Burying the Hatchet

Those of you who have been reading for awhile know we’re not big fans of Ed Young, Jr. (more here).  But after reading about Pastor Young’s latest challenge, we’re ready to bury the hatchet.

“Marriage is the only right place for sex,” says Ed Young, senior pastor of Grapevine’s nondenominational Fellowship Church. So he’s encouraging married couples to celebrate by having sex every day for a week starting Sunday.

Preach on, Pastor Young!

• Sex is the Superglue…
• Whining into whoopie…
• One of the greatest Thanksgivings ever…
• Practice what you preach…

“I think it’s one of the greatest things you can do for your kids because so goes the marriage, so goes the family,” said Young.

So, if you can’t do it for yourselves, at least do it for your kids.

How can we stay mad at this guy?

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It’s that time of the year again when we get together with our families, remember the birth of Jesus, give presents to friends and love ones, but best of all it’s time for Christians to start boycotting.

For many things, such as homelessness, hunger, education, addiction, etc… we often sit idle. But when you start referring to Christmas as the Holiday season that’s were we draw the line.

Christians will boycott Target, K-Mart, Banana Republic, Barnes and Noble, Circuit City, Disney, Kohl’s, Old Navy, Petco and others for not using the word “Christmas” in their advertising this season.

The Alliance Defense Fund, which was founded by 35 ministry leaders and whose prime concern is the “dramatic loss of religious freedom in America’s courts and the resulting challenges to people of faith to live and proclaim the Gospel,” has more than 930 attorneys available nationwide to combat any improper attempts to censor the celebration of Christmas.

We need 930 attorneys so that we can proclaim the gospel by saying Christmas instead of holiday?

Of course, it’s all part of the liberal War on Christmas.  It couldn’t be about attracting the greatest number of people in the marketplace in our free enterprise system (capitalism) in order to maximize profits for shareholders. That would be too simple.

We found a better reason to boycott Christmas over at “The Christmas Resistance.”

You know Christmas marketing is a scam, benefiting manufacturers, stores, and huge corporations, while driving individuals into debt. You know this annual consumer frenzy wreaks havoc on the environment, filling landfills with useless packaging and discarded gifts.

Together, we boycott Christmas Shopping, Christmas decorations, Christmas cards, and every variety of Christmas Crap…We show our love for friends and family by giving our time and care, not by purchasing consumer goods. We maintain the integrity of giving by giving spontaneously and from our hearts, rather than during a specified season.

Now that’s a movement Christians should get behind.

As for the boycotts, how about we get everything else right first, stop thinking that everything is about us,  and then we talk about boycotts?

Lift My Hands and Spin Around

One of our all-time favorite worship songs, Marvelous Light by Charlie Hall

Into marvelous light I’m running, Out of darkness, out of shame.
By the cross you are the truth, You are the life, you are the way

Lift my hands and spin around, See the light that i have found.
Oh the marvelous light, Marvelous light

Who’s Fault Is It?

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.

The Home of the Brave

Today we remember not only the sacrifice of our veterans, but their families as well.

When America had an urgent need,
These brave ones raised a hand;
No hesitation held them back;

They were proud to take a stand. They left their friends and family;
They gave up normal life;

To serve their country and their God,
They plowed into the strife. They fought for freedom and for peace
On strange and foreign shores;

Some lost new friends; some lost their lives
In long and brutal wars. Other veterans answered a call
To support the ones who fought;

Their country had requirements for
The essential skills they brought. We salute each and every one of them,
The noble and the brave,
The ones still with us here today,
And those who rest in a grave. So here’s to our country’s heroes;

They’re a cut above the rest;

Let’s give the honor that is due
To our country’s very best.

It’s the Community Stupid!

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.

Part of the Problem

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.

Lighten Up

Time to lighten it up with one of our all-time favorite SNL skits.

Need more cow bell!

Almost Over

After two hours of standing outside in thirty mile-an-hour winds, its over. I cast my useless vote.

Had some interesting conversations with people on all sides.

The best one was a guy who knew one of the local candidates.  He said, “He is one of the nicest guys I know.  Probably the most intelligent man I have ever met.  But I could never vote for him because he is a ….” (I’ll let you fill in the blank).”

A couple of observations:

• The campaign stretches on for two years, but we only have 12 hours to vote?  Why not give us three, four or five days?  Maybe even a week.  And how about some food while we are waiting?  We can pay for it by taxing the rich people.
• It’s 2008 and we’re the most innovative country in the history of the world and the best we can do is broken machines and paper and markers?
• People talk about separation of church and state, but we vote in a church?

From Billy Graham:

“After the election is over, pray for those who have been elected, that they may seek God’s will for our nation and do it.”

Amen, Dr. Graham.

Presidential Bash

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.