Stop Sacrificing

This past week I have been reading through Hosea and ran across this verse. "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." (Hosea 6:6). This verse was in the context of God's rebuke for the nation of Israel concering their sins against Him. This isn't the only place that God makes this kind of statement. In Matthew,  Jesus rebukes the religious leaders of his day by quoting from Isaiah. He said, "You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men'." (Mat 15:7-9).

The principle is clear. God values heart relationship over religious regulations. In both  passages we see that God is primarily concerned with heart issues. Mercy, knowledge of God (referring to an intimate relationship), and the condition of their heart are what God is concerned about. Their sacrifices, their words and even their worship are all secondary issues in God's eyes. So, it made me wonder where we have failed in this area. While it is easy to sit in judgment on the Israelites who followed after false gods and the Pharisees of Jesus' day who were driven by man-made rules I wonder if modern Christianity is really any better?

Afraid To Be A Christian

My wife and I have once again been ensnared in the clutches of an exciting, thriller-style TV show on Netflix. With 4 young children at home it is often difficult for us to watch a full-length movie on most evenings, but we have discovered that through Netflix we can watch a TV show commercial free and it lasts about 45 minutes. So we have got caught up in a show called "Prison Break." I am not recommending it for everyone, but we definitely enjoy it. The entire first season is about a brilliant engineer trying to break out his brother who has been unjustly framed for murder. In the second season they are now running from the local law enforcement, the FBI, and everyone who has seen the local news. As I watched the show last night it struck me how paranoid they had become. Anyone who looked at them twice had become someone to run away from, even though the reality is that most people wouldn't actually connect the dots. The fear was mostly in their own minds and they had become afraid of everyone and everything. What a horrible way to live. Constantly looking over your shoulder wondering if someone was going to rat you out and judgment would be around the next corner. But what I find most interesting about all of this is that I believe most Christians from conservative or fundamental backgrounds are living their lives exactly like these paranoid men on this show. I would like to propose that the Church has created Christians who are afraid to be Christians.

The Christless Church

This is a continuation of my critique of the church in America. When I use the term "Christless" Church I am not referring to any particular congregation, but more to a mindset in general that I believe is prevalent in American Churchdom.

So, what is the "Christless" Church? I believe that this question can be answered by applying a test to our congregation or assembly. The question is this, "If Christ (or the Holy Spirit) were to be removed from our churches what difference would it make?" We have created so many programs and ministries that keep God's people running around busy and feeling like they are serving, but what do they have to do with Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit? How many people in our churches would still have their Sunday School classes, Vacation Bible School's, AWANA programs, basketball camps, ladies fellowships, etc. and never even notice that Christ wasn't really part of the picture?

Just look at the "tried and proven" method of creating a large church. Usually we get a team together of successful businessmen and businesswomen, effective entrepreneurs, shrewd retirees, and idealistic students to combine forces with a dynamic pastor and create a "successful" church. We need a few key elements to make this church a success. First we need a great performance. This requires a charismatic communicator as the teaching pastor. Even if we have to put him on a television screen this is an absolute must. Next we need an accomplished musician to lead the worship team with a strong band. Third, we need a place to hold the crowds that will come. Everything better be top notch, excellent and attractive. After all that is what we expect and deserve, isn't it? Fourth, once the crowds get there we have programst to keep them interested. So we start first-class, well-done programs for kids, teens, families, every age and every stage must be accomodated. We need professionals to run them. That way parents can drop off their kids and not have to worry about them. We should post a sign at the door that says, "Don't try this at home."

You may not like this picture, but isn't this what we honestly believe is a "successful" church? But notice what is missing? None of this - the dynamic speaking, the first-class programs, the great facilities - requires Jesus Christ. How many churches could continue running their programs, smoothly and effectively, drawing crowds each Sunday even if the Holy Spirit were virtually absent? That is my question for the church in America.

What if we didn't have any of these things? What if we just had the Bible? What if we said that we would meet at 8am (normal work hours during the week) on Sunday and open our Bibles and start teaching and discussing the Bible. Maybe we would go until lunch or maybe we would go all day. We would take time for questions and we would do our best to answer them. There would be no music, no piano, no band, no announcements, no programs, nothing but God's Word. Would we come? Would we be interested? I wonder.

The Separated Church

This week we will examine The Separated Church as another problem with the American Church today. This probably doesn't need to be said, but the Bible cleary teaches that there is only One Church and only One Body of Christ. What I am presenting in these blogs is the idea that individual local churches often pick up certain "flavors" that characterize their attitudes, their ministries, and their members. So this week we will look at The Separated Church.

"The Holy Church"

"The Holy Church" in this blog is to be distinguished from "The Separated Church," which I will talk about next week. Although they are very similar and usually go hand in hand, the distinction I would make is that The "Holy" Church discussion has to do more with personal and individual holiness from all that is percieved to be sinful or worldly while The "Separated" Church has to do more with separation from Christians or non-Christians that participate in any of these activities.

Let me begin by making some things very clear. First of all the Bible calls all Christians to be holy. 1Peter 1:14-15 says, "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, (15) but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct." So there is no question that we, as believers, are called to be holy people. The question that must be answered is "What does it mean to be holy?" The word "holy" in both the Hebrew and Greek simply means "to separate." This is why the angels in Isaiah 6 as they circle the throne of heaven cry out "Holy, holy, holy" to God Almighty. The angels are perfectly pure and sinless, but God is still separated from them because of His very nature. That is the definition of holy - to be separate. In the Scriptures it is very clear that this holiness is in relation to sin. We are to be separated from the sin that comes from Satan, our flesh, and the sinful world system around us. Remember that we are never called to be separated from sinners (cf. I Cor 5:9ff), but from there sinful activities. So this is the biblical definition of holiness. A truly "Holy" church is one that encourages and teaches its people to separate from sin, but also teaches them to interact with the culture around us and love the people of this world (kind of like God does in John 3:16). I have no problem with this kind of church. So why did I entitle this critique "The Holy Church."

The Comfortable Church

Last week I wrote about the Social Club Church. I decided to turn this into a kind of series and each week I will write about a different "Church" mentality that we have created (at least in the USA, that is). Today's church is called The Comfortable Church. All you have to do is talk to a few people looking for churches or people who really enjoy their church and find that the issue of being "comfortable" is a big deal for American Christians. I hear phrases like this all the time. "Well, we just weren't comfortable with that church." "The preaching at that church made us feel uncomfortable." "So and so's church wasn't very welcoming and we didn't feel very comfortable there."

Being comfortable is big business in our society. We have all sorts of gadgets and electronics that are designed to make it easier for us to cook, clean, live, etc. This all translates into making us more comfortable. We are not used to discomfort in America. If something makes us feel uncomfortable it must be a problem and we will change the channel, put the book down, walk away from the conversation, or leave our church to find one that is more comfortable.

The problem with all of this is that Christians are never called to be comfortable (contrary to Joel Osteen's message). Actually you find that the most common illustrations of the Christian life have to do with hard work, enduring through trials, and focusing on the prize. Illustrations about athletics, a soldiers life, or the hard work of a farmer abound in Scripture (Eph 6, 1 Tim 2). We have made "comfort" a new idol of America. We don't want to be made uncomfortable and we will fight for our comfort at all costs. This comes across in several ways.

First, we see it in a lack of commitment. People are comfortable. They don't want to be bothered with committing to serve in a church body. They don't want to volunteer their time to serve at a homeless shelter or make meals for a rescue mission. They are too busy with their own life to be inconvenienced with loving someone else who has needs in their church. We have replaced a sacrificial love for others with a love for own comfort.

Second, we see it in the preaching. Pastors want people to leave every Sunday feeling comfortable. Unfortunately we see no biblical precedent for this. Every time the Apostle Peter or Paul preached it was very direct and created a division between those who chose for Christ and those who chose against Christ. I have actually told my people that if my messages make them feel uncomfortable then that probably means we are on the right track. We should be made to feel uncomfortable. The church isn't a petting zoo, but a training grounds. Our primary purpose is to build people up. We must love others, but true love will also involve dealing with sin and holding people accountable to their commtiment to follow Christ and be more like Him every day.

Third, we see it in our lack of discipleship. We toss this word around, but do we really mean it. Do we really believe that the last command given to us by Jesus Christ was to make disciples (Matt 28:19-20)? If we do, then why aren't we more serious about it? Attending a service once (or twice) a week isn't a commitment to discipleship. That is a commitment to be fed each week by your local pastor and hang out with Christians (called "fellowship" to make it sound more spiritual). Where is our commitment to disciple others? Where are the men and women stepping up to train others in one-on-one situations or small group sessions? This is where true discipleship will take place. This is where you can get to the heart of the matter and discuss personal sin issues and hold people accountable for their actions, while also encouraging them and loving them on a personal basis.

Enough of being comfortable. I don't want to be comfortable; I want to be Christ-like.

Social Club Church

One of my great concerns with Christianity is our view of the Church. I believe that if there is one single doctrine that has been misunderstood, misinterpreted, and just plain twisted it is the doctrine of the Church (Ecclesiology for any theology buffs). There are many different aspects to our "heretical" view of the Church. The one I would like to discuss today is the Social Club mentality.

Safe Christianity

So, this doesn't happen too much, but I have been thinking about a comment I made in my message on Sunday. I was discussing parenting and made the comment that Christians have started to characterize their families and the rearing of their children with the idea of "safe Christian kids." My point was that we have become scared. We are afraid of everything and anything that might be "worldly" and damage our children. The more I thought about this the more I believe we as Christians need to step up to the plate and say, "Yes, I am guilty of this too."

Think about it for a minute. For example, many Christians don't send their kids to public school. Why? We can say whatever we want, but I would argue that primarily it is fear. It may be fear of academics - God forbid that our children don't get the best academic education they could possibly get. After all, this is the whole point of parenting isn't it? To produce super smart kids? That sure seems to be God's number one priority (sarcasm in this last statement). Or it may be fear of "worldly" influence. Once again, God forbid that our children interact with unsaved people on a daily basis and get introduced to sin. I want to take just a minute to talk about this fear, which is rooted in a false theology of sin and holiness.

First of all, this fear assumes that sin is something outside of us, like a force that must be fought off. However, the Bible is very clear that sin isn't an outside force, but something that is within us. Sin springs from the depravity of our own hearts. Too often we view our families as fortresses. If we can just raise the walls (standards) high enough and lift up the drawbridge then we can keep sin out of our kids lives. But this is actually unbiblical. We are nowhere commanded to keep our kids from sinning or interacting with sinners. Instead, we are commanded to teach our children to love God (Dt 6). God is more concerned with the inward character of the heart than the externals. Why are we so afraid of the worlds influence on our children?

Second, this fear reveals our primary concern is protecting our children rather than preparing our children. I hear this all the time. Isn't our role as parents to protect our children from sin and other evil influences? Well, to a certain extent, sure, that is part of our role. The problem I have with this is that we have really made this our only or primary role. We have turned Christian families into chicken coops rather than eagles dens. We are like the mother hen covering her chicks from the evil world out there. But we should be like the eagle who takes its young on its back to great heights and then drops them. As they fall it swoops around teaching and showing them how to fly (preparation). If the baby eagle doesn't get it then the mother grabs them (protection) and takes them up again to try again. Instead, we are like parents teaching our kids to swim on the living room floor. We want them to swim, but we are so afraid they might drown that we never let them go to the pool. We are telling our kids how to do the crawl, and the backstroke, and the breaststroke, but they have never got in the water. We have got to prepare our children to make a difference in the world around them, but they will not be prepared to interact with the world and share their faith if they have never been taught by their parents.

So, my challenge to you is this. Look at your family. Are you parenting by fear. Constantly making decisions to protect your children. Or are you parenting by grace. Constantly preparing your children for the trials and adventure ahead of them as a Christian spreading the light of God's Word to others around them?

Then look at your own life. Are you living in fear? If you are, do a study of the life of Jesus or the life of Paul. I guarantee you will see great examples of men who both lived in contact with the worst of society (prostitutes, gangsters, extortioners, burglars, outcasts, homeless, adulterers, etc.) and yet didn't fall into sin. Stop being a "safe Christian."

Selective Social Action

     I have recently been looking through church history of the last 100 years. I don't know about you, but I love history. I truly believe that those who don't know their history are bound to repeat the same mistakes. I also believe that as we look at church history we can see some very interesting trends. It would appear that the church is extremely reactive. Rather than being truly centered on the Scriptures we react to whatever is going on around us and find Bible verses to support our reaction. The church's response to social action is an interesting case in point.
     For centuries the church believed it was part and parcel of Christianity to be involved in social action. When I use this term I am referring to the concepts of helping the poor, feeding the hungry, lifting up the sick, assisting the elderly, taking orphans under wing, etc. During periods of Christian revival and renewal we see great social action being part of and flowing out from these spiritual movements. For example during the awakenings of the 18th and 19th centuries Christians recommited themselves to the idea of serving others. In England Lord Shaftesbury helped enact laws protecting children. George Mueller created orphanages, and William Wilberforce, in addition to helping abolish slavery, worked for the protection of animals, a comittment that stemmed from his belief that Christians are stewards of God's creation.
     But the social-gospel movement of the early 20th century changed all this. The social-gospel movement of the (truly) liberal churches taught that social action was the gospel and had little use for justification, sanctification or really any vestige of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. The Fundamentalists (and later Evangelicals) became passionate about sharing the gospel, but showed little to no concern for social action. (Notice the reactionary nature of the fundamentalists/evangelicals.)
     in the 1970's, the Evangelical position has slowly been shaken through the work of men like Francis Schaeffer and John R.W. Stott. However, as the title of this blog indicates, we have reacted in a very selective manner. For example evangelicals became passionate about serving the needs of others overseas (through ministries like Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse, and many others), but have shown little interest in serving the needs of those living in the United States. While many Christians have become passionate about abortion and even serving unwed mothers they are not quite so passionate about serving those stricken with AIDS. (By the way, to say that we aren't interested in helping people with AIDS because it is God's curse on homosexuality is the exact same argument the Pharisees used with Jesus when he healed people who were blind or had leprosy. Think about it.)
     So here is my challenge. As we look at the Scripture we see example after example of social action. Jesus ministered to the poor and needy. James 1:27 tells us that pure and undefiled religion before God is "to visit orphans and widows in their affliction." Have we forgotten this? We rant and rave against government welfare, but what are we doing about it? Are we as individuals (and the church as a whole) seeking out the poor and needy and offering financial assistance? If we don't beleive in handouts are we offering to teach others a trade or how to put together a resume? Do we hire someone who really isn't very qualified for the purpose of training them in the business (as a ministry to the poor)?
     Social action as mentioned above is clearly not the gospel and must never be confused with it. However, this kind of action should become a solid part of Christianity once again. After all, doesn't Jesus say that the two greatest commands are to love God and then to love our neighbors as we love ourselves?

Marriage and Family

Hello Everyone,

In a way I am copping out on this week's blog, but not really. I have posted a link below. At this link you will find the public statement made by John Piper concerning his 6 month sabbatical from the pastorate. He explains why he is taking this sabbatical, but it must have required quite a bit of humility on his part to do this. I will not add much to what he says except to say that although I do not always agree with him I greatly respect his wisdom, knowledge, and example as a church pastor. I would recommend that all of you read this.

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2010/4555

Chicken Little

This post will be shorter for a couple of reasons. First, I don't have much time. Second, it was pointed out to me this past week that the length of my posts allow for several different thoughts rather than just one. While it was not meant as a criticism I would like to keep this more succinct and focus on only one point.

Here it is - God is in control. I am sure we are all familiar with the song and agree with the lyrics that speak of God still being on the throne of our life and the world around us. I am also sure that we are also familiar with the Chicken Little Christians, as I like to call them. You know what I am talking about. Since President Obama has taken office basically the United States has turned into the U.S.S.R. and has become a communist state. Every political move from the White House is cause for more wailing and weeping and gnashing of teeth. It reminds me of Chicken Little - the story of a young chick who got everyone whipped into a frenzy because a nut fell on her head and she thought the sky was falling.

Let me remind everyone reading this that God is still in control. No one has dethroned God. The throne of heaven is still comfortably occupied by the Almighty God of the Universe. The One True God who tells us that he appoints kings and turns them wherever he wants them to go is still reigning. So the sky is not falling. The world has not come to an end even though a Health Care Reform bill has been voted in by Congress. The devil has not taken over heaven even though the Senate and House are both Democratically controlled. You can tell me that you are just worried about your kids and the future and taxes and, and, and,... But isn't that the point? We are worrying, instead of trusting. We are complaining, instead of believing.

We believers need to stop being Chicken Little's and start becoming Little Red Hen's (someone who works hard at what God has given them to do - like working at your job or evangelizing the lost).

I will end with Isaiah 46:9-10, "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure."

The Census

The Federal Government is demanding a census. Why do they want a census? What good will be accomplished by having another census. Will lives be changed? Will people have more income? Better jobs? Stronger families? All of these questions raced through Mary's mind as she pondered the census. She had heard just how much it cost to run this census and she was appalled. Doesn't the government take enough of our hard earned money? Aren't our taxes high enough and now we have to fill out this silly census and see our tax money go down the drain? She  had talked to her fiance about this and he felt the same way. It would be a good show against the socialist tendency of the federal government to just refuse to participate. So they decided they would take a stand. They wouldn't be pushed around any more and they wouldn't let their tax dollars go to waste. They were going to ingore the census.

Security

So, I am in California for a pastor's conference (that will be a later blog) and had the privilege of undergoing TSA Security procedures in order to board the plane. As most of you know, before entering the gate boarding area everyone must show a boarding pass and some form of identification. Then you take your shoes and any sort of metal objects and place them in a bin. If you have a laptop that must be taken out and placed in a separate bin. Then if you are carrying any shampoos, lotions, soaps, etc. they must be taken out as well. I think I had a grand total of 4 bins just for me (I can't wait to fly with four young children). After all this, I pass through a metal detector and have my information checked. Then I place my arms out and someone "frisks" me to make sure I am safe. What may seem surprising to some of you is that not one of the seven of us complained about this. We actually thanked them for doing their job so thoroughly. Why were we thankful? Because in Septemeber of 2001 a few men decided to climb on board a plane kill the pilots and fly the planes into a building killing everyone on board. Since then everything has changed. Security has gotten tighter, and we don't really complain about it (too much). We know that we would rather have a few minutes of inconvenience then have the terrifying experience of being part of a flying suicide mission.

As I think about the idea of security I think of marriages in our churches and communities. One of the most commonly stated phrases in marriage counseling is that women need security in a relationship. I have heard this all my life. I have had countless pastors and counselors confirm this. I have had women tell me this. If you want to have a successful marriage you must realize that the greatest need for the wife is security. So if many of us realize this why are our marriages falling apart? Why is it that I consistently contact friends from college (a very conservative, Christian college) and when I ask about their wife or husband I hear these words. "Well, it just didn't work out between us" or "She left me for someone else." Just recently I have been reminded once again of the fragile nature of marriage. A friend of ours is finalizing their divorce in three days. Why is this? Why can't we keep our marriages together?

I would argue that one of the major reasons is a misunderstanding of the idea of security. It is very possible that the greatest need for the wife is security, but what does that mean? What I have found is that men seem to interpret the need for security from a purely financial perspective. This makes sense if you think about how men are wired. One of the biblical patterns that we see from Scripture is that God holds the men responsible to provide for their families financially. This means that the husband should work. This also means that the husband finds great satisfaction from his employment. Men are also typically more goal-driven and competitive in nature as well. So as he goes to work each day he is fulfilling his God-given role of providing for his family, but also fulfilling his desire to build, create, sell, and reach his goals. The problem with all of this is that women are wired very differently.

When a woman thinks of security she usually interprets this from a primarily emotional perspective. She wants security in her relationship, not necessarily in the paycheck. She wants to know that her husband loves to come home to her. She wants to feel secure that when he kisses her hello at the end of the day he hasn't been gawking at every waitress, flight attendant, or skirt that day. She wants to know that he cares about her and loves her more than his job or co-workers or buddies from college. That is what security means to her.

Marriages face great stress and pressure because of financial difficulties. As we look around today we have many people in our churches that are struggling financially because of the economy. What we must realize is that these economic hard times should bring us closer to God and our spouse - not farther apart.

Men - We must stop placing our jobs as idols taking the place of God. When our jobs become our primary source of contentment and satisfaction we have just made them an idol. Jesus Christ must be our satisfaction and our contentment, bar none. Even if we are unemployed we can still hold our heads high because we have value in Jesus Christ. He loves you and died for you no matter what job you hold. When we stop placing our jobs and our financial security on a level with God we will begin to understand the true nature of our relationship with Jesus Christ and what it means to place our burdens on Him. We must also love and understand our wives. Your wife is not primarily concerned (or she shouldn't be) with how much money you bring home, how nice a home you have, or how nice a car you drive. Stop stressing about those things and show her love in the little (and inexpensive) things. Do the dishes for her. Pick wild flowers and bring them home. Rent a chic-flic and enjoy it with her. Don't look at anyone else the way you look at her. Kiss her. Hug her. Love her. Spend time with her.

Women - Stop making security in your relationship with your husband an idol. I know this may sound strange, but even though your relationship with your husband is important the most important relationship you have is with your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Your husband is not perfect and he never will be. He may not always place you above his job - forgive him and move on. He may not always be as romantic as you wish he was - forgive him and move on. He may not always talk to you as much as you would like - forgive him and move on. If you don't it will eat at you until your suppressed anger becomes a deep-rooted bitterness. There is nothing wrong with talking to him about these things, but don't nag. If he doesn't respond, give it to God and win him with your meek spirit. Your deepest emotional and spiritual relationship should be with Christ. In Him alone will you truly find satisfaction and contentment. In Him alone, you will truly be secure.

"Passing the Torch" or "Torching the Passer"

Due to news breaks on ESPN yesterday (Monday) I am given another excuse to return to one of my favorite topics - football, but particularly my football team, the San Diego Chargers. For those of you who don't know, LaDanian Tomlinson has been officially released by the San Diego Chargers. As a San Diego fan this is a very sad, but exciting day all at the same time. It is sad because a truly great player is leaving. Ten years ago the Chargers were at the bottom of the stack. They had just picked a rising star in QB Ryan Leaf. He had just won the Rose Bowl convincingly and was supposed to be an amazing talent. A year later everyone knew he was one of the biggest mistakes ever made. He just recently ended up on the 10 biggest busts on an ESPN website article. So the Chargers drafted LaDanian Tomlinson from TCU (Texas Christian University) and he became one of the greatest Running Backs (if not the greatest) to play in this past decade. He has set and broken countless records and always done it with class. He has never been responsible for any off-field problems and is a devoted family man. Amazingly the worst thing he has ever done is appear to be sulking when he was injured during a game at NE and couldn't play. Bottom line, he is a hall-of-fame (easily) RB who has handled himself well and never been a problem in the locker room through his entire career. 

So what now? He is leaving. What is amazing to me is that it appears fairly obvious to most football fans (including myself) that LT is not his former self, yet he still believes he can go out and put up big numbers. So he will be looking for another team, and, who knows, maybe he will succeed. Not likely, but always a possibility. This story reminds me of some valuable lessons that older pastors and leaders in Christianity had a hard time learning. Continue reading to see what they are.

Christian Olympians

If you are like me, you watch the Olympics. If you are like me you find the "hoopla" of the Winter Olympics interesting, enjoyable, and somewhat humorous all at the same time. I find it interesting because I grew up in San Diego and know nothing (or almost nothing) of most winter sports. So it is fascinating to watch people hurtle down a hill and launch themselves into jumps, bumps (moguls), or icy tubes (bobsledding). I find it enjoyable because some of these "sports" are rather amazing to watch. I find it humorous because millions of people will watch other people glide around in shiny, skin-tight costumes on a blade of metal and listen to their stories of countless hours, days, weeks, months and years of practice and torment to their bodies so that they can glide and jump better than the other person (this is called ice skating). I find it humorous because we raise these people to a level of hero or heroine when they win the Gold, but most of them don't even know what life (real life, that is) even looks like. They don't have friends; they have coaches and competitors. They don't have family; they have cheerleaders in the stands who have supported them on this journey. They don't have a life; they have practice. When they lose, they "Will try again in four more years." When they win, they "Will come back and do it again in four more years." When they get too old, they have nothing but the past and a few trophies or "almost." I guess it really is more sad than humorous.

Super Bowl Sunday

In case you missed it the New Orleans Saints played the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl this past Sunday night. The Saints won 31-17 and I was glad for Drew Brees (the Saints QB), since he used to be the San Diego Chargers QB and is a Christian who has always handled himself very well as a professional football player.

On a different note I received a call from someone who will remain anonymous. They asked my opinion about something their pastor had said that Sunday morning. He said that anyone who cancelled Sunday services or did not attend the regular Sunday night service was placing football before God. He made it very clear that by attending the Sunday night service believers were showing the world that God was more important than football. I would like to think through this statement and see how it reveals much about modern Christianity's view of the Church and Christianity in general.

Caution: Work in Progress

For those of you who don't know, we are remodelling our home right now. At this point my best guess for a completion date on the remodel is around my youngest child's 18th birthday in 2027. At least, it seems that way. We are currently adding cabinets and just ordered countertops for the kitchen (pretty exciting stuff). I pretty much do all the work myself and for the most part I really enjoy it. There have been a few times when I got rather frustrated and irritated because of the unfinished condition of our home (plywood floors still, bare sheetrock walls, etc.). Three years ago around Christmas time I was having a moment and Deana wrote a little poem or saying, framed it and gave it to me for Christmas. After this past weekend of working on the kitchen I thought I would share it with everyone and a few other thoughts.

"Christian" Politics

I was really struggling with what to write about this week. It wasn't because I didn't have things to write about, but I was debating whether or not I should really express my thoughts on some of these issues. I finally decided that sometimes certain things just need to be said whether anyone likes it or not. As Martin Luther once said, "You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say."

On a side note, I asked my wife what I should write about and she said I could write about what a wonderful wife I have - so I think I will, just to embarass her :). For all of you single guys out there I do not envy you at all. Too often it seems like modern society has exalted the idea of the fun, single guy who can have casual sex and enjoy life while the married guy is stuck with his wife and kids and boring life (although a more recent movie, "Marley and Me" actually presented the exact opposite and was quite enjoyable). In case you are wondering, married life is not boring at all. My wife is an incredible, talented, beautiful woman and a godly, loving, and hard-working mother of 4 little children. Life in our house is far from boring (for example, my 2 yr old son just came running out of his sister's room crying because he fell off the top bunk and when asked if he was "Ok" he responds by saying, "My bum hurts"). So I do have a wonderful wife who keeps me on my toes and is a great encouragment to me and also a discerning voice of wisdom in our home.

The following are some observations and considerations about "Christian" Politics.

American Idols?

So, in case you didn't notice, the San Diego Chargers lost to the New York Jets on Sunday. I was a little shocked and very disappointed since my Chargers definitely gave the game away. But I will say, that this morning as I went out to shovel my driveway I still put on my Chargers hat and even went out with it and got donuts later on. Maybe they will never make the Super Bowl, but they are still my team. For now, Go Saints!

While watching my team lose I was amazed at how much the game influenced my attitude and spirit. I had struggled with this in the past, even swearing off of sports altogether at different times. I have seen many people get angry and irritated because their team was losing. Christians throwing things around their house, yelling at the TV, etc. as their team lost the game. I had always determined I would not be like this. So, I was a little surprised last night when I heard one of my kids timidly ask my wife, "Why is Daddy so mad?" At that point I realized that no football game should have the control over me that I was experiencing. I decided that it would be better if I didn't watch the last few minutes, so I left and did something else. This raises some interesting thoughts and comments about our American culture and people in general.

Fair-weather Fans/Christians

So, being a resident of New Hampshire I am surrounded by New England Patriot fans, or I thought I was. As of yesterday (Sunday, Jan 10th) the Patriots were eliminated from the first round of the playoffs in a rather embarrassing fashion. Not being a Patriots fan I wasn't overly bothered, but I did watch the game since I enjoy football immensely. I was surprised, however, to see an amazing number of Facebook posts and other comments from New England "fans" today that ripped up the Patriots because they lost. So I thought about this a little bit and wondered what it told us about human nature. I propose the following: