Berean Musings

2012-01-19T20:26:00.000-08:00

This my first post over here in some time , I mean some long time . I had decided I was getting too grumpy , too critical of others and not spending enough time trying to change the person I have the very best chance of changing , namely me.

But lately I have been noticing a disturbing trend And at least I want to shed some light on it perhaps a different light .

Its not unusual that I am often reffered to as a " Social Justice " Christian , and when its said it is not being said as a compliment . There seems to be a movement afoot that is trying to discourage Christians from helping the poor and working for the rights of the marginalized , and weak.

The people who are doing this find a few scriptures that to them seem to imply God is not interested in the poor and then using the Bible as their moral touch point they use these verses to promote what I would call the gosple of shelfishness.

One I hear frequently is when Jesus said " the poor you will have with you always ". John 12:8

I Guess the assumption here is that Jesus is advocating world wide poverty ...I think that is the wrong assumption . First remember who Jesus was talking too , it wasn't to 5000 people gathered on a mountain it was said to Judas who was preparing to betray Jesus . It is also from the Old testament , the complete verse comes from Deuteronomy 15:11:
There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.I think Gods instruction here is pretty clear ...Help the poor and notice God does not say Judge them to see if they are truly in need .

Now lately I have been hearing people quote from 1st Thessalonians 3:10 " “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” Now the assumption here is if a person is not working don't share with Him.

But is that what this verse is really saying ?

The context is the witness that Paul and his Ministry group provided to the Thessalonians ...Paul is really saying you folks should consider the way we have behaved while we were amoung you ...we all pitched in as believers ..our rules for our selves were straight forward , if a member of our Ministry team did not help witht the work ... ( the work of the Lord ) he should not eat . Paul then goes on to say that is what we expect of you . You claim ot be Christians now act like it !

We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good. Ist Thessalonians 3: 11-12

There you have it the Message here is not to condemn people in the world for not working ..the message here is to tell the servants of God to get busy !
The Context of this verse was a challenge to those already in the Christian community. The principle is sound as a guideline to affirm that every member of the Body is a servant of our Lord Jesus, committed to obedient service. However, to make it a rule, especially one so unqualified and expressed to those outside the community of faith is not only absurd, but an abuse of Scripture.

To me this is just another example of why we need to read our Bibles. There is one Scripture I often use as a litmus test if you will to the veracity of Scriptual interpertation . It comes from 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.

The Prime Directive

2009-07-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

" the Church exists for nothing else , but to draw men unto Christ ...If they are not doing that all the Cathedrals , clergy , missions , sermons , EVEN THE BIBLE ITSELF , are simply a waste of time. " , God became man for no other purpose , It is even doubtful , you know whether the whole universe was created for any other purpose " C.S. Lewis

When I first accepted Christ I had a vision of Christians surrounding themselves with walls and ramparts building strong fortifications against the world , and raining arrows and pouring hot oil on the people clamouring to break into their fortress ...I also saw Christ coming back and tearing these walls down , filling in the moats the oil was no longer hot but instead fragrant and healing ....

Of course I was a young Christian in those days ...Saved by Grace and passionate to understand more about God ...I devoured books and commentaries ...I read the Bible daily and went through a list of Christians Writers that included Chuck Swindol , Charles Stanley , Max LUcado , Phillip Yancey , Tony Compolo , RC Sproul , John McArthur , Dietrich Bonhoeffer , Francis Schaeffer ... and many many more ...and a curious thing happened ...I moved away from grace ...I began to fancy myself quite the Bible scholar and I even had a Hebrew Greek Study Bible to prove it ...I found my self wondering why more CHristians weren't as well read as I was ...I was always a little bit startled to find older more mature Christians who seemed to struggle with finding Ephesians , or Titus in the Bibles ....I began to judge my walk with God with my vast knowledge of things Bible ...I began to involve myself in meaningless and trivial arguments about trivial and meaningless minutia ...I was in short overlooking the forest for the trees ...A year ago God had enough of that ...He moved us to a Church where I was hit square in the face with Worship and Praise ...in hindsight I can see that I moved from a sitting church , to a doing church ...We praise Him in music , Song and dance , we have genuine fellowship , we accept each other as Christ accepts us , with spots and stripes , with worn out luggage , ties and tee shirts ...We are encouraged to read the scriptures , we are encouraged to pray ...but always with the purpose of loving Gods Children ....all of them .

In my past I would keep a running " debate " with the Pastor preaching , Here in the new terrority God placed me in there was none of that ...each word from all of our pastors and speakers ...was appointed to find its way into my heart to set me free from the bondage of the walls I had built up myself separating myself from other Christians . My Pedantry , and Scholarship had no meaning in a sanctuary filled with Love and Grace ....

Gods Kingdom is here and there ...it is heaven ward and it is inside each of us ...I believe true Christianity , finds its expression in accepting others as Christ has accepted us ...there are no exams ...our faith is not measured by our knowledge of the difference between Armenianism and Calvinism , between Pre Mil and post Mil , mature Christians which I am so thankful for express their faith in Love ...Love does not separate , love does not hold a record of wrongs , love is patient and long suffering ...How can you say you love God , when you do not love His people ...all of them .

It now seems to me if your time spent in study of God through the Scriptures , if your time spent in front of a pulpit ,( if you do so) leads you to believe that fewer and fewer men/women are " true believers " ...that if your time in private fellowship with God makes you hard as flint , if it separates you from mankind , from your brothers and sisters in Christ ...if you spend your time studying the scriptures in a effort to separate yourself from the common and the less " committed " followers of Christ . you need to close up the book , get on your knees and ask God for forgiveness ....The Christian call is one of action , not meditation ...while many religions have set themselves up as centers for personal enlightenment , the Christian faith was one of going out ...moving boldly into the world , not fortifying itself against the world ...

Paul was quite clear ...Christ and Christ Crucified is the main course of our faith all else is garnish . I Believe there are seasons in our Christian life , and all have their merit ...I have gone through seasons of study and solitary introspection , a season of vanity , a season of grace , a season of Sovereignty , but all of these should lead me to Faith expressing itself in love ...and how do we show God how much we love Him ?
by Loving His people , by loving His children despite their faults , their imperfections , their theology or lack

IF WE ONLY HAVE LOVE

If we only have love
Then tomorrow will dawn
And the days of our years
Will rise on that morn
If we only have love
To embrace without fears
We will kiss with our eyes
We will sleep without tears
If we only have love
With our arms open wide
Then the young and the old
Will stand at our side
If we only have love
Love that's falling like rain
Then the parched desert earth
Will grow green again
If we only have love
For the hymn that we shout
For the song that we sing
Then we'll have a way out
If we only have love
We can reach those in pain
We can heal all our wounds
We can use our own names
If we only have love
We can melt all the guns
And then give the new world
To our daughters and sons
If we only have love
Then Jerusalem stands
And then death has no shadow
There are no foreign lands
If we only have love
We will never bow down
We'll be tall as the pines
Neither heroes nor clowns
If we only have love
Then we'll only be men
And we'll drink from the Grail
To be born once again
Then with nothing at all
But the little we are
We'll have conquered all time
All space, the sun, and the stars.

Jaques Brel

1 Corinthians 13
The Way of Love
If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Life is a fairway ( reprint from Face book )

2009-04-03T10:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday for the first time in at least 3 years I went golfing ..It was a wonderful Spring day , four men brought together in Gods purposeful way. Golf is a game that engages all the senses , the budding trees , the flags fluttering in the distance the sound of the ball going into the cup, the taste of fresh mud as your wedge cleaves into the soil , the smell of sun lotion and Ben Gay , The camaraderie was enjoyable , each person cheering each other on , and some good natured kidding and gamesmanship . Although the Starter Pistol gag was a little extreme. But considering this is the South I am blessed it wasn't a shotgun .

My only regret was the game I had planned to play remained in my mind and not on the fairways . When I was much younger I would frequently end up playing with these " older " golfers . It was not unusual for me to blast the ball far past their best efforts ...yet steadily they moved forward more often than not they actually played in the designated fairway , they hit it short but straight , simply by playing each long hole as one stroke more ( par fours became par fives , par fives became par six ). Mixing in some great short game play these old golfers would sail around the course posting scores in the low to mid 80's.

My game was usually more dramatic , turning 3's into par fives and par fives into threes as I would post scores in the low to mid 80's as well . When I was playing competitively in college I played to a solid 3 handicap , spending several hours a day working on my game , and while playing cursing every shot that was less than perfect . In those days I owned several club records including the greatest distance for throwing a Driver with no wind assist ( 123.5 yards ).

I wasn't much fun to play with in those days ...I was grouchy and my style of play left me alone in one distant fairway or another ...it wasn't until much much later that I started to enjoyed golf on a whole new level , this really started to happen when I actually had to pay to play . I had little or no time for practice , I started to put less pressure on myself and simply enjoy spending time on the course. I started to notice some interesting changes in my game . I was actually hitting the ball longer , much longer , due in part to the change in golf equipment ( metal woods, graphite shafts ) And a change in body weight ( I was no longer a slender Adonis , instead I had become a chubby wood nymph ..... Middle to long irons where just a little off , and the short game was unpredictable . But when I posted a score it was usually in the high seventies to low 80's . I found myself actually enjoying the people I was golfing with , especially my favorite foursome stubby , lefty and hoot. Not only an interesting group of nicknames but an interesting trio , these three guys had worked in the Portland Steel mills and were all now on disability leave since an unfortunate explosion in the foundry. Stubby had lost three inches off his left leg, Lefty was one armed , and hoot had no hearing and no balance . Suddenly I found myself wining more beverages than usual at the the 19th hole . Although in time Stubby became quite a good golfer when he learned to take advantage of uphill lies.

All good things often come to an end ..and this was no exception , married with child on the way...responsibility crept into my life , like a dust bunny under the couch ...for the next 13 years golf was pushed aside as I worked to provide for my family. I worked as hard on providing asI had worked on my youthful Golf game , I returned to grouchy and not being much fun to live with and in time I squandered the relationship , and watching my daughter grow up ...as quickly as a golf ball can swerve dead left and into a lake , I found myself alone with nothing but debt and set of golf clubs that had once ruled the Astoria Golf and Country Club Fairways ...

To take my mind off the failed marriage , I worked as a fireman at a local resort , Black Butte Ranch in the Foothills of the Cascade Mountains ..I had been very active with the local Volunteer Fire dept. and through this association I started also helping out at the resort , It was a busy department with a fair share of motor vehicle accidents , ambulance calls , forest fires and a few structure fires . We lived on site and that provided me with shower facilities since I had given the house to my former family. I also had golf privileges there and started playing regularly ...we couldn't play when we were on shift but we could hit balls and practice putting if we carried our radios .

It was at this time that I met Lori ...we met on the Internet , in a Christian Chat Room on AOL . In a short time I had found that special someone ...Lori and I were married in 1996 , by then I had once again put away the clubs ...I had actually sold my Ben Hogan Irons. left most of the rest at the fire department. Lori and I moved away from Oregon in 1999...we moved to Tennessee and I started working at the Opryland Hotel ...while in Nashville I tried to pick up Golf again , but I was surprised by how expensive it had gotten , and how humid it was in Tennessee..I couldn't understand why everyone used golf carts , that is until I tried to walk 18 holes on a pleasant July day . My golfing outings were few and far between. I found a public course that had a practice area which I could hit some and shag them , and as I moved up the ladder at the Hotel I started to play more often and thought about getting into some amateur tournaments ...And then came 9/11 .

After the attack I made a decision to move back to the Northwest ...In March of 2002 I drove to the Northwest with out a Job prospect but fully trusting in Gods Providence ..on the way I had a book on tape by M Scott Peck called Golf in the Spirit ...and it kept me company from Nashville to North Bonniville Washington . There my first stop was a Hotel Property called Dolce Skamania Lodge ...it was a great wooden building sitting above the Columbia River . the property had beautiful Golf Course carved into the mountains . After my first interview all I could think of was this is the Job I want , there are no others ...I was asked back for a follow up interview I was surprised , overwhelmed and blessed to have been offered the position .

http://www.skamania.com/lodge-photos.php

Skamania is about thirty miles from Portland in the Columbia river gorge ..it is one of the most beautiful places in the world ... Housing would be a problem , or not , in a matter of hours I had located a nice apartment in a wooded area just a few miles from the Hotel . Lori was in Nashville but it would be joining me in a few weeks ..the job at the hotel was a dream job , I was the front office manager and the weekend MOD at night , part of the Job included dining at the restaurant with my wife and critiquing the food and service , not to mention unlimited free golf.

Lori and I were close to friends and close to my daughter , we could drive to the ocean in a few hours or explore the Columbia River Gorge and its vast number of waterfalls and trails. My Golf game improved dramatically and it was certain I was going to do very well in the Senior golf tournaments in the area. I made it a point to visit some of the courses I had grown up on in the Portland area and set personal bests on most of them ...even though my game in many ways had suffered from the years , my attitude and enjoyment of the game was so positive and encouraging ...And then it all came to an end ...Just before Thanksgiving of 2002 I was downsized ...my position at the Hotel had been eliminated , low occupancy in part to 9/11 , forced management to eliminate some management changes and I was low man on the totem pole ...

This remote beautiful area I worked in which was at one time such a friend , became a liability ..and soon it became apparent that Lori and I would have to return to Tennessee where Lori's parents had suggested we could share their home with us ...We returned in June of 2003 and I went to work again at the Opryland Hotel ..assuming that with my experience I could easily work as a front desk manger ..I was humbled by a job offer for a front desk agent ...We needed the income and I accepted ..It was at this time that I received a small inheritance and we used the money to purchase a High end Digital SLR and I started reestablishing a relationship with photography ...soon I was passionately addicted and found myself also working for the hotel as what can be best described as an on site photographer. In time I was promoted several times. I was watching our income and found that I could either take photos or golf in my spare time . Golf was about $30.00 a game and photos were for all practical purposes free .. I choose photography. I played in two church tournaments. and twice in the Opryland employee tournament. These four tournaments were all a four man best ball format and in all of them our team did very well . The highlight round was at a local Lebanon Golf Course where my church team had three straight eagles ....and ended up scoring 59

I left Opryland February of 2006 ...and decided to reinvent myself as a Commercial/portrait Photographer ...I picked up a few weddings , some portrait work and some commercial work... but income was very scarce at one point to make ends meet I tried to sell my clubs ..but at the last minute held onto them .

One night as I was coming to the inescapable conclusion that I was going to have to give up my current " dream " job ..I was speaking to a friend of my wife , she was talking about her daughter's volleyball team and how disappointed she was with the quality of the photos she had of her daughter playing Volleyball , ..I offered to go to a game and take some photos, at the same time she told me of a company in Smyrna that had been taking the photos ..so I also decided to contacted them to see if they needed any Photographers.

I dropped off a resume at Micheal's Photography and a few days later I was contacted by a Dave Warren he asked me to come in for an interview ...Dave hired me and for a year and a half I worked for Micheal's as a free lance photographer ...I loved this job and it also became the glue that held our developing photography business together ...David and I developed a friendship based on our Christian faith , Photography and an Interest in Theater ...David even extended to Lori and I an invitation to come and see a production of Guys and Dolls at some place called Lamplighters theater ...Lori and I love theater , and we were involved with a theater company in Mt Juliet ...we loved the production and were really excited to find out that the Theater Company called Lamplighters was sponsored by a Church ...Lori and I had always wanted to start a Church based theater company . we had wanted to reclaim the arts for the Glory of God ..and here was a church doing it ! Only problem was we where very happy in our church home and we lived about 25 miles away from the Smyrna Church.

Lori and I went about our business we directed a play for the Mount Juliet Theater group and had great reviews ...in fact we shared some review space with a local blogger with another show at Lamplighters .."Much ado about nothing " .

That spring ( 2008 ) was interesting . I was on the board for the Local Community Theater , and was involved deeply in our local church ..Leaving Opryland had been very good for my Church life , Sundays could be spent at church regularly..we even had the opportunity to belong to a Sunday school class...with a modest but steady income from the Photography business , the ability to return to doing some theater and a developing church family ...everything seemed in perfect harmony ...

Then ...I started losing confidence in the Theater Company , who was in my opinion starting to experiment with titillating theater in order to build an audience ...one board member in particular was very uncomfortable to work with ...I choose to leave my board position , then I ran into some problems at the church I was going to and was asked to leave over theological differences ...

Lori and I decided to do some Church shopping and while preparing our list we accepted another invitation from my friend Dave warren and his wife to visit Smyrna Assembly ...the Church that sponsored Lamplighters .

We were simply overwhelmed by the Church service ...while we lived in Oregon we had gone to an Assembly of God and loved it , and we felt right at home ...Lori actually had tears in her eyes after the first service ...that was the first week of June ...and soon there was no doubt in my mind that this was the Church for us ... The worship filled such a void in my life , a void that I had tried to fill up with academic study in theology ...now I seemed much more at peace with myself and my relationship with God ...A few weeks ago Michael's Photography went through a " change " , I no longer have that account , but that has afforded me some " spare " time . I am in a play ( 12 Angry Men ) at Lamplighters. Ironically for the first time in years I am not angry ..I am feeling strangely blessed ..I look back down a series of fairways , of challenges , friends and opportunities all bringing me, a child of God born in Denver Colorado , with a wonderful woman , born in Pennsalvania to a town named Smyrna , with a set of golf clubs I should have sold several years ago.

Yesterday the day I started talking about I went golfing with my Pastor and two Church Members , I played horribly and left physically tired and drained , but it was without a doubt the best golf experience I can remember ...for me it was more than a game , it was an affirmation of Gods steady and mighty hand on my life ...A God who knows when to prune and when to graft , a God who knows how to knit and weave , and bring all things into harmony and unity in His time ... A God who bears us on wings of eagles and can even remind us in a great and ancient game of His grace and love ...

Looking back there has been no random actions ...all is part of a plan still playing out ...and I feel so blessed and so humbled to have been invited to the game .

It was a pleasant spring day , one day in a stretch of days that trail back to the foundation of time , a day purposefully and deliberately planned ...and I was so thankful to participate in it ...

What does Grace look like

2009-04-03T09:53:00.001-07:00

Conservative late night talk shows are enjoying a considerable amount of attention because there is a possibility that some of the 270 detainees in Gitmo may be released to live in America. If you believe the late night pundits you might think that all 270 are scheduled to move to someplace like Palm Springs or The Hampton's and live in Luxury condos at taxpayer expense. All this hub bub from a comment made by Eric Holder that some may be allowed to live in the USA ...how many ..unknown , where , unknown , details unknown ...that it may be a possibility ..known.

I have been thinking about this for sometime today ...on several different levels. The first is the most obvious why get upset with this news when so little is known ? Lets get the facts before we drag out the rope , tar and feathers and other playthings of the overly excitable. I had planned to write both a Secular response and a Christian response to this discussion , but I think only one is needed and that is the Christian Response:

Matthew 21 : 22-35

Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents[g] was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go."But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
for some a non sequitur alarm must be going off , but wait !!! Think of it this way ...aren't all of us at war with God ? What do we deserve from God ? Do we deserve the basics of life ? Is God required to sustain us ? to provide for our food and our shelter ...we turned away from God ...the wages of sin is death . We have no rights as far as God is concerned , even the foundations of Human Existence were because of HIS good will and pleasure ..and it gets much better than that ...even while we were enemies of God He choose to save us ...not because of what we have done , but because of what He has done ...we call this Grace ...Unmerited favor ...we will live with Him in his home for eternity , all of us who were once at war with Him and those of us myself included who despite His grace still sin.

We are called to be Living Epistles , what does that mean ..that we turn our backs on God when the Crow calls out , when its inconvenient , or unpopular ?

Before its said and it will be said ...it would take a great deal of courage to offer to have one of the Gitmo detainees live in your home , in your neighborhood ...I am not sure I would have that much courage ...but I hope that I would be encouraged by others in the faith to at least be forgiving , to love mine enemies as God has loved me ...

And of course this is an extreme situation ...its like another parable I heard in a sermon once ...it was about a man who arrived home to find his family horribly murdered ...the man had a choice to find the killer and kill him in return , that would be revenge ...Or he could trust in the authorities to find the man , prosecute him and execute or incarcerate him , that would be Justice ...Or he could find the man and offer to let the man live with him in the house the Murderer defiled ...that would be Grace ...

While simply stated this is a story that has a much deeper meaning ....God actually does that for us ..who by our Sin , was the cause of the Death of His Son , and God in spite of that Sacrifice of His precious son ...has prepared a place for us in His Kingdom ...

I do not believe that I would ever have enough courage to take a murderer into the home I share with my In Laws ...but I do pray I would have courage to stand up for one who would ...I would also pray that each of us encourage one another to have such courage ...to show the world what Gods Grace looks like on Earth. It may not be popular , you may not be invited to alot of bunko parties and Superbowl games ...you might even get a Canadian Application for Citizenship emailed to you ...but God never said it would be easy .

In the past few months I have realized that I need to surround myself with such encouragers ...people who are unafraid of the consequences of preaching the Gospel of Forgiveness and reconciliation ... I have made that my prayer and I am so blessed to be meeting such people ..If we can't bring ourselves to engage a terrorist perhaps we can engage a homeless man , or a cranky neighbor , hire a paroled felon , or worse yet a Liberal .

For copies of the Secular response you can send a check or money order to ....( name and address withheld out of fear ) it will come in a plain brown envelope with Prominient American Flag adorned stamps :)

Firm Foundation

2009-01-04T19:22:00.000-08:00

Imagine you are in charge of building a magnificent building , the plans have been reviewed , the Architect has completed the most fantastic and enourmous creations ever seen ... you have the plans in your hand ...but after scanning them briefly you ...build from memory , or worse from hunch or your experiance...do you think there might be a possibility that something might go wrong?

Usually soonner than later , then instead of reviewing the plans you should have looked at and followed dillagently in the first place , you try to improvise on your own understanding ?

Im sure you see where I am going with this ...

Seems painfully obvious that the Bible provides anyone with a great blueprint for a abundant and peaceful life ...and yet

even worse what if someone maintains that the Bible is the foundation of the building ...and we simply accept that statement with out discerment ?

Thats how I feel when I hear that this Country was founded on Biblical Principals .
It wasn't . It may have been founded by Christians but it our nations foundations are not biblical.

Before someone sends me ( another ) application for Canadian Citizenship , let me simply ask ...

what Christian Principals are we talking about ?

Here I believe is the Foundation of the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

The Document seems to be saying that ALL men are created equal ...the Bible doesn't make that claim in fact Biblicaly its fair to assert that God favors some more than others ...not to mention the obvious hypocrasy that several of the founding fathers had slaves, and women were generally considered second tiered citizens.
The Document then goes on to say that as human being we have these rights given to us by God ...Life , Liberty , and the pursuit of Happyness ...I really don't see those Rights as God given, God does say that through Jesus Christ we will have life but the Bible insists that to have life you have to die to self , that our life with Christ is an eternal one. Liberty a God given right ? Liberty is a great blessing from God but Liberty from what ?
Then there is pursuit of happyness clause ... is that a Christian value , are we confusing joy with being happy ?
Does the Bible give people the right to even change their Government ? Did the founding fathers overlook the words of Paul ?

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

There is no doubt that Americas Founding Fathers crafted a remarkable Government , currently despite our struggles we are the envy of the " civilized " world , and certianly the Big dog on the block ...I do not know if we will beat the record set by the Roman Empire or even the History of Egypt ...but we have been remarkable and have been well rewarded for our industry and organization.
But is this Country built on a Foundation of Godly principals ?

Psalm 127
A song of ascents. Of Solomon.
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.

At first blush it would seem that a Nation that practiced Forgivness , instread of revenge , that prayed for its Enemies instead of bombed them , that treated the foriegner the same as a citizen , a nation that left vengence to the Lord , and that openly loved one another , and forgave its debtors ...well it would seem that such a nation would quickly perish ...a door mat for the non Christian Nations ...so it seems it has been institutionalized that in order to protect the rights of its Christian Citizens ...we accept the ways of our non Christian Enemies .

At least that is my take on it ...

The Joy of Me

2008-08-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-23T19:12:00.000-07:00

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 ?????

2008-07-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-16T16:09:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

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 ?

2008-07-11T06:55:00.000-07:00

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 )

2008-07-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-02T19:21:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-01T18:06:00.001-07:00

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

Reflecting Photograhy , Poetry and Mystics

2008-06-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

I am trying to make some sense of the past few weeks , as if by making sense of them I can then make sense of this Journey of mine. You see , as a matter of faith I do believe we are purposefully created, the Bible says we were created to do good works ...the bible also says that God dwells in us and He has placed Eternity in our hearts.

It is no surprise then that so many people have spent their lives looking for the meaning of life. Instinct lively we know that we are part of this great epic work of God. We are like a child lost in a corn maize From His perspective high above there is a clear way out ...we simply cannot see it.

I have been participating in a Photo Contest of sorts. Its called Capture Nashville, hundreds of Local Photographers are submitting then voting on Photos that will make up a coffee style book about the Nashville Experience.

Like so many things this has become more than what I thought it was. I am not sure if any of my photos will be selected for this project, there are alot of good photographers submitting photos , and it is fun to see the different ways we look at the same subject and end up with a different photo...and then there the photos that all look the same , as if we see with the same vision.

I have had several people contact me and talk to me about my photos, and I am enjoying conversing with many of the Photographers contributing to this book project,

One woman who has commented to me goes by the name Grammee ...she is a Poet , who has taken up Photography , and me being a photographer who fancies himself as a poet ..it has been interesting. I suspect both of us are Mystics with practical feet.

Most people see wide varieties of subjects trees, buildings , butterflies ....Mystic's simply see abundant life ...we see life as singular not separate , we realize all we see is God Stuff ...rearranged in different packages ,... A poet See's life in the same way ... Poets and Photographers ,,,,we work with Metaphors and Symbols , we frame the whole expanse of creation into a composition that at once becomes a prison and a shock wave racing through the cosmos ...We know that life is too huge to embrace , so we take a portion of that life and embrace it ....lines and rhythm , color and syntax, depth of field and symbol. The poet focuses on the apex the crucial , the photographer the same. We take what the eye and the mind cannot grasp and hold and make it graspable and holdable ...Deep in our minds we know we are imperfectly trying to corral the perfect ...but it is , at least for me , a sincere desire to praise God and to thank Him that I persist in this art form.

The contrast of color and light , is no different than the sweet massage of rhyme and meter.

By serving art we serve the source of art ..we serve the one who by His words sent all into being , who gave us color and language , who gave us diversity for all our senses to enjoy...Its late I have almost come to the time of day where I can no longer trust mt thoughts , tomorrow I plan to see if this was an Epiphany given in Grace , or a rambling forced by over indulging in a summer shrimp salad and chocolate chip cookies.

Looking Back ......more

2008-06-24T12:43:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-16T20:53:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

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 !

2008-06-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-10T06:24:00.000-07:00

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 ...

2008-06-09T05:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-08T05:21:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-06T16:29:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-02T17:16:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-02T14:03:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-01T21:46:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-01T17:54:00.000-07:00

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