The heart of controversy

So regarding this whole uproar about President Obama asking pastor Rick Warren to do the invocation, and his "praying in Jesus' name"...

Here's the way I see it. That there was a controversy doesn't surprise me. It doesn't get me uptight or anything, because basically we know where the world is headed. It will only get worse before it gets better. We can't change that by getting all worked up about how the world perceives Christians. It is what it is.

What was interesting to me was the discussion among the members of the TV and radio press regarding the Bible that was used for the swearing in. There was long discourse about the history of that particular Bible and about the use of the Bible throughout the past two centuries. However, there was no kind of feeling expressed through these discussions regarding the significance of using the Bible at all. No complaints that a "Christian document" was the very thing that nearly every president has sworn upon.

So why the uproar about the prayer and not the Bible?

I can see several possibilities...

Perhaps that the use of the Bible is such a deep tradition it is viewed not as iconic Christiana, but perhaps simply an historic, weighty document that provides a foundation for the ceremony -- a touch point to the founding of our nation. It may be viewed as one of many such documents (including the Koran, Confucius, the Torah and others) that define the human experience as a whole. I don't know. I'm taking a stab in the dark here.

But regarding the uproar over Pastor Rick and praying in Jesus' name, it seems obvious to me that the world's perception of evangelicals is none too favorable. We evangelicals may not be quite lumped in with radical militant religious groups, but in many regards we are in the same general category. Those who are in the "fundamentalist" camp are at once expected to be dogmatic, unloving, intolerant, narrow-minded, exclusive, judgmental... I could go on. Because of such labels, there is a distrust and a perception that we have an agendum when we choose to be faithful to our beliefs.

The long and short of it is that in a pluralistic society, you can't please everybody. There will always be some who feel disenfranchised. Heavens, if you prayed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, there would be a certain contingency of Christians who would object.

Just to stir the waters a little more...

Going back to the swearing in, consider the following statement from Jesus:

"But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one." (Matt. 5:34-37 NKJV)

I'm thinking that this includes the Holy Scriptures. What do you think? Now I'm not a legalist. I'm not going to declare that we have had no legitimate presidents these 220 years, save those who chose not to swear on the Bible. I just find this all very interesting.

Alright, enough rambling. I know, I know - I haven't really made any strong arguments or profound statements in my little diatribe here. Just kind of random thoughts of someone trying to get a handle on how the world works.

I'll close by saying this.

I applaud President Obama for sticking so far to his promise of striving toward a more unified nation -- a more inclusive administration. No, I don't agree with many of his viewpoints and values. But I will be praying that he will turn to the One through whom all things were made for guidance and wisdom as president -- and the hope of eternal life as a fellow human being.

Oh, and one more thing...

No matter how you feel about the man, this is truly a remarkable era for our nation and world. Centuries of struggle, violence, oppression and turmoil have led us to this point and we should be proud that we have finally arrived here.

The weather ain't the reason

Rain. Sleet. Snow. Temperatures hovering around freezing. Winds up to 100 mph. Power outages. Hazardous driving. Stranded motorists. Trees and road signs blown down -- on top of cars. 30 ft. waves in a bay. Flooded roads.

This, my friends is Ireland right now.

My word, they are getting slammed with horrible weather! And the kicker is that it's supposed to continue like this for the next week or so.

Now why is it that we want to move to Ireland? Well, I could have told you from the beginning that it wasn't for the weather. Except maybe when it's 99F with 99% humidity here in Gulf Breeze, while it's in the 70s in Dublin.

This picture is us in Ireland in August...

Okay, this was a little too cool for summer in our minds.

Nonetheless - that's where we want to be. That's where we're supposed to be.

May it be sooner rather than later...

2009

So here we are - starting another year. What will it hold for each of us?

I know that with the economy the way it is at present, many are looking at 2009 with fear and trepidation. We're definitely feeling the crunch ourselves, as music students are having to cut back on lessons, or having to quit altogether. And the little side jobs in carpentry, etc. are all but non-existent.

But we are encouraged.

While certain aspects of our income are suffering, the one thing that is on the increase is the main thing upon which we are focused - our support level for our work in Ireland. I believe we are truly experiencing something miraculous.

God has been teaching us patience and that His timing is perfect. It seems very likely that we will be able to move to Ireland in 2009.

We have a strong support base building, including a number of individuals who have been faithful partners with us for several years. We have seen the fruits of their commitment in the work that we've already been able to accomplish on our short-term trips. At present, their monthly support is enabling us to spend the time needed to raise the remainder that we need so that we can make our permanent move.

We are so excited about continuing our work and fulfilling the vision that God has given us for the church in Ireland.

Here's our vision statement:

To equip and train up worship leaders and musicians in the Irish church to better enable them to move the church forward and reach the Irish people with the Gospel.

Raising up leadership is what it's all about.



Beth and I would love to share with anyone who wants to know more about the work we've been doing, our vision for the work once we are living there and our financial goals for making that happen.

You can let us know if you'd like to learn more by leaving a comment with your email address or phone number. We will NOT publish your information, out of respect for your privacy, but can then contact you with more information.

Here's to 2009!

Profundity

So I've been working my brain over the past few weeks trying to come up with something profound to say about Christmas this year. The lack of a post up until now is indicative of my lack of inspiration. I think I've been a little overwhelmed by the commercialism for some reason -- more so than in the past. It's also been disheartening to here "it's the worst Christmas shopping season on record" over and over in the media.

Then it dawned on me this morning... The profound is to be discovered in simplicity -- looking once again at the root cause of this season we now celebrate. I've known this. I've known it well. But somehow, I still overlook it.

God, in order to reconnect with people, came to earth as a man. Simple.

Jesus, that man, lived among us, teaching us, showing us the heart of God. Simple.

Because He caused such a stir, the rulers of the time decided it would be better to get rid of Him. Simple.

Because He is God, the grave couldn't hold Him. Simple.

The simplicity of the account has been a stumbling point for many over the years. It doesn't jive with the thinking of many who continue to look for the Messiah, one who they think should be a mighty military/governmental figure in the tradition of man.

No, to look at the story of Jesus as the Messiah, one quickly realizes that it's much simpler than we would make it.

The complexity is then found behind the physical evidence. To look at the surface elements, it seems a straightforward plot. But what was His real reason for becoming one of us?

The story stretches back to the creation of man and woman. From the time sin entered the world, there was need of a Saviour. Thousands of years were spent making sacrifices, attempting to wipe away guilt. But that only carried us so far.

The one sacrifice that would suffice was that of God providing Himself as the sacrifice. This one, simple, profound act changed the course of history. Nay, eternity.

May your Christmas be filled with the simple and the profound.

O Come...

You never write, you never call...

To those of you who keep up with us via this blog - my apologies. The past couple of months have been so slam-packed with stuff, that to be quite honest, I didn't even really think about blogging.

A couple of months ago, I (Gary) finally got myself on Facebook. It's a remarkable world. I've connected with people from High School, college and adult life, who I never thought I would find. It's kind of easy to get sucked in to the Facebook vortex, so I have to pace myself and dedicate only small bits of time here and there to perusing, finding old friends and new, and catching up with what's happening in their worlds.

Just to let you know what's been happening lately:

- Our support level is still on the increase

- Our car died, so we had to replace it

- Molly turned 21!

- We made a trip to Columbus, GA to visit one of our supporting churches, Calvary Chapel Columbus. Had a great time visiting with Pastor Mark and his family, leading worship, reconnecting with old friends and gaining some new friends.

We're gearing up for Christmas, planning for Thanksgiving with our family and friends, working on our church's website and raising support.

Keep us in your prayers and let us know how we may be praying for you!