Life Sized Gaps

Looking for a sermon illustration about houses, I got out my Shel Silverstein books. Looking at my copy of "Falling Up" (Harper Collins, 1996) I find this inscription dated May 1996:

For Daniel,

Congratulations on your successful transition to Casis and on your wonderful fourth grade report card.

Here's to your continued success.

With lots of love, Dad. 

I read this and it makes me want to cry. I purchased this from Half Price Books (HPB) in Austin, Texas in mid-2004, a little over eight years after it was given as a gift, as a reward from father to son. Daniel would have been about seventeen years old when I purchased the book. Today, for the first time in several years I opened it up to find the inscription again.

Who are Daniel and who are Dad? I don't know. Why did this book come to HPB? What happened in those eight years when a father purchased this book and when I purchased it? There's a gap in there that's that is life-sized; two lives for that matter, and probably several more. My mind wanders.

Was Daniel angry at Dad? Was there a painful divorce and selling this book was like pulling a splinter for a young man? Did Daniel die and a grief stricken family couldn't handle seeing his books another day? Did Daniel and his family just need the four bucks he could get from HPB?

I don't know the answer to any of these questions, I don't even know all of the questions. It makes me wonder, and it makes me sad that a once treasured memento is now now in my hands. So Dad and Daniel, I pray all is well with you today. I pray your hopes and dreams are being realized everyday. Take care and know your book is being cared for.

Is it just me?

I figure it's just me, but I was cruising an NBA story on ESPN.com and noticed the logo (left). Is it just me or at a quick glance does this look like the Grateful Dead's skull logo?

Pastor Paul's October Newsletter Article

So what took me so long to post this? The world may never know...

Dear Friends,

The other day I read a statistic on the interweb from a clinical psychologist who said he could dismiss 80% of his patients if they could just believe forgiveness was real and was meant for them. Then again I also once read on the interweb that 87% of statistics are made up. So it’s safe to say that finding out how factual this figure is would not be worth the time. But let’s not look for facts; I want us to consider the truth behind this statement.

We would all be healthier if we could learn to give and accept forgiveness.

In the September 19, 2011 edition of the Presbyterian Outlook there’s an article by the Rev. Donald D. McCall, a retired minister now living in Madison, Wisconsin. He writes about his time spent on the Nebraska Parole Board. One of the duties of the Parole Board was to do the first read of appeals to the Pardon Board.

The article is about a man who committed a heinous crime, one that doesn’t often receive a pardon. He was sentenced to 25-45 years, served his time, and was paroled. To make this glorious story shorter, he turned his life around. He moved to Nebraska, became a groundskeeper and was promoted to head groundskeeper. He became a member of Kiwanis and was ordained as a Presbyterian Elder. While the article doesn’t say, my guess is that the man was in his 80’s when the appeal was made.

He wrote in his appeal to the Pardon Board that he “wanted a pardon so he could meet his savior ‘not as a convicted felon’ but as a man worthy of the life he had been given to live in this world.” His request was forwarded from the Parole Board to the Pardon Board with their recommendation. This next piece comes from the Outlook article:

Then it came time to vote. It was an emotionally charged moment when the governor finally announced the decision of the board of pardons and granted him his pardon.

There was a moment of hushed silence. Then a small outburst of praise to God that had been building up within him for over 30 years, “Thank God.” Then someone cried out, “Praise God.” Then a few cries of “Praise Jesus” and “Thank you Lord.” Soon there was a burst of shouting and rejoicing as people praised and thanked God for this man’s pardon. Everyone approached him to embrace him. Tears flowed freely. The governor graciously called for a brief recess.

I do not want to take this space to debate pardons or law and order. The man admitted his guilt and sought forgiveness. He made this request to the state to be pardoned for his crime. He had already made this request to his Lord about his sin. Back to the article:

I sat there stunned by what I was witnessing. I said to myself, “I’m an ordained Presbyterian minister. I pronounce the declaration of pardon every Sunday from the lectern during the course of the morning liturgy. We read the confession of sin as it is printed in the bulletin, and then I say ‘Friends, believe the good news of the Gospel: In Jesus Christ you are forgiven (pardoned).’ In over 50 years of preaching I have never to this day ever heard anyone say ‘Praise God’ or ‘Thank you Jesus.’ Nor have I ever seen tears of thanksgiving streaming from the eyes of the congregants. Instead we go quickly right on to the Gloria Patri and then to the Passing of the Peace … as if nothing had happened.”

He ends his article with this:

I think that the next time the declaration of pardon is pronounced during the Sunday morning liturgy, I’m going to stand up and shout, “Praise Jesus. Thank you Lord!” Well … maybe I’ll just do it as a response in my own mind. I don’t think we could handle a recess in the midst of worship.

I mention this because perhaps I am maybe a little nonchalant about forgiveness of sin. Every week I say, “Friends, believe the Good News of the Gospel!” but I take it for granted, or worse, I don’t behave like I really believe.

So friends, believe the Good News of the Gospel! In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. For 100% of our sin, 100% of the time, believe, and know you are forgiven. That’s a statistic that bears the weight of our sin.

See you in church!

Paul

Hank Jr. and High School Civics

Hank Williams, Jr. recently told Fox News that for his political money, President Obama is as big an enemy to his way of life as Hitler was an enemy to the Jews. Because of this comment, ESPN did not play the intro Hank recorded for Monday Night Football. This was the first time in over 20 years that some rendition of "all my rowdy friends..." didn't precede MNF. Hank apologized, but that doesn't mean all is done.

This morning ESPN reported that they have parted ways with Hank, Jr., though Hank says he didn't get fired, he quit them. He quit them because: "By pulling my opening Oct 3rd, You (ESPN) stepped on the Toes of The First Amendment Freedom of Speech, so therefore Me, My Song, and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE. It's been a great run."

I'm not here to debate the politics. Let me simply say Hank and I will never be seen at the same political fundraiser and that should just about do it. But for my point...

Hank Jr. says ESPN, a private company owned by the Disney Corporation infringed on his first amendment right to free speech. Hank, the first amendment says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. (emphasis added)

Hank has just said that the Disney Corporation is Congress. Only Congress can infringe on that right, so Disney must be Congress, right? Wrong, of course. Disney isn't Congress, no matter how powerful Disney is, it still isn't Congress.

So no Hank, ESPN, Disney and everyone else did not infringe on your first amendment rights. In fact, you exercised your rights to say what you wanted to say. And ESPN and Disney exercised their rights to say we don't want to be affiliated with you anymore.

My dad used to have a word for this, consequences. Sure, go ahead and say and do whatever you want, but don't cry about it when you face the music... and in this case, the music isn't yours anymore. Sorry you've lost the only exposure you've gotten in years, but don't cross the water if you can't swim the tide. Your high school civics teacher wants you back for a refresher.

Now for the next question...Will ESPN find a half-way decent replacement to "All My Rowdy Friends" or have they cut off their nose to spite their face? Sure, they exercised their rights, and may have taken some sort of high road (or did Hank when he "apologized then quit"), but what comes next? That may be better than watching the Chiefs on MNF in a few weeks.

Creating a Sermon

Writing about writing seems to be kind of stupid unless you teach that sort of thing, and I surely don't. I decided to create this post particularly because my sermon on 9/11 was so dicey. It's called "What We Remember" and can be found at the hypertext link. What made this one particularly difficult is that people have expectations about a sermon on the anniversary of a great national tragedy, even more so on its tenth anniversary.

But to make a long story short, worship is concerned first with the word of God and second with the community where the word is heard. This was one of those days when I wasn't so sure the word I was called to proclaim matched up with the community where it was proclaimed.

Preacher, go forth at your own peril.

So, going on at my own peril, I brought what I considered a word of God that was faithful to God and to the community. I knew not everyone would like it, but I prayed then and pray now the word was faithful.

Glory of glories--Someone who had a word to say about the sermon came to me and we talked about the sermon. Here I thank God, we may not agree on what I said, but we agree that Jesus is Lord and from there new life is possible.

I begin sermons with this paraphrase of a line from the Psalms:

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen

Amen.

September Newsletter Article

Here is my newsletter article for September:

Dear Friends in Christ,

As a fan of Star Trek, one of the things that always amused me about the Original Series was the ship’s chief medical officer and surgeon, Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy. He was smart and capable, but he was also a fish out of water. When situations got out of hand, he would say, “I’m just a simple country doctor.” Capable yet flustered, the writers began having fun with putting the doctor into situations that did not call for a doctor leading to “Bones” telling his Captain who he is and who he is not. These sayings are collected into a piece of the Star Trek pantheon called “I’m a doctor, not a…” Some of these (with some mild variations) include:

“I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer.”

“I'm a surgeon, not a psychiatrist.”

“Look, I'm a doctor, not an escalator.”

“I'm a doctor, not a mechanic.”

“I'm a doctor, not an engineer.”

“I'm a doctor, not a coal miner.”

“I'm not a mechanic, Spock...”

“I'm not a scientist or a physicist, Mr. Spock...”

“I'm not a magician, Spock, just an old country doctor.”

“I will not peddle flesh! I'm a physician.”

“What am I, a doctor or a moon-shuttle conductor?”

You get the idea. This joke became so important to the Star Trek mythology that every doctor in every Trek show has had their own “I’m a doctor, not a…” lines.

The other day, I was chatting with a member of the congregation who told me, “I’m not a theologian.” As soon as I heard this, that wonderful Star Trek line came back to me. 

“I’m a teacher, not a theologian…”

“I’m retired, not a theologian…”

“I’m a mom, not a theologian…”

“I’m a mechanic, not a theologian…”

“I’m a clerk, not a theologian…”

“I’m a carhop, not a theologian…”

“I’m a (insert your label here), not a theologian…”

Again, you get the idea. Well I’m here to tell you that as a child of God you are a theologian. Anyone who says they aren’t is selling themselves short. Anyone who says they aren’t is saying that Sunday School and worship hasn’t informed them at all. And I don’t think that’s true.

While I can’t speak for everyone who has ever said “I’m not a theologian…” perhaps one of the most likely reasons people say this is out of modesty. I honor this, but don’t sell yourself short because we have all answered the greatest theological question in scripture.

In Matthew 13, Jesus asks his disciples “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Jesus then asks them, “But who do you say that I am?”

It is our answer to this very question that begins our road to being theologians! Of course we answer this question like Peter, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Then Jesus answers Peter saying, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.” We are blessed together knowing that Jesus is the Lord, the Christ, the Messiah—the Son of the living God.

But being theologians is more than this. Being theologians, being the children of the living God is more than what we say with our tongues, it is also what we do with our hands, our feet, our lives.

How we respond to these blessings together as the Body of Christ, that’s the next step in being theologians together. Paul tells the Philippians how important this step is when he tells them, “Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

This is what we are called to do, work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, which is not the same as trying to earn our salvation. We can’t earn our salvation, but we can respond to the gift of salvation we have received by the grace of God. We are saved by grace and we respond by faith, faith that is met by action. This is how we work out our salvation, by letting God use us to fulfill his purposes.

By the end of Star Trek, Dr. McCoy discovers that he will be called upon to be brave and do things he never imagined. So smile, be of good cheer! We are theologians! It is through being active theologians that God can use us. This is true whether you’re a mechanic, a stay at home mom, a teacher, or even a doctor. We are called to the work of good theologians. To God goes the glory!

See you in church!

Paul

Our New Used Car, Part II

About two-and-a-half years ago, I published a blog called Our New Used Car. The blog featured pics of our new used Xterra. Well, we were in a wreck on Sunday and this is what it looks like today.

We are both safe and well, there were no injuries in the other vehicle either. State Farm does not want people commenting on accidents, so I will not. I haven't heard anything from the insurance company about whether it's been totaled or not, but I sure hope not, we need the vehicle.

Praise God the people are well and we have insurance for the stuff.

UPDATE! The estimate has come in at under Blue Book Value, so it looks like repairs are in order. I do so hope I'm right.

In the Last Twenty-Five Years

I'm sitting here in my study, and I've been looking at an "old" picture. I say "old" because the year this shot was taken was in 1985. That was the year I completed my Master's Degree in Counselor Education/Student Personnel at Emporia State, so I doesn't seem so long ago to me. Then again, twenty-five years is over one-half of my lifetime ago, so maybe it is old for a picture.

It's a picture of the Deacons of First Presbyterian in Marshall. They're standing tall at the front of the sanctuary, all seventeen of them. I look at them and I wonder, would they recognize their church today? I gotta say no, there are a lot of things they would see that they wouldn't recognize at all.

We can begin with the people who make up the church board, what Presbyterians call the Session. The first thing they would see is women! Half of our Session is women as required in Presbyterian polity. How would seventeen men, most of them balding and gray, feel about working under a session that was half women? Granted, the pic is from '85 and not '55, but I think it would have made for some uncomfortable silence before the chatting began.

These men are all in suits, not a blazer or a sport coat among the bunch, but suits. How would they feel about the more casual atmosphere they would find today? I see some of these men's wives in church every Sunday, and they don't seem too upset about it, but if they were dropped into worship by some sort of time travelling parachute, they would be in shock.

They would also probably be uncomfortable that almost nobody smokes anymore, except for the young men and women who were in the church pre-school in 1985. That would be a conversation.

Don't get me started on the two hymnals that had been published since 1985, with a third in the pipeline.

What they would still find is Christ. Christ living, crucified, and raised is preached every Sunday.

These men and I may not share much. The youngest appears to be twenty years younger than me. We probably think differently about a whole lot of issues, but I pray that we would all find that we take the same living water from the taproot of the tree of faith. We are all, then and now, saved by grace through faith. For this, thanks be to Christ.

Oh, one more thing, what would they say about me blogging this about them. Computers? Blogs? The Interwebs? It is a whole new world, saved by the same ol' God. Hallelujah!

Congratulations to our National Leaders, You've Really Done It Now

I know that I should refrain from language that is not so nice, but sometimes there are few phrases that express meaning more clearly than a colorful one. Congratulations to the President and Congress, you've really screwed the pooch this time.

Standard & Poor's is the most often cited ratings agency for bonds and other sorts of debt. In short, the better your rating, the cheaper it is to get financing. It' s kind of like a credit score for people who finance big debt. This is what they had to say about the "quality" of US Debt after the last round of talks that raised the debt ceiling:

We lowered our long-term rating on the U.S. because we believe that the prolonged controversy over raising the statutory debt ceiling and the related fiscal policy debate indicate that further near-term progress containing the growth in public spending, especially on entitlements, or on reaching an agreement on raising revenues is less likely than we previously assumed and will remain a contentious and fitful process.

— Standard & Poor's, United States of America Long-Term Rating Lowered To 'AA+' On Political Risks And Rising Debt Burden; Outlook Negative, www.standardandpoors.com/ratingsdirect

Yes, Standard and Poor's didn't lower the government's credit rating because the debt ceiling was raised, but because of how the debt ceiling was raised. Much of the quality of debt rating has to do with the confidence a lender has about whether or not the debt will be repaid. Our leaders have just shaken the confidence straight out of our S&P's rating.

This is not a "Republican Thing" or a "Democrat Thing." It's not a "President Thing" and it's not a "Congress Thing." This is a pox on both of their houses. They have completely screwed the pooch, they have killed the goose that laid the golden egg. Welcome to the wonders that were Rome, Greece, and Britannia. We have no one to blame except for the leaders that put us there.

Is there a way out? As a child of God, I believe in redemption, there's a way out. Do I think it has to do with any of the Bozo's inside the beltway? Maybe that one Independent from Vermont, but anyone else, no.

So what do I say about voting next time? Vote against! Vote against incumbents everywhere! Start fresh and maybe we can get two solid years of governance in before the corporations begin to buy themselves a new set of politician.

"Vote 'No' on Politicians! It Won't Get Worse."

August's Newsletter Article

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking at the local newspaper, the Marshall News-Messenger, and discovered that I was named runner-up for "Favorite Pastor" in the paper's annual “Hometown Best” edition. So I used my August newsletter article to say "thank you" to the congregation.

Dear Friends in Christ,

When Sally Field won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in “Norma Rae,” she started her acceptance speech crying and saying, “You like me, you really like me.” I’ve recently discovered how she felt.

A couple of Saturdays ago I saw in the newspaper that I was named a runner-up in the Pastor category of the Marshall Messenger’s “Hometown Best.” When I got the news I was filled with joy. On Sunday when I was congratulated on the award I hope I blushed at least a little bit. I am honored, and I am humbled too.

I prayed I have been able to walk that line between being honored and boasting. The words of Paul’s warning to the Corinthians was ringing in my ears, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1Corinthians 1:31) Saying that, there are two things about this honor that bring me joy.

The first is that so many of you voted. Voting is active, whether it’s “Marshall’s Best” or anything else, voting is something the voter chooses to do. Without voting there’s no voter, right? What makes this even more special is there are so many churches in Marshall with more members that if they had chosen to vote for their pastor, well you get the picture.

The other joy is that this encourages me to keep doing what I need to do so that I don’t let you down. You have shown that you really like me (thank you Sally Field), but that’s a trust I have to continue to earn.

It’s hard to believe Marie and I have been here ten months. In one way, it feels like we haven’t been here that long at all. You know, time flies when you’re having fun. In another way, it’s like we’ve been together for a long, long time, like we have always been the Body of Christ together. For this, I thank you and I give glory to God!

So thank you for the honor and may I boast only in Christ who gives the power to live into it.

See you in church!
Paul

Government Cheese

"Government Cheese" written by Bob Walkenhorst and recorded by The Rainmakers.

This song was written in the early 1980's when one of the foods distributed to poor people was cheese, forever known as "Government Cheese." The song was an anthem to Reagan Conservatives and everyone else who though this was an absurd creation of the welfare state. The first verse goes like this:

Give a man a free house and he'll bust out the windows
Put his family on food stamps, now he's a big spender
no food on the table and the bills ain't paid
'Cause he spent it on cigarettes and P.G.A.
They'll turn us all into beggars 'cause they're easier to please
They're feeding our people that Government Cheese

As a liberal, it isn't my favorite in the catalog, but as someone with a lick of common sense I can't deny much of it. But there's also a final verse I want you to consider:

Give a man a free ticket on a dead end ride
And he'll climb in the back even though nobody's driving
Too goddamn lazy to crawl out of the wreck
And he'll rot there while he waits for the welfare check
Going to hell in a handbag, can't you see
I ain't gonna eat no Government Cheese

Here's my new point: Politicians, those who are nominally our leaders, are bought and sold by people who finance campaigns. Politicians need votes to get elected; getting elected takes money; money buys influence. Money buys influence.

Politicians have been given the ticket on the dead end ride of campaign finance and they aren't bothering to get out of the wreck because they keep getting their checks. This is why people in Washington don't change, they keep getting paid. In the end, the real difference between Republicans, Democrats, and Welfare Queens is the source of the check. What a bunch of hypocrites! Any way you slice it, they've all lined up to a teat and are feeding well while the rest of us are left to rot.

Good luck everyone. What we need is someone in government who will say, "I ain't gonna eat the corporate cheese." Until that happens, what we've seen for the last four weeks is going to be the beginning. I just pray it isn't the beginning of the end.

All or Nothing

Earlier today I was at a meeting of clergy. By the way, if you ever want to sit in a meeting with forty people who love the sound of their own voice, clergy meetings are the way to go.

During the time for prayer, one of the women in the group asked us to pray because the State of California was looking into getting "gay textbooks" into the schools. She said she saw it on "60 Minutes" last night and she knows that if we don't stem the tide now, it's just going to keep on going. (I didn't see the show, so I what I say is not based on the story, but on her reaction to it.)

The "Amen Corner" was in full voice. Now, cut to last month...

The meeting begins with a devotional. The June meeting featured a piece originally published in an Baptist (sorry, don't know which branch) magazine on death and dying by Henri Nouwen. It was a lovely piece that she read and from what she read the article was well done.

Now my questions:

Did she know Henri Nouwen was gay?

If you have any question that the answer to this question is "yes" then read the Nouwen biography "Wounded Prophet" by Michael Ford.

Here's my point: To hold up the spirituality of a gay man in one breath and condemn gayness in text books because "it's going to infect us all" displays hypocrisy or ignorance. I don't know which is which, I just know neither is good.

Here's the next point: Nobody should throw labels around without knowing where they land.

Here's my last point: I know this is true because I have an open account at the plate glass company to replace the walls in my own house. I have violated these rules, so believe me when I tell you I am sensitive about this.

Ignorance is a lack of information, so friends GET INFORMED before throwing out holier-than-thou statements. It's all or nothing people, you can't cast judgment against one without casting the same an all. So beware, you never know where it's going to fall next.

Sleep tight, Big Man

It's been a couple of weeks since the death of Clarence Clemons, also known as "Nick" or simply "The Big Man." It was my joy to have seen the E-Street Band at Kemper Arena in Kansas City during "The River Tour" on February 5, 1981.

First, it was a great show. Bruce was in jeans and a plaid shirt. The band wore blue suits and fedoras. It was great. For the second act, The Big Man came out in a blue leisure suit with cowboy boots and hat. It started close to an hour late, had a short intermission, three encores-the last one starting with Wilbert Harrison's "Kansas City," and lasted a total of four hours.

Yeah, Bruce and the band played for four hours.

I wondered what they would open with, was soon happy to hear the opening strains of "Prove It All Night" from "Darkness on the Edge of Town." What a great choice, great guitar solo, great sax solo and the night was off with a bang. The next song was "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" and Bruce crowd surfed into the house. Finally people were just tossing him up and down chanting "Tenth" until it sounded like 14,000 people grunting through their noses.

During the second act, they did "Fire" and blew the roof off of Kemper Arena. They absolutely killed it.

The question has become "can the E-Street Band" go on? Well, at the Super Bowl the Tower of Power Horn Section played with the band, and it rocked. Of course, using six horns to replace one is just the mark of The Big Man's musical contribution. But his addition to the stage show is probably irreplaceable.

So sleep tight, Big Man. Rest well.

June Newsletter Article

This is the article that I wrote for the June edition of the Church newsletter.


Dear Friends in Christ,

It’s said there are two kinds of people in this world, those who split groups in two and those who don’t. Well, I’m about to split this relatively complicated issue into two: Problem solving.

Last Fall, Harriette, Lisa and I attended the training for Elders at the First Church in Tyler. The presenter at the program was the Rev. Dr. N. Graham Standish, the Head f Staff at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Zelienople, Pennsylvania. To cut to the chase, he says that there are two kinds of solutions to problems in this life, functional and formational.

The easy way to describe functional solutions is “band-aid.” If you have a problem, just fix it. The windows are rotting, use sealer and filler and make them look new again. Formational fixes are more complicated. Formational fixes begin by looking at why the windows are rotting. Is it water damage? Termites? Neither? Both? More? Have the windows just finally reached the end of their life expectancy?

As you can see, the functional fix will make everything fine again… until the water, termites, age, or whatever runs roughshod over the caulk and it’s shot too. But the formational fix takes longer and involves much more.

So which is better, I say it’s better to do the right things the right way the first time. Quick fixes lead to quick failures. Band-aids aren’t meant to stop bleeding forever, and depending on the size of the wound can be completely useless. They can even cause more harm than good if the band-aid causes you lose sight of the wound.

I say this because we are in the midst of a growth spurt here at First-Marshall. Praise be to God! But with any growth little issues arise, some are little issues and some are indicators of things to come. When ignored they get worse. When covered with a band-aid they get hidden. It is only when we seek the issues at the heart that we make foundational changes.

The only problem with that is often foundational changes lead to more change. There’s a reason for this, it’s the Holy Spirit at work. Yes, that Holy Spirit. By the power of the Spirit, God created the world and all that is in it. By the power of the Spirit, God continues to create the world and all that is in it. Hear the words of the Prophet Isaiah:

Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.

God continues to create, to do a new thing. We are responsible for seeking to follow God even as God continues to do new things. God makes fertile valleys out of dry wilderness riverbeds. As is often the case, new creation causes some of the old to disappear. This is difficult. This is unsettling.

What is important is the one thing that will never disappear, that is the wonder and the glory of the eternal Triune God. God who doesn’t change changes everything else. God leaves it up to us to decide whether to put a band-aid on it, or seek the glory too.

We’ve seen the beginnings of it not being easy. The question is “What comes next?”

May God’s peace be with us all, Paul

Blogging While Upset

Today I have been brought back to a phrase Presbyterians have bandied about, "the essentials of the faith." The problem with it is that what someone says is essential others say is not.

I get worked up about this, but I shouldn't. Christians have been dealing with "the essentials" since Jesus began his ministry. The first time the church really got together to try getting it right, defining true essentials of the faith, came in about the year 50 AD at the Council of Jerusalem. This council's actions are reported in Acts 15.

In short, the council decided that the new Gentile Christians were not obligated to keep most of the Mosaic law, including the rules concerning circumcision of males. The Council did find Jewish dietary restrictions, commonly known as Kosher laws, to be essential. They also found prohibitions against against fornication and idolatry to be essential.

So this compromise means boys don't have to be circumcised, though the vast majority today are; and the Kosher laws were to be kept, which we don't. We have a funny way of following the essentials of the faith. I wonder if it means I can be disciplined by the Presbytery for having a ham sandwich at next week's meeting? Is it too late to ask for turkey?

Oh, by the way, for those who know their scripture, Peter receives a command to eat with a Centurion of the Italian Cohort named Cornelius. He is also commanded by God to eat what is put before him whether it meet dietary restrictions or not and does as he is told. Peter receives this command in Acts 10, five whole chapters before he sides with the Kosher crowd at the Council of Jerusalem. This is what happens when we follow the words and not the Word.

We talk about following Scripture, the explicit Word of God, without noting that we must follow the example of the life of Jesus Christ who is the Word Incarnate. We have become so legalistic that if we extrapolate law from the Acts of the Lord we can find ourselves out of the will of the church, but we can take text out of literary and historical context to make a point and that's fine.

Hearing people say "They are not fit to serve God's Kingdom" bothers me. It reminds me of the Pharisee who thanks God he's not the Tax Collector, when we are called to be more like the tax collector who says "forgive me for I am a sinner."

I like what Jan Karon attributes to "Anonymous" in her Mitford companion book "A Continual Feast: Words of Comfort."

The next time you think you have an excuse why God can't use you, consider the following. 

Noah was a drunkard, Abraham was too old, Isaac was a daydreamer, Jacob was a liar, Leah was ugly, Joseph was abused, Moses was a murderer, Gideon was afraid, Samson had long hair, Rahab was a prostitute, Timothy was too young, David had an illicit affair, Elijah was suicidal, Isaiah preached naked, Job was bankrupt, John the Baptist ran around in a loincloth and ate locusts, Peter was hot tempered, John was self-righteous. The disciples fell asleep while praying, Martha fretted about everything, Mary Magdalene was demon-possessed, the boy with the fish and five loaves of bread was too obscure, the Samaritan woman was divorced more than once, Zacchaeus was too small, Paul was too religious, and Lazarus was dead. No more excuses.

My point is "the next time we think God can't use someone, we should consider those God has used in the past." This is where I believe we should all hear God saying "You aren't so different from these. Go and do likewise."

We would all be better off if we decided the greatest essential is that God is sovereign above all, and it's up to us to seek to follow faithfully, especially when it takes us to places with people that are outside of our comfort zones.

This is what you get when I blog while upset.

Tressel Resigns!

ESPN.com reported this yesterday, but I didn't want to sully my Memorial Day post. Jim Tressel has resigned as the Football Coach at Ohio State University. Last March I gave my ideas about how Tressel and OSU should punished, and how all NCAA Cheaters should be punished. I wonder if a time for bold action has come?

Patriots

When I saw this cartoon today, I felt it needed to be shared.

Then my mind started turning around the question “who is a Patriot?” This question took me to scripture and Jesus telling the story of the Good Samaritan. The Lawyer asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asks the lawyer what the law says. The lawyer answers “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus congratulates him on being correct.

Then comes the next question, who is my neighbor? Jesus answers his question with the tale of the Good Samaritan. He asks the lawyer who the neighbor is in that tale. The Lawyer answers “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus tells the man he is correct saying “Go and do likewise.”

So who is a neighbor? The one who acts like a neighbor is your neighbor. It's not necessarily the one who is adorned in the robes and glory of the community. Their agendas may be filled with other needs or wants or desires beyond the one who is injured. The neighbor acts like a neighbor.

Who is a Patriot? A Patriot is someone who acts like a Patriot. Patriots definitely include the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces. Especially those who make the final sacrifice. The American military is all volunteer. Not one member of our armed forces has been conscripted, forced to serve. They all want to serve this country and its people. They are Patriots. Their's is the blood that is the seed of Freedom's Tree.

When a young friend was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the Marine Corps, I told her that I prayed that the civilians whose policies would become her orders were worthy of her patriotism. For worse, I believe there are many whose motivations are not truly patriotic, but in service to other goals.

The story of the Good Samaritan included a priest and a Levite, men of status and power who should have acted like neighbors. They weren't bad men. For the sake of the parable if they had come in contact with the man's blood they would have been unclean. Since by the story they were on their ways to Jerusalem, they were probably on their way to serve in the temple. They were on their way to work, doing their job, but they weren't being good neighbors.

There are many who put on the cloak of the patriot who serve other masters; some seek power, others money, others fame. Patriots fall everyday because of these priests and Levites.

So God bless the true Patriots. Those who serve this nation. God bless those who serve it in uniform and yes, those who serve it out of uniform. And may God convict those who drape themselves in patriotism to serve another master.

A Snarky Little Idea about the Football Lockout

I just saw a posting on Facebook from the Kansas City Chiefs about asking people to contribute to their Joplin Tornado Relief effort. Here's an idea: Pick 53 residents of Joplin, one for each spot on the roster, and have them pick a jersey belonging to a Chiefs player. On game day, the holder of that jersey gets that player's paycheck. Not the team, not the player, but a person whose life is devastated and doesn't have NFL football to help their lives feel even a little more normal.

New winners every week, one winner per household please. I think that would help more than me sending the Chiefs a case of water to send to Joplin.

The X Word

Athletes are fighting our culture wars again. They're dealing with backlash from language.

There's all sorts of words that can't be used in polite or impolite conversation anymore. There's "The N Word," "The F Word," "The L Word," "The R Word," "The B Word,"  "The F Bomb," and "The K Word" among others that just can't be used in language anymore.

By the way, if you aren't familiar with "The K Word," it's "The C Word" but that word makes my wife so angry I don't even say "The C Word."

The latest two offenders have been Kobe Bryant of the Los Angles Lakers and Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls. They both dropped "The F Word" in a game setting, Bryant at an NBA Referee, Noah at an unruly fan. Bryant was fined $100,000 and Noah $50,000. In an explanation, Bryant was fined $50,000 for the word and another $50,000 for directing it at an NBA employee.

One of the apologies that has been made by sportscasters on behalf of these athletes can be summed up with "When using these words as insults, they are not used to compare the insulted person with the people represented in 'The X Word' nor are they to derogatory to the people represented in 'The X Word.'" This lets them and us off the hook way too easily.

What the apologists are saying is that if a pro player says that someone "throws like a bitch" he is not saying that he throws like a girl. Really?

So if a pro player says "you're my bitch" he says that he owns you on the field of sport, but not owns like a man owns a woman? Really? If it's not ownership then why the possessive pronoun? And women are fine with this concept of ownership?

It has been said "there is no direct connection between the insult and the people represented in the insult," but that's a lie. If no connection were intended and if no derisive intent were intended then it wouldn't be an insult would it?

This charade is being addressed, at least by the NBA with fines, but the sports radio apologies have to stop. The reason it truly has to stop is that it lets us off the hook too. If the pros don't mean it then we don't mean it either do we? Really? If it starts on the playground then it's not going to stop at the pros.

OBLIGATORY NOTE ON POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
At one time, for maybe about fifteen minutes in the early 1990's, political correctness was about treating people with dignity and respect. It quickly seemed to turn into not offending anybody. There is a difference. One comes from a place of positive action and the other is from the negative. There's always a place for positive action. Negative never comes from a healthy place or goes to a healthy place.

So in conclusion, I'm not saying you can't bust someone's chops, working with a college baseball team some years ago I learned baseball players, coaches, and umpires are some of the great chopbusters of this age. But there is a right way to do it, and there's a way that costs money. Let's do the right thing.

Church Vision

I have been contemplating church purpose statements lately. I don't mean mission statements, I don't want to think about Mission Statements yet. That's more than what I am playing with in my mind right now. What I am really looking at is a statement of the thing that defines who we are as this part of the Body of Christ here and now.

Chain of Lakes Church, Suburban Twin Cities (From the PC(USA) Mission Yearbook, April 29, 2011)

"We are called to be an authentic, Christian community where: strangers become friends, friends become disciples, and disciples impact the world."

The First Baptist Church ministered to by Pastor Rich (in Kevin G. Ford's "Transforming Church" Salt River Press, 2007, ff. 56.)

"A Safe Place"

Heritage Church in Moultrie, Georgia (From Ford's book, page 86)

"A passionate community of disciples who significantly impact their world for Jesus"

First Presbyterian Church of Longview, Texas (http://www.fpclongview.org/)

"Glorifying God and Enjoying Him Forever"

First Presbyterian Church of Berryville, Arkansas (the congregation I formerly served)

"To gather and welcome the broken people of the world and through God's word make us one."

There are many, many others. Some of these are mission statements, some of them ways to describe how they define themselves as community. If your church has a statement like this, I welcome you to join the happy discussion. 

Change That Never Comes Easily Will Continue Not To Come Easily

It appears that sometime this afternoon or this evening, The Presbyterian Church U.S.A. will pass amendment 10-A (The full text of the amendment can be found on pages1-2 on this link.). In a prior blog post, I wrote "Many say this is the amendment about allowing the ordination of sexually active gays and lesbians. It is more accurate to say this amendment allows for the nomination to ordained office for gays and lesbians." A friend reminded me that this is not the only truth.

The passage of this amendment will also allows heterosexuals involved in sexual relationships outside of marriage to be ordained and installed. (I always knew this was true. I myself have taken a gracious path with betrothed, engaged, and "engaged" persons involved in ministry.) He has also reminded me this prohibition has touched older members of the church in committed relationships who don't marry because of decreases in pension and social security benefits between two singles and one couple. I forgot all about them.

Some would say the second paragraph isn't the point, the prohibition was written to deal with gays and lesbians, not heterosexuals. To this I say "It always stinks when law is interpreted as written and not as originally intended or envisioned." Believe me, those pensioners who are "living in sin" were not the target of this rule, but they were under it.

Anyway, after today and effective July 11ish, this will no longer be true. So what do I hope comes of this?

Hope 1--Humility in celebration, graciousness in defeat. This is the third time this change has come before the church and it will change this time. I honestly don't recall the "global" reaction the last time the church finished voting on this, and maybe that's a good thing. I hope beyond hope that this is how the church will respond, by forgetting the way everybody responded the last two times. But after reading white letters, blogs, and tweets from both sides of the issue, I have only limited expectations of this outcome.

Bruce Reyes Chow was the Moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the PC(USA). In a recent twitter post he wrote, When ordination standards change in the Presbyterian Church (USA) I hope one expression of my joy will be graciousness. Wonderfully said, elegantly written.

Hope 2--A sense of scope and perspective beyond "I have such a complete handle on the word of God I know for a fact that if the vote doesn't go my way a hard rain is going to fall." Pardon this snarky hope, but so often people on both sides of the Presbyterian Ordination Argument have in one way or another said just this. Yes, I say both sides.

Michael Jinkins is the President of Louisville Seminary and said this today on the Faith and Leadership blog:

Whenever I hear someone say that the situation we face now is graver, more challenging than any we have ever faced, I stifle a laugh. Our low point surely was at the beginning of the Christian movement. We muttered and worried in that room long ago and could not imagine that Christ was raised from the dead, risen with healing in his wings, and with his death and resurrection had judged even our highest aspirations as inadequate. He pronounced our greatest hopes as infinitely too small.

Friends, it's not the end of the world. (That isn't scheduled until later this month.) The church has had many moments of controversy and has had it's embarrassing and shameful moments. But guess what, this is nothing compared to what the first disciples knew after the scene in Gethsemane and before the Resurrection. Nothing.

So friends in Christ, Christians of the Presbyterian Church (USA) persuasion, after tonight's votes, pray. Pray for the church. Pray for your friends. Pray especially for your friends who don't agree with you. There is going to be a change and change never comes easily. This change is going to be particularly charges.

On, and one more thing: Go and serve God.  In the end, that's the only change God really honors. If we do nothing, who the church ordains will not matter a lick.

Nope, Nothing Is Certain

In a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy on November 13, 1789 Ben Franklin wrote: Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.

Well, guess what--Franklin was wrong!

For legal purposes, a corporation has the same rights as every individual person. But with government bailouts of "corporations too large to fail" there is now corporate immortality.

Also, there are corporations that do not pay corporate taxes. These are very big corporations too.

So we actually have individuals in this country that can't die and don't pay taxes. It looks like Franklin was wrong after all. I don't think he'd be happy with that.

Half-Baked

I hate half-baked thoughts. I have so many that I have gotten over them, but they are bothersome, particularly when it comes to blogging.

As I have admitted in this very cyberspace, my thoughts on the death of Osama Bin Laden bother me. It's great that the perpetrator of so much death is now dead, but is causing more death reason for celebration? I think the answer is yes, some. How much is too much, as my friend said "unseemly," is the big question I'm not prepared to answer.

Yesterday the Presbyterian Fellowship (mentioned in my "The Sly Is Falling" post) sent out its next letter. They talk about "Dual Citizenship" in the PC(USA), in the "regular" denomination and in their new "more obedient" version. The full text of the letter can be found here. Again, they say they don't want to leave the church, they just want to be a safe haven for the "like minded."

This time, I'm going to take a day or two before responding. I'm not going to jump head long into where angels fear to tread.

But I think the beginning of what I have to say is this, as the "fat kid" and now the "fat man" I have long known what it's like to be on the outside. From kickball to dating to seeking a call, I have often been on the outside looking in. Suddenly, people who have traditionally done the excluding see themselves as the excluded, and it bugs me.

Whatever, I haven't figured it out yet. Maybe a big part of what I need to mull over is where my arrogance and my ignorance come together as I consider the words of others. Thanks be to the God who knows the answers, even the ones that don't get shared.

On the Death of Osama Bin Laden

It was a Tuesday morning at seminary in Austin, Texas, I was learning the Hebrew alphabet. After class I went to the Financial Aid Office because I needed to do some paperwork. It was there that I heard of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Listening to it on the radio was surreal. It was like listening to H.G.Wells "War of the Worlds," but this time it was real.

Last night, just after midnight, I couldn't sleep so I turned the TV on to ESPN. After about a minute I noticed the "BREAKING NEWS" logo at the bottom of the screen. This is where I learned of the death of Osama Bin Laden. I changed to the news and watched. Since then I have wondered how to respond to the death of a terrorist who was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans. Rabbi Shmuli Boteach has posted his response on algemeiner.com. I enjoy much of what he has to say.

But let me start with where I disagree. He says "Judaism stands alone as a world religion in its commandment to hate evil." He goes on to say that Christians don't understand the words of Jesus, he knows that because he has studied the New Testament and has even published a book sourcing it throughly. Let me take this sidetrack for a criticism of the Rabbi, what Christians call commentary and Jews call midrash exist to help teach and understand the word of God. You are allowed your commentary, but as I am unqualified to teach you your faith, you are equally unqualified to teach me mine. Instead, let's find common ground.

Saying that, his closing comment is where the rubber hits the road:

"I hate Osama bin Laden but I will not rejoice in his death. It would have been better for the world had he never been born. But once he was, and once he directed his life to unspeakable cruelty, it was necessary for him to be stopped and killed. And for that I give thanks to G-d and the brave soldiers of the American military for making the world a safer, more just, and innocent place."

These are good words.

Evil is to be hated. Evil is to be fought. Justice is to be honored and celebrated. Death is to be mourned. To dance on one grave is to dance on all of them. Honor the soldiers who won this battle. Honor the soldiers who have fallen fighting this battle. Know that it was necessary to end the reign of terror caused by Osama Bin Laden and know that the battle doesn't end with his death.

So these are my first words on the death of Osama Bin Laden. My problem with my own words is that right now it seems like wet concrete. There is plenty of substance, but it's not ready to bear the full weight of what it will eventually support. I guess there is nothing to do but let it cure until it can bear the full weight.

Someone wrote last night that the celebrations of Bin Laden's death were unseemly. I agree with him, but I understand this spontaneous, emotional outburst. Catharsis is never tidy.

May's Newsletter Article

Dear Friends in Christ,

This spring we are conducting a daring experiment. Well, it’s not really an experiment; it’s as old as the Church of Christ itself. Then again, it’s pretty daring in this congregation and in this world. What are we doing that’s so different, we’re celebrating the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper during every worship service from now through Pentecost. Yes, we’re having communion every Sunday through June 9^th. Seeing as how we have never done it like this before, I imagine you have some questions. I hope to answer some of them for you here.

Let’s begin with the most basic question: Why do we celebrate the Lord’s Supper at all?  According to John Calvin, “Christ is the only food of our soul, and therefore our Heavenly Father invites us to Christ, that, refreshed by partaking of him, we may repeatedly gather strength until we shall have reached heavenly immortality.”

In other words, since we are fed in Christ and the Heavenly Father invites us to feed at the table, we should be fed. This is what makes celebrating the Lord’s Supper daring. We believe the Lord feeds us spiritually by the bread and the cup. This is absolutely one of the boldest most daring things we say, but we don’t say it. Our Lord says it; we just repeat it.

Because of this, I believe it is better for us to be fed regularly.

Another question is “How often do we have to celebrate the Lord’s Supper?” Presbyterians have two answers to that question, a minimum number and a maximum number.

The minimum number of times we celebrate the Lord’s Supper is once per quarter, four times per year. The maximum number of times is every worship service. This would include services that aren’t on Sunday mornings, weddings, ordinations, installations, circle meetings, session meetings, youth retreats, trainings, and every other worship setting as approved by the Session. There’s a lot of wiggle room in there between the minimum and the maximum, but that gives each congregation the freedom to consider what is appropriate.

The next question that might come to mind is “Who decided we should have communion more often?” That decision was made by the Session as recommended by the Worship Committee. And yes, it was me that asked the Worship Committee to consider this, but it’s because I believe celebrating the sacraments is important to the Body of Christ.

So why now, why celebrate the Lord’s Supper through Easter? Why should we celebrate this sacrament more frequently at all? The Session chose to celebrate through Easter for two reasons. To start, this is the season after Jesus instituted this sacrament, so now is the best time to start. Second is that we are a sacramental people, we believe these visible signs of God’s invisible grace have power in our faith and our lives. Finally, sometimes we just need the reminder of what our Lord commands us to do, and the last thing he told his disciples to do was to take, eat, and do this in remembrance of Him.

There’s one final point that deals more with how we have interpreted the Supper over the years. Some say that they don’t want to celebrate the Lord’s Supper frequently because it makes the sacrament less special. This does make a point, familiarity breeds contempt. Some fear that if we celebrate the supper more often it will mean less. I can’t stop people from feeling this way through fancy words and rhetoric. If this is how you feel, lofty arguments won’t mean a thing, but I want to offer a different perspective.

Others say that when they celebrate the Lord’s Supper frequently, they find it difficult to see a loaf of bread or enjoy a sandwich without thinking about the Lord Jesus and the meal he shared with his disciples. To this, I say amen and amen.

Let us remember what our Lord has done for us. Let us remember the meal he instituted, the death he suffered, and the resurrected life he leads and promises we share. This is the meal we share; his life, his death, and his resurrection. So come, let us share this meal together. Let us come, taste and see, that the Lord is good.

See you in Church,

Paul

Who Watches the Watchmen?

Friends, and I say this because I have friends who are "Birthers". I have heard many say that President Obama should have shown his birth certificate then "all of this would have been done." Friends, here's my question, to whom should he have shown his birth certificate? Yes, that's it, who should have seen it? I don't think it should be Donald Trump.

So what qualifies someone to become President? Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution sets the principal qualifications one must meet to be eligible for the Presidency. The President must be a natural born citizen of the United States who is at least thirty-five years old and been a permanent resident in the United States for at least fourteen years.

As for what it means to be a "natural born citizen," this didn't become contentious until after the Civil War with Reconstruction. It became a sticking point because suddenly potential presidents, citizens of the Southern United States, had sworn allegiance to a foreign power, the Confederate States of America.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution defined citizenship primarily in the first sentence of Section 1: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." The rest of the amendment dealt with reconstruction issues and certainly not to any person born after 1868.

In fact, the Fourteenth Amendment made the term "natural born citizen" obsolete.

Here's the end: According to this State of Hawaii Certificate of Live Birth Barack Obama was born in the state of Hawaii (not a territory since 1959) and is a citizen of the US.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What is missing from the constitution is who checks these qualifications for each candidate? Why? Because until Barack Obama there hasn't been a major party candidate suspected of not meeting these eligibility criteria. This brouhaha came up because nobody knew the answer to the question "Who watches the watchmen?"

As for me, I assumed (yes, I know what that means) that whether it be in his home state of Illinois, or whoever certifies ballots before the primary or general election, or Hillary Clinton, or the Democratic Party itself; I assumed someone, somewhere asked if he was a citizen and found a satisfactory answer.

This is who's supposed to check this stuff out, whether by law or by simple common sense. Then again, what's so common anymore.

Why isn't anyone else asking if this was checked out before we voted? Pundips (my combined word for "pundit" and "dip$#!%") everywhere have barked at the President, I haven't heard of anybody who has asked about those who were supposed maintain the integrity of our federal elections. Then again, you get more mileage complaining about the President then you get complaining about a faceless bureaucrat leading a faceless bureau.

Friends, it's time to watch the watchmen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And if the presentation of this Certificate of Live Birth isn't enough, if you suspect it's a fraud, well then SUE! Don't be Trump and make a media circus of "checking its authenticity yourself." I would think that any citizen would have the right to ask in court if their President was born in this country or not. Somewhere there's a lawyer who would love to take this to either Congress or the Supreme Court or both. In a land of Checks and Balances there's someone who should be willing to host this lawsuit. Quit complaining and do something! SUE 'EM! Get your answers outside of the court of public opinion and put it in a court with the teeth to do something within the law to enforce the law.

That's how we do things in a nation of laws.

A Very Good Question

We Can Know is a ministry that contends that the rapture will happen on May 21, 2011. That's in 23 days. They also say that the world will be destroyed five months later on October 21.

That being said, if the rapture is less than a month away, why do they still maintain their donations page? It just seems that if you're still seeking donations you must not have much confidence in your prophecy.

What Now?

This one's for you, Donald!

This article by Rachel Rose Hartman is posted on today's Yahoo News:

The president had released his certificate of live birth in 2008, but many "birthers" said the absence of a long form birth certificate prompted questions about Obama's birthplace of Hawaii. In recent weeks potential GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump has brought birther questions into the forefront of the media.

"At a time of great consequence for this country--when we should be debating how we win the future, reduce our deficit, deal with high gas prices, and bring stability to the Middle East, Washington, DC, was once again distracted by a fake issue," Pfeiffer said. "The President's hope is that with this step, we can move on to debating the bigger issues that matter to the American people and the future of the country."

So now, all you "Birthers," what now? Can we now get on with the affairs of state and get out the Birther controversy?  Not yet, for one, Donald Trump is going to take credit.

Trump on Wednesday took full credit for the release.

"I feel I've accomplished something really really important and I'm honored by it," Trump said at a press conference held during his pre-scheduled visit today to New Hampshire. Trump noted that people have long been requesting the document, but Trump was the only one who got the president to release it. Trump suggested Wednesday this development will boost his own potential presidential candidacy.

Yes Donald, you've done something important, you've distracted a nation, you've gotten Sarah Palin's support, and you've made Bill O'Reilly sound reasonable to lefties nationwide and that's truly something. Of course, he's not done yet.

Trump said he and others are still going to have to assess the document's authenticity. We're "going to look at it. We have to see if it's real, if it's proper," Trump said. But he added that he's "sure it's the right deal" and is looking forward to moving on to more important issues such as OPEC and China. 

"He and others are still going to assess the document's authenticity." It just goes to show that we are a nation of voyeurs, we aren't going to believe anything unless we see it ourselves. This doesn't make us leery of politicians and their words, it makes us selfish because only our opinions matter. "It's not a fact unless I say it is." It also goes to show he and "Birthers" everywhere are never going to be happy until Barack Obama is out of office. So it goes...

In the meantime, smoke screens everywhere are blowing around distracting the nation from what are important affairs of state. We the people need to hold the feet of elected officials everywhere to the fire to govern to benefit the lives of all Americans.

On the other hand, I want to see the birth certificate for The Donald's hair, that thing can't be American made.

Thanks to all the Good People of First Pres Marshall and Glory Be to God!

Last Sunday was my first Easter at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas. It was a wonderful and glorious experience.

We celebrated and celebrated! We welcomed a new member into the Body of Christ as Jerry and Lea's baby was baptized. We celebrated as Lea joined the church. We celebrated as newborn Elizabeth Fern was paraded through the congregation by her proud grandmother. We heard a minute for mission about the Texas Wildfires and collected an offering through the PC(USA)'s One Great Hour of Sharing program.

We sang and we celebrated. This comes with special thanks and praise to God for Georgia and Al, our wonderful worship team. We three selected the music, Al and I do the hymns while Georgia picks out all of the instrumental pieces, and they led us in song!

We read scripture and interpreted the word of God. And if you missed the sermon, click "Come and See" on the Podbean gadget on the right side of the screen for the audio. Or you can get both the audio and text here.

We joined family and friends. Above all, we worshiped the Resurrection of the Lord. This is above all what we celebrated.

For Marie and I it was a joyful time with our newest friends and family. It was a glorious day and we all praise God!

Redneck Detailing

Yesterday, I saw a Dodge Caravan painted in a camouflage motif with Louisiana plates. I would love to hear this half of a conversation in front of a judge...

Yes your honor, I hit the Dodge.

Yes your honor it was parked.

No it wasn't moving at all.

No your honor I didn't see it.

Wasn't that the general idea behind a camo paint job?

Sure, that line of reasoning wouldn't work since the van was at the hospital, but still, wouldn't it be great!

And Another Open Letter

Dear Cajun Tex Restaurant,
Let's start here, your food is very, very yummy. This is why Marie wanted to try the salmon on your Lenten menu. But we found out last Sunday that the Lenten menu ended because you are out of the items on it. Friends, if you're going to have a Lenten menu you shouldn't run out two weeks before Lent ends.

Crawfish aren't kosher, Paul

Another Open Letter

Dear Jaguar Driver,
Congrats to the candidate in the 5th District that you support. The way you parallel park I wouldn't trust you to pick the winner of a two-horse race in the fifth given three choices. When you parallel park in two spaces you show the world that you are more important, your car is more expensive, and the rest of us can walk from downtown as far as you're concerned. You show that your candidate will protect your interests and the interests of every Jaguar driver in Harrison County, Texas and that is someone every farmer, rancher, and oilman in East Texas can get behind! Oh, and if you're the candidate so much the better.

Hoping you get a flat on the highway and your cell phone is dead, Paul

Hall of Notorious, er, Fame

Two sports stories dominated the weekend, Manny Ramirez, baseball slugger, retired from the game and Tiger Woods, former immortal golfer, is showing signs of his old prowess. The tie that binds, right now they are both more notorious than they are famous.

Allegedly Manny has tested positive for "Performance Enhancing Drugs" for the second time in his career. In professional baseball, these drugs are either steroids or the drugs used to mask the use of steroids. They make good players great and great players the greatest of all time.

As for Tiger, it's not his game that suffered, it was his marriage and his bank account; and ever since those took their hit his game did suffer. This weekend he showed signs of the old Tiger on the links and the TV ratings for last weekend's Master's Golf Tournament spiked accordingly.

The question that has dominated sports talk this weekend is "Should people root for these men?" They are greats in their sports; and both cheated, one on his sport and the other on his wife. I've been decidedly Old School about the matter, both cheated and neither should prosper. It seems pretty easy until you look at other sports immortals.

Ty Cobb was a racist and used his spikes to break up double plays and other players. Babe Ruth was a drunk and womanizer. Lawrence Taylor is on probation for "patronizing" an under-age hooker. OJ Simpson needs no introduction. What do these men have in common? They are in their sports' Halls of Fame.

Some say that players in Major League Baseball's so-called Steroid Era should go into the hall with special notes on their induction plaques explaining their places in the game. Some say players like Manny, Roger Clemens, and Barry Bonds should wear the "Scarlet S" on their bust in Cooperstown. Some say they should be in a special place in the Hall of Fame so we can celebrate their achievements while not forgetting their indiscretions.

But maybe this is unnecessary; if we don't forget Ty Cobb's short comings we won't forget Manny's. Maybe.

It is said America celebrates the scoundrel. The shame is the truth in that statement. It's true in sports. It's very true in politics. It is said that those who have the deepest talent also have the deepest flaws. That sure seems to be true too.

Yesterday I heard someone on the radio say "You can have the pretty good moral people and I'll take the deeply flawed star because the stars are more fun to watch." I want to say that's horrible. It's giving up on being better. It glorifies a status quo that has no choice but to fall deeper and deeper into its own despair.

But I must acknowledge this, I have no real good idea about how deeply I live into that same hole myself with the stars I love to watch. It's the glass houses thing. Everyone loved Kirby Puckett and then we found out he had a mistress for eighteen years and he shoved her in the apartment where he hid her from the spotlight.

What I do say is that as Christians we are held to a higher calling. We should root for stars who do what they do the right way. We should never hold to the "if you ain't cheating you ain't trying" perspective and we should root for people who live their lives the same way. We should also remember that as Jesus once said, "Let he who is without sin..."

An Open Letter

Dear Wal-Mart Customers,
I know that while we were in school we often asked when we would ever use the skills they tried to teach us. Dear friends, let me give you a hand. First, reading at a first grade level, whether in English or Spanish, isn't a bad thing. Integral calculus is over most of our needs, but surely we can still all count to twenty. Let's again combine these skills into a real life word problem: When you have more than twenty (20) items, STAY OUT OF THE LANE THAT SAYS TWENTY (20) ITEMS OR LESS.

Thanks for understanding, Paul
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Air Traveler,
We know that you're more important than the rest of us, but there's a reason they board the back of the plane first and it's not so that you won't have any overhead bin space. Please, causing a boarding log jam in the front of the plane because you can't wait to board is silly. On a side note, we all have to wait the same amount of time for checked bags, it's not worth the rush.

Just trying to help, Paul
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Fellow Motorist,
I know you're the only one on the road, but if you run your Mazda Miata into my Nissan XTerra, physics teaches us that two pieces of matter cannot occupy the same space in time. Physics further teaches us that your aluminum piece of sporty car will probably get crushed by my Crossover Utility Vehicle. By the way, why are you using a Miata to tow a kayak?

Just wondering, Paul
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Paul,
You realize of course that nobody is going to pay attention to your "unsolicited advice," don't you.

Just sayin', Paul

Facebook Has Marked "Rock and Roll Devotional" as Abusive!

Well gang, this is it, I am now an enemy of the Facebook state...

Facebook's Dire Warning

Since you can't read the text, let me share what it says. I have been warned by Facebook: "You are trying to post content on Facebook that has been marked as abusive. You may request to have this block lifted from Facebook by contacting us below. Please note that we're unable to reply to every bug report at this time, but we may contact you for more details about the issue as we investigate the report."

Well, I honestly don't know why this warning has come to pass.  So if you want to check out today's posting, check out  today's entry at Rock and Roll Devotional. The whole blog can be found here.

Facebook, saving people from hate speech since 9:30 this morning.

When Others Have Moved On

It's coming up on six years ago that Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, particularly greater New Orleans. I had just been ordained and installed as Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas when Katrina struck. I hardly knew anybody in town and was just becoming more familiar with the community when I was accosted by a woman who worked at the local print shop. She wanted to know what my church and I were doing to help New Orleans.

At that moment there was a UHaul at the local Wal-Mart loading supplies to the Gulf. They were getting all sorts of supplies-the stuff that you get when you don't know what to get-and getting it ready to go the New Orleans. There was no plan really, just load the truck and head south. At the time, nobody really knew the full extent of the damage, people just wanted something done now.

In the end, considering the roads, the scope of the disaster, and the National Guard, I don't know who finally received the supplies on that truck. Did it make it to New Orleans? Or Mississippi for that matter? Or anyone who was displaced by the storm? Who knows? I'm not sure if anybody really does.

This woman was upset that I said I was checking to see what the denomination was doing. She wondered how I could be so callus not to go down and buy a ton of water to send to Louisiana at that moment. I gave her a lousy answer because I didn't have a good answer for her, but as I said, the ink wasn't even dry in my shingle. I didn't know what to say or do.

Well, one of the reasons I'm a fan of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is that the church and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance take a long term approach to helping people overcome the woes of disaster. This article provides a look at what the church is doing and continues to do five years after most disaster relief agencies left New Orleans.

There is still work to be done, and thank God for people like Presbyterian Disaster Assistance for their continuing work on the Gulf Coast and wherever God's good creation needs the church to be God's hands and help the miracle happen.

It's been a long time since I just put up a music video, and I'm not quite sure what prompted me to seek this one out, but I'm not sorry. It's hard to imagine that this gem of progressive rock came from a six piece band out of Topeka, Kansas.

One night when I was in college I saw Rich Williams, the guitar player on the left side of the video, playing pool in a 3.2 beer bar in Topeka. Ah, nostalgia...

Congrats to Alan Parsons at the ACM Awards

Plagiarism, it's a nasty word for a nasty theft. Lady Antebellum has made a mint off of this ditty. Good for them. Is the Alan Parson's Project getting any love? Only from people who know where it came from first. Love the song or hate the song, these melodies are way too close to be a coincidence. Vanilla Ice thinks it's too close to be a coincidence.

On another note, I finally heard the whole song all the way though the other night. It's about a couple trying to hook up on a late night booty call. Ah yes, drunken emotionless sex, now that's record of the year material.

Paul reviews "Paul"

The UK Release Poster

Marie and I say "Paul" last night at the local cineplex and absolutely loved it. She could not stop laughing and neither could I. The movie contained some of the best sight gags I've ever seen. But honestly, there are some things about the movie you might not like.

1. If you don't like gay innuendo jokes, steer away.
2. If you don't like or get nerd humor, steer away.
3. If you are a fundamentalist Christian and really hate it when people make fun of you and your faith, don't even steer into the parking lot.

Honestly, this is going to be the focus of my review because it's a review of me. I really hated the way the writers, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost who also starred in the movie, dealt with fundamental Christians as people who are ignorant and simple. They treated the fundamentalist characters as less than human because they eschewed sophistication for faith in something greater who is the Creator (as they see the creator of course).

Frankly, I wasn't fond of this portrayal because I share enough of these prejudices that it makes me uncomfortable.

Now the movie was hilarious, I laughed out loud several times.  It's a great "fish out of water" movie.  It's a great "sure, we're nerds, but we are who we are" movie.  It's a great road trip movie.  It's a great buddy movie.  The love story, not so much but oh well, love stories in comedies that aren't romantic comedies always fall short. (So do the recent crop of romantic comedies, but that's another matter.) There's a sight gag at the end of the movie that's worth the price of admission.

But I can't get past the whole fundamentalist thing.  If you think you're smarter than a fundamentalist Christian and you think that makes you better than any fundamentalist Christian, well, then this won't bother you.  Honestly, I have to admit as I point this finger out, three others point back at me, and I'm paying attention.

I say let it bother you.  Reflect on what this type of joke says about us and how we look at humor.  We don't laugh at black-face any more.  We don't laugh at stoner humor (much) any more. Why do we make fun of people like that and when can we stop.

I recommend this movie, and so does Marie.  Just keep in mind, gay nerd fundamentalist Christians will want to spend money on another movie.

Thanks to the Dollar General Store in Marshall, Texas

Today the church received a donation from the Dollar General Store on HWY 80 West in Marshall, Texas.  We received gift cards, bags, and candy which will go to people in the hospital and nursing homes.  We will also be able to use the gift to provide pastoral care not only to members but others who need uplifting.

We're not ending world hunger, we're not reaching world peace, but we're reaching out to people in Marshall and if we don't start there we won't ever be ready for the rest of the world.

Thanks again to Amy and all at Dollar General!  Thank you and thanks be to God!

A St. Patrick's Day Tale

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!


This tale, written by Philip Chevron (acoustic guitar and background vocals on the video) is about the immigrant's tale. It's bittersweet and nostalgic, it's mournful and hopeful. It's what I expect from The Pogues. To tonight, as you heft a pint of the Stout (NOT a Black-and-Tan unless you're itchin' for a row) remember those who have come seeking better life.

Rest in Peace, Miss Lucille

I heard today of the death of a parishioner from my prior posting in Berryville, Arkansas.  She died with family around her moving painlessly from this life to the next.  She was a lovely lady who lived to an advanced age and she taught me a thing or two about being a pastor, lessons I learned the hard way.

The first thing I learned from her is I have to be imaginative and think fast.  Presbyterian Kosher and Presbyterian Acceptable are two different things.

She was a life long Lutheran and wanted to die a Lutheran and wanted to also become a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville. When I was asked how we could do this, I immediately went to my Book of Order training and took the most direct route saying she needed a letter of transfer from her prior church to this one.

Well, that wouldn't do for Miss Lucille.  She couldn't give up her Lutheran identity. Someone else then asked me, "Couldn't she just do a Reaffirmation of Faith?"  Immediately it dawned on me that of curse we could, nothing said we couldn't!  So I affirmed we could do that, but the damage was done.  Miss Lucille did not become a member and soon quit attending.

But there was another lesson I learned, you gotta be ready when someone tells the truth.

She said the biggest barrier in joining, or even worshiping with that part part of the Body of Christ is my obesity.  She said my fat got in the way of the word of God.  She also asked me to pray that she would be able to get beyond it.

Now, know this, I'm fat--really fat.  I call my blog "There's a Fat Man in the Bathtub with the Blues" because I love the song, but also because there are times when it's pretty darn descriptive.  Please also know that it hurts when people say, "Dude, you're fat."  Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names gnaw at your psyche for years and years.  But know this too; she didn't hedge her words, she came right out and said them--and that's better than trying to mold words into a pleasant package.

She didn't candy coat her words and she owned them. She also noted that she didn't think it was good, she knew it wrong to focus on one over the other.  But I wonder how many of the churches I met with in person before receiving the call to First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas said "Dang he's fat" without even considering "Dang, could he be our pastor?"

(Oh, I'm glad the one that absolutely did is here in Marshall, Texas!  Thanks be to God!!  Can I get an amen!!!)

Some pastors in my former Presbytery hedged around the prospect of my obesity being a stumbling block toward me receiving a new call and chalked it up to a problem, my problem.  One even said I may never get another call.  Of those who focused on the fat, only Lucille saw the issue as more than my girth.  Only Lucille owned up to the prejudice being her sin.  Only Lucille asked me to pray with her about it. Only Lucille sought restoration through Christ for her judgement of my appearance.

I can't say it wasn't difficult, and I can't say it didn't hurt, but I can say she taught me something hard, important, and positive.  I can't say so much about the others.

Lucille, you taught me.  You taught me to be creative and seek redemption.  You taught me to think outside of the box and think first of Christ.  Lucille, thank you, God bless, and be at peace in the church triumphant.