Freedom!!

I wish that I could honestly say that Memorial Day or the upcoming July 4th holiday is my inspiration to write this blog and it should be. Each day our soldiers face unspeakable dangers and risk their lives for our freedoms. It is something that we should remember and thank God for each and every single day.

But my inspiration comes from my parent's dog - Lucy. You see, my parents put up a brand spanking new fence in their backyard as a space where the grandkids can safely play and Lucy can run free. Up to last month Lucy's exercise was limited to daily walks on a leash with Mom and Dad and short strolls to take a #2 in an open lot besides their house.

This fence represented freedom for Lucy - a dog the size of a minature horse. She no longer needed to be constrained by a leash or a chain but was now free to seek shade under a tree, pee on the side of her favorite tree or gobble up large mammals who wonder into the yard.

It was only a matter of days that Lucy started to disappear every time my parents let her out. Soon it became apparent that she was jumping the fence as though she was in a steeple chase.

I was over my parents house yesterday and Dad asked me to go outside and get Lucy. I found her tied to a chain, surrounded by a fence.

This started to get me thinking. Many of us look at the fence and think that freedom can be found on the other side. They look at the Jesus and see Him as being the fence - keeping them away from countless joys and pleasures. But my parents didn't errect a fence because they wanted to keep Lucy or the grandkids from experiencing nirvana on the other side, but because they knew that she could get lost or worse run over and killed.

And God didn't send His Son Jesus to keep us confined so he can bore us to death. When Christ began his ministry, Luke (4:18-19 NKJV) tells us that He walked into the synagogue and quoted the prophet Isaiah, saying:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD"

Who are the captives? We all are!! "For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God." Sin puts us on the other side of the fence - away from the homeowner... away from safety... away from being fed and loved and cared for... away from hope.

No, the fence is God saying 'My desire is for you to be close to me because the world has nothing that can compare to what I can give you." The fence is not judgement but rather salvation. John 3:17 says:

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

Are you struggling with your supposed freedom - life outside the fence? Do you find that you are chasing after the hope of a successful career, partying lifestyle, etc. and not finding it?

Jesus says:

"I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

I want to invite you to seek Him and soon afterwards find a Bible believing/preaching church. Life on this side of the fence is not nearly as bad as you think it is!

Summer + Sexy = Sumos

This commerical ranks right up there with "Where's the Beef."

If it looks like a cult, and smells like a cult, it must be...

If you own a cult and think that any news is good news, you must be having field day when Brian Williams, Katie Couric and whoever is now on ABC comes on the tube at 6 PM.

I've never personally been involved in a cult - unless I am now and just don't realize it. I really don't care for kool-aid, have never visited a "compound" and do not live in a town named after someone who is alive and owns his own church. I don't think spaceships are going to come and rescue me and I don't really like to dress in all white. I'm not into multiple wives - my goodness can you imagine the nagging going on in that household!

I am guilty of idol worship. Brady Anderson was my favorite ballplayer back in the 90's and still have long sideburns because of him. I spend way too much time in front of the TV and on the computer. I don't spend nearly enough time "loving the Lord with all my heart..."

I must admit that when I walked into the Christopher Mathew's bookstore about 3 years ago and sat down to watch a video called Nooma I was in awe. It was refreshing, relevant and had a hip preacher dude whose message really tore at my heart and soul. He was at another level of understanding and honesty that I really hadn't heard before. I bought the video and every one after that I could get my hands on. Rob Bell had become someone that I followed.

When we moved to Western Kentucky I showed these videos to our youth group and they fell in love with it also. I passed the videos on to a Sunday School class who were also captured by the message. I sent a couple to my Dad and he showed it to his Sunday School class. A few months ago we went to hear Rob Bell speak in Louisville and again were just amazed by his insight into the Word - his ability to make it come alive and connect the dots so it became something that we could relate to 2, 3, 4 thousand years later.

Soon afterward I became aware of a fissure in the 21st century church leaders and Rob Bell seems to be in the middle of it. (I won't call it the Emerging Church because I don't think this term is defined well enough). And after watching almost all the Nooma video's, reading one of his books, and reading countless articles, I must admit that there are some troubling things that have come to my attention. For every one article that he causes me to doubt where he is coming there is another that makes me comfortable with what he is saying.

I will not sit here and list them all, but Rob Bell is honestly the third "man of God" that I have lost respect for this year. They range from Evangelical to so called "Emergent" - Conservative to Liberal.

This is not a warning to stay away from Rob Bell, but it is a warning to place your trust in one Man, on one Truth, on one Life. I cannot say that I will not continue to search for the real Rob Bell but that search will be with one thing in mind - he is a man, created by God the Father.

The Bloc Party is Over

A couple of days ago I was in my "office" reading my favorite magazine when I came across an advertisement for the Southern Baptist Environmental & Climate Initiative (www.baptistcreationcare.org). The ad is summed up with this sentence:

"As Southern Baptist, we love what God loves. And God loves this planet and its people."

Hillary Clinton visited our small western Kentucky town several days ago. I had a meeting and could not make her speech but went ahead and TiVo'd both CNN and MSNBC to see if they covered it. When I returned home I quickly fast forwarded to where they were showing Hillary here. I wasn't interested in what she was saying but who was in the background so I hardly was paying attention when the network went to commercial. All of the sudden Pat Robertson pops up on my screen sitting on a couch with of all people Al Sharpton talking about working together to fight global warming. At least he wasn't leg pressing 1000 pounds like he said he can.

A new crop of church leaders are sprouting all over the country. They may not agree on every theological talking point but the Rob Bell's and Mark Driscoll's seem to be less politically active/motivated and much more concerned about showing, living and sharing Jesus in places that the church has been relunctant to go for decades...

While writing a recent blog about the "Humanist Evangelical Crusade" I came across an article on "The Humanist" magazine's website which talked about how the Religious Right was losing it's power because of many of the factors described above. (Unfortunantly because this article is no longer available on the internet.) It's not everyday that I would agree with someone whose obvious agenda is to prove to the world that God does not exists but on this point I must.

As Foxy said in a previous blog, John McCain representing the GOP this fall has caused Evangelical Christians to pause. My guess is many will decide not to vote while others may get caught up in Obama's mastery of the English language.

Like what happened in 1980, I believe this will be the election that many in Evangelical circles will look back at as a dramatic change in the church's politics. One party will no longer rule over and count on the Religious Right.

Orioles Magic... Feel it Happen!

Orioles Magic 2008
Uploaded by gatecitycanes

I have made all attempts to stay away from comments/posts about sports. Anyone that knows Foxy and me know just how difficult it is not to make this into a big blog about Baltimore/Maryland sports. But I just can't help myself. This video is just too awesome not to share - so here it is. Oriole Magic 2008

The Humanist Evangelical Crusade

From Webster's Dictionary:

Humanist: a philosophy that usually rejects supernaturalism and stresses an individual's dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason
Evangelical: marked by militant or crusading zeal
Crusade: a remedial enterprise undertaken with zeal and enthusiasm

If you've ever had the opportunity to discuss Christianity with a devout non-Christian be ready for a history lesson. Call it Christian Imperialism 101. It is an issue most often visited and spoke about in liberal college professor classrooms, on atheist websites (Memoirs of an Ex-Christian) or revisited on a arts and education channel (History Channel, Discovery, etc.). Many point at the Religious Right's forceful entry into the political realm in the 1980s as a continuation of this imperialistic movement.

Before anyone accuses me of dismissing the past "sins" of Christianity, let me say that there is a valid arguement that many bad things have happened in Christ's name. Power hungry Pope's have tried to recapture the Holy Land and by doing so slaughtered anyone in their way. The great Exploreres used Christianity as a reason to kill while in the search for gold. The United States - considered by many a Christian nation, stands guilty of pushing the Indians off their land while turning a blind eye towards the issue of slavery. We can all agree - Christian or not - that these things should have never had happened.

But another excuse you will hear is the "I don't feel like anyone should feel pushed into believing in something." This is a popular arguement in Hollywood but it runs contrary to their actions and many other secular humanist. In the past 10-15 years a seed that began to sprout during the late 1960's and 1970's (sat dormant while everyone was busy making money in the 80's and 90's) is in full bloom. Call it the Humanist Evangelical Crusades.

We see it now anytime a divisive issue takes shape. The World Bank's policy towards Third World nations annually draws violent protests - especially when the G8 holds their summit. Renegade "Green Groups" use militant practices to blow up SUV's and other symbols of our gas guzzling society. The Olympic torch is run under armed guard because of the many attempts to snuff it out during it relay around the world.

What we are seeing is the humanist agenda has introduced force into its attempts to convert others to their ideals. At the same time a growing number of Christian organizations have abandoned this sort of idiocracy and gone to the front lines where the help is really needed. Instead of battling it out with a police officer on the streets of a western nations capital during a protest, they are working hand in hand with those dying of AIDS in Africa. While protesters attempt to extiguish the Olympic flame, Christians are at work in China spreading the Good News of hope that many in that nation have lost.

As our world becomes increasingly divided, it should be interesting to see how the Humanist agenda evolves into a more agressive aproach. Will the future see violent protests outside of Christian schools who teach Creationism? Will our church's be interrupted during their services by those who do not believe what is being preached? Will the government step in to stop organizations trying to do good (while spreading the gospel) on our streets and on the streets world wide?

Time will tell... whatever happens in the future it seems that right now this "philiosphy built on reason" has lost all reason for it's actions.

McClintama...What's a believer to do?

There is going to be plenty of AM Static blog fodder from the upcoming election, so let's pace ourselves.

Round one of the "who will Christians vote for" debate took place on TV show 30 Rock a few weeks ago. 30 Rock is a comedy in the Saturday Night Live vein of humor. Picture Jack, a high-powered executive at GE(which own NBC) trying to find a "cool" spokesman for the Republican Party and a fundraiser he is throwing for John McCain, but can only find a lame 1960's TV actor (because all cool celebrities are Democrats of course). In walks NBC page Kenneth, the backwards country-bumpkin that is supposed to represent every uneducated, religiously indoctrinated hillbilly to ever come live in the big city. He is probably from Kentucky. Kenneth is the only one in the room who can identify the lame spokesman. I won't embed the show into the blog, but here is the episode. Skip 3:20 into the show and left it run about a minute. The conversation goes something like this:

Jack-Kenneth, if this man (lame 1960's TV actor) told you to vote Republican, would you?

Kenneth- Oh no Mr. Donahy, I don't vote Republican or Democrat. Choosing is a sin. I just right in the Lord's name.

Jack- That's Republican, we count those.

I don't care if you are a follower of Jesus Christ or not- that is funny. You really need to watch it to get the full effect. But back to the real world... how can anyone get excited about the remaining choices from president. The common perception is that white Evangelicals vote Republican and that black voters, Christians and secular-minded, vote Democrat. Of course this is not entirely true, but a stereotype is a stereotype for a reason...

And as far as the "Evangelicals are Republicans" stereotype...how does that fit this year. Over the past 2 elections I believe Christians have had more a clear choice: Bush is a good ole' Texan that "found religion" and quit drinking, and Al Gore and John Kerry seemed to be pursuing secularists and avoiding topics of faith. In 2008 though...I don't see much difference between McCain, Clinton, and Obama. McCain is a RINO (Republican in Name Only) and no part conservative. And after 8 years of Billary I can't imagine having Hillary Clinton in the White House (and I don't care that she is a women). But the more I learn about Obama, the better McCain and Clinton appear.

So...what's the difference? I would be interested to know what issues are most important to you when you are chosing a candidate. Is there a clear choice for Evangelical Christians? Or am I just a right-leaning conservative and failed to see the large pro-Kerry Christian vote 4 years ago... I am so confused...come quickly Lord Jesus!

CC

Satan, Free Will and the Gospel According to Stephen Colbert

Warning to those with delicate ears. SC cusses at the end of this video - though it has been bleeped.

A couple of comments about this interview:

First - I love Zimbardo's reaction once he realizes that Colbert just knocked him to the floor with a upper cut to the jaw.

Second - The crowd. You heard a couple of yelps when the subject was first introduced. I really think the crowd was just as shocked as Zimbardo was at Colbert's passionate defense of true good vs. evil.

Third - Where did Zimbardo get this crap? Satan rebelled when God created Adam and put him in the garden to show God that he was wrong? Any casual research of Satan's rebellion would have shown a much different story.

Fourth - How much was lost when Colbert cussed at the end? Did it change your view of him or the interview?

A Tribute to Chicago (no, not the band)

I just returned from a week long training held in Chicago and let me just tell you, if you have the opportunity to visit you definitely need to go. The city was clean, the people weren't rude and there was plenty to do and eat.

Now getting there was another story. I decided to take the Amtrak from Western Kentucky. The train I jumped was on route to Chicago from New Orleans. It only cost $130 round trip but I had to catch it at 1 AM. Because the station is very literally a single wide trailer in the middle of a corn field, the local police allowed me to park my car at the station and they drove me over in the cruiser. They were extremely welcoming although the policeman who picked me up on the way home was a little agitated because of a drug bust he had just left.

The trip took 7.5 hours. If you figure the time it takes to get to an airport, go through security, make a connect, air time and cab time - I figure that I spent just as much time for about a third of the cost. Plus, I had the opportunity to sleep on the train so that made the travel even more pleasant.

The food was great and relatively inexpensive. The highlight was Portillo's home of the world famous Chicago style hot dog (which includes just about everything you would expect to see on a hamburger). They were fantastic! I ended up eating there twice during the week. The Chicago style pizza was delicious also.

My one regret is that I didn't make it to a Cub's game. A couple of guys in the group went the first night but I just wasn't interested. Maybe next time.

So - for your next vacation plan a trip up to Chi town. You won't regret it!