Serving the Needy

Today, was our church's Sunday to serve a meal at the homeless. It always amazes me when someone from the church goes the first time. We try to take some kids or teens every time we go. Today, I asked the grandmother of one young girl if it would be alright if her granddaughter went with us. She said that it would be great because the granddaughter needed to see that part of life.

She went in wide-eyed. She jumped in mixing drinks (kool-aid) and serving the people.

I was walking through the sleeping room that had 70-80 beds crammed in it. My mom remarked how thankful she was to have what she had.

It never ceases to amaze me the power that serving Christ has on those who serve him.

Legislating Morality

Legislating morality does not work.

Exhibit A: Prohibition.

The holiness movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries focused heavily on the temperance movement. They campaigned for prohibition. Then they won in 1919. The eighteenth amendment to the US Constitution was passed. The sale and traffic of intoxicating beverages was prohibited. The country would be free of alcohol forever.

What happened in the 1920s. As much alcohol as ever was consumed in that decade.

The issue of abortion is much the same. If abortion were banned tomorrow (through constitutional amendment or action of the Supreme Court), abortions would still happen. But, we would feel that something has been accomplished.

Moral issues are not a political or legal matter. Morality is a matter of the heart. As Christians, our job is not to change the law, but to work with the Holy Spirit to change hearts.

Civil Rights have not come so far because of legislation, but because of changing hearts.

We cannot substitute our political victory for spiritual victory. As Cal Thomas once wrote, "Our redemption will not come on Air Force One."

Social Issues and Politics

This is something that I have thought about for a long time. When I entered college in the early 1990s, I was a die hard conservative. I was all about the social issues. We had to ban abortion, stop gays from gaining more rights, fry those who committed capital murder, an so on. I would still consider myself very conservative, but I have been rethinking why and how social issues and politics relate.

Let's look at abortion. I think abortion is the most abhorrent thing in our society. Killing unborn babies who have done nothing to anyone is repugnant.

Next year, the US is having its quadrennial presidential election that has been in full-swing since the last one. Abortion is likely to be an issue, as it has been for many election cycles now. My question is: Has anything really changed by electing pro-life or pro-choice candidates?

Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush all proclaimed a pro-life belief. Did anything change under any of the three during the 20 years they spent in office? Bill Clinton was a professed pro-choice president. Did anything change in his eight years?

Does the moral position of a candidate really have any bearing on the real policy that is set? There is a hub-bub in Republican Party because Rudy Guiliani is pro-choice. Will it really matter? Will there be more abortions if he is elected? If you say "yes," answer this question: Were there less under Reagan or either Bush?

I will be expanding on these thoughts more in the future.

B.A.L.M.

This is an interesting article from B.A.L.M., a ministry based in the UK. It is about ministry burnout. It describes what my wife and I have been dealing with for over a year now. I have wondered if there was a group/ministry with type of focus.

The Fighting Irish?

Last week, I ragged on the University of Michigan football team after laying an egg against Appalachian State and then laying another one against Oregon. They found a junior high team to beat up on this week. How awful is Notre Dame football team? The team of Knute Rockne, Lou Holtz and others is now 0-3!

If were a Notre Dame fan, I would be be embarrassed. Notre Dame has always had the ability to recruit nationally, often getting the best players. It is fast becoming a picture of utter futility.

Another "Accomplishment" for Bud Selig

Terry Ryan, General Manager for the Minnesota Twins, stepped aside recently after 13 years as GM of the small market baseball team.

Ryan piloted the Twins through some tumultuous waters in the late 90s, living through futility only paralleled by the Kansas City Royals. He committed to a young team, with a few older free agents sprinkled in, and won four Central Division titles in five years. The payroll was tiny compared with the Yankees, Red Sox and others. It was a Herculean feat.

I was pondering the recent success of teams like the Twins, A's and others. I predict that no small market team will win a World Series for the foreseeable future. Sure some, like the Twins, A's and Brewers (this year) will win division or wild card, but there will be no World Series title.

The reason? You ask? Because these teams are young, the pitching wears down by the end of the season. They do not have the experience to come through in October on the big stage. Championships in baseball is all about pitching and experience.

Thanks to Bud, the larger markets have the cash to throw at the premium players.

When are the owners going to realize that it is not about the Royals vs. the Red Sox or the Dodgers vs. the Pirates? It is about baseball (as a whole) vs other sports. Baseball is the product that is suffering from this as well as other things I enumerated the other day (see below).

September 11

September 11 is one of those days that you know exactly where you were and what you were doing when you heard the news of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Like Pearl Harbor, the JFK assassination or the Challenger disaster, it is a date that is seared into our national conscience. I was working for a law firm in the Midwest at the time. The guy who broke the news to us was a notorious prankster, so I did not believe him at first. I was numb for days. It was horrifying. What else was going to happen? All those thoughts swirled around my head.

Last summer, my family visited Ground Zero in lower Manhattan. We visited the little old church across the street that stood through the explosion and collapse of the buildings. It was overwhelming. I could sense the pall that hung over the place as many souls perished amid the rubble and flames. Many found their final mortal resting place in the debris. I have never experienced anything like that before. I have been to my share of cemeteries, but I have never felt the thick presence of death like I did at Ground Zero. (I have heard of others experiencing the same thing at Nazi death camps.) I also had a sense of anger. How could anyone conceive doing this to a fellow human being? As I stood there swatting the fog of death from my face, I could feel my blood boiling. The attack was against our way of life, our freedoms. Don't think for a minute that those terrorists would not kill you in a heart beat.

Many Christian leaders rose up to condemn the act. Some rose up to put their feet in their mouths. Most said it would be a time of spiritual awakening. It was, but it only last about a month. The problem is everything is now back to normal. Many have forgotten. Many cannot remember why we attacked.

The closing lines from Abraham Lincoln's great Gettysburg Address are appropriate as we remember what happened and those who perished:

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. (Full Text.)

We cannot, we must not, forget what happened.

Thanks A Lot, Bud. You Did It Again.

Bud Selig and Major League Baseball have yet again done all they can to further alienate people. As if starting the League Championship Series and World Series at the crack of midnight is not enough. In their infinite stupidity, the have moved all of the Division Series and the National League Championship Series to cable. For the love of all that is sacred, why on earth would they do that? Are they trying to follow the NHL model of relegating their sport to total indifference and obscurity?

Since I, like many Americans, do not have cable or satellite, I will not be watching any post-season baseball, except whatever is on Fox. It does not really matter anyway, I would not be able to stay up late enough to watch it.

I used to defend baseball as the true American pastime against those that claimed football was becoming the true American pastime. Not anymore.

The legacy of Bud Selig:
The 1994 strike, and subsequent cancellation of the World Series;
Steroids;
Midnight baseball;
Tied All-Star game;
(and now) non-network post-season baseball;

Thanks, Bud, for screwing the great American game!

What's Goin' on in Michigan?

With all due respect to my fellow blogger (and a Michigan fan), The Reformed Poser, the University of Michigan football team is awful! Last week, they got bumped by Appalachian State. Today Oregon blasted the doors off the "Big House."

I think Duke might even give Michigan a run for their money.

Not a Football School

Duke is already looking forward to basketball season. Their coach is 5-35 in four years. What college football coach keeps a job with only 5 wins? Coaches have been fired after having winning seasons. Duke lost last week to Joe's Clown College, or something. I just think it is ludicrous that Duke even pretends that they have a football team.

Dress Codes

Our kids' school district is dictating what each student can wear starting next year. The dress code outlines what pants and shirts are appropriate to wear in school.

The school district has prescribed district wide the color of pants shall be khaki, navy blue and black. The shirt shall be white. The schools are then allowed to choose two more shirt colors. Our kids' school chose burgundy and hunter green.

Who on earth chooses white shirts for kids? That person is stupid. Anyone who has ever raised a boy knows that the shirt will be gray by the end of September.

Why are dress codes necessary? I see no reason, other than to turn our kids into robots. Generation upon generation has gone to school without being dictated what colors they can wear and done just fine.

The schools should be more concerned about teaching our kids math, English, reading, history, science and other academic matters.

The Joy of Service

This year, in addition to what we do at church, our family decided to serve lunch at the local community shelter on Memorial and Labor Days. The folks there told us that they often have trouble serving meals on holidays, because people do not work on those days. (Contrary to myth, people staying in shelters are not lazy bums who lie around all day. They work, but are down on their luck.) Everyone wants to serve on Thanksgiving or Christmas, but people need to eat the other 363 days each year.

Our kids love going. We usually serve hot dogs, chips, brownies, bananas and a drink. It kills our son not to be able to eat any of the hot dogs. Yesterday, our kids got to mingle with some of the people. I sent our daughter out to refill cups, and our son to replenish the chip supply. The people smiled and thanked us profusely for bringing a meal.

We go to be a blessing to those less fortunate, but I often fell that I leave more blessed. The people, for the most part, are very grateful, offering endless thanks for the food.

I challenge everyone to make this type of thing a family activity. It brings you closer as a family. Your kids will realize how truly blessed they are. You will be the hands and feet of Jesus serving humanity in a tangible way. You will be blessed. It doesn't cost that much.