*Should Rick Warren court Presidential Candidates and possibly support an abortion rights candidate just so he can promote social justice and Green policies?”
When I think of “courting” in political realms I think of superficial flattery and pandering. So, I might be thrown by that word. But this question, for me, points to the broader issue of the merit of Warren’s event and who should Christians support. The last I checked, neither candidate has stated, “I want to be President to glorify Jesus Christ and bring more people into relationship with Him.” It’s very complex. Both candidates could be accused of promoting sin in public policy. Both candidates could be accused of ungodly decisions. At the same time, both candidates must be very talented to be the two men being considered for President. I think Pastor Warren is doing a great thing by having this forum and I hope it is very revealing for the Body of Christ and the country at large. [click to continue...]
I love Q & A. We had a Question & Answer session at the Freedom Conference on Saturday morning. We covered a lot but it would have taken days to answer all of the questions. I saved those questions and while I can’t promise to answer every single one here on my personal blog. I will try to pick questions that represent themes I see in many similar or exactly the same questions.
So let’s get to the question for today …
I want to be transparent, but I find myself having to battle some false and serious allegations. This causes me to have to end up in defensive mode but unable to prove innocence. How do you handle false damaging attacks?
There is a lot that could be said with regard to this but what I always come back to is the example Christ set during his trial which eventually led Him to be tortured and crucified. In that poignant moment you see Him sticking to His message, being silent in the face of people lying about Him and yet affirming who He was and the Father’s will.
Yesterday, Sunday morning… they youngin’s went and had church up on the high ropes course. I didn’t join them because of my pulled calf muscle. I really … honestly … truly … enjoy ropes courses. I did the high ropes the last time we were here at Ridgecrest. I had a blast. The zip line, sliding from 40,000 feet to 10 feet from tree to tree hanging from a wire was my absolute favorite.
While there was a lot of noise when it was my turn, I didn’t sound like Tarzan but I didn’t sound like a little girl either.
After waking up I had church at the coffee shop over a banana nut muffin.
I’d probably read that in my Bible a hundred times, but on one particularly difficult day, I found myself wondering how on earth it could be true. If Jesus had already set me free, then why did I feel so bound up? Why did I still struggle with the same issues that I struggled with before I came to know Him? And if the Church is supposed to live in freedom, why did so many others, not just me, still seem to be in slavery? Why does freedom seem so unattainable?
And so began my journey to find out what freedom really is, and how can I walk in that reality.
I’ve come to believe that freedom is both a one-time gift and a process. The moment we come to Jesus Christ, He gives us freedom through the Holy Spirit, so that we are no longer slaves to sin (Romans 6:17-18). But that freedom is something we need to learn to walk out. …
I watched the above video. I love the Anime style. Don’t like it when it is abused but as an art form… its really fought for a place and found it. I think the above video, while a simple sketch (not the finished product) show tremendous potential for dramatic story telling. The contextualization of this particular story is actually quite superb. I really look forward to the finished product.
Fifteen years ago I was a very different man from who I am now.
All of my relational, political, and social needs were defined by a worldview that fed my appetites and met my needs, albeit just temporarily. My world was centered around the idea that the unholy trinity of me-myself-and-I was sufficient to provide vision, inspiration, answers … and even legacy.
I was gay.
I didn’t particularly care for Christians 15 years ago. During the 1980s I was an out and proud gay-identified man watching one friend after another die of AIDS. The Church said we deserved the horror. (Of course, if one deserves that kind of horror for their sin, the human race would have been long extinct by now.)
Being gay was the only way I thought possible of knowing and being known. According to everyone around me - both the condemning and condoning crowds - being “gay” was my only option. I had moved out of the closet only to find myself living in a pigeonhole.
Such a me-centric worldview was stifling my true self, the one that’s created to be in relationship with our Creator and His creation.
Schaeffer’s Manifesto: A Revolution Realized
by Randy Thomas
The culture war is coming to an inevitable and dangerous turning point and Francis Schaeffer knew it would. The battle between Christianity and secular humanism - absolute Truth versus personal truth - is one that cannot be ignored or mixed.
Sadly, absolute Truth is being drowned out by the myriad chorus of personal truths shaped in the over-arching context of secular humanism and its materialistic end. In the end it is the Truth of God versus the lies offered by secular humanism that mankind is self-sufficient - that mankind can determine what god, if any, they individually serve instead of submitting to the one Creator’s divine intent.
Every generation has faced some sort of cultural issue which directly challenges the application of the gospel. Church history is replete with the battles brought against the gospel, from direct opposition of pagan or secular forces to the Reformation battles starting with Luther against the Catholic Church. There have been “culture wars” over baptism, prohibition, evolution and most recently human sexual ethics. Francis Schaeffer’s A Christian Manifesto speaks powerfully to the true condition of the modern Christian church in the United States and the battles currently being waged.
Three weeks ago I started getting sick and while on a trip I was knocked out with a horrible bug that wasn’t the flu but you sure couldn’t tell. So I went on some anti-biotics, Mucinex (*hate* their commercials), Sudafed and whatever. The antibiotics ran out last Thursday. I was a good good boy and took every last one of them.
Felt good on Friday. I even worked out all last week.
Saturday was back to not good. Sore throat and that uh oh… you have GOT to be kidding me feeling. Last night rolled around and it wasn’t going away and I found it hard to breath. Went back to the Minute Clinic and the lady there said that if I wasn’t good to go after what they had prescribed for me I needed to go to the real doctor (she is a nurse practitioner.)
Did I mention my ears were hurting? … especially the right one … and I have to get on a plane to fly across the country tomorrow. Thankfully my regular Doctor had a cancellation and I was able to get in today. Turns out the severe sinus infection of two weeks ago has turned into “acute sinusitis” and laryngitis. He also said that I was not contagious and assured me that my head would not explode in flight.
$120 later … forget the war on whining… I was ALL about the wah wah nyah nyah’s.
… the Pharisees plotted a way to trap him (Jesus) into saying something damaging. They sent their disciples, with a few of Herod’s followers mixed in, to ask, “Teacher, we know you have integrity, teach the way of God accurately, are indifferent to popular opinion, and don’t pander to your students. So tell us honestly: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Jesus knew they were up to no good. He said, “Why are you playing these games with me? Why are you trying to trap me? Do you have a coin? Let me see it.” They handed him a silver piece. “This engraving - who does it look like? And whose name is on it?” They said, “Caesar.” “Then give Caesar what is his, and give God what is his.” The Pharisees were speechless. They went off shaking their heads.
They probably thought Jesus was arrogant and accused him of not really answering the question. I mean, they came to Him with flattering words that implied credibility, honor and respect. And instead of playing the game (very similar to politics, no?), He gets all into their business and reframes the debate as He sees fit. They asked what seemed to be an innocuous, but important, question. They also came as a crowd seeking the “Teacher” to teach them.
