Meet Ted Haggard!

Meet Ted Haggard the NAE's optimistic champion of ecumenical evangelism and free-market faith.

Christianity Today puts an adoring spotlight on Ted Haggard, President of the National Association of Evangelicals. Bill Clinton is an Evangelical, Haggard says. Jimmy Carter is an Evangelical. Hillary Clinton, he says, is not. Want to place a small wager on this one?

Anyway, it is supposedly Evangelicalism’s finest hour. Indeed it is time to grasp the widespread public acceptance and socio-politico-econmic opportunities within our reach. This is what the sociologist Alan Wolfe calls the “opening of the evangelical mind,” a cultural renaissance among conservative Christians. Though their parents may have taught them to take refuge in a parallel Christian subculture, the stuff these people found in Christian bookstores bored and embarrassed them. Now, life is good! Really good! Just ask Ted as he sits in his penthouse office suite that looks out on the awesome Rocky Mountains.

Meanwhile, the persecuted church around the world is hunted like vermin. Christian schoolgirls are beheaded in Indonesia just for being Christians and Ake Green waits in Sweden to go to trial in front of the Swedish Supreme Court this week for preaching the Scriptures in his small village church. And Once again we see an attack by Islamists, justified with faith language killing 57 and wounding more than 100 innocent people.

Acording to Ingrid Schlueter at Slice of Laodicea, none of this seems to register in Ted Haggard's Rocky Mountain Xanadu.

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.

So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round :
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree ;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery...

Harper's Magazine's piece on Ted Haggard, Soldiers of Christ is available online.

The Philadelphia Inquirer's Paul Nussbaum article on Haggard is also available online.

Haggard's website has more info on his books, beliefs, and biography.

New Life Church offers mp3 sermons and more information for visitors.

The NAE website has more information about the organization, it's government affairs office, and other news.

The Association of Life-Giving Churches, New Life's church network, has the goal of seeing "churches, no matter their denomination, age or style of worship, promote and facilitate freedom of operation for the Holy Spirit."

CT interviewed Haggard after his election as president of NAE: Ted Haggard: 'This Is Evangelicalism's Finest Hour' The new president of the National Association of Evangelicals talks about the current state and future goals of the association and evangelicalism. (June 3, 2003)

Paris Is Burning: What's Religion Got To Do With It?

Paris Is Burning: What's Religion Got To Do With It?

Religion has everything to do with this. These riots were bound to happen; it was just a matter of time. However, be aware that these events are nothing, just minor skirmishes - wait a few more years and you will see real urban warfare in the streets of Europe. As of today the rioting has spread to 300 towns in France. In fact, some MSM news stories are asking is this the beginning of Jihad in Europe?

Note that there are other large immigrant communities in Europe, and they somehow manage to fit in, work and live peaceful lives (not that it helped a certain Brazilian!). So what motivates these young men? What causes them to go out to riot and destroy? Well, it is a bunch of things, and it is Islam! The hate and anger against the infidels is flowing out of the mosques, into the streets, and nobody, neither the French nor the Muslims, have a clue. It is of no comfort to me, but be certain that, like the Muslims, the French will reap what they sow. It will not be pretty!

Let's blame the French leaders and politicians as much as the Muslims in the streets. Also, blame the Imams and the Muslim Councils, which at refuse to understand the consequences of the basic teachings of their faith or much less examine the controversial actions and writings of their Prophet. This denial is deadly and it is at the heart of this problem, like it or not! All parties have ignored reality and played word games with each other. Many innocent people will be hurt because of denial, dishonesty, indifference and lack of honesty on both sides.

Take a look at the following to see the panorama of problems across the spectrum that this issue is highlighting:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4405790.stm

http://www.christiansciencemonitor.com/2005/1104/p06s02-woeu.html

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash1.htm

Presto Salvation!

Do words mean anything? Are there some words that simply shouldn't be spoken in vain, like calling on the name of Jesus Christ, for example? This website features a Salvation Challenge game that may turn your stomach. Read the promo and weep!

Salvation Challenge TM is a family game for 2-6 players. Each player starts with one million in kingdom cash. Players need to get ‘saved’ by landing on Calvary and making the salvation call, “Jesus save me”, before they are able to carry out certain activities

Once Saved the players enter a race, to see who can be the first to give one million cash to missionaries, who further advance God’s kingdom...

To treat holy things in such a trivial fashion, for entertainment no less, is silly at best and contemptible at worst. Ironically, it seems that fundamentalists are often as prone to this kind of thing as mainstream Evangelicals. Nothing, apparently, is sacred.

Note the line: "The game clearly shows the way of salvation in such an easy way that people only have to add faith to the salvation call.."

User-friendly salvation! Just add a little fatih and stir!

Psychoactive church!

Uniao do Vegetal (O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal church or UDV) is a church which is known fundamentally for its usage of Hoasca (or Ayahuasca) as a sacramental entheogenic herbal tea. The 130-member American branch of this Brazilian church wants to import a sacramental hallucinogenic tea - banned from the U.S. because it is a Schedule I drug - but is key to their religious rituals.

We don’t know much about the church or why and how they use the hallucinogenic tea (Some answers can be found here). However, illegal narcotics and church and a Supreme Court with a history of restricting drugs all make for an interesting law/religion story that will certainly divide traditional political alliances in all sorts of interesting ways.

Rather than impacting First Amendment law, the case deals with a federal law that gives protections to religious exercise than what the Supreme Court had previously given. Two lower federal courts have barred the government from seizing the sacred drink. The Supreme Court refused last year to lift the preliminary injunction issued by the federal district court in Albuquerque. But the justices did agree to hear the administration’s recent appeal to trump the religious needs of this small South American church.

As the major church-state clash of the court’s new term, the case has drawn the attention of mainstream religious groups, including the Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Association of Evangelicals and the American Jewish Committee. Now I find this curious since each of these organizations, among others, are filing briefs in support of the church.

There must be some mind-expanding stakes on the table!

Supreme! Alito nominated!

President Bush has nominated Samuel Alito, a 3rd Circuit judge, for the Supreme Court.

From this AP article:

Judicial conservatives praise Alito's 15 years on the Philadelphia-based court, a tenure that gives him more appellate experience than almost any previous Supreme Court nominee. They say his record shows a commitment to a strict interpretation of the Constitution, ensuring that the separation of powers and checks and balances are respected and enforced. They also contend that Alito has been a powerful voice for the First Amendment's guarantees of free speech and the free exercise of religion.

Also: Time has a short article that discusses differences between Alito and Scalia.

Fly-by-conversion!

Faith comes by hearing the Word of God but the Air Force is being asked to ban religious conversions at the academy. Shut up about all this being Born Again stuff! This is all being done in the name of free speech and religious liberty of course. Give me a break!

Forget the United Nations and that Universal Declaration of Human Rights thing (especially Article 18). It seems that some forms of free speech are more equal than others!

World Violence vrs The Beatitudes!

What’s been happening in the world lately besides Harriet Miers and Valerie Plame and the World Series? Some of them, like the vote in Iraq last weekend, are big. Others are small, but no less portentous and full of religious riposte.

According to the Weekly Standard Newsletter the big story on the Brussels Journal this week has been the troubles at the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. Here's how the trouble started:

The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten is being protected by security guards and several cartoonists have gone into hiding after the newspaper published a series of twelve cartoons (view them here) about the prophet Muhammad. According to Islam it is blasphemous to make images of the prophet. Muslim fundamentalists have threatened to bomb the paper's offices and kill the cartoonists. . . .

The publication led to outrage among the Muslim immigrants living in Denmark. 5,000 of them took to the streets to protest. Muslim organisations have demanded an apology, but Juste rejects this idea: "We live in a democracy. That's why we can use all the journalistic methods we want to. Satire is accepted in this country, and you can make caricatures," he said. The Danish imam Raed Hlayhel reacted with the statement: "This type of democracy is worthless for Muslims. Muslims will never accept this kind of humiliation. The article has insulted every Muslim in the world." . . .

The affair, however, has also led to a diplomatic incident. On Thursday the ambassadors of eleven Muslim countries, including Indonesia, a number of Arab states, Pakistan, Iran, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, complained about the cartoons in a letter to Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. They say the publication of the cartoons is a "provocation" and demand apologies from the newspaper.

Jyllands-Posten was also included on an al-Qaeda website listing possible terrorist targets. An organisation which calls itself "The Glorious Brigades in Northern Europe" is circulating pictures on the internet which show bombs exploding over pictures of the newspaper and blood flowing over the national flag of Denmark. "The Mujahedeen have numerous targets in Denmark--very soon you all will regret this," the website says.

In this one example we see nearly the whole of the problem presented by the collision between Islam and Western liberalism. But amidst the many difficulties, two stand out. First, is the statement from imam Raed Hlayhel, "This type of democracy is worthless for Muslims." Certainly Hlayhel does not speak for all of Islam. But the worry is that if he speaks for even a tiny minority--say, 5 percent of the world's Muslims--that's still a lot of people.
The second shock is the support of 11 Muslim states for this bullying of the Danish press. It is one thing for a lone imam to try to mau-mau a newspaper. It is another to see him standing, arms linked, with foreign governments.

To highlight the true nature of this impasse, to the Brussels Journal’s Paul Belien notes a situation in Belgium:

Meanwhile in Brussels a young Muslim immigrant published a poster depicting the Virgin Mary [unclothed]. Though the picture has drawn some protest from Catholics (though not from Western embassies, nor from the bishops), this artist need not fear being murdered in the street. On the contrary, he is being subsidised by the Ministry for Culture.

Freedom of the press verses freedom of religion verses The Beatitudes?

A Latter-Day Con Job!

Newsweek magazine splashed a story on the growth of the Mormon Church on its cover last week. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints keeps receiving more and more media coverage and they are handling it quite well, considering some of its more controversial teachings like polygamy and exaltation.

The article touches on their teaching on exaltation in the following few sentences and it dovetails with the polygamy problem without mentioning exaltation:

“LDS doctrine holds that some polygamist marriages will exist in the celestial kingdom, the highest tier of heaven. Smith taught that humans (who were spirits in a “pre-existence”) come to earth to get a body and to be tested. After death, everyone is placed into one of three kingdoms, depending on his level of righteousness. Those in the highest degree will dwell with God, their families will be eternal and they’ll even become gods themselves - as God did. Lorenzo Snow, fifth LDS prophet, articulated doctrine when he said, “As man is, God once was; as God is, man may be.”

According to the folks over at getreligion.org the mail call for Newsweek’s splash on the Mormon Church this week was thick and heavy, at least according to those letters published in this week’s issue.

One member “anxious about inaccuracies” was “pleasantly surprised at the great job of compactly presenting such a huge topic.” Another insisted that “the Mormon Church has no need to ‘confront’ its past.” Still another wondered how an article by “a current member of the church could offer a ‘fair and balanced’ portrayal.” Many readers took exception to calling Mormonism a Christian denomination, and others criticized the church for its secret ceremonies and exclusivity. “The Mormon Church is a Masonic lodge dressed up for public view as a Christian church,” a former member said. Others questioned Mormonism’s history, pointing to the frequently altered Book of Mormon and founder Joseph Smith’s reported discovery of gold plates.

I particularly liked this one: “This obviously fairy-tale religion was founded by a boy magician and latter-day con man.”

The Dungy brothers!

Linden Dungy (picture w/ me) is more than Tony’s brother. He’s a true brother. I know this because I minister with him. We are members of the same church and I had the great privilege of baptizing him several years ago. Linden, like Tony, has a dynamic, personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Of course Tony is a well known sports figure and Linden is a local dentist. The Indianapolis Star sports writers covering the Indianapolis Colts often site head coach Tony Dungy’s deep faith. This blog certainly doesn’t get the same exposure as the Indianapolis Star but I want to publicly broadcast (to my small audience) that Linden and Tony are brothers in the eternal sense of the word.

Although I don’t personally minister with Tony (picture below), here’s an example of what’s being said in the Indianapolis Star sports writers coverage: “He was a huge reason why I came here,” [Pro Bowl defensive tackle Corey] Simon said. “He doesn’t allow the game to run his life. Family is very important to him and his faith in God and his relationship with Jesus Christ is very important to him, and those are two things that I value very highly in a person, especially a person who’s going to be my coach.

Ditto!

How Now Brown Cow!

A murder mystery! A conspiracy theory! A hidden code! A work of Plagiarism!

Dan Brown's best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code delivers it all: A riveting tale of international intrigue set against a backdrop of religious history. The book has 25 million copies in print and has spent more than two years on the New York Times Bestseller List for Hardcover Fiction.

Almost since the day the controversial novel hit bookstores, evangelicals have discussed it, debated it, and noted its historical and biblical inaccuracies. There's plenty to read on those topics by clicking right here.

The controversy extends now into the mammon hungry secular arena. It seems that Mr Brown is to face a High Court action brought by the authors of the 1982 non-fiction book The Holy Blood, and the Holy Grail, who allege that his blockbuster was based on their decade of research. The Holy Blood, Holy Grail trial begins soon!

The Intelligent Design Trail!

In late September 2005, Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District et al. went to trial in federal district court in Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs challenged the decision of the Dover School Board requiring that public schools teach that intelligent design is an alternative theory to evolution. The plaintiffs alleged that such a rule constituted the teaching of religion in public schools and therefore violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

It seems obvious to me that Intelligent Design (ID) is science, not religion. Creationism is a theological, religious concept; Intelligent Design points to observable physical empirical facts. The appearance of design in aspects of biology is overwhelming aspects of life are so complex as to be best explained as the work of a super-intelligent designer.

When Charles Darwin presented his theory of evolution, little was known about what goes on inside living cells. They were "black boxes," objects the insides of which were unknown. With the development of molecular biology, scientists have come to realize that cells are extremely complex. Darwin's theory fails to account for this complexity. For example, the unique information within an individual cell remains distinct from the physical structure of that cell in the same way that the message of a book is distinct from the ink and paper which records it. The question biologists must answer is, Where did this genetic information come from? Information implies intelligence. It can't be explained by physical mutations and natural selection.

Another finding which also is a major problem for Darwinists is what is called the irreducible complexity of living organisms. In other words, molecular mechanisms are made up of many parts that interact in complex ways, and all the parts need to work together. Any single part has no useful function unless all the other parts are also present. The eye, for example, requires the coordinated working of many different parts to do its work. Each of these parts, however, can accomplish nothing on its own. That being the case, why would the individual parts have been preserved through time by natural selection? If there were gradual development, there must have been some intelligence behind it to know what to retain and what to destroy.

These two factors, then - information content and irreducible complexity - are strong physical evidence for intelligent design. Information implies intelligence, and complexity can't be accounted for by mutation and selection. It requires design!

Interestingly, recent polls indicate that challenges to Darwinian evolution have substantial support among the American people. According to a July 2005 survey sponsored by the Pew Forum and the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 60 percent believe that humans and other animals have either always existed in their present form or have evolved over time under the guidance of a Supreme Being. Only 26 percent agree with Darwin that life evolved through natural selection. Finally, the poll found that 64 percent of Americans support teaching creationism alongside evolution in the classroom.
From CT weblog

1. Museums take up evolution challenge Natural history museums around the country are mounting new exhibits they hope will succeed where high school biology classes have faltered: convincing Americans that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is a rigorously tested cornerstone of modern science (Chicago Tribune)


2. Local school teaches intelligent design alongside evolution Students in Cheri Hagan's advanced biology class at Asheville Christian Academy believe the concept of intelligent design has its flaws. But, they say, so does evolution (Asheville Citizen-Times, N.C.)


3. Now arguing near you: the evolution drama Observing the 80th anniversary of the Scopes trial, Theater Works has begun a 23-city tour of Peter Goodchild's radio play "The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial" (The New York Times)


4. Can faith, science coexist? Evolution and Christianity are not incompatible, many believe (The Philadelphia Inquirer)


5. From Dayton to Dover: Why is Darwin still on trial? When believers insist on 'proving' religion through science, they are playing on the wrong field (Charles C. Haynes, First Amendment Center)


6. Intelligent deception With the ongoing battle over intelligent design being taught in schools, Why stop there? (Steven I. Weiss, Radar)


7. Inherit the baloney In Monkey Business: The True Story of the Scopes Trial, by Marvin Olasky and John Perry, creationists try to settle a score with Darwin (Chris Lehmann, Reason)


8. Leave science to schools, faith to us it is the job of my husband and me to instill values, faith and religion in our son as we see fit. My job. Not society's, not the school's and not the job of either fundamentalist Christians or secular liberals intent on changing the school curriculum to fit their agenda (Inez Russell, Free New Mexican)

Jabez - now Jezebel!

A few years ago, when the evangelical book fad The Prayer of Jabez was in full swing, Russell D. Moore joked that the feminist revisionists would respond with their own small devotional volume: The Prayer of Jezebel. Well, now it is here.

Fortress Press, the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has announced the publication of The Jezebel Letters, which "combines top-notch biblical scholarship with a fictionalized first-person account of the biblical character." According to the Fortress press release, the book "transforms the stereotype of the notorious biblical queen into a more historically based portrayal of a powerful, literate royal woman."

It seems the biblical narrative about Jezebel was not fictional but fictitious? The reclamation of Jezebel has been ongoing for several years in liberal theological academia under the heading of seeking a "feminist reading" of the Jezebel texts.

A politically-incorrect preacher once referred to the goddess-worshiping feminist theologians of some "mainline" Protestant seminaries as "a group of Jezebels." That might have seemed a bit harsh at the time. What does one say when the feminist theologians call themselves "Jezebels," and mean it as high praise?

An organic model for church growth!

Rev. Jeffrey Hawkins, a farmer and Lutheran conference dean, relies totally on nature to run his 99-acre farm in northern Indiana.

According to Hawkins, this way of farming offers a model for how churches should approach growth. In 2003, he began bringing pastors to work on his farm through his ministry, HOPE CSA, which stands for Hands-On Pastoral Education using Clergy-Sustaining Agriculture. Hawkins makes many parallels between factory farms and mega churches, and between sustainable farming - which doesn’t deplete natural resources or pollute the environment - and healthy churches.

“I don’t want to demonize church growth and factory farms,” Hawkins said. “I want to help us be honest about the consequences of choosing those models.”

The most valuable lesson he has learned is that “things take time,” he said. Less focus on efficiency is essential to achieving “holy health,” which includes mental, emotional, vocational and physical aspects, Hawkins said.

Hawkins also emphasized that pastors should use all of their parishioners instead of the foreign fertilizer of outside programs to meet perceived needs. Setting up too many programs that rely on outside sources - such as conferences, CDs and videos - can make pastors too busy or distracted to really connect with their flocks, he said.

10th Planet!

We discovered a tenth planet back in July. Who knew?

Lion of the Tribe!

The upcoming movie adaptation of CS Lewis's book, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, is expected to set a new precedent (http://www.narniaweb.com). Far from sitting back and watching, publisher HarperCollins is working closely with filmmaker Walden Media, unleashing a massive, worldwide marketing drive for the books, timed to coincide with the film. Even Florida’s Gov. Jeb Bush is encouraging schoolchildren to read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for a contest timed with the release of the movie version. This makes a few folks uneasy!

It turns out that some people are afraid that Narnia - book and movie - is an attack on the wall between church and state (check this out). The movie is being co-produced by Disney and Walden Media, which is owned by Philip Anschutz, a Colorado billionaire. Anschutz, his family, his foundation and his company have donated nearly $100,000 to Republican candidates and causes in the past three elections, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Of course we are talking about a book that has been read for decades by schoolchildren (and out of school children) across the nation and in many, many parts of the world. The Narnia books are classics packed with moral absolutes and strong religious symbols.

As for me, I particularly want to know if Aslan comes off as the Christ-figure, or just some warm and fuzzy magic lion. I do hope that Aslan will be utterly discernible as a figure of Jesus - for those who have eyes to see.

Bird, the Bird!

Last week a student mentioned the potential pandemic of the bird flu during our Wednesday night Bible Study of the book of Revelation. It seemed appropriate enough. But what's the big deal?

It seems that both World and US health officials have been warning for months that the bird flu strain sweeping through Asia could trigger the next pandemic. Is the US Ill Prepared for Massive Flu Outbreak: Report? Are Efforts underway on bird flu vaccine for humans asks Boston Globe?

Note that the State Department Hosts Int'l Conference on Bird Flu according to FOX News. One report states boldly that Bird flu preparations is a race against time. If that’s not enough see also WKYT - Reuters.uk - all 907 related »

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird!

Harriet Miers for Supreme Court?

Place your bet!

Explaining his reasons for supporting Miss Miers and praying for guidance, Dr. Dobson cited her religious faith and said he knew her conservative evangelical church. “I know the person who brought her to the Lord,” he said. “I have talked at length to people that know her and have known her for a long time.” Link to James Dobson’s actual radio broadcast and hear him take the plunge.

OK, now we can relax a bit. The omnipresent Ted Olsen & Co. at the Christianity Today weblog have put up an exhaustive official list of all links pertinent to this issue.

Some more coverage can be discovered a t getreligion.org . Terry M an Eastern Orthodox Christian and a pro-life Democrat follows this story at HHGR case.

Bible Literacy Project

Bible Literacy Project releases public-school textbook!

The Bible Literacy Project (BLP) released the first public-school student textbook on the Bible published in 30 years. BLP is an ecumenical consortium of scholars, businessmen, and clerics who in 2001 set out to write a textbook on the Bible that satisfied both the First Amendment Guide -- a guiding document endorsed by groups ranging from the National Education Association to the National Assocation of Evangelicals -- and the sensibilities of those who believe all or part of the Scriptures are sacred. Read WORLD's review here.

Hot off the press!

Hot off the press… see http://www.christianitytoday.com/ctmag/

Christianity Today
(November 2005 Issue)

American Baptist Exodus
by Rob Moll posted 10/05/2005 09:00 a.m.
Scripture, homosexuality divide another venerable denomination.

American Baptist Churches Communication Department to Close
by Adelle M. Banks, RNS posted 10/05/2005 09:00 a.m.
Reorganization comes as regions threaten to leave over how the denomination has handled homosexuality

Worship the King!

"Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes" (Revelation 18:4).

There is a day when God is going to judge the system of Babylon and it’s king around the world. What is Babylon? Babylon is the last great world system. With the Babylonian king (beast) mark you will be enabled to do business as usual. Like in that Babylon, the strongholds of the current marketplace and the church are mammon and pride.

Dependence on money and misplaced trust in cultural values and leaders are at the core of a Babylonian philosophy of life. “Who is like the beast (king)?” Revelation 18 describes a time when God will judge this Babylonian system. "Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her" (Rev. 18:8a). "Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!" (Rev. 18:10b). One day soon the King of heaven will settle His accounts with His servants.

As Christian believers we are called to acknowledge the signs of the times. When the Soviet Union fell, many knew it was going to happen because they could recognize the signs of the times. God has a way of shaking things up. These shakings force us to determine who and what we will place our trust in. Matthew says that we are to "Seek first the kingdom of God and His (the King’s) righteousness…" (Mt. 6:33).

Jesus says "I am your king” (Mt. 21). Jesus came the first time, and he is coming again, as the king over all kings. King of Israel, king of all the nations, king of nature and the universe. Until he comes again, there is a day of amnesty and forgiveness and patience in and with Babylon. He still rides a donkey and not yet a white war-horse with a rod of iron. He is ready to save all who receive him as Savior and Treasure and King. Come out of Babylon to Him! Know Him! Receive Him! Live your life in allegiance to Him and His kingdom.

A para doc's

The American Christian Paradox

The paradox: America is simultaneously the most professedly Christian of the developed nations and the least Christian in its behavior. That paradox—more important, perhaps, than the much touted ability of French women to stay thin on a diet of chocolate and cheese - illuminates the hollow at the core of our boastful, careening culture.

Patiently Growing

Patiently Growing!

“…being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience” (Col 1.11)

Joshua was known for almost 40 years as "Joshua, servant of Moses." God's preparation for him required years of selfless service, training in the desert, and tests of faith. Those preparation years were long moments of patient endurance designed to move Joshua into each new phase of his spiritual formation.

God allows each of us preparation times to lay a foundation that He is building on. Some of those foundation times appear to be laborious and meaningless, even painful. Yet these varied experiences are what God is using to frame your life for the message He plans to speak through you. Without these foundational experiences, the Jordan River can never be crossed and we cannot enter the Promised Land.

Embrace the times of seeming inactivity from God with patient endurance. This is a mark of spiritual maturity. God is preparing you for the next adventure in your joyful journey of faith.

Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

Lombard Meeting in Brief

Lombard Meeting in Brief…

This momentous gathering at the Lindner Conference Center in Lombard, IL, for the "Summons to Lead" conference was an awesome experience! The Conference was announced following the determination of the Board of Directors of the American Baptist Evangelicals (ABE) that any further effort or expenditure of resources directed toward renewal of the ABC-USA denomination was futile. A decision was then made to disolve the ABE organization.

The purpose of the Conference was to query the membership to see if a new beginning should be attempted as a new organization with a new vision and mission. In attendance were at least 350 individuals, including American Baptist Evangelicals member pastors from local churches across our nation, ABE officers, at least three executive ministers representing ABC-USA Regions, as well as officers and representatives from Mission America, Green Lake Conference Center, Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board, the newly-formed Great Commission Network, and Saddleback Church's Purpose Driven Ministries.

There was a full spectrum of positions and perspectives exhibited by the conferees, ranging from those that were, although uncomfortable and desirous of renewal, still feeling closely bound to the ABC-USA; those that were on the verge of deciding to disassociate from the denomination; and those from the ABC-Pacific Southwest Region who had already virtually disassociated. This spectrum required great skill and sensitivity on the part of the ABE Executive Director Bill Nicoson to successfully navigate us through the potential points of difference and concern toward a new and mutually-agreed-upon vision of a missional future together.

Bottom line:

• Yes, there will be a new organization to follow as ABE ceases.


• It will focus on networking churches that...


• Have left the ABCUSA


• Are getting ready to leave the ABCUSA


• Have not left the ABCUSA, but want an evangelical network for purposes of fellowship, accountability, and shared ministry


• The working vision piece is…

“A group of Baptist congregations committed together to an orthodox, biblical and theological foundation that will result in the growth of the church of Jesus Christ as demonstrated by healthy congregations.”
Core Values

• Biblical authority


• Healthy churches


• Relationships


• Confessing (that is, a clear strong statement of faith)


• Transformation (of churches and of individuals)


• Reproduction (Evangelism and church planting)


• Mission


• Authenticity (of relationships)


• Accountability


• Leadership

A subcommittee will put the mission/vision/values piece together over the next several weeks.

Evangelical's move away from ABCUSA

NEWS

'Evangelical' American Baptists Ponder Future

Bob Allen (09-27-05)

More than 350 American Baptists attended last weekend's meeting at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary to begin to chart a future course for "evangelicals" frustrated in their efforts to force American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. to adopt a stronger stance against homosexuality.

According to notes from breakout sessions reported on the American Baptist Evangelicals Web site, participants support a new organization for conservative Baptists but not a new denomination.

Suggestions included organizing a non-geographic region around theology, including opposition to homosexuality, or gradually building an alternative body with churches dually aligned.

Earlier last week, executive ministers from eight ABC/USA regions across the country met at a conference center in Parchment Valley, W. Va., to forge an agreement for cooperation in mission based on "mutually held core values."

The eight regions--American Baptist churches of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana/Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania/Delaware, New Jersey, Maine and the Pacific Southwest--represent more than 2,300 churches, 40 percent of ABC/USA congregations.

The executives identified "core values" as biblical authority, "associational integrity and accountability among regions," leadership development and "equipping our churches to impact the world for Christ."

"As American Baptist leaders, we foresee a bright future of mission and ministry together," they stated.

One of the eight regions, the Pacific-Southwest, has initiated a process to separate from the ABC/USA because of differences over homosexuality. Another, the West Virginia Baptist Convention, is expected to discuss similar action when it meets next month.

Larry Mason, executive minister of the ABC of Indiana and Kentucky, told EthicsDaily.com that the agreement by executive ministers at Parchment Valley "was in no way an attempt to create, or even suggest, the formation of a new denomination."

"It was an agreement to work together and, with other like-minded region executives, to share resources for leadership development and the equipping of local congregations for ministries," Mason said. "We want to continue our work within the ABC/USA to facilitate change in what we understand to be important issues of biblical authority."

A petition from the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky received a first reading in June. It would forbid churches dismissed from a region for membership in the pro-gay Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists from remaining American Baptist by joining another region.

The petition also would amend a document entitled "We Are American Baptists" to include a description as people "who submit to the teaching of Scripture that God’s design for sexual intimacy places it within the context of marriage between one man and one woman, and acknowledge that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with biblical teaching."

The ABC/USA General Board will give the petition a second reading in November.

The American Baptist Churches of Rochester/Genesee Region are collecting signatures on a counter proposal, which would set up an appeal process for dismissed cooperating churches. Supporters hope to have a required 200 signatures from five regions in time for a first reading in November.

Bob Allen is managing editor of EthicsDaily.com.

Greetings!

Creetings CVC web-site folks! I'm working on this blog but remain uncertain of its future direction. Let me know how we can best use it. Thanks!

Just another test! 

Mercy vrs Destruction

"The debate about Terri Schiavo's life and death remains inescapable, and the questions it raises matter immensely to those on both sides who realize that crucial matters are at stake. But the tears shed by both families as Terri Schiavo died also ought to touch something in our souls, and to prompt us to pray -- not only for the comfort and strength of our allies, but also for God to shower mercy and grace into the lives of our opponents."

Terri Schiavo

Continue to pray for Terri Schiavo and her family. Pray that she might not actually need the tube to survive. Pray for life and light in the name of Jesus.

Gay Issues & the ABC/USA

At www.getreligion.org, perhaps the best religion journalism blog on the Net, two stories on the the latest spasms in the Anglican Communion. First, Broken Communion notes how some Anglican clergy now "refuse to share Holy Communion" with their diocesan bishop. The equivalent in American Baptist Polity, I suppose, would be a Church refusing to give money to denominational powers. In other words, grave disagreement. Second, Everyone Loves Justice notes that the Episcopalians (the American branch of the Anglican Communion) have voted a one-year moratorium on the election of new bishops, the best way they could think of, it seems, to honor the Anglican request to avoid approving any "noncelibate homosexual bishops" until the Anglicans of the world can figure out where they stand on this troubling issue.

It is interesting to note the distribution of frozen bishops in the second article. The five frozen straight bishops are from the South (led by bishops who voted against Robinson's consecration as a bishop). The two frozen gay bishops are from California. Gay issues are only the tip of the iceberg and there not fading slowly into the night. They will continue to arise in US and European political and ecclesiastical contexts. The handwriting is all over the wall. Gay issues will ultimately bring the Church and the ABC/USA to a place of biblical and theological clarity.

Easter!

The Lord has risen!

Still hanging on...

Greetings from.... Hope you have a great holiday season... see you in 2005...

Direction...

I'm still not sure of the direction I want to take in my blog. Perhaps someone out there can help. What would be of help to you?

Tell it like it is brother Ron! 

Sermon to write

Today is my main sermon writing time. I spend most of my morning on this project. My goal is to get a work draft completed before noon.

Hard at work! 

It's a Good Day

Greetings and happy new day! This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it! I hope to find my way back into my blog soon. I'm healing... I had a good vacation... the kids are back in school... nearly... the church is slowly growing... other information to come.... hopefully.... Grace and peace to you!

Try again!

It been mostly difficult but dull... I had a heart attack on Easter! I'm looking for my balance now. Pray for me.

Greetings friends... I'm considering a new start... let me know???

I miss you! When will you return?

check... check... checking 1, 2, 3.....

Written Word:
John 12:20-26: 20 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." 22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.

Catechism: Question 7. What do you believe when you confess your faith in "God the Father Almighty"? That God is a God of love, and that God's love is powerful beyond measure.
· Lam. 3:22 "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end."
· Song 8:7 "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If one offered for love all the wealth of one's house, it would be utterly scorned."
· 1 John 4:8 "Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love."

Traditional English Version
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN.

Vocab:
dragoman \DRAG-uh-man\ noun, plural dragomans or dragomen. An interpreter or guide.

defenestration \dee-feh-nuh-STRAY-shun\ noun : a throwing of a person or thing out of a window

Quotations of the day:
But I simply can't stand a view limited to this earth, I feel life is so small unless it has windows into other worlds...I like mathematics largely because it is not human. Bertrand Russell – Letters

The situation of Iraqis is as if one eye is crying and one eye is laughing. SAYID HASHEM AL-SHAMAA, a Shiite leader in Baghdad.

News & Virews:
The first meeting on administering postwar Iraq is scheduled for Tuesday between US officials and representatives of the nation's religious and political interests. But long-exiled Ahmed Chalabi, the opposition leader widely expected to head an interim administration, told a Paris newspaper he is "absolutely not" a candidate for any political post. The meeting, at Nasiriyah, comes as US forces arrived at the "transition point" in the war by securing control of Saddam Hussein's hometown, Tikrit.

Families of seven former US prisoners of war were planning excited reunions, a day after their rescue in Iraq. The ex-POWs told The Washington Post they were fed and given medical treatment by their captors, were interrogated, and were often moved. Meanwhile, with coalition troops in effective control of Iraq's main cities, the US is scaling back some forces. Two Navy aircraft carrier battle groups reportedly have orders to leave this week, and the submarine USS Toledo is due to arrive Tuesday at a naval base in Groton, Conn.

In an about-face, senior leaders in China said they are "very worried" about SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), after weeks of maintaining that the illness was under control. New President Hu Jintao visited hospitals in hard-hit Guang-zhou province and called for urgency in combating the problem. But in Hong Kong, seven more deaths from SARS were reported, pushing the global total to 144.

Happy Birthday:
Leonardo DaVinci - painter of the Mona Lisa, (1452-1519)

Just a thought:
Despite its fame, Niagara Falls is only the 23rd highest waterfall in North America.

Good Day! I hope you had a great Palm Sunday! Jesus is good! Today is my day-off so I'll post agian in the morning. Blessing to you and yours! Enjoy Jesus!

Written Word:
Psalm 27:1-14: 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh - my adversaries and foes - they shall stumble and fall. 3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident. 4 One thing I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple. 5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock. 6 Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD. 7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me! 8 "Come," my heart says, "seek his face!" Your face, LORD, do I seek. 9 Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation! 10 If my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will take me up. 11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. 12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence. 13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

Catechism:
Question 6. What is the first article of the Apostles' Creed? "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth."

Traditional English Version
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN.


Vocab:
henotheism \HEH-nuh-thee-ih-zum ("th" as in "think")\ noun : the worship of one god without denying the existence of other gods

importunate \im-POR-tyoo-nit\ adjective 1 : troublesomely urgent : overly persistent in request or demand *2 : troublesome

Quotations of the day:
"The game is over." Mohammed Aldouri, Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations.

"When two men in business always agree, one of them is unnecessary." (William Wrigley Jr.)

News:
Nanotube Web Could Mimic Brain: Technology Research News - April 9, 2003 Researchers from NASA Ames Research Center have found a way to grow minuscule webs of connected carbon nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes are rolled-up sheets of carbon atoms that appear naturally in soot, and are central to many nanotechnology projects. Nanotube networks could herald a new type of electronics that have huge numbers of random connections, a setup similar to a brain's synapses. Such networks could also form sensors, parts for conventional electronics, or templates for assembling materials molecule-by-molecule.

Inventor Imagines Future Phones CHICAGO -- Thirty years after the first cellular phone call, inventor Martin Cooper still dreams about the day when futuristic telephone technology is a reality. Cooper's dream telephone is so small that it fits behind his ear, automatically dials out when he thinks about calling someone and it notifies him of incoming calls with a tickle instead of a ring.

U.S. Forces Take Control of Baghdad: by Patrick E. Tyler http://www.nytimes.com/todaysheadlines

KUWAIT, Thursday, April 10 - Much of Baghdad tumbled into American hands on Wednesday as Saddam Hussein's image was pulled down from pedestals and portraiture in the city. But American and British commanders said the war in Iraq, including the battle for Baghdad, was not over and faced critical days ahead.

Just a thought: College protests in America began in the 1960s, right? Not quite. Back up a couple hundred years. What did Harvard students have to complain about back in 1766? The impending war? Unmanageable class sizes? The cost of quill pens? Nope, it was all about butter. Known historically as the Great Butter Rebellion, the students were upset at the poor quality of the butter that was being served with their meals, so they did what most college students would do - they griped about it. "Behold, our butter stinketh!" wrote Asa Dunbar, Harvard student and later grandfather of none other than Henry David Thoreau. Did the establishment buckle, and provide the students with the better butter they bitterly battled for? Of course not. Instead, they punished over half the student body with suspensions and expulsions. Perhaps they should have asked: "Parkay?"

Written Word:
John 10:1-18: 1 "Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers." 6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

7 So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away - and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father."

Catechism:
The Apostles' Creed: Question 5. What does a Christian believe? All that is promised in the gospel. A summary is found in the Apostles' Creed, which affirms the main content of the Christian faith. John 20:31 "But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name."

Traditional English Version
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN.


Vocab:
qua \KWAH\ preposition: in the capacity or character of : as

charisma \kuh-RIZ-muh\ noun 1: a personal quality of leadership arousing popular loyalty or enthusiasm *2: a special magnetic charm or appeal

Quotations of the day:
"The end game is the end of the regime, and that's a lot closer now than it was." - MAJ. GEN. STANLEY A. McCHRYSTAL

"The man who says he is willing to meet you halfway is usually a poor judge of distance." (Laurence J. Peter)

News:
Thirty-one antiwar protesters were arrested and a dozen were hurt, along with six bystanders, when police in Oakland, Calif., fired nonlethal weapons to disperse a rally outside the city's seaport Monday. It was one of the most violent such incidents since the Iraq war began. Police Chief Richard Word said some in the crowd threw rocks and started a fire, but pledged to review the use of projectiles.

COMPUTERS TO WATCH YOU WHILE YOU WORK: With today's computer users increasingly overloaded by a combination of e-mail, instant messages and phone calls, researchers at the Human Media Lab at Queen's University in Ontario are designing technology that will enable a PC to gauge their user's attention level and sort out which messages and phone calls are important. "Today's digital lifestyle has the unfortunate side effect of bombarding people with messages from many devices all the time, regardless of whether they're willing, or able, to respond," says Human Media Lab director Dr. Roel Vertegaal. "We now need computers that sense when we are busy, when we are available for interruption, and know when to wait their turn -- just as we do with human-to-human interaction." Techniques used to evaluate PC users' availability include an eye contact sensor that enables the PC to determine whether the user is present and whether he or she is looking at the screen. (BBC News 8 Apr 2003) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2925403.stm

Advisory information about SARS provided by Health Ministries: The latest health advisory information about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was recently added to the Web site of Health Ministries USA (www.pcusa.org/health/usa) to help parish nurses and health ministry personnel to answer questions from congregation members.

The U.S. Department of State encourages American citizens traveling abroad to familiarize themselves with the information available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) about SARS.

But I didn't open any of it… From little Twizel, New Zealand, comes word that some residents recently received, all at once, eight years' worth of mail - letters, bills, even wedding invitations. Reason: The part-time postmistress couldn't keep up with the flow and let it pile up until a visiting government inspector discovered it. The fact that she's "quite highly respected" around town didn't prevent her from being fired.

Just a thought: The westernmost state capital in the lower 48 states is Salem, Oregon.

Good morning! Jesus loves you!

What if my Blog fades into the night?

Greetings! I hope you had a blessed weekend! Jesus loves you!

Written Word:
Romans 9:19-33: 19 You will say to me then, "Why then does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" 20 But who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God? Will what is moulded say to the one who moulds it, "Why have you made me like this?" 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one object for special use and another for ordinary use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath that are made for destruction; 23 and what if he has done so in order to make known the riches of his glory for the objects of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 including us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea, "Those who were not my people I will call 'my people', and her who was not beloved I will call 'beloved'. " 26 "And in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people', there they shall be called children of the living God."

27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, "Though the number of the children of Israel were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved; 28 for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth quickly and decisively." 29 And as Isaiah predicted, "If the Lord of hosts had not left survivors to us, we would have fared like Sodom and been made like Gomorrah."

30 What then are we to say? Gentiles, who did not strive for righteousness, have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; 31 but Israel, who did strive for the righteousness that is based on the law, did not succeed in fulfilling that law. 32 Why not? Because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling-stone, 33 as it is written, "See, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."

Catechism:
Question 4: How do you live in the communion of the Holy Spirit? By the Holy Spirit, I am made one with the Lord Jesus Christ. I am baptized into Christ's body, the church, along with all others who confess him by faith. As a member of this community, I trust in God's Word, share in the Lord's Supper, and turn to God constantly in prayer. As I grow in grace and knowledge, I am led to do the good works that God intends for my life.
· 1 Cor. 12:27 "Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it."
· Gal. 3:27 "As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."
· 1 Cor. 6:17, 19 "But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God?"
· 2 Pet. 3:18 "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
· Eph. 2:10 "For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life."


Vocab:
ephemeral \ih-FEH-muh-rul\ adjective: lasting a very short time

gimcrack \JIM-krak\ noun: a showy object of little use or value: gewgaw

Quotations of the day:
Human law is law only by virtue of its accordance with right reason, and by this means it is clear that it flows from Eternal law. In so far as it deviates from right reason it is called an Unjust law; and in such a case, it is no law at all, but rather an assertion of violence. Thomas Aquinas - Summa Theologica

Be not forgetful of prayer. Every time you pray, if your prayer is sincere there will be new feeling and new meaning in it, which will give you fresh courage, and you will understand that prayer is an education. FYODOR DOSTOEVSKI

News:
The Rev. Tandy Sloan has presided over many a funeral and memorial service in his decades as a pastor in a section of the city that has seen its share of violence.He has consoled weeping mothers, crestfallen fathers and widows searching for answers. He has held them gently and told them that for those who believe, a reunion will take place, someday soon. But today it was Mr. Sloan, a preacher at the Historical Greater Friendship Baptist Church here in the Forest Hills section of Cleveland, who was looking for answers, discontented with consoling words. With his head slumped, he said the knots were growing tighter and larger in his stomach as he wondered, tried to find some understanding, of why his only child had to die 6,000 miles away in Iraq.

An estimated 12 percent of African-American men ages 20 to 34 are in jail or prison, according to a report released yesterday by the Justice Department. The proportion of young black men who are incarcerated has been rising in recent years, and this is the highest rate ever measured, said Allen J. Beck, the chief prison demographer for the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the statistical arm of the Justice Department. By comparison, 1.6 percent of white men in the same age group are incarcerated. The report found that the number of people in United States jails and prisons exceeded 2 million for the first time last year, rising to 2,019,234.

Check this out: SARS VIRUS RAISES FEARS IN TECH INDUSTRY - Intel has backed out of two major road shows in Beijing and Taipei this month, citing concerns over SARS, the severe acute respiratory syndrome that's sweeping rapidly through Asia. The cancellations lend credence to warnings by analysts that the mysterious illness could cripple the high-tech industry if it's not brought under control soon. In addition to Intel's change of plans, Motorola temporarily closed a Singapore factory last week after one of its workers was diagnosed with the disease and Acer has advised its employees against nonessential visits to plants in China. Aberdeen Group analyst Russ Craig says that the industry has become too reliant on China for semiconductors and basic components for laptops, DVD players and televisions, and warns that SARS could cause serious manufacturing disruptions, schedule slippages and transportation delays that could derail the global tech industry. (AP 3 Apr 2003) http://apnews.excite.com/article/20030403/D7Q5VMU00.html

Just a thought: The shortest song to hit #1 on the Billboard pop chart was "Stay" by Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs, clocking in at 1:38.

Written Word:
Jer. 23:1-8: 1Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the LORD. 2Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the LORD. 3Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the LORD.

5The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: "The LORD is our righteousness."

7Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the LORD, when it shall no longer be said, "As the LORD lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of Egypt," 8but "As the LORD lives who brought out and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he had driven them." Then they shall live in their own land.

Catechism: Question 3. How do you live for the love of God? I love because God first loved me. God loves me in Christ with a love that never ends. Amazed by grace, I no longer live for myself. I live for the Lord who died and rose again, triumphant over death, for my sake. Therefore, I take those around me to heart, especially those in particular need, knowing that Christ died for them no less than for me.
· 1 John 4:19 "We love because he first loved us."
· 2 Cor. 5:15 "And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them."
· Rom. 12:15-16 "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are."

Vocab:
quintessence \kwin-TES-ens\ noun: 1. The pure, concentrated essence. 2. Most perfect embodiment of something.

farrago \fuh-RAH-goh\ noun: a confused mixture: hodgepodge

Quotations of the day:
"Having traveled hundreds of miles, we will now go the last 200 yards." PRESIDENT BUSH, on the war in Iraq.

Rome has spoken; the case is concluded. Saint Augustine: Sermons

News:
"We will not stop until Iraq is free," President Bush told Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Thursday, praising the sacrifices of US-led coalition forces. "By defending our own security, we are freeing the people of Iraq from one of the cruelest regimes on earth," Bush said. The president and first lady Laura Bush also met privately with families of Marines killed in the conflict. The visit came as US military officials warned of possible heavy resistance, or even Iraq's use of chemical weapons, once troops enter the capital, Baghdad.

King Abdullah of Jordan, a US ally to date, bowed to vehement domestic protests of the war, calling it "an invasion" and Iraqi civilians who've died "martyrs."

WAR WAGONS FOR PEACE TIME: U.S. automakers are busy designing cars of the future that will incorporate many of the guidance and control features now being battle-tested in the war in Iraq. General Motors executive says, "We will know traffic conditions. We will know if you are starting to get sleepy. We will know if it's raining. We will know if it's below 35 degrees outside." A Ford executive says the company has developed some experimental vehicles "that can detect an accident before it happens" by using a radar system to detect an oncoming collision and responding by applying the brakes and tightening passenger seatbelts. Another new feature being refined by GM is a so-called "Heads-up Display" that uses fighter-jet technology to project a "floating" digital display panel over the dashboard directly in front of the driver, so that s/he doesn't have to look away from the road ahead. (USA Today 3 Apr 2003)

Check this out Now! The 1990s saw Americans widely adopt the personal computer. During the second half of the decade, the Internet and cell phones became mainstream. What technologies have ridden the wave of expansion in America since the turn of the millennium? In the current study we explore Americans and technology, including:
· The massive rise in personal home entertainment technology - such as DVD players and home theater systems
· The growing use of technologies that enable Americans to live increasingly mobile lives
· How the use of desktop computers has slowed down, but use of the Internet - and penetration of high-speed Internet connections - has continued to make headway among consumers
· The profile of the most (and least) technologically enabled groups - including the technology usage of born again Christians
To read the report visit our website http://www.barna.org.

Just a thought: The first cartoon developed specifically for television was "Crusader
Rabbit."

Greetings & Jesus loves you!

Written Word:
Romans 8:12-27: 12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh - 13 for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ - if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Catechism:
Question 2: How do you live by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ? I am not my own. I have been bought with a price. The Lord Jesus Christ loved me and gave himself for me. I entrust myself completely to his care, giving thanks each day for his wonderful goodness.
· 1 Cor. 6:19-20 "You are not your own for you were bought with a price"
· Gal. 2:20 "And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
· Ps. 136:1 "O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever

Vocab:
carillon \KAR-i-lon\ noun. A set of stationary bells in a tower, usually played from a keyboard.

artless \ART-luss\ adjective
1: lacking art, knowledge, or skill : uncultured
2 a: made without skill: crude *b: free from artificiality: natural
3: free from guile or craft: sincerely simple

Quotations of the day:
One of the most constant characteristics of beliefs is their intolerance. The stronger the belief, the greater its intolerance. Men dominated by a certitude cannot tolerate those who do not accept it. Gustave Le Bon - Opinions And Beliefs

"The little brat's caused a big stir in this county. As soon as she's capable, we're planning one heck of a big shindig." GREGORY LYNCH SR., father of Pfc. Jessica Lynch, after her rescue from Iraqi captivity.

News:
Army PFC Jessica Lynch was rescued after 10 days as an Iraqi prisoner of war, the US Central Command announced. The remains of 11 others also were recovered in the raid by special forces on a hospital in Nassiriya, and some were believed to be American soldiers. President Bush welcomed news of the raid, which provided a morale boost as coalition forces launched a major drive toward Baghdad. "The circle is closing," Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said Tuesday, while denying reports of cease-fire talks.

Twelve more deaths from the disease now known as SARS were reported by authorities in China, and the UN's World Health Organization said it did not believe the spread had peaked. The latest fatalities bring to at least 78 the number reported worldwide, with more than 2,300 other cases suspected and thousands more people under quarantine as a precaution. The WHO urged travelers to avoid southern China, where the infection is believed to have originated, and Hong Kong.

In what turned out to be a false alarm, an American Airlines jet was quarantined briefly at San Jose International Airport in California Tuesday, after five people on the flight from Tokyo showed symptoms of the so-called Asian mystery illness. All 139 passengers and crew were later cleared by health officials. SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) is blamed for at least 78 fatalities worldwide. No deaths have been reported in the US from the disease.

Wal-Mart widens lead as the biggest of big US companies: Discount retail titan Wal-Mart held onto the top spot in Fortune magazine's latest annual ranking of the 500 largest US corporations. Wal-Mart managed 12 percent growth, the magazine noted, in a year when the overall 500 shrank 6 percent, on average.

Check this out Now! Who was Malcolm Muggeridge and Why Should I Care?
He once was a household name-ubiquitous on television, radio, and print journalism. As a young man he chronicled the decline and fall of the British Empire from locations like India and Egypt. As a socialist writer, he went off to the Soviet Union in search of paradise and was expelled for reporting on the truth he found: lies, genocide, and the dark truth about the dictator the West still thought of as "Uncle Joe" Stalin. During World War II, he was a pioneering British spy. He took a boring, timid magazine intended for doctor's offices and turned it into one of the edgiest journals of political and cultural satire of his time, helping to inaugurate a revolution in political journalism. He was one of the first television personalities to stop treating politicians and others in authority with deference and instead became a leading model for "adversarial" journalism. In 1953, he dared to call the obsession with the British Royal Family a "soap opera" and got banned from the BBC for two years for doing so. Late in his life he converted to Christianity and castigated the West for moral and spiritual decadence. He has been reviled as an annoying gadfly and hailed as a prophetic voice, valiant for truth. Who was this man? Malcom Muggeridge, one of the most fascinating personalities of the twentieth century, and the subject of a biography by Image's editor, Gregory Wolfe. The year 2003 marks the centenary of his birth, and to celebrate the occasion and promote a wider knowledge of his writings and legacy, Wheaton College and Image are co-sponsoring a conference, "Muggeridge Rediscovered," May 22-23 on their campus outside of Chicago. For more information, go to: http://www.muggeridge.org/

Just a thought: The New Jersey Turnpike was built to connect two cities, neither of which are in New Jersey (Philadelphia and New York).

I'm back in MN from Ft Meyers, FL.. I had a great time visiting with my sister and her family. I rode my bike, swam, laid in the sun, prayed and worshipped. It was all about Jesus and His grace, mercy and love!

Written Word:
Romans 8:1-11: 1. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4. so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law - indeed it cannot, 8. and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Catechism:
Question 1: What is God's purpose for your life? God wills that I should live by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the love of God, and in the communion of the Holy Spirit.
· 2 Cor. 13:13 "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you."

Vocab:
travail \truh-VAYL\ noun Painfully difficult work; agony, anguish; the pain of childbirth. verb intr. To work strenuously, toil; be in labor.

factitious \fak-TIH-shus\ adjective 1: produced by humans rather than by natural forces 2 a: formed by or adapted to an artificial or conventional standard *b : produced by special effort : sham

Quotations of the day:
"What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure." (Samuel Johnson)

"I know the answer! The answer lies within the heart of all mankind! The answer is 12? I think I'm in the wrong building." (Charles M. Schulz, in "Peanuts")

Devotional:
Galatians 5:1: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. - In North Africa, hunters have an interesting way of catching monkeys. They take a gourd, make a hole in it big enough to place its hand in, fill it with nuts and hang it from a thick tree branch at sunset. The monkey smells the food sometime during the night, places his hand in the gourd and grabs a handful of nuts. The only problem is the hole is only big enough for an open hand, it's too small for a clinched fist. The monkey doesn't have enough sense to let go of the food. So when the morning comes the monkey is captured.

Often we are just like the monkey with his hand in the gourd. We hold onto all sorts of things. We hold on to our possessions, past hurts, grudges, unforgiveness, the things people did to hurt us, or the love they never gave us. We don't realize that as long as we hold on, we're stuck. We can't move ahead with our lives. If we're still holding on with clenched fists, we'll never grow in God. Get on with your life - LET GO! Let go and be free Friend - you are a child of the King -- not a monkey. George Whitten Editor of Worthy News

Check this out Now!
Here is an urgent SARS infection global health alert. Why SARS infection has the power to become a global plague, in a similar way to the 1918-1919 flu epidemic which killed 30 million peoople. See: http://www.globalchange.com/sars.htm

Also: analysis of the Iraq War and how it will impact the way world affairs are conducted in future. http://www.globalchange.com/iraqwar.htm

Just a thought: Opossums don't "play dead" - when scared, they actually pass out.