Reluc Tant

Andy Post - 2011

2011-12-07T18:48:00.000-06:00

O Lord, I still miss him so much!

The carving in the wood (his desktop),

The luggage tag named “Doc” on the wall,

Taz sitting watchfully on the bookcase,

     Waiting for the return of his friend – his all.

Lord, I confess my amazement,
     That while you made our minds to think
           Thoughts grand and deep and surreal,
It is the small things of life that get us,
     And constrict our hearts with bands of steel.

His favorite jacket hanging in my closet,
     The lock-back knife in my desk drawer;
The computer disk with his password lost,
     All these and many, many more.

The old pipe in its velvet sleeve,
     With sweet aroma lingering still;
The story of his traitorous stump,
     Turning over on the hill;
The memory of that afternoon,
     Will chill my soul and be with me till . . .

I wait like Taz with hopeless yearning,
     My joy unfulfilled in this earthy state;
Knowing that his eyes are glory viewing,

As I await my time with him across the gate.

It is the small things of life that get us,

And constrict our hearts with bands of steel;

O Lord, I still miss him so much!

Will it end – this grieving feel?

A Remarkable Book about Books

2011-07-30T14:09:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading Pat Conroy’s My Reading Life. I actually bought the book at the Blue Bicycle Book Store in Charleston while we were on vacation. Blue Bicycle is a great source for everything Conroy and when I saw this little book (though overpriced) I had to have it. I started it on the beach but heavy philosophy reading assignments kept me from the final third of the book until this week.

Pat Conroy may be my favorite author. I have read all his books except The Boo, and My Losing Season. All of his books are autobiographical. The pain of abuse by his father and the loving care of his bibliophilic and thoroughly southern mother come through on almost every page. This little book is just what the title offers: a delightful tour through those books and authors that have become part of the writing persona of Conroy.

One entire chapter is devoted to his mother’s, and subsequently Pat’s, affection for Gone with the Wind. His mother read the book so often (and at least once a year out loud to Pat) that she would wear out copies and had to buy a new one. Conroy has this to say about the book: “To Southerners like my mother, Gone with the Wind was not just a book: it was an answer, a clenched fist raised to the North, an anthem of defiance. If you could not defeat the Yankees on the battlefield, then by God, one of your women could rise up from the ashes of humiliation to write more powerfully than the enemy and all the historians and novelists who sang the praises of the Union.”

In another chapter he shares the story of his high school encounter with the school librarian. It is a Catholic school and she was obviously not hired for her knowledge of books. Conroy is sitting in the library reading Hugo’s Les Miserables. He is cross-examined by the librarian as to why he is reading the book, “are you just reading it for the dirty parts?” “I didn’t know it had any dirty parts” responds Conroy. “Well it’s by Frenchman and you just can’t trust them.” At which point she suggests he read a good book about football and promptly gives him a copy of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (as it so happens, also by Hugo).

The book contains chapters about his favorite used book store in Atlanta (The Old New York Book Shop), which became a meeting spot of local authors and a launching pad for new books by those same authors. We learn about the lifelong impact of his college literature professor and the poetry of James Dickey. If you read this enchanting little book with a notepad and a dictionary by your side, you will end up with an expanded vocabulary and a reading list that goes a long way towards being the Great Books of the English Language. I feel the need for more bookcases!

To Grandson Sean on the Death of Odie, His Beloved Cat

2011-06-08T08:09:00.000-05:00

Sean,

I am so sorry about Odie. He was a good cat and I know he was a good friend to you. As soon as I received the email from your mom it was like a switch was thrown in I my brain and some long forgotten memories resurfaced. Growing up the animal I was most attached to was a little mixed-breed dog named Friskie. She was my everyday companion. The house I grew up in had a driveway that came down one side of the house and made a semicircle to the garage on the other side. The inside of the semicircle was fenced for a dog run. There was a little back porch off the kitchen over the garage door. That little porch was my day-dreaming place. I would go out and sit on the floor of the porch, sometimes for hours at a time, and imagine wonderful things, including how I would be the hero of any circumstance when I was grown. Friskie would lay on the porch with her head in my lap for as long as is sat there (except when a cat or another dog would trespass in our yard). With the help of Mom and Dad, I took good care of her. Every year we took her to the vet and got her shots. We made sure she had good food and plenty of exercise. During the winter, Dad would rig a 150-watt light bulb in her doghouse for some heat. And, if it got really cold, we would fix a bed in the basement and bring her in.

In those days, the annual shots for dogs did not include a shot to prevent distemper. One day when I came home from school Mom said that Friskie must have a hurt paw because she was not walking right. We checked to see if she had a cut or thorn stuck in the paw but could not find anything. Within a few days, she was having trouble with both her hind legs and we knew something was wrong. We took her to the vet and he said that he thought she had distemper. He gave her a shot but said that distemper was almost impossible to treat once the animal was infected. We took her home and we hoped – and I prayed for my dog. For a few days she did not get better but her condition did not worsen, encouraging our hope. We kept her in the basement and placed her food and water close to her bed so she didn’t have to walk far. Every day, as soon as I got home from school, I headed directly to the basement to check on Friskie. One day, about a week after the trip to the vet, I saw her perk up as I came down the steps. By the time I reached the bottom, she was out of her bed coming across the floor to me – only her back legs didn’t work at all. She was dragging herself across the floor with her front paws to be close to me. I knew right then that the battle was lost – she was not going to recover. For a couple days this scene was repeated only it was obvious that she was in pain as she drug herself across the floor. That night Mom and Dad set me down and explained that Friskie was not going to get better and that she was suffering. Since she was my dog, I needed to be the one to make the decision. I knew what that decision needed to be though my heart was breaking. The next afternoon I sat with my best friend in my lap for a couple of hours until Dad got home and then I said goodbye to Friskie.

That was over 50 years ago and I am weeping as I write this. God has given us such a great gift in the animals we love and who become so dear to us. I’m not the greatest theologian but I believe that there will be animals in the New Heavens and the New Earth – God wants us to see the perfection of His creation as it existed in the Garden. I wanted you to know that, if I could, I would carry all your sadness for you – but I can’t. I certainly know how you feel and I am very sad for you.

Love,
GP

Pleadings of an Old Man

2011-05-28T09:51:00.000-05:00

“And I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, 24 ‘O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? 25 Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ 26 But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again.’” Deut 3: 23-26

For the first time is several years I committed myself to reading through the Bible this year. It is amazing how many passages, especially in the Old Testament, seem so fresh and new. The one quoted above just seemed to jump off the page and has stayed in my mind for some time. There are four thoughts or insights I had from these verses.

1. Even after being told that he would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land, Moses makes one final petition – he had a strong desire to see the land.

If nothing else, Moses had a keen understanding of the promises of God. Since he is the one that committed the book of Genesis to writing, he knows the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I would imagine that thoughts about the land were a daily occurrence for Moses. When God told him that he could not enter the land due to his sin, I am sure this was a crushing blow. Though he did not have access to the New Testament, I suspect his familiarity with God was such that he understood the parable Jesus told about the persistent widow who gave the judge no rest until he ruled in her favor. Maybe these thoughts were in Moses’ mind as he pleaded his case to God one more time.

Moses could stand on the mountain and look across the Jordan to the land. It is interesting that Moses’ prayer was specific about wanting to see “the good hill country and Lebanon.” What he was asking for was not just to be given permission to cross the Jordan but to travel throughout the land. This is a bold prayer and should be an example for us. I know that my prayers tend to be small and timid as if I forget the power of the God I pray to – Lord make me bold and keep me from shortening your arm!

2. Moses, who experienced the burning bush; who witnessed the miracles of the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, manna, water from a rock; who stood before and spoke with God, says “you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand.”

If this does not give us chills when we think about our future in the presence of God, nothing will. Remember how the face of Moses glowed with the reflected glory of God. It was so bright that he had to wear a veil for an extended period of time because it was more than the people could stand. Wow! And Moses says that this is just a small beginning of what is to be experienced we will be exposed to the full glory of God (and maybe we will never be able to experience the full glory because we are the creature and not the Creator). Again, I am lead to think about how much richer my prayer life would be if I spent even a little time each day meditating on God’s glory.

3. Moses states that the Lord was angry with him “because of you [the people].” Even the godliest of leaders have trouble taking responsibility for their sins.

We probably need to review the backstory just a bit. In Exodus 17, the people of Israel were camped in an area in the wilderness were there was not sufficient water for the people. Moses interceded with God and the Lord told Moses to take his staff and strike the rock. When he did, the rock opened and a stream of fresh water poured out that was large enough to provide water for all the people. This place was Massah (testing) and Meribah (quarrelling). In Numbers 20 the people have reached a place (also called Meribah) where there is no water. Moses and Aaron intercede again with God. God tells him “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water.” Moses instead strikes the rock with the staff instead of speaking to it. This is his sin. So, what’s the big deal? Moses did the same thing he had done before, why was God angry with him? I’m sure there are a lot of opinions about this event. I think that God had Moses to strike the rock the first time to continue to establish his role as leader of the people and as the prophet of God. Forty years later Moses’ role was not in question. On the second occasion God told Moses to speak to the rock and not use the staff. I think this was to make it clear to the people that it was God who brought water from the rock and not some trick of Moses. By striking the rock with the staff, Moses stole some of the glory that was God’s alone. This is a big deal.

God calls some men to be leaders among his people. All through scripture, and especially in the NT, these men are characterized as ‘servant leaders’ and one of the hallmarks of such leaders is humility. One of the greatest temptations for our leaders is to lose some of the humility and begin to take pride in their abilities and talents. When this occurs, they are diminishing the glory due to God. Whether we are in leadership positions or not, we all are prone to the same temptation. Think about how different Moses’ prayer would have been if he had acknowledged his sin openly before the people rather that blame-shifting.

4. The God of mercy says “No” to Moses’ pleading.

What about when God answers the deep pleadings of our heart with a ‘no’? Most of us have probably experienced this at some point in our lives. Sometimes we get angry with God. Sometimes we begin to search for that hidden sin we must have committed that cause God to respond this way. And, there are a good number of other ways we respond to what the country music song terms “unanswered prayer.” Many of the people I have met who clearly demonstrate deep faith live in Africa. And, they have a saying that seems appropriate for the moment: God is good . . . all the time! We don’t have always have a good answer to the “why” question, but we always have a good answer to the “Who” question.

The Water is Wide

2011-05-14T11:14:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite authors is Pat Conroy and one of his books that is on my favorite list is The Water is Wide. I read the book about two years ago and have been trying to find a copy of one of the two movie adaptations ever since. The first move was titled Conrack (the way the students pronounced Conroy’s name) and starred Jon Voight. It was made in 1974. The movie is not available on DVD and a very used VHS copy sells for over $80 (too rich for my blood). The Water is Wide was a Hallmark Hall of Fame TV Movie made in 2006. I just found it on DVD two weeks ago. According to the published reviews, both are faithful to the book, which is autobiographical. Conroy tells the story of when he took a teaching job (1969) a couple of years after graduation from the Citadel. The job is at a two room schoolhouse on an isolated island off the coast of South Carolina. Before discussing the movie, a little review of the backstory may be helpful.

The name of the island in the book and movies is Yamacraw Island. However, the name of the actual island where Conroy taught is Daufuskie Island. Following is a portion of the history of the island from the Daufuskie Island Historical Society’s webpage.

“Plantation owners and slaves fled the island at the start of the Civil War. Union troops then occupied the island. After the war, freed slaves (Gullah people) returned to the island, purchasing small plots of land or working for landowners. The boll weevil destroyed the cotton fields in the early 1900's. Logging and the Maggioni Oyster Canning Factory provided jobs for the predominately Gullah populated island at the turn of the 20th century. Oysters continued to be harvested and shucked on the island after the cannery closed and were shipped elsewhere for processing. Daufuskie Island oysters were sold world-wide. Life was hard, made more so by being cut off from the mainland. As a result, island residents created a caring, close-knit community, one crossing racial lines.

“When pollution in the Savannah River closed the oyster beds in the 1950's, the island's economy declined. The Gullah began to leave the island for better opportunities. By the 1980's the population of the island decreased from a high of around 2,000 to less than 60. At that time developers came to the island, and Haig Point, Melrose, Oakridge and Bloody Point were subsequently built. The island's Historic District has retained its breathtaking natural beauty. The entire island is on the National Register of Historic Places.”

By the time Conroy takes the teaching job on Yamacraw Island he has developed a decidedly rule-breaking disposition. He was raised in a home that was dominated by a strict, military father (The Great Santini) and had attended a military college (The Lords of Discipline). He was in full rebellion against strict, rule-centered institutions. When he arrives at the school, he is introduced to the principle and co-teacher, Mrs. Brown. She is African-American educated in a private school that instilled the notion that it is more important to teach the “colored” children proper behavior than to be overly concerned with formal education. She is thoroughly convinced that the way to success is through generous doses of corporal punishment.

Conroy discovers the first day that his students (5th through 8th grades) are mostly illiterate and not a single one knows what country they live in. He and Mrs. Brown quickly clash. In one scene she gives him textbooks for the students and makes sure that he understands that the rules of the School Board required each student to finish the book before the end of the year. He asks how he is to accomplish that when the students can’t read. She tells him the rules require him to do it and it is his problem to work out the “how.” He does find ways to teach them through music, both popular and classical, stories that he makes up out of historical or geographical facts, and field trips around the island.

When Conroy arrives on the island, none of the parents (or grandparents) of the children will have anything to do with him. It is easy to get the impression that this is because he is white (the only other whites on the island are a husband and wife who serve all the roles of government on the island: fireman, policeman, school bus driver, postmistress, librarian, etc.). What Conroy finally discovers is that the parents have been told for years by Mrs. Brown that she is responsible for the school and education of their children and they are to stay away. Conroy is able to breakdown this barrier and get the parents back involved. His first success is when he discovers that one of the children is practically deaf and has developed powerful defense mechanisms so he won’t be teased by the other children. He goes to see the boy’s grandmother and assures her that he knows about the deafness and that the other children will not torment him any longer. He wins over the heart of the grandmother who is a most respected member of the Gullah community. From that time on, parents begin to feel that they can have a part in the education of their children.

Mrs. Brown complains to the school board officials about Conroy and, at the end of his first year he is dismissed for failure to follow the rules. The Gullah community objects and demands that they be in charge of their school. Conroy is not rehired but the educational environment on the island has been changed, including Mrs. Brown’s attitude and approach.

This is a great and true story about what one man can do to change a horrible situation. As an interesting sidebar to the movies, the cast of the 1974 movie had a reunion in 1996. Of the 20+ actors who played the children, 19 attended the reunion. Of those 16 had become teachers. Most credited the experience of the movie with their desire to become educators.

It is sad to me that the source of income for these “island” people was taken away by industrial pollution that was allowed to continue unabated until any hope of recovering the oyster beds was gone. And now, in place of a community of hard working people who preserved a culture that was centuries old, we have gated neighborhoods full of multimillion dollar homes. And there is no record that the Gullah people received anything other than a pittance for their land. It reminds me of the Bible passage that warns about those who have little will have even that taken away.

2011-05-02T22:21:00.001-05:00

The Death of an Enemy

Proverb 6:16-19 says the following: “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breaths out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” (ESV) I think most American Christians would agree that Osama bin Laden fit these seven characteristics to perfection. So, the question is already out there as to whether America was justified in killing bin Laden. A number of Christian writers, most much smarter than I, are trying to apply passages of Scripture about loving our enemies to the situation implying we did not have the moral right to take this action and, as Christians, we should not rejoice in the death of this mass murderer.

For those Christians who reject the Old Testament as having any relevance to our New Testament times, please stop reading now. For those who consider the entire Bible as both true and authoritative, please bear with me. In the NT, Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for them. The context (Sermon on the Mount) seems clear that he is speaking to us as individuals. It is most difficult to understand how corporate entities can “turn the other cheek.” We are called to be at peace with all men (Rom 12:18 and Heb 12:14) but this is as individuals. In Romans 13 we are called to be in subjection to the government authorities “who do not bear the sword in vain.” In the Old Testament, God directed Joshua to claim the promised land for God’s people and utterly destroy the people who occupied the land. In Deut 9:5 we learn that God is giving the land to his people “not because your righteousness . . . but because of the wickedness of the nations [Canaanites].”

I agree that we need to be careful not to try to equate America with God’s chosen people of the Old Testament. However, the American government is a lawful authority that has been granted the power of the sword. Unless you reject the “just war” argument entirely, then you accept that American has the moral authority to protect its citizens from attack by entities who pledge to destroy our country. Osama bin Laden was an evil man that was part of a false and evil religion that seeks to destroy the Body of Christ as well as our country. Our government has the moral right to kill the enemy and we have the same right to rejoice as did Israel when the walls of Jericho fell.

2010-06-05T01:05:00.001-05:00

"Big" is the Problem

(This post is a comment I tried to post on the God's Politics blog written by Jim Wallis of Sojourners. After spending 45 minutes trying to log in, I finally gave up. The blog is about the immoral, unbiblical actions of BP in failing to prevent/control the current environmental disaster in the Gulf.)

I agree with most of what was in the post about BP. However, that's not the whole story. I have worked as an environmental consultant for over 40 years. Most of my work has been for industry: some good neighbors, some not. It is almost a universal truth that small industries/companies eventually comply with environmental regulations. Many I have worked with do this willingly out of a sense of personal and corporate responsibility. Some comply because they are forced to do so by a government agency. The big companies are different. They do everything they can to promote a public image that they are environmentally friendly while ignoring, even stomping into the dust, regulations that get in their way. There is enough evidence already to show that BP has done just this with respect to this deep-water rig.

However, we can't stop the blame-game with BP. The Federal government is the other “big” and it has been complicit with BP. It failed to enforce its own regulations. When the "worst case scenario” occurred, it failed to act in a timely manner to implement its own contingency plan for such an occurrence. In fact, it failed to even acquire the equipment and train responders to implement the plan. Further, this administration has allowed politics into the mix (catering to the radical environmentalist) to the extent that achievable and common sense measures to minimize the damage to the environment have been forbidden.

Big, global companies exert undue influence on our government, Democrats or Republicans, and subvert the legitimate functions of government. The larger government becomes, the more impact this subversion has on our daily lives.

2010-04-23T08:47:00.001-05:00

Rhythms vs. Schedules
"At the beach, life is different. Time doesn't move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides and follow the sun."

This is a very unscientific post – it is about feelings more than facts – observations more than measurements. I have been struggling for over a year trying to live my life by rhythms rather than schedules. I experienced this idea of rhythms when I visited the monastery last year and felt the tranquility of the monks as they went through their day of prayer and work. On a few days I have succeeded and it truly felt good and natural. Early this week I discovered the above quote while looking for fun sayings about the beach. It definitely has a resonance with me. There is a certain peace we feel in our spirits when we are in tune with the rhythms God created in us. There is tension, frustration, and a lack of completion when we live by artificial schedules. I observed this while spending time with people in Africa. Our group was on a “schedule” and everyone around us was on “Africa time.” Guess who was experiencing more of God’s peace and joy?

2010-04-22T09:24:00.001-05:00

Earth Day 2010 – Sustainable

When the first Earth Day was celebrated, I was working for the Tennessee Stream Pollution Control Division. Those of us working for the Division viewed this celebration with mixed emotions. We were definitely in favor of an increased emphasis on the environment but we were a little skeptical – many of leaders were “hippies” and some of the immediate goals were technically unachievable. We assumed that when these goals were not met, the Earth Day movement would die as so many other American fads in the past. The movement did not die, though it has morphed and divided through the years. So here are my Earth Day thoughts as one who is still working in the environmental field and one who tries to view all of creation from a Biblical perspective.

The job with the state was not my best offer coming out of college. A national manufacturer of air pollution equipment offered me a very good job with a much higher starting salary. The problem: the only openings were either in Cleveland or Pittsburgh. In 1969 those two cites were characterized by gray-to-black skies and technicolor streams. We were just not interested in living there.

The Stream Pollution Control Law under which we operated was passed in 1947. The strongest penalty permitted by that law was a $50 per day judgment which had to be approved by a local General Sessions Court. The first time a fine was ever assessed was in 1971 and it made the front page of every major paper in the state. Our strongest weapon against pollution was to convince industry that treating their wastewater before discharging it into the stream was to their long-term advantage. Surprisingly, many did just that. There were times when we felt like toothless wonder-workers.

The environment in the United States is so much better this Earth Day than it was 40 years ago. That is something that we should truly celebrate. These improvements have come about because of increased public awareness, stronger laws, corporate sensitivity to public opinion, and a subtle understanding that the old ways threatened our way of life because they were not sustainable. Today the term “sustainability” has become a buzz word for many in the environmental movement, some of them holding radical beliefs. As Christians we should not reject sustainability just because it is embraced by some radicals. Rather, we should work to define it in ways consistent with our responsibilities to steward God’s creation. This can mean some radical things. For example, “industrial farming” is probably not sustainable in the long run and movements promoting the production of safe, local, and organic foods should be encouraged. At the same time, we should not rush to embrace the unproven and significantly unscientific “climate change” agenda. There are ways that mankind is leaving a big footprint on the earth but climate change does not appear to be one of them. Further, we should de-politicize our air and water pollution control laws and replace them with laws based on good science which protects both human health and the environment. In my opinion, this would mean things like stronger laws requiring “clean coal” technology and promoting the development of nuclear power using technology already developed by the French and Koreans. It would also mean changing the allowable air emissions formulas to allow the construction of new, heavy industrial facilities like an integrated steel mill (which current regulations prohibit). It is impossible to have a sustainable environment if we don’t have a sustainable economy.

“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” – Psalm 24:1. Consider this: what if, on Judgment Day, God asks us how we cared for His creation as well as asking how we loved one another?

2010-04-21T20:59:00.001-05:00

The Privilege to Pay Taxes

Most of us pay our taxes. We may think they are too high. We may think that government fails to do what our families have to do – live within our means. We may still agree that living in our country is a blessing . . . but it is unlikely that we believe only the "privileged" should have to pay taxes to the Federal government. But that is just what columnist E. J. Dionne, Jr. of the Washington Post implies in his column on April 19, 2010. In an article titled “The Tea Party: Populism for the Privileged” he predicts the failure of the Tea Party movement because it is not a true “populist” movement. He describes the Tea party as a political exercise for the "privileged." This term privileged is used because a recent survey indicated (as reported in a New York Times article) that supporters of the Tea Party movement are wealthier than the average American. If your income is 1% above the national mean, then you are a member of the privileged class. It is interesting that another recent survey found that 47% of Americans pay no income tax. One interpretation of these surveys could be that only 4% of Americans pay income tax and are not considered part of the privileged class. According to the Washington Post, those of us who are privileged have no right to claim the term “populist.” And, according to Mr. Dionne, if a movement in America is not populist, it is destined to fail. I’m not looking for a fight over the term populist but I do think the Tea Party is a reasonable and democratic reaction against the policies of the Obama administration and the Democratic controlled congress. It is a ground swell of the people – people who see their liberty being compromised by progressive fascists. The Tea Party movement may not be the definitive answer but it certainly could be the town crier calling us out to man the barricades – and that sounds populist to me.

Book Review - Hunter's Moon

2010-04-03T09:09:00.000-05:00

I liked this book. This is my friend Don Hoesel’s second novel (Elisha’s Bones was the first) and I have enjoyed both. This is the story of a writer, CJ Baxter, who is successful as an author but not as a husband nor as a relative to his estranged family in his home town. CJ is from upstate New York where his family has had prominence in a small town and rural county for generations. CJ left to attend Vanderbilt and never returned . . . until his grandfather dies. There is a tragic family secret that has dominated CJ’s life for almost 20 years and eventually leads to a dramatic, and almost deadly, confrontation at the end. In his books CJ has used stories from his past that family and hometown residents recognize and understand that he is peeling back some of the veil from their little community. While they are proud to have a native son who is famous, they seem a bit anxious about what CJ may reveal in future novels.

In the book, CJ has recently come to faith but has not been “healed” of all his vices, resentment, and lousy attitude toward his wife. I think the story is a realistic look at how God uses time and experiences in some believer’s lives to mature them and bring them to a deeper understanding of how their faith is to be lived out. We would like to believe that becoming a Christian instantly transforms all aspects of our lives. Most of us know better.

Don does a good job in creating an expectation that something big is going to happen . . . and it does. There are some really tense moments (although I did not like it when CJ’s dog, Thor, is kidnapped) and the confrontation at the end is dramatic, though maybe not as satisfying as this violent-addicted culture would want. This is a good read and I gladly recommend it.

2010-02-13T00:34:00.000-06:00

A Scary Movie – A Tipping Point

I wish there was some way to lobby those voting on this year’s Academy Awards. If so, I would be flooding their emails asking them to vote for Food, Inc. as the best documentary film. My daughter insisted that we take the time to watch this film. I expected this to be a propaganda piece (which it was at times) that I could mostly dismiss after making a few changes in my food shopping and eating habits. It was much more than I expected and by the end of the movie I was angry. First, I want to urge anyone reading this blog post to watch the movie. It is both scary with respect to the safety of our food supply and a good social commentary on how our American way of life, including many of our freedoms, has been co-opted by multi-national companies whose only moral imperative is to become more powerful and more wealthy. Second, I want to provide some personal testimony about my experience with the food industry and how radically it has changed.

I grew up in the food business. My dad, a couple of uncles, and some of our family’s closest friends were all involved in some aspect to providing food to our community. My dad ran a chain of grocery stores. Before the company was sold to a large corporation, Cooper & Martin had 30+ stores in middle Tennessee. One uncle was a meat buyer and butcher at another grocery chain. A second uncle was in charge of installing and maintaining refrigeration equipment for meat departments at A & P stores in Tennessee and Kentucky. A close friend of my dad’s was in store management but also had a farm not too far from Nashville where he raised cattle, hogs and had several large chicken houses. Another of my dad’s closest friends owned one the largest meatpacking operations in the middle Tennessee area. As I was growing up, I knew all these people and their operations very well. It was fun as a kid to visit the farm and see how the animals were cared for. Yes, I understood that one day they may end up on my dinner plate – but there was a respect for the animals by the farm owner and those who worked for him. I don’t know if he believed in God, but I do know that he treated God’s creatures with respect. Maybe the greatest contrast between what I saw on his farm and what was in the movie were the chickens. He had what seemed to me very large houses for his chickens. I suspect that my young eyes made these seem larger than they were. In any case, the chickens lived in a bright, airy environment (but not odor free) and were let outside in a fenced area on good weather days. The chickens in the film were not so fortunate – they lived their entire 41 day existence in the dark packed in so tight there is almost no room to move. A florist gives more care to a rose than is given to these living, breathing creatures of a loving God. I am not an animal rights activist – but I am a respecter of God’s creation. Nothing that He has created deserves to be treated as shamefully as those chickens – period.

In the early 1970’s when I worked for the State Health Department, I had a friendly relationship with the county health officer in a rural county. One day over lunch I asked him where he had worked before he started with the county. He said that he had been a representative for an animal feed company. In those days, the feed companies were the engine that drove the chicken business. His job included trying to talk farmers into building large chicken houses and raising chickens under contract. The feed company would “finance” the construction of the houses and would “finance” the first group of chickens. As you might guess, this was a better deal for the feed company than it was for the farmers. My friend had become pretty disenchanted with the feed company and was considering quitting. One day he was visiting one of his farmers when the crew came to haul the mature chickens to the processing facility. He grew up in the country but even with that background, he was appalled by the brutal way the chickens were handled. What finally put him over the edge was after the truck left for the processing plant, another truck arrived from a certain soup company. The men on this truck picked up all the underweight and diseased chickens left in the house. It was years before I ate any canned soup again.

Another quick story from my days working for the state. I was involved with one of the first “feedlot” operations for hogs in middle Tennessee. The men who own the operation were experienced in raising hogs and wanted to try the feedlot approach because people in the industry told them they could make more money. It was a mess but at least it was a small mess. They never had more than 100 hogs at a time and the land they had was too steep to build a larger operation. Even though this operation shut down, we knew there would be others. Tennessee was one of the first states to adopt a fairly comprehensive program for protecting the environment from feedlot operations. A number of large companies acquired options on tracts of land in Tennessee for the purpose of building CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations). CAPOs were feedlots “Super-Sized.” As it turned out, the environmental guidelines we developed were too expensive to comply with and they chose other states.

I remember a story Garrison Keller told on A Prairie Home Companion. It was the first real cold snap of the winter and everyone knew it was hog-killing time. A number of families got together each year and shared the labor. While the men were slaughtering the hogs one at a time, a group of young boys decided it would be great sport to throw rocks at the hogs in the pen. One of the grandfathers saw what was happening. He went over and grabbed the boys taking them out of earshot of the rest of the folks. He told the boys to stop throwing the rocks and tormenting the hogs. The boys objected saying something like “Why, what’s the big deal? They’re going to be killed in a few minutes anyway.” The grandfather answered “Yes, that true. Those hogs are part of God’s provision for our families. But while they are still alive they are God’s creatures and are due kindness and respect from us because of what they are.” A great and thought provoking story. While God gave man dominion over the animals, we should remember not a single animal died until man sinned. We also have the promise that when the curse is completely rolled back, the lamb will lie down with the lion.

The summer before my senior year in college, I worked for the meat packing company owned by my dad’s friend. Most of the summer my work consisted of filling in for salesmen when they took their vacation. Towards the end of the summer, all of the salesmen had taken a vacation and I still needed to work. In order to keep me on the payroll so that I would be able to pay for college (and wedding) expenses, I worked around the plant. That, to my dismay, included spending time on the killing floor. After almost losing my cookies a few times, I acclimated and became adjusted to the environment. After watching the process and talking to both workers and managers, I realized that everyone involved had a respect for the animals. A great deal of time had been invested in finding the most humane way to kill the animal and minimize any pain. This was not done for the efficiency of the operation – it was done so that everyone involved could go home each evening with a feeling that what they were doing was in no way cruel or demeaning. All that occurred over 40 years ago but I remember it very clearly. I think I remember discussing this with my dad and as I told him what I observed he just nodded his head.

Before I move on I do want to mention one additional point. While I was working in the meat packing plant I observed a number of inspectors from the Department of Agriculture. They were there every day, they had the freedom to go anywhere in the plant, and the workers knew who they were and why they were present. According to the movie, today there is little inspection, even at the very large plants. In the movie it was noted that almost 90% of all ground beef for fast food restaurants and the prepackaged beef for grocery stores comes from only four sources. Is it any wonder that hardly a month goes by with some food product being recalled because of contamination?

My dad was a product of the Depression and WWII. He was captivated by new technology and growth. In most circumstances, dad considered bigger to be better. However, towards the end of his career, he began to notice and comment on the fact that the “big boys” were driving all the small meat packing houses out of business. Some of the tactics used by the ‘big boys” were pretty nasty and many of the small packing houses were forced out of business after several generations of service to the community. I think my dad saw the danger in what was happening but felt powerless to do anything about it.

Most of my career as an environmental consultant has been involved in helping commercial and industrial clients comply with the various regulations in a way that allowed them to still be profitable. About 15 years ago we were working on a nationwide study for a trade association. In our research for that study, we came upon a process that was used during WWI that could possibly benefit many of our clients. We performed some laboratory studies and confirmed that this procedure would indeed be beneficial to our clients and reduce the potential for certain pollutants leaching from a waste material. We published the results of our investigation in a report distributed nationwide (which places the procedure in the public domain). After our report was public, a large corporation filed for a patent for this process. The U. S. Patent Office granted the patent in spite of the fact that the process had been placed in the public domain and was, in fact, merely a different application of a process used during WWI.

We contacted a patent attorney and learned that it would cost us between $250,000 and $500,000 to contest the patent. Our intention was to put this process in the public domain so that people could use it without paying our company, or anyone else, any license fee. We obviously could not afford to contest the patent and so many of our clients are paying an outrageous license fee every year for a process a high school chemistry student could assemble in his back yard. This is similar in principle to what Monsanto has done with the genetically altered soybean seeds. Monsanto now controls over 90% of the soybean seed market. These seeds are patented and it is illegal for the farmers who grow the crops to collect and clean the seed for next year’s crop. We should pause and consider this a moment. Farmers purchase seed with their money; plant the seed on their land; work the fields with their equipment using fuel they have purchased; and, at the end of the season they harvest their crop but are forbidden to use a part of the harvest (seeds) to continue the process next year. What a travesty our government and its legal system have created. Shame on us for allowing this to happen.

The thing in the movie that sent me over the edge was the realization that more than a few states have enacted laws forbidding people to publically criticize the food suppliers. In the movie a mother who lost her toddler son to E Coli won’t mention the names of the fast food outlets where her son ate because she has been threatened with lawsuits that would bankrupt the family. In the state of Colorado it is a felony (with prison time attached) to criticize the beef or pork producers for their animal management practices. Is this not unbelievable? Yes, maybe it is time for another revolution if we are going to save what is left of the American way of life. The government corruption that has lead to this situation transcends parties. Both Democrat and Republican administrations have contributed to this threat to our food supply and the health of our families. We need to elect people to office that are willing to go back to the days of the “trust-busters” and break up these large corporations who have a strangle-hold on our food supply. This is about more than just safe food; it is an issue that goes to the very foundation of who we are as a people. If we are not willing now to stand against the multi-national corporations who are raping our land and poisoning our people for their own power and profit, then a time will come when our only option may be to just lie down and let the tanks roll over us.

[An interesting novel about how the large companies are able to locate “factory farms” in places where they are not wanted is That Old Ace in the Hole by Annie Proulx. She is the author of The Shipping News, one of my favorites, and she is able to take a sometime humorous look at a terrible situation.]

2010-01-12T10:53:00.003-06:00

I Want My Clear Stick!
This is my blog and I can write about what I want. My concern for the moment is my deodorant. When it was first suggested to me that I needed to start using deodorant (by my mother) my natural reaction was rebellion against parental authority. When I finally noticed that my friends were beginning to stand further away from me, I sought out my father for advice. Hence, my underarms were introduced to Right Guard Spray Deodorant. This was my deodorant up until the time that TV commercials convinced me to switch from “deodorant” to “antiperspirant.” I don’t know if my underarms actually sweated less or not but I was not normally offensive to the olfactory nerves and stuck with this product. Then came the scare tactics. Aerosols were a threat to the environment and the aluminum used in antiperspirants would cause us all to have dementia by our mid-fifties. So I abandoned my Right Guard Spray Antiperspirant and tried the solid forms that are supposed to prevent my armpits from smelling like something from The Pit. I tried the invisible solid and found that it wasn’t. It looked like the hairs under my arms had been dusted with snow or some illegal powder. Next I tried the gel. I love the feel of goo in the morning! This was not for me. So I wedded myself to the Clear Stick and have been happy for well over a decade. Now the Clear Stick (all brands) has disappeared from the shelves in Franklin. I’ve searched four Walgreens, three Krogers, Wal-Mart, Target, and K-mart. None, zero, nada. This morning in desperation (my last Clear Stick is almost gone) I sent an email of protest to the Right Guard website. I want my Clear Stick. It’s only fair to warn anyone reading this post that my failure to acquire a supply of Clear Stick may result in the loss of my “close” friends. Is there no product-parity left?

2009-12-08T07:05:00.004-06:00

The Andy Blog – 2009

Today is the 13th anniversary of our Andy’s death. Each year some of the memories of his life grow even more dim and I fool myself into believing that when this day comes the pain will be less. And each year I am surprised by that dagger in my chest. It’s there right now. It feels like the knife cuts away scar tissue and the pain of loss is experienced anew. The pictures of his always smiling face, the few tapes that contain his voice, the poem he was writing to be part of his music video for Mickey and Emily’s wedding – these and many more seem to contain a part of his spirit that remains with us. Andy’s zest for life and his daily excitement about God’s creation was part of the engine that powered our family’s collective spirit. And, though we continue on, it is a damaged vehicle we occupy – only to be repaired when we are reunited with him. We love you Andy!

2009-07-17T13:52:00.002-05:00

A Thousand Word Plus Picture
We have all head the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words.” The front page of the Nashville Tennessean yesterday contained a photograph that was worth several, if not many, thousand words. A trial is underway in a 34-year old murder case. The photo was of Virginia Trimble Ritter who was on the witness stand holding the blue checked shirt her nine year old daughter, Marcia, had been wearing when she was murdered in February 1975. This was the first time she has seen it since the day Marcia left home to deliver Girl Scout cookies. Virginia’s comment as she wept “it seems like she just died yesterday.”

I have two comments on that photograph that come from a stirred heart. First, I fully understand her comment. As a parent who lost a child almost 13 years ago, there are many, many days that it seems like yesterday and the sense of loss and heaviness of heart is still with me.

Second, when I saw the photo, my mind immediately raced back to when I had watched an interview with Virginia Trimble in February 1975. Our two daughters were 4 and 2 respectively. As I watched this woman on television share her faith and trust in God, I thought she was crazy. Clearly she must be one of those brainwashed Christians who are not in touch with reality. I was not a believer at the time. While I did not reject the concept of God, I could not relate to someone who felt so close to Him that they could express faith while grieving over the murder of her child. It just did not compute in my mind. Several years later after I was awakened to the gospel, I thought back to that television interview and prayed a silent prayer of thanks for Virginia Trimble’s strong testimony. Yesterday, I prayed the same prayer again.

2009-06-19T10:07:00.000-05:00

Perversion of Justice
Michael Vick was sentenced to 3 years in prison for operating a dog fighting ring. Donte Stallworth was sentenced to 30 days for killing a man with his car while driving drunk. It seems that Scripture teaches us that perversion of justice is one sign of God’s judgment on a country.

2009-06-17T18:43:00.002-05:00

Christians and Health Care Reform
This is not intended to be a definitive treatment of the subject at hand – I’m not qualified to write a definitive work even if I desired. The historical picture I paint is with the broadest brush and certainly does not apply universally. However, I believe the historical flow depicted is representative. This posting is more of an apology for how a normally conservative type became convinced to support and work for health care reform in America, even when many of my conservative friends consider this a traitorous activity. For me this became a matter of conscience and not a political or economic decision.

Once upon a time in a land far removed from 21st century America (not geographically but sociologically) there lived a people heavily influenced by the Christian concept of charity. These people were followers of Jesus Christ and understood that part of the work left for the Body of Christ was to expand the Kingdom of Heaven into every aspect of life on this planet. They understood, as did the translators of the King James Bible, that 1 Corinthians 13 should more correctly be called the “Charity Chapter” rather than the “Love Chapter” of the Bible. The translators of the KJV knew that charity is a special type of the agape love (love involving action) presented in the New Testament. Charity, as described by several Biblical scholars, is the ultimate perfection of the human spirit because it is said to both glorify and reflect the nature of God. These people of an earlier time may not have known what a “worldview” was but they certainly lived with a “community-view.” They understood when something happened to one member of the community it affected everyone in some way. Though their practice of charity was certainly not perfect, there was no misunderstanding the concept that it was to be extended to every member of their community.

Some reading this may be familiar with the Mitford series of books by author Jan Karon. Mitford is a fictional small town in the mountains of North Carolina. The main character in the series is Father Tim, an elderly and well loved Episcopal priest. The mayor of Mitford is fond of reminding Father Tim of the town’s motto: Mitford takes care of its own (more on this later). This is the community-view that so many believers held to in times past. To them, this was the Kingdom of Heaven working itself out on earth. For the love of Christ, communities took care of their own. This included caring for the sick and dying.

As we move forward in time, we see how the Church responded to society’s change from primarily rural to urban. In medieval Europe, monasteries which were located close to towns began to add facilities to care for the sick and dying. These facilities were the earliest version of modern hospitals. They accepted all comers, regardless of their ability to pay or make gifts to the monastery. As industrialization and modern medicine developed, churches built hospitals: Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Catholic, and others. These hospitals were not just mercy hospitals for the poor. These were general service hospitals, many with research and teaching facilities. For decades these hospitals were the backbone of medical care in America. The denominations which owned these hospitals saw the potential that these hospitals could become “budget neutral” as the ratio of paying beds to charity beds increased. Gradually, these hospitals moved further away from the “community-view” understanding of charity and became just another ministry of the denomination. Nevertheless, these hospitals continued the Kingdom work, even if individual Christians had little involvement. Maintaining the “budget neutral” operating model gradually became more important than treating all the poor who sought help. In many cities, the need for more charity beds increased and city-owned hospitals were built to fill this need. The government began to assume the role of “charity” provider when the Church failed to respond to the need.

About the same time, the Fundamentalist vs. Liberal debate was heating up in the Protestant community. One charge made by the Fundamentalists against the Liberals was that they had abandoned the true gospel for what was referred to as the “social gospel.” A very simplistic explanation is that the true gospel was about saving souls while the social gospel was strong on community service and weak on Biblical doctrine. The Fundamentalists (Evangelicals) began to move away from most of those activities that could be associated with the social gospel agenda, including owning hospitals. Most evangelical churches organized “mercy ministries” which were funded by tithes and offerings. However, other than educational institutions, these churches left the playing field of “social services” to the mainline denominations.

About forty years ago advances in medical technology began to accelerate rapidly. At the same time, smart businessmen began to see the profit potential in the health care field. For-profit hospital management companies began to be formed. Medical insurance companies discovered the concept of managed care. Pharmaceutical companies began to focus their research on drugs with high profit potential. The focus of health care in America shifted rapidly from caring for the needs of sick people to making a profit on every component of the health care delivery system. Health care today represents one-sixth of our gross national product. I am not inferring that there is some inherent evil having for-profit companies engaged in health care. However, most of these entities are publically owned corporations which must produce profits for their stockholders – that is their prime directive. Many of these companies have a strong self-interest in maintaining the status quo.

Returning our thoughts to the church, I believe it is fair to ask the question “do Christians still have the obligation to exercise charity (though the word is hard to find in most of our translations)?” I believe that we do. I believe the call to charity is just as strong today as it was 200 or 2000 years ago. I believe that bearing one another’s burdens includes the physical and fiscal as well as the emotional and spiritual. The problem is not a change in the Biblical command. The problem is that the playing field has so radically changed in our complex and interrelated society that it is hard for us to know how charity can be exercised outside that limited circle of close acquaintances. As mentioned previously, the church gave up much ground in rejecting the social gospel and that ground is difficult, if not impossible, to regain. I don’t think there is a church/denomination today which is considering getting back into the hospital business. It may not even be possible with the existing government regulations. However, there are areas where the church could still directly minister to the sick and dying. For example, churches could develop and operate hospice facilities. Last week I was in a hotel in Pensacola which was located next door to the corporate headquarters of a company that owns and operates for-profit hospice facilities in the southeast. If there was ever a place for Christian charity it is in caring for the dying, yet the only hospice facility I know that was started and operated by a church is located in Cape Town, South Africa.

Are the mercy ministries which are part of many churches fulfilling the Biblical mandate for charity? I have been a deacon in one PCA church and served as an elder in three others. In my role as elder, I have been involved in training men who feel called to serve as a deacon. In most churches today, the mercy ministries have funds to meet certain type of emergency needs (food, utilities, rent, etc.) but are not geared for the long haul or the large expense. Most deacons are trained to direct people with long term needs to various government agencies for food stamps, public housing, welfare, etc. Our “charity” then becomes directing those in need to some government agency for assistance. Surely we don’t expect these “social services” agencies to dispense their aid with the love of Christ, do we? Remember Mitford’s motto: we take care of our own. I don’t know of a single church today that practices this within their congregation. That is not to say that under special circumstances, congregations don’t rise up and care for some extraordinary needs. My home church has done that on several occasions I am aware of and covered some medical expenses that were beyond the family’s ability to pay. But such circumstances are the exception and not the norm.

So how does all this relate to health care reform? Today there are 46 million Americans without health insurance. In Tennessee there are over 850,000 people without any health insurance and the number is growing as further cuts are made to the TennCare program. The Church, which for most of its 2,000 years was the primary source for charity, has relinquished these roles to the government. I don’t agree with what the Church has done but I realize that to reverse this situation would take decades. I would love to see the Church begin to return to what I have called the “community-view” but I see few signs that this is occurring. We, as believers, are all called to a life of charity – it’s not optional. In some cases, that charity is worked out one-on-one. In other cases, it involves the community as a whole. Today there is a pressing need: millions of our neighbors (remember the definition of neighbor in the parable of the Good Samaritan) do not have access to even basic medical care. For me, extending charity to these people involves supporting sweeping national health care reform to provide every citizen with basic health care regardless of their ability to pay. For those who are saying that this would be the first step to socialism, I invite you to consider all the existing entitlement programs and explain how they don’t fit the definition of socialism. My strong preference is to see the Church recover its rightful role in Kingdom work and make charity its hallmark in the world. I pray that this occurs some day. In the meantime, to say to those without adequate health care that they need to wait for corporations to decide to give up some of their profits or for the Church to restore its charitable role is like blessing the hungry man with kind words but giving him no food.

2009-05-16T09:58:00.001-05:00

Movie Night
Over the past several weeks we have caught up a bit on our movie watching. We have watched most of the critically acclaimed movies from the Academy Awards plus a few the critics may not know about. My favorite is Australia starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. I’m not saying this would have received my vote for best movie of the year (definitely in the top three) but it’s the movie I liked the most. The storyline is as predictable as an old western but you don’t really care. Entertainment Weekly described the movie as a cross between Gone with the Wind and Out of Africa. I think that is a reasonable description based on the feelings I had at the end of the movie. Kidman plays an English aristocrat, Lady Sarah Ashley. Her husband owned a cattle station in northwest Australia which she has now inherited. She decides to visit and determine firsthand what to do with this property. As it turns out, the largest cattle baron in that area has been plotting to take the property, which is the only cattle station he does not own. Lady Ashley is helped by Hugh Jackman’s character, Drover (that’s the only name you get through the entire movie). He is definitely the John Wayne or Glen Ford type character. Their only hope of saving the station is a long cattle drive across the desert to Darwin. The film is set at the beginning of WWII and Darwin is bombed by the Japanese during the last part of the movie.

The movie is filmed in a beautiful but somewhat desolate part of Australia. Faraway Downs (the name of the cattle station) is a place everyone wants to visit, especially after the seasonal rains turn it from a drab brown landscape to a colorful, park-like setting. Like the old westerns, the good guys win, the bad guys lose, and Faraway Downs (just like Tara) is preserved. It’s a “feel-good” movie for sure and one that I will probably buy.

2009-05-15T06:51:00.003-05:00

Shocking Report?
I was not shocked but certainly dismayed a few mornings ago when the front page (above the fold) of the Tennessean had an article that reported 62% of those calling themselves Evangelical Christians supported torturing prisons to gain information. The very faith that was the foundational element for the establishment of our government seems to have now abandoned a key element of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The faith that is called to be above politics and serve in a prophetic way in calling our government to righteousness has sold out in order to have a “meaningful role” in the political system. Shame on us!

I am reading/praying my way through this year’s 50 Days of Prayer devotional leading up to the PCA General Assembly in June. This year the focus is on the minor prophets. Yesterday (May 14) the selected verse was Amos 5:24 “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” In that entry, the editor, Rev. Michael Ross, shared about his friendship with John Perkins when he was serving as a pastor in Mississippi. Perkins is a well-known Christian leader, a civil rights advocate, and the founder of Voice of Calvary Ministries. In closing his devotional, Ross had this to say about Perkins: “You know, I never knew if John Perkins was a Democrat or Republican. He never talked about elections. But John was used by God in both Church and State. He understood the prophets.” Shame on us if we don’t!

2009-01-22T06:42:00.001-06:00

He Knows Me
What matters supremely is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it–the fact that he knows me. I am graven on the palms of his hands. I am never out of his mind.

All my knowledge of him depends on his sustained initiative in knowing me. I know him because he first knew me, and continues to know me. He knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is not a moment when his eye is off me, or his attention distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when his care falters.

This is momentous knowledge. There is unspeakable comfort–the sort of comfort that energizes, be it said, not enervates–in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love and watching over me for my good. There is tremendous relief in knowing that his love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench his determination to bless me. – J. I. Packer

2009-01-21T06:44:00.003-06:00

Toxic Talk
I have been working on a defense of why I still make New Year’s Resolutions and had hoped to post it by now. But it’s not ready so I throw out these thoughts. Yesterday was a historic day in the life of our country. Barack Obama is now President Obama. I’m old enough to remember when John Kennedy took the oath of office and made his very quotable speech. The excitement and optimism across the country was palpable. The same was true yesterday. Our country is in trouble and, for the moment, President Obama is our best hope. It seems that a broad spectrum of our people is willing to give him a chance, even if they did not vote for him.

I was in a meeting during the ceremonies and got into my truck in time to hear the last five minutes of his speech. The station to which my radio was tuned usually has a “conservative” talk program during that time slot. Within thirty seconds of the end of the speech, the host of the program was back on demeaning the speech and the person who gave it. I’m sure that he believes that is what he is paid to do but I immediately turned the radio off and gave thanks for my resolution not to listen to this type of hate speech this year. I am convinced that “conservative” talk radio has become a dishonest, divisive, and potentially destructive part of our culture. It is truly Toxic Talk and I am done with it!

2009-01-12T12:45:00.002-06:00

Christ The Lord: The Road To Cana
By Anne Rice

This is the second book in the series telling the story of Jesus from his perspective: quite an ambitious undertaking. When I read the first book I expected to be disappointed and critical concerning all the “mistakes” I thought I would find. After all, what is right does an author known for vampire stories have to write about Christ? Ms. Rice answers that question in a lengthy personal testimony as an Afterward to the first book. It seems that a few years ago she returned to the faith of her childhood and felt that God was calling her to use her gifts in a way that would bring him glory. One of the things that made her vampire stories so popular is the research she did about the historical periods in which she sets her stories. Her readers learn a good bit of history and culture in each book. I remember hearing some critic commenting that she did a similar level of research as James Michener did for his epic novels. Ms. Rice shares with her readers that she read over 300 books in preparation for writing this series. That amount of reading, of course, does not guarantee success but in her capable hands it brings first century Palestine to life.

Now that I have finished the second book I confess that I was actually very intrigued by both the story lines and by the way Ms. Rice gives us insights into what the God-man may have been thinking. The first book begins with the return from Egypt and carries through the journey to Jerusalem when Jesus is 12. The second book picks up just before Jesus begins his public ministry and carries through the wedding feast and the calling of the first group of Apostles. In the second book she gives her opinion on what it was like for Jesus to be tempted: both in the day-to-day occurrences of life and by Satan after his forty days in the wilderness. In some respects I don’t like to think about Jesus being tempted because I closely acquaint temptation with sin. How could Jesus look at a woman and somehow be sexually tempted? I don’t know – but if he didn’t then he has not walked where I walk and Scripture and the Church Fathers are wrong about his humanity. Even more interesting is the way she handles the encounter with Satan. I don’t want to spoil anyone’s reading, so I won’t give any details. I will say that it is very creative, consistent with the Biblical account, and, I think, most insightful into the character of the Great Deceiver.

Luke 2:52 tells us that after the visit to Jerusalem and Jesus’ encounter with the Teachers, “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature.” In both books, Ms. Rice gives an glimpse as to what it may have been like for Jesus to grow in wisdom while being fully God and fully man. I look forward to the next story.

2009-01-02T23:40:00.004-06:00

Bail Out for the Bowls?
There may be a need for one more of those wonderful, outrageous bail outs we have now grown accustomed to. In case anyone has failed to notice, each bailed-out entity has expanded its size before letting anyone know how serious their problems were. In essence they became “too big to be allowed to fail.” General Motors was working hard to acquire Chrysler for that very purpose. We know now the college football bowl games are following the same outrageous method. The number of bowl games has been expanded to the point that there are now more Division 1 teams playing in bowl games than those teams sitting at home watching. Why the big increase? Because if the bowl system is replaced with an actual playoff system, the argument can be made that there will be some teams left out of the mix – and we wouldn’t want that to happen. The latest BCS calamity occurred this evening – Utah dominated the mighty Alabama team to become the only undefeated team in the country. The Utes have a legitimate claim on the #1 ranking but will not get the chance to either play for the championship or to be recognized for their achievement because the BCS has a vital interest in declaring either Florida or Oklahoma the championship. The “bail out” the bowls need is not monetary (thank God for small favors). They are going to need a credibility bail out because once again the BCS (and the bowl system) has failed to give football fans a true champion!

2009-01-01T09:41:00.000-06:00

Goodbye 2008

“We always enjoy looking down a long road lined with beautiful trees. The trees are a delightful sight and seem to be forming a temple of plants, with strong wooden pillars and arches of leaves. In the same way you look down a beautiful road like this, why not look back on the road of the years of your life? Look at the large green limbs of God’s mercy overhead and the strong pillars of His loving-kindness and faithfulness that have brought you much joy. Do you see any birds singing in the branches? If you look closely, surely you will see many, for they are singing of God’s mercy received ‘thus far.’”

This quote is from the December 31 devotional in Streams in the Desert. It is such a fitting quote as I say goodbye to 2008. It was a year that was sprinkled with God’s blessings which stand out so brightly against the dark, foreboding background of much of the year. It was a year that was filled with much pain. It was a year in which I was forced to question some of the things that had become almost like bedrock in my life. It was a year in which emotional turmoil was manifest in real physical distress. It was a year in which others in my extended family were enduring different but very difficult circumstances. In my book, 2008 is being filed away with 2004, 1999 and 1996 – very hard years which would not have been endurable without those branches of God’s tender mercies.

2008-12-08T09:03:00.000-06:00

A Holy Day
Growing up Catholic, December 8 was one of those Holy Days on which all the practicing faithful were required to attend Mass. Its been about 30 years since I left those beliefs and became Reformed. As I was reflecting this morning, I realized that this day has once again become a "holy" day for me. The word holy has its roots in something being set apart, normally for some religious purpose. This day is holy to our family, not because of any belief about Mary, the Mother of God, but because it is the day our beloved Andy departed this veil of tears for "that big house up above." Today is the twelfth anniversary of that most painful day. Dianne and I were talking about it as we drove back from St. Louis recently. I told her I have an almost photographic memory of all the events of the day (something very remarkable for me). This day is one of less than a handful of days that have radically transformed my life. Just as the birth of Christ marks the division of world history, December 8, 1996 divides my life. I had experienced loss before but nothing like the real, physical pain that settled in my chest for days. I had faith before, but realized on that day it had been much more head knowledge than a complete loving and trusting relationship with my heavenly Father. I believed in heaven before but now I live every day with one spiritual foot firmly planted there. But for all this transformation and the maturing it has wrought in my life, I still miss Andy so much and long to see him face to face.

2008-11-27T09:51:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving
"The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance." Ps 16:6 This is one of my favorite verses from the Psalms. The "lines" are boundary lines and the picture David is painting for us is that of a beautiful and fruitful field or farm. The farm can be seen as our lives. As children of God we can look around at our lives and see countless blessings and abundance. It is for these that we are called to be thankful and full of peace and joy. I think we are also called to be discerning with respect to those things in our lives which are not easy for us — things that are hurtful, even devastating. A farmer knows that his farm is good and productive even though it may have a sinkhole or two; a boggy area unsuitable for crops; or a rocky field that is impossible to plow. There can also be droughts which are severe enough to dry up our springs for a season. Yet, the farmer is still thankful for this pleasant place for he knows the drought will pass and the bounty will return.

I am very thankful today and see God’s blessings in so many places in my life. I have walked through a few boggy spots this year but today I stand on the firm Rock and know that Jesus calls me his friend. Though I am thankful, I am also grieving with my friends. Luke and Christy Davis lost their son, Jordan, this week. Eric and Kelly Scherrer lost their infant son, Beau, this week. Allen and Gillian Peabody lost their son, Joseph, in August. These are the sinkholes we fall into and which God, by his grace and comfort, pulls us from. We know because we have been though it ourselves.

This week as I have reflected on all this sorrow I remembered our son’s homegoing service and the song one of our pastor’s sung. It’s an old Red Foley song (Steal Away) and it captures so clearly the message God would have us hear during these "sinkhole" times. I found a video of Foley singing it on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czvX07wZUy8

2008-11-09T05:41:00.000-06:00

We See So Little Yet Desire So Much

"If only the veil could be torn away and our eyes strengthened to bear the luminous brightness of divine glory! It is so plain, from what we know so well of ourselves, that this would be a hopeless dream. What are our bodily eyes to demand such a vision when they miss so much of things as obvious as the unclouded sparkle in a child’s eyes, the freshness of sky and countryside after a spring rain, or even the triumph of artistic coloring in a single petal of a rose? We see so little of the bodily things for which our eyes were made; we can hope for nothing from them of the invisible and unlimited splendor of God. Our minds plunge easily, even eagerly, beneath the surface of physical things to the intangible realities that enrich and nourish our minds; yet how much we miss of the courage of little men, of stubborn hope, of dreams, regrets, loves too fine for the rough wrappings of words. These things our minds can see for they fit into the finite limits of a concept — the wedding garment essential for every guest of our minds. Not so for the infinite perfection of divinity." — Thomas Aquinas

2008-11-08T08:30:00.000-06:00

The Demise of Journalism
My cousin uses a quote from Mark Twain as a tag line in his emails: "If you don’t read the newspaper, then you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed." This Twain-ism has taken on new meaning during the 2008 election cycle. Journalism, in the classical sense, may have completely retired from the field. I remember one of my "vacation things" when the kids were growing up was to purchase a copy of the New York Times daily and read a good portion of it. While I did not agree with the editorial policy of the NYT, I did enjoy the depth of the articles and the high standard of English composition and grammar. Even twenty years ago, our local newspaper was full of typos, misspelled words, sentence fragments, poor grammar, and a general disregard for the King’s English. Reading the NYT daily was a refreshing break from all that sloppy writing and editing.

Today, those vacation memories seem like a myth. Other than the Wall Street Journal I have not picked up a newspaper this year that did not look and feel like a tabloid. I’m not saying that there is no good reporting to be found in newsprint — its just very hard to find. More importantly, the subtle bias of yesteryear has been replaced by in-your-face political propaganda written into almost every article. Maybe the worst, (I say maybe because there was so much other stuff I just refused to read) were the attacks on Sarah Palin. These went beyond the pale in every respect.

It was announced a few weeks ago that the Christian Science Monitor will cease producing a newsprint copy of their publication in the near future. The publication will still be available online but the only thing you can hold in your hand is your laptop. Our local paper, the Tennessean, shrunk its page size a couple of weeks ago and it is beginning to look like some third world rag. The response of the journalist establishment to decreased circulation is to "dumb it down another notch." Sounds like the same approach our professional educators apply to the school system. All this seems like we bidding farewell to a thinking America. (Check out this blog http://www.twistimage.com/blog/ )

2008-11-05T10:50:00.000-06:00

Post Election Short Thoughts
1. I’m glad its over. Even as an old cynic I was disgusted with much of what occurred during the campaigns — and that includes both parties.
2. My New Year’s resolution (a couple of months early): no more talk radio!
3. God remains firmly in control of His creation (I guess this one should have been #1).
4. My gut feeling is that an era has passed and we may never be able to return to an America many of us thought existed. It may not have existed for a long time but some of us were unable to discern the signs of the times.
5. I am going to pray for our new president and give honor to him and his office.
6. I think its time for Christians in America to stop chasing moonbeams and focus our energies on doing the work of the kingdom: worshiping in Spirit and truth; feeding the hungry; comforting the grieving; visiting the sick; and, living like we are the light on the hill.

2008-10-11T07:21:00.001-05:00

A Joyful Day!
Andy’s best friend, David Ferriss is getting married today. I would so like the opportunity to talk to Andy and get his comments. I suspect one of them would be "David, you really reached above yourself this time — Chelsea is something very special!" We will be celebrating with David and Chelsea this afternoon and suspecting that Andy will have found some way to look in on the ceremony (and the party afterward). All our prayers and best wishes to the new Mr. & Mrs. David Ferriss!

2008-08-08T09:21:00.000-05:00

Andy Blog
Its very difficult to imagine Andy at 28! Today is his birthday and for the 12th time we are celebrating it without him. All week our thoughts have been about him and we have probably chuckled as often as we have shed tears. We have been planning to plant a tree today (a memorial we have used before) but have had a difficult time finding the tree we wanted. Dianne and I both remember the tree we had at the house on Anchorage. It was a beautiful flowering tree that we had been told it was a tulip tree. It turns out that is was actually a type of magnolia that grows to be larger than we want in front of the bedroom window. (We learned about the magnolia after Dianne visited the Anchorage house and clandestinely removed a small branch to take to the nursery.) As were discussing the tree and the Anchorage house, we remembered how much Andy loved that house and being close to his best friend, David Bell. One of the first things Andy would ask each day was about the possibility of playing with David. They had many great adventures together. Since we are thinking about planting a tree today, the one that came to mind was the treasure hunt. They had seen or read about pirates and buried treasure which set their active imaginations loose. It seemed perfectly reasonable that they too should have a secret treasure buried somewhere. So, Andy and David snuck into David’s parents bedroom and cleaned out his mother’s jewelry box. Their vegetable garden had been tilled for the spring planting and this seemed like the perfect place for the treasure. For some reason they decided that each piece of jewelry should be buried in a separate hole. This occupied them most of the day and their parents most of the following week with a metal detector. Here comes another chuckle!

2008-05-27T06:21:00.001-05:00

Low Country Haven
We’re spending the week at the Snow’s wonderful house on Edisto Island, SC. If there ever was a place in God’s creation to recover from the stress of the world, this is it — and we haven’t even been fishing yet! The photographs were taken out the picture window in the bathroom of the master suite. You can sit in the tub looking out over the saltwater creek and the marsh and begin feeling like The Prince of Tides. We are planning to spend the day in Charleston and I am looking forward to my first visit.

I ran across a passage from Thomas Aquinas last week that has caused a good bit of reflection and encouragement. "‘All the ways of a man are open to His eyes.’ (Prov 16:2) Our feet cannot carry us beyond the vision of God. The most wayward heart is still within reach of His understanding eyes. Triumph and failure, faded dreams, the ebbed courage, the flicked insults of ingratitude, and all the tantrums of childish rebellion do not have to be explained to God. He knows us, knows better than we can ever know; and loves us infinitely from the infinite depth of that understanding knowledge. His image is in us, however deeply buried under the debris of our living, and heaven is never beyond the reach of our fingers."

2008-04-04T08:57:00.000-05:00

The Lesser of Two Evils?
I can’t remember a presidential election year that I didn’t hear someone say "I guess I’m going to have to choose between the lesser of two evils." I believe that for a Christian choosing evil is, in itself, an evil act. So, if we believe that the two (or more) candidates running for president are evil men (or women), then we just should not vote for any of them. But let’s take a look at what we mean by evil. When we are talking about "two evils" are we talking about two sinful people? If so, then the only possible candidate for president we can support is Jesus! Every person who has ever sought the office of president has been a sinful person. Some of those are redeemed sinners — some are not. If we are not talking about garden variety sinners when we call them evil, what we are we talking about?

I’m not exactly sure what we meant 40 or 50 years ago when this expression was used and I am not completely sure what unbelievers mean by it today. What I want to consider is what us right-thinking, conservative, evangelical Christians mean. There was a time in the late 1970's and early 1980's that evangelicals rediscovered their identity and became "radical." Just before I was a believer, I marched with Christians in downtown Nashville against adult businesses which had a thriving trade in that part of the city. There was a relatively large crowd that night that almost filled the Downtown Presbyterian Church. It was not too much later that I was part of a growing group who picketed in front of abortion clinics and attended every pro-life rally in town. Christians were taking to the streets on many fronts. Christians were aware of culture more so than the preceding few decades. Many Christians were being influenced by the reconstruction movement which was teaching an optimistic view of God’s Kingdom on earth. Books about restoring (or building) Christian America were extremely popular. It was a giddy time for many of us. It was during this period that the Religious Right became a political entity. Ronald Reagan was elected president and there was an upbeat attitude in the evangelical community.

To my parents generation, voting was a civic duty. I remember listening to them discuss the candidates and the political parties. Sometimes they disagreed — those were the more interesting conversations. I also remember (1950's) sitting as a family watching the national conventions and listening to the speeches. In some ways that was a blessed time as we had not yet learned about "sound bites." In any case, after the conventions, speeches, and campaigning, my parents, and a substantial number of their peers, went to the polls and voted. They understood a very fundamental fact of our political system — someone was going to be elected president and lead the country for the next four years. They believed it was their responsibility to have a say in that decision.

Today, evangelicals have a different view. Over the past thirty years , we have been encouraged to believe that voting is giving our stamp of approval to the ideological views of one of the candidates. We have subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) been trained to compare the views of candidates to a list of litmus tests provided by the various conservative/Christian leaders: abortion, gay rights, immigration, etc. Every vote is now an ideological decision. If a candidate does not score well on our litmus tests, then he is an "evil" and we look elsewhere. If all available candidates come up short, then, according to some of our "leaders", we stay home and don’t vote. There is an unspoken assumption that voting for an "evil" is probably sin on our part. And that is where we are today in this election cycle. Both Democratic candidates are de facto "evil" and the Republican candidate has been found lacking by many of the leaders of the Religious Right. Consequently, we are being counseled by some to just "sit this one out." I’m not going to do that. I’m going back to that fundamental truth: someone is going to be elected. I believe that Christians living in a democracy have a responsibility to vote. I also believe that our decision process needs to move beyond a list of litmus tests. Among other things, we need to look at what Scripture tells us about the role of government and consider not only a candidate’s view on our hot button issues but how we perceive he will assure that justice reigns, particularly to the poor and disenfranchised. God is much more concerned about the poor than He is about a wall on our borders. God is much more concerned about those who have to choose between food and medicine than He is about the growth of our 401k accounts. God is much more concerned about people having jobs in order to feed their families than He is about America competing in the global economy. And God still holds the heart of the king in His hand.

2008-02-09T06:34:00.000-06:00

The Shack
I know that men much smarter than I will probably make mincemeat of the theology presented in William P. Young’s The Shack. I found a lot to question as well. That being said, I enjoyed the book and it made a significant impact on me. My lovely bride will confirm to anyone who asks that I am a non-relationalist and probably one from birth. What is a "non-relationalist" (if there is such a term)? It is someone who is so focused on the analytical that he usually misses most of the relational aspects of life. I don’t necessarily like this about myself but do confess it to be true. It is not that I don’t want relationships — I want them very much. Its just that I don’t naturally gravitate to the "feelings side" when I can camp out on the more familiar (and safer) turf of the "thinking side." This proclivity of mine has not been limited to earthly relationships but also applies to heavenly ones. I have to be in a pretty desperate state of mind before I open up and pray for God to really touch my life rather than just fix the problem.

In The Shack Young’s treatment of the gospel as it is worked out in our lives is life-changing, at least for me. Without being a "plot spoiler" The Shack is about Mack whose daughter is kidnaped and murdered by a serial killer. Four years after the murder, he receives a note inviting him to meet with God at the same remote shack where his daughter was abused and murdered. Though he thinks it is a crazy idea, he goes and spends the weekend with God, all Three Persons (all dust jacket or Amazon information). What particularly grabbed me about the book was the way the author treated the relationships among the Trinity and how that relates to us as God lives in us. For one of the few times in my life I felt like I understood what true relationship looks and feels like. I will probably read the book again in a few weeks just to cement some of the encouraging parts in my mind. I would caution that as this book sweeps through the Christian (and non-Christian) community, many are becoming devotees and are uncritical of some of the very incomplete theology in the book. Read it with caution and expect to be challenged at some points. I think this is a great book for a discussion group.

2007-12-18T01:42:00.000-06:00

"And do not forget that we are drifting."
Jefferson Davis (J. D.) Tant was born in 1861 in Marietta, Georgia. His father and three uncles were all were CSA soldiers and fought for the Army of Northern Virginia. The family lost their farm during Reconstruction and moved to Texas to make a new start. J. D. felt the call to ministry as a young man. He served for awhile in the Methodist church and then became a circuit preacher for the churches of Christ. His effective ministry brought him much attention. Though he was unrefined and plain spoken, (he was actually banned from publishing articles for almost ten years because he used the word "bull" in a sermon) he was sought after to preach and lead meetings all over the southeast and into Arizona and New Mexico.

He was a contemporary of, and well known by, the men who founded David Lipscomb College. He spent a good deal of time in middle and west Tennessee and preached for several long seasons in Bellevue. I am working on some family history but I’m not sure yet if we are directly related to J. D. We do know that my grandfather’s family had deep roots in the churches of Christ and some of them came from West Tennessee. In fact, I have an uncle who is also J. D. Tant, though the initials stand for Joe Donnie and not the illustrious president of the Confederacy.

The quote used as title for this post was one that J. D. used to close many of the articles he wrote for the Gospel Advocate magazine. It also showed up in some of his sermons. He was very much a traditionalist in the churches of Christ and his theological arguments and debates over a wide variety of issues were numerous. It seems that his use of this quote was to remind people that, in the Christian life, coasting is rarely an option. For most of us there is a current in the world that will quickly move us to a new location if we are not striving against it. He and I would surely be in disagreement as he applied this to the need to live outwardly a holy life in order to be saved. Where I think J. D.’s warning does ring true, however, is in our daily understanding of the gospel. I find that if I don’t "preach the gospel" to myself afresh every day, I begin to loose contact with its reality. I begin to believe that God will not really forgive my sin this time — this hundredth time or this millionth time. His patience has to finally wear thin with me and He will give up. That’s the message my spirit receives when I don’t remind myself of the incredible truth that, because of what Jesus has done, I am loved unconditionally. Otherwise, I am drifting . . . . .

2007-12-09T16:23:00.000-06:00

Escape from the Moment
Everywhere we look in our culture we see how much we have adapted to living in the moment. Every Christmas advertisement I have received for electronics is making the pitch for cell phones with email and text messaging capability. I have had several friends who expressed amazement that I don’t use (or even know how to use) IM. In business the "just in time" approach has become the standard for inventory control and long range planning has been compressed to mean planning for the next calendar quarter. More and more families, even families with above average incomes, are living paycheck to paycheck. Savings in America is maybe at an all time low. In short, we are a culture that lives for the moment and gives little concern for the future.

Today in Sunday School we looked at the life of Abraham. God promised to bless his descendants for a thousand generations. He believed this promise and looked to a future he would never live to see. Also in class today I mentioned a book I purchased this week. It is an outline of the Book of Church Order prepared by a PCA elder in North Carolina. The reason I mentioned it was that he dedicated to book to one of his ancestors who was a pastor and one of the founders of Concord, MA in the 1500's. The reason for the dedication was that there is some documentation (either journal or sermons) that this future-conscience pastor was faithful to pray that his descendants would respond to the Gospel and accept Christ.

Yesterday, I visited the cemetery in Clarksville where my mother’s family is buried. While I was there it struck me how unlike our generation was my great, great grandfather, Patrick Joseph Savage. He immigrated with his family from Ireland in the mid-1800's. They settled, along with a number of other Irish families, in Montgomery County. I don’t know much about him but I do know he had a view to the future. Not too long after Greenwood Cemetery opened in 1872, he bought a relatively large number of burial plots all in the same area. I have no way to know what was on his mind at the time but there are now representatives of three generations buried there and still room for more. Whether it’s a good idea to purchase burial like my ancestor I don’t know. What I do know as a believer is that I should be so future oriented I regularly pray that my family for all generations to come (until Christ returns) will remain faithful to the covenant.

Special Days

2007-12-08T23:31:00.000-06:00

The Andy Blog: On this rainy, foggy winter day we mark the 11th anniversary of Andy’s death. The weather is a vivid picture of my heart today: chilly and heavy. I have been feeling the gravity of this day all week and I guess I wasn’t expecting it, at least not to this degree. People ask if the pain ever gets better. I know that it does for most of the year but on those special days — birthday, Christmas (which Andy loved so much) and today — it seems I get sucked back in time to that most horrible of all days. I can walk through that Sunday moment by moment remembering with great clarity almost every thought, every encounter and still feel the same emotions with the same intensity as I did that day. Dianne has a plaque hanging in the kitchen which says "We don’t remember days, we remember moments." I my particular case this is true but I am remembering almost enough of these moments to make a day.

Of all the pictures we have of Andy (and I have looked at a lot today) this one probably says as much as any about his love for life. Andy had been decorating Christmas cookies to take to kids at church and school. If the cookies look so good with icing, why not decorate himself? And of course he did. And he loved every minute of it. This was probably the week before he began celebrating eternity with his heavenly Father. Andy, we laugh with you and we still miss you very much!

2007-11-07T14:41:00.000-06:00

Fishing in the Low Country
I’m not sure there is such a thing as a bad fishing trip but I just returned from a great fishing trip to Edisto Island, South Carolina. Edisto Island is located about an hour southwest of Charleston and is part of what is known as the "low country." The trip was suggested by my son Mickey several months ago as a time for the three MET’s to spend some time together. So last Thursday afternoon Mickey, Michael, and I drove 600 miles to the home of John and Mandy Snow. The Snow’s have a wonderful house on the island adjacent to a saltwater creek. I have never felt more welcome anywhere I have stayed. John and Mandy love having company and have an extraordinary gift for hospitality.

I had never done any saltwater fishing so everything was new to me. First on the agenda each day was catching your bait. John has minnow traps which stay in the water almost all of the time. We also went out each morning and used a cast net to catch shrimp. John is very proficient and could fill an minnow bucket in less than an hour. Mickey had learned to use the cast net during their summer vacation and he added to the shrimp count. I realized quickly that I would certainly embarrass myself and probably fall out of the boat trying to throw the net. After the bait was on board, we went up the creek to some of John’s favorite spots. It was windy on Friday but we were sheltered fairly well on the creek. Just after low tide, we began to catch some fish. We caught about eight speckled trout which were keeping size along with one redfish. For my other grandson Sean, I caught a stingray (nasty creatures!). Saturday morning a front moved through and the fishing was not as good but it was still great day. Saturday night we feasted on fish, crab, and shrimp.

Some thoughts about the trip — Yes, it was a long way to travel for two days of fishing but it was worth the effort and then some. Our time in the car allowed some good catching up with each other and the two adults learned much from the 9 year old philosopher. What about unwinding in such a short period of time? I have had week long vacations that did not relieve the pressures of life like this trip. I attribute part of this to the nature of fishing but a good portion of this result came from the low country attitude we experienced. Everything about life was down a notch or two from the rest of the world. The relaxed attitude was so pervasive that it affected everything. I’ve been back to the normal busy schedule for three days but I still feel relaxed. Not only did I come back refreshed and renewed, I came back encouraged. I knew before the trip that I would enjoy getting re-acquainted with the Snow’s and I was not disappointed. The encouragement came from experiencing the blessings of a committed and loving Christian family and observing how they live out their faith moment by moment. So to John, Mandy, Preston, J. R., Cooper, Carlton, and Mollye, (and of course that wonderful dog, Chester) thank you for reviving an old soul.

2007-10-29T01:17:00.000-05:00

The War about Illegal Aliens
America has this interesting habit of declaring war on social issues (I can’t remember a single one that declared war on us first). In the 1960's we declared War on Poverty. This was part of President Johnson’s Great Society initiative. There were many well intentioned folks that took a look at the richness of America (dare we say blessedness!) and decided that we could make a meaningful difference in the lives of many that lived below the poverty level. We did make a difference — we made them feel like second class citizens. In the process of waging this war on poverty, we took substantial funds from the more affluent citizens and funded programs that demeaned the recipients of assistance and undermined many non-governmental charity programs. Result: we still have poverty in America and many programs that assisted the poor with compassion and Christian charity were forced out of business.

In the 1970's we began the War on Drugs. A quick survey of modern America will confirm that we did not win this war. What did happen was that, in support of this worthy effort, we surrendered many of our rights. The Constitution promises that we will be secure in our homes and our possessions. The "no-knock" provisions gives the police the right to kick in your door if they think you may flush drugs down the toilet. RICO allows the government to take your property and keep it until you can prove that you are not a drug dealer. Granted, these are simplistic descriptions but they are accurate with respect to the rights we have surrendered in support of this war.

We all are familiar with the War on Terror. While I am a big supporter of President Bush, I think history may judge his administration as the one that presided over the greatest deterioration of constitutional rights since the adoption of the constitution. I believe the Patriot Act would be considered grounds for a new revolution to many of our founding fathers. Yet, we embraced its provisions in order to feel more "safe" in our homes. Shame on us.

We are now engaged in a War about Illegal Aliens (not a war on illegal aliens). For at least 20 years the Federal Government has failed to enforce the existing laws on immigration. As a result we have 20+ million illegal aliens living in the county, most from Mexico. These people have been a blessing to business and a curse to the average citizen who sees his tax money being spent to support services for people who should not be in the country. Some conservative politicians have seen this as an issue to champion to improve their standing with the electorate. One of the worst consequences of this is the "Anti-Sanctuary" legislation presently pending before Congress. This legislation would penalize any city or state that does not modify the operation of the law enforcement agencies to make cooperation with the immigration service a top priority. Under this legislation Federal funds can be withheld from cities if they continue to instruct the local police to enforce local laws and protect the citizens. The Mayor of Detroit was quoted in USA Today (10/26/07) as follows: "I want Detroit police officers out there catching people who are stealing cars and mugging old ladies, not asking people for their passports." Cities who take this approach have been branded "sanctuary cites" by certain members of congress and conservative talk show hosts. In my opinion, this is just one more case where we are being asked to allow the Federal government to intrude in local affairs, contrary to the intent of the Founding Fathers, and surrender more of our rights. We don’t have many left — when will we take our stand?

2007-10-19T15:51:00.000-05:00

Jonathan Who?

It been a while since I posted. My excuse: I have been both busy and lazy. I was shook out of my inattention during a trip to Borders last Friday night. I was in the literature section immediately adjacent to the religion section. There was a high school girl and her mother standing at the divider between the two sections. The mother asked "Now who is this man we’re looking for?" The girl responds, "Jonathan Edwards." The mother is unfamiliar with the name and asks, "Who is he and what’s so special about him?" The girl responds, "In the colonial days he was a preacher who used guilt manipulation and terror to try to force people to convert to Christianity. He would tell stories that were like horror movies about what will happen to you if you didn’t join his church." She said a good bit more along the same lines but those words are lost in the fog of my memory.

I was a bit shocked and, although I was tempted to step around the divider and engage them in conversation, I remained frozen in place trying to figure out where this young girl got those ideas. It was clear from listening how quick and sure her answer was that she had heard this from someone. A few days later I shared this incident with a friend. He explained that many schools today have so "dumbed-down" the study of literature that almost all they read are excerpts. He further explained that there are curriculum in use in some public schools that contain a portion of Edward’s sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (the most graphic portions). The curriculum gives little context for the sermon as a whole or the portions read. It is very likely that a teacher who is no friend to Christianity could color his introduction to convey to the class what the girl repeated.

What a tragedy that so many young people can come away from high school with such a false opinion of one of our Nation’s greatest minds. But maybe the bigger tragedy is the way literature is being taught. It seems the curriculum writers have taken as gospel the notion that all teenagers have short attention spans and cannot listen (or read) for periods longer than a few minutes at a time. Computer games, music videos, text messages all train the recipient to "get it and go." A couple of movies I have watched (Example: Bourne Ultimatum ) change scenes so rapidly that it gives me a headache. This is what the kids get on video games. I’m sure somewhere the argument is used that if we try to teach literature the "old" way we will lose the kids and they won’t read at all. I just can’t believe that a good story has lost all its magic.

Whistling Jack Smith - I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman

2007-07-17T17:15:00.001-05:00

Great music triva. This song made it to the Billboard Top 20 in 1967

2007-07-04T07:49:00.000-05:00

Prayer for Our Birthday
On an earlier 4th of July, George Washington offered the following prayer: "Almighty God, we make our earnest prayer that you will keep the United States in your holy protection; that you will incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow-citizens. And finally, that you will most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, peaceful mindset which are the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion and without which we can never be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Here’s my prayer for today: O Heavenly Father, what a wonderful legacy you gave this country in founding fathers who were men who proclaimed Christ as their Savior and were not ashamed to quote Your Word publicly.

Father we praise Your Name, a chorus of Your redeemed living in this wonderful country. We thank You that You have planted us in a very fruitful land and You have caused this land produce its bounty for us. No nation, with the exception of ancient Israel, has been more blessed than we. Yet, in many ways we have, as a nation, forgotten our first love. We have turned from serving and honoring You and have built idols of greed, self-gratification, personal peace, ambition, and sexual perversion. We have replaced justice with expediency, mercy with political correctness, compassion with a demeaning welfare system, and humility with the arrogance of success. We have scorned Your precious gift of life and have become a nation that murders our unborn, produces children that kill each other and themselves, and have stepped on that slippery slope where we decide which of our old and sick have lives worthy of living.

Gracious God, You would be fully justified if You withdrew Your blessings. Yet, You have not withdrawn Your hand and in that we find great hope. Therefore Father, we do pray for this nation. We pray for our President, our Vice President, and the governors of states. Be gracious to them in their persons and remind them that Your are the Ruler of the kings of the earth and that You hold their hearts in Your hand. Compel them, we pray, to live godly lives before the people and let them rule wisely and in accordance with Your will.

We pray for all of the legislators that they will use wisdom, reason, and compassion as they make laws.

We pray of all the judges that interpret the law, may they do so with fairness, honesty and impartially.

We pray for all those who work for the various agencies of government, that they will serve the people well and not let government become more of a burden.

We pray for all those who serve in the military, that they will be ever ready to defend this country but even more ready to preserve the peace.

We pray for the commerce of this nation, that You will continue to bless us with opportunities to work and support our families. Lord, give us hearts willing to share our abundance with those in need.

Gracious Father, we pray for the families of this nation. It was on the strength of families that this county was founded and now our families are under attack. We pray for husbands and wives that they will be committed to each other and to You. We pray that fathers and mothers will understand Your plan for families and be willing to reclaim childhood for their children. Bless our families with laws that are friendly to Your standard for the family and protect them from the Evil One who would undermine this very foundation of our land.

O Lord of the Harvest, we pray that you will fill our pulpits with men of godly character and calling; make them burning and shining lights, faithful to Christ and to the souls in their care. May they faithfully preach the power of the Gospel to broken and wounded people in desperate need of Your love and forgiveness. We pray for a work of the Spirit in bringing revival and reformation to our nation. Let our churches once more be full of Your people and may they once again raise the standard for Biblical character and integrity in this land. And Father, if we can be so bold, we pray that revival will begin with our hearts this day.

In the powerful name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

2007-06-15T07:56:00.001-05:00

A Week of Passings
During the period of a little over a week, four old friends died. The evening of June 1 our friend, Jim Newpart went home to be with the Lord. We met Jim and Mynra at a home Bible study when we first moved to Franklin in 1977. We were not particularly interested in being part of a Bible study but it was a good way to meet some new friends. That Bible study meet every other Thursday night for several years and we are still friends with most of the original members.
Jim and Myrna had moved with his job (IBM) to a number of cities. When the company wanted him to leave middle Tennessee, they decided to change careers rather than leave. Jim loved to build and over the years they built several new homes, all of which I loved. He not only had good instincts for what would make a house appealing, he had the energy to complete what he started in grand fashion. Jim was one of the neatest people I have ever met. His clothes and hair were always perfect. Myrna used to tell people that he did not even turn over in his sleep lest he wrinkle his pajamas.

I was closest to Jim during those years when we both were active in the same church. Jim was a faithful and effective servant. He had a heart for people and I learned from Jim how to balance keeping my eye on the objective while remaining attentive to the opinions and desires of others. When Cortez Cooper was preparing to start Christ Presbyterian Church, Jim was one of the "Brentwood Seven" that served as the original feasibility committee for the church. Jim and I both liked Vandy basketball, Titans football, and golf. All of these, as well as his warm love for people were stolen these past few years by his illness. Jim, we miss you.

On June 2, my second longest friendship ended. Father Edward Arnold completed his many years of service to Christ and went home. I’ll come back to him in a moment. On June 3 a classmate from Father Ryan, Tommy St. Charles, died. I have not seen him in years but I do remember a number of the funny stunts he pulled in high school. I also remember talking to him a few times at the business he owned. I have a general discomfort with the idea that one of my peers has fulfilled his days on this earth. If God gives me the days, I will experience more of these but I don’t think repetition will make the process any easier.

On June 10 Peggy Southard died after a long fight with cancer. Stu and Peggy served with us as the first leadership group for parents at Christ Presbyterian Academy. We enjoyed getting to know them. Later we were involved in a Bible study with them and I hooked up with Stu through some Christian Leadership Concepts contacts. In recent years they have been part of Strong Tower Church but their impact on Christ Community is still being felt. It was very sad in worship when the announcement was made.

Now back to Fr. Arnold. I first encountered him at St. Joseph’s Church in 1957. He had just been ordained to the priesthood and was appointed assistant pastor. I was in the 4th grade at the time. Several years later, while still at St. Joseph, I had developed a comfortable relationship with him serving as an altar boy and helping with various chores around the school and church. When the new sanctuary and living quarters for the pastors was complete, I was part of a group of students that helped the priests move. There was a box of books Fr. Arnold had that we were not supposed to look at. He told us that they were books on the "banned book list" of the Catholic Church. So what did we do? We looked of course, thinking these were a genre of books that would particularly appeal to 8th grade boys. They weren’t. They proved to be all theology — Martin Luther, John Calvin, etc. Boy, were we ever disappointed.

A few years later I was a student at Father Ryan and had Fr. Arnold one year for Religion and one year for Latin. It was in his class that I learned the saying "I don’t give hard tests. You make take hard tests, but I don’t give them." I use this every year with my students. Fr. Arnold was a very demanding teacher and could make life interesting if you dozed off during class or were misbehaving. He kept a supply of small pieces of chalk in his desk. He could hurl these with the accuracy and velocity of a major league pitcher. You did not want to be on the receiving end of one of these missiles! During my senior year I took my second year of mechanical drawing. Due to my schedule, I took this class by myself as I could not meet during the normal class time. One day Fr. Arnold walked into the room and asked if I would help him with a problem. He was the Chaplin of St. Mary’s Villa at the time. They were building a new chapel on the front side of the campus and he did not like the design of the window behind the altar (which was actually on the front of the building). He wanted me to design a new window. I'm not exactly sure why he did this (although at his funeral mention was made several times of his legendary frugality). I did what he requested and to this day, when I drive by St. Mary’s I take a quick look at the bay window I designed.

Fr. Arnold was pastor of our Lady of the Lake in Hendersonville where we moved after my graduation from college. He gave instructions to Dianne and baptized our first three children. Just a few years after our move to Franklin, he became the pastor of St. Philip’s, where he remained until his death. Since we were not attending St. Philip’s, we only saw him on occasion. When my mom died, her pastor was out of town and Fr. Arnold substituted and handled the funeral. He did the same 2½ years later when my dad died. For him it was not just something he had too do. He was very pastoral and I felt like he was part of the family. In fact, several months before dad died, he had one of those "mini strokes" and was rushed to the hospital. The nursing home had notified Fr. Arnold because he was the catholic pastor the home had on their call list. He met me at the hospital. I needed to talk to someone about heroic measures for my dad. I thought I had everything worked out in my mind but I found I was not nearly as comfortable when the situation was no longer hypothetical. Fr. Arnold sat with me and helped me work through the issue. I ended up where I thought I would but now I was comfortable because an authority I respected affirmed my decision.

For several weeks after our son, Andy, died we had a routine of sitting together and going through the mountain of cards that seemed to arrive each day. One day I found a card in the mail without any stamp or postmark. It turned out to be from Fr. Arnold. He had driven to the house but was overwhelmed by our very steep driveway (by that time he was having severe problems with his hip and walking on level ground was difficult). He had written a wonderful and comforting message on the card and left it in our mail box. A few weeks later he said a mass for Andy and invited us to have breakfast with him afterwards. It was very good time. We hit some of the high spots of those periods when our lives touched.

I attended the funeral mass for Fr. Arnold in a sanctuary that was almost completely full (1,000+). I can say that I was profoundly moved by the service as it broke through my personal thoughts and helped me focus on the heavenly realm. I did not want to leave when the service was over. By human standards, I would not be considered a close friend of Fr. Arnold — but my life was profoundly intertwined with his. I was very sad and I had the feeling that if I did not leave the building, somehow the connection would remain. I am still sad!

2007-06-02T02:50:00.000-05:00

Legacy
Not too long ago I was going through a box that contained old documents we hurriedly packed away as we were cleaning out my parents house after it was sold. I thought we had gone through everything at the time. We found the original bill from St. Thomas Hospital for when I was born ($158 — I guess I was worth the expense) and the bill of sale for a 1938 Chevy ($750). My mom and dad were keepers of records — forever. As I was recently looking through the box I found something that I had never seen before. On a piece of cardstock about 3½ inches by 5½ inches was a poem written by my mother in 1928. This would have been when she was a high school student at St Cecilia. The poem is recorded in beautiful printing with the first letter of each line illuminated.

Thanksgiving

Thanks be to God
Here on earth
All join in praising
Not without mirth;
Keep the heart loving
See the bright side;
Give without stinting
In places denied;
Venerate the Giver
In sunshine and sorrow;
Nights may be dark, but
God gives a tomorrow.

— M. L. Hussey
1928

I think the poem is original. I have checked several websites of Thanksgiving poems and have not found anything close. But whether or not it is original it says something very special to me about my mother as a teenager — she knew the God that I know. My childhood was filled with my mother, and my grandmother who lived with us, telling stories about God’s faithfulness. Though I had my period of rebellion as a yong adult, I realize now that in my "wild ways" I never strayed far from this God my mother wrote about. She has been gone from this world for almost 20 years and for her last five or so she was hard to know and love because of the cruel Alzheimer’s which stole her identity away. Yet there is nothing I want more this moment than to put my arms around her and tell her I love her. Thanks Mom for faithfully teaching me about this God who loves us and is such a vital part of our lives!

2007-04-28T10:35:00.000-05:00

Sticks and stones may . . . . .
Last week I was called a liberal! I have lived a good number of years thinking such a travesty would never occur. It happened during lunch with two business associates. We were having a pleasant time and the conversation worked its way around to politics. One of my lunch companions launched an attack against "those environmental nutcases" that would have done Ann Coulter proud. I did not comment verbally but did raise my eyebrows at one of his outbursts. He was sitting across the table and noticed my expression. He gave me a hard look, but did not comment.

A little later we were talking about the 2008 elections and the various potential candidates. I have some opinions but could not seem to get an opening to share them. These guys were really serious — serious like the election is next month rather than next year. Since I could not talk, I listened intently and found myself thinking I was watching a program on Fox News. I guess I smiled at the thought and one of my friends thought I was offering some "know-it-all grin." Thinking I was in disagreement with the orthodox positions being expressed, he turned and said, "Well, it looks like we have a liberal at the table with us." I was a little stunned at first. Several years ago I would have angrily launched a defense of my conservative credentials. But I just grinned all the more and enjoyed my salad.

I realize the comment about me being a liberal was made primarily to provoke me into discussion and give me an opportunity to prove my fundamentalist Republican pedigree. I was not angry but I could not identify my feelings at the moment. What did trouble me as I reflected later on the exchange is how typical our lunch table discussion has become. I can’t remember a time in the past year when I was involved in a serious conversation in which the individuals disagreed but were willing to calmly debate the issue. I used to have these all the time. What has happened? I’m not exactly sure but I think it has much to do with the proliferation of talk radio/television which has almost destroyed the concept of "friendly disagreement." Even our everyday conversations are peppered with "sound bites" and "labeling." During the lunch conversation mentioned previously, I, and anything I had to say, was effectively neutralized by the label: liberal.

I am beginning to wonder if we are serious when we say things like "I would like to hear the candidates engage in debate on the issues." I’m not sure we would recognize it if it happened.

2007-04-06T06:57:00.000-05:00

Infinitely Alone

Several years ago the elders of our (then) church joined with the pastor during Lent preaching on the words of Christ on the cross. I was assigned the passage "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me" (Matt 27:46). I have seen the movie The Passion of the Christ and left the theater physically exhausted. As I prepared for this sermon, I had much the same experience meditating on the most dreadful part of our Lord's suffering: the separation from the Father. This was the inspiration for the title. Jesus, on the cross, went to a place that Psa 139 tells us does not exist - a place where God is not present. Though thoroughly Irish, the muses have not blessed me with the gift of poetic speech. I tried to come up with words to describe this dereliction that caused Jesus to cry out those terrible words. I finally went to my comfort zone:engineering/science. Following is the best I could muster.

The Weight of Sin
Have you considered recently what sin is? Man is God’s prized creation — made in His image. And yet, one sin — one act of rebellion against God was sufficient to cast this prized creation into a state of eternal damnation. We understand that one single sin is enough to sentence us to hell for eternity. But none of us have committed just one sin. Our sins are countless and each one is worthy of eternal damnation. Are we not most foolish when we imagine trying to satisfy or suffer the punishment for all our sins?

Most of you have heard about what scientists call ‘black holes.’ If their theories are correct, a black hole is a star that has collapsed in on itself and it mass has become so concentrated that the gravitational field will not let light escape. The mass is so concentrated that an object made from this material the size of a child’s marble would weigh 800 million tons. If I could hold that marble in my hand and then let it fall, it would not only pass through the floor but it would quickly pass through the dirt and bedrock as it moves rapidly to the center of the earth. Its gravitational pull would be so great that the Mississippi River and the Smokey Mountains would feel the pull and move towards this place we now gather.

If you could some how weigh my sin on a spiritual scale it would be similar to that marble — and so would yours. Jesus has "bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." 1 Peter 2:24. It is like He has taken these marbles, our sins, strung them together in a necklace, and hung them around his neck. The incredible weight is pulling Him down with such force that it is pulling Him out of the hands of the Father who He loves with an infinite love.

Isaiah 53:5-6
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

The physical suffering of Jesus was horrendous and none of us want to dwell on it for any extended time. But the spiritual suffering of having the Father remove His gaze of blessing was much more painful - more than we can ever imagine. It is this suffering that caused Jesus to sweat blood in the garden - and it is this suffering that purchased our redemption.

Truly this is a Good Friday!

2007-04-03T17:14:00.000-05:00

I don't like these things - blogs that is. I have successfully avoided them for years and now I find myself creating my own. I'm thinking slippery slope and "how the mighty have fallen" thoughts. My resistance to blogging is reflected in the name I chose for the blog. That name accurately and fairly describes my attitude. But (rising up on my spiritual pedestal) I am willing to sacrifice for the good of the school. So I take the plunge this 3rd day of April in the year of our Lord 2007.