Thursday, June 28, 2007

South of the Border

Tomorrow, right after work, we're heading down to the CDE orphanage in Mexico with supplies and things they need. I am really looking forward to this trip because I had so much fun the last time too. I am also looking forward to seeing the boy I sponsor, Jesus Guadalupe. Him and I really connected when we met. I am also looking forward to seeing all of the other kids. They have over 100 there now. There will be 5 of us going down on this trip. Hannah, Jared, Madison, Patty and myself. We'll be back late Sunday night. There will be a few kids graduating too I think from the 6th grade and we will be attending their graduation. We will not be able to stay in the apartment at the orphanage on this trip so we'll be staying in a hotel in town. Believe me, they're not as nice as the apartment. I'd stay in my car if I had to just to see those kids. It's going to be hot this weekend too. But not as hot as it will be here at home next week. We're looking at 117 or 118 for a high by Tuesday. Yikes!

Monday we start the dropin center back up at Power Ranch. We will be playing volleyball, frisbee, and whatever else. But the main objective will be to develop relationships with some of the locals at the park. We'll hand out popsicles, water, pop, whatever each Monday night throughout the summer.

4th of July we will be serving the residents of Queen Creek at the fireworks held at Schnepf Farms. We'll have inflatable jump thingies for the kids as well as face painting and handing out snacks and cold drinks. Just serving the community like we should be doing. I am also going to hand out fliers for a concert the following night at Arizona Community Church. The headline band is Project 86 from Orange County California. These guys rock hard. I was pretty surprised that they are playing at a church. I hope they have good insurance! I saw a kids get his jaw busted last winter at a Project 86 show in the mosh pit.

July 31st will be the Bad Boys of Rock tour at the Mesa Amphitheater featuring Hinder, Papa Roach and Buckcherry. This will be a great show and all 3 bands are good and could headline anywhere.

August 26th is the show I am most looking forward to. The Family Values Tour featuring Korn, Evanescence, Atreyu, Flyleaf, Hellyeah and Trivium. Better drag out the ear plugs for this one.

In August we will need to start planning for our trip to Northern Ireland next summer. Patty and I will be leading a team from our church there for a 3 week mission trip. Patty went last summer and she still talks about it to this day.

To all my friends out there in the blog world...please send rain. And some temperatures say about 40 degrees cooler than they are now. I'm sick of the heat already and it ain't even July yet.

Be well, be blessed and be MoVeD!

I'll post about the trip along with pictures probably Monday sometime.

Peace!

A satirical look at the prosperity gospel

How to Use God to Get What You Want

Gilbert 5th-fastest-growing U.S. city

I came to Gilbert Arizona from the Panhandle of Nebraska back in October of 1994. Gilbert was a "small" suburb in the East Valley of the Phoenix metro area. Bought a house in a beautiful subdivision with palm trees and man made lakes.

Now in 2007, Gilbert is the 5th fastest growing city in the U.S.

My house has tripled in value which is a good thing. But the area is growing so fast that the roads can't handle it.

Here is an article about Gilbert in todays AZ Republic.

Gilbert 5th-fastest-growing U.S. city
Southeast Valley town added 13,860 between '05, '06

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Faith leaders, take a stand

Lawn Griffith is a columnist at The East Valley Tribune. His column focuses on all things spiritual and I like his columns. I am going to cut and paste this article I read about faith leaders and the war that I found to be very good. A lot of you probably won't agree, but we all have a right to our own opinions. Here is the link.

Faith leaders, take a stand
Lawn Griffiths, Tribune

I’ve seen folks ostentatiously get up in the middle of a sermon and walk out in disgust. Something offended them.

And I have listened to people stand up during church prayer time and speak, from their hearts, in outrage at world events and public policies that cause enormous death and suffering. They call for prayers to halt political leaders’ mayhem or for specific legislative remedies for social problems. Sincere as they are, they get rebuked by the purists in the congregation who want prayer time limited to the suffering and the ailments of members and their relatives.

Across faith communities, clergy are walking on eggshells as they safely address and pray over what’s happening in Iraq.

They can call for the dying to end, but they dare not condemn specific political leaders who drive the warring and prolong the dying.

In the four years of this war with no end, they have carefully maneuvered through land mines to avoid political statements while demonstrating religious and human compassion for the incalculable death and suffering. If clergy use pointed words suggesting the war is evil and obscene, they run the risk of offending parishioners with loved ones in uniform or with those passionately loyal to that cause.

Clergy, of course, risk alienation and loss of members by taking unpopular positions or goring people’s oxen on a wide range of issues.

Somehow, in this war, the faith community has been largely ineffectual. It seems neutered by threats of losing their federal tax exemption should they be found to have engaged in political activity. Never mind the grand, showy patriotic demonstrations in churches for the troops and national leaders as they wage the war.

But much of the hesitation and ambivalence about questioning the war surrounds deference for the troops themselves.

In January 2003, before the war began, Bishop Melvin Talbert, chief ecumenical officer of the United Methodist Church, spoke out in a 30-second paid commercial for the National Council of Churches: “Does the United States have the right to invade a country that’s done nothing to us? … No nation under God has that right. It violates international law, it violates God’s law and the teachings of Jesus Christ. Iraq hasn’t wronged us. War will only create more terrorists and a more dangerous world for our children.” Prophetic words more than four years later.

Clearly, some bad, bad things are happening on our watch.

I am constantly reminded of English philosopher Edmund Burke’s warning, “All evil needs to succeed is for good people to do nothing.”

In my work and community life, I know many people. And, with so many, I have listened to their unqualified support for the war, as well as those who saw the train wreck coming from the beginning. Now in 2007, the gung-ho gang doesn’t seem to have much to say.

It’s been more than 40 years since I read Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” and the haunting story of Prospero and a thousand nobles cloistered inside an abbey, indifferent to the disease and suffering of the public at large beyond the walls. “The external world could take care of itself. In the meantime it was folly to grieve, or to think,” Poe wrote in the short story. “The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure.”

So the favored people partied and reveled inside the abbey, seemingly immune from the red death in the countryside, enjoying themselves at a ball where all wore masks. But death found its way in “and one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. … And darkness and decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.”

Save for the news reports and the “red flags” telling us this war isn’t working, we go about our lives fairly normally.

Last weekend, we rented DVD films of “Bobby,” the last day in the life of Sen. Robert Kennedy, and “The Last King of Scotland,” for which Forest Whitaker won the best actor Oscar this year in his role as the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Each film, in its own way, was haunting. One troubled assassin ended a presidential hopeful who seemed primed to take America to a different kind of greatness and perhaps out of a faulty war sooner. In “The Last King,” a deeply flawed tyrant ruled like a thug over his tiny African nation until more than 300,000 died and throngs had been driven off as refugees, before he himself went into exile in 1979.

We question past generations that “allowed” wars and destruction. Somehow they chose monsters at the polls, failed to recognize despots until they gained too much power or were paralyzed or too weak to resist.

With eyes wide open, we are only the latest of a nation of people to have somehow let war happen.

With all our education, social skills and history’s lessons, we are impotent again. And the slaughter of the innocent just goes on and on. In the slow machinations of politicians and generals to design and carry out something workable, we are told to have patience. Such repeated statements across four years that “progress is being made” ring hollow.

Where is the outrage from the people who take religious vows and commit to work for peace and end suffering?

It’s just confounding.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Southern Baptists Split Over Politics

But some Southern Baptists would rather stay out of politics altogether. A small but vocal number of pastors believe the denomination is too cozy with Republicans and too political in general. By flirting with the line separating good citizenship and a grab for power, they say, a denomination already experiencing flat membership risks alienating more people.

read the entire article here

Monday, June 25, 2007

Bill Dahl runs The Porpoise Diving Life website and I love his stuff. Today I found an awesome post he had over on The Ooze website. It's a great read so please do take the time. Enjoy!

THE 7 RABBITS OF SLYLY DEFECTIVE PEOPLE

The Simple Way Ministry

I have read about this place in Philly and it is a great organization that serves their community. I thought I would share this with you. Their place burned down a week or so ago but help is flowing in.

Love Wins - Always

Saturday, June 23, 2007

"If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to serve as a horrible warning."
(Catherine Aird)

"You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person."
(Unknown)

"Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again."
(Unknown)

"Don't cry because it's over: Smile because it happened."
(L. James Harvey)

"We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have wierd names, and all are different colors...but they all have to learn to live in the same box."
(Unknown)

"Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance."
(J. Williams)

"A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour."
(Anonymous)

Friday, June 22, 2007

An ethical dilemma?

I found this article on MSN today. It's about the dilemma facing Doctors when faced with something that conflicts with their beliefs or morals. I think I would side with the doctors on NOT having to do something that conflicts with their beliefs, but that the patient should be informed and able to be treated by another physician. What say you?

Doctors' beliefs can hinder patient care
New laws shore up providers’ right to refuse treatment based on values

I have to give a huge thank you and a shout out to Dave over at Rather than working.

I was reading his blog and was prompted to enter a little contest he had going on about being the 5000th visitor and commenting on his posts. Well it turns out that I won. The prize was going to be $50 credit at Amazon or anywhere that accepted major credit cards. After I found out that I won and that he was serious I asked him to help somebody else out that needed clothes or food or whatever. Someone less fortunate. He then replied to me that he would sned me the money and I could bless someone less fortunate. Well I have to tell you that I received the check from him yesterday in the amount of $75. We are going to use it to get some things for the orphanage that we support in Mexico and also to buy the kids some ice cream when we go down there. It turns out that Patty won't be able to make the trip this weekend but her and I will be heading out next Friday the 29th and staying through the 1st.

Thank you so much Dave for your generosity and your integrity. You're a true man of his word and do what you say you're going to do. Be well, be blessed and be MoVeD!

A plug for a great book

I am currently reading a book titled The Other Woman at the Well, A Truthful Accounting of Addiction Overcome. The author is Judith Ann Hillard and she resides in Phoenix Arizona. I hope to meet her soon.

Here is a description of the book on the back cover:
The Other Woman at the Well is the true-life account of devastating addiction to cocaine in the life of a woman who teasingly describes her former life (before cocaine) as being like Mary Poppins ("practically perfect in every way"). She was the eldest child of a protestant minister, an A-student, Student Body President of her high school, Homecoming Queen of a large university, and everybody's idea of the girl they wanted their son to marry. She has several advanced degrees and taught English, public speaking, educational research and leadership for many years. Then she became a cocaine addict and lost nearly everything. Judith's story is astonishing in its candor and passion. Her relentless spirit and determination served her well in both her addiction and her freedom from that addiction. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with one of the greatest miracles of her life and book, her daughter, Olivia Grace.

You can read about and buy the book here

Here is an excerpt that caught my eye last night from page 101 of the book that is so true in my own life. You see, her and I are just alike. We are both recovered addicts.

As my pastor says quite often, "God is a gentleman. He will not force His way into our lives. He will wait for our invitation." Today I invite Him in each morning and hand Him the car keys. We have fewer accidents this way. Besides, who wants to open all her own doors?

Be moved!

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Republicans for Obama

And yes I am one! Although I am now a former Republican :-)

There is an interesting phenomenon that has arisen over the last few months: a trend of moderate Republicans who want to vote for Barack Obama. It may seem counterintuitive, conservatives supporting a candidate who wants to tax the wealthy and embrace the conventions in the Kyoto Accord, but there is something in Obama’s message about ridding politics of partisanship that is appealing to these Republicans.
He doesn’t carry the baggage of a Hillary Clinton. He is new; he seems authentic — although his connection to indicted fund-raiser Tony Rezko has made some previous supporters wonder — and he has more gravitas than pretty boy John Edwards. The Republicans who like him may have supported John McCain in the past, but after eight years of the Bush White House they feel they can no longer support the Republican field. The idea of a congressional glasnost — a harmonic nonpartisanship in Washington — is an Obama goal they endorse.
Some of these right-wing Obama supporters are putative country club Republicans, hailing from areas similar to the North Shore of Chicago. Others are professionals who are disillusioned by the Bush administration’s failure to develop a sound domestic policy to redress issues of health care and Social Security or to end the relentless war in Iraq.
Add to this the secrecy of the Bush administration, the Scooter Libby affair, the unfortunate choice of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general, the scandals of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, the Tom DeLays and Mark Foleys, and there remains an unsavory stew of problems for those once proud to call themselves Republican.

Read more here

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Tony Soprano died folks

I am a pretty big fan of The Sopranos. But the ending was pretty much left to interpretation. We receive a weekly newspaper called the Gilbert Independent. Well it was sitting in my driveway today and I decided to read it while I ate my lunch. (I'm still on vacation, but reality sets in tomorrow when I get to return to work) My attention turned to the opinion page with a letter sent in by a PJ Cammarata. Even sounds Italian. But the ending makes sense the way PJ described it. Here is what PJ wrote:

Brilliant Show, Genius Finale

Everyone missed the point of the Sopranos brilliant ending. I would love to help all the Sopranos fans who think the ending was a disappointment because it was actually absolutely brilliant.

Tony was killed.

The ending was genius if you've paid attention to the show or are just a fan of well-developed plots that all tie together.

The ending was simple, he got killed, but let me tell you why and explain in detail. There were three people in the room who had a reason to kill Tony.

The two guys, they were paid before to kill Tony but he was only shot in the ear, this was in one of the earlier seasons. Also in the earlier seasons the trucker who was sitting at the bar stool, who the camera kept focusing in on, is Nicky Leotardo, Phil Leotardo's nephew. He was in one of the early season episodes where Phil and Tony have a sit down.

Here's where the genius comes in.

When Tony is walking in the diner, you see the camera focus on him, then it switches to his perspective, and you see him looking at the booth. Then the camera switches back to Tony's face, then it once again switches to his perspective, and it shows him looking at the door and looking at the people come in. Every time the door opens the chimes sound. Meadow is parking, still trying to get inside the restaurant. At this point the camera switches back to the trucker who goes in the bathroom.

Then it goes to a scene where Meadow finally parks and starts running in the diner.

The door is about to open, Tony looks up and no chimes. No music. Everything just goes black.

In one of the earlier episodes of the Sopranos, Tony's talking with Bobby about what it must feel like to die.

Bobby said, "at the end, you probably don't hear anything, everything just goes black."

It was a brilliant ending for the true fan.

So folks, PJ figured it out for me and I thought I was a true fan. Great show, but I only started watching it at season 3.

Tony's dead! The end!

Now fade to black!

Sinead alights with 'Theology'

Sinéad O'Connor is not your typical Christian music diva.

The Irish singer/songwriter has torn up a picture of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live, refused to have The Star-Spangled Banner played before a concert, been excommunicated after her "ordination" as a Catholic priest and announced that she was a lesbian — before shortly recanting.

Yet with her soon-to-be-released double album Theology, the Grammy Award-winning O'Connor will make a foray into the mainstream Christian music market by distributing the album in major Christian retail outlets, including Family Christian Stores and Lifeway Christian Stores.

The album will be released June 26 by Koch Records.

The move, O'Connor says, is not as out of character as it may seem.

"By blood and by birth I am a Catholic, and I am extremely inspired by that," she says in a telephone interview from Dublin. "I wanted to acknowledge music as a way of talking to God."
But will the Christian market buy it?

Besides her public antics, her private life may be a hard sell to Christians, too.

She spent time in a reformatory school for shoplifting and truancy, has been divorced and is raising four children by as many different men.

"I would think that the people shopping at these stores would find Sinéad too controversial," says Andreas Hager, a senior lecturer at Finland's Abo Akademi University who has written about Christian themes in O'Connor's music. "That usually matters to American conservative Christians."

But she may find an audience with younger Christians, especially those involved in the emerging church movement, which is generally built upon rebuilding broken lives and is, therefore, more forgiving of people's pasts.

"Yes, her past is checkered, but I think for many people it's not inconsistent," says S. Brent Plate, a professor at Texas Christian University and author of Blasphemy: Art That Offends.

"There are plenty of Christians with checkered lives. She's working it all out, I think, and perhaps in some raw and honest ways. Her music is obviously an expression for her struggles."

Read the entire article here

Monday, June 18, 2007

I'm a Christ Follower part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4

part 5

part 6

It's a small world

I went to Dave's blog after he made a comment on mine a while back. He resides in Atlanta and is a lawyer. He writes some interesting stuff on his blog Rather Than Working. I have commented on some of his posts and read his posts.

Anyhow, I'll get to the point. He had a contest to give something away to the first person that hit 5000 on his site meter. It turns out I won. He originally was giving away $50 at Amazon or any site that took a major credit card. After I won, I talked with my wife Patty and she informed me of some needs at the orphanage we support in Imuris, Sonora, Mexico.

I shot Dave an email and gave him the link to the site of the Casa De Elizabeth Orphanage and told him to make a donation to them or he could send it to Patty and I directly and she could get what they need because she knows and will be driving down there this weekend with Hannah. Dave then emailed me back and said he would gladly send it to me. Not only did he do this, he also solicited donations from his site. How cool is that man?

Dave, I thank you! Be well my friend.

Keith

Sunday, June 17, 2007

A Fantastic Week

I have to tell you all how blessed I was to go up to United Christian Youth Camp with the youth last week. I had so much fun hanging out with these kids. I was also able to see them being touched by God in many different ways.

I saw a kid that was somewhat withdrawn the first day and I know for a fact he did not even want to be there. But by the second day, he was having fun and joining in with the rest of us. we would have a group meeting after the service each day and on the last day I paired folks up and asked them to pray for each other. What a blessing it was to see this kid praying for another. He also participated in the discussions each day. The growth I saw in him in just a weeks time was awesome.

Another guy said he was ready to give up on God. But God touched him one night after a powerful talk by the guest speaker that challenged each and every one of us. It was awesome to hear this kid say that he was running back to Christ because he had been running away from Him for so long.

Now let me put in a plug for the speaker. If you could have any speaker come to a camp to speak to high schoolers, Jim Burgen is that speaker. Jim is the pastor of Flat Irons Church in the Denver Colorado area and was very relevant and emerging. I got just as much if not more out of his sermons than the kids did I think. Please visit the church website and listen to some of his sermons. He has a way of reaching people that normally wouldn't step foot in a church. And do you want to know why? Because he doesn't judge people. He gave one of the best talks I have ever heard about taking the plank out of your eye while pointing out the speck in your brother's eye.

I also need to give a shout out to our mother church the Vineyard Community Church of Gilbert for allowing us the use of the 15 passenger van. Thank you! I am proud to be a part of your family.

A special thank you also to Lyndsay O. for being a counselor to the girls in our group. She was awesome and did a great job.

The other thing I liked about this camp was that it was not too churchy. The camp is a non-denominational camp and there were several different denominations represented. It was also very structured which was great for us leaders. Some of the activities were a rock climbing wall and zipline, a skateboard and bmx area, swimming pool, leap of faith (which was scarier than I thought when I got to the top), kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking, billiards, foosball, ping pong, paintballing, and hiking.

The food was just awesome too. I was impressed with the quality and it was like a buffet and salad bar.

There were also the normal nighttime pranks that went on but it was all in good fun. If there was a negative at all, it was the smell of our room (the guys) after about the second day. There were seven of us. Just imagine this...teenage guys sweat, mingled with wet clothes, dirty socks and dirty shoes and farts. Get the picture?

Be MoVeD!

Friday, June 15, 2007

UCYC High School Youth Camp


Had a wonderful time up in Prescott with 11 of us from our group going up. Met lots of wonderful people and had tons of fun. I'll blog in a bit more detail about the week a bit later. But I can tell you that our kids and myself were Moved by God's Love. The kids were fantastic and all of the parents should be proud of each and everyone of them. They also represented Amadeo very well.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Look out UCYC...here we come!

We're leaving in about an hour and a half. I am looking forward to being with the youth this entire week. See you all on Friday.

Be MoVeD!

Saturday, June 09, 2007

Message 2U
by Bono

Friday, June 08, 2007

Jim Wallis: Faithful Work Both Sides of the Aisle

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"They have taken language hostage. We wanted numbers but this is bureaubabble. ... It is not real in any language. We are looking for accountable language and numbers. I might be a rock star but I can count."
- Bono, denouncing G-8 leaders for a lack of timelines and other substantive details in their recent pledge to fight AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. (Source: Reuters)

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Enjoying a break from the job

So technically, I'm on vacation. Don't go back to the job until the 20th. And I will still need to burn some Annual Leave before the end of the year.

The in-laws left Tuesday. They were out here for just over two weeks. The main reason for the visit was for Shannon's graduation. The final night here we all went to Buca Di Beppos for dinner. Mmmm Mmmm good is all I have to say about that.

Tomorrow I will be attending Bryant's graduation while Patty and Shannon head down to the CDE Orphanage for the weekend. Patty will be going three times this month. I will accompany her on the last weekend.

I am taking a group of teens up to Prescott on Sunday for a weeklong Youth Camp. Should be a blast. I've never been to the UCYC camp before but judging by the website and from what I've heard from others that have been there, I won't be disappointed.

Well I'm signing off cuz me and the wife are headed to the Outback Steakhouse to use the giftcard that Amadeo gave us. And I'm hungry too.

Be blessed, be well and be Moved!

Morality

I just finished reading Donald Miller's book Searching for God Knows What. Excellent book and I still say he is my favorite author. I even enjoyed this book more than Blue Like Jazz. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 12 that really hit me and moved me.

I recall watching a documentary detailing Muslim frustration, both domestic and Middle Eastern, with the perception that all Muslims subscribe to the sort of angry and dangerous extremism propagated by terrorist hijackers on September 11. "It was more than those planes that got hijacked," one Muslim woman commented. "It was the nation of Islam. In the eyes of the world, they took our faith and flew it into those buildings. The damage may never be repaired."

I wondered if the Christian faith in America had not been hijacked as well, hijacked by those same two issues: abortion and gay marriage. How did a spirituality such as Christianity, a spirituality that speaks of eternity, of a world without end, of forgiveness of sins and a mysterious union with the Godhead, come to be represented by a moralist agenda and a trickle-down economic theory? And more important, how did a man born of Eastern descent, a man who called Himself the Prince of Peace, a man whom the sacred writings describe eating with prostitutes and providing wine at weddings and healing the sick and ignoring any political plot, a man who wants us to turn the other cheek and give all our possessions if we are sued, become associated with-no, become the poster boy for-a Western moral and financial agenda communicated through the rhetoric of war and ignorant of the damage it is causing to a world living in poverty?

My only answer is that Satan is crafty indeed.

I realize there are people reading this who will automatically dismiss me as a theological liberal, but I do not believe a person can take two issues from Scripture, those being abortion and gay marriage, and adhere to them as sins, then neglect much of the rest and call himself a fundamentalist or even a conservative. The person who believes the sum of his morality involves gay marriage and abortion alone, and neglects health care and world trade and the environment and loving his neighbor and feeding the poor is, by definition, a theological liberal, because he takes what he wants from Scripture and ignores the rest. Make no mistake, there is a lifeboat motive in play, a join a team and fight feeling that is roaming around the world like a lion, searching to destroy men's souls.

The reason I bring this up is to plead with evangelicals to return to the sort of call Christ has given us, to obey Him and experience intimacy with Him through sharing our faith, loving our enemies, serving and feeding the poor and hungry directly, and to stop showing off about how moral we are and how that makes us better than other people. I assure you, once we leave the fight over our country's future and enter the spiritual battle for the hearts and souls of the lost, the church will flourish, and the kingdom of God will grow. God is not in the business of brokering for power over a nation; He is in the business of loving the unloved and pulling sheep out of crags and bushes.

The greatest comfort I can feel in the middle of this is that Jesus did not lend Himself to war causes, to tax issues or political campaigns. For that matter, He did not lend Himself to raising money for education or stumping for affirmative action. It was as if He did not trust us to build a utopia. He kept it very simple, in fact. Follow Me, He said. I have no opinion about what color the paint should be in this prison. Follow Me.

Is Jesus angry? Sometimes. Does He speak of sin and morality? Yes, quite frequently. Does the contemporary evangelical model of sin and morality reflect the teachings of Christ? As a flea is a part of a dog, but not to be confused with the dog itself. Is Jesus frustrated with sinners? Yes. Is He frustrated with religious zealots who use His Father's name to build businesses or support agendas? He is violently frustrated. Is there a penalty for rejecting Him? Yes, apart from Christ we will die and are dying. Does Jesus like liberals more than conservatives? He will be nobody's flag.

I suspect any lack of love or feelings of anger we have toward the culture around us are not feelings that come from God, but rather our souls arising again to cast rocks at women caught in adultery. We should not expect Christ to respond any differently to us than He did to the moralists of His day:
They dropped their stones and walked away, feeling ashamed that each of them had been proved a sinner, too. And Jesus went over to comfort the woman, telling her, "Go, and sin no more"
(See John 8)

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Why Does America Have Orphans If It Has Christian Churches?

Orphans vs. American Dream

Monday, June 04, 2007

The s-word, the f-word. What's offensive? What's not?

I remember hearing a story about Tony Campolo once using the s-word during a sermon just to get his point across. He said something like this: "Most people couldn't give a s*** that 9000 children will die of starvation today (or similar) and you are probably more bothered that I have just said the s-word than the fact that so many children will starve to death."

I was reading Jeremy Del Rio's blog again today and he linked to a great blog written by Tall Skinny Kiwi about just this subject. Check it out here.
Offensive language: I Think My Mother Taught Me