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

What if the H in Theology stood for Humor

I think each of us should take responsibility for what we do ..so in this post I believe you should blame Lori if you are offended. There are two important reasons for this , the first is it was her observation that I make my point much better if I use humor. and second if you blame her you can still come back and read another post and not feel like a hypocrite.

I believe that God does have a sense of humor , after all we are humorous and we are created in His Image. Its just that you often don't mix humor and Theology, I have seen humor mixed with Sermons but people who have studied preaching know that there is a useful purpose for a well delivered joke. If you watch them closely you will notice that invariably as they deliver the joke , they are looking over at the wife just to make sure they have not crossed the line.

However , when it comes to the heady discussions of Theological issues ...well humor kinda goes out on the porch and looks at the stars while the pundits inside are discussing them. I am wondering if it is possible to mix humor with a serious Theological discussion, and I don't want to wimp out either ..we are not talking a hehhehhe kinda humor here we are talking about a gut grabbing , pinching your cheeks together , just in case kinda humor. If you know what I mean. This is a new venture for me ...so please have patience ..or simply keep me in your prayers and not in your cross hairs.

Is there a chance we take God too seriously ? One of the great tenants of the Christian Faith is that God is known to us , we have a personal relationship with God , doesn't it make sense that in most of our personal relationships ( Presbyterians and Baptists excluded ) with each other we value humor ? Can you imagine spending a night with some of your friends and never laughing ?
That has happened only once with me and that was when someone forgot to bring the Fried Chicken to the Church Picnic.

You see another side of your Pastor when you catch Him on his knees begging God for some Kentucky fried Chicken.

So what things would we Joke with God about in our personal relationship with Him ? Right off the the top of my head two subjects come to mind , Peter and Circumcision , no pun intended.

If I were doing a movie about Jesus and the Disciples I would be inclined to cast Nathan Lane as Peter ...More on that later.

Then there is Circumcision ....I believe that there is good evidence to suggest that Abraham was the First Choreographer in the Bible . He created the Abraham Hop . Can you imagine what all the wives were saying when their Husbands decided to do that to each other ? I'm sure there wasn't a dry eye in the camp , with the exception of the camels ...

Going too far with the Humor thing ? not sure IM thinking DQ and a Carmel Sundae while I think it over .

In the meantime I could use more topics ...let me know what you would joke with God about ? You know things like ...why did you put men in charge ?

Kenn

When to Ponder and when not

Perhaps there are sometimes we should not try to write about the profound things , those times certianly depend on each of us as indivuduals and ..whats profound to one person may be a gentle yawn for another.

I found myself trying to make a profound point at 2am in the Morning , I would have been better off just watching COPS or the History Channel. Profound thoughts need an upright writting posture , a steaming cup of coffee, and undistracted focus.

Im sure it will happen again ...Lori will tell you that I am frequently guilty of over anylyizing just about everything expect where I put the daily accumulation of stuff from my pocket ( I have about 27 places carefully marked out in the house for that use as it stands today ).

I was trying to anylize what it is that I enjoy so much about Sunsets. I build alot of my life around the Sunset, I choose our dinning schedule and our social schedule around the time the Sun sets , and I have been very blessed at making very good choices when to race down to the local lake and get a good Sunset picture.

I like the variety , the surprise , the serenity of a Sunset . I love the flurry of motion when the shore birds seem to take wing just as the Sun sets as if they too are celebrating the end of the day. I love the colors , the changing colors , and the notion that each Sunset is unique.

2am this morning I was trying to make some clever comment about how Sunsets are the result of impurities in the clouds and therefore ..like the sunset we as His own shine much better with our impurities...now I might be on to something , but I think I need to take alittle more time to flush ( and that might be the right word ) that Idea out .

So for those who were unfortunate enough to read the post I just deleted and wonder if I was overdosing on Antihistimines ...my apologies ...

Lesson Learned ..... not everything you think about after the sun goes down is glorious :)

Symmetry

Truly the light is sweet , and it is pleasant to the eyes to behold the sun , but if a man lives many years and rejoices in them all , yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Ecclesiastes 11: 7-8

There is a simple symmetry to a sunset ( one persons sunset is another persons sunrise ) there is a glorious beauty to this daily occurrence that is free to all who wish to view it. A metaphor for Gods grace unearned reaching out to all , sometimes obscured but always present. There is more to a Sunset than meets the eye. More than its beauty , it strikes a part of us that is a " human part " worldwide people pause and reflect on the last visible evidence of the daily sun. Lovers embrace and kiss as it falls, solitary men and women take time to ponder in its sight. Would we enjoy this blessed sight if it were the last time before total darkness ? or does the promise of a new day not only make this tolerable, but joy full as well ? The sunset offers us hope and reflection, and summons us to rest for the beginning a brand new day filled with Gods blessings trials and sorrows ..a simple symmetry.

Our part

Ezekiel 36: 24-32

24 " 'For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. 30 I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. 32 I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign LORD. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, O house of Israel!

I believe there its Human nature to want to be partners with God. Many faiths are works based , that is to mean that these faiths believe that Eternal life and Gods pleasure with mankind depends on a cooperative effort between man and God. Once this " truth " of cooperation is accepted ....mankind then goes so far as to put themselves first...some claim that God needs to see evidence of our good works before He will claim us , some feel that money can purchase their salvation...and others simply say " I asked Jesus into my heart " " I was saved " " I brought my neighbor to Christ ".

While I firmly believe that God will forgive this human behavior and that for the most part it is spiritually benign , it does give us pause. We need to continually remind ourselves that our hope is based on Jesus Christ ...not on us ...not on our neighbors ... not on our pastors or leaders , our hope is in the Sovereign Lord , maker of heaven and earth. At some point most Christians will agree that God is Sovereign , at least within the " box" we allow ourselves to build around God.

What we will never know as believers is just how God works through us as we exalt our free will above His.

consider this Butterfly...it can feed when it wants ...it can move from bloom to bloom , if it senses my presence it can choose to leave or stay...this butterfly has the free will of a ....Butterfly...If this butterfly could imagine the workings of my Ford Focus it could not choose to drive it .

My free will is far more complicated or at least I like to think so ...but I cannot will myself to fly ...and just as I cannot escape my free will to fly I have a Sinners Free will and I cannot choose God or the things of God without God first changing my will....and Praise God once He chooses to change my Free will ...He also promises to complete that good work and bring me into His home to live eternally with Him.

Good fruit

James 3:17
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

I was thinking just recently that while studying the Bible and reading commentaries about the Scripture could hardly be called a waste of time ...It just might be if that reading , study and class time does not bear good fruit.

Once I heard a person say " they know the Bible by heart , but they do not know the heart of it ". That still makes sense to me. If our teaching and reading leads us to hurting or harming others , if it leads us to being a poor witness to the Lord ...then perhaps we should put up the Bible and reach for a comic book .

This world is filled with the Mercies of the Lord , He pours out His love on all humankind, and we are encouraged to share that love with others ...not just friends and family but with those that despise us , those that hate us , those that would raise their hands against us.

If we can trust in the Lord to provide so generously for us ...then we can trust Him when we do His bidding.
When Jesus said Love your enemy I am pretty sure he didn't mean drop cluster bombs on them

Trials

John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."



Somewhere somehow , someway there are alot of Christian beleivers who feel that they are entitled to smooth sailing as deciples of Christ. The notion that the Christian life will signal the beginning of troubles not the end is somehow alien ...for the most part because they are told and " sold " that way. We " choose" Christ so that we can have Eternal Life ...we don't choose Christ so that we can Pick up our Cross and Follow Him. From the Pulpit we hear the will have eternal life ...but do we hear the next few verses the ones that spell out what the rest of the contract says ?

"whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."



Here is the interesting thing ....there are two Whoever's here one is not condemend and the other is ...and we don't get to choose . God does that ....Our Salvation is totally and utterly dependedent on God and there is nothing we can do to influence His choice.



Our response to that fact should be humility , awe and a sincere desire to do as He asks of us .

If He asks us to Witness we witness , not for gain but because He is Lord, If he asks us to live in poverty we live in Poverty , not because we feel we will be blessed eventually for our sacrifice , but because He comands us to live thus.



Now those are thoughts I have not heard recently from the pulpit ...sometimes I think the success of a sermon should not be measured by the handshakes and back thumpings in the hallway , but by the number of people who walk out angry threatening to never come back again.



for me this is personal , its personal because I have almost sold out to the notion that good things should happen to the people of God. That when we gather to pray over the cancer and heart attacks and the unemployment and need for even larger homes ... it is because we must feel that God has been so busy He has simply overlooked our " need" .
We give thanks in Church , but we give thanks to those things that have profited us .... we give thanks for our prosperity , then ask for more. I need to be more thankfull , I need to spend much more time praising God for what He has done for me than to " worry " God over what I believe he has overlooked in my life.
My Mother in Law ( Saint Becky ) made the comment at breakfast yesterday that Rahab lied...Just a few pages earlier in the Bible we are told that lying is a sin. Yet here is a " Hero " of the Bible who Lied to protect the Hebrews hiding in her house. In this case we Thank God for her Sin ...I am feeling the same way this morning...I feel that much was done wrong in our Church ...by the people who should have been the ones doing right ...Where I looked for leadership and discernment and grace ...I found Sin...I found human beings ...But I know God will use their Sin and I thank Him for everything that has happened and just as he keeps this rock I live on hurtling through space and turning so precisely that I know exactly what time the sun will set tonight. I know He has my Back . We will have trials and troubles ...Praise God for them and the lessons they bring.

Kenn

Fences

There is this fence running through the Christian Faith, probably more than one. While God sees a field of believers , Christians them selves seem very good at building fences in the fields.



My wife will immediately tell me that I am painting with a very broad brush. And I will admit she is probably right.



But I am starting this blog as a commemoration of an ending. You see this week I was asked to leave the Church we have belonged to for the past 5 years or so because I prefer to walk in the left hand side of the field , and our leadership prefers the right. Until recently I really didn't notice the fence. Now I can't ignore it. I have been a Christian since 1996 . During this period I have been blessed by God's presence in a Four Square Church, an Assembly of God, Church of the Nazarene, Presbyterian, Church of Christ and Baptist . Each of these churches looks at the Scriptures differently in some ways and the same in others ...This has provided me with a rich tapestry of belief and faith, an opportunity to study and know a God far more complex and diverse than any one denomination could contain.

I have come to believe this is a " God " thing . The Apostle Paul inspired by God wrote "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. " If you think about it no two people will ever see the same reflection.. each of us has a slightly different perspective to each of us though similar the reflection is different. I think that God is so beyond our individual thoughts that even the collective perspectives of 8 billion people could not even begin to show us God.

All this to say I believe that God is the author of our belief of Him. God is so vast so incomprehensible that only God can teach us of Himself.

That is not to say there are incorrect views of God... but I do believe that any belief about God that is inspired by God will lead to good fruit ... Recent events that led to our being cashiered out of our home church ..does lead me to question fruit production ...I had been taught that if we felt a fellow believer had sinned against us or caused us to stumble we should go directly to that believer to reconcile the issue ...I was surprised to find out that something that had happened in December of last year was being held against me ...by a leader in our Church, yet this person never came to me ...never once mentioned that they were upset , instead whenever I saw this person I was given a firm handshake , pat on the back and big smile .....it was this person that without any discussion ..told me to leave the church because my belief about Gods Salvation has 5 points and His does not. ...I wish could write more eloquently about how this has made me feel about my former Church and its Leadership. I am bitter , but praying that through Christ my bitterness will be removed... time will tell