There's a Fat Man in the Bathtub with the Blues

Bored by Politicos

2012-01-25T15:00:00.000-06:00

Last night was the State of the Union with the Republican Response.

Last week, the Fellowship of Presbyterians created the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians. (This is either their third or forth name in a year.)

I have officially decided that I don't want to be bothered with most of these clowns.

As for the State of the Union , let me guess what was said... We're a strong nation. There are ways we can be better. I got some ideas, but all I will say right now are broad brushstrokes that will be parsed for weeks. By the way, those jokers are getting in the way for me to do real work.

As for the Republican Response: We're a strong nation. There are ways we can be better. We got some ideas, but all we'll say right now are broad brushstrokes that will be parsed for weeks. By the way, those jokers are getting in the way for us to do real work.

In the Presbyterian Church, it's thinly veiled like this--Those guys aren't biblical! I'm not going to be divisive, but their take on gays is all wrong so we're out of here as long as we can find a way to get out of here with millions in real estate and our pensions.

The other side's take is thinly veiled as--don't let the door which you're leaving with us hit you in the ass on the way out.

Yes, I have made a fatal error in all four of these general statements: Extremes make good sound bytes but actually represent very few people. They're great for headlines and bylines. They're great for getting my name out there, but on the whole they're useless.

That's where I am right now. In the nation we call it politics and in the church we call it polity. Both words come from the Greek word "polis" which means "city." (As in "The Super Bowl will be played in Indiana Polis soon.) In general today the today deals with how the city (or other jurisdiction) operates. Frankly I can live without the garbage the "polis" thinks is important.

It's quit being about people and is more about power more than ever and that has completely bored me to tears. If you agree, sign up for my new "Cry Me a River" party.

Adios, Joe Pa

2012-01-22T12:41:00.001-06:00

It has been reported that former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno has died from complications due to lung cancer. God bless Joe Pa.

Joe Pa did many wonderful things. He was the King of State College, Pennsylvania. He led the Penn State Nittany Lions football team to many wins and championships. He funded significant advances not to the athletic department that paid him so well but to the Penn State libraries which support all academic endeavors. Joe Pa's world was Penn State and ultimately this was his undoing.

He was undone by age and status. It's hard to tell an icon that a trusted aide is forcing himself sexually on underage boys. It's even harder to say it in a way that makes everything clear to someone old enough to be you great-grandfather while trying to parse words so no one feels uncomfortable. If you think it's easy, say "your trusted aid rapes children" to your grandmother. This is how he was undone.

Ultimately, Penn State decided that while Joe Pa fulfilled his legal requirements to report what happened, he was morally obligated to do more. In a society that tries to follow laws only to the letter and not the spirit--and moral obligations seem to matter less--Joe Pa's vilification is a shame. Maybe this is why no man should be an icon.

We do need to do a better job of protecting those who are in danger, but we need to do a better job of defining "those who need protection" too. Children are obvious. But when we forget the poor and the elderly many get lost in a dream that values the rugged individualism of boot-straps over community efforts to truly lift every boat in the bay.

Yes, Joe Pa did what he was supposed to do. No, he did not do enough--but he trusted that those who he told would do what they were supposed to do. That is why several of those folks are under criminal indictment.

But before anyone says what Paterno did was bad or evil, remember that none of us are truly good enough to cast the first stone, especially at someone whose position, God willing, we will never share.

Adios, Go with God Joe Pa.

Repentance and Forgiveness

2012-01-19T14:10:00.000-06:00

I just read an interesting question, "Do you believe that those who do not repent can be forgiven?"

For me, the quick answer is No. I don't believe those who do not repent can be forgiven. I believe without acknowledging sin, it is impossible to acknowledge forgiveness.

Now for my follow up question, "Whose shortcoming is that, ours or Gods?"

Friends, that's our shortcoming. God is concerned, but it's our shortcoming.

It's About Who We Are

2012-01-17T11:31:00.001-06:00

By now you are familiar with the "Urinating Marine Brouhaha." Video and still photos exist showing four United States Marines urinating on corpses in Afghanistan. What you may not be aware of is that according to the Huffington Post Texas Governor and Presidential Hopeful Rick Perry is defending these Marines.

Governor Perry defends the Marines saying on CNN's "State of the Union," "Obviously, 18-19-year-old kids make stupid mistakes all too often. And that's what's occurred here."

I believe Governor Perry is horribly wrong.

Let's start here: Hasn't Mothers Against Drunk Driving taught us "kids do stupid things" is no defense, especially in life and death situations?

Another reason I believe Governor Perry is wrong is that photos like this embolden the enemy and weakens support at home. The effects of the events at Abu Ghraib Prison made this point clear years ago. As the old saying goes, those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. In this case, the time between the two events is eight years.

The article points out that desecration of corpses is a violation of the Geneva Conventions. I say we shouldn't need an international treaty to say it's wrong to pee on the dead. When I managed a bar in the Westport district of KC, MO I once had to tell someone they couldn't pee off of the roof of the bar next door. When he said he didn't see a sign that said he couldn't I said, "Ah dang, someone took my sign? I'll have to make a new one. Get down. If you're so dumb you need someone to tell you not to urinate on a dead body you aren't smart enough to be a marine.

Then article says that Arizona Republican Senator John McCain disagrees with the Governor. The former pilot and Vietnam Era Prisoner of War says we don't lower ourselves to the level of our enemy. Doing what "our enemy does" lowers us. You can disagree with me, but Senator McCain has an expertise in this situation that nobody should ever have. McCain's point about the difference between what we do and what the enemy does is the most important.

McCain's point is not about the enemy. It is not about what "others do so we do the same or worse." It's about who we are. Are we a nation that kicks cats and pees on the dead? Are we a country that doesn't hold young men who wear the uniform of our nation accountable for their actions? Are we a people who blame others for looking at the internet and catching us with our pants down (literally) when we post it on the web?

If the answer is yes, we have become a disappointing nation.

If we hold ourselves to be a Christian nation, we need to hold ourselves accountable to what God wants for us and for all creation. These actions show a basic lack of dignity and respect that takes us too far away "loving God and your neighbor as yourself."

Love God, love the Marine Corp, and hold people accountable for what they do. Sorry Governor Perry. I think you're very, very wrong.

America Loves Tim Tebow, Just Ask ESPN

2012-01-11T13:24:00.000-06:00

According to the ESPN Sports Poll, Tim Tebow is America's favorite athlete. When asked "Who is your favorite athlete?" 3% answered Tebow. This may not seem like much, but considering the number of sports and athletes Americans follow, this is huge. The next closest athlete, Kobe Bryant, has only half of Tebow's numbers. Statistically speaking, that's a huge difference! Tebow beat out the rest of the current top 5--Bryant, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. He also beat old favorites like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Brett Favre, and LeBron James.

As for me, what do I say about this as a sports fan? His current mechanics cannot maintain his current output. The way he throws the ball will not thwart NFL Defenses for much longer. And so what! Right now what he's doing is amazing, so enjoy the ride everyone.

What do I say as a person who is a Christian, Presbyterian Minister, and purveyor of popular culture? He lives what he believes and lets the rest of the world judge him by his words and his life, which is all any of us will ever be judged upon. Gotta love that.

Timmy T will join the likes of Michael and Tiger soon enough. I just hope he doesn't join them in the scandal their personal lives later displayed. In a society that puts people on pedestals just to throw them down nobody lasts forever. So enjoy the game and if he throws another game winning 80-yarder like he did last Sunday, marvel some more.

How popular is Tim Tebow? Rocky, the mascot of the NBA Denver Nuggets "tebows" in a #15 Jersey. Face it, when your name becomes a verb, you've done something.

Pastor Paul's January 2012 Newsletter Article

2012-01-09T13:46:00.000-06:00

Dear Friends in Christ,

Hymn #296 in the brown hymnal is “Count Your Blessings.” It’s not a bad idea to count your blessings early and often, and the end of the year is a great time to reflect on what kind of year it has been.

It’s been pretty hectic at our house. Marie was admitted to the hospital a couple of times because her ailments fired up. Then there was our car wreck, that was a joy, but when these things came together, something else happened.

When Marie saw the doctor the doctor noted something kind of funny when looking at the back of her eye. From there the doctor ordered more tests. These tests showed something that looked puzzling, so she (she is our doctor) sent Marie to a neurologist for more tests.

Well, getting the tests done was a comedy of errors. Between the doctors and the insurance setting up her appointments looked like three clowns juggling flaming Indian clubs in the circus. What a mess! Well the appointments were had and the diagnosis was confirmed, Marie has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. But here’s what’s special…

The last tests, the ones that took so long to get arranged, showed that her spine was not involved with the disease. Right now, it’s limited to her brain. Sure, we would have loved to hear the words “miraculous cure,” but that was not to be. So if that’s not available we’ll take “contained” every day of the week.

Here’s the big kicker, we may not have done these tests, and we would not have done these tests this fall, if it were not for a car wreck. I’m not going to say that the Holy Spirit arranged for me to crack up the car so Marie could get diagnosed (others may, I wouldn’t), but I must say that this diagnosis and early treatment are blessings that flowed from a car wreck.

Simeon’s blessing from Luke 2 includes the words that as Jesus is salvation—not just for Israel but also for the Gentiles—he is also destined to cause “falling and rising” in Israel. In the midst of Simeon’s blessing, Mary also hears that “her soul will be pierced by a sword.” What a lousy way to end a blessing. “He is God’s own salvation for the world and there will also be pain, grief and sorrow.” That is where I think about Hymn #296, “Count Your Blessings”:

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

I wouldn’t say “C’mon, buck up! Look on the bright side!” to someone in the midst of a crisis, that’s lousy pastoral care, but let me say this, in the heart of the greatest blessings, life is not going to be just peaches and cream. In the blessings of our lives there will be pain and there will be disappointment. Our choice is how we deal with them.

Friends, choose the life of the blessings of Christ. Picking to dwell on the disappointments will only make us more in tune with them. Given a choice, dwelling on the blessings is far better than dwelling on the disappointments; and the choice is ours.

God Bless!
Have a Blessed and Happy New Year!

See you in church!
Pastor Paul

Life Sized Gaps

2011-12-16T23:38:00.000-06:00

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?

2011-10-26T16:30:00.001-05:00

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

2011-10-09T10:33:00.000-05:00

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

Dear Friends,

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

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

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

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

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

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

There was amoment of hushed silence. Then a small outburst of praise to God that had beenbuilding 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.” Soonthere was a burst of shouting and rejoicing as people praised and thanked Godfor this man’s pardon. Everyone approached him to embrace him. Tears flowedfreely. The governor graciously called for a brief recess.

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

I sat therestunned by what I was witnessing. I said to myself, “I’m an ordainedPresbyterian minister. I pronounce the declaration of pardon every Sunday fromthe lectern during the course of the morning liturgy. We read the confession ofsin as it is printed in the bulletin, and then I say ‘Friends, believe the goodnews of the Gospel: In Jesus Christ you are forgiven (pardoned).’ In over 50years 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 fromthe eyes of the congregants. Instead we go quickly right on to the Gloria Patriand 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 ofpardon is pronounced during the Sunday morning liturgy, I’m going to stand upand shout, “Praise Jesus. Thank you Lord!” Well … maybe I’ll just do it as aresponse in my own mind. I don’t think we could handle a recess in the midst ofworship.

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

So friends, believe the Good Newsof 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 thatbears the weight of our sin.

See you in church!

Paul

Hank Jr. and High School Civics

2011-10-06T14:58:00.000-05:00

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

2011-09-11T14:53:00.000-05:00

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

2011-09-01T00:18:00.001-05:00

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

2011-08-31T11:58:00.001-05:00

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

2011-08-23T14:22:00.000-05:00

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

2011-08-06T14:38:00.001-05:00

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

2011-08-03T10:10:00.000-05:00

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

2011-07-28T14:37:00.001-05:00

"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

2011-07-18T13:30:00.015-05:00

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

2011-06-28T17:02:00.001-05:00

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

2011-06-06T09:59:00.000-05:00

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

2011-06-02T15:46:00.000-05:00

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!

2011-05-31T01:59:00.002-05:00

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

2011-05-30T11:53:00.000-05:00

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

2011-05-28T12:05:00.001-05:00

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

2011-05-24T14:50:00.002-05:00

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

2011-05-19T14:47:00.000-05:00

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

2011-05-10T13:00:00.003-05:00

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

2011-05-09T10:14:00.000-05:00

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

2011-05-05T15:12:00.001-05:00

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

2011-05-02T10:23:00.002-05:00

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

2011-05-01T09:31:00.002-05:00

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?

2011-04-29T00:31:00.000-05:00

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

2011-04-28T01:38:00.003-05:00

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?

2011-04-27T09:20:00.001-05:00

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!

2011-04-26T11:52:00.001-05:00

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

2011-04-19T22:55:00.004-05:00

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

2011-04-14T08:34:00.000-05:00

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

2011-04-12T16:59:00.003-05:00

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

2011-04-11T23:02:00.000-05:00

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

2011-04-10T22:50:00.001-05:00

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!

2011-04-07T13:42:00.000-05:00

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

2011-04-05T11:46:00.000-05:00

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.

2011-04-04T16:59:00.002-05:00

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

2011-03-30T11:50:00.000-05:00

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"

2011-03-24T16:27:00.002-05:00

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.

If you don't like gay innuendo jokes, steer away.
If you don't like or get nerd humor, steer away.
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

2011-03-22T15:28:00.000-05:00

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

2011-03-17T13:48:00.000-05:00

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

2011-03-16T16:35:00.000-05:00

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.

The Official Ladder of NCAA Basketball

2011-03-14T14:38:00.000-05:00

Today I learned that Werner Ladders is the official ladder of NCAA Basketball. Werner even makes a nine foot tall model exclusively for NCAA Basketball. Yes, the official height of a basketball rim is ten feet so a nine foot ladder is perfect.

I don't know what makes me shake my head harder, that the NCAA would sell the rights to be the official provider of ladders, that someone would want to be the official provider of ladders, or that this partnership has been going on since at least 2008. It's a push.

Welcome to America where we'll sell just about anything.

How the NCAA Should Punish Cheaters

2011-03-12T11:35:00.000-06:00

In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a fan of the Arkansas Razorbacks. I worked at the UofA in Fayetteville for several years around 2000 and that pig helped my family buy our first house, so I am a fan. Also, I have to say that if the recent allegations against the Razorback Basketball program have merit, this or similar punishment also apply. Fair is fair.

Finally, I believe the Hogs beat themselves in the 2011 Sugar Bowl. Mistakes plagued the team more than the Buckeyes. Still, that doesn't change the score, Ohio State Beat the University of Arkansas and that's what will be remembered.

So, now that that's out of the way...

Jim Tressel, coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, reported a violation of NCAA rules before the 2011 Sugar Bowl against the Arkansas Razorbacks. The University and the NCAA came to an accommodation that allowed all of the players found in violation of NCAA rules to play in the Sugar Bowl in exchange for the suspension of the players for the first five games of the 2011 season.

As a Hog fan, I didn't like it, suspend the cheaters now, not later. But alas, the deal was done. There was talk of the deal being done in a "Don Corleone" way, I do this for you, you do this for me. Was there fire? I don't know, but I smelled smoke.

But according to reports, Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel knew more than he confessed. He got a deal, but "The Don" would never have taken the deal if there was more than was reported. You never lie because the cover up will always be worse than the original crime.

Ohio State has suspended Coach Tressel for two games (against Toledo and Akron, please, my grandmother could coach Ohio State past Toledo and Akron and she's been dead fifteen years!) and fined him $250,000 (no matter how impressive that sounds, compared to what he has made as the head football coach of Ohio State it's not going to sting).

So, how should these cheaters be punished?

Vacate victories? Cut scholarships?

No and no. Nobody would ever remember the vacated victories. We remember games played, not games vacated, except for Bobby Bowden, and that's a horse of a different color. As for vacating scholarships, there is not reason to punish a third string lineman for something a star does; and it's never going to be a star who will lose a scholarship. Vacating scholarships hurts the wrong people.

So who should be hurt? How should they be hurt?

Here's my idea: Force Ohio State to return its Sugar Bowl payout. That's right, force Ohio State to return their $8.5 MILLION payout for playing the game. That may get somebody ready to enforce the rules. Tressel said he didn't know the rule so the players wouldn't have known either. For $8.5 MILLION, I imagine the coach would make time for the school's enforcement coordinator, and believe me, they like all major programs have enforcement people.Further, any money that went to the Big Ten Conference from the Sugar Bowl should also be returned.

This way, nobody looks the other way. When you begin to lose money for your school and the conference, people will stop looking the other way.

Also, while $8.5 MILLION isn't huge when compared to the expenditures of higher education and athletic departments, believe me, that'll leave a mark. It's also 34 TIMES greater than Tressel will be fined. We're leaving the ranks of chump change.

The greatest value of the NCAA is that they can negotiate better deals for schools, schools who follow the rules. Violate the rules, hurt the team. Violate the rules, hurt the conference. Take the money from the cheaters, everything else is window dressing.

There's Audio in Them Thar Internets!

2011-03-10T16:04:00.001-06:00

Good news everyone! I have finally gotten a digital recorder and the proper cables to record worship from the church soundboard. Add to that the software to edit and convert and sermon audio is now a reality! Thanks be to God!

This podcast is of Ash Wednesday's homily, "Fasting with Full Cabinets."

Podcast Powered By Podbean

The scripture reading is from the Rev. Rusty Rustenhaven, Pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas. He and I shared the celebration on Ash Wednesday. We will be back together again for Maundy Thursday next month.

So please, be sure to tell me how this works for you, I'd love to get more information.

Finding What You're Looking For

2011-03-07T08:49:00.003-06:00

It has been reported that Iran is considering boycotting the 2012 Olympics in London because the logo, a stylized rendering of the Olympic year, 2012, resembles the word "Zion."

I guess that if you're always looking for a "Zionist Conspiracy" you'll always be able to find one.

How about boycotting because I still can't see either a "2" or an "N" out of whatever that is in the lower right corner. How about boycotting because it's really pretty ugly?

Oh, that's happening too. Never mind.

Beating Others Down in the Name of Jesus

2011-03-06T07:47:00.001-06:00

Yesterday at the Presbytery Meeting, my dear friend the Reverend Rick Brooks pointed out that people come to the meetings ready to vote on the issues. I think he's right. I hope that everyone came to the meetings informed and prepared. The information has been available on line through the denomination long enough to look at. But I also hope that people will be open to the leaning of the Holy Spirit. If they are led in a way to change their vote I pray they would.

Still, Rick is right. People come to the meetings knowing how they will vote.

But this raises another point, nobody has even come to life in Christ by losing an argument.

Often people seek the "right words" so that they will not let Jesus down when talking about the Lord. This is not a bad thing either. Yet, often people feel like when talking to others about their faith that they have to convince the other. Like somehow winning a holy debate will win the day for Christ.

I don't think so.

This is pretty ironic considering how many words I use in a day, both spoken and written.

Maybe it is better for us to begin with our eyes, ears, hands, and hearts. These things present Christ to the world in ways our arguments never will. Actions do speak louder than words. So watch, listen,and learn. Seek and respond. Because beating others down in the name of Jesus has never suited the kingdom of heaven.

Grace Presbytery Ratifies Amendment 10-A

2011-03-05T19:43:00.002-06:00

PRESBYTERIAN POLITY FOLLOWS! Actually there is more than that, but you probably figured it our with the blog title's spoiler.

Today Grace Presbytery voted on the overtures from the 219th General Assembly. The hot button topic was Amendment 10-A. (The full text of the amendment can be found on pages1-2 on this link ) 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.

Some would say this is just parsing the amendment, but I believe the distinction is important. Even if selected by a nominating committee, it is always up to the congregation to elect--led by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit--who will lead them as Decons, Elders, and Ministers of the Word and Sacrament.

The Amendment was ratified with an unofficial vote count of 243-149. (All vote counts on the Presbyterian amendments are unofficial, all the Stated Clerk will report is a Yea or Nay vote, so technically there is no "official" vote count to report.)

I believe what I said about this topic two years ago (found at this link) is still important, but it is not what I think needed to be heard, and it was not what I needed to say. I was just four speakers away from the microphone when the vote was called, but I didn't hear what I was about to say from any other speaker, so I want to share it with you here and now.

Madam Moderator and my friends of Grace, I am the Reverend Paul Andresen, Minister of Word and Sacrament from First, Marshall and I speak in favor of the amendment.

The Reverend Doctor David Johnson recently asked a group of friends "Why do you stay in the Presbyterian Church?" I took this question very seriously. Finally after considering theology and worship and polity and a number of other things, it was ultimately revealed that the Church of Christ which meets as the PC (USA) is my home an you are my family.

This was expressed better in the book of Ruth as Naomi sends away her widowed daughter-in-law, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God."

I do not know how the vote will be cast today, but this I do know. We are family, even when we argue we are the children of God. We are better together than we are apart and I pray you will not send me away.

Madam Moderator, thank you.

This does not mean that Presbyterian Churches [PC(USA) that is] can ordain gays and lesbians starting tomorrow. There are more presbyteries to vote. Then even if it passes, I don't see challenges going away quickly. It's a divisive issue which will continue dividing the House of God. Still let us pray for unity, let us pray for peace, and above all, let us pray for Grace.

Everybody Makes Mistakes

2011-03-04T20:35:00.000-06:00

Everybody makes mistakes, it's a part of the human condition, it's the nature of sin. So if everyone makes mistakes it's how you follow them up that makes all the difference. Today is a good case in point.

The last few days I have had some challenging customer service moments.

Example 1: At Church's Chicken in Marshall I waited in the Drive-Thru, I waited longer than anyone would normally wait with nobody talking through the speaker too. Finally I said, "Can someone take my order?" I heard back, "Can you wait a minute?" Hummm, no. It was late, I hadn't had lunch, I was just going to order a snack, less than a buck and a half, but you know, I'm sharing this story so now you know too.

Example 2: At McDonalds (Marshall south end location) this morning I was at the Drive-Thru (notice a trend, my doctor would be pissed if she read my blog), I ordered, paid, picked up my order, and headed toward Dallas for a big meeting today. I knew this would be my breakfast and lunch. So I open my bag and look for my Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit. What do I find? Oatmeal. (By the way, MickyD Oatmeal has almost as many calories as a cheeseburger, it ain't health food.) Is that what I wanted? No. On top of no bacon it's hard to spoon oatmeal at 70 MPH. So I go back, ask for the manager, and someone throws a bag of food in front of me taking the oatmeal. They then turn their back to me and wish me a good day. So I lost 15 minutes, drove about a buck to a buck and a half in gas, and was treated as if it happens all the time, but at least they're used to it.

Example 3: The computer I'm using right now is at the Hilton in University Park, Dallas. (This is the conference hotel for the Grace Presbytery meeting. Not real sure how I feel about that, but it is the closest hotel by a long shot. More reasonably priced hotels would be so far away the savings would be a wash after driving expense. So be it.) This CPU was frozen so I called the front desk. What happened next, someone apologized and fixed the computer. Then they wished me a good evening.

The common thread, someone or something goofed up. The uncommon thread, one of the three took care of me as a customer who was paying money for goods and service. It's a attitude that is getting lost, and one that I surely appreciate still. It's what I learned at a Baskin-Robbins in 1978 and still carry with me today. It takes a little to learn and if you work in a service industry can take you a long way.

Oh, and if anyone wants to tell me that there's a big difference between McDonald's and the Hilton, I cannot and will not deny that. So let me add that if you can't handle McDonald's, you aren't even going to get a chance at the Hilton.

Grace Presbytery Meets Edition 2011.1

2011-03-03T23:46:00.001-06:00

On Friday, Grace Presbytery begins its first meeting of the year with the business of the Presbytery. Then on Saturday, it will move into the business of the denomination. This is the meeting where we will vote on the proposed amendments to the Book of Order.

God help us all.

So as we prepare, please pray for us. Don't pray for one side or another to win. I'm getting sick and tired of winning and losing, especially when it comes to interpretation of the word of God and what that means to us and the world. Yes, voting on God is the way we do things, but the attitude of winning and losing causes too much pain to be a joy to God.

So this is what I would have us all pray, I pray for peace. I pray for grace. I pray for strong yet civil words. I pray for sound biblical and theological discussion on the topic of the amendments, not flying off into cries of fear, rage, or schism. I pray for (sorry Melinda) discernment.

I pray that we will all seek God's will and not the will of our own hearts, or worse, the word of some monolithic special interest organization. Oh, if you represent any monolithic special interest organization, I'm talking about you. I'm an equal opportunity annoyer that way.

May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the grace of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit be with us all.

Voting on the Will of God

2011-02-27T15:30:00.001-06:00

This is a section of the sermon I preached today titled "His" on Matthew 6:24-34. This section deals with Matthew 6:33 and its role in the Presbyterian Church (USA) during this round of voting on amendments from the General Assembly. I guess in a way when we vote on the amendments, in essence, we will vote on the will of God. As true as this is, let us come together in discernment.

This leads us to one more matter that we must examine on account of this passage, discerning his kingdom and his righteousness. The best example for me to bring up today is the biennial root canal that is the General Assembly of the PC(USA). This is a place where good Christian men and women come together to discern God’s will for the denomination and for the whole Body of Christ. As is the norm when good Christian men and women come together to discern God’s will, people will often reach opposite conclusions regarding the best way to strive for the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

What I find distressing is not that we disagree. I’m distressed when we insult and revile another in God’s name. I have seen fear and shame and anger do their level best to overwhelm love. Often people are so blind to their own words that not only is grace lacking, but so is confession that no one person has had all the answers since the guy on the cross.

Yet as we strive for the kingdom of God and his righteousness together, we are able to discern God’s way and wisdom for our lives. In Committees, in Session and in Presbytery and in General Assembly, we are more apt to discern God’s wisdom than when we work alone. When we hear the opinions of others, especially when we disagree, we are more likely to learn from one another.

Next weekend, this feast of discernment makes its way to Dallas where Grace Presbytery will vote on the amendments sent by the General Assembly to the presbyteries. So now, let us pray not for a side to win the day, but that as a Presbytery we strive for his kingdom and his righteousness.

Well, I said it, so it's time for me to own it. Recently on this very blog, I posted a pretty snarky group of remarks to a letter sent by a group of Presbyterian Men who are mostly (43 our of 45) "big steeple" pastors. Frankly, I regret the way I said what I said. I don't regret my intent, but I do regret my execution. There were other posts that made the points I wanted to make so much more eloquently. I wish I could find them so I could share them. Alas...

Still, let us pray for discernment for the whole denomination and for the whole church as we approach the mercy seat of God to do the work of the denomination. Let us be holy. Let us be holy together.

It Works for Pro Wrestling...

2011-02-23T13:54:00.000-06:00

I have heard commentators say that great players who want to play with other great players is good for the NBA. They say that having several superstars concentrated on teams like Miami, New York, Chicago, Boston, LA (the Lakers of course, not the Clippers) is good for the game. As for the little sisters, Charlotte, Toronto, Cleveland, Sacramento, Milwaukee--well, somebody's gotta lose every night so it might as well be these guys, right?

It seems like a business model right out of World Wrestling Entertainment. Their business model talks about popular wrestlers who get a "push" to increase their popularity and ultimately popularity. The guys they beat up all week long, they're called "jobbers" because they're just there to do a job, to make the stars look good. They also call them "ham and eggers" because they'll never be able to afford steak and eggs.

Miami has been getting a push all season long. Toronto, they're just doin' a job.

So tonight, as Chicago takes on Toronto, just remember those ham and eggs are supposed to taste good. That's all the NBA thinks your team is worth.

The End of Civilization as We Know It, East Texas Version

2011-02-17T15:00:00.000-06:00

I was driving from Tyler to Marshall, Texas earlier today and was looking for postcards. Where can you find a postcard? How about a touristy place like a gas fill-up/restaurant/C-Store? Well, no not anymore. That's one lament, digital photography and e-mail have killed the postcard industry. Sad day, but that's not the sign of the end of days.

No, the sign of the end of days was that the strip-mall/gas station had a Kolache shop... which also sold sushi.

Kolache and crab roll, I don't know what to say.

For anyone thinking it's just the way trends go, ask yourself- Would you have ever considered buying sushi at a truck stop? What would you say to a trucker who asked for extra wasabi with his California roll?

My Super Bowl XLV Halftime Show Review

2011-02-07T10:17:00.002-06:00

Well, I reviewed the halftime show for Super Bowl XLIV, so why not XLV?

Like I started last year, congratulations to the Green Bay Packers and their fans. They have certainly showed the world that the team building strategy begun three years ago was the right way to go. Congrats again.

As for The Black Eyed Peas, can a set list be more derivative than this one? People have complained that since the "Justin Timberlake creates a wardrobe malfunction" incident that the Super Bowl halftime show went safe, calling on classic rock stars who have a following, but won't create an incident. (How Prince made that list is beyond me, but maybe he was the exception to prove the rule.) So how about that Peas song that is lyric thrown onto a classic surf song. I know it's a surf song because the tune is on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack.

Slash doing "Sweet Child of Mine"? Love Slash! This was just misplaced. Fergie is no Axl Rose. On a side note, Axl must have had a heart attack. He hates it when Slash uses their music, but at least Axl got paid. Axl doesn't know whether to hate it or cash the check, thus the coronary.

Usher? Why?

The dancers, I saw a blog that said it was Tron inspired. Derivative? Dancers based on a 2011 movie remake from the 80's.

What was that thing on will.i.am's head and did it protect him from ice falling off the Jerry Dome?

Autotune? STOP IT! Singing that doesn't have to be scrubbed is so much better.

Did Daltry sound like his voice was blown out last year? I think so. Tom Petty in a beard looking like a mountain man? Leave that for the cameo in "The Postman." Springsteen singing "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" for six hours? How many times can you chant "Tenth" before it sounds like you're trying to clear your sinuses?

Still, these performers gave us original music without contrived vocals or dancers.

My final critique: The show just had the originality of a Domino's Pepperoni. Sure, you like it all right, but what do you have when it's done?

On a side note, for anyone who wonders if I am just some old guy who doesn't like "new music" and everything was better "when I was your age," you may be right. But then again, the songs the Peas sampled were from my time, so look out where you're pointing.

Let me just say my dad is laughing his butt off at me from beyond the grave. We had this same chat more than once.

The Sky Is Falling!

2011-02-03T15:44:00.090-06:00

WARNING! PRESBY SPEAK BEYOND THIS POINT!

Yesterday, this letter was sent from an "unnamed group" of Presbyterian Pastors (the pastors are named, the group isn't) to the church. I have included the entire unedited text of the letter in a normal font, my comments in italics. Please note that the offset italicized comments, as always, are mine alone. Especially the snarky ones. The links to the mentioned documents are the ones from the email and active as of this posting. I have included all of the names as they had included all of their names.

A Letter to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

February 2, 2011

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

To say the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is deathly ill is not editorializing but acknowledging reality. Over the past year, a group of PC(USA) pastors has become convinced that to remain locked in unending controversy will only continue a slow demise, dishonor our calling, and offer a poor legacy to those we hope will follow us. We recently met in Phoenix, and have grown in number and commitment. We humbly share responsibility for the failure of our common life, and are no better as pastors nor more righteous than anyone on other sides of tough issues.

So, you're telling me that you are no better than me, my Session, and my people but because you went to Phoenix I should follow you? Because you represent a large church I should follow you? Because you feel a poor legacy coming that you have been a significant part of creating I should follow you? Still? Again?

Our denomination has been in steady decline for 45 years, now literally half the size of a generation ago. Most congregations see far more funerals than infant baptisms because we are an aging denomination. Only 1,500 of our 5,439 smallest churches have an installed pastor, putting their future viability as congregations in doubt. Even many larger congregations, which grew well for decades, have hit a season of plateau or decline. Our governing bodies reflect these trends, losing financial strength, staffing, and viability as presbyteries, synods, and national offices.

By the way, for the sake of knowing facts over emotional declaration, according to The Mainline Evangelism Project, this trend of declining membership and attendance applies to all of the "Seven Sister" "Mainline" denominations. This phenomena, while horrible, is not purely Presbyterian.

How we got to this place is less important than how to move forward. We are determined to get past rancorous, draining internal disputes that paralyze our common life and ministry. We believe the PC(USA) will not survive without drastic intervention, and stand ready to DO something different, to thrive as the Body of Christ. We call others of like mind to envision a new future for congregations that share our Presbyterian, Reformed, Evangelical heritage. If the denomination has the ability and will to move in this new direction, we will rejoice. Regardless, a group of us will change course, forming a new way for our congregations to relate. We hate the appearance of schism - but the PC(USA) is divided already. Our proposal only acknowledges the fractured denomination we have become.

Yep, 45 years of decline are horrid. But you know, these guys and their mentors have been in the church and in charge of the church for most of that time. These guys and others like them have been in charge for these 45 years, so now they are calling us all to share with them and put them back in charge again 'cause they're changing regardless? We know that this is going to happen because they say so-- "A group of us will change course, forming a new way for our congregations to relate." They hate the "appearance of schism so much" they'll leave. That's not ironic, that's contradictory.

Homosexual ordination has been the flashpoint of controversy for the last 35 years. Yet, that issue - with endless, contentious "yes" and "no" votes - masks deeper, more important divisions within the PC(USA). Our divisions revolve around differing understandings of Scripture, authority, Christology, the extent of salvation amidst creeping universalism, and a broader set of moral issues. Outside of presbytery meetings, we mostly exist in separate worlds, with opposing sides reading different books and journals, attending different conferences, and supporting different causes. There is no longer common understanding of what is meant by being "Reformed." Indeed, many sense that the only unity we have left is contained in the property clause and the pension plan; some feel like withholding per capita is a club used against them, while others feel locked into institutional captivity by property. While everyone wearies of battles over ordination, these battles divert us from a host of issues that affect the way our congregations fail to attract either young believers or those outside the faith. Thus, we age, shrink, and become increasingly irrelevant. Is it time to acknowledge that traditional denominations like the PC(USA) have served in their day but now must be radically transformed?

When people say it's not about the money, it's about the money. So it's not about the gays do we believe it's not about the gays? They say because the church is not a homogeneous unit that walks in lockstep we should stop coming together as Christians of the Presbyterian Church (USA) variety Christians so now we should become a "non-traditional" denomination? Since being a traditional denomination didn't work under their watch we should now become a non-traditional denomination under their watch.

We need something new, characterized by:

1. A clear, concise theological core to which we subscribe, within classic biblical, Reformed/Evangelical traditions, and a pledge to live according to those beliefs, regardless of cultural pressures to conform;

2. A commitment to nurture leadership in local congregations, which we believe is a primary expression of the Kingdom of God. We will identify, develop, and train a new generation of leaders - clergy and laity;

3. A passion to share in the larger mission of the people of God around the world, especially among the least, the lost, and the left behind.

4. A dream of multiplying healthy, missional communities throughout North America;

5. A pattern of fellowship reflecting the realities of our scattered life and joint mission, with regular gatherings locally, regionally, and nationally to excite our ability to dream together.

You know, if we all had the clear, concise, theological core we wouldn't have needed to change since Moses, but we didn't. Shoot, humanity couldn't handle one simple rule "Don't eat that!" We still don't and we never will. This is why we need the reconciling work of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

By the way, that commitment to local congregations is fine, especially if you are in one of the 4,000 smallest churches. That way these guys don't have to even think about you much less pay attention to what you have to say.

Our values include:

1. A minimalist structure, replacing bureaucracy and most rules with relational networks of common purpose;

2. Property and assets under stewardship of the local Session. Dues/Gifts for common administration should only allow and enable continued affiliation among these congregations;

3. Rather than large institutions, joint ventures with specialized ministries as congregations deem helpful [PC(USA) World Mission may be a source of joint support, aspects of the Board of Pensions, Presbyterian Foundation, Presbyterian Global Fellowship, Presbyterians for Renewal conferences, Outreach Foundation, etc.];

4. An atmosphere of support for congregations both within and outside of the PC(USA).

Our congregations are flush, so you can look to us like you did the Prom King and Queen, love us as we bully you, but don't ask to borrow the Corvette.

We invite like-minded pastors and elders to a gathering on August 25-27 in Minneapolis to explore joining this movement and help shape its character. Our purpose is to LIVE INTO new patterns as they are created, modeling a way of faith: the worship, supportive fellowship, sharing of best practices, and accessible theology that brings unity and the Spirit's vitality.

This gathering of the like-minded reminds me of that old song by the Five-Man Electrical Band called "Signs"--Long haired freaky people need not apply.

OUR PROPOSAL:

1. A Fellowship: The most immediate change we intend is creating a new way of relating in common faith, a Fellowship (name to be determined). The primary purpose of this Fellowship will be the encouragement of local congregations to live out the Good News proclaimed by our Savior, increasing the impact of the Kingdom of Heaven. This Fellowship will exist within current presbyteries for the time being, but energies and resources will flow in new directions. It is an intermediate tool to bring together like-minded congregations and pastors, to enable us to build a future different than our fractured present.

2. New Synod/Presbyteries: In the near future we will need "middle bodies" that offer freedom to express historical, biblical values amid ordination changes in the PC(USA). More importantly, we long for presbytery-like bodies with theological and missional consensus rather than fundamental disagreement over so many core issues. We need new processes that identify and support the next generation of leadership differently than the current model, which unintentionally weeds out the entrepreneurial persons we so desperately need in our congregations. Many current functions should be removed; some, like curriculum and mission relationships, have become less centralized already. We will work with the Middle Governing Bodies Commission since changes to The Book of Order will be needed to step fully into this reality.

3. Possible New Reformed Body: Congregations and presbyteries that remain in a denomination that fundamentally changes will become an insurmountable problem for many. Some members of the Fellowship will need an entity apart from the current PC(USA). It is likely that a new body will need to be created, beyond the boundary of the current PC(USA), while remaining in correspondence with its congregations. The wall between these partner Reformed bodies will be permeable, allowing congregations and pastors to be members in the Fellowship regardless of denominational affiliation. All kinds of possibilities exist, and much will depend on how supportive the PC(USA) can be in allowing something new to flourish.

4. Possible Reconfiguration of the PC(USA): We intend to continue conversations within the PC(USA), and have met with both Louisville's leadership and that of the Covenant Network in the past few months. We believe the denomination no longer provides a viable future and perceive that the Covenant Network also sees a broken system. We hope to work together to see if some new alignment might serve the whole Church.

We have had conversations with the denomination which we see as broken and no longer viable. That just doesn't seem to be a place to start a discussion. By the way, this "Fellowship" doesn't have to include you. As for agreeing with the Covenant Network about "seeing a broken system" it seems that this answer includes the thought "we agree with them that we would rather be a part of a church that doesn't include them or people who think like them."

Any model that includes an entity outside the PC(USA) does mean fewer remaining congregations, pastors, and elders to fight the challenges of the current PC(USA). Votes will swing in directions that had not been desirable before. For many this outcome simply acknowledges that fighting is not the way we choose to proceed; our goal is not institutional survival but effective faithfulness as full participants in the worldwide Church. We hope to discover and model what a new "Reformed body" looks like in the coming years, and we invite you to join us, stepping faithfully, boldly, and joyfully into the work for which God has called us.

Oh gosh, now they're using math as a fighting point. A schism from the PC(USA) will mean a smaller PC(USA). Can't disagree with something so obvious, but using it like a sharp stick is not glorious. "Fighting is not the way we choose to proceed" means "we're loosing now so we're not gonna play any more."

We invite you to:
download and share a PDF of this letter,
download and share a PDF of the white paper "Time for Something New",

visit our temporary webpage for more information,
and email us at fellowshippcusa@gmail.com if you have questions and/or would like to be a signatory on this letter.

Steering Committee:
Vic Pentz, Peachtree Presbyterian, Atlanta, GA
John Crosby, Christ Presbyterian, Edina, MN
David Peterson, Memorial Drive Presbyterian, Houston, TX
Jim Singleton, First Presbyterian, Colorado Springs, CO
David Swanson, First Presbyterian, Orlando, FL
Rich Kannwischer, St. Andrews, Newport Beach, CA
Mark Toone, Chapel Hill Presbyterian, Gig Harbor, WA

Concurring Pastors:*

G. Christopher Scruggs, Advent Presbyterian, Cordova, TN
Mark Brewer, Bel Air Presbyterian, Los Angeles, CA
Allan Poole, Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian, Durham, NC
Rick Murray, Covenant Presbyterian, Austin, TX
Tim Harrison, Crossroads Presbyterian, Mequon, WI
Bob Burkins, Elmwood United Presbyterian, East Orange, NJ
Doug Pratt, First Presbyterian, Bonita Springs, FL
Mateen Elass, First Presbyterian, Edmond, OK
Rich McDermott, First Presbyterian, Fort Collins, CO
Richard Gibbons, First Presbyterian, Greenville, SC
Dan Baumgartner, First Presbyterian, Hollywood, CA
Jim Birchfield, First Presbyterian, Houston, TX
Jim Davis, First Presbyterian, Kingwood, TX
Jerry Andrews, First Presbyterian, San Diego, CA
John Sowers, First Presbyterian, Spokane, WA
Jim Miller, First Presbyterian, Tulsa, OK
Jack Peebles, First Presbyterian, Yakima, WA
Don Baird, Fremont Presbyterian, Sacramento, CA
Doug Ferguson, Grace Presbyterian, Houston, TX
Bill Teng, Heritage Presbyterian, Alexandria, VA
Ronald W. Scates, Highland Park Presbyterian, Dallas, TX
David Lenz, Hope Presbyterian, Richfield, MN
Paul A. Cunningham, La Jolla Presbyterian, La Jolla, CA
Bob Sanders, Lake Grove Presbyterian, Lake Oswego, OR
Kevin Pound, Mandarin Presbyterian Church, Jacksonville, FL
John Ortberg, Menlo Park Presbyterian, Menlo Park, CA
Jeff Ebert, Presbyterian Church at New Providence, New Providence, NJ
Douglas Garrard, Palm Desert Community Presbyterian, Palm Desert, CA
Paul Detterman, Presbyterians for Renewal, Louisville, KY
Mike McClenahan, Solana Beach Presbyterian, Solana Beach, CA
Steve Hartman, Third Presbyterian, Richmond, VA
David Joynt, Presbyterian Church of Toms River, Toms River, NJ
Douglas J. Rumford, Trinity United Presbyterian, Santa Ana, CA
Patrick H. Wrisley, University Place Presbyterian, University Place, WA
George Hinman (Senior Pastor) and Tim Snow (Executive Pastor), University Presbyterian, Seattle, WA
Peter Barnes, Westlake Hills Presbyterian, Austin, TX
Baron Eliason, Westminster Presbyterian, Lubbock, TX

*Signatories represent themselves, not necessarily the Session or congregation of their respective churches.

This ends the letter, back to my comments: It has been noted by some that all of these churches are "Big Steeple" churches, large churches with storied histories. They also have significant amounts of property and status in their communities and in the denomination. It has also been noted that all of these pastors are men, and supposed that they are white men. I can say that the former is true and the latter is likely true, especially given the demographics of the denomination.

Again, as I said, these links are active and these signatories were on the letter I received yesterday. One more note, I will label this post under "church" but I will not use the "faith" label. This letter and my responses have little to do with faith.

These men tell us "the sky is falling." If that's true, I'm glad I have faith that it is the Lord God who will catch us, and not these guys.

Dallas Needs Strippers!

2011-01-31T22:04:00.000-06:00

ESPN Reports that Dallas strip clubs need an estimated 10,000 more strippers for this weekend. With 60 licensed clubs in the Metroplex, according to the article, each will employ an average of 160 more dancers this weekend.

Well, it cold be worse...

By the way, no, this isn't my proudest moment, but sometimes you just gotta share.

My Beef Isn't with Taco Bell

2011-01-29T16:06:00.000-06:00

This week there has been a big bru-ha-ha over Taco Bell Beef. A group in California is suing the restaurant contending their taco meat is only 35% beef.

In response, the company has taken out full page advertisements in several large metropolitan newspapers saying their taco meat is 88% beef.

What upsets me is that the FDA benchmark for the amount of beef required to be in taco meat is only 40%. I'm glad that someone is looking out for us. Thank you FDA.

Come to Think of It, That Does Look Familiar

2011-01-22T16:00:00.002-06:00

When I was in seminary in Austin, Texas, we would often go out to eat at a Pizza Place by campus. Since the seminary was just north of the UT campus, everything was definitely Longhorn centered. Then Marie pointed to an image on a flag in the restaurant, this one...

Then she looked at me and said, "Look honey, the UT Medical School must have a Women's Health Unit, there's their logo." I was puzzled. She continued, "Honey, look! It's a uterus and fallopian tubes!"

You know... come to think of it... I guess we spent way too much time seeing fertility doctors.

Customer Service

2011-01-18T14:10:00.002-06:00

The Customer Service buzz has been around for years now. It has been well over twenty years since the buzz hit higher education and other service industries. Marie and I attended a customer service workshop as a part of our hospital orientation at Good Shepherd Hospital-Marshall yesterday.

One of their concepts of service is that if someone asks an employee where something is, they take you there. Sure, this can take five to ten minutes, but even if you are in the midst of three additional errands, you take them there.

Of course this didn't happen when we tried to find the room where Orientation was being held. Irony works like that.

As I have a propensity to be a crotchety ol' SOB from time to time with a wicked sense of humor, I also thought it would be nice to point out a sign at a local market where the Express Lane asks you to limit yourself to "about twelve" items. Seriously, about twelve.

That way the people who carry two things of the same thing can feel better about counting them as one. If you have 3 two-liter bottles of your favorite soda, you can count them as one since only one has to be scanned and the other two can be entered on the key pad somehow, making the process much quicker. I would believe it still prevents you from thinking of "bacon, lettuce, and tomato" as one item, but we're getting closer to sane change from people who think "a whole cart full" is close to "twelve." (Don't know how many times I've seen that at Wal-Mart all over America.)

Instead (yeah, six column inches on the screen and now I get to the "instead") I want to talk about two pieces of good customer service.

The first was at my local Brookshires store, the home of "about twelve." Today, I had one item, a bag of chips for Marie's lunch. I was at the back of a longish line when a woman said, "Sir, I can get you over here." When the man at the back of the line on the next lane over heard this, he moved over and got to the head of the line. He had about a dozen items in a hand basket. The woman looked at him and said, "Sir, pleas let me get the man in the line behind you first since he has only one item." I don't know if he liked this or not, but I loved it... and her!

As for the other great piece of customer service, Friday night Marie and I went to Longivew, Texas and ate at Red Lobster. Our waitress was fabulous! Her name was Jessica, JK on her badge, and she was great! Friendly, always there to refill drinks, remembering what we were drinking, great with food suggestions and very very prompt. On top of that, the food was fabulous. It was probably the best Red Lobster we had ever eaten in period end of sentence. Ever. Kudos for the Longview Red Lobster and for JK!

Remember, tell someone who has made a difference in your life that they have. It goes a long way with them... and it doesn't hurt to pay the complement either.

How About the 2011 College Football Season!

2011-01-15T20:48:00.003-06:00

This from ESPN.com's Brian Fremeau was published January 14:

We know, it's early.

But with the 2010 season officially wrapped, we can't help but take a look ahead at what 2011 will bring.

You know what I say, RESIST! Stop it! Stop it right now! Just one week after Auburn beat Oregon in the NCAA BCS Championship Game there is someone who wants to predict the 2011 season winner.

Enjoy it while you can Tigers. But at least you got a whole week to revel in the glory. At this rate I bet the 2011 champ won't get to celebrate at all. I'm guessing the 2012 champ will be crowned about Thanksgiving weekend this year.

Sarah Palin and Blood Libel

2011-01-12T14:53:00.004-06:00

I would like to thank Governor Palin for this much, if I am any indication I would like to thank her for teaching an entire generation the term "blood libel."

Here's a video of the Governor's statement, this version is from Governor Palin's facebook page and hosted at vimeo.com:

Sarah Palin: "America's Enduring Strength" from Sarah Palin on Vimeo.

If you are like me, you went to Wikipedia and read this, "Blood libel (also blood accusation) refers to a false accusation or claim that religious minorities, in European contexts almost always Jews, murder children to use their blood in certain aspects of their religious rituals and holidays." Thanks WikiWorld!

There are lots of thing to be said about this, but in my opinion none have said them better than Ruth Abrams in her blog The Versatile Writer. She writes:

Sarah Palin is not a member of a persecuted, segregated minority. Though she has resigned her legitimately elected office, she’s a political leader who is being accused of overblown, violent rhetoric. Of that I think she’s actually guilty. I’ve read the things she said and seen her little gun sight map. I don’t think her rhetoric is the key issue underlying the Tuscon shooting–it’s not even in the top three key issues, which are gun control, the lack of adequate mental health care and the stigma attached to seeking mental health care. [BTW, I don't agree with her stance on gun control as an issue in this matter, but I do agree with her stance on the state of mental health issues in America. -PAA]

But look, Sarah Palin, if someone shoots one of your political opponents and thousands of people turn to look at your gun-related metaphors for how to vote her out of office, it’s not “blood libel.” It’s people saying your wild west, violent, anti-intellectual style is as dangerous as your reactionary political substance. It may be opportunistic, but I’m glad they are. Now cut the cultural appropriation and pull up your socks–take some responsibility for what you say.

In her video response, Governor Palin says "each individual is accountable for his actions" saying this is not the time to blame talk radio or other such media for the actions of deranged individuals. What the Governor fails to take into account is that you should blame the person who yells "fire" in a crowded movie house as well as the person who starts the stampede. Media have been screaming "fire" for years and are now in shock when somebody fires.

She also mentions late in the piece that the cry from some politicians to "take up arms" is a metaphor for voting. I guess this means the 2nd Amendment's right to keep and bear arms is a rephrasing of voting rights. I'm glad we got that out of the way.

Finally, at about the 2:15 mark,in a place where Governor Palin extols the benefits of political rhetoric, she mentioned "maps of swing districts that were used by both sides of the aisle." Yes, both sides of the aisle. I'll take her at her word on this, but then ask the question every parents asks every teenager, "Would you jump off a cliff if everyone used sniper sight imagery in their civil political rhetoric?"

I pray somebody begins to say no and demands better from those who will govern us. We must demand more of those who we elect to office. In fact, let's quit electing politicians and start electing leaders.

John Stewart on Saturday's Arizona Shootings

2011-01-11T15:15:00.001-06:00

The monologue from Monday's episode of "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central.

Arizona Shootings Reaction

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog</a>

The Daily Show on Facebook

Once again, that's all I have to say about that.

Ration after the Irrational

2011-01-10T14:30:00.004-06:00

Some of my friends have been trying to make sense of the violence of this weekend. Shoot, I gave it a shot in yesterday's sermon myself. Still, there is a danger in all of this.

These acts yesterday were the acts of a man with real mental trouble. I am not fit to diagnose, not will I ever be called upon to judge his mental health. But after hearing some interviews and seeing his YouTube videos, he did not seem to be in perfect mental health to me.

So when people of good conscience try to make conclusions beyond his actions, there will be some lapses.It's inevitable! What Jared Loughner did was beyond reason. Some political rhetoric in the Cable News Sphere and the Talk Radio Sphere and the BlogoSphere and the Twittersphere and whatever other else spheres are out on the other side of civility too. But to connect the two, trying to create a relationship that says one causes the other is perilous at best.

Friends, don't try to make sense of the acts of a killer. It's not going to help. What we must do is take responsibility for our own actions, our own speech, and our own images. Which reminds me, this isn't the first time a "peace sign" has been replaced by the Mercedes-Benz logo, but can we try to make it the last?

And That's All I Have to Say About That, The Coda

2011-01-09T10:24:00.003-06:00

Yeah, I realize it's a stupid heading title, but alas, it fits. Since this is the coda, you should read the next post first.

Over the past eight hours or so, something that I have noticed missing from the sermon piece is that I speak of a Jewish woman, a woman whose faith is important to her, and use it in a Christian context. Literally, I take her shooting, I take her story, and put it in an a-Semitic setting.

I say a-Semitic instead of antisemitic because I neglect it entirely! My writing is completely without reference to her faith and that's what the prefix a- means, without.

So, how can I talk about what has happened to this woman and put it in a Christian context?

First, John 4:22 (references here) reminds us "salvation comes from the Jews." Any Christian who takes an antisemitic stand fails to remember this most basic of all truths, salvation comes from the Jews.

Second, my denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA), has made a statement that the Jews have always had a special relationship with the Lord, further saying that this relationship did not end with the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

Finally, what happened in Tucson transcends denomination, it is a tragedy of at least national proportion. If I split the hair in my sermon too finely by not mentioning Representative Giffords' faith, I apologize.

It was an oversight, not a slight.

And That's All I Have to Say about That

2011-01-08T23:07:00.000-06:00

Yesterday there was a tragic shooting in Tucson. Someone seemingly decided that... well, I have no idea what Jared Laughner decided. But as the Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas, one of my responsibilties is to interpret this for us. This is a late draft what I am going during worship on Sunday morning from my sermon titled "Living Wet."

The premise of the sermon had to do with living into the covenant of baptism, living in the waters of our baptism. Yesterday, it took a different turn.

In due time, Jesus would give the world a new righteousness, a new relationship with the Lord open to all of us, not just the prophets of the Old Testament. But this was not the reason he came to the river. Jesus had come to the river to do the right thing. He came to accept the baptism of John. And in his obedience to righteousness he did what was pleasing to God, receiving the anointing of the Holy Spirit, hearing the glorious voice of the Lord.

This is as far as I got by Saturday afternoon. Then I checked facebook and when I did I found out about the shooting in Tucson. I read about a mad man who took more than a dozen shots into a crowd at a political event, killing six including Federal Judge John Roll and a nine year-old girl, wounding twelve including U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords.

It seems that in times like these, when chaos looks like it is going to swallow us all, that people come to church seeking answers, seeking a word in the Lord. Today I speak about righteousness that comes in relationship. I speak of a man who takes a baptism that is not his, but he takes it on behalf of all of us. He accepts the baptism of water to stand with us in the waters of the church. He has chosen to live wet in the waters of our baptism, a baptism he does not need, but chooses to accept.

It’s funny how many of those images will return around Easter time. Then he will take what should be assigned to us again. Then he will accept a punishment that we deserve, not him. And he will do it on our behalf.

Today, we come to the font, accepting three new members into this community, a community established in the waters of his baptism and in ours. Today we will come to the font and ordain and install new leaders, Elders into this part of the Body of Christ. One of these Elders has served the congregation and the Session faithfully. The other has served the congregation faithfully and begins serving in a new ministry today.

Today we will come to the table to share the Bread of Heaven, the Body of Christ broken for us and the Cup of Salvation, the Blood of Christ shed for us. In our reading today, through the Baptism of the Lord, we are again called to remember our own baptism. Our baptism is a bath, a tomb, a womb. Our baptism is a gift which identifies us with the community Jesus calls into existence every day. A community he founded and a community he joined in the waters of his baptism, done through a righteousness which is a gift freely offered which we freely ask. In the waters of the baptism we share together, we live a wonderfully wet live.

As for yesterday’s shooting, I have no new word. I have no new insight. I have no new wisdom. What I have, the only thing I ever always have, is the promise of the Lord our God. The only thing I really have to say about this is that as we are called to live in righteousness, in relationship with Jesus Christ. And as in the life of Christ, sometimes we live wet in the waters of our baptism; and in other more terrific times it is in the blood of the cross.

Lord, hear our prayers... My the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen. (Psalm 19:14)

Sabbath

2011-01-07T21:17:00.004-06:00

Today was my Sabbath, my day of rest. As a Pastor, the usual Sabbath, Sunday, is my biggest day of work during the week. Sunday is actually my Monday, but it's a much more wonderful and glorious than Monday was when I worked in Higher Education.

So what did I do on this Sabbath? I slept. I got out of bed at 7:00 to take out the trash and I got donuts. Have I mentioned that the donuts in Marshall are fabulous? As a matter of fact, yes, I have.

After breakfast I took a nap. After the nap, I read and I prayed. Then I took another nap. Then I took Marie to the library where I took a book and read some more. Eating dinner, we watched a couple of episodes of a from BBC America called Torchwood. Now, I'm telling all of you about my mundane day and getting ready to finish my reading.

This is halfway to unusual for me. Often there is a Presbytery thing which takes from my reflective and rejuvenatory time. Sometimes it's work around the house. Today, it was all Sabbath!

Tomorrow there's work. There is taking the Christmas decorations out to the shed. There's the trip to Wal-Mart to return a lousy vacuum cleaner. There's finishing the sermon and trying to whittle it down to about twelve-hundred words so that we don't finish in time for a late, late supper. (This is because tomorrow we will also be celebrating the Lord's Supper, Ordaining and Installing New Officers, and Welcoming three new members.)

I have all ready joked that Sunday's sermon may well be a reading of the scripture followed by me saying "Yep, amen."

So God bless, and my your Sabbath be as wonderful as mine. I think there's donut left, but don't tell anyone.

Bowl Inflation

2011-01-06T21:44:00.003-06:00

Alrighty, I'm pushing 50 years old. I know that's not so old, but frankly, to the greater half of the American population, I might as well be their grandfather. But that's not what this is about.

When I was your age... (nobody likes to hear that, do they) college football bowl games ended on New Year's Day. That was it! I remember when it was scandalous that the Rose Bowl went to the second of January!

Today, we're in the age of the Bowl Championship Series, and dozens of other bowls have found that there's gold in them there bowls, so bowls have proliferated like nukes in the 70's over the past ten or fifteen years. But still, when it came time to get down to business, when it came time to play the majors, when it came time to play the BCS games, they had center stage and it was great. So the Rose Bowl has been played, the Sugar Bowl has been played, the Fiesta Bowl has been played, and the Orange Bowl has been played. So tonight, tonight it's the biggest game of all...

That's right, tonight it's the GoDaddy.com Bowl from Mobile, Alabama featuring Middle Tennessee State verses Miami of Ohio.

Look, I love college football, but can't we get this over with? How far do we have to go past New Year's Day with college football? What's the GoDaddy.com bowl doing in the midst of the BCS games? When will someone say enough is enough?

Oh yeah, when the goose is cut open so we can get all of the eggs out at once. I read that somewhere once before somewhere.

Tucker Carlson Backpedals as the Defense Comes in for the Sack

2011-01-04T09:31:00.003-06:00

A few days ago, pundip Tucker Carlson said that Michael Vick should not be a football quarterback but should have been executed for his dog fighting crimes. To this I wrote on facebook:

First, I believe what Michael Vick did to cause his incarceration was deplorable. The length of his incarceration is up for debate, some said it should have been longer, BUT Michael Vick did the time he was given. Having said that, does Tucker Carlson believe that everyone who has ever been in prison should be executed, never allowed the opportunity to make amends? If Michael Vick is treated like this in the media.

Oh, "pundip" is a word I've invented, it's a portmanteau of "pundit" and "dips..." well you get the picture. Feel free to use it at will, there are many pundips out there on both sides of the political aisle. Back to Tucker...

As posted on Huffington Post, Carlson is backtracking from his statement. He says, "This is what happens when you get too emotional."

As for me, I've quit watching TV news for just this reason. "Reporters" and "Analysts" are too emotional. There is no reporting, not anymore. There is rhetoric and there is posing, but there isn't any reporting anymore. Give Carlson this credit, he indicted himself for the crime of all Cable TV pundips, but he still doesn't get it. He says,

"As a friend of mine told me, 'a convicted child molester doesn't get to adopt kids'" Carlson responded. He quickly added that he wasnt comparing Vick to a child molester.

Sorry Tucker, you don't get to drop the "child molester" bomb and follow it up with saying you aren't comparing him to a child molester. You did. Here's the FoxNews feed--

Keep backpedaling Tucker, by the way, I'm not buying that pump fake.

Read Any "Good Book" Lately?

2011-01-02T17:08:00.005-06:00

It's that time of year, time to begin new habits. One of my favorites is reading the bible through every year. In the past, I have read through the New Revised Standard Version and the New International Versions. Last year I read the New American Standard Bible through. I find it interesting to see how different editors and editorial committees make the translation choices they do. This year, I'm taking a slightly different tack and reading the New Living Translation. You can get this one pictured here.

I've chosen this translation this year because I haven't spent a lot of time in it and thought it would be about time I tried something different. Picking the translation you want to read is as easy as that.

So, it's not too late to join. Your local Christian Book Store and every big box bookseller on earth can hook you up with a copy. There are 44.5 million websites that will help you find a one year reading plan. Or you can check out this one, with links and support, from my friend The Practical Disciple.

Be blessed friends, join me and give it a go!

The iPhone iRritant

2011-01-01T00:30:00.000-06:00

How many times have you seen this in one place or another...

You're in a public place and it's an event, and you're enjoying what's going on. Then you notice all around you, held up just above head level, is a flock of iPhones recording everything so that their owner doesn't miss a thing.

I just saw this going on in Times Square on New Year's Eve, during the ball drop. Friends, wouldn't you rather watch the ball drop than watch the viewfinder of your cell phone watching the ball drop?

If you're looking for a resolution for this year, be in the moment people. Live what is happening with the people it is happening with. If you share the video with people and say, "I was there," no, you weren't. You were the cinematographer.

Put down the iPhone, pick up your kids.

My January 2011 Newsletter Article

2010-12-31T01:34:00.000-06:00

Don't forget to pick up your newsletter from the table in the Narthex on Sunday, either before or after worship.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Whenever a congregation calls a new pastor, people wonder… “What’s the pastor going to change?” For some, this causes a lot of stress and uncertainty. So to take the edge off, here are some answers.

The first change Georgia, Al, Brionna and I have made is that I have begun to process with the Acolyte. With that, Al has begun making the announcements before the procession.

Also, we have started singing more verses from the hymns. Not more hymns, just more verses.

Next, during Advent, the baby Jesus was missing from the manger scene. Why? He doesn’t show up until Christmas Eve, so he didn’t show up until December 24. In the same way, the three wise men don’t make an appearance until Epiphany, so they’re making their way through the church and now the sanctuary until that glorious day in early January.

As for a bigger change, in the coming year we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper more often than in prior years. In the past, we have celebrated this sacrament six times per year. In 2011, we will celebrate it eighteen times! This is three times as often as in the past.

Starting in 2011 we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper on the first Sunday of every month except in January and August. In January, we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper on the 9^th, which is also Baptism of the Lord Sunday. In August, we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper on the third Sunday as the Fellowship Communion just like last year. We will also celebrate the Lord’s Supper on every Sunday from Easter through Pentecost, the seasons of the dying and rising of our Savior and the Birth of the Church.

Why celebrate the Lord’s Supper more often? The sacraments are important; they are the visible signs of God’s invisible grace. As we celebrate them, we remember them and the impact they have in our lives. They are signs of God’s covenant relationship with the people of God, with us. The Lord’s Supper is specifically the food that nourishes and sustains us in our lives as Christ’s disciples. We believe it builds the body of Christ, and to lift an old advertising slogan, the Elements of the Communion, they do the Body good.

There are some other exciting and glorious things happening too. In the coming weeks we will have at least two families join the church. Baptisms, both infant and adult, will be coming in the late spring too.

Just as important of a question is “What isn’t changing?” This has a very simple and even more important answer. First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas is still a place where Christ is proclaimed. Who we are and what we do are wrapped around the simple truth that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the fully human and fully divine God Incarnate. He shared life on earth and came to know all that we know from birth to death; including birth and death. He rose from the dead and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. He sent his Spirit to indwell us and strengthen us for this life that we might live worthy of our faith in God, and even more, God’s faith in us. This isn’t changing. This will never change.

Let us worship God together.

See you at church, Paul

Alcopop

2010-12-30T13:38:00.006-06:00

Isn't that a great word, Alcopop! Alcopops are a variety of alcoholic beverage that comes premixed with a variety of other ingredients to enhance taste or whatever.

Some beverages in this category include the Bacardi Breezer, Smirnoff Ice, and the recently notorious Four Loco Energy Drink.

My favorite in this category is Sparks. On the label, it plainly tells all who will imbibe in this fine beverage that it contains Yellow Number Five.

Thank God, that old Yellow #4 is just vile.

Stupid Warning Labels

2010-12-29T10:06:00.003-06:00

Last week I went to our local Long John Silver's restaurant. (So when did the filets become as flat as a pancake? Anyway...) By the cash register there was a warning sign:

Shellfish Warning

Your food is prepared either with or in proximity to shellfish.

People with shellfish allergies should be aware and take necessary precautions.

If you have a shellfish allergy I would think the first precaution would be not to eat in a place that specialized in shellfish! Even if it is fast food shellfish!

Yesterday I ranted against Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell for his take on postponing the Eagles/Vikings game. His take that we are becoming a nation of wusses hinges on the fact that in the olde days "we wouldn't have done it that way." I took the point that if he wants to call the Philadelphia Eagles a bunch of wusses he should get out of his limo, walk past his protection detail, and say it to their faces.

What I say about "Stupid Warning Labels" is be aware of your surroundings and if you have an allergy to seafood stay out of the seafood restaurant.

One is a matter of public safety and the other a matter of personal responsibility. And it's still a stupid warning label.

Wuss!

2010-12-28T11:25:00.003-06:00

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Wendell has declared us a nation of "Wusses" because the NFL didn't play a game in a blizzard. Well, here's what I have to say about that.

First, if you want to get style points on FoxNews by name calling then pick another city. Philly fans once booed Santa Claus for getting hurt in a parachute stunt. Then Philly fans once booed a guy who fell from the upper deck because he didn't get hurt. Wusses?

Second, if you're paying the contracts of the guys who could get hurt in all of this you might be happy the league (not the team or the city but the league) called off the game.

Third, if you are injured and emergency vehicles are focusing on maintaining Lincoln Financial Field instead of your street you might be glad the game was called.

Forth, if you're a beer vendor you're probably glad you didn't have to navigate snowy steps carrying case after case of bottles for two hours.

Finally Mr. Governor, get out of your limo, ditch your security detail, and tell the good people of the city you once served as mayor that they've become wussified. I'll watch that on pay-per-view.

On another weather related wuss note, an ESPN Radio talking head this morning said that "This wouldn't have happened in Colorado where he lived." He didn't mention that snow doesn't stay on the ground in eastern Colorado. Denver, the front range, the high plains, they can all get snow, but then the winds blow and it's all gone in a day or two. Don't play the "Winter in Denver" card until you compare it to a Philly blizzard.

As for me, I grew up in Kansas City where when winter locked in it locked in. Winds from Alberta made the air temps zero and the wind chills horrible. When it snowed, it stayed on the ground for a couple of months. Oh, that was after the glaze of ice that fell first.

Then I moved to the high plains. Yes it's cold, and yes it's windy (dear GOD is it windy), but while I remember Trick or Treating being snowed out on Halloween three months later I was on the golf course on Ground Hog Day. Wuss this five iron.

Superstition

2010-12-23T15:00:00.001-06:00

"When you believe in things you don't understand and you suffer, then you suffer; Superstition ain't the way." --Stevie Wonder

I hate behaving in superstitious ways. It doesn't prevent me from acting in superstitious ways, but I still hate it.

About ten years ago, after we moved to Austin, Marie wasn't feeling well. This was nothing new for either of us, she hadn't been well since we moved to Austin. The Dean of Students at the seminary asked how we were doing and how specifically Marie was feeling. Now, I knew she wasn't faking it, but I wondered out loud if "she could find a job and hit a tempo and find a rhythm that she might not feel better." Just thinking out loud. I knew she wasn't faking, but I just hoped if she found something to keep her busy she might feel better.

This is where the organ player starts playing in a minor key.

Well, I said something stupid and she got really sick. In a couple of weeks she had a bowel resection. I was hoping "she would find a rhythm" and she was fighting off a ton of infection and whatever else was causing her abdominal problems. (They still aren't really sure either.)

So Marie hasn't been feeling well lately. I know about the Crohn's disease and the host of other issues she has. I also know better than to say something stupid like I did ten years ago again. But I told this story to my secretary yesterday and... you guessed it--Shingles! Marie has Shingles.

THAT'S NOT FUNNY GOD! Did I tempt fate telling that story again? Stevie has it right: "When you believe in things you don't understand and you suffer, then you suffer; Superstition ain't the way."

I love you Marie, and I pray you get better soon.

Congrats UConn Women's Hoops

2010-12-22T10:33:00.002-06:00

Last night, the University of Connecticut Huskies Women's Basketball team set a new NCAA consecutive wins streak record with 89 wins. This beats the former record set by John Wooden's UCLA Bruins between 1971-1973.

Sports TV, radio, and blogs have been on fire about whether this record means as much because it's a "women's" record. I believe there is only one way to know, judge them by the quality of the competition they faced.

Were Geno Auriemma's teams tested like Wooden's? Which team saw more ranked opponents? You can ask the question about which team dominated its opponents more, but then you also have to ask if a blowout a sign of a superior team or inferior competition?

Well, I won't say that one is better or worse. Let me say congrats tot he UConn Huskies (not the Yukon Huskies) on their achievement. It was a long time coming and is well deserved. Don't let any nay sayers take a bit of your achievement away from you with the words "you're girls."

Til Death

2010-12-21T21:32:00.000-06:00

The New York Times has a column called "Vows" where Debs and their Fraternity President betrothed's tell stories of meeting and courting with cute stories and quippy anecdotes. Not last Sunday.

Here's the story of Carol Anne Riddell and John Partilla as found in the New York Times.

To me, here is the quote of the article: As Mr. Partilla saw it, their options were either to act on their feelings and break up their marriages or to deny their feelings and live dishonestly. “Pain or more pain,” was how he summarized it.

Another good quote: I did a terrible thing as honorably as I could.

Today, Yahoo reports Mr. Partilla "has some misgivings -- about agreeing to let the Times profile him." Still, they say they were honest with each other and their spouses. As soon as they declared their feelings for each other they went to their spouses--they didn't go off and have a tawdry affair, and Mr. Partilla is proud of that.

I think he's setting the bar kind of low on pride here.

This is kind of like the flip-side of Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light." In that song, the man proposes so he can get physical release. In this case there are two divorces so the new couple can get release, you fill in the blank about what kind of release.

So what do we learn from all of this? Nothing our mama's didn't tell us growing up and we forgot while watching Springer, "Keep your dirty laundry off the line!" The happy couple wanted "one honest account" of their relationship to date. They didn't think of it as dirty laundry, but many comments on the NYT web page seem to differ. I guess they didn't have a tawdry affair, but was what they had-is what they have-so much different?

I believe being proud that as they discarded their vows they did it above board is not enough.

Editor's note: Cases of abuse and abandonment are different from what's going on here. That's a whole different ballgame.

Then again, what do I know...I'm a child of divorce and lies about divorce. My sisters have both been divorced and I have been married 13 years after not getting married until my mid-30's. If you get it, please share. Not just the reason for the divorce but the reason for sharing, I'm kind of stumped.

Cliff Lee to the Phillies

2010-12-15T13:09:00.003-06:00

The Hero of the Texas Rangers, Cliff Lee, has signed to pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies for the next five seasons, and one more if the optional year is exercised. The deal is substantial, over five years he will be paid $120 million.

As big as that number is, the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees both offered more money. So why did Lee pick the Phillies?

First, he played for them last year and liked playing there.

Second, he is now one of four top flight starting pitchers on the staff. Any team that has two top flight starters is tough, three is a machine. Four? Nobody has four. There haven't been so many good starters on a single team since the Atlanta Braves in the 80's and before that it was the Baltimore Orioles in the 70's. It's rarefied air.

Third, is it the money? Well, other teams wanted to pay him more, but seriously, how much money does one family need. If $120 million can't hold someone over, nothing can... but that leads to

Four, it's not so much money that the rest of the team will be crippled. By going to the Phillies and going for a "little less" money, the Phillies can still pay the rest of their rotation, along with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez, and others. Not only is he getting paid, but so is a real roster. In Texas, it probably would have been closer to "Cliff Lee and the League Minimums."

Five, Cliff Lee's son has leukemia which is currently in remission. One of the best children's hospitals in the hemisphere is in Philly, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). His son had been treated there and will continue to be treated there without commuting through a timezone to get to his appointment.

Finally, the Philly players have a commitment to youth, and particularly CHOP.

These videos are about a young man named Josiah Viera and his relationship with his favorite player, Ryan Howard. Sure, it's about ten minutes worth of video, but they are worth watching.

In addition, it was my honor to know an Aunt and Uncle of a young woman with a rare form of cancer who was being treated at CHOP. While at the hospital, in what can best be described as an adoption, Phillies relief pitcher Brad Lidge became very close to a young woman named Leah and her family. Brad Lidge was generous with his time and his love for this young woman and her family. I've been praying not only for her family, but for Brad Lidge ever since.

So there it is. There are a lot of teams that have lost out on a great pitcher, but this is one man who has gained much because his choice of who he went to work for was based on more than the money it put in his pocket.

To all of the other teams in the league, particularly the Rangers, I'm sorry, it wasn't fair, you couldn't offer everything that would sway Cliff Lee's decision.

As for the Yankees, I've hated you since the 70's when you beat the Royals for the pennant all those times. I'll never be sorry you didn't get a free agent! You can take your money and go home!

Have You Ever Been to Marshall, Texas in the Winter?

2010-12-05T10:05:00.003-06:00

If you have never been to Marshall, Texas in the winter, you are missing a wonderland.

Marie and I saw the lighting of the courthouse lights on the day before Thanksgiving and it was a joy. The Chamber brought in Rhema Marvanne to do a show and it was great. If you've never heard her, follow the link. The most wonderful thing about this young singer is that even with such powerful pipes, she is still a seven year old girl. She's not twenty-two in a seven year old's body nor is she forty-eight in a seven year old's body. She's seven and that's special.

There are light shows all over Marshall with bus tours and horse drawn carriages to see them in.

There's even an outdoor ice rink on the square.

There's only a few days left to see it all, so come on down. For details, check out http://visitmarshalltexas.org/ on the internet. See you soon!

My December Newsletter Article

2010-12-02T08:33:00.002-06:00

Every month I write a letter for the church newsletter. Here's this month's letter...

Dear Friends in Christ,

The other day I was driving to the church up south Washington toward the square. It was one of those balmy Indian Summer mornings when it wasn’t too chilly and you knew it was going to be a lovely day. My mind was wandering a little, as far as it should while driving in the hospital zone. Just south of the hospital is the Marshall Manor nursing home and as I was passing the nursing home I saw something that simply mesmerized me. On the patio facing the street, facing the east, was about a half-dozen residents. Some were in jackets, others wrapped in blankets. Some were on benches and others were in wheelchairs. Nobody had either a cup of coffee or the newspaper. All of them were gazing into the rising sun. They were sitting on the patio being bathed in the first rays of the dawn of the day as they rose above the treetops.

Of all things, it reminded me of a 1988 movie starring Nicholas Cage called “City of Angels” about an angel who fell in love and fell to earth so he could be with Meg Ryan. One of the recurring scenes in the movie shows the angels standing on the seashore or on tall buildings and gazing into the sunrise and sunset. At these quiet moments, the angels can hear the music of God’s glory ringing through creation. As I was driving past the nursing home, when I saw these people sitting on the patio gazing into the morning dew, seeing these fragile people who had seen so much in this life; I imagined them as the angels hearing the music of God’s glory in the breaking of the sun on creation.

It may be kind of cheesy, but that’s just the way my mind works some days.

As we come into Advent (and as we say, “Advent” means “Coming”) I am not reminded of God’s coming in power and might, I am reminded of an infant. I am reminded of a newborn who can do nothing for himself. I am reminded of someone who is totally powerless and needs people around him to do the most basic and mundane things, beginning with cleaning and feeding. But I am also reminded that in the early light of the star that burns so bright in the night sky, there is a music that everyone can hear, a music that comes not from creation, but from the Creator, from Him. He comes without power and might, and he comes in majesty and in glory.

So during this Advent season, let us prepare for his coming. Let us prepare for this coming and for his next coming in majesty and glory and in power and might. As we prepare our homes let us prepare our very selves to hear the music that is aching to be played in our soul. Let us be like those residents of Marshall Manor, sitting in the morning glory like the angels hearing the music of God’s glory in the breaking of the Son of Man.

Have a wonderful Advent… and a Merry Christmas, Paul

NFL Week 12

2010-12-01T15:16:00.004-06:00

Sure, everyone else on earth has been here and so I'm going now. This is the big bru-ha-ha coming to you through the auspices of the World Wide Leader--ESPN.com...

And this gem is from a photo caption on ESPN.com
[Tennessee Titans Safety] Cortland Finnegan and [Houston Texans Wide Receiver] Andre Johnson engaged in a full-blow fistfight late in the Texans' 20-0 victory over Tennessee. On Monday, both players were fined $25,000.

It seems so demure when you express it in a picture caption. What happened was far wilder.

Cortland Finnegan is an instigator. He loves to pick fights with receivers and on Sunday, that receiver was Andre Johnson. Finally Johnson got sick and tired of the whole thing and a fight broke out. Both players lost their helmets, but it was Finnegan who looked like a speed bag during a hard workout and Johnson was playing the role of the boxer.

By the way, Finnegan was giving up a good 4" in height and 40 pounds. You can pick all the fights you want, but look out for when they decide to fight back. Finnegan is a bully and it's just bad logic to bully someone bigger than you are.

Both players were ejected from the game and, as you read, both were also fined $25,000. Was it a just decision, well, I have another idea...

I say, as the player who got his clock cleaned, the NFL should have allowed Cortland Finnegan to set Andre Johnson's punishment. Then I believe the NFL should have doubled it and given it to Finnegan for instigating the whole thing.

Did I mention that the Johnson's team shut-out Finnegan's team? Did I mention that this is the second shut-out in the history of the Houston Texan's franchise? So true...

Hey Cortland--Don't cross the river if you can't swim the tide.

What's That?

2010-11-30T07:28:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I was at the store and saw a full size pickup truck raised on its suspension with large mudder tires. It was a drab color of green, but what caught my attention was the detail across the bottom third of the chassis.

The bottom of the truck was wrapped in camouflage decals.

What good is this? What is the deer supposed to think anyway?

"Golly! It looks like a pickup truck, but it's... it's floating! It's floating above the grass and brush! How is this happe..."

Then Bambi is mesmerized until Bubba gets off a clean shot.

Yeah, that's the ticket!

So, What Are You Giving This Christmas?

2010-11-29T11:25:00.002-06:00

This is the opposite of the normal way this question is asked, but it does deserve asking, what are you giving this Christmas? One of the things Marie and I are giving this Christmas is this Christmas card.

We received this card last year from Denis and Jenny Greene and their lovely family in Kansas City. (Thanks Denis! Thanks Jenny!) As it says on the back of the card:

The "Bus Stop Nativity" (2007) was designed by St. James Youth Group Member Osa Eke. Here Christ, along with Mary and Joseph, are waiting at the bus stop at the corner of 39th and Troost Ave., just outside St. James Catholic Church. (Personal note: If you are unfamiliar with navigating KC, MO, you would not know that this isn't one of the city's "Visitor Brochure" neighborhoods. Sure, there are worse neighborhoods, but no one is going to confuse this area with the Country Club strip of Ward Parkway.)

To learn more about St. James Catholic Church and its ministries, visit http://www.stjkc.org/

The card itself was created by a youth group member and printed by the Student Press @ DeLaSalle with assists the Parish with all printing needs. In this way it is a mission arm of the Parish and helps support people who need printing and people who need to learn a skill. I imagined when I got some of these cards last year, I was helping support this part of the Parish mission.

Unfortunately the card is no longer available. But it returns us to the question, what are you giving this Christmas?

If you can make one gift, just one gift, something that helps give to others too, it is a gift that gives twice. I hope all who receive the card are as blessed as I was when we got it. I pray the kids working with the Student Press @ DeLaSalle are blessed too with what they receive from the mission.

Can we all do this at least once this Christmas season? A little can go a long, long way.

The PC (USA) New Form of Government

2010-11-17T09:39:00.003-06:00

This weekend Grace Presbytery, the organization of PC (USA) churches in northeast Texas, voted on the PC (USA) New Form of Government. It passed at about a 4-1 margin. The questions and discussion on the matter generally took one of two paths.

The first was whether this new form of government would maintain the ordination restrictions (fidelity and chastity to those who know the restrictions by those terms) found in the current Form of Government. The answer to that question is "yes." This question was asked four times by three persons and each time the answer was "yes." (People, pay attention!) Along this line was also a question about whether the definition of marriage would change. The answer is "no" because the definition of marriage is not found in the form of government, either in the current or proposed forms. This is found in the Directory for Worship, which is a part of the Book of Order but not a part of the Form of Government.

The second path dealt with something far different and in my opinion more important. This path seems to me to be the matter of trust.

To me, one of the things the new Form of Government will force Presbyterians to do is move from a starting point of function in our governance to one of formation, spiritual formation and congregational/denominational formation. It will force us to ask who we are before settling on how we do it. I believe this is a good thing.

As long as I have been an active member of the church, it has seemed that the upper governing bodies, from the Session to the General Assembly, have had more to do with how than who.

One speaker said that this new form was based on trust, a trust that he did not find in any of the four Presbyteries in which he has served, so he was speaking against the amendment. I agree with him, it is a matter of trust and that's the crux of the matter. The general line of this path seemed to be how can we trust others to follow the rules if we our new form of government doesn't have hard and fast rules? Because of this, there is a basic mistrust and fear that there are a significant number of people trying to "skirt the rules" and "get away with something."

As much as I would like to join hands and sing Kum-ba-Yah, I must say that he has a point. Trust must be developed. But honestly, let us look at what we share. We completely and absolutely share vocation and ordination. For those who say "no they don't" I ask you who "they" are. When you decide, then I say talk to them and find out. I believe that if we are called to be about formation, if we are to be about something more than a book of rules, if we are to be the children of the living God, the God who became man and walked among us, we have to do what he did--we have to get to know one another.

This fear of mistrust is real, but as with all holy fear it must be dealt with in the holiest way possible. Maybe we should do it like Jesus did in Luke, over a good meal. Let's get to know each other, let trust and grace take hold of our relationships, and then we just might discover that a book of rules is silly in the life of Christ.

I Pray This Is My Last Kanye/Today Show Update

2010-11-16T08:38:00.001-06:00

UPDATE: The Today Show has announced that Kanye will not be performing in The Today Show Concert Series as scheduled. They evidently even used the phrase "as contracted" with all of its legal implications.

In fairness, Kanye tweeted that he would not be performing on the Today Show on November 12.

Welcome to the lamest celebrity feud ever. The good news is that this feud can go on forever because the reputations of both The Today Show and Kanye West will only be enhanced by this war of words so it can go on forever and ever. Wait, that's not good news at all.

Next on Kanye's World

2010-11-11T16:06:00.005-06:00

Kanye West is back in the TwitterVerse revealing that life is unfair and people aren't nice.

Kanye posted this tweet this morning in response to the Matt Lauer response to their prior day's interview. Gee, everybody has an agenda, who knew?

Kanye says he can't be everything to everybody anymore. Anymore? I believe this line from "Fight the Power"said it best Chuck D. sings, "But he never meant shit to me."

You say you don't trust anyone but yourself. Trust yourself? Good luck with that.

Kanye, W, and Matt Lauer

2010-11-11T07:59:00.004-06:00

This would have been a good week to watch The Today Show. I am guessing that this clip was The Today Show's response to the W and Kanye interviews earlier this week.

The Tom Cruise Pantheon now has two new members. What is it about Matt that makes people want to fight and then say stupid things? I got a big laugh at Meridith's "Doesn't sound like much, but..." comment at the end. What's much adoo about nothing to Meridith is the world to someone else. Oh well, go get 'em Matt.

This would have been a good week to watch The Today Show.

Not Cheating Per Se

2010-11-10T09:25:00.003-06:00

Again, I love football coaches. This morning's entry into the love fest comes from Connecticut where the coach of the Southington High School football team took advantage of a little situation caused one careless player from Manchester High.

You can read the full story here, but for me it all comes down to this: A Manchester player dropped a wristband with the team's play codes into the box that had the video sent to Southington and the Southington coach used it in the game.

With the wristband, the Southington team could know the Manchester plays as the Quarterback was calling them. According to the Southington coach, he used it during just one drive, but that's the damage and the damage is done.

The Southington High School principal said, "The administration's investigation determined that [the coach's] actions did not adhere to the district's high expectations for all Southington Public School coaches."

The Manchester High School said that he has sent a protest letter to the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, which governor high school sports in Connecticut.

But these are the words of Larry Williams, the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Football committee chair (spoken before he saw the Manchester protest), "It's what we call ethics between coaches and good sportsmanship. I don't think it's cheating per se." He goes on, "We need to make sure we produce good citizens, and that's what this game is all about. These are all teaching moments."

This is what I like, "these are teaching moments." There are those who say that "If you aren't cheating, you aren't trying." and "It's only cheating when you get caught." I agree with Mr. Williams, it probably isn't cheating, but it's not good sportsmanship. There is more to being a good citizen and a good sportsman than following the rules.

Living in a society that pushes all of the rules to their most extreme and one tick more is one that becomes an overfilled balloon, one slight misstep and the whole thing will explode in our faces. (Banking scandals? Enron?)

Was the Southington coach's actions unsportsmanlike? I think so. Was it cheating? We'll see.

It's the motion toward citizenship and faithful stewardship that makes life worth living. A life in good citizenship tends not just itself, but for the neighbor as well. The life of a good steward is not just concerned with the individual but with all God creates.

So three cheers for Larry Williams, three cheers for citizenship, three cheers for sportsmanship, three cheers for stewardship.

Conflicting Priorities

2010-11-09T09:45:00.004-06:00

When I was a Student Pastor Intern at Central Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas there was a problem the church continuously faced, campers. No, this isn't people parking huge RV's on the street and in the parking lot, it wasn't even the circus of film crews and star trailers all around a citywide movie set. It's homeless people camping on the church grounds.

I find two edges to this sword.

The First: Three of the six Great Ends of the Church are "the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the people of God," "the promotion of social righteousness" and, "the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world." Alone and in combination, this tells us that caring weak and deposed in this society (including the homeless) is a work the Church (capital "C" the church universal as well as individual congregations).

The Second: At Central, they eventually had to post "No Trespassing" signs because of the damage left by the campers. Everyday the Sexton (Custodian) had to pick up the trash from the night before. He even had to rake the playground to remove the human feces from the sand. Another problem beyond this is that the church was broken into several times by the campers and others who would target the church. The church secretary and I figured the church spent well over $50,000 per year (in 2003) to clean up and repair the damage.

The Crux of the Matter: There are campers at First Presbyterian Church in Marshall. With these campers is a trail of trash and laundry that looks awful. We haven't found human feces on site, nor have we had a robbery. Not yet.

So, I don't want people rousted and taken to jail, but I surely don't want people camping on the grounds of the church.

There are more places and better care for people in Marshall than the grounds of the church. Several of these services are supported by the tithes and offerings of the First Presbyterian Church.

So that's my conundrum, not care but the shape of care. We want people to take advantage of what the church helps support without inviting people to use the grounds like a personal KOA. It's the fine lines between being faithful people to the needy, faithful stewards of the gifts of God, and not being hardened to the needs of the needy.

Can you help?

Suffering in Dallas

2010-11-08T11:48:00.003-06:00

God I love football, and I love it when coaches and owners speak, because they say some of the funniest things I've ever heard. ESPN reports that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is not happy with his teams fifth straight loss which drops the 'Boys to 1-7 overall. Jerry says...

"There are a lot of people here who are certainly going to suffer and suffer consequences." I guess that's good because I wouldn't want them to suffer from dandruff or something like that.

"I'm talking about within the team -- players, coaches who have got careers." I guess Jerry decided that the fans, the media, and the people of Indonesia have suffered enough.

"I think unquestionably that our expectations were thinking we're something we were not, possibly looking at what might be relative to a Super Bowl." First, is there a verb in this sentence? Considering the sentence structure "think" doesn't count. Second, what is the relative to "a Super Bowl?" The way the 'Boys have been playing I'm not going to go to that joke, it's just too mean and way too easy.

"I've got a lot of work to do, got a lot of decisions to make. And it's not just one, two, three or four. There are several decisions." and later "I can't put my finger on it because I don't have enough fingers." I guess that to Jerry "several" is a number greater than ten.

Jerry, Jerry, Jerry... Nice melt down.

Presumption Comes In All Shapes

2010-10-19T19:05:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I was listening to KRLD Radio 1080 coming into Dallas. One of the stories they were playing was about a father who was a Boy Scouts of America local volunteer. (Sorry, unable to find the link as I was writing this.) His son was in a local troop and the man was the chair of the popcorn fundraiser.

He had done such a good job that he was awarded a leader's shirt. Not too shabby for a divorced father staying connected in his son's life. He should be acknowledged for taking an active role in his son's life and as a scout leader.

Now the man has been asked to stop wearing his leader's shirt. Sure, he can still raise the money, please raise the money, but he can't wear the shirt.

He was asked not to wear the shirt because he is gay. Oh, and this was not news to anyone when he ran the fundraiser or got the shirt. His sexuality was not an issue when this began, but it is now.

The story goes on with the man objecting to the Boy Scouts discriminating against him, particularly since the troop meets in a local public school "funded by my tax dollars." He goes on to say that the courts have ruled that Scouts can discriminate against gays in and maintain a presence in the public schools. Then he did say he just may sue them.

This bugs me: He's a father, he's involved with his son, he raises money, he's a model of involved parent (so I would assume from what I heard on the radio). Now he can't wear the shirt the troop bestowed upon him because he's gay. That's not right.

But here's what really bugs me: The interview ended with him saying that such discrimination does not belong in public schools. If you are going to discriminate it should be done in the churches "where it belongs."

I got the quote right, he said discrimination, particularly the discrimination he faces, belongs in the church.

Here's what I want to say to the man: "Yes, there are churches that don't welcome gays and there are churches that do. But in lumping all people of faith together in one homophobic lump, you have just committed a sin of discrimination against people of faith. You say discrimination against you is wrong, and I agree. But you have just made the same judgement against me that the troop made against you.

Beware of glass houses... I have found they get drafty when you throw too many stones.

Happy Birthday Marie

2010-10-18T00:00:00.005-05:00

Today, the woman I love the most turns (mumble, mumble, mumble) years old. We have been together for fifteen years, married for over thirteen. I have never known love like hers.

I believe, with all my heart, that it is God who put us together. When I see her smile, I see God. When she laughs, I hear God. When she talks to others, sharing love, and joy, and concerns; I see God. Especially when she reaches out to someone who is trouble, especially at these times, I see God.

I see God's eternal light reflected in her eyes.

This picture was taken on our first date.

It is by God's grace and love that she is in my life, and I am eternally faithful.

Praise God, and happy birthday Marie.

This January on The Food Network

2010-10-17T00:05:00.001-05:00

The Food Network has just announced that it is airing a a new show produced by Dick Wolf. It will be a police procedural drama set in and around a New York City bistro. It will be the first of its kind for a network known for its cooking shows.

It's going to be called "Law and Hors-d'oeuvre."

Texas- The Southwestern Home of the Kolache

2010-10-16T09:12:00.002-05:00

Marshall, Texas has several donut shops, all of them operated by Asians (nothing wrong with that, but it does strike me as overly specialized). Each of these shops has their own take on the Eastern European pastry, the kolache.

The traditional kolache is filled with fruit but around East Texas they are sausage, so around here what they serve is a kolbasnek, but that's splitting hairs. What's important is that the pastry around the Earl Campbell link is so light that the tastes explode in your mouth. I haven't had a bad pastry in this part of East Texas

As for the joy of the donut... The way they make donuts around here the pastry is so light and flaky that they are positively krispykremesque. That's right, I turned Krispy Kreme into an adjective, that's how light they are.

So come to East Texas and when you do, hit a donut shop, any donut shop, and have a coffee too. In some shops you can even get Louisiana's own Community Coffee with chickery. Stop on in, you won't be disappointed