I admit, while I am not quite a Republican(more of a Libertarian), I have never voted for a Democrat.  So when it comes to McCain and Obama, I am not excited about either, but am really unexcited about Obama.  Yet, I do not look for life improvement from a political process.  My life will be the same the day after election day as the day before.  I expect change to come from God's grace.  I expect a better world through the working of Christ, not a political party.  Maybe I should be more excited, but my citizenship is elsewhere.

  In the past months I have been absent from commenting on the culture around me.  Well, no longer!  I will be blogging many times daily from this point forward.  On to the conversation.

    This is a tough week to be an honest, sensible guy.  You spend your life doing the right thing, paying all your bills on time, not running up debt, and making responsible decisions.  Now, I am going to be saddled with the bill left by all of those people who made rash, selfish, irresponsible choices.  From the bankers who refused to look things over, to the people who lied on their mortgage applications, to the politicians who accepted money from them, and now grandstand against the same people.  So yes, I am against this bailout package, but I am against it the way I would be against an amputation.  No I do not want the amputation, but it is better than dying of gangrene.  So, I think it is better than the alternative.  I do think there is a growing firestorm out there.  A storm from all the people who take the time to do things right and morally, and are tired of paying for those that don't, while being governed by those who look with a wink and a nod at all the wrongdoing, and then thunder against it when it hits the news.  Anyone have a match?

Finally, a bit of sanity maybe.  Could it be the church growth movement is dying?  Don't get me wrong, I love it when the church grows, but this do anything for church growth binge was leaving me stale.  We have hidden symbols, diluted our message, all in a vain attempt to not "offend" anyone.  Now I read this bit of news.  I do not know where this will lead, but I am liking the new direction.

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BobBurney/2007/10/30/a_shocking_%e2%80%9cconfession%e2%80%9d_from_willow_creek_community_church

    I used to live in Kansas.  I loved Kansas, and have a soft spot in my heart for the state.  One of the things I love about Kansas is that you can see for miles.  In the summer, with nothing blocking your view, you can see an approaching thunderstorm long before it arrives.   I feel like I am back in Kansas.  There is something unsettling in the air.  Rising Oil prices, falling dollar, potential inflation, and a looming change in the White House all contribute to a sense that something is amiss.  Perhaps we may have to learn to live in the storm, after decades of sunny skies.  Perhaps this will shake our nation to the core, and perhaps in our core we may find something valuable again.  I hope.

   I can hear the news now from those in our camp.  "A Great Victory Has Been Won Today."  I am not so sure.  While I am pleased with the ruling, my sense is that this is a diversionary battle, from the real task.  We are called not to win court battles, but to change a world.  Perhaps we need to renew our efforts to reach one life at a time.  Perhaps our lives should bear the marks and the holiness Christ calls us to.  Perhaps we should love a little more.  If we did more of these things, then I can envision a world where court decisions are not near as important.

   With the news streaming out of Blacksburg, VA, I am reminded of something from scripture.  In Philippians 2 Paul writes the great Christ Hymn.  In most of our modern songs and choruses, we sing "Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess."  The problem is that while we might like to sing that, this is not what the text states.  Paul writes, "Every knee might bow."  This is a huge difference.  First God will never force a response to Him, even potential gunmen.  Second, it is tempting in a country as blessed as ours to believe that everything should be good and just here.  Things will only be right and just when we live in the world where every knee will bow; but for now we only live in the world where every knee might bow.  So we yearn for the world to come.  Even so Lord, Jesus, quickly come, and through me.

   I hope the current news gives the church reason to pause.  Just a few weeks ago, many in our tradition were quick to seize on the James' ossuary box.  "It is proof" we cried, that the Bible is true.  Now a parallel find is being trumpeted as proof that Jesus did not rise from the dead.  The same people are now crying, "it is a hoax."  We cannot have it both ways.  When will we learn that it is by faith we believe.  We do not prove or disprove rationally the basic tenets of our faith.  The eyewitnesses saw Jesus, the first generation recorded their testimony, and now we join the millions who testify to these truths and have seen lives change.  But we cannot prove it or logically argue anyone into the kingdom.  Let us be consistent, and love people into the kingdom, not argue them in.

    The past two days at the UN have filled me with an eerie feeling.  It seems like the feeling I would have had when Neville Chamberlain returned home with his "Peace" with Hitler.  My eerie sense is that we are in the beginning stages of something we cannot quite see yet.  We as a nation have had it so good for so long, that I am not quite sure we still have the ability to react and persevere through a real crisis.  It looks increasingly likely to me that we will have to live through a coming crisis - I hope I'm wrong, but as I heard the delegates applaud Chavez, I think I see it coming.

    I am truly on the horns of a dilemna.  My son is a senior and has been making the rounds of college campi as he is making his decision.  He has been visiting a number of Christian colleges and seeing what he likes.  Here is the dilemna.  He found a campus he likes, and a baseball coach he likes, with the program that he likes.  The problem is it is a school where fundamentalists are running around. 
   In the application process they want you to sign a statement concerning their doctrinal affirmations.  Their statement contains "Inerrancy of Scripture" (flat out falsehood), literal 6 day creation (flat out dumb), and silly specifics on baptism and the atonement.  Now I know that my son can have a good experience there, and he will not be a Bible major, but how much should he sign on for, without expressing reservations.  I want him to be happy, and pursue his interests, but I also want him to retain some integrity, while not jeopardizing himself. 
  At the same time I am quite angry that a "Christian" school spends time throwing around such divisive markers.  I am also quite disappointed that there are Chrisitians who still want to disengage their minds like this.  I am further disappointed that there are still places that do not allow Scripture to speak, but rather take up arms to defend presuppositions.  When will we ever learn? 

   Here is a fascinating article on income distribution.  It just goes to show that some people would rather have everyone equally poor, than having uneven distribution, but everyone being at least a little better off.  Enjoy.

http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=082806E

   Once again, the mouth of the South, Pat Robertson has proclaimed he has seen evidence for Global Warming - the recent heat wave.  I am not going to argue one way or another on Global Warming, but I do hope that Pat reverses himself the next time there is a record low on the Virginia shore. 

   I am in the midst of an extremely busy week.  Our church is holding a week-long VBS.  That is Vacation Bible School for all of you who may not be familiar.  Every evening our church has been packed with kids.  Many parents seem to be using us as a week-long vacation from their kids, which is fine and we are happy to have all of them.  Still I wonder if it is worth it.  How much impact are we having?  I don't know.  My hope is that something we do this week will make a difference somewhere down the line.

    Trust me when I say that I am not an alarmist.  Yet I am starting to get an uneasy feeling about what might be around the corner.  We in the U.S. have had it pretty good for a long time.  Our last real rough patch was probably the sharp recession and oil shock of 1980-82.  Even if no terrorist attack succeeds, there are still a number of scenarios where gas and energy could become prohibitively high, and cause a sharp downturn, or global economic recession.  I wonder if we have the fortitude, the inner resources to deal with such an occurrence.  I am not hopeful.  We have become frenzied and hurried on the outside, and my fear is that we are deep enough as a people to stand what might be around the corner. 
   I hope I am wrong.

I find the whole Mel Gibson fiasco fabulously entertaining and instructive.  It seems obvious to me that the current reaction to Mel is partially based on their inability to make anti-Semitic  charges stick to the POTC.  Yes Mel Gibson has anti-Semitic tendencies, after all his dad is way out on the Nazi fringe.  I think it also seems obvious that Mel knows these feelings and tries to fight them.  The reaction of the MSM seems out of proportion to what was a rather mild drunken outburst.
   At the same time it was always surprising to me how much the church in the US embraced what was a bad movie.  The POTC was the Bataan Death March of films.  It lacked context, overdid and gloried in the violence, and strayed factually from the event.  The modern church never seems to pick its heroes well.