The Joy of Me

I have heard it mentioned several times in Church is the Biggest Lie that Satan tells you is that he does not exist. Lies are subjective and I would like to put forward that I believe the biggest lie we are faced with in our culture is the " Me first "lie.
Our culture is all about self , the importance of self , the appeasment of self , the nurturing of self , the training of self , the grooming of self , the gospel of self ...this culture does not escape any of us, though it can be argued some are more enamoured of themselves than others.
Their are very few totally alturistic people in this world , those who do good things for others , usually do it for themselves as well , but at least in their case they are doing good things for others.
You can't escape this doctrine of self, we are told and encouraged to take care of ourselves , we are told we deserve a break today , that we should have it our way, that its time for us , that we deserve this thing or that thing...Most of us live as if we are the stars of a movie about US. and its the only one showing at the theater. Not only is the movie about us we get upset if others don't know the movie is about us , we want them to know the words we have written for them , where we want them to stand , how fast or how slow to go on the freeway, we want people to answer the phones when we want them too and stop calling when we want them to stop calling.
I know this well because I have my own movie as well...and it is the only one playing .
We live in an age of entitlements , we demand service , yet are unwilling for the most part to give it. In a word we are selfish.
You go for a visit and someone prepares a meal for you and you complain there is too much salt , or that you perfer Endive over Romaine lettuce . You get iced tea from your host and you tell them its too sweet. You stay at a Hotel and you complain about the feather pillow instead of foam ...we have become a nation of whinners.
I know a person who was offered free housing to save on his travel expense then complained bitterly that the bed was too small he expected a King size bed ...
And it goes on and on. I rarely see people holding doors for other people , in the middle of a converstaion they answer their phones as if you are invisible, driving down the road people throw out their trash and ciggerettes because they don't want to have to deal with the trash and the butts...because ..its their movie , everyone else are just extras to make them look , act and feel better.
If this malady were just isolated to us as individuals it might not be so bad , but it spirials out ward , we choose our elected officials not for what they might do for others , but for what we hope they will do for us...we stockpile nuclear weapons so if necessary we can destroy half the world to protect our way of life ..and we allow surrogates to go forth into harms way so that we might live a more worry free life ...
We have totally bought into this Sacrifice for our Country idea haven't we ? Yet before you lynch me consider this ..imagine that the next door neighbor comes to your house , this is the boy you watched growing up , playing catch with his father, shooting hoops in the drive way , you saw him one night slip into his freshly washed car with a bright blue tux on ..this boy who has just graduated from High School comes up to your door step and says " Kenn, I have decided to join the Army I want to protect you from terrorism and to do that I am willing to sacrifice my life " and you give him a big hug and say you will pray for him...sounds reasonable doesn't it ?
I think I would say something else , something like please don't do that ..I don't want you to sacrifice your life for mine ...in fact if it means that I might die at the hands of a terrorist instead of you I will gladly take my chances ...Instead , go to College , get married , have children watch them grow up and if on the way you help to find a cure of Cancer or Diabetes , then ..you will have in fact done more to save my life or prolong it than risking your life in a distant place , walking around with a target on your back.
You see I beleive that Love ( true love ) means that the needs of others become more important than your own. I do not need the youth of our Country to sacrifice themselves for me ..I would nver ask someone to risk their life for mine ...period.
I will take my chances ...And I will trust in God .
But as a nation we have neatly packaged and decorated the Sacrifice of our soldiers , and there is no doubt they are being sacrificed ..over 4000 and counting ...honestly its not unlike the ancient Aztecs sacrifing their children in the Human Sacrifices to provide annual crops ...
You see ...we do these things, allow these things , not because they are good for others , but because they are good for us ..Of course we try to say we are doing this for others , that we are doing good and helping others , but we know , deep down inside we know we are doing these things because the thought of losing our freedom , our language , our carpeted homes , our SUV's and Skidoos is so abhorrent to us that we will accept a few human scarifices to make sure we can maintain our way of life .
And way of life means a culture that takes care of me

Praise the Lord and roll another Ciggerette

Tobacco ,this cash crop for Tennessee Farmers,has provided a living for genreations,Those who profit in Tobacco like most of us probably go to church, praise God , send their Children off to school and dream for their success and well being ..good people , great neighbors , yet this product kills , more people by far and even farther have been killed by tobacco than all the terrorism in the world ..I know that seems harsh, and it would be if I was singling out the Tabocco Industry...lets consider the Tobacco Industry as a metephor ...How many Christians do you suppose work for companies that provide similar products and services ...what is an appropriate business for a follower of Christ to be in ?
When I was in the Hotel Industry I had to choose between my Job and checking in Unmarried Adults .. Do you work in a bar or resturant that sells alcohol ? A company selling arms and munitions to Iran ( beleive it or not there are several in this country that do so ) Or to any other country ? Do you manufacture handguns , work in a Hospital where abortions are performed ? Sell Adult Magazines ? Now I am not saying you are going to hell because of any of these .. I am just asking us to consider how what we do for a living reflects our Christian Values and beliefs ...Im not sure we should have one set of beliefs on Sunday and the rest of the week ignore them.
Perhaps a question that has more punch is this . Do we Trust God and His promises to us.
If we trust God and Obey God Im pretty sure about half of us would be unemployed ..if we put God in the work place where He should be , then some of us would lose our Jobs or we would choose to leave them ...
Recently I saw some " Christian " video games , action games made by " Christian " companies who wanted an alternative to the gratioutius violence of the worldy video games ...they are really no different, the game player ( On Gods Side ) shoots , kills and destroys the minions of Satan ...lots of action , lots of gore ...no difference .
I love to read about the Civil War I even at one time had a Video Game where I could take on either the North or the South on a computer. I had a ball I replayed Gettysburg hundreds of time as the South and I always trounced the North ...in order to do it I had to sacrifice some units knowing they would be destroyed , but that gained time for my greater victory...it began to wear on me ..I began to realize my playful game had real time implications ..one day I simply refused to engage the Northern Army and interestingly enough the Northern Forces seemed to be confused ..eventualy the game ended and no Bytes of information were destroyed ...
Reminded me about that old Viet Nam anti War Slogan I used to have on my car " what if they had a war and no one showed up".
It seems to me that the Greatest Skill the Generals of both Armies had was simply getting these large bodies of men over unmapped and difficult terrain and being able to line them up and shoot and kill each other.
Now with this I am sure some one will be saying well if it wern't for the soldiers we would be all speaking German or Japanese ...
Paul Spoke Latin ....and your point is ?
So now we are back to Tobacco Farmers ...Praising the Lord in Church and selling Death in the Tocacco auctions ....I guess its all about Choice ...

Gentle and Humble ...a Sacrifice for all

I think Lori hit on a Key point with her response to my last post. Why is it that Hundreds of Thousands of people will follow the advice of a TV personality ? How is it that Television and movies seem to have so much impact on what we think and do. And Conversely why do so few people pay attention to what their Christian Neighbors , Family and Friends have to say.

Maybe we should be asking ourselves ( including myself ) what do we say ? and perhaps more important just how do we act ?

Do we act like non Christians , do we speak like non Christians ? This is a question I have started asking myself and looking at my personal walk . I am afraid I am part of the problem. I started by asking myself Just how should we act ... If we are being as the Bible says transformed in the image of Christ just what does that image look like ?

IN the Bible Jesus uses just two words to describe His personality. " I am gentle and humble in heart " . That's a good place to start.

Humble and Gentle.

Websters Dictionary Defines humble as:

Etymology:
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin humilis low, humble, from humus earth; akin to Greek chthōn earth, chamai on the ground
Date:
13th century
1: not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive2: reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of deference or submission 3 a: ranking low in a hierarchy or scale : insignificant, unpretentious

Consider that this is How the Son of the most High God described Himself. If anyone would have the right to be arrogant , the right to be assertive it would be the Son of God , and yet He says just the opposite . We claim to be proud after a hard days work making oyster crackers , Gods days work included the cosmos , the oceans and the bountiful life that covers the earth. I am part of Gods days work , and yet I brag over a reasonable picture of a Sunset.

Jesus was saying he was humble to us ,His people and as His people our goal is to be Christlike.

I suspect there are very few of us who would claim to be humble , humility is not a word we would readily use to describe our selves or our culture .

Just a drive down the road will revel the worlds best hamburger ( at five different locations ) the fastest car , the best phone service , the best football team, the greatest nation on the earth. This is not only the way the world acts but its the way we act as well ,,,the greatest church , the largest congregation, the best sermon. As a Churched group we routinely compare our little Worship place with others and the others usually come up short.

What would a picture of a humble Christian look like ? How do we start to learn to be humble , and why is it necessary for us to be humble ?

I think a starting place would be scriptural as well , an understanding of Servant hood. Servant hood is very closely aligned with very nature of love. After all can't we define true love as a condition when someone Else's needs become more important than your own ?

Now there is a topic ...For it seems that for most Love has now been redefined as What must I do to satisfy myself ? Its all about me , me first , my needs first , its my body. These all come from the same common root , its difficult to criticise the person choosing to abort when we are ourselves placing our needs first and the needs of others in the distant background.

Servant hood means doing for others with no anticipation or desire for reward for ourselves. There is alot to be said on this and the hour is late ... I am going to end tonight by challenging myself and any who are interested in taking a small baby step ... each day I wish to provide without benefit to myself a random act of kindness to another ...since reporting this would in a sense be a benefit I also choose to simply do it and not then seek praise for reporting it ...

Kenn

Oprahs Gospel ?????

The other day a billboard outside of a local church Caught my attention . It said ( in electric letters ) " We don;t have the same Gospel as Oprah ". At first I didn't know what that meant , I asked my wife if she knew how Oprah had hacked off the local Church and she said that Oprah has apparently hacked off many Christians with her " odd " interpretations of the Bible.

I probably should have let it go at that ..but I have been thinking about that sign for several days now and I have some concerns.

I guess my first concern is that as "Madison Avenue " advertising this just doesn't work for me , I'm not interested in what something is not ..I am far more interested in what something is. I wouldn't expect a Church to announce " we are not Muslim " , Or we are not " Buddhists " Nor do I expect a Church to advertise on behalf of others ...Oprah does pretty well , in fact its probably reasonable that More people watch her on a daily basis than have been in this particular church in a year. What I want to know is very simple I want to know what you believe and I want this to be positive and not negative.

I am reasonably certain that a clear proclamation of the Gospel will make perfect sense to those God wants to hear the message in His timing. Proclaim the Gospel of the Jesus Christ ...that's what the Bible says to do.

As for the Gospel of Oprah I also don't have a clue what that really means ...I know that Oprah doesn't have a " Gospel " I know she is a person who has beliefs and ideas and some or many of these may get under the skin of other people ...but I think all of us have those ...One of the biggest surprises for me as a new Christian was finding out that not all Christians believed that all Christians were Christian ...In fact it seems that some Christians go so far in defining what it means to be Christian that they essentially exclude anyone who doesn't agree with them as not being Christian enough for them . I believe that faith and beliefs are gifts from God .. it is through Gods grace and not our merit that He offers these gifts.

I'm not even sure that God wants all of us to have the same ideas and beliefs ..I do know that if He did we would . I also feel that while there are people who know the Bible by heart they have a hard time understanding and living the heart of the Bible. I am not bothered nor offended by Oprah nor am I threatened by her ...If I want to know what the Bible says I read the Bible and if I want to know what Oprah believes I will read and listen to what she says.His Word says that " we see but a reflection " and each of us will always see a reflection differently than another ..its a matter of angles and perception. All this to say ...Christians should proclaim the Gospel ...that's Job enough for most of us ..Just faithfully Preaching Christ and Christ Crucified.

I would myself be inclined to stay far away from a Church that measured its Preaching against a Talk show host ...but that again is just me

The Cross on the top of the steeple points to Heaven not to our neighbors transgressions ....at least that is the way I see it

Life is not always Sedimentary

I believe that life is far less sedimentary and far more metamorphic. The sum of our experience may be laid down in sedimentary layers , but something happens to this experience it is not processed in a linear fashion , instead it is compressed , jumbled , pressed , and squeezed into the person that is you and the person that is me.

I realize now that my trip to Oklahoma just as I entered my teen years was one of those layers . It must have had a profound effect on my life. when I returned home from Oklahoma without realizing it I had changed.

I have stopped at this point for over five days ...thinking , pulling threads together , realizing that I had stumbled over something fundamental , and yet I have no Idea what it is.

what happened in Oklahoma was life changing ...only it took me over 40 years to realize my life had changed.

I slipped the chains of self awareness and began to see the world in with the eyes and ears of others ...I had seen racism and Poverty , I had seen a simpler culture not yet enslaved by Television. I had become more self reliant , after all a trip downtown on the bus was not quite the same as bus trip across the USA.

But I have to say that the more I realize this was a turn point in my life I cannot find that which I turned on.

I have to leave Oklahoma ...consider some other writing subjects ...

This has helped me to know that each of us is far more complex than we appear we are not simple sediments easily interpreted layer upon layer , we are more than linear. we are compressed , torn and uplifted , we are pressed down and formed out of pressures we cannot fully explain.

After this its back to Oklahoma

I pan to get back to the "Oklahoma " thread in a few days ..but recent developments and thoughts keep forcing themselves on me in such a manner that I know I need to deal with them .

As can be expected the last few weeks centered around " Independence day " have stirred some thoughts , discussions and a few stumbling blocks.I believe it is possible to be out of balance when it comes to Patriotism and the Military. The past church we used to go to would have ( in my opinion ) these over the top patriotic services to honor the Military in our country. On services close to Memorial Day, Veterans day , Fourth of July , patriotic songs would be sung , Service men and women past and present would stand and be honored , we would pledge allegiance to the flag , and at one time we even had an alter call to America the Beautiful. This seems inappropriate and out of balance to me. I believe this Country is much more than our Military conquests. If I had my choice we should be honoring ...all those who have "sacrificed " for the country

Because I am a Pacifist I am routinely called a traitor ...This by many who have themselves never worn a uniform or sacrificed for the country. What they don't know or care to know is how much I have sacrificed and worked to make this Country better for those that will go on after me ...I was active in the Anti War Movement in the 60's , Actively worked for Civil Rights. When I was in College i was both President of the Student Body and The Editor of the Student Newspaper, As a new father and store owner in Sisters Oregon I was a Volunteer Fireman and emergency health provider for over a decade ...

Most important ...in all this I am not alone ...I don't believe that the greatness of this country can be measured only in terms of Military victories and sacrifices. My father was one of thousands of young men who hung on wispy strands of steel to dynamite the sides of the Hoover Dam, he was a high steel worker on the Golden gate bridge , and during WW 11 he worked rigging cargo in the giant cargo bays of Liberty Ships ..where he was exposed to asbestos and died an early death from Lung cancer at 59.

This country is the sum total of the farmers, and steel workers, the accountants, and teachers , the pastors and doctors , pavers and roofers...riveters and welders , truckers and food pickers , packers , and stockers.

Some of these people went home after work and watched TV , or sat in easy chairs and read their favorite books or magazines. Some came home quickly showered and grabbed a bag full of Baseball equipment and headed for the Neighborhood Baseball diamond. Some even though they were bone weary ..pushed themselves into cars and took the Neighborhood children into the wilderness , or to the camping grounds nearby.

I have also found something interesting over the years ...those who went off to war are perhaps the most ardent pacifists of all ...their pacifism comes from that same epiphany voiced by General Robert E. Lee at Fredricksburg " It is good that War is so terrible that we would not do it more often ". Veterans who I know who actually saw combat are almost to the man unwilling nor inclined to talk about their front line experiences. Conversely I find those who are most vocal when it comes to talking of Sacrifice and Honor ...may have served in the theaters of Combat , but their service was far and distant from the spilling of blood.

There are those who missed the fight and live vicariously the battles and bravery.

My former father in law was a corpsman running a LST on D day ..he took fresh young troops into the Battle and returned with Mangled bodies from each landing. He never talked about his experiences , until the 50th anniversary of Dday ...when I called him to thank him for his sacrifice...His reaction was simple and direct ...those who fought fought so that we might never need to fight again.

My best friend had two tours of Duty in Vietnam ...one where his job was defusing unexploded bombs and explosives..the second tour he worked in Graves registration ..he came under fire several times and I have heard from other of his friends that he was for a brief time a POW until he escaped .

Lee and I might be seen as a curious pair Him the Warrior and me the Pacifist ..but we have a deep and abiding appreciation for each other and what each has done in good conscience.

We also share a distrust and dissatisfaction of the leadership that has directed both of us .

Yes I believe we should honor the soldiers and warriors of our country , but I think that we should also honor the peacemakers , the workers , the teachers and all of us that form the matrix of the society we live in ...Honor does not always mean continued sacrifice , that we send more to their deaths out of fear of dishonoring those that died in service to their country is not in my opinion appropriate ...we should seek to diplomatically end hostilities whenever possible and certainly not be seeking to expand them.

As Christians we have a battle plan , one offered by Jesus Christ not just to His Disciples but to the Multitudes as well ...these words of His are not the words of a Mad man ..nor the words of a man who had no Idea where the world would be today. His words which we must at least discuss and examine are easily available in the Bible.

Matthew 5: 38-47

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

If this is what Jesus said , and if we believe that Jesus is God , and if we as Christians take our very name from this man ..then we must accept this teaching ....how do we not ?

Free Speech ?

I think that far more bad things have happened in this world because of people trying to do good things ..than bad things happening because of people knowingly doing bad things.

And when people think what they are doing is right , and they think that the reason they are doing them is a good or ( Godly ) reason it is far more difficult to take a look at what we are doing objectively.

I know that for the vast and greater part of my life I have grown up in a political and cultural environment that believes that the USA is Light , and those other Countries who disagree with us are an opposing force of darkness.

Not too long ago I was in an Christian Play ..where Judas said "I am not as black as you think I am nor are you as white as you think you are ". I think there is much to be said of that.

I certainly do not believe that this country has Evil intent ..when it comes to its politics or world view ..but we have made evil choices ...

When we list these choices we have made ..a curious thing happens ..either the list is dismissed as being too far back in the past ( Our treatment of the Native Americans for instance) Or that these are new and far more complicated times ( Our treatment of the Detainees at Guantanamo for instance ). We are list makers ...and score keepers ...ultimately we like to have our good deeds add up to outnumber our bad ones ...Lately it seems to me that in order to skew the count another curious thing is happening. There are some who feel that even the discussion about what is right and what is wrong ..is unpatriotic....

I don't understand that ...how can discussing openly our policies , our tactics and our strategies be considered un-American ? In our effort to export American Ideas , culture and government to the world we have made some mistakes ...what predictable result can we see in the future if we cease discussing our mistakes and errors ?

When I say openly and with conviction that the war in Iraq is wrong ...I am saying that as a caring citizen of this country ...I can be critical of this Countries Policies because I help shape and am a part of them .

If people do not agrree with me ...thats part of the process. I do not feel threatened or dismissed because others disagree with me. I do not think the world revolves around me ...nor do I feel the planet will slip from orbit and hurtle in the abyss of space if my thoughts and ideas do not become the standard by which millions of people will live their lives .

Heck I have enough difficulty living up to my standards on my own.

We need to be careful very careful that we not only praise " free " speech in this country , but that we allow it to be free...

Fireworks , Spider Monkeys and Christ ( just for staters )

Friday I went downtown Nashville to Photograph the Fireworks. I set up at an location I had shot from a few years ago ...and before the Fireworks began I was visited by the Police and asked to leave ..apparently they were concerned with my safety from the fallout from the Fireworks ..even though I pointed out ( nicely ) that there were several hundred people between me and the fireworks on the river ..my argument entered the logic zone and even thought the Beat policemen understood and agreed , management did not. So I was moved to an area that was closer and more hazardous for my safety.

On the way to this area I was heartened to notice that someone had taken the time and energy to clear an area close to the road where people could sit and enjoy without having broken glass under their bottom and brush up their nose.

I had no such Luxury but I did get tolerable view of the display.

When I left at the end of the Fireworks ..I was disheartened to see that the people behind me who had been able to sit in relative comfort had left the area filled with garbage , empty beer cans and broken glass.

That and the confusion about where I could or not stay , started me thinking about the Fourth of July ..Why do we celebrate ? and has the Celebration lost its meaning ?

I started to think about something Lori had pointed out to me ... a large church in our area was planning a worship service that included the largest indoor firework display in the area ... I now plan to digress ...please bear with me ...

For one thing I do not understand why a Church would choose to place a flag in the Sanctuary ...Before you send me hate mail , let me offer this ..only in the United States , and in the State allowed Christian Church of China will you find National Symbols ( flags ) in the Church.

In the not so distant past Nazi Germany also did the same ...but that is something else.

I believe that the Sanctuary is where we worship God its HIS house and He is not bound by any one state or nation. In His house we can give thanks for His blessings and that certainly may include the blessing of our Nation ...but it is HIS house. The United States Government has rules about this sort of thing ...the rules for the display of the flag allow for a Church to not display it at all ..its not required to fly the flag in the sanctuary ...but if you do ..it has to be more prominent than any other Emblem ( not just another flag ) such as the Christian Flag.

So I wonder if its questionable having a flag in the sanctuary ...then what about a worship Service and fireworks ?

does this seem kinda out of place ? perhaps an inappropriate use of Gods House ...after all remember why God didn't allow David to build the Temple ?

And this ongoing discussion in my mind brings me to today's Worship Service in our new Church. Which was wonderful By the way. We discussed spider monkeys because they have an interesting habit that makes it easy for them to be captured ...they are stubborn and greedy. The trappers hollow out a large gourd and leave a hole just large enough for the Monkey to place his hand in , then the trapper places a piece of fruit or candy in the gourd. The Monkey investigates the gourd sticks its hand in grasps the prize but finds that when the gift is grasped he cannot remove his hand He is stuck and the trapper can easily capture the monkey. Obviously for the monkey to have his freedom all he has to do is drop the fruit and remove the hand and scamper off ..but the monkey will have nothing of that.

The point was made in church ...what is our fruit , what is our piece of candy that we hold so tightly to it we miss the freedom of Christ ? Some obvious answers would be our money , our cars , our toys , our addictions ...but what about some of the things we almost hold sacred , like our flags , our patriotism , our weapons of mass destruction ?

When I discussed the flag issue with my former pastor I was told that Romans 9 gives the scriptural foundation for this practice ...

Does it ? Romans of course was written by Paul a Roman Citizen imprisoned in Rome. Does this mean that the Gentile Believers the Persecuted Church in Rome brought Roman Standards into the Caves and worship places with them ..did they begin their Worship with a Hail Cesar ?

There is nothing wrong with Celebrating the 4th of July ...especially if you pick up your trash. But doesn't it make sense to worship God in House house and leave the fireworks to the parks and river banks and lakes ?

This has led me to a curious paradox that I wish to address in the next blog ..

Kenn

" hard" times in Oklahoma

The first few weeks in Oklahoma in the summer of 1960 , were weeks of adjustment...after the first days of realizing that we ( me and the cousins ) were linked by some sort of family bond , that included a unwritten code of being nice to each other ...we started the " testing" period.This means that we started to size each other up ...when it came to all things academic I easily had the upper hand. But in the important summer categories of farming, wrestling, colorful speech, and overall physical endurance I was a distant last. The rest of the summer was a chess match ( or checkers) where each of us tried to find the best and easiest way to excel. It was a classic battle the city kid vs the country kids. When it was all over I'm not sure who won , I do know I left with a much greater appreciation of their life and lifestyle.

Looking back I realize that those summer days were filled with creative play, with participating not observing ..none of my relatives had TV's , and they didn't feel bad about not having them ...The most important news was discussed in the barber shop and the town store. The best entertainment was on the front porch every evening as guitars and banjo's and harmonicas were paraded out. WSM radio and the Grand ole Opry was a popular diversion ..but it usually turned into a sing along. Gospel and Country music were the standards. Sweet Iced tea was the evening staple and on special nights we would have lemonade , and fresh made Ice Cream..with the smell of the rock salt and vanilla hanging heavy in the air.

The Baby boomer generation on the porch , seemed to live each moment to its utmost , there was very little talk of the future , of plans for work or school , if there were plans it was for where to go fishing in the morning.

There was much less fear in the Countryside...Where I lived we were practicing Air Raid drills and being warned about the communist Menace ... In Oklahoma people kept watch on the weather and worried about the rainfall.

Looking back I realize ( Much latter ) that this is what I missed the most after leaving Oklahoman and returning to Oregon...I missed living each moment , I missed not living each day in fear of being separated from my family if the Bomb was dropped...None of the circumstances of life in the 1960's were different , but in Oklahoma we didn't hear a constant drumbeat of fear from the televisions and news ... The enemies they faced in Oklahoma were tangible , tornado, hail , drought even poverty . But these dangers came with a deep abiding faith and an understanding of a word that we seem to have lost from our modern day vocabulary. Providence. There was no courting of entitlements in the hill country of Oklahoma , living with Tornado's taught you that " there but for the grace of God " ..when good fortune fell on some it was shared and when misfortune fell it was likewise shared. There was a strong sense of family and community ...Yes it was a hard time

Bound to be some trouble

Looks like I have some catching up to do ...first of all I have been really busy uploading photos to a Nashville Book Project called " capture Music City " You and investigate if you want at " Capturemusiccity.com ) and you are certainly welcome to vote on some of my submissions ..some of you already have and thank you !

Tomorrow I plan to return to my stay in Oklahoma and Ken the early years ...today just a few snippets to catch me up.

I was very sad to hear that George Carlin passed away, I didn't always agree with his verbiage but I was always impressed with his passion and comedy.

Lori and I have decided to make the Smyrna Assembly our new Church home now we have to break the bad news to them ..( I am the bad news )

I have been really on the fence about the upcoming presidential election ...again seems like a choice between Spam and Liver and onions ...like when will we ever get Sushi on the menu ?

By that I mean it seems that if we lived in a city where we only had two resturants and both resturants only served Spam and Liver and onions we would find a new place to live or open a new resturant. Yet that is how it seems every election year. I usually choose the candidate I plan to support not by their Merits but by the groups and people who line up against them.

Anyway I had thought of a good reason to vote for McCain. But then when I saw that Both Dr Dobson and the NRA are coming out against Obama I think I'm Choosing Obama.

Dobson said Obama has faulty interpretation of the Bible ...respectively I would like to mention to Mr Dobson , that when Jesus said " Love your enemies " I don't think he meant for us to kill them. I find it very hard to understand the " Christian Right " not just because they are so wrong , but because they have so " honestly " driven the Christian Faith into the political arena .

I say honestly because it is my hope and prayer that this is not a malicious act on their part , that they are seeking to do good, but if they are seeking to do Gods will for the world , then I think they should spend more time in the Bible and less time in politics. That Evengelicals are so passionaltly for the war in Iraq , ( and it seems will support the upcomming war in Iran ) is a sad commentary on how little they actually read the Bible. Bottom line Christians are not supposed to be using the weapons of this world. we are to be a light to a world that is oppressed by war and selfishness , and show that there is a better way a way that Jesus Preached to promote peace.

As for the NRA ...imagine my surprise ...a large group of middle aged white guys who love guns ..are against Obama ....go figure. I find its easier to get a vicious argument from " Christians " about Gun Control than it is to get a disscussion about sharing your wealth with others less fortunate ... Im not sure why we have such a love for guns in this country but it does seem to border on Idol worship

Lori and I saw Wall E and loved it ....gets a huge thumbs up from both of us.

Kenn

Looking Back ......more

That summer in Oklahoma was like a graduation present from my parents for completing Grade School. I suspect that in today's world you would never send your 13 year old child , boy or girl on a three Bus trip across country.

But 1959 was a simpler time ...and a harder time as well. I remember constantly looking out the windows , taking in as much of the scenery as I could ...I enjoyed the different stops , I especially remembered Salt Lake city and seeing the Mormon Temple there ...and wondering where the lake was.

From Oklahoma City to Muldrow was a few hours drive it was night and there was a fierce storm lighting our way , on one occasion I know I saw a lightning bolt hit so close to the bus that the pavement was bone dry when the bus raced over it.

Late that night my Uncle peeked into the bus and shouted my name , and I left the bus an onto a summers adventure in the land of my Mothers birth.

My uncles name was Mel , he was the town barber in Muldrow , he smelled of hair tonic and shaving cream, had a twinkle in his eye , and an easy way with conversation. His wife was my mothers Sisters , Aunt Alice , Aunt Alice is still alive , the last of four children born in the hard times of hard scrabble , storm tossed , Oklahoma. She looks alot like my mother , younger , and less weary , My mother had two boys , Alice and Mel had no children.

Muldrow Oklahoma is a small town , a very small town , my mother had one Brother Otis who had nine children and one brother James who had two children , then two more . Several of Otis Children were close to my age and we spent that summer adjusting to being teenagers.

There are a few memories from that summer , driving a tractor , poisonus snakes , foul tasting well water , catfishing at night watching a tornado head our way. That summer I found how how blessed I was living in Oregon.

Mel and Alice were pretty comfortable , with no children and a corner on the Barber shop trade , they lived well within their means. Otis was a different story , likable , but indifferent to work , Otis was an inconsistent provider. The children lived a hard life , those things I took for granted like candy bars , and bottled cokes were rare treats for his kids. There was occasional Ice Cream but it was handmade , and the hand making was difficult work.

And there was more ...there was a poverty of education , I must have sounded like an Ivy league professor to those nieces and nephews and they didn't care much for professors ...they were disdainful and untrusting of education , preferring the " street " smarts of a city that had few streets.

And by their standards I must have been quite a nerd , struggling with hay bales , driving the tractor into the pond, and putting a hole in a 50 gallon oil drum while target practicing for a planned squirrel hunt.

The Squirrel hunt turned out to be a turning point , they had armed me with a 22 while they carried shotguns, they knew I would be at a disadvantage with the single shot rifle, yet when it was over I had two squirrels to my credit and the three cousins that adventured out with me had none.

I have to thank my dad for that ...he was a very good hunter and taught my brother and I how to shoot and shoot well . We trained on a single shot 22 and learned to make one shot the right shot.

Water over the Edge

A few days ago I started looking back ...today I realized I hadn't looked far enough back, then I found this old letter I wrote just after my mother died on the computer...I think its a good time to share it:

January 29, 2001
Today I received a copy of my birth certificate via Fed Ex. I needed a copy for my new job and we could not locate our important papers, so Lori called the Vital Records Department in Denver, Colorado, and they sent it out to us.
When I opened the blue and red express envelope there was a very official document authenticating my birth. I entered this world at 4:10 in the morning of October 14, 1947. My mother was 29 at the time and my father was 33.
I was thinking of them when I started to cry, John Herbert Stilger and Emma Lucy Keith. John from Portland, Oregon, and Emma from Muldrow, Oklahoma.
They met in a shipyard in Vallejo, California, about 1943. My mother was a riveter in the shipyards that were cranking out Liberty Ships as fast as Nike pops out tennis shoes. My father worked on the high steel, welding plates together; they met at lunch time. My father said, "She stole a banana from me." They were married in Vallejo. After the war, Dad and Mom moved to Climax, Colorado, where Dad worked in an open pit molybdenum mine.
The fact that they met in Vallejo was one of those "cosmic accidents" that happen every day: woman from the Ozarks, leaves home, travels by bus 2000 miles away, finds herself in the middle of a labor shortage, and is immediately put to work building cargo ships - most of which were bigger than the town she called home. Man from Oregon, takes a train out of Portland and spends most of the trip hanging onto the rods under the boxcar, works on the Golden Gate Bridge and Hoover Dam - then when War with Japan breaks out, he is drafted not into the military, but into the hazardous occupation of working suspended several floors above the ground strapped to metal girders wrapped with asbestos. After several months salvaging what can be salvaged of a ravaged navel fleet, he is shipped back to Mare Island Navy Yard where he catches this young beauty from the hills of Oklahoma slipping a banana out of his lunch.
I wonder what it must have been like that early morning in October. Was the morning about to give way to a day warmed by the last of the heat-drenched winds of the Colorado plains, or had the winter that would soon come, filled the streets of Denver with an icy breath ? What hopes and dreams lay in my mother's heart as she cradled me close to her and smiled at my face as I nursed? Was my father able to spend some time with her and me, or was he called back to labor drawing the important alloy from the earth?
4:10 a.m., and there they were. Two of millions; young, full of life and hopes and dreams, living in land that had tasted the bittersweet taste of victory. The darkhaired part Native American girl and the well tanned curly haired man, confronted with this new and precious child that would in time bring them joy and grief, purpose and confusion. 4:10 a.m.: the world outside was barely stirring, perhaps a few lights were snapping on as fathers woke to insistant alarms and mothers heeded the infants' cries that nudged them from sleep. Later that day in a desert to the west, Chuck Yeager would climb into a jet aircraft and punch a hole in the sky and be the first ever man to break the sound barrier. 4:10 a.m.: the earth spinning, turning into the miracle that is the star we call the sun - but at that time there is no hint of the light to come, only the promise and reassurance of several thousands of such rotations. Stars and planets kept the Denver landscape company.
Later as I grew, I would stare at these same stars and planets; I would catch the vapor trail of a speeding jet illuminated by the moon, and can remember the occasional sonic boom as some airborn jocky would follow Mr Yeager through that hole in the sky.
My parents grew older with me. My father found work in Oregon, so the Colorado winters gave way to the temperate Northwest. He worked as a lineman for Portland General Electric, and my mother cared for both my younger brother and I, becoming an expert with cupcake baking and flashcards. And we all grew older together - only I never noticed them aging only me as I grew from toddler to brat to teenager. Those years seem squandered now: a few memories - my father showing me how to catch a ground ball, my mother slicing potatoes into slabs. And I remember popcorn and movies with my mother, and a Lincoln log set I got for Christmas one year.
Soon family weekends and vacations gave way to spending all my time at my girlfriend's house. A new war came, and I stayed home and got married - and then one day I helped my brother, family and friends say goodbye to my father.
I remember the last time I saw him. He had come home from the hospital to die. We had the bed in the living room and his youngest brother had made the trip from Dallas, Texas, to say goodbye. Dad could not swallow; the cancer had taken his strength, his breath, and his wonderful curly black hair. He begged for a piece of cheese and cracker, then choked on it; Mom cleared his throat. I lived in a trailer home in the Portland suburbs. That night, I sat outside on the swing for a few minutes and watched the stars. It was late, with only stars and planets and a feeble moon to keep me company. The phone rang and it was all over: he had gone away.
My mother never remarried; she lived with her memories of that handsome young man for 25 years. The last time I saw her, I watched the moon slip past Mt. Spokane - and now she is gone. They were 29 and 33 when they held me freshly-birthed in the morning hours. Now it's my turn to hold them: glimpses and memories, a few photos, a letter here and a cigarette lighter from his championship little league team he coached so graciously.
Emma Lucy Keith, John Herbert Stilger. This earth is merciless in its turning; this spinning planet devours time and lives. We grow old as Eternity lies clouded and veiled from our understanding, and the stars and planets rush up each dusk to wink at us with promise.
4:10 a.m. October 14, 1947. The day is soon to begin; there are sound barriers to break and wars to weep over. And love looks from father's face to mother's face, and into the newborn eyes ready to open to planets and stars, baseball mitts and frosted cupcakes.

Looking Back

Galatians 3:28

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

When we first moved to Nashville I was surprise to see how segrated the churches were. I have heard it said that Sunday is the most segregated day in the South. From my own evidence I would have to agree with this.

I don't understand why. I have also heard the segregation is mutual . Likewise I have no evidence to dissagree with that.

If you were born after 1970 I suspect it is very difficult for you to fully understand just how painful , angry and divisive the fight for intergration and racial equality was. My parents were segregationists , I would like to believe that neither my father or mother would have never participated or support racial violence , but they were certianly unwilling to do anything to change it.

My mother was from Oklahoma and was culturally disposed towards racism , my father seemed indifferent, but I also overheard him tell many jokes at the " expense " of black people.

Both of my parents urged me to proceed with caution when I became involved in the Civil Rights movement , and for reasons I cannot truly remember our home never had a black visitor.

I remember vividly the first time I really came face to face with the ugly reality of Segragation.

Living in Oregon we were largly divorced from the struggles in the North and the South. There were a few black people living in Oregon , but not in our neighborhoods.

The Summer between my eighth grade graduation and my first year in High School I spent the summer in Oklahoma ...this was 1960. I traveled to Oklahoma alone on a Greyhound Bus. When the Bus stopped in Oklahoma City near the end of my trip I needed to use the Bathroom in the Train station. There were three bathrooms there , they were marked : White women , White men , and Colored. I didn't get it I choose colored , when I walked out a man in uniform stopped me and asked me why I did that , I joked I was Pink . He wasn't amused , he thumped on a Bible He was carrying and said " well you must not be a Christian then ".

Prior to that time I had not thought much about Christians and " race " . I had as a youngster assumed that the Church was the moral guardian of society and having heard very little from the Pulpit on this issue I guess I just assumed all was well ....Likewise I assumed that if there was a problem and some of Americas Citizens were being mistreated because of their skin color that the Goverment that represented us would do something about it. I had no reason to believe that these two institutions , the Church and the State instead of leading America out of this growing cancer of segration and inequality would actually participate and contribute to the problem.

As the demand for racial equality began to swell and build I spent my High School years almost oblivious to the first tremors of change. For two years I went to Benson High School in Portland Oregon. My parents wanted me to go to this school because if its Advanced Science Programs , Science was an Area I excelled in , I didn't excell in Shop class. ( Seventh and Eigth Graders in the 50's went to either Shop class ( boys ) or Home Economics ( girls ) . What my parents hadn't planned was that Benson was one all day Shop class. In the two years I went to Benson I Failed Welding, Aeronautics, Automotive, Machine Shop, Sheet Metal and Foundery classes , while getting a smatering of A's in Biology and Physics .

Benson was a " segragated " school with just about equal number of blacks and whites. I have no memory of any racial incidents while at Benson. It was at this time that I developed a reputation for getting in fights , I was constantly brawling with kids much bigger than me , Usually kids who because of their size and physicality liked to push other kids around ...I set a record at Benson I believed I had only lost about 17 of the 18 tiffs I was in ...It took me two years to really embrace passive resistance. Two years several broken noses , a couple of cut lips and an unfortunate nickname of Rocky ( not for the fighter but for the racoon ).

to be continued ....

The Holyness of God and Hair shirts

Human kind has tried some very interesting ways to be holy and pure ...Hair shirts are just one such example, hair shirts A garment of rough cloth made from goats' hair and worn in the form of a shirt or as a girdle around the loins, by way of Mortification and penance.

While this may seem silly there are lots of interesting traditions and practices that all seek to make oneself " pure and holy " there is only one problem with these practices.

Early this week I was very blessed to spend some time at lunch with a very dear Christian Brother , not only was the food good and the conversation great , but he picked up the Tab.

Anyway during our conversation we found an area we disagreed on ..not unusual we disagree on several things ..but we have learned to disagree agreeably. We disagreed this time on the use of Secular Music in Worship...and the singing of Christian songs by non Christians ...my friend things both of these things " profane and defile " the worship experience. I disagreed , but it wasn't until today's Church service that I fully understood why.

Today our Pastor began a new Sermon Series on Holiness, and he began with this Scripture from Acts 10: 9-15

Peter's Vision

About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat."
"Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean."
The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."

" do not call anything impure that God has made clean " Interesting....how often have you met Christians who refuse to celebrate Christmas , because of its pagan roots ? Or Easter , or refuse to have anything to do with Halloween ?

Aren't these well meaning worshipers missing a point about Gods Holiness ? Isn't my friend in this case ?

How are we made Holy ? How is a place made holy ? Can we create a place of Holy Ground ?

The answer has to be sneaking up on us. It is God who makes us Holy , it is God who makes a place Holy by His presence , and God can use anything and anyone for His purposes ....Did God choose an Aristocratic horse to speak , no he used a donkey, Did God speak out of a lovely rose bush to Moses ? or was it some nondiscript desert bush ? God could have used one of Jesus Disciples to go unto the Gentiles , instead He choose a Man who was known for his Brutality toward the Followers of Christ.

Most of us as Christians believe we are saved by Grace not by our works , and while we may fudge a little on the works issue , we do I think ultimately understand that Salvation is from Jesus First and Last. with no assistance on our own. We are told to seek to be Holy , but Only God can consecrate us. Sinners cannot call on God for Salvation unless God has already begun this work of making us Holy.

If we are seeking God with all our hearts , I believe God can use secular music , as easily as he uses sacred music to bring us closer to Him. In fact the reality is that God is in all and through all , there is no " secular and sacred " If we divide the days into one for sacred and six for secular we are short changing God six whole days.

If we celebrate Christmas, Halloween, Easter and Celebrate for Gods Glory , if we use these days to Praise God for Blessings ...will we be seeking God and His Holiness ? I beleive so.

This all makes me wonder ....while God can make Holy and use for His Glory anything and anyone, is there any chance that we as His servants can actually defile and profane Him by misusing the Holy ?

Here I am speaking of using the Bible to promote division , to promote consumerism , to promote Nationalistic ambitions . Most of us know that at one point the Bible was used to justify Slavery , there are some who use the Bible to Justify hatred towards Homosexuals , some use it to Justify the accumulation of wealth .... I wonder how God feels about that ?

Lets seek God with all our hearts , lets take every opportunity to tell others of His great love for us and lets Reclaim the Arts for the Glory of God .

I am looking forward to my next conversation with my friend and I plan to pick up the tab this next time , and I am looking forward to more discussions as well ....

Kenn

The Commonality of Diversity

Psalm 19
For the director of music. A psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech: night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.

What do , Fingerprints , Sunset's , Snowflakes, raindrops, DNA , grains of sand , ocean waves, Butterflies , flowers , clouds, trees... all have in common ?

They were created by God. According the Scriptures , these things all show us something about God ...they show me that God loves diversity , not only between things that are singularly different , like a grain of sand and butterfly wing ,but even more interesting even the butterfly wing and the grain of sand are unique from every other butterfly wing and grain of sand.

We know from watching CSI that no two fingerprints are alike , no two strands of DNA are alike.

While each snow flake is a separate masterpiece , there is a familiarity with Snow that we immediately recognize it.

God not only created all the Diversity and wonder in the Universe , but each individual creation is a unique creation of its own.

So I am wondering ...while the Church of Christ is unique and spacial among all Faiths , why is it we sometimes insist that all Believers believe the same ?

Isn't this insistence the reason we have so many denominations and doctrines ? And if this is the case , and all these differences of Opinion are part of Gods creation His unique template of thought for each and everyone of us , then why does this difference in belief often times become so divisive ?

Each wave that comes ashore is different from the one before and the one behind it , yet these waves wear down the land , the sand and dust left being swept up by the winds ,provide the seed for the snow that falls to earth...the snow and rain that falls to earth , nurtures the land , the trees , and soils and plants provide substance for the animals , we ourselves are fed by this process...we live in a theistic harmony ....and yet as humans we spend most of our lives in disharmony with each other ...

we see the differences of thought and belief as an attack on our selves , not for what they truly are the heavenly fingerprints of our Heavenly father... Our differences are as God given as our similarities and as such our differences should be cherished, nurtured and embraced. Not expelled , shut out or fought over ....

How appropriate that each day ends with a sunset which is different from the day before and begins with a Sunrise different from the past dawn, God has revealed Himself to us in a creation that is refreshingly diverse , yet similar. Maybe God has a good idea working here ...

Happy Birthday Lori !

It is time to pause from the heady world of Theology and Musing , and simply give thanks !
And today on her Birthday I am giving thanks for my wife . I frequently say that Gods greatest gift to me was my wife Lori, unfortunately for Lori I am Gods greatest test for her.
Throughout , my seeking my study , my analyzing , my Don Quiote moments she has stood fast by me. There certainly has been some comedy involved , but some sadness as well.
It hasn't always been easy .... Not that I am comparing myself to a Prophet , but if you can have any idea what it must of been like to be Ezekiel's wife , then you might have some sincere Sympathy for Lori .
and its not just Politics and religion she has to put up with. I have a strange sense of humor , and odd sense of timing and any thing edible seems to give me gas ...
I have night terrors at night ( when else ) . I occasionally watch the road when I drive , and my " shortcuts " usually add two hours to a day trip.
I am unorganized , losing my hearing , and have been known to get more than one days use out of a pair of socks.
where I have ways , I am set in them , and where I have no ways ...there is no way.
And Lori bears all this ...with patience and an occasional Head thwap. ( mine ) but do you blame her ? and I forgive her.
She is steadfast in her faith , a dear friend to all , she is a Giver , she embraces life , has a wonderful laugh , and sings like a choir of Angels ...
She is a great cook , and when she Bakes Chocolate Chip Cookies the world itself takes a deep breath and smiles .
She is my wife , companion , lover and encourager ...She is the face of Christ for me ...and I am so blessed by her love ...
Happy Birthday Lori !!!!!!!

Always and Forever Kenn

There are times when I decide to choose what I think God would want me to do and painfully I find I am on a side road looking over at God as he hurtles down the Freeway. I am also convinced when I see God in these cases He is smiling at me ..and riding a Harley.

The past few weeks have been a good example of this. within a few days of the Green Hill Ambush I had determined ( without consulting God ) to get over the issue , move on, and Let God take care of business. I sincerely believe God has a different Idea.

On the day of the " correction in my belief " I was told that one " proof " of the fallacy of Calvinism was the decline of new Calvinists. As if God is looking for Quantity ....And as if you can measure the effectiveness of Evangelism by the number of Baptisms and Conversions.

Anyway the next day..I read in the paper that the Southern Baptist President is concerned that unless the SBC changes its ways it will be half the size it is in a decade.

I carefully looked through the Internet to find a Church I might be interested in attending and the one I zeroed in on I sent an Email for more information and still have not had a reply, but the church we decided to go to just " for the fun of it " now looks like a great haven for us .

I again choose to put the " ambush " behind me ..only to pick up the paper and read that the SBC ( our former denomination ) is choosing which Baptisms to honor and which to not honor...clearly unscriptual.

Phone calls, Letters, emails , newspaper articles ....I Just don't think God wants me to be finished with this business at GHBC ..and I don't think its my Ego getting in the way either ...I really want to walk away ...but I am not sure its possible.

The more I find out , the more that trickles out of the wall of silence and self deception from this Church, makes me realize that this kind of behaviour thrives like mold in the dark and secret places of the foundation.

I am not sure where all this is Going but I need to pay careful attention to what God's will is in this matter , and to amp up my prayer life with Him .

This morning I woke up deciding to write about " what should a church be " and instead this is what seemed to come crashing out ... Kenn

Canned Asapargus and looking a fish in the eye ...

Yesterday was a wonderful day for Lori and I. We had decided to go to a Church several miles away in a town called Symrna. we were familiar with the Church because we had seen a couple of plays there , and my friend and business contact at a Photography business that hires me for free lance work goes to the Church.

The church believes mightily in using the Arts for the Glory of God. Their productions are excellent , the sanctuary itself is the Theater. The Church is an Assembly of God , and the worship is spirited and vibrant.

Lori and I used to go to an Assembly when we lived in Oregon , Interestingly enough there are many 4 square and AOG churches in Oregon , and in all we visited we found the worship to be passionate and personal. I suspect we forgot that here in Tennessee. That being the " personal and vibrant part of worship. Lori thinks perhaps it is because we have so many gifted musicians in the state that the congregation seems to approach worship more as a spectator sport than a participation exercises. What ever the reason it was like the difference between Canned Asparagus and fresh Asparagus to me . I wanted to take a picture of a can of asparagus and a fresh clump of same , but since we had just filled our gas tank I was light on cash. so I noticed this old stock photo of mine of two fish in the Fish market. I think it will work just fine.

At first glance these two fish look similar , but a close side my side examination will show one fish to have a dull eye and scales and the other the eye is bright and clear and the scales look sharper and filled with color. That fish is fresh...and fresh fish taste better. You can survive on the other , but once you had fresh fish or fresh asparagus you will try to avoid the canned.

The worship experience in the Symrna Assembly was fresh, the focus was not on the Praise band , it wasn't on the singers , the focus seemed to be on God . The praise flowed through the congregation into the Heavenlies , and it felt wonder full to be in this House of worship.

I have been telling myself that what I need is a Church with a Good Bible Study I know realize that God is letting me know that I need a Church with a heart for worship.

Kenn

Meditation on a Sunday Morning

Genesis 1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

I am guilty of taking so much for granted , I am guilty for constantly trying to make God small enough to fit into my Understanding.

Its early Sunday morning , Lori is sleeping down the hall, light is streaming through the window , and there is a steady clack from the dryer as some of my change from yesterday finishes the washing cycle.

There are few diversions, and distractions, I have a better opportunity than usual to look at this verse ...and ponder.

In the beginning God created .... In the Beginning..

In our lives everything has a beginning , this day began with a mockingbird and a motorcycle , Lori and I began with an Chat room discussion on AOL, The computer I am typing on began in a factory...yet everything that begins has an antecedent . Before the mocking bird was the egg, before the Lori and I met her parents and my parents met , before this computer was crafted , the sand was formed.

Science can take us back to the beginning ...but what takes us back to God ..where is God's Antecedent ? In the Beginning there was nothing but God ...

The current Scientific model has all of the elements of creation , pushed , shoved , crammed into a body far smaller than a grain of sand ...the only thing that comes close to helping me understand this is watching Lori pack our suitcases for a plane trip. And while the packed Suitcase does have elements of a miracle ...the packed atomic particle ...races past miracle and into a technological disbelief for me.

Imagine though if this particle that contained all we know , see , hear, touch , and all we will never see , hear and touch ...was not a physical particle ...what if it was instead a thought ?

After all while it might be difficult to stuff an Elephant in my brain , I can easily imagine an elephant , and a new Camera as well ...

Now what if that thought that contained all that is and will ever be was in the mind of God...and Creation was spoke into existence ? Which seems to make more sense ? A sub atomic particle , suspended in nothing , which means it is not suspended at all , filled with all the matter and DNA necessary for creation. then somehow exploding with such force that all this stuff went hurtling off into nothing to fill nothing with something ?

Or to consider all we know and seek was created by a thought , spoken aloud ?

For me a Cosmos view that not only has God in control of His creation but has Him as the Narrator of this Creation makes far more sense.

I have always been close to the Sciences, in my younger years I worked for the Oregon State department of Geology , At one time my degree program in College was Anthropology. I am pro science , but sometimes watching scientists scramble around the " Mystery " of creation is like watching a group of blindfolded children trying to break a birthday pinata.

They are so close ...much of the evidence is in , and it all points to God ...but its a swing and miss , Yelms, dark matter, quantum physics, red shift. It is at this point that I realize the " Big Bang " is really the sound of my head striking the wall as I keep muttering " you are so close , so close "

At least with the Pinata the target is real , and identifiable , how do you find God in His creation ?

And the answer seems to be right in front of our nose ...He is made evident in His creation.

And there is more ...

It would be easy then to accept Creation as the "thought of God " but God whose ways are not my ways ...whose thoughts are not my thoughts ... transformed the thoughts into substance. Just as the Book of John says " and the word became flesh " so the spoken word of God at the beginning took on form , it took on weight and height and depth ,Gods thoughts could be touched and smelled , and tasted ....

Our God is indeed an Awesome God .

A knock at the door of my sleepy mind

I had planned to continue with yesterdays theme of Humor in Theology , but something has brought me out of a sound and relaxing nap ,with the insistence of a Swat team knock on the door.

To make this " awakening " even more convincing there were not one , but two knocks being executed.

At one end of my sleep I was being reminded of just how much our former Pastor hated Divorce, how often he preached against those who would give up on a marriage and seek the divorce courts . And at the other end of my sleep I was startled to see the American Flag proudly waving in front of the Church we used to go too.

Both of these notions then overwhelmed me with their hypocrisy and contradiction.

Let me explain: first I started to realize that in a sense this Pastor had divorced us from the Body of Christ as made manifest in the Church he pastored. Now this may seem a bit of a stretch , but we do use such terms as our church home , and our church family when describing our church relationships. The bible uses the Marriage metaphor as well , and its reasonable to assume that those ideas of Fidelity, Sacrifice, Faithfulness, Patience and Forgiveness that are so essential in a Marriage might be easily applied to a church. A marriage built on the foundation of my way or the highway may have difficulty surviving , so the same might be said of a Church family. I am certainly no rocket scientist , I am not a Savant of any kind , and not a Mensa candidate ..but it does seem that if a Pastor applied the same tenacity he encourages to keep a marriage alive , he might consider using the same to keep his Church Family together.

Then there is the Flag issue; for several years I have been concerned about the prominence and focus of the flag in our ( former ) church. The American flag is flown in the sanctuary , and in front of the Church. In the Sanctuary in order to comply with regulations mandated by the United States Government the flag must be more prominent than the Christian Flag. The same for outside the Church. Anyone driving by our church can see the American flag positioned above the Christian flag. That bothers me.

I did some research on the Net and found that only in the USA and in the " State " sponsored Churches of communist China is that the case. I also noted that in Nazi Germany the German National flag was also given more prominence in the German Churches.

In this church we also celebrated both Memorial day and the Fourth of July with " patriotic " worship services which included the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and concluding with an Altar call to the music of America the Beautiful. During the Praise session a video is shown , honoring the four branches of the Armed services which include footage of gunships, naval bombardment, diving warplanes and troops storming the beaches. As the footage unfolds the choir sang a hymn of praise to the Army , Navy, Marine Corp and Coast Guard. This in our Sanctuary.

I actually approached our Church leadership on this issue and was told that first that it was only two services out of the year and that it was consistent with Scripture. They quoted Romans :

Romans 13
1Everyone 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. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted,

This verse is in the Bible , but I'm not sure what we were allowing to happen was what Paul was talking about. After all I am reasonably certain the early Christians in Rome , were not flying the Roman colors or saluting Rome in their worship services.

Now here is where it gets interesting , after one of these services our Associate Pastor preached against the Muslim faith indicating he could see no reason why we would allow a Mosque to be built in the area we live in.

I mentioned to him that I was also reasonably certain that not all the American soldiers we paid tribute to in the Church service who had died for their country were Southern Baptists. That it was reasonable to assume that Catholics, Jews, SDA, Muslims , Hindus , even Atheists died in Battle for this country.

It just seems to me that the Church should be apart from Patriotic displays , that the sanctuary should be where we worship God and not the State.

But having said that it would also seem that if a Church felt it necessary to honor the sacrifice of those who died so that we could have Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion , that church might also consider those rights to be afforded to its own Membership. If freedom of Speech is so highly regarded then excercising that speech in a Sunday School class might be something to consider.

Here I have probably entered the " Logic Zone" .

In other words it seems that if a Church wants to Praise God and Worship God by exalting the Military , and the Military's successful campaign's to maintain certain freedoms granted to the American People , and to enjoy the Tax benefits afforded ALL the citizens of this Country , that church might consider extending those same benefits to its Church family ...

Unless ....the Church chooses to separate itself from the State. enjoy no such privilege and instead follow Gods instruction and commands.

At some point you have to choose who you serve ... It is no accident that the Church has always flourished with persecution and was stagnated when it became a "State " religion.

Kenn