Quote of the Day

Well, at least he stil has a sense of humor.

Sermon Reflections

I was deeply moved by this Sunday's sermon. I was hoping to podcast it, but don't see it available. Hopefully there will be some CD's available.

Anyway, the sermon was on 1 Samuel 14:1-13 entitled "Under a Pomegranate." The guest missionary pastor recounted the story of Jonathan and his armor bearer single handedly throwing down on a regiment of Philistines and how "Jonathan was part of something that only God could have pulled off." He challenged us that we are sitting under a pomegranate tree eating its fruit and completely indulging ourselves and neglecting the desperate needs of those around us. He challenged us that we are in a war with an unconventional enemy. He pointed out the 5 forces of the enemy:

1. Poverty - 2 billion people live on less than $1/day. There are 2,000 versus about the poor in Scripture.
2. Disease - There are 20 million AIDS orphans in Africa.
3. Ignorance (lack of education)
4. Violence
5. Spiritual darkness (which is the root of all the others)

He pointed out that the horrific genocide in Rwanda occurred in a country that was predominantly Christian because "the gospel has not gone beyond the veneer of religosity." He pointed out a quote from Bono, "If the church does not confront the plagues confronting Africa, no one else will."

However, all is not lost. God is raising up a band of warriors. He cited several examples of extreme sacrifice and intense ministry. I jotted in my notes, "Live your life as a dead man."

He talked about the movie Amazing Grace and the story of William Wilberforce. How he and has band of followers, over a long period of time, did something that no one would have ever considered possible. Today we look at the problems facing the world, see them as hopeless and maybe hope God will call another William Wilberforce and neglect that he's calling each one of us.

Again he came back to the challenge: are you ready to get our from under the tree? He talked about two different ethos: institutional vs. missional. We come to our stained glass promegranate tree and evaluate the fruit. We complain that it's not ripe or over ripe but we never share the fruit with a starving world. He also challenged us, if our church was considering to leave the neighborhood, would anyone try to stop us? Would the mayor come and tell us not to leave because the impact we are having on the community was so great?

I wanted to stand up and cheer when the sermon ended except I couldn't because I was fighting back tears.

Now it's on us, on me. What am I/we going to do with this? Are we going to say, "wow, that was a nice sermon" and then keep all the same habits and come back the same way next week to evaluate the next serving of fruit? We need to be deeply infected with this calling. It's going to take some time to process this and figure out exactly where to go from here. I've been concerned about a lot of the issues he talked about and give money in these causes and have tried to encourage others to do the same on my blog. But is that going to be it?

I think there are two easy steps we can all take on this. Some "low hanging fruit" we can pick as it were. The first is to better educate ourselves on these issues and the second is to give more. Maybe one Sunday a month or even a quarter we don't go to lunch after Kairos and pool our money to give to one of these causes. I couldn't help but think of my own hypocrisy when I left that sermon and then went to Chili's for lunch and dropped almost $10 on my next lunch. That's over a week's living expenses for 2 billion people, right? Can we connect this to our day to day choices? Maybe we clean our our houses and have giant community yardsale and donate the proceeds. How many of our homes have a TV in every room? Is that necessary? I have read that there is a museum I believe of the Queen Mary (or is it Queen Elizabeth?) that was converted from a luxury cruise ship to a troop ship for World War 2. They have rooms that are split down the middle, one side showing what it look like when it was catering to wealthy patrons and another showing what it looked like when it housed soldiers. Which side of the ship are we going to live on? In my NT survey reading, I just came across 2 Timothy 2:3,4 "Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier." There isn't a draft. No one is going to force us to do this. In the background at Chili's as we ate lunch, Switchfoot played. "This is your life. Are you who want to be?"

In Need of Renovation

One of the most challenging and influential books I have ever read is Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart. I was skimming through it again and came across a segment entitled "Standing For The Right Without Egotism" that really convicted me. I apologize for where I have fallen short in this in my previous blog postings:

One of the real sources of difficulty here is confusion of our desire for what is good and right to prevail with our desire to have our own way. One often sees the effects of this confusion in families, in churches or between religious and political groups.

In such cases, very important values are often at stake, and people are passionately committed to one side or another. This is as it should be. But more often than not, the contempt and anger for others that emerges in the conflict is nothing but a manifestation of the will to have my way.

Families, churches, communities, and sovereign nations become embroiled in deadly conflicts that would immediately disappear or be resolvable but or the relentless will to have my/our way. Very likely, the First World War - with horrific worldwide consequences that reverberate to this day - was entirely due to this human tendency. A significant part of the business of police, courts, and hospitals is the result of the drive of mere self-will and has no genuine bearing on the good of individuals and groups, much less on the glory of God.

'Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,' Jesus said, 'it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life [soul] loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal' (John 12:24-25).

This is a law of human life, partly visible at the level of purely human understanding (remember Erich Fromm) and fully demonstrated in the life of Jesus and that of his people throughout the ages, for all to see. It is the controlling principle of the renovated heart and the restored soul. Its radical goodness progressively subverts and replaces the radical evil in the fallen human heart, mind, body, and social and other environment.

Christian Protest

A good reminder to pray for our enemies and pray for peace.

Here are some other resources with practical ways we can express a voice of hope, compassion and peace this weekend:

Operation Iraqi Children
UNICEF
American Institute of Philanthropy

Pet Food Recall

Heads-up to my pet-owning friends, Menu Foods is recalling some of its products. I've never heard of that brand before, but just in case any of you have used it.

Universal Healthcare

There are few words that incite greater passionate reactions on both sides of the political spectrum than "universal healthcare." I was initially reluctant to post anything on the matter because I was concerned about what kind of firestorm of comments I might unwittingly arouse. Through the course of a few conversations with different people and trying to gather some more information on the matter, I was surprised at my own level of misunderstanding, and I wonder if some of my misconceptions are shared by others.

I think my first "a-ha" moment was when I realized there is a difference between universal healthcare and universal healthcare coverage. The words "universal healthcare" have a very negative connotation in my mind. My initial reaction is to imagine a very socialized, almost Soviet style central planning and state ownership and management of healthcare services. I think heavy administrative bureaucracy, escalating costs and decreasing care would likely result from that type of system. Perhaps in its initial form this is what some people were proposing, but I don't think it has many supporters today. What I am learning is that more emphasis is being placed on universal healthcare coverage.

Universal healthcare coverage still relies on private industry. It seeks to make sure that everyone has access to health insurance to pay for medical treatment provided by private industry; it does not expect these services to be provided by the government. Again, that was a vitally important distinction for me to begin to understand.

There is disagreement on how access to this health insurance is to be gained. Some people want to require all employers to offer healthcare coverage to their employees. I would be concerned that the administrative and financial burden would be very detrimental to small businesses and the overall economy. (I know with my dad's experience, his business would probably have immediately gone under if he had that additional cost.) At this point, I think having state administered group plans that are available to everyone appears to be a better alternative. There are currently plans in place in each state called SCHIPS which expand medical coverage to those who make enough to not be eligbile for medicaid but can not afford private insurance.

I think there could be a lot of progress made in assisting the millions of Americans who do not have healthcare insurance and coverage (and therefore little access to appropriate levels of care) through a combination of strong SCHIP programs coupled with Health Savings Accounts. I have not seen anyone linking the two together yet, but I think it is an important step to take. I think deductibles, doctor co-pays and first dollar payments are an important check on the system that prevent over-use and abuse. The financial burden of these personal payments can be eased by the use of HSA's.

The issue of universal healtcare coverage and poverty are obviously interlinked. This is also why I would support an increase in the minimum wage. I am not sure where that stands right now in Congress. I think it would be far better to raise the minimum wage and provide additional income for lower income individuals and families to purchase healthcare through a state program than to require each small business to create and administer its own plan. It is also possible for states to subsidize these programs and further make health insurance affordable.

There still needs to be major reform within the healthcare industry itself, with greater emphasis paid on preventative and holistic care and greater use of information technology to reduce both burdensome administrative paperwork and the risk of malpractice. But that is probably another story for another time.

Some articles and resources I found interesting and helpful:
How to Heal Health Care
The Reformer and the Gadfly Agree on Health Care
http://clinton.senate.gov/issues/health/
http://johnedwards.com/about/issues/health-care/
http://www.newt.org/backpage.asp?art=3485
http://www.newt.org/backpage.asp?art=1897

Beware of Unintended Consequences

I am very supportive of the push for alternative fuels and more integrated use of renewable resources. However, I find myself rather alarmed by the frenzied, almost blind rush towards grain based ethanol. If not managed carefully, the rush towards this new alternative fuel could have dramatic conquences, not only economically but also to the natural environment.

First of all, has everyone forgotten that food is not exactly in abundant supply in many parts of the world, and that we are beginning to divert substantial amounts of crops that would be used for food into fuel? Or that a significant portion of our foreign aid is delivered in the form of corn, wheat and other natural grains? Also, according to one report I heard recently, inflationary pressures caused be increases in food prices have a much greater impact on most families' finances than increases in fuel prices. And if it is a greater burden for Americans to pay more for food than for fuel, imagine what it's like in many parts of the world where food can barely be afforded. Further, in places like Brazil where ethanol is the primary fuel, there is increasingly rampant deforestation to make room for sugar crops to produce the ethanol. So, we end up destroying the environment that we are trying to protect by switching from petroleum to ethanol based products in the first place.

Again, I support the exploration and implementation of alternative sources of energy, but we need to think very carefully about this now before we create a larger mess for ourselves in the future. I wish there was a stronger push for waste-product based biofuel production (i.e. switchgrass) than grain based production.

WWJ(W)D?

This morning I went out to my car and was shuffling a few things around as I was getting ready to leave for work. When I looked up, there was a police officer standing next to my car. I rolled down my window, and he asked if I knew the lady who lived in the apartment building next to me. I responded that I didn't, and he went on to explain that about an hour earlier she had been beaten unconscious and carjacked. Apparently she had resisted, and they (?) had beaten her profusely. He asked if I had heard anything, but I hadn't. He thanked me for my time, I thanked him, and then he walked away.

This is deeply disturbing. It got me wondering what the appropriate response would be in an incident like that. If I had walked outside an hour earlier and seen this event transpiring, what would I have done? As I was beginning to process this incident, my first reaction was a feeling of guilt. I wish I had heard something so that I could have called 911 and then walked outside with my Louisville Slugger. I know that's probably not the technically correct response, and that you should stay safe and let the police handle it. But in my gut I kept thinking, maybe it's about time some good men start taking some risks. If we never stand up, evil men will never back down. To repeat one of my favorite quotes, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." I then wondered, what if I did walk outside with my baseball bat and one of them had a gun? If nothing else, this gave me a new appreciation for many of Jeff's posts on carrying arms.

This all brought back to mind an article Angela had sent to me shortly after 9/11. Incidentally, I watched my first John Wayne movie about two weeks ago. I was bored on a Saturday night, and I realized I had never actually seen a John Wayne movie so it seemed like a good idea. Maybe it was the novelty of it, but I actually liked it. Obviously, there is a suspension of certain realities and Wayne's character is idealized, but there was still something very appealing about it, about being the kind, generous, strong, respectful, man of integrity who shows up to save the day. It got me phrasing this morning's incident in the form of a different question: What Would John Wayne Do? Yes, I know he is not the model of behavior for us that Jesus is, but in this particular incident I have a feeling their reaction might have been fairly similar.

For now I guess there's not much I can do. And the way the news reported the episode was different from the perception I got from speaking with the officer so I'm rather confused by what transpired. I might drop off a little card to my neighbor expressing my concern. What else should I do?

March Madness

There are few things I am more indifferent to than March Madness. I guess this is because I didn't go to a large college, and even though our basketball team was really good within its league or conference I only went to one game and didn't enjoy it. I know some people enjoy the "purity" of college basketball, but it seems to me like an outdated nostalgia, like enjoying the "purity" of giving gifts at Christmas. Oh well. Enjoy, everyone. Wake me when it's over.

March

March has such brutally variable weather patterns. After enjoying a beautiful 72 degree, sunny day yesterday, I awake to a forecast indicating up to 4 inches of snow tomorrow. I always try to leave the possibility of snow open in my mind until Easter. I just enjoy the warm weather so much more. But, on the bright side, it looks like I'll have a few more opportunities to wear my new winter coat.

It's Pod-castic!

So I had my first i-Pod inspired workout this week, and it really did help. I was tired and ready to quit when "Today" by the Smashing Pumpkins came on, and immediately I'm like, "Okay, a few more laps". Then the next song came on, and I decided I had a few more minutes for an ab workout. I mean, really, how can you hear, "I'm going to fight them all, A seven nation army couldn't hold me back." and not be pumped for some more crunches?

Most Overrated

At lunch we were discussing some of our most favorite and most hated songs and artists. I would like to introduce another category: most over-rated. These are artists which, in my opinion, may have a good song or two here and there but are simply not as great as everyone says they are. My apologies ahead of time to all the loyal fans of these bands that I will be offending. I'm glad you enjoy them; they just don't do anything for me.

• The Rolling Stones
• The Beatles
• The Eagles
• Dave Matthews
• Billy Joel
• Elton John
• Lynrd Skynrd

In a musically related event, I have another pet peeve. Okay, so I admit I listen to some country music occasionally. But this may stop because the Philadelphia country music station (92.5 - XTU) will occasionally over-write songs with local references. For instance, on Teri Clark's "I Want To Do It All" they turn the line "see the Yankees play ball" into "see the Eagles play ball". Um, excuse me, I don't like the Yankees but at least they are a storied, epic franchise in a historic stadium. You have your annoying "E-A-G-L-E-S" chant; you don't need to be editing songs to make them about yourself. There is another song "Tim McGraw" by Talyor Sift and the line is edited from "you turn the radio on" to "you turn XTU on". And most recently, they changed the line to another new song which I do not know the name or artist to to "when the Phillies lose." What is up with that? Look, no one is going to write a song about the Eagles, the Phillies or the Philadelphia country music station. Leave these poor songs alone. Is this copyright infringement or are the artists openly pandering to what they hope will be a naive local audience?

Civility

I get really irritated when people use inflammatory, derogatory terms towards one another. Recently, political commentator/humorist Ann Coulter referred to Presidential candidate John Edwards as a "faggot." That is so wrong. First, it's not true. [It is worth nothing that he seems to have demonstrated stronger personal traditional family values than some of his opponents (i.e. Gingrich, Guiliani)]. Secondly, it is an inappropriate term to be used in today's culture. Thirdly, it adds nothing of value to the important discussions we need to have on the actual issues and problems the country faces. This is not a partisan liability. If I had a dime for every derogatory comment made against President Bush I wouldn't have needed to post my previous lament on Social Security because I would be independently wealthy. Here's my point: focus on the real issues and don't just call people names. If you think that President Bush is a stubborn, ineffective leader with poor diplomatic skills, then say it. But don't call him "the devil" or a "bastard." They fail the three tests I outlined earlier (true, appropriate, valuable). In the same way, if you want to express a negative sentiment about John Edwards, you can point out the fact that a candidate who wants to raise taxes to help the poor was 4 months late on paying taxes on his $3.8 million mansion rather than calling him a "faggot."

While I think everyone is at fault who fails to demonstrate a certain civility and kindness to their political adversaries, as Christians we have a special responsibility. "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, You shall not kill, and whoever kills shall be liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the court. But I say to you that everyone who continues to be angry with his brother or harbors malice (enmity of heart) against him shall be liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the court; and whoever speaks contemptuously and insultingly to his brother shall be liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, You cursed fool! [You empty-headed idiot!] shall be liable to and unable to escape the hell (Gehenna) of fire." Matthew 5:21,22

Social Insecurity

So I received my Social Security statement in the mail today. At least they're honest: "Unless action is taken soon to strengthen Social Security, in just 10 years we will begin paying more in benefits that we collect in taxes. Without changes, by 2040 the Social Security Trust Fund will be exhausted." So, do politicians not read their mail? How is this difficult to understand? We are like a patient with an infected wound who refuses to go see a doctor. We can either suck it up, go in for the treatment now and find a cure while there's still time, or we can wait it out until we're so sick the only option left will be to amputate. I hope you're all investing in your IRA's and 401(k)'s. You're definitely going to need it. It may be all you'll have.