jobs Americans won't do?

Back to immigration matters. As I mentioned, I am only focusing specifically on sound bites and phrases. Clarification, not opinion one way of the other. For example, responding to some of you who responded to me, yes indeed, the amount of money that is going out for medical, education, etc. is higher than the taxes going in by undocumented workers. For my wider views on this topic, my friend Matt and I talk about it in Christcast #3, which can be accessed from the blog site or downloaded from the sidebar.

Next sound bite.

The illegal immigrants are just taking jobs Americans won’t do.

Yes and no.

Yes- In agriculture, for example, farm conglomerates find they will not be able to harvest perishable crops relying on American workers. Even when offering higher wages, from harvesting Washington apples to Wisconsin cranberries, the reports are the same. When advertising for citizen workers (a requirement in many states), there are not enough Americans who respond to do the work.

No- In other employment opportunities, it may not be so much American workers are not willing to do the jobs, as if they are too menial or difficult, rather they don’t pay enough and they don’t include normal benefits. For the same reason businesses use foreign plants, lower cost/ lower wages, they hire undocumented workers for less. Do you know how you test this out theory anecdotally?

Look at areas of the country that do not have undocumented workers in any numbers. Northern Minnesota, North Dakota, etc. All sorts of jobs get done by American citizens, no matter the job. Every possible employment opportunity, including, believe it or not (I can just hear the Midwest accent, “What the heck do you need a gardener or a cleaning lady for?”)…maids and gardeners.

SF youth rally followup

I have a picture of worshippers at the San Francisco youth ministry event. Unlike the comment of Mark Leno, Assemblyman, San Francisco (D), "they're loud, they're obnoxious, they're disgusting and they should get out of San Francisco," these kids appear to be what everyone talks about but nobody actually sees. Multicultural teens and 20’s coming together to improve their lives and make a difference by serving others.

Next time you want to say something illogical, do your homework. The bands and speakers of this event are about as moderate an evangelical as you are going to get. To call them “fundamentalist” simply means you have no idea what that term really means.

For publicity purposes, it is not lost on me that the organizers of the event staged a rally on the city hall steps of San Francisco which had advocated same sex marriages at an earlier date. While they were there, their message wasn’t about homosexuality, same sex marriage, or the like. Looking at their website, and hearing reports from their events, this is not even an emphasized agenda item.

I have to say, Battle Cry did this on purpose. I think they are right in getting their word out. I think they are wrong in knowingly providing opportunities for those who disagree with them to look foolish. Again, I go back to one of my favorite sayings, “Do you want to be right or do you want to be helpful?”

I think of Martin Luther’s explanation of the Eighth commandment.

We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, [think and] speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.

You knew you were going to get a rise out of some fringe groups (no one could have predicted the Board of Supervisors off the wall response), so why did they do it? Saying this I realize these are teenagers and young adults and they have an edge to their methodology along with their strong, but gracious message.

A footnote: Mark Leno did recant a bit on his rhetoric.

On Monday, however, Leno struck a more reasoned tone, acknowledging that his rally cry was "not one of my prouder moments." He said the youth group was "welcome in San Francisco," even though he does worry that its religious rhetoric could "under a cloak of love" feed a "fearful world's appetite for hate."

I will address that last phrase tomorrow, but it is good to see Assemblyman Leno is being a little more careful.

acts 13- sent

God reveals himself through the Bible, nature, and signs of wonder. Here we see God working behind the scenes developing the African church and expanding the mission elsewhere.

Christcast 3

Dana and buddy Matt talk about immigration policy, the biblical picture of how to treat the "undocumented worker in your midst," and Christian views of politics in general.

not in San Francisco?

I have to pause from talking about sound bites. You may have missed this because of all the news about immigration, but, yes, it happened.

There is a Christian youth rally meeting this week in San Francisco called, “Battle Cry for a Generation.” 25,000 kids and youth pastors arriving in San Francisco for worship, prayer, and workshops. Jack Hayford, from our own local Church on the Way is one of the keynote speakers. Christian rockers including one of my all time favorites, Delirious, are performing. In other words, normal moderate evangelicals.

Well, before the event even started, the San Francisco supervisors passed a resolution warning that a Christian youth gathering could "negatively influence the politics of America's most tolerant and progressive city."

Again, before the youth even arrived, listen to what this politician had to say.
Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, told counterprotesters at City Hall on Friday that while such fundamentalists may be small in number, "they're loud, they're obnoxious, they're disgusting, and they should get out of San Francisco."

Here is a post from the website of a protesting group.

ALERT!!! Right wing Christian fundamentalist bigots are coming to San Francisco this Friday and Saturday to hold a fascist mega-pep rally called "BATTLECRY FOR A GENERATION." They are recruiting youth and their rallying cry is "Reclaim the values that made this nation great."

Kudos to the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board (not mistaken for a right wing newspaper) who posted this response. Speaking of the organization, they write:

Its goal is to spread Christianity and to help young people recognize and resist the cultural influences of a "stealthy enemy" that includes "corporations, media conglomerates and purveyors of popular culture." Its Web site (www.battlecry.com) speaks of "casualties of war" that include drinking, drug use, teen sex, pornography, abortion, suicide and violence.
We may disagree with certain aspects of the Battle Cry agenda -- on issues such as abortion rights, religion in schools or acceptance of an individual's sexual orientation -- but the attempt by counterprotesters and some of the city's elected officials to call them "fascist" and "hateful" was totally at odds with the tone of the ballpark event and the approach of the Web site.
The gathering was not an "act of provocation," as the supervisors claimed. It was a get-together of young evangelicals whose lifestyles and religious views just happen to be in the minority here -- apparently making them open season for politicians to chastise.
The young people who came to San Francisco to affirm their faith and enjoy a day of rock music deserved better. They deserved to be welcomed by a city that was as tolerant and progressive as its sanctimonious supervisors like to profess.

One final word from one of the youth attending.

Christian Gallion, a 15-year-old in town with his Assembly of God youth group from Humboldt County, shrugged off being called "fascists" by counterdemonstrators.

"It doesn't bother me," Gallion said. "It's a beautiful city, and we don't have anything against the protesters."

Ahh, maturity.

do undocumented immigrants pay taxes?

Hot topics are always around us. When I listen to people debating various issues and using sound bites here and there, I always want to pause and figure why someone is saying what they are saying in the way they are saying it. I am going to check out sound bites of various issues and then give an observation.

Disclaimer: I am not trying to defend or critique any of these positions. I just want to make the process clearer.

Sound bite:

Illegal immigrants don’t pay taxes.

First, obviously taxes are paid with every purchase made in places that have sales tax. Taxes are paid on any gasoline, cigarettes, or liquor, etc.

Second, because the government requires employers to withdraw taxes from employees checks, undocumented workers have social security taken out in these cases. They use fictitious tax ID numbers. This is currently bringing in approximately 7 billion dollars a year into Social Security. The irony, of course, is the worker will not see a dime of this when he/she retires.

Third, there is an IRS tax number program where undocumented workers can pay taxes. I could only find the latest study on the net concerning this program from 2001. That year in this program there were 366,000 tax returns on 7 billion dollars of wages, and 305 million dollars in taxes paid.

Now there are arguments about the ethics of using fictitious numbers, the amount of government money that goes out to undocumented immigrants and the rest. I am only addressing the specific claim made above.

more on sex ed

Yesterday, what I quoted from a public school sex ed curriculum is just a sample. I will give you one more and then that’s all.

From Focus on Kids, teachers guide, University of Maryland Department of Pediatrics:

State that there are other ways to be close to a person and show you care without having sexual intercourse. Ask youth to brainstorm ways to be close. The list may include holding hands, body massage, bathing together, masturbation, sensuous feeding, fantasizing, watching erotic movies, reading erotic books and magazines…

As a parent, I have spoken to my children about sexuality frequently. I teach others, as well, including a sex ed curriculum with 5th grade boys and their fathers each year. Every one gets all psyched for “The Talk!” But…

Somehow, we never got to that list above. Though we do talk about responsibility, character, appropriate intimacy and such. We talk about how God designed our sexuality. How we are the same. How we are different. Frankly, we talked about anything we wanted to!

Presently, you can’t do that in a public school. Parent involvement is pretty much limited to a form you have to fill out at the beginning of the year that states you don’t want the school giving your kid condoms. If you don’t fill out the form, students receive the condoms as requested. Obviously, you are never notified of this either.

There is an article in the Washington Post today with critics of the abstinence education for sex ed. Why are we spending so much money on that program?

Actually we spend 12 times as much on contraceptive based sex ed programs in schools than on abstinence programs. Also, I mention again the 40% drop in out of wedlock births with students who have made pledges in an abstinence type program.

All right, so what to all of this?

If parents and church promote healthy sexual discussion and inform children in age appropriate ways the nuances of who we are as men and women and the gift of sexuality, including the sacred intimacy of husband and wife, then you will have the best of all worlds. Without parental support, or no church affiliation, then school is next in the line of discussion and information in our society.

Abstinence education, coupled with information about STD’s and birth control done with decorum and set in the ideal for sake of discussion might be the best chance we have in a public school. By “set in the ideal,” I mean when you are talking about birth control, for example, use language like, “Some married couples choose to prevent pregnancy by using a condom. Here is what they look like, etc…” How we teach has a great impact along with what we teach. The sexual activity of teenagers is way lower than what the media portrays and so a good place to start is simply making clear that “everyone isn’t doing it.”

what about sex education?

What about sex education? Like any emotional, physical, and spiritual health issue, the primary mentors of sexual matters is best left to parents. Having a school teacher be a child’s primary source for such an important and intimate arena of life is not beneficial from a philosophical or biblical standpoint. Saying this, if parents are not involved, for public interest, sex education is instituted in schools to mixed results.

The good news is virginity pledge education like “True Love Waits,” lowers the out of wedlock birthrate by 40%, according to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, known as "Add Health." This abstinence-only type education is criticized though, because anal sex or oral sex and the corresponding sexually transmitted diseases are increased as these sexual practices are considered “virginal” by some of the kids. Also, when some abstinence- only educated kids break their pledge and have sexual intercourse, they are less likely to use condoms.

So, what is the answer? Not yet, even worse news is the present comprehensive sex ed curriculums, that say a little about abstinence but a lot about everything else. If you are a parent reading this, you are going to be shocked. If you are a teenager, you are going to see what you are missing if you are going to Christian high school! Here is an excerpt from one such “comprehensive” curriculum, Be Proud! Be Responsible!:

Invite [students] to brainstorm ways to increase spontaneity and the likelihood that they’ll use condoms…. Examples: …Store condoms under mattress; Eroticize condom use with partner…Use condoms as a method of foreplay.… Think up a sexual fantasy using condoms….Act sexy/sensual when putting condoms on…. Hide them on your body and ask your partner to find it. Wrap them as a present and give to your partner before a romantic dinner. Tease each other manually while putting on the condom.

I don’t want to appear prudish, but come on….!

root causes?

Political analysts like to refer to “root causes,” when they are dealing with issues. Now, taking into consideration what I wrote about yesterday, what is a key “root cause” to child poverty?

Not being married when you have children.

There is a 70% drop in the poverty rate if mothers are married when they have a baby. From 55% poverty for children in a single mother household to 17% poverty rate for married couples. But what if the man or woman do not want to get married? As I reported yesterday, 75% of the mothers and fathers-to-be are linked romantically at the time of birth.

There is no way around it, root causes will warrant a moral conclusion here. Is having a baby without being married values neutral? Major religious teachings say it is wrong. For the sake of argument, let’s just say there are sexual connotations to religious pressure to prevent unwed births. Is it wrong for any other reason?

An atheist would have to conclude it is not in the best interest of the average child to have unmarried parents. A logical atheist would have to conclude it is in the states best interest that children are born into families where the parents are married.

How do you teach this? Can the state teach in a values neutral approach that it is wrong to have babies if you aren’t married?

Another alternative, of course, for prevention of poverty purposes, is to encourage abortion. Let’s see how that would fly in teaching. Remember yesterday’s statistics for children born out of wedlock?

Asian 15%
Anglo (white) 35%
Latino 45%
African-American 70%

Logically, the atheist might conclude that a great challenge to child poverty in America is the majority of African-American children born out of wedlock. Then does state education include classes that encourage African-Americans to abort their babies? That would be racist to the extreme.

Think on this some more.

"fatherless" child

God has compassion on all people, and at the same time he focuses on specific people at times. “Widows and orphans” are one such category. They are mentioned 26 times in the Bible as a group worthy of God’s aid. Actually, in the King James Version the term for “orphan” is “fatherless” and for anecdotal reasons, this might be one time where the more inclusive translation may not be as helpful.

Take America, for instance. What is the most vulnerable people group in terms of poverty? Children raised with no married father in the home. According to the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study, developed jointly by Princeton University’s Center for Research on Child Well-Being and Columbia University’s Social Indicators Survey Center, if women and men are married or marry when they have a child, the rate of poverty drops 70%. It is not as if the guys are just fly-by-night lovers either. 75% of the mothers are in stable romantic relationships with the father-to-be at the time of birth, and are quite marriageable.

The latest Health and Human Services Department study shows non-marital childbearing in America is at 35% of all births. To break it down even more is:

Asian 15%
Anglo (white) 35%
Latino 45%
African-American 70%

Think on all of this and I will make some observations tomorrow.

the concept of consciousness

It is always what you don’t hear rather than what you do hear that is of interest to me. Here is a perfect example. Nobel prize winner (2000), neurobiologist Eric Kandel is interviewed in the latest Discover magazine (April 2006) about psychoanalysis. He is an expert on memory and doing research on the neurobiological approach to fear and happiness.

What interested me was the end of the interview when he was asked,

“What are the big unanswered questions in neuroscience?”

“I think we need to understand how sensory information is translated into action. We need to understand how unconscious mental processes develop. Where do they occur? What are the processing steps? What is the nature of decision making? Of free will? Can we get a vantage point on consciousness?”

How close are we to understanding consciousness?

“I think we have not made much empirical progress. But I think we have made a fair amount of conceptual progress.”

What do you think researchers will find consciousness to be?

“Oh, my gosh. I have no guesses. I think this is a very deep problem, and I don’t really have any original ideas about that.”

What is missing here. Any clue of the physical or empirical basis for consciousness. Hence, any work in consciousness must be currently conceptual. That means metaphysical, or outside of the physical. All we are doing is considering the evidence of competing stories. That means exactly what extremely Darwinist Discovery Magazine would say is out of bounds for scientists to talk about. Conceptual evidence? You mean potential information? You mean design? Indeed.

Well, I know scientists and philosophers like Dallas Willard have much to say about consciousness. I wonder if Discover will set up that interview, soon? Don’t hold your breath.

acts 12- freedom

Why do governments persecute, imprison, or even kill Christians? Why do governments forbid the reading of the Bible or Christian teaching? If it is a false religion, then what are they afraid of?

Peter escapes from prison and Herod Agrippa gets eaten by worms. Nice

Christcast 2

an interview with my daughter about school, grades, sharing your faith with your friends, attending public school after Christian school, having an insane father

St. Patrick

St. Patrick’s Day is almost over and here I am thinking about what it means for someone to be kidnapped, made a slave, escape, and then go back to the same people who kidnapped you and show them God’s love for the rest of your life? What does it mean for this wealthy Roman in England to give up an affluent life and voluntarily live under hardship for the sake of his enemies?

This is Patrick’s story.

What kind of force is at work to bring this good out of all these challenges?

St. Patrick’s Day is a little more than green beer and corn beef and cabbage. It is about being sold out for Jesus and giving your life for the sake of others.

scooping CBS

Well, CBS news is finally catching up to Think Again blog. Here is an article today. Now go back to February 24. Interesting. Not that I scooped CBS. Obviously I got my news from someone else. What is interesting is the access to information for the public as a result of so much media being available. I don’t have to take anyone’s word anymore about what is going on in the world.

If I want to find out what is going on in any place, I can simply sift through the information, process the a priori bias (some are more blatant than others), as there generally is one, and come to some conclusions. Normal mainstream news is designed to make everything look like a crisis. “If it bleeds it leads,” in other words. Yet, unlike the past, I can go directly to the sources to see what actually is happening, most of the time.

This is helpful in all areas of life.

“Seek the truth at all possible cost.”

One cost is I need to read and examine information that is not in agreement with my worldview. Try it and you will find many fascinating perspectives.

Like when people get real angry and mean-spirited and start lots of name-calling, then you know whatever the opposite point of view is must have a pretty powerful logical argument based on evidence, or else reason would question reason. For example, screaming against something and using extremely aggressive tactics must mean you aren’t that confident in the reasonability of your viewpoint.

Take a deep breath….

acts 11- open

Peter reports to the "mother Church" and is given a green light to
speak for Jesus to the world. What is the Church? Is it denominations,
individual congregations- what?

not amazing

The people of the world are supposed to be genetically predisposed for self-preservation, or as some Darwinists call it, they live by their “selfish gene,” yet so many reach out to help their neighbor in need. This happens way more than a Darwinist is willing to acknowledge, and philosophically, I would argue it is the result of people responding to their God-designed conscience. Most world religions also recognize this, and have “care for those in need” as an important part of their faith practice.

But, apparently not rock stars or multibillionaires.

Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, a Christian advocacy group for justice and poverty issues had this to say recently.

Help in reducing poverty and hunger worldwide has come from an unlikely source -- celebrities such as Bono, the Irish rock star from the group U-2, and Bill and Melinda Gates of the Gates Foundation, Beckmann said. "God has sent us a prophet that wears sunglasses," he said of Bono, adding that the singer's high-profile appearances on behalf of the impoverished and people living with hunger have been a "powerful help." "Bono and the Gates' are making a difference in the world about hunger and poverty. Who would have guessed that God would have sent rock stars and the megarich on these issues? These are gifts from God," Beckmann said.

Why is this so amazing? I guess entertainment industry people and the super wealthy have no idea what is going on in the world and if they do they are selfish as can be, but Bono and the Gates are exceptions. More power to them. Hopefully the rest of their peers and colleagues will see the light, as well.

In the meantime I will continue to work with a vast number of people who continue to make progress in giving their lives for the sake of others. They aren’t rock stars or multibillionaires. They are just normal disciples of Jesus. Their self-giving love isn’t amazing; it is expected.

that's not very Christian

A non-Christian friend of mine works for a Christian boss and other Christians in the office. He overhears some of the people saying, “That isn’t very Christian of so and so.” He asked me what they mean by that. He asked don’t Christians interpret things in different ways? He is right.

I explained it this way. In this context, “Christian” is not an adjective. "That is not very ethical/ just/ courteous/ respectful (choose one)" would be more accurate. If they were specifically referring to information that questions the good news of Jesus as Messiah and Lord, then to say, “That is not very Christian,” could be an adjective. For general behavior, though, it is not as helpful.

God gives all humans a conscience that basically evaluates behavior that seems inappropriate regardless of the cultural or religious setting. As C.S. Lewis has said, there are certain moral principles in various religions which are similar. Here is a sample list:

1. Don’t harm another
2. Honor your father and mother
3. Be kind to brothers, sisters, children and the elderly
4. no sex with another person’s spouse
5. Be honest in all your dealings
6. Do not lie
7. Care for those weaker or less fortunate
8. Dying to yourself is the path to life

Now, as you can imagine, these are not followed at every time and in every place, but they are prevalent enough throughout history up to the present to point to some underlying wisdom that is innately shared by humanity.

Interesting.

an incredible chick flick

When it comes to movies, if it has a sword in it, I am pretty much right there. Famous movies like Gladiator and Braveheart, not so famous like Ghost Dog or Kung Fu Hustle.

What I am not usually, is a “chick flick” guy. Except on rare occasions. Of course, I have liked everything Audrey Hepburn ever did, and I bought glasses just like the ones Robert Redford wore in Three Days of the Condor. Now, I just finished watching my new favorite of all time.

An incredible film called Elizabethtown. Like my friend Rich always says,

“It made me laugh; it made me cry; it made me think.”

Buy it. Rent it. See it.

acts 10- God is for everyone

Peter breaks his Jewish religious taboos and discovers God is for the whole world.



direct link to download podcast

Christcast 1

Danish cartoons, Islam, "ugly" Americans, Vice President Chaney's hunting experience. Live from Corpus Christi, I interview my in-laws on these topics as they share from their decades experience living overseas and doing business for Ford Motors, including several years
in Turkey.


direct link to download this podcast

champions

Back in California to cold and rain, that doesn’t seem right does it? Flew in this afternoon, just in time for our Championship basketball game for our local church school league at 4:30 p.m. My swan song coaching my twin boys and their friends-- to a 7 point victory! Yeaa!!

The team played great and my own sons were excellent, if you don’t mind my saying. I shook hands with my all players after, and my son David said,

“Give me a hug, dad. You taught me everything.”

Well, not everything, but I did teach him to appreciate his dad. I appreciate mine, and I guess it rubs off. What do you think?

last blog from Texas

Last blog from Texas as I will be home tomorrow. It is really quite peaceful down here on Padre Island. South Padre will see all the spring breakers starting tomorrow, so basically I missed all of that excitement by one day. Thousands of college-aged women all around. O ya, I guess guys, too. It is just as well. What do I want to be around all of that… old-enough-to-be-their-father-with-my-hat-pulled-down-low-over-my-bald-head-and-my-cool-shades-on…sucking-in-my-gut…it is so sad.

Instead I am returning to my wonderful and lovely wife of almost 20 years, three teenagers (you old geez, quit looking at my daughter!!), and two labs who just can’t wait to jump on me.

My in-laws are the best and this has been so much fun. I learned how to filet a fish (finally caught a keeper the last day), hung out and talked about life, and I introduced my in-laws to the secret of their neighbor. They live on a canal connected to the intercoastal waterway and so right across the water about 80 yards away is their cross-the-water neighbor, X. To know me, you eventually have to know I am a life long Packer fan. What you may not know is my second favorite team growing up was the Dallas Cowboys. X played for them.

If you go on the web you will see people asking where X is today. E-bay has requests for pictures, autographs, etc. and no one seems to know where he is. Except me. I just saw him putzing around in his yard a while back.

“Hey _____! I’m your neighbor! Can I get a picture? An autograph? Do you know who you are?”

Well e-bay fans, you will just have to keep looking. My in-laws are acquainted with X and won’t let me tell you who he is.

what do you want?

I went to a noon Lenten healing service today. It was a very meaningful time and I enjoyed the company of “senior saints” who were present. They all went up to the altar as I did, and knelt before the pastor who laid hands on them, pronounced the power of Jesus and anointed each with oil.

I missed one thing. The pastor’s words were the same for each. A beautiful prayer of declaring the “healing power of Christ’s love.” Amen to that, but I wanted him to ask me what I needed healing for and pray specifically for that. I wanted to hear the healing power of Jesus specifically addressing that need. Now, he probably knows the most obvious of his flock’s pains and illnesses, but you never know…and he didn’t know mine.

I like this approach from Jesus. When a guy named Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus, here is what happened.


51"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked.
"Teacher," the blind man said, "I want to see!"
52And Jesus said to him, "Go your way. Your faith has healed you." And instantly the blind man could see! Then he followed Jesus down the road.

go figure

I am on Padre Island looking out over the water. When you drive around, you realize how flat it is. It would take a hurricane along with a big surge to cover this place with water. Which has happened. In Corpus Christi. I saw pictures from the “big one” in 1919. Hotels and homes. Now you see them; now you don’t.

I haven’t asked my father-in-law what kind of homeowners insurance he has. I wonder if you can even get it for hurricane. Does everyone just wait for the government to step in? If you think this one through logically, basically someone in Iowa is working harder to pay more taxes to get ready to pay for a hurricane that damages Padre Island homes that are built right where hurricanes go. Kind of like paying for my house in LA built right where we have had two major earthquakes in the last 35 years. Is this a great country or what?

Thank you Iowa person, whoever you are.

podcast

eyes of Texas

I am visiting my in-laws in Corpus Christi, Texas. I haven't really spent significant one-on-one time with them in 20 years of marriage. Always have family time when we are with them or they are visiting us. I thought it would be a good idea to spend some quality bonding time with the couple who raised such an awesome daughter. I'll let you know how it's going. Took the red eye from LA last night and have had about 3 hours sleep in the last day and a half.

Just waiting for the Monster to kick in. Stay tuned...

the podcast world

If you haven’t already discovered it, a podcast is a “radio show” that you broadcast over the internet. You can subscribe to it and have it automatically download into your computer and to your attached I pod, or other mp3 device. You can manually download the file to your hard drive, or listen directly by clicking on a player.

I will be podcasting soon. I am going to post a weekly “radio show” relating to Christian worldview and discipleship. There will be teaching, interviews, and /or musings over current events. I will also have a podcast of my Sunday message if I am preaching that week.

Below is a sample audio blog that my friend Rob helped me post last night. It is my message on the experience of working in the prison that I blogged on last week. Stay tuned!

podcast test dude!

Acts 9
Paul's life transformed in three days. Does this happen now? Let's go to prison and found out.

change?

I heard John Ortberg speak last Saturday. He was making the point of how, in the church, Christians aren’t bothered if people aren’t changing as a result of being influenced by Jesus. He used the example of a sour-pussed man in one of his congregations who was a generous giver, active in ministry, faithful at worship and in adult education. Ortberg asked him,

“Hank are you happy?”

“Yes, of course I am, pastor.”

Then Ortberg responded, “Well, why don’t you tell your face.”

That is a question for today is,

“Was Jesus’ actual plan that we don’t change?”

ash wednesday

When Christians come together for worship, it is always a celebration. Jesus is alive and we worship the King. Today, Christians all over the world are coming together to worship. “Celebration” is what we are doing but not in the way we usually think of the word. Ash Wednesday is a celebration of humility! That seems strange. Like a friend of mine likes to say, “I’m proud of my humility!”

Ash Wednesday reminds us that God is in charge and we are not. When we hear the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” we are not thinking of all the wonderful plans we are making to conquer the universe. Instead, we remember that every moment of our life on earth is a gift, and we ignore this basic fact at our own peril. As has been said, “When we are in control of our lives; our lives are out of control.”

Jesus came to earth to let us know how we are to spend those precious moments of our time on earth. To will the good of others (love) and serve them. Love and service? That’s the key to a healthy, God-honoring life? Now, you see why humility is necessary.