On Tebow and Tolerance

Apparently it is now divisive to share your personal story. I love when the so-called "tolerant" left cannot tolerate another point of view. Here's a link to an article detailing a potential Super Bowl ad that has the left in a tizzy... it concerns Tim Tebow, his mom and their story.

By the way, GO COLTS!

Michael

Okay, though I risk cultural suicide, I must say that I DO NOT UNDERSTAND the Michael Jackson hysteria.

Disclaimer: I understand that he was extremely talented (fighting the urge to ask, "so what?"). I understand that he accomplished a lot in the arts and entertainment world. I understand that he bridged the gap in a racially divided industry. And heck, I'm a huge Motown fan... c'mon Jackson 5.

However, I do not understand the fawning over a dead MAN. That's it... he's just a man. And a very tormented, misguided man at that. I don't care how much you like or were influenced by his music... what did he really ever do for you? What was worth the pure idol worship going on today? (Especially from those, like myself, who would call themselves Christians.) Where was the eternal perspective in all of the hoopla? I think the lack thereof is what bothered me the most.

I checked my facebook twice today and was assaulted by MJ memorial play-by-play... seriously people?

I didn't catch much of the news coverage (honestly, I had no interest in watching it), but the couple parts I saw were just absurd. Brooke Shields saying she knew Michael was "perched somewhere in a crescent moon..."? Smokey Robinson saying that Jackson would "live on and on and on and on" and everyone cheering obsessively? From someone who believes in the eternal, I would say, yes, MJ is living on and on and on... possibly in eternal torment. What is worth cheering about that? Let's hope he met His Creator (the one who gave him all his talent) on this side of eternity.

In all the news coverage, one image kept coming to my mind: the statue Jackson had of himself on the cover of his "History" album. We really are not that immortal, are we? There is only one King and Michael is not him. All the fame and fortune and talent and fanfare got him where? Dead at 50 from a probable drug overdose? I am reminded of the Scripture that says, "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36)

And that really is a reminder to those of us still living (not a cut on Michael himself). We are the ones who elevate celebrities to god-like status. We are the ones who strive for god-like status ourselves. We want to turn the other way and pretend immorality is no big deal. We are the idol worshipers. At this point, God is the only person who knows the condition of Michael's eternal soul, but what does this say about the soul of America?

Jon & Kate

"Jon & Kate, Plus 8" is a popular reality show on TLC that follows a couple who has both twins and sextuplets. There's been lots of recent chatter about their marriage and possible divorce. My friend Clayton has an excellent post on the matter and on relationships in general.

Read it here.

The Superbowl Ad that Could've Been...

CatholicVote.com had an amazing ad planned for the Superbowl, but NBC rejected it. Click here to see the ad and read more about it.... trust me, you'll want to see it.

A Few Good Men...

Where are all the good men (and women)?

Where are the statesmen like those who poured their lives out for this country? Where are the courageous and brilliant and MORAL leaders like those who crafted the most free and prosperous nation in the history of the world?

With the recent collapse of so many industries: housing, auto, insurance, and the ungodly greed and corruption that lay behind it... With the Blagojevich arrest and the light it shed on an often crooked political system... With sex scandal after sex scandal among our nation's elected officials...

It leaves me wondering...

Is there anyone out there who can withstand the pressures and temptations of leadership? Is there anyone who will govern or manage from a consistently ethical perspective? Have we completely lost our way as a nation? What we need are a few good men...

So if you know any on the local level, vote for them, or volunteer for their campaigns. Or perhaps you yourself could answer the call.

I will close, however, with one final thought in light of the Christmas holiday: In reality there is only ONE GOOD man. His name is Jesus. It is He who we celebrate this Christmas and always. His GOODNESS is our only hope for truth and life and liberty. Maybe all we need is ONE good man and just a few more people who will bow their knee to Him.

An Insightful Perspective

An African American pastor's thoughts on Barack Obama:  

http://stevemurrell.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/11/post-election-insights.html

Post-Election Thoughts

If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know we are disappointed in America's choice for president. However, life goes on. Here are some of our post-election thoughts (in true Glenn Beck fashion):

This is what we KNOW:

• God raises up one man and sets down another. He is sovereign among the affairs of men and He is still King of kings and Lord of lords.
• As Christians we are commanded to obey and pray for our leaders, to submit to their authority and to malign no man (though we will respectfully disagree with many).
• Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. The government is not the source of righteousness in a nation, the Church is. No matter who is in office, the Church has a responsibility to Righteousness.
  
• Conservatism is not dead. Personally I think it was a lack of well-articulated conservatism that lost the election. Hopefully, there will be a resurgence and a ground-swell of conservative voices and a party organized around them.
• There were some bright spots on election day: In California, Proposition 8 passed, defining marriage as one man and one woman and reversing the court decision that legalized gay marriage. Florida also adopted their own Amendment 2, defining marriage as one man and one woman.
  
• Barack Obama is our nation's first black president... an amazing thing when only half a century ago blacks couldn't even drink from the same water fountain as whites.
• Obama ran a brilliant campaign (with a little help from the media).
• Some pretty amusing things were said last night on TV and in the blogosphere. Two of my favorites: Brit Hume of Fox News when commenting on Joe Biden said "He is loquacious, nay, even garrulous." A friend's facebook status: "I hope socialized medicine covers post-election depression syndrome."

This is what we DON'T KNOW:

• How Obama will govern. Will he remain consistent with his far-left, liberal voting record and associations? Or will he do as he promised in his campaign and move toward the center in efforts to unite the country?
• If the Republican party will return to its conservative roots or continue its shift to the left.
• If our country has reached the point of no return in our slide toward Socialism.
• If abortion rights will increase or all limits be removed.
• If things like the Fairness Doctrine will be reinstituted (what is up with the liberal obsession with unjust "fairness"?).
• If electing Obama as the first black president is worth the chains he may place on his own people (and more). I believe several of the policies he has presented will further enslave people to poverty, or at least to himself and a big-handed government.

So that's it from us. What are your post-election thoughts?

Live To Impact: The Poor

We're doing a series at my church called Live To Impact, challenging people to answer the question: "WHAT ARE YOU LIVING FOR?"

Today's focus was "living to impact the poor and underprivileged." How can we as Christians and a church make a difference in our community by taking care of the poor? And maybe even more foundational, WHY should we care for the poor?

Clayton Bell delivered a great message on the subject. You can listen to it in its entirety here, but I wanted to highlight a few points.

1. Who Is Responsible? Regardless of your political bent, if you think the government should be doing more or less in regard to poverty, the Bible makes it clear that God's people have a responsibility to care for the poor. That means it's MY responsibility. If you call yourself a follower of Christ, it's YOUR responsibility. You don't need to be voted into office. You don't need to be an occupational minister. Just do it.

2. Our Motivation. The Bible leaves no room for error: taking care of the poor, the orphan, the widow is paramount to God. This is often challenging to our human nature and preconceived mindsets. It's much more natural to give or care for those who can offer you something in return. Or perhaps you have (as I have) erred on the side of judgment toward those less fortunate in life. "They're lazy"... "they're irresponsible"... "if they'd just work harder and suck it up they'd could make something of themselves". Here's the deal: We must find our motivation for caring for the poor in who Jesus is and what He did for us. Spiritually speaking, I was homeless, I was lazy, I was poor, I was smelly, I had nothing and could do nothing for myself; but Jesus did for me what I couldn't earn and what I didn't deserve. He became poor that I might become rich. His mercy triumphed over judgment and it rescued me. What He's done for me in the spiritual, I am now called to replicate in the physical for the poor and underprivileged. As I clothe and feed and care for the least of these, I also have the privilege of sharing why I do such things and that reason is Jesus. What He's done for me He can also do for them.

3. The Cold Hard Facts. Did you know that in America in the late 1800's more than 90% of all welfare was done by the Church and "volunteer socieites?" The government had a small, if any, hand in such matters. As we've written previously, giving Christians could well eliminate the U.N.'s estimated $70 billion world-wide poverty problem with money to spare. Take for instance my city of Tallahassee, FL. There are, on average, about 900 homeless people at any given time. There are about 350 churches here. If each church provided for 2 or 3 of these people, the homeless problem would evaporate. (I know that poverty issues can be more complicated and you can't always make someone stay out of such circumstances, but this is just to illustrate how well-suited the Church is to answering the ills of society).

So, what are YOU living for? Let's ask hard questions and challenge ourselves to this standard of giving and loving as Christ did. Before you ask your government to do something, ask yourself if you're doing anything. Be open to opportunities to serve the underprivileged in your community. If you live in Tallahassee, come join us as we serve the residents of the Hope Community.

Saddleback Follow Up

Most agree that the Saddleback Forum last weekend was well-conducted by lead pastor Rick Warren. He had a chance to ask both candidates some straight-forward honest questions (whether they answered honestly remains to be seen). And he did an excellent job. But what does he himself think about politics? Where does he fall on the issues? He has not been as politically outspoken as say a Dr. James Dobson or the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, and that has caused some to criticize him, some to mischaracterize him and some to appreciate him. Warren's lack of candidate endorsement and political rhetoric in no way means he's soft on the issues or trying to appease all sides. I have heard him speak on government/politics a couple of times and he is well-versed in the arena. He is a man of strong conviction and in my opinion has a pretty good grasp of the biblical worldview.

You can read some of his thoughts here in a rare interview with the Wall Street Journal. The article is worth the read but here's a brief summary of Warren's main points:

• He's pro-life and believes abortion is the most significant issue affecting the evangelical vote in the fall.
• He rejects the idea of tolerance as far as it has come to mean that all ideas are equally valid. He is no relativist.
• He views McCain as a limited government guy and Obama as a big government guy.
• He wants a non-government solution to things like poverty and disease, believing that churches should lead the way in this fight.
• Though he's one of the most generous men in the world (giving away 90% of his income), he believes "the answer to poverty is business development, not charity." He believes free market, enterprise and creativity are vital to a society.
• He knows that true answers to societies ills can only come from Jesus and His Church. The government cannot be a savior.
  
• He wants to return civility to the public square, wishing that people could "disagree about the issues without demonizing each other." And Saturday night was one of his efforts in doing so.

All I have to say is "Amen!" (And read the article...)

Saddleback Forum

I’m curious what other people thought about the Rick Warren forum last week. I haven’t been too excited about John McCain, but his answers to these questions were really encouraging. Although I don't agree with all of his positions, he knows where he stands. He answered the questions directly and conclusively.

Obama, on the other hand, seemed to me to waffle throughout, trying to answer in such a way as to include the greatest number of people possible. How can you answer moral questions when for you there are no moral absolutes? All of his answers were “relative”; in fact, he even used that word himself. How can we be confident in a president who has no absolute moral basis for any of the decisions he makes?

Take, for example, the question of abortion. Warren asked both candidates at what point a baby should be given the protection of human rights. McCain’s answer was simple: “At conception.” Obama, however, actually said that question was above his pay grade. Then why on earth is he running for President? What more fundamental question could there be? And if you’re really not sure when life or human rights begin, why err on the side of death? He said a lot about wanting to work with as many people as possible, and about how women don’t come to these decisions lightly. By that logic, if I don’t lightly come to the decision to murder someone, because I believe it’s in my best interest, does that make it okay?

Or what about when Warren asked the candidates to define “rich”. I thought this was a great question. Obama has talked so much about “taxing the rich”, it leaves one to ask who, exactly, is rich. Obama did put a number to it, those making above $250,000, but then admitted that it’s completely relative, dependent on factors such as what region of the country you live in. The problem is, the tax code won’t be relative. It won’t look at what region of the country you live in, for example. It just doesn’t seem fair to tax the rich, when it’s virtually impossible to define “rich”. To most people, rich probably means anyone making one dollar more than they themselves make. Where do you draw the line?

I wasn’t able to see the whole broadcast, so I’d be curious to hear people’s reactions to some of the other questions. And I’m also curious about something else—for those of you who hold to a worldview of moral relativism and have nothing absolute on which to base your decisions and values, how do you go about deciding what you believe about any given issue? Do you use your own reason? Do you try to do what’s best for the greatest number? (And if so, how do you decide which greatest number to be in favor of when it comes to issues like abortion—is it the women or the unborn children?) Anyways, what did you think about the forum and where the candidates stand on these issues?

What would you say to Obama?

What would you say to Obama if given the chance?

Ed Stetzer, Christian researcher and author, almost had that chance... Click here to read his thoughts.

Taken By Force

We're back... Sorry, it's been awhile...

In light of the 4th of July (one of my all-time favorite holidays), I thought I would highlight an organization doing amazing work among our military. Force Ministries exists to minister to and support our nation's military and military families. Their mission is Christ-centered duty. Their purpose is to impart faith in Christ, instill patterns and principles for victorious Christian duty and ignite individual calling and destiny among our service men and women.

This is often an overlooked demographic in our nation, but these men and women deserve our utmost respect and honor, our support and care. Regardless of one's belief about the current war or war in general, these military families pay the highest price for the freedoms we enjoy in America. We can't even begin to understand their sacrifice. Thank goodness for organizations like Force who are meeting a need among these very deserving families.

I had the privilege of hearing the President and Co-founder of Force Ministries, Greg Wark, speak this week and he told amazing stories of the heroism and heartache that goes along with serving our country militarily. I was so impressed with his work and that of Force Ministries and just wanted to give our faithful readers (if we still have any) a chance to see what Force is all about. So check out their site. You can even donate to their efforts online.

I encourage you all to take every opportunity to bless and thank our military men and women. Buy them a slice of pizza in the airport or something (yes, I have been known to do that). Most of all, pray for them and their families and ministries like Force who are taking the Gospel message to an often unreached group of people.

P.S. (Can you have a p.s. to a blog?) Check out the book "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell. Marcus was part of an elite SEAL operation in Afghanistan and was the only surviving member of his mission... I've never read the book but I've heard Marcus interviewed and it is an amazing story. Force Ministries works closely with him and Greg Wark highly recommended the read.

A Generous Hypocrisy II

In her previous post, my sister points out that a generous government policy of giving can be quite hypocritical, not to mention, ineffective at times. But none can argue that there are genuine and great needs in our world, and conversation on the best way to meet them is at least honorable.

So I thought I would follow up Kacey's post with what we consider one of the best ways to meet those needs... TITHING.

This post is specifically for all my Christian brothers and sisters. But if God is not really your thing, you might still be interested in hearing of His financial plan for the earth.

Let's define tithing:

The tithe literally means "a tenth." In the Christian faith, a tithe is a tenth of one's increase given to the house of God, the church. I believe the tithe is a biblical mandate, ordained by God from the beginning (it first appears in the Bible in Genesis 14). Tithing is not just Old Testament law. It is precedent before the law was given, and Jesus himself speaks of it in the New Testament (Matthew 23, Luke 11).

The tithe belongs to the Lord. In a biblical worldview, all things belong to God and originate in Him, but the tithe is specifically referred to as belonging to God. It's His off the top. It's His before the bills. It's His before our needs. It's His before our Starbucks. When you tithe, you are not being generous, you are simply being obedient.

It is also important to note that the tithe is not based on one's perceived ability to afford it. It is an act of faith, honor and worship to God no matter your level of income. I was fortunate to have a family who believed in and practiced tithing, and it has, therefore, become a way of life for me. I have tithed in times of great blessing and tithed in times of great need. Learning to live on 90% of your income is possible (and not an option for believers.)

The Bible actually refers to withholding the tithe as robbing God. Malachi 3:8-12 says, "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.

So back to meeting needs.

Statistics show that less than 2% of Americans tithe today. The Barna Group found "that tithing among all born again adults has stayed within a range of 6% to 14% throughout the past decade." C'mon people!

John and Sylvia Ronsvalle, a husband and wife team of researchers have consistently tracked American expenditures as well as global need for many years. They have estimated that $70-$80 billion a year could meet the most essential human needs around the world, including "projects for clean water and sanitation, prenatal and infant/maternal care, basic education, immunizations, and long-term development efforts." The Ronsvalles go on to write, "Consider this: If church members in the United States would increase their giving to 10 percent of their income, there could be an additional $86 billion (over and above their estimated $70-$80 billion) available for overseas missions." Tithing Christians Would Meet Global Need.

So before we call for the government to do more, let us examine our own hearts. Let us not be participants in this generous hypocrisy. Let us not be the ones calling for increased civil spending if we ourselves are not fulfilling our Christian duty. Caesar will for sure get what is Caesar's. Will God get what is His? (Matthew 22:21).

But Mercy

In honor of Easter weekend, this is a meditation on the MERCY of God that made the Easter story possible. My husband and I wrote this song for our Easter service this Sunday.

BUT MERCY

Verse 1:
Clothed in flesh the Father's hand
Reached down from heaven's throne
To take upon the guilt of man
A weight that was my own

Chorus:
But Mercy saved my soul
The sweetest sound I know
All saints rejoice
By heaven's choice
We have been made whole
Forever Christ will reign
And this my soul proclaim
Sin held me
But Mercy

Verse 2:
Humbly at the cross I bow
My Savior suffered there
A bloody crown upon His brow
Those thorns were mine to bear

(Chorus)

Hallelujah (x4)

Verse 3:
Come behold the Risen Lamb
The grave could hold him not
And in my place His Mercy stands
For death was all my lot

(Chorus)

Stronger Woman

The other day while driving I was scanning through radio stations when a line from a song I'd never heard before caught my attention. (Those of you who know me know it's the lyrics that make or break it for me). The song said, "From now on I'm gonna be the kind of woman I want my daughter to be."

Ooh, I thought, this oughta be a good one. So I stopped scanning, turned it up and prepared to be inspired. As a new mother, things like this really grab hold of me. So, you might ask, what kind of woman did the singer, who turned out to be Jewel, want her daughter to be? The chorus provided a resounding answer to that question:

I'm gonna love myself

More than anyone else
Believe in me
Even if someone can't see
The stronger woman in me

I'm gonna be my own best friend
Stick with me till the end
Won't lose myself again
never, no
Cause theres a stronger woman
a stronger woman in me

Wow. I was so shocked and appalled I nearly threw up. And I was angry. Angry at the lie being fed to women in my generation. Angry for the little girls who grow up with this model of strength. What a recipe for a miserable life.

To love your self more than anyone else? I'm not sure I've met many people who have to try very hard to do that. To be your own best friend? Comes pretty natural to most of us. To never lose yourself? So many are on a quest to "find themselves." The worst thing that could happen would be for them to succeed.

You see, I've found that what many call strength is in reality nothing more than masked weakness. It's human nature, and therefore easy, to love ourselves above all, to seek our own good at any cost. But what's hard, what requires real strength, is to sacrifice yourself for someone else, to lose your life in order to live for something greater than you.

I, too, desire to be the kind of woman I want my daughter to be, but I've chosen not to fall for the counterfeit strength my culture would offer me. I've found a truer strength, and it comes in giving everything I am in serving my God, my husband and my daughter. Instead of striving to "never lose myself", I've chosen to believe that "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:39). This is real strength. This is real life.