Prompted by a question I’ve been struggling with lately I’m going to start a new weekly feature here on the old blog. Each Wednesday, I will post a question, and together we’ll struggle with it and collaborate for an answer. Now, I realize going in that that sounds a lot easier than it will actually be, but that’s the fun part. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s answers. This week’s question is:
How committed should the church expect believers to be?
Now, discuss.
Finally. Finally, it’s over. After almost 2 years of campaigning, America has a new president. President-elect Barack Obama literally swept over John McCain in an election that didn’t keep us up past midnight wondering about hanging chads, recounts, or narrow margins. We are truly waking up today in a new country, due to the historic nature of this election. It would’ve been historic either way, but to live today in a country that just elected it’s first African-American president after being segregated so few years ago is a huge moment in history. However, there is unrest still.
Over the past few weeks I, as well as my other brothers and sisters in the faith, have been bombarded with anti-Obama messages. Some of them are factual, some of them aren’t, and some are so far into outer space that they aren’t relevant. These messages usually relate to one of two issues: things the Democratic Party stands for, or the background of Mr. Obama. Whether those messages are right or wrong is a non-issue now, as our country has elected him. The issue now is whether the American people will support him, and more importantly, whether we as Christians will support him.
Romans 13:1-2 states, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” I believe that we as Christians are included in that statement. It is our duty to support and follow the leadership of those authorities set up over us. Now, certainly, there are times when discontent and rebellion are the only way, but honestly, this isn’t one of those times. We are called to be peacemakers. You may not like Barack Obama. You don’t have to. But you do have to love him. We are called to be people are love.
This is all assuming, however, that John McCain is God’s choice for president. Watching the news last night, it certainly seemed that way, as most evangelical Christians were voting for McCain. But, to assume that one man or woman is God’s choice and the other is not is to put God in a box and try to be God ourselves. Sure, a person can hold Christian values. They can be shown going to church, or praying, or serving. But when the cameras are off, the microphones are put away, and the reporters go home, who are they really? This isn’t an attack on McCain. This can be said about ALL of the candidates. But, the reality is that God is not a Republican, nor is He a Democrat. God’s choice for president is whoever He chooses, be it for a time of goodness and prosperity or a time of persecution and suffering. God is on his throne no matter who is president.
This morning, as the sun broke over the horizon, we awoke to a new world. Things have changed dramatically since we went to sleep last night, due to a historic vote. Now, it’s time for God’s people to be His hands and feet. You don’t have to like Barack Obama, his policies, his cabinet, or his principles. You do have to love him. You need to pray for him. You need to pray for this country. And you don’t need to act like this country is going to fall apart because of one man. This country is still it’s people, and the people need Jesus. The Christian response to the presidency of Barack Obama is going to be critical to the way people see Jesus, and Christ-followers. What will you do?
Hope has arrived a day early in our country as Phillip Fulmer, head coach of the Tennessee Vols, will not be returning next season, meaning that the ailing, crippled Tennessee football program may finally have a chance to win some games. Here’s the story from espn.com:
Phillip Fulmer, who a decade ago brought Tennessee its first national championship in 47 years, will not return as the Volunteers’ coach next year, multiple sources told ESPN.com.
An announcement is being planned for later Monday at Neyland Stadium. Fulmer, who has won 150 games at his alma mater and is the dean of SEC coaches, met with Tennessee officials Monday morning, and they reached a mutual agreement that it would be best for all parties if Fulmer did not return next season.
The sides also agreed that Fulmer would coach the remainder of the 2008 season.
The Vols (3-6, 1-5 SEC) have lost four straight games and are in danger of posting their second losing season in the last four years.
“Anybody that likes Tennessee and cares about what the product looks like on the field is frustrated,” Fulmer said Sunday night, according to The Tennessean.
In the story posted on the Nashville newspaper’s Web site, Fulmer told his coaches in a Sunday meeting to shield the players from their frustration.
“It’s about our energy, the looks in our eyes, our demeanor and how we approach it in meetings and film sessions,” Fulmer said about his coaching staff, according to the Tennessean. “We’re professionals and we have and we will continue to be looking forward to playing.”
There had been increasing scrutiny on Fulmer, who took over full time as head coach in 1993 and has been at his alma mater as a player, assistant coach and head coach for more than 30 years.
The Vols won the national title in 1998 and were one of the top programs in all of college football in the 1990s, but the program hasn’t been the same this decade. They’ve lost 31 games since the end of the 2001 season.
By now, this is old news, but everytime I think, read, or hear about it, I just crack up laughing.
Skinhead Plot To Kill Obama Thwarted, Officials Say
by Dina Temple-Raston
NPR.org, October 27, 2008 ยท In court records unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court in Jackson, Tenn., federal agents said two men planned to rob a gun store, target students at a largely African-American high school and then attempt to kill Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
Authorities said the plan was fantastic in its scope and that Obama was never in any danger.
Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tenn., and Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Ark., did not expect to be successful, officials said, but they were willing to die trying. Officials said they planned to drive as fast as they could toward Obama and shoot at him from the windows.
According to court records, the two men, who met on the Internet, had talked about dressing in white tuxedos and top hats for the alleged assassination attempt.
The suspects are being held without bond on charges of possessing an unregistered firearm, conspiring to steal firearms and threatening a candidate for president.
I honestly don’t know what part of it is funnier: the idea they had to dress up in white tuxes and top hats, or the actual assassination plan: drive really fast and shoot out the windows. Only in West Tennessee, folks, only in West Tennesee.
Here we are. Vacation is almost over. Monday morning, we will load up our bags and head back to “normal life”. I’m dreading it, of course, because I never really start to relax during vacation until the end of it. I’m wired wrong, I suppose. So, just as I start to really get relaxed and enjoy myself, I have to go home. We have had a great last four days, I definitely plan to post some pictures as soon as I get home and get them sorted, and pick out the best ones. For now though, a simple summary of the last few days.
Wednesday - Woke up early, and spent the day lounging around the house. Didn’t really do a whole lot, but we were also waiting for the other folks to arrive: Erin’s sisters Sara and Amanda, Sara’s husband Jonathan, and Mandy, a friend of ours. Once they arrived, we had a wonderful dinner and fellowshipped for awhile then went to bed.
Thursday - After breakfast we traveled into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and hiked up a trail to Laurel Falls, a smallish waterfall that was about 1.3 miles up. It was a neat experience, but it definitely confirmed for me two things: I need to go to the doctor about the ingrown callous on my heel and I also need to lose weight. I’m not going to get any better until I get a routine down and part of that routine is working out or at least getting active. We then went into Gatlinburg and played Hillbilly Golf, which is putt putt where you have to ride a trolley to the top of a mountain and play a course that’s built into the rock. It’s pretty neat. Came home, ate well, and passed out from exhaustion.
Friday - it rained all day, so we took it easy. We went to Cracker Barrell for breakfast, then the guys went to Smoky Mountain Knifeworks while the ladies went to Gatlinburg to shop. Nothing more than that.
Today - Got up and just hung out all day. Erin and her mom took Sara and Jonathan to Alcoa to rent a car to get them to Nashville. Then we went to a store called Moonshine Ridge, bought food we shouldn’t have, and ate steak for dinner. After a soak in the hot tub and a horrible Tennessee football game, I’m ready for bed.
Keep a look out for pics this week.
I guess it’s not a secret if you know me that I’m on vacation right now. Plus, I’m pretty proud of it. It’s not often that I get to take the kind of vacation that I’m on right now, which is for a week at a veerrrrrrrrry nice cabin in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. More for myself than anyone, I’m going to keep this updated with what we do each day, and hopefully it will bring some small morsel of enjoyment to you.
Yesterday, we left at around 9 in the morning from Lexington after a breakfast of sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits and a Coke. No sooner did we get to the end of the driveway than Annaliese decided that then and there would be a great time to poop. So, she filled out diaper with some of the most nauseating stuff that I’ve ever smelt and we rode the next 15 minutes in the stench to the interstate, where a McDonald’s and our salvation, a changing table, was waiting. After an epic diaper change, we were back on the road and on our way. We made good time too, stopping at a state park just outside Cookeville for lunch and bathrooms. This was when we made our first bad decision of the trip: the men would ride together and the women would ride together.
I switched cars and rode with my father-in-law the rest of the way, arriving almost 30 minutes before the other car due to them getting lost. Next time, I give them the GPS, and we’ll just figure out the route on our own. After arriving at the cabin, we unpacked, headed back to Pigeon Forge for dinner at Calhoun’s and a trip to Walmart to stock up for the week, and then we were back to put the kids down for the night. After this, Erin and I got to take a dip in the hot tub and then headed to bed ourselves.
This morning, Erin and I woke up and headed back to Pigeon Forge sans children to do some Christmas shopping. We wanted to go to the Log Cabin Pancake House but the line was wayyyyyyy too long, so we made the decision to go to the Pancake Pantry, which turned out to be a bad one, due to a line longer than the Log Cabin. But, we’d paid to park, so we decided to stay and eat. Great decision. I ended up having the Sugar N’ Spice pancakes, which tasted a lot like pumpkin pie to me, and they came with this caramel type of syrup that was awesome. Erin had pigs in a blanket which turned out to be sausage links rolled up in pancakes. It was equally awesome.
After that, we did some quick shopping, came back to the cabin and lounged around for the rest of the day. Erin’s dad made some grilled chicken, I took another dip on the hot tub, and we are currently wrestling Isaac, trying to get him to go to sleep. I don’t think he feels good. I guess I should help, so look for more tomorrow!
I have to make an admission: I hate that texting and emailing have made our language a crooked mess of abbrevations, abbrevations pronounced as words, and one letter words. It drives the grammar police part of me nuts, even though I can be found using those cliches from time to time. So, here, in honor of my hatred, is a list of words and phrases that you probably use that just crawl all over me.
1. Vacay - shortend form of the word “vacation”. As in, “I just went on a wonderful vacay with my bff.” Gag.
2. Come with - usually used as a question, but should have an objective personal pronoun following it. As in, “I’m going to the movies, want to come with?” Yargh. Shouldn’t “me” follow that?
3. fam - shortend version of the word “family”. As in, “I’m hanging with the fam.” Blech. Can’t you just say family?
4. OMG - pronounced OH EM GEE. As in, “OMG! Did you see what she was wearing?” Internet trash lingo.
I’m sure there are others, but right now I’m tired, and I can update this at it goes, so let’s just all this part one, ok? Feel free to share your bad grammar hatred in a comment. Who knows, I may even use it in the next part.
I’m currently sitting in a lobby on the 3rd floor of the Lifeway building in Nashville, TN, making ample use of their free wireless internet while staring at the ceiling. I’m here for the National Youth Workers Convention and so far it’s been great. Last night I got to go to Rocketown where Rush of Fools led in worship and Todd Agnew and Phil Vischer spoke. If you ever get a chance to hear Phil, you need to. His talk about ideas and dreams and what happens when they implode is amazing and beautiful. I’m about to head to the exhibit hall, but I’m excited about later today. I get to have lunch with my dad and then tonight I’ll be having dinner with some close personal friends of mine who I haven’t seen in a long time.
I’ll try and update more later.
Most of my adult working life, I have had a dilemma. And today driving home from a friend’s wedding,I realized how sad that dilemma makes me. The problem is that almost all of my close friends live anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours away. Since being married and living in out own as a family, I have never known what it is like to have friends our age in our same town, except for Tim and Kelly, two great friends we met at church.
I guess that thinking about this was brought in by the fact that I met a couple this weekend that I would love to hang out with more, and I coyodnt help but think of how lucky the people are who have them around constantly. The problem us that they live almost 45 minutes away from us. Not really conducive to them coming over for coffee.
All my friends from high school live around Nashville, which is 3 hours from here. My college friends are in Illinois, 3 hours away. The couple getting married today, and another friend live in Florence, AL, which is an hour from us.
There are days when I want to get out of here so badly just to be around people my own age but I struggle with the selfishness of that. And that’s why I’m sad.
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