give some money to the homeless guy on the corner, and make some friends and all of our issues will go away.
No wonder we keep hearing all of the megachurch Pastors preaching on community and getting connected.
From Pastor Keith Stewart from Springcreek Church in Garland, Tx.
No one is perfect. No one lives sin-free. You blow it. I blow it. And the church does, too… The truth is, an apology from the church should not “stand out.” It should not make the community sit up and take notice. But it does, precisely because that the church rarely does what it tells others to do.
…The church in America has a serious credibility problem. Those outside the church look at us and often don’t see anything that even remotely resembles Jesus. Instead they see judgment, hypocrisy, and very little compassion. They hear our words, but don’t see a lifestyle that aligns with those words.
The only way the community will ever believe our words is if our behavior backs it up. With the help of God, we want to become a community of believers that lives out its creed.
With this public apology, our foremost desire is to take responsibility for how we have failed in this area, because with 100% responsibility for our attitudes and behaviors comes 100% forgiveness. And secondly, in keeping with the spirit of repentance, our desire is to keep our eyes on Jesus and allow Him to keep us focused on His mission.
Sounds like perhaps now they can be part of the solution.
Anyone else tired of hearing that this is the “most important election of our lifetime?“ In hind sight, that was probably eight years ago.
Here we are again with two mediocre Presidential candidates and two unqualified Vice President candidates. If either of the VP candidates actually have to take over…. well, we’re in trouble.
Aside from the candidates, the most annoying part of this election has to be Christians who spread lies and half-truths about the candidates.
Over the weekend I received yet another email about how Obama is a flag-hating Muslim who hangs around with terrorists and refuses to use the Bible when being sworn into office (if you think this is true, stop reading and go to the nearest neocon, evangelical, right-wing blog).
I am not sure which is worse – Christian’s spreading lies or the ignorance level of those who follow the Republicans like sheep because they are the “religious” party. Seriously, Joe the Plumber isn’t even a plumber.
Not to be outdone, my friends on the left tell me daily that this is our last chance to save the planet, make REAL change, and ensure prosperity for our children.
Newsflash….the President has little or no power to do any of that. I prefer to trust God.
The reality is that my vote will account for little because Presidential elections are decided by the electoral college and my vote has long been decided for me by the color on a map.
As I think about casting my useless vote tomorrow, I’m haunted by Mark 10:21:
Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and loved him! He said, “There’s one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me.”
Sounds like redistribution of wealth. Could it be that Jesus was a Socialist? Say it ain’t so, Joe.
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