Slidell or Bust

This will likely be the last post for about the next week or so. On Tuesday afternoon I will be joining a team of co-workers from Chatham on a Katrina relief trip to Slidell, LA. I am looking forward to the challenge and would appreciate all your thoughts and prayers as we travel and strive to serve those in need. Thanks!

Political Cartoon - Islamic Outrage

A humorous slant on the issue.

Seen in USA Today, Sept 22. 2006
By John Deering, Arkansas-Democrat Gazette, Little Rock, Creators Syndicate

Another Pet Peeve

I recently recalled another pet peeve of mine: gas stations that do not have paper towels and/or windshield washer fluid. Come on. It's not like someone is going to take the paper towels home with them or siphon out the washer fluid into their car. I'm sure it's not cheap over time to provide this, but they are an expected part of the service received in the fill-up. Last week at a service station, I needed a paper towel and went to the dispensers and they were both empty; I turned and apparently glared in frustration to the store clerk because he reached out of his window offering a single paper towel. I took it knowing it would be completely insufficient for the needed task. I generally don't like going to Wawa's for gas, but they do a great job with this. They always have full, clean washer dispensers and plenty of paper towels, not to mention free use of the airhose. Today's score: Wawa 2, Mobil 0.

Failing To Turn The Other Cheek

I am saddened to hear that, according to this report, some Christians have responded violently in Indonesia following the execution of three believers. We must not succumb to that temptation but instead follow the example of Christ, Paul and the myriad of martyrs throughout the ages.

Need Some Blogging Help

So, I want to revamp my blog and provide a more robust series of links. For instance, I would like a series of Environment links, Economic Relief and Development Links, Friends' blogs links, etc. What is the easiest way to do that? I'm sure I can play around with it long enough to figure it out, but I don't want to spend an inordinate amount of time on format when someone can probably just give me a few hints. Thanks!

Free Internet Bible Resources

With indebtedness to others for bringing some of these to my attention, I wanted to share some on-line resources that have been helpful for studying Scripture:

http://www.biblegateway.com/
http://www.esword.org/
http://www.studylight.org/
http://www.searchgodsword.org/

I am sure there are many others so please feel free to post a message with additional resources that have helped you.

Oh, and if you are going to buy some books or other resources, I strongly recommend http://www.christianbook.com/

Counting My Blessings

"They captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished; they reveled in your great goodness." (Nehemiah 9:25)

Yeah, that pretty much describes what it feels like to work at Chatham. We had our grand opening festivities for our new building tonight. Oh my goodness. They know how to throw a party! It was amazing. Festivities started at 3:00 so the work day was short. There was an open bar with wine, beer and sodas of course. The catering was done by the Greenville Inn and the appetizers were delicious. Then came the main course of burgers, hot dogs, BBQ chicken and ribs, some amazing side dishes and corn on the cob with a vat of butter next to it for dipping. There was also a live band, the outdoor fireplace was blazing, and there was a hot air balloon. Oh, and I forgot the cotton candy, popcorn and caramel apples. I totally don't deserve this, so I simply revel in God's great goodness.

Darfur

The situation in Darfur remains abominable. God have mercy.

Another report on the Pope

Time has an interesting article on the background of Pope Benedict's speech. He was trying to explain theological differences, not provoke religious strife.

"And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers"

I trust by now many of you are aware of the outrage in the Muslim world over Pope Benedict's comments. I think it is difficult for many of us to grasp the seemingly hair-like trigger of sensitivity towards any negative comments on Islam. One thing that I have to keep reminding myself of is the preeminence of the value of respect in the Muslim world. Generally speaking, in the West we tend to place the value of truth over the value of respect. In the Muslim world, it is reversed and respect is prized over truth. I think that goes far in helping me understand their reaction, even if I disagree with it.

Politically speaking, I think it would be of great value to have a Cultural Advisor as a Cabinet position to the President. As tolerant as we may have become as a nation towards other cultures, we are still grossly uninformed and unaware of the differences that exist, especially between the Muslim worldview and the Western worldview but also in the Asian versus Western worldviews. I think a substantial amount of the flaring crises we are experiencing on the geopolitical level can be boiled down to the issue of respect.

Of course, the flare-up of cultures is nothing new. As I was reminded of by my roommate, it was noted back in Genesis that the sons of Ishmael "lived in hostility toward all their brothers." Perhaps part of the current outrage is the result of a genetic disposition. Way to go Abraham.

When I see violent mobs of Muslims rioting because someone in the West claimed that Islam is not a peaceful religion, I feel furious, but it is important that as followers of Christ, we temper our response with grace, love and truth. We are well aware that our Lord was mocked and scorned, treated with contempt and suffering, but in spite of this he forgave those who tortured and crucified him. When his followers wanted to use a display of power to enable their cause to prevail and to overcome their enemies, he rebuked them (Luke 9:51-56). We should remember that those who follow the Prophet do not have this same role model before them.

I also want to remind everyone that obviously not all who follow Islam want violence. I had the opportunity to spend a couple weeks last year in a predominantly Muslim country, and the people I met there were some of the most gracious, kind and gentle people I have ever known.

I think part of what the West wants in this whole dialogue is a universal response from the Muslim world that condemns acts of violence and terror in the name of God. So far, I don't know if that has happened. Often people will point an accusatory finger at the Church for its own acts of violence. The Crusades were a regrettable, despicable episode in the life of the Church, but in the centuries that have passed the Church has acknowledged and confessed its gross error and understands that those behaviors are incompatible with the message of our Lord and what God intends for human life and faith. Has that happened yet in the Muslim community? I hope it will.

One last point that is often lost in discussion is that those in the Muslim world often equate Western nation-states with Christianity even though those connections have long since severed and dissolved in many cases, especially in Europe. We should bear in mind that we share common ground with our Muslim friends against the gross and flagrant excess and debauchery of the secular humanistic culture that has come to define the West. If I thought everyone who was on MTV was a Christian, I would despise Christianity too. Sadly, many in the Muslim world are not educated about that distinction and they hate Christianity for it.

Please allow me to close with a couple disclaimers. First, I am not an expert in this area, so if I have misrepresented Islam in any way, please correct and educate me. Secondly, I do not intend for anything I say to be in any way offensive. We need a constructive, sympathetic dialogue. I hope we can share one. This rough draft of thoughts is just an initial volley in that conversation.

Five Years

9/11/01. Can you believe it's been five years? So much has changed and yet in many ways we have gone back to "life as normal." It didn't seem possible at the time that we ever could. But aside from some inconveniences at the airport and a special set of prayers each Sunday in church, I would not be as consistently aware of what happened. (The daily news from Iraq being the other ever-present reminder.)

I remember being in an Old Testament Survey class in college back in 1998 or so. The professor was commenting on 722 BC and 586 BC as dates that were etched on the Jewish mind. His generation had the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King as those frozen moments in time that a generation could never forget. We talked briefly at how fortunate our generation had been. The closest thing we had was the Challenger explosion, but even then most of us were too young to really experience and remember the tragedy. There was an awkward moment of silence when we collectively seemed to wonder what tragedy lied ahead for us.

I was in my cubicle at work listening to the radio when it happened. At first I couldn't understand what was going on. I thought a malfunction had happened causing a plane to crash, and that it incidentally happened to be over the WTC at the time. Then came more details. I remember yelling into my manager's office behind me when the news came across, "They just hit the Pentagon!" I think that's when I really knew this was for real and was something bigger than any of us could have imagined.

I went over to my girlfriend's house after work. I appreciated having somewhere to go. That's when I first saw the news footage and watched the towers fall. I remember how gentle and kind everyone was immediately following that. Neighbors I had never spoken to before were checking in on each other and asking how each other was doing. All the flags came out on the cars. Like everyone else I was glued to the television. Half trying to cope with what happened, half trying to brace for what might happen next. I didn't cry until about the fourth day when "Please Remember Me" by Tim McGraw came on the radio while I was driving to work. I lost it.

I remember gathering with my small group and listening to President Bush's address to Congress a weeks later. I loved it, and I still have a transcript along with a copy of the newspaper from September 12th. I know a lot of us have trouble with the Iraq war, but in those early days after 9/11 and into Afghanistan I remember being thankful that he was my president, and I believed that he had been elected and made it through the contested judicial process for such a time as this. I greatly admired Mayor Giuliani. He was tireless, brave, confident. Everything a leader needs to be in a time of crisis. We sometimes overlook how relatively calm people remained in New York City.

I remember being back at my girlfriend's house when President Bush announced the invasion into Afghanistan to destroy the Taliban. Inside, part of me wanted to sign up with the Army. A month had passed. We were dealing with the anthrax scare and beginning the work of clearing ground zero.

I had saved the daily office calendar page from that day. Each year afterwards, I would pen that up, along with the transcript of President Bush's speech and hang a large American flag on the wall outside my cubicle. My co-workers seemed to appreciate the gesture.

I made it to ground zero for the first time in May. I saw the steel cross that had been standing underneath the rubble. We should pray today for all the families that will be reminded once again of their losses. And for all of those fighting in our armed services, sacrificing their lives so that, with God's graces, the tragedy does not happen again to our families and friends.

Take time today to remember.


President Bush's Address on September 11th.

President Bush's Address on September 20th.

"Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment. Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom -- the great achievement of our time, and the great hope of every time -- now depends on us. Our nation -- this generation -- will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail." - President Bush

Protect Your Identity

Recently, one of my friends encountered problems with identify theft. This happens far more often than we would like to imagine. I would like to recommend the following suggestions:

• Get your free credit report. A federal law passed last year enabled every American to receive a copy of their credit report each year for free. Make sure you get it through this site (from the FTC). For a small fee, you can also get your credit score.
• Deter, detect and defend against identity theft. The FTC has some helpful information to be aware of to help protect yourself.
• Act quickly if identify theft has happened. More information from the FTC with action steps to take if you suspect a problem.

I hope this helps!

I hate the Eagles

With the NFL season underway, it's time to speak my peace. I hate the Philadelphia Eagles. Actually, it's not so much the Eagles I dislike so much as it is their fans. (Sorry, Jesse.) It's a rare feat for a person to be both arrogant and whiny at the same time and yet that is one of the most common characteristics of those dawning the green and white. Whether the team is undefeated or has yet to win a game, their fans NEVER SHUT UP ABOUT IT. And how is that in a city of 5 million people with meaningful world events happening, Eagles coverage gets like 1/3 to 1/2 the news coverage? Heaven forbid there be a snowstorm and an Eagle game in the same weekend or nothing else will get covered. And don't even get me started on that stupid chant. I'm sorry, are you attending a junior high school pep rally? The rest of the world has grown up. You should too.

Look, to the meager extent that I do follow football, I am a Browns fan. Yes, they suck. I'm okay with that. If they lose every game this year my life will go on quite nicely. It's this wonderful thing called "perspective." Something Philadelphia sports fans don't seem to have much of.

Oh, and I refuse to go see the movie "Invincible".

Time Budget

I often preach about the importance of keeping a financial budget. I also think it's important to keep a "time budget." People sometimes talk about being burnt out as though that was their primary spiritual gift. If generations ago people thought "cleanliness was next to godliness", today we think busyness is. I'm pretty sure Jesus' last words weren't "Go forth unto the ends of the earth and be extremely busy for in this is the Father well pleased." But how often do we pull out our schedules and boast of how busy we are in an effort to form a sort of spiritual pecking order? "I must be growing spiritually," we often say to ourselves, "look how busy I am!"

I sketched out a personal time budget tonight. I needed to see for myself how thin my margins are and make sure I'm not spending my energy in such a way that I am depleting my personal capital. You can't do that for extended periods of time; it's not healthy. It's also important to note that sheer hours alone does not fully capture this. I can work 60 hours a week doing something I love when I'm generally contented and happy in life and still feel energized, but in the midst of grief, for instance, an hour trip to the grocery store can seem overwhelming.

What does your time budget look like?

32

In case you're keeping score at home, that is the number of stupid drivers I passed on the way home this evening, near twilight and in the rain, who didn't have their headlights on.

Not only is it a really good idea, it's also the law in Delaware.

Enough said.

A Discussion of Truth

There are certain times when all the proverbial planets and stars all seem to align: I just noticed on article regarding C.S. Lewis written by Dallas Willard. "Que heavenly sound effect here."

His argument gets a bit over my head at times, but it is a very worthwhile read if we are to be legitimate and eloquent spokesmen in defense of truth in our postmodern age.

Oh, and Renovation of the Heart, The Divine Conspiracy and Hearing God are much more readable than this article, but you can tell they are grounded in this depth of philosophical thought.

Nauseating Heresy

So I woke up early this morning and was flipping through some channels on TV. Somewhere between Sportscenter and the music channels was a white, middle-aged preacher with a shiny Bible (perhaps because it had rarely been used) and a hideous tie overlooking a tropical paradise and promoting his new book, How to Be Rich and Have Everything You Ever Wanted. I would say don't get me started, but it's already too late.

This has to be one of the easiest heresies to argue against and yet it is one of the most pervasive throughout the world and throughout time. I guess it's the whole concept of, let's take a few verses we like and ignore the ones we don't and build an entire theology out of it. You know who these theologies make rich? The ones selling it to you!

Somehow, I don't seem to recall Jesus parading through Jerusalem or Galilee in a 20 horse chariot and wearing the finest scarlet robes. Or Paul taking his personal yacht on his missionary journeys. Maybe they just weren't spiritual enough for God to bless. Okay, let me break it down for you: Jesus did not die and rise again so that you could have the American dream. Especially when that dream is defined by a mansion, two vacation homes, a BMW and endless time to indulge your leisure and pleasure.

Yes, God has given us the ability to create wealth. Yes, we are to be wise stewards of this. No, this does not mean the purpose of life is to follow some shady teacher's six magical steps to manipulate God to give you some serious bank.

I am currently reading William Law's A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life.
They weren't as big on soundbytes back in 1728 so you'll have to bear with me for awhile. From a chapter entitled "Containing the Great Obligations, and the Great advantages of Making a Wise and Religious Use of Our Estates and Fortunes":

As the holiness of Christianity consecrates all states and employments of life unto God, as it requires us to aspire after a universal obedience, doing and using everything as the servants of God, so are we more specially obligated to observe this religious exactness in the use of our estates and fortunes. The reason of this would appear very plain if we were only to consider that our estate is as much the gift of God as our eyes or our hands and is no more to be buried or thrown away at pleasure than we are to put out our eyes or throw away our limbs as we please. But, besides this consideration, there are several other great and important reasons why we should be religiously exact in the use of our estates.

First, because the manner of using our money or spending our estate centers so far into the business of every day and make so great a part of our common life, that our common life must be much of the same nature as our common way of spending our estate. If reason and religion govern us in this, then reason and religion gave great hold of us; but if humor, pride, and fancy are the measures of spending our estate, then humor, pride, and fancy will have the direction of the greatest part of our life.

Secondly, another great reason for devoting all our estate to right uses is this: because it is capable of being used to the most excellent purpose and is so great a means of doing good. If we waste it, we do not waste a trifle that signifies little, but we waste that which might be made as eyes to the blind, as a husband to the widow,
as a father to the orphan; we waste that which not only enables us to minister
worldly comforts to those that are in distress, but that which might purchase
for ourselves everlasting treasures in Heaven. So that if we part with our money
in foolish ways, we part with a great power of comforting our fellow creatures
and of making ourselves forever blessed.

If there be nothing so glorious as doing good, if there is nothing that makes us so like to God, then nothing can be so glorious in the use of our money as to use it all in works of love and goodness, making ourselves friends and fathers and benefactors to all our fellow creatures, imitating the Divine love and turning all our power into acts of generosity, care, and kindness to such as are in need of it.

Thirdly, if we waste our money, we are not only guilty of wasting a talent which God has given us, we are not only guilty of making that useless which is so powerful a
means of doing good, but we do ourselves this further harm, that we turn this
useful talent into a powerful means of corrupting ourselves; because so far as
it is spent wrong, so far it is spent in support of some wrong temper, in
gratifying some vain and unreasonable desires in conforming to those fashions
and pride of the world, which, as Christians and reasonable men, we are obliged
to renounce.

We would do well to remember that Jesus warned in the parable of the sower that
"the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for
other things enter in and choke the word and it becomes unfruitful."