My Crazy Times

This evening at church, yeah we go to church on Saturday night and it’s absolutely awesome, we wrapped up the first series of this new year.  First, let me say I am increasingly impressed with the vision and leadership of those that men and women who lead this community called Grace.  The series we finished tonight was titled The First Day of My Life and like everything else I’ve experienced in my two plus years at Grace it was another piece that ties together the mission of being Christ to a fallen world.

Unlike past teaching series, this one was more evangelistic in tone, however Jeff, our lead pastor, is such a gifted communicator that he’s able to relate the message to anyone who hears it.   Jeff spoke tonight about how religion and spirituality can get us sooo close to Jesus and yet keep us soooo far from Him.  Using the Apostle Paul as an example, Jeff read Philippians 3:4-6 where Paul basically says, “Hey, you think you have room to brag.  Man, you can’t even touch me when it comes to my Jewish lineage and my strict adherence to the law, but all this stuff doesn’t mean anything when it comes to knowing my Savior.” (Joel Henderson Translation)  Paul’s entire life up until his trip to Damascus was spent doing what he thought was what a child of God should do, what he thought would bring him closer to God.  But when confronted by his God on the road to Damascus, Paul didn’t even recognize Him, and it was at that moment that Paul’s true relationship with God began.

During our worship after the teaching the first song was Unashamed by Starfield.  I had never heard this song before and the bridge of the song “Here I am at Your feet, In my brokenness, complete” hit me right between the eyes.  The reality that in all my crap, all my baggage, all of my issues…in every conceivable way that I am a broken human being yet in my relationship with my Savior, my Abba Father I am complete.

What an overwhelming, life altering realization.

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To those who have ever worked in sales and/or a call center I offer two of the most inspiring clips that are sure to motivate you to sell that overpriced piece of whatever-the-hell to that person who simply doesn’t know any better.

Two quick disclaimers: 1. these clips have a few swear words…and by a few I mean a whole hell of a lot.  2.  personally I don’t endorse nor adhere to this type of sales mentality.  To be honest I’m more of a marketing/ideas kind of guy, which is what a person who doesn’t necessarily do well at the hardcore selling.

This is one of two scenes that Affleck did for Boiler Room, and perhaps his best piece of acting…not counting the Kevin Smith he has done.  The look on everyone’s face at the end of the scene is simply priceless.

And then there is this:

I’m not a huge Alec Baldwin, although 30 Rock has turned me around a bit, but I just love the line “…coffee’s for closers!”  It is perhaps the cruelest thing one could possibly say to a person in sales.  Think about it, you’re having a rough week and you just want to be any other place then work, your one and only pleasure is that wonderful cup of coffee and just as you’re pouring it the office prick yells, “Hey!  Coffee’s for closers!”

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After ten days of fighting the death toll in Gaza has risen above 550, while Israel has reported only five deaths. And yet not one country with any influence has seriously stood up to Israel and demand that they cease their incessant murdering of innocent women and children.

Here is copy from leaflets that had been dropped in Gaza neighborhoods:

“Hamas is getting a taste of the power of the Israeli military after more than a week and we have other methods that are still harsher to deal with Hamas. They will prove very painful. For your safety, please evacuate your neighborhood.” (NY Times)

So, where exactly do citizens of an impoverished region evacuate to when there homes are being destroyed?  Will the Israeli government be providing these refugees with shelter, food, water, medical supplies?  You know just the basic necesities one might need to continue living…especially in a war torn country.

In addition to the leaflet dropping, Israel has also been calling residents of Gaza with the following recorded message:

“We are getting rid of Hamas and we will use still other means to do so.”  (NY Times)

I can’t even imagine getting a call like that… “Hello, this is Israel, Jehovah’s chosen people, and we are coming to fuck your neighborhood up!”  And just what are these other “means”?  Is Israel so arrogant that they believe they can do just whatever the hell they want?  So, let’s see so far Israel has employed the military tactics of air strikes, tanks & troops.  Might they actually be threatening the use of chemical, biological or even nuclear warfare?

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I read the following article this morning:

Bodies of Hamas leader’s children paraded as group promises ‘painful’ revenge for their deaths

Alright, so it would seem like the Israeli government is being led by a bunch of testosterone driven males with an overwhelming desire to get their rockets off.  Is PM Olmert and the rest of the Israeli government simply incapable of devising a military strategy that doesn’t involve launching a missile into a home filled with women and children?  Maybe what it is, is that the Israeli government simply doesn’t care how many “gentiles” they kill regardless of if they are military combatants or not.  What’s ironic is that Iran and Palestine are perceived as evil because of a desire to eliminate Israel (which for the record I do not agree with), and poor little Israel is the victim surrounded by enemies.  When in fact the Israeli military attacks of this past week undoubtedly show Israel’s own blood thirsty desire to rid the world Palestinians.

In response to the number of innocent people that have been murdered this past week government leaders offer up the excuse that Hamas militants seek refuge in neighborhoods populated with innocents.  I don’t deny that this is the case, but what I absolutely take issue with is that the Israeli government lacks any sort of integrity and compassion for any human being that is not a Jew.  Perhaps that statement is a bit hyperbolic but it seems to be the only logical conclusion when yesterday they dropped a one-ton bomb on the home of a Hamas leader that killed four women and ten children.

But hey, at least the killed the leader right?  I mean after all what’s a war without a little collateral damage.

The problem is, that as the lifeless bodies of TEN INNOCENT CHILDREN were paraded today in Palestine, Israel has given them just one more reason to keep fighting and deepened their resolve to extinguish the Nation of Israel.

“Hate begets hate, violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness.   We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love; we must meet physical force with soul force.”

- Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Consistently throughout our marriage, Lauren and I have had some of our heavier discussions late into the night…actually how it tends to work is that just as I’m about to drift off into sweet dreamland Lauren will ask, “Hey, you want to talk?” and then a bedtime of 12am turns into 2am.  Let me also note that while I will at times give my wife a hard time (in the most loving of ways) about these talks and release one of my trademark sighs when I hear that question penetrate my ears as my head rests comfortably on my pillow, I would not trade any of the talks we’ve had for a moment of rest and I look forward to the talks that wait ahead…as long as they’re scheduled according to our predetermined “Talk Time Table”.

A couple months back we had one of these late night discussions, and while this instance is an exception to the typical scenario I still give Lauren a hard time about it for bringing up politics at 1am, as we laid there for a few minutes just going over our day Lauren began to tell me of an interview she heard on NPR with William Ayers…yes that Bill Ayers.  Without going into all the sordid little details I’ll just say that our point of contention lie in the difference of what we each consider an “act of terror”.

I thought of our heated little debate when I read the following A.P. story yesterday:

Bush: Hamas attacks on Israel an ‘act of terror’

As of yesterday more than 400 Palestinians have been killed in this latest round of attacks.  You know how many Israelis have been killed?  Wait for it…….four.  Yeah that’s right, four…as in “I could count on one hand…”.  My question is, how are Israel’s attacks, that are killing innocent children, women and men, not acts of terrorism and how can the American government claim an ounce of moral authority when they choose to not even denounce Israel’s clearly disporpotional response.  For a good lesson on proportional responses check out this clip from The West Wing Season 1, Episode 3…(brief summary: an American relief plane has been shot down over Syria and on board was the military doctor who was going to be assigned to the President…hell hath no fury like Jed Bartlet scorned):

and then you have this:

Man, if only we had a person like Leo in the White House over the last eight years who would have talked to President Bush like that.

I love it where the President asks Leo if what they are doing is good (as a form of retribution) and Leo responds with “Of course it’s not good…there is no good, it’s what there is.  It’s how you behave if you’re the most powerful Nation in the world.”  Far too long has the Nation of Israel operated under the misguided assumption that they could gain respect and credibility or at the very least invoke fear through the might of their military.  When in reality all they have done is perpetuated the cycle of hatred, bitterness and violence that has enslaved that entire region for thousands of years.

And in attempt to practice my own bit of proportionality…I’m not of the opinion that Hamas is the guiltless victim in all of this, they adhere to the same faulty logic that through violence they will find peace.  The true victims are the women and children murdered by an irresponsible government and those that will now only know a life of hatred and revenge because their father, mother, child, brother, sister were killed when a rocket slammed into their house.

However, here in America we don’t question our allies…especially evangelical Christians because after all Jesus was a Jew, and that means Israel can do just whatever the hell they want.   Israel should reconsider their approach to dealing with the world, because the whole childish bully thing is really unbecoming.

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Visit any news website right now, and you will certainly see headlines pertaining to the financial crisis, the President’s prime-time address & McCain wanting to delay, postpone, or cancel the first debate of the Presidential race that is to take place this Friday.

Here’s my question: “When is the time to debate Senator McCain? “

This country has been teetering on a financial breakdown for some time and it should be a crime that this impotent administration and inept congress have waited until this point to fully address the issue.  Nevertheless here we are anxiously waiting to see what the next day will bring, and just over forty days away from electing our new leader who will inherit the mess of the last eight years.  Now is the time for the public to hear from these two candidates.  And not just another stump speech given in front of thousands of supporters, but rather an intelligent exhange and defense of their ideas and policies.

Perhaps the two campaigns need to be discussing having more debates.   Hell, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas had seven different debates, all of which were on the one topic of slavery, and that was just a campaign for a Senate seat.

Regardless of who is elected in November it is all to clear that the next President will have a monumental task of cleaning up after the disastrous debacle that has been the Bush/Cheney Administration.  Once again, NOW is the time for America to hear from the two men who desire to lead this country.

So, to Senator McCain I say this, “don’t be a coward and hide within the walls of Capitol Hill.  Have the courage of your convictions and share and defend your position on the economy along with Senator Obama this Friday.”

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In the small, but don’t call us bitter, town of Jonesville, SC the Rev. Roger Byrd and his congregation at the Jonesville Church of God have decided to throw their, anything but intelligent, hat into the current political debate.

Last Thursday, April 18, the Rev. Byrd placed on the church sign the message, “Obama, Osama, hmm, are they brothers?” Either Byrd has missed the countless times Sen. Obama has discussed his faith as a Christian or Byrd is simply incapable of understanding a Presidential candidate that can actually speak intelligently. Perhaps, Byrd is so in tune to the Divine that he has been chosen to be the only human being with the ability to know a person’s heart.

In an interview with the local NBC affiliate Byrd said, “It’s simply to cause people to realize and to see what possibly could happen if we were to get someone in there that does not believe in Jesus Christ.” Now that makes me go “hmm?”, because for the last eight years we have had a President who claims to believe in Jesus Christ and he has continually made decisions that have killed thousands upon thousands of human beings. In that case I certainly hope Sen. Obama’s faith is in a different God than that of Byrd and the current President.

Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I begin to feel a pang of guilt. Are my words just as cruel as Byrd’s, am I refusing to show him the love of Christ that he all too brazenly withholds from Sen. Obama? Of course I would have to answer yes, and tonight I’ll ask for forgiveness and seek to understand how I should respond. But at this moment I’m just angered and sickened at this poor example of faith and intelligence.

Here’s the link to the original story:

Small Church’s Obama Sign Causes Big Controversy

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Much of what is passed off as art today is just ordinary, a cheap imitation of a once great thing. It applies to all mediums whether it be music, film or literature. Technology has obliterated the walls of creativity allowing anyone with a mac or pc to create whatever their heart desires and then post it on the web for all to see or hear. The flip side to this though is that technology has afforded many great artists to share their gift with a larger audience.

One such artist is Patrick McBride whose debut album All That Remains fills one with hope that great art is still possible. Cut from the same mold as great folk writers Pierce Pettis and James Taylor, McBride pours his passion for life, love and faith into each song.

I’ve found myself captivated by a different song with each listen of the album. Perhaps the most masterful song is the title track, All That Remains. A song born out of heartbreak, but also one that inspires courage to move forward through the uncertainty of life.

Recorded in a home studio, All That Remains, is not polished and over produced and while some may find fault with that, it’s just one of the many factors that makes this album great. An overly polished album is mundane, sterile and simply a poor representation of how life really is. Life is filled with pain and suffering, doubts and questions and it’s the ability to find hope and love in the midst of all the junk that makes awe inspiring art.

Visit Patrick McBride on the web www.patmcbride.com

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These videos were created by Community Christian for a teaching series. Creative and interesting, check them out:

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Photographs by Lauren Henderson

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