More Wonderful People

We drive older cars and sometimes have problems with them. We drive old cars because insurance is cheaper with tha age of our boys, taxes are cheaper, there is no car payment, and nobody wants to steal an old car. We do not care about status or making an impression by what we own. Our first concern is our ministry and serving the Lord. I would rather feed hungry people than have a pretty car, for example. (and it's not just talk, we do)

Last week my husband was having trouble with the brakes on his car. With so many things going on, it is hard to leave the car in the shop for a couple of days, so he wasn't getting it fixed. Jim offered to fix it for him last Monday and John took him up on it. It was going to be a while before John could get it into the shop. We are used to making do with whatever we have. Jim and Jim Jr fixed all of the brakes and other stuff while John was at work. It was very much appreciated. We are so blessed to have them as friends! I'm pretty sure the Bible says something about them getting an extra blessing from the Lord for helping John since he is a pastor.

Kindness from a Stranger

We live in a very nice city full of a lot of good people. Yesterday I was stopped a traffic light and a car behind me honked. I hadn't been paying much attention and only figured out it was me they were honking at as the light turned.

I went ahead and they followed me to the next stoplight, which was only a block away since we had turned. I watched in my mirror and they signaled me and the man got out. They were smiling, we were on a busy road and it was midday so there was nothing at all to fear (for those of you who live in big, crime ridden cities).

The man brought me a wrench that had been laying on my bumper. Apparently my son laid it there when he put the dog carrier in the back of the car for me. It was very nice of them to take the time to do that.

Street Preacher at MSU

Last week I watched a street preacher draw a crowd of students at MSU and was fascinated by it. They did not like what he was saying and they argued with him, but they were listening. I told several people about it.

This afternoon, a friend who teaches at MSU called me and said there was another street preacher drawing a crowd in front of Strong Hall. She was describing what she saw and said she had not seen anything like it there before.

I drove over to see what was going on. The street preacher was shouting Bible passages and some of the students were shouting back. It was an interesting scene. The preacher was being referred to as Santa because he was older, with a white beard, suspenders, and a bit round and chubby. He wore a fishing hat on his head.

Their was a young man wearing a pirate's hat on his head and carrying a flag for the Church of the Spaghetti Monster. Several people were dressed like pirates and several had various signs. The COTSM had signs that said hugs given. Somebody showed up dressed like one of the sand people from Star Wars. It was a very good costume. Several people, students, were dressed up.

There was a very articulate young man wearing a blue bandana on his head and he was arguing with the preacher quite a bit. Last week he was arguing with a different street preacher and declaring he is an athiest. He does a very good job and it is part of the reason why they draw a crowd. People are listening, fascinated, and thinking. That is good. I talked to him for a minute. He is actually a friendly and polite young man overall. He was a bit of a smart alec. I told him, with his speaking ability, he would be successful in anything he chose. He thanked me then said he thought he might like to go into prostitution, just to get a response. This young man is the type God could use to bring about revival. Not the fire and brimstone, scare people stuff, but a change of heart and a turning to true faith by the masses. (He would not like it if he read this, but I'm just a stranger so my opinion is just that)

I talked to several people who were there. One student said it was a lot like watching a train wreck, you were drawn to it.

It is interesting. What I am seeing in defensive young adults concerning the church is a fear of abuse. It is very similar to what I am seeing in middle aged, and even senior, adults who have been through churches with splits, power struggles and all sorts of abuses (actually, the church I am in now has had some of the worst I ever heard of in their past). What are we, as the church, doing? Why are we putting up with these people who behave like that? It's not just excuses.

Students are drawn to spirituality. It is a part of our times. We are wired for God and are not at peace until we are worshipping Him. Last week, the young man I talked to while watching another street preacher said he had no knowledge of the Bible. He had no idea if what the guy was reading was correct or not. Another knew but didn't like the emphasis on telling everybody they are going to hell (it was a turn or burn preacher).

The COTSM and friends had a festival Tuesday to raise money for those living in poverty. They made $300, which they gave to Habitat for Humanity for bunnies and chicks. It was enough for starter baskets for 6 families. One of the things they did was throw water ballons at the guy who argues with the preacher for $1 a throw.

Even the street preacher was there that they had been arguing with. Here is what the blogger said about him, "I am also thankful that Brother Jed was so supportive. He may be crazy, and he may be delusional, and he might have a slight masonic complex, but he really helped us out yesterday. He even took a water balloon in the face." Somebody gave them $100 for the priviledge of throwing a water ballon at Brother Jed, the street preacher.

These street preachers are like prophets. They make the students mad. They preach about hell and judgement and lean heavily on yelling about sexual sins. They also hit other favorite student passtimes like drinking and such. The students prefer to believe they go to heaven no matter what, and anything they do is okay with God. It's a nice though but not true.

By the way, the students do not worship a spaghetti monster. It is a club protesting extremeism and doing things to help others, such as the heifer project this week. They get dressed up and have fun being together.

Crosslines Fish Day

Today was our Fish day at Crosslines. We supplied the food and handed it out to everyone who came to Crosslines for help between 9 and 11 am. Ed does an excellent job in getting it all together and making sure there is enough food on the shelves.

We had several volunteers today. Without them, the job could not be done. Thank you to Gordon, Mary, Tammy, Ed, Carol, Michael, Jim, Reed, and Martha. I was there but these people did all the work.

For a little while I was at the window giving out the food. The clients were very nice and were appreciative. I enjoyed it. When Ed got back from getting more peanut butter, I turned it back over to him. Along with the food, we offered Bibles to everyone. Most take them.

We have a very good and caring group of people at our church.

Meals, Pups and Thoughts

The night before last, Dr. Jay Brown was in town for a visit and stayed with Vera. Dr. Jay is the president of Memphis Theological Seminary. Vera has the gift of hospitality and people love to come to her house.

We went to Fire and Ice Restaurant with Vera and Dr. Jay and had a wonderful dinner. The chef is a fantastic cook and the food was delicious. We ate in the poolside garden area. Wonderful! I love the spinach artichoke dip and the creme brulee especially. All the main dishes are very good. Their calamari is delicious. It is crunchy, not fishy and I like crunchy.

Dr. Jay is a brilliant man. He understands how to lead and how to get along with a variety of people. Not many can do that with success. We all agree that he has class. Last year, at general assembly, there was a fuss about how the seminary money was being spent and what was being taught. There are other denominations attending MTS too, so some of what is offered there caters to other groups. That, and the fact that if you get two or more people together, they will not agree on everything no matter what the topic. Dr. Jay got up to the microphone and handled the whole controversy very well and with class. He was tactful and diplomatic and the controversy calmed down. The people I was sitting with commented on how well he handled it. They chose the right man for the job.

Dr. Jay is the youngest, or one of the youngest, people in leadership in the denomination. Our denomination is steeped in tradition and history so many of those in leadership are well past retirement age. That is good, but I hope they will work to groom the next generations for leadership too, for the sake of continuity. I'm not seeing so much of that yet. There is a little, but not enough. I have only been active in the denomination for about 4 years, but I have been familiar with the way they do business since 1976 through several ties.

The church is making a stab at it with the youth advisory delegates at GA but I'm not sure there is any indication of lasting leadership desire. This denomination likes to choose leadership based on pedigree. The more generations of CP's you have behind you, the better. Too bad the majority of CP's leave the denomination when they are grown. It would be better and smarter to groom more of the capable and gifted newcomers too.

The practice of choosing people born into the CP church for leadership positions could be good, but it could also be a little bit like my experience with purebred, pedigreed dogs. The one looking at me right now is a lab pup and is showing potential as the hunting dog she was bred to be. Her parents are champions but we will see what she will be.

Nick was a purebred Cocker Spaniel with papers. He barked at leaves and at the rain. When it rained he liked to go out and stand in it and look up. He literally did not have the sense to come in out of the rain. He never did figure out where the end of his chain was. He would go running at full speed until he got to the end of the chain, then the force of his running would cause him to jerk the collar, and fly up into the air sideways and fall to the ground with a thud. He did this many times a day all of his life. Too many generations too close together and he had lost his ability to learn new things and to reason.

Then there was Polly, the purebred chihuahua. Defiance could have been her first name. She had hip displascia and quite an attitude. She knew what we wanted, she just didn't care. Her favorite things to do in the world were to hide under the covers and to eat. She weighed a pound and a half and she could put away her weight in food. She wasn't quite like a real dog. She could sweat, and did. She also got into a bag of chocolates one night. She had to get inside one bag, eat through a paper bag and a cellophane bag and eat the foil on the pound of candy kisses. She ate the whole pound, foil and all, and lived and was not sick at all. Polly's life was all about Polly which is a strange attitude for a dog.

Molly was a purebred teacup poodle who weighed 3 pounds. She was old when we got her but she was the sweetest, most compliant dog we ever had. She would herd the other pets in the house and she even tried to herd the furniture. Being herded really ticked the cats off. She loved to go for walks but was tired and panting and had to be carried after less than 30 feet. In other words, she barely made it outside of the house before she was exhausted.

What does all this have to do with the CP's. I guess there are the pups(younger adults), like the lab, who don't quite have it together yet and need additional training but have lots of potential to do great things. Without training, they will continue to be ineffective. There are those like the Cocker who do not have a clue and keep trying the same failed stuff over and over (at least he developed a tough neck).

There are those like the chihuahua who make demands but give very little and are mainly wrapped up in themselves. She had no conscience. There are those like the poodle who are sweet and loving and care a lot. They do a good job but they are getting older and it is harder for them.

So far, I have never had a dog that could be an analogy for a good, solid CP leader who is in the prime of life and not quirky. Maybe those kind don't appear in the dog world. No, Ralph has one come to think of it. He has a purebred german shepherd from the police department. A police dog had a litter, or something like that, and they gave away some of the pups. Dixie is a good dog who stays with Ralph, follows his commands and helps him out some. Ralph is in a wheelchair. Dixie is smart and does what she is supposed to do. She is good at analyzing situations and figuring things out.

I suppose some CP's might feel insulted if they knew I was comparing people personalities to dog personalities. One would have to have a lot of dogs to cover all the personalities.

So how did I get from nice dinners and conversations to dogs I have owned? Who knows? It's all about life and how we approach it.

Random Acts of Kindness

Yesterday I was the recipient of a random act of kindness by a stranger. I was over at Porters buying quantities of groceries for our Crosslines fish day and my cart was full. As people came up behind me who had only a few items in their hands, I let them go ahead. It takes a while to check out a cartful and that was my second time through the line. Some of those coming in were on their lunch break and needed to get back to work. The first cart got too full, so I paid for everything and put it in the car before reloading the second cart.

I offered to let another lady behind me with about a dozen items go ahead of me. She looked like she was dressed to be on a lunch hour from work. She said she was in no hurry and she wasn't on her lunch hour. As I checked out, the lady, the cashier and I visited. The lady was excited about a trip in the near future to see her daughter graduate from seminary. I told her I had been studying for ministry also and would graduate in July. The lady goes to a church that does Crosslines too and we talked about it a bit.

I went out to my car and loaded everything in it. The other lady came out of the store and called me over to her car saying she had something for me. Every once in a while, somebody hears about our food ministry of feeding the poor through Crosslines and will donate some food items, which is very nice. Springfield is full of good, loving people.

But that's not what happened this time. The lady handed me a bouquet of flowers! She said they were for me. What a wonderful surprise! They smell great. She really made my day.

God blessed me through a stranger.

Quote for the day

If you want to know what a man is really like, take notice how he acts when he loses money.-- New England Proverb

I started to write about this and it occured to me, it sounds good on the surface but it isn't really true consistently. Sometimes you can tell about the person, but only God knows the heart and what's really going on.

Does it apply to now?

Something to ponder. Does this still apply today?

"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'
In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse-the whole nation of you- because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your field will not cast their fruit," says the Lord Almighty. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, and yours will be a delighful land," says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 3:8-12

Some people will say no, this does not apply to us today. We are no longer under the law. That is true. Scripture says to give what you have decided in your heart to give. The Lord loves a cheerful giver. This is coming out of a time when many believers were so committed they were selling everything they owned and giving it all to the church. It says you decide what to give. 100% is not necessary.

A key part of 2 Corinthians 9:7 is to give what you have decided to give in your heart. Giving is an indicator of the state of your heart? Another verse says, where your treasure is, your heart will be also. Giving is a reflection of the heart.

What does that say about people who want to be very private about their giving and don't want anyone to know? Giving in the Bible was not a particularly private affair. Jesus and the disciples watched people put their money into the box. That's where Jesus' observation of the widow putting in her mite came from. It was no secret.

Secrecy today could have something to do with people who intend to do someone harm. The Bible does not say one has a right to privacy when donating. It does say not to shout out how much you are giving to brag and make a show of it.

Is it possible that people want to hide how much they give because they may be ashamed? Privacy is a part of our culture so it may just be something we take for granted. Generosity is a reflection of the heart, whether it be time, talents, service or finances.

Am I going to tell people to tithe? Probably not. The original tithe (tithe means 10%) was more than that. There was the yearly temple tithe. On top of that was the tithe for the poor each year. There was another tithe spent once every three years to celebrate before the Lord. The tithe was really 20% a year plus the 3 1/2% or 10% a year for the celebration, depending on how you read it. The early followers did more than that from indications in scripture.

Where does that leave all of us, as church members and believers? I will leave that to God who can see people's hearts and knows much more than I ever will. Do we tithe? Yes, plus. Why do I tell? Maybe somebody else will want to try it too if they know people would really do such a thing. Maybe God will pour out a lot more blessings on them.

God's Ways

Romans 12:19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
Matt 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

It seems like the motto of our time is "Somebody has to pay." We are in a culture where accidents are prosecuted. Everything is prosecuted. If something bad happens, somebody must be punished. It's a shame they can't put hurricanes and tornadoes in jail because these prosecution hungry people would do that too. We must blame someone.

A car skids on the ice and someone is hurt, our bloodthirsty culture is demanding more than payment for damages, they want somebody to go to jail or worse. And they want millions of dollars to boot.

A kid does something stupid or misbehaves in some way that causes harm to himself or others, somebody must have been negligent and some adult must pay and be prosecuted. As adults in this culture, most of us are falling for this garbage hook, line and sinker. We forget that as children we did stupid things and sometimes got hurt and it was our own fault!

Thirty years ago our culture still allowed for accidents and did not prosecute every little thing for either profit or revenge. We have gone crazy and taken leave of our senses.

I cannot speak for other religions, but those who call themselves Christians and fancy themselves to be faithful are sinning against Jesus when they seek revenge or do not practice mercy. Our scriptures are very clear, if you do not show mercy, you will not be shown mercy. If you do not forgive, the Lord will not forgive you. If you seek revenge, you are sinning against God. These things have no place in the Christian life.

If a person who calls themself a Christian is hard nosed and hard hearted, they are doing much more damage to the body of Christ than a pagan who doubts there is a God but shows mercy. I am ashamed of anyone who serves on a jury who is a hothead without mercy, or even worse, cold and calculating and without mercy. Paul says something about people being blights at the love feast. Sounds about right.

The tares among the wheat that Satan planted will continue in the churches parading as believers like wolves in sheeps clothing. They will try to convince believers that their lack of love for one another is what Christ really meant. They will be vengeful, lacking mercy and kindness, and stirring people up against one another. They will try to redefine words so that bad is good and good is bad. They will twist scripture to make it mean what they want. Those who do not read and study scripture will be decieved.

Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you love one another." Love does not seek revenge on anybody, no matter what the world says is right. That's the world, not Christianity. Love is merciful. The world, the courts, the schools, politics and other areas are not merciful. That is no excuse for Christians not to be merciful. They do not have to go along. True Christians are called to be different and to stand out, not to blend in.

Remember a question many moms used to ask kids who wanted to go along with the others? If everybody else jumped off a cliff, would you do it to? Following the world in revenge, lack of mercy and insisting that someone pay is the equivalent to jumping off a cliff. It is sin and it has no place in the Christian's life. No excuses. You can't lie to God about it. He knows and you are going to be in BIG trouble kiddo. Ultimately, the "somebody" who has to pay will be YOU standing before God if you are merciless and vengeful. Cut it out for your own sake and live like a true Christian. He's taking names. He died for them too.

Churches That Hate Grandmas and Grandpas

I don't know how I feel about Grandma hating churches. Those that do this would protest that I worded it this way, but that is what they are. Somehow, I do not think Jesus would approve.

There are a number of churches that covet young adults and young families. They design everything around these age and interest groups. That's not particularly a bad thing. There are many lost people in those age groups that need to be reached.

So where do I come up with the grandma hating label? These same churches will say, from the pulpit, in Sunday school and everywhere else, that they do not want anybody under 40 attending. They even go so far as to tell people older than that they are not welcome and they need to find another church.

They are doing this to give young adults the illusion that they are doing something new. They aren't particularly. Finding mates, on the job issues and raising children are nothing new. The Bible has not changed. Jesus is the same and so is God. Music is simply keeping up with the times, which it has always done.

They are creating a division that does not need to be created. The implication of being so particular about age is that older people are bad in some way. They are practicing open age discrimination in a time when that is against the law. (Everybody who breaks the law feels that they are justified in doing so which means it is no excuse at all.)

If the churches simply aimed their sermons and Sunday school lessons at issues that concern young adults, most older people would not be interested unless they wanted to encourage the younger adults. They can have all their super baby programs and elegant children's playgrounds, their teen entertainment and all that free stuff that costs a lot of money. Bells and whistles are fun.

The old rugged cross and self sacrifice and all that stuff is boring. Children do not sit still for that sort of thing. It's all about them and having as much fun as possible. And who can blame them? We live in a child oriented society. They do hear the salvation message. They also get the impression the Lord rose to serve them, not that they are to serve the Lord.

If you discourage the older people from coming, there are almost never any funerals so most younger adults live with the illusion that they are immortal. With no older people, there are few examples of the unfairness of life and the long term results of both good and poor choices. It can give a somewhat myopic view of life for those not involved with older people elsewhere.

So how do I feel about grandma hating churches? Kind of negative, like Jesus would not approve. But they are reaching the lost and unconcerned. And in a few short years, these young people will be the older people they are booting out the door and telling them they are not welcome. God's payback.

In the meantime, we welcome people of any age at our church. We are all the children of God.