Connecting man to man to God!

Week of September 24, 2006

"Who is wise and understanding among you?  Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom."  James 3:13

     CONSIDER

"Someone once said, 'Your theology is what you are when the talking stops and the action starts.'  What we believe is demonstrated by what we do, not just by what we say.  Good intentions are not enough -- they must be followed by deeds that demonstrate they are true."  Erik Rees in S.H.A.P.E.: Finding and Fulfilling Your Unique Purpose for Life

     COME AS YOU ARE

by Lauren Sandler

At Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Snoop Dogg figures in sermons, housewives cradle babies in tattooed arms -- and religious fundamentalism rules.  Meet the Disciple Generation, the fierce new face of American evangelism.

It's Father's Day and Mark Driscoll is blessing babies.  A stocky, square-headed figure in a black shirt and jeans, with a leather cord around his thick neck, Driscoll stands against a backdrop of a giant brushed steel cross and a phalanx of electric guitars, praying over the "lovely wives and godly husbands" lined up on the stage of Mars Hill Church.  Located in a former warehouse in Seattle's hip Ballard neighborhood, where drive-through espresso joints out-number churches ten to one, Driscoll's megachurch is a sprawling industrial space of corrugated steel, painted charcoal and muted taupe.  Inside, the walls are hung with a member's graffiti art, lit by Starbucks-style colored glass fixtures blown by a congregant.

In a husky voice, the 35-year-old pastor prays for the continuous fertility of his congregation.  "We are in a city with less children per capita than any city but San Francisco," he declares, "and we consider it our personal mission to turn that around"....  Read this article in full at

http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2006/09/13/righteous/index_np.html

     GROWING UP FATHERLESS

According to a recent Newsweek report, 40% of the current generation of young boys are being raised without their biological dad.  For Donald Miller, author of the book Blue Like Jazz, this reality is more than just statistics.  Miller has few childhood memories of his dad; he was raised primarily by his mom and a nearby aunt.

Among the few memories Miller has of his dad is the Christmas Eve he showed up on the back porch with a garbage bag full of unwrapped toys.  Then there was a lunch or two.  That's it.  Donald Miller grew up in a world of women -- his mother, sister, and a nearby aunt.

In his latest book, To Own a Dragon, Donald explores the unique challenges of a fatherless boyhood.  The memoir vividly depicts the emotional and psychological ramifications of being fatherless and provides snapshots of people who helped him grasp what it means to be a "real" man and accept the love of God the Father.

Donald Miller recently spoke with Today's Christian Woman about the importance of mentors in the lives of fatherless boys, his plan to turn the momentum of To Own a Dragon into a nationwide movement to support single moms and their children, and the best thing his mom ever did for him....  Read this article at

http://www.christianitytoday.com/tcw/2006/005/3.56.html

     MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS BEGIN

Oct. 3

http://www.mlb.com

     THEOLOGY FOR AN AGE OF TERROR

by Timothy George

"With the assumptions of "Christendom" shaken again today by the forces of terror, Augustine teaches us that we must not equate any political entity -- whether it be the Roman Empire, the American republic, the United Nations, or anything else -- with the kingdom of God.  Islam proclaims an undifferentiated understanding of the human community, whereas Christianity, especially in the Augustinian perspective, requires a proper respect for the complementary but clearly distinguishable roles of church and civil authority.

"Whenever this distinction is forgotten or minimized, the Christian faith is in danger of being politicized and the state idolized. When this happens, religious liberty invariably gets trampled.  The danger of being co-opted by forces inimical to the gospel is not limited to one political party or ideology.  It can arise from any point along the political spectrum, from the raucous right, the loony left, or the mushy middle"....  Read this article in full at

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/009/1.78.html

     MOST 20SOMETHINGS PUT CHRISTIANITY ON THE SHELF FOLLOWING SPIRITUALLY ACTIVE TEEN YEARS

Adults in their 20s make decisions about everything from education to marriage, from career to kids.  Their faith practices and spiritual priorities are also established during the formative years spanning ages 20 to 29.  A new study by The Barna Group shows that despite strong levels of spiritual activity during the teen years, most 20somethings disengage from active participation in the Christian faith during their young adult years -- and often beyond that.  Read the full report at

http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrowPreview&BarnaUpdateID=245

     LEADERSHIP TIPS (BUSINESS, FAMILY, LIFE)

"A leader leads by example, whether he intends to or not."

     VERSE TO PONDER

"You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light."  Ephesians 5:8

     CONSIDER

"Why blame the dark for being dark?  It's far more helpful to ask why the light isn't as bright as it should be."  Rob Bell

     FINDING OUR STORIES IN GOD'S STORY

by Eugene Peterson

One of the many welcome consequences in learning to "read" our lives in the lives of Abraham and Sarah, Moses and Miriam, Hannah and Samuel, Ruth and David, Isaiah and Esther, Mary and Martha, Peter and Paul is a sense of affirmation and freedom: We don't have to fit into prefabricated moral or mental or religious boxes before we are admitted into the company of God; we are taken seriously just as we are and given a place in his story, for it is, after all, HIS story; none of us is the leading character in the story of our life.

Spiritual theology, using Scripture as text, does not present us with a moral code and tell us "Live up to this"; nor does it set out a system of doctrine and say, "Think like this and you will live well."  The biblical way is to tell a story and in the telling invite: "Live INTO this -- this is what it looks like to be human in this God-made and God-ruled world; this is what is involved in becoming and maturing as a human being."  We do violence to the biblical revelation when we "use" it for what we can get out of it or what we think will provide color and spice to our otherwise bland lives.  That always results in a kind of "decorator spirituality" -- God as enhancement.  Christians are not interested in that; we are after something far bigger.  When we submit our lives to what we read in Scripture, we find that we are not being led to see God in our stories but our stories in God.  God is the larger context and plot in which our stories find themselves.  (from EAT THIS BOOK)

     RELIGION NEWS MOVES INTO THE MAINSTREAM

The church page has become the front page.  Since the 1880s, newspapers have relegated coverage of church news to the back pages.  Then came 9/11.  Up to 500 journalists in North America regularly spend part of their day reporting on religion, most of them on a part-time or ad hoc basis.  The need to cover religion has grown more urgent as it has become an important component in major political stories, from the role of evangelicals in U.S. elections to debates about same-sex marriage, abortion and stem cell research....  Read this article in full at

http://www.tvweek.com/article.cms?articleId=30437

     BE NOT AFRAID

"Christians ought not to be smothered in fear.  There is a spiritual readiness, where we return to having the peace of God stand guard over our hearts and minds.  What an incredible witness it is to a lost and fearful society when the Christian acts like a child of God, living under the loving sovereignty of the Heavenly Father.  The Christian needs to walk in peace, so no matter what happens they will be able to bear witness to a watching world."  Henry Blackaby, Author and President, Henry Blackaby Ministries

     I BLEW IT, PLEASE FORGIVE ME

by Jean Fleming

"I heard our youngest son long before he appeared in the kitchen doorway.  Three-year-old Graham was sobbing so hard that he couldn't speak.  I reached for him and sat on the floor, drawing him into my lap.  Gradually, he was able to choke out a few phrases.  His sister had said something that deeply offended him.

"Conflict, an inevitable part of family life, provides a great opportunity to teach our children the art of forgiving and of seeking forgiveness.  These opportunities take on even more significance when we realize we are preparing them to be friends, roommates, employees, spouses, and parents who can communicate the spirit of Christ's kingdom -- the spirit of forgiveness.

"Jesus puts a high premium on initiating peace when a conflict arises.  When we are aware of a breach in our relationship with someone, Jesus tells us to go to that person to try to restore fellowship.  He even tells us to delay our worship until we do so (Mt. 5:23-24).  Whether we are the offended party or the offender, the responsibility rests with us to seek reconciliation (Mt. 18:15)"....  Read this article in full at

http://www.navpress.com/EPubs/DisplayArticle/1/1.63.16.html?aCode=NL80906

     BEING AN OXYMORON

by Tony Campolo

A few months ago I was a guest on Steven Colbert's popular television show, THE COLBERT REPORT.  He introduced me as an evangelical who is liberal on social issues.  Then he added, "He's a living oxymoron!" 

Sadly, his words reflect the way evangelicals are regularly perceived.  Here in the United States, evangelical Christians have become so married to the Right wing of the Republican Party that it is hard for those outside our faith community to imagine that a significant minority of evangelicals has socially liberal politics.  Yet over its history, evangelical Christianity has championed some of our country's most progressive social movements.  Charles Finney, the dominant evangelist of the 19th century, was a major player in the anti-slavery movement, and his revivals provided much of the impetus for the women's suffrage movement of that era.  Back in those days, evangelicals pulled their churches out of mainline denominations not because the denominations were too socially liberal on the race issue, but because they were not liberal enough.  William Jennings Bryan of Scopes Trial fame, the darling of early 20th century evangelicals, was a pacifist who opposed America's involvement in war.  I gladly take my place in his train.

The word "liberal" has become a political label of ill-repute among many evangelicals.  But if by social liberal you mean someone who believes America should guarantee medical coverage for all of its citizens; fund the public schools in poor urban and rural communities at the same level as those in rich suburban neighborhoods; be committed to progressive environmental policies; give more than four-tenths of one percent of its federal budget to help the poor of other countries; and give up its militaristic adventurism -- then I embrace the label with enthusiasm. 

I'm one of those pro-life Christians who is convinced that the outrageous number of abortions each year is more due to right-wing economic policies than to Roe v. Wade.  In a society where many poor women must work outside the home at a ridiculously low minimum wage just to survive, yet have no access to daycare for their children, we should not be surprised if they seek abortion when faced with an unplanned pregnancy.  Yet many of the Religious Right Christians who share my pro-life sentiments tend to oppose enacting legislation that would enable poor women to give birth and keep their children.  No wonder one of our critics says, "Evangelicals are people who believe that life begins at conception and ends at birth."  Too often it seems as if we care about protecting the unborn, but we're not willing to provide for the born.

Recently, an African-American preacher in Philadelphia joined forces with the Religious Right and the White House when he spoke out against the nomination of "activist" judges to the Supreme Court who would interpret the law beyond what the framers of the Constitution intended.  I wondered if this preacher thought about all the advances for minority peoples that were the fruit of activist judges.  Liberal judges are the ones who integrated public schools with their 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. Activist judges are the ones who obliterated policies that had allowed for racial discrimination in real estate sales, employment, and education.  In reality, almost all of the progressive rulings that decimated Jim Crow went well beyond the intensions of the framers of the Constitution, many of whom owned slaves.  Oh, how quickly people forget!

There are those on the Religious Right who argue that caring for the poor and needy is solely the responsibility of the church, and should not be funded with taxpayers' money.  Yet it is clear in Scripture that God holds governments responsible for playing a significant role in providing such care.  Consider the words of the prophet Isaiah who warned: "Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless" (Isa. 10:1-2).

Also, Jesus declared that the day would come when nations would be judged by how they cared for the poor: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:31-32).

Allow me to add to my advocacy for certain liberal social policies a commitment to fiscal conservatism.  This present government, so supported by most evangelicals, has mortgaged the future of our children and our children's children.  This is a consequence of funding the war in Iraq and giving gigantic tax breaks to the richest people in our country, as well as to huge corporations such as price-gouging oil companies.  Our national debt increases by close to $2 billion each week, with the People's Republic of China being the major party picking up our loans.  The communists will not have to bury us, as Khrushchev had hoped: Soon they will own us.

It has been said that the difference between a politician and a statesman is that the politician looks to the next election while the statesman looks to the next generation.  Given that assessment, when it comes to the national debt we have an absence of statesmen down there in Washington.

The Bible speaks more about justice than it does about anything else -- except for love.  But in the end, justice is nothing more than love turned into social policies.  It is my own commitment to justice, inadequate though it might be, that makes me the kind of person I am.  To that end this evangelical is more than willing to be labeled a social liberal, even if it does make me a living oxymoron.

     MECHANIC'S TOOL GUIDE (part 2)

TWEEZERS: A tool for removing wood splinters.

PHONE: Tool for calling your neighbor to see if he has another hydraulic floor jack.

SNAP-ON GASKET SCRAPER: Theoretically useful as a sandwich tool for spreading mayonnaise; used mainly for getting dog-doo off your boot.

E-Z OUT BOLT AND STUD EXTRACTOR: A tool that snaps off in bolt holes and is ten times harder than any known drill bit.

TIMING LIGHT: A stroboscopic instrument for illuminating grease buildup.

TWO-TON HYDRAULIC ENGINE HOIST: A handy tool for testing the tensile strength of ground straps and brake lines you may have forgotten to disconnect.

CRAFTSMAN 1/2 x 16-INCH SCREWDRIVER: A large motor mount prying tool that inexplicably has an accurately machined screwdriver tip on the end without the handle.

BATTERY ELECTROLYTE TESTER: A handy tool for transferring sulfuric acid from a car battery to the inside of your toolbox after determining that your battery is dead as a doornail, just as you thought.

AVIATION METAL SNIPS: See hacksaw.

TROUBLE LIGHT: The mechanic's own tanning booth.  Sometimes called a drop light, it is a good source of vitamin D, "the sunshine vitamin," which is not otherwise found under motorcycles at night.  Health benefits aside, its main purpose is to consume 40-watt light bulbs at about the same rate that 105-mm howitzer shells might be used during, say, the first few hours of the Battle of the Bulge.  More often dark than light, its name is somewhat misleading.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the lids of old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splash oil on your shirt; can also be used, as the name implies, to round off Phillips screw heads.

AIR COMPRESSOR: A machine that takes energy produced in a coal-burning power plant 200 miles away and transforms it into compressed air that travels by hose to a Chicago Pneumatic impact wrench that grips rusty bolts last tightened 60 years ago by someone in Springfield, and rounds them off.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to cut hoses 1/2 inch too short.

http://www.mikeysFunnies.com

     CONSIDER

"For a small reward, a man will hurry away on a long journey; while for eternal life, many will hardly take a single step."  Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471), Of the Imitation of Christ, III.iii.

     VERSE TO PONDER

"We know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love.  Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."  1 John 4:16

     THIS WEEK'S HYMN: I LOVE TO TELL THE STORY

Words: A. Katherine Hankey, 1866

Music: William G. Fischer, 1869

I love to tell the story of unseen things above,

Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.

I love to tell the story, because I know 'tis true;

It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.

Refrain

I love to tell the story, 'twill be my theme in glory,

To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.

I love to tell the story; more wonderful it seems

Than all the golden fancies of all our golden dreams.

I love to tell the story, it did so much for me;

And that is just the reason I tell it now to thee.

Refrain

I love to tell the story; 'tis pleasant to repeat

What seems, each time I tell it, more wonderfully sweet.

I love to tell the story, for some have never heard

The message of salvation from God's own holy Word.

Refrain

I love to tell the story, for those who know it best

Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.

And when, in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song,

'Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.

Refrain

>from CyberHymnal at

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/l/ilttts.htm

     GOD FAQ

Question 91: What is the duty which God requires of man?

Answer: The duty which God requires of man, is obedience to his revealed will.

http://www.shortercatechism.com/

     SPIRITUAL WINGS

Receive daily meditational ponderments capsulized as simple one-liners in your e-mailbox as yet another path to spark the soul in thought. Includes a daily spiritual acronym; a weekly spiritual affirmation, a weekly spiritually oriented artwork, a weekly spiritual sharing, a weekly spiritual prayer, a weekly spiritual poem, a weekly spiritually oriented joke, and a weekly spiritually oriented cartoon. Ecumenical, nondenominational.

-"May the road always lead, where you need to be."

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SpiritualWings/

     ON PRAYER

"When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart."  John Bunyan

     PRAY FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS TODAY
http://christiansincrisis.net/

     PRAY FOR A COUNTRY TODAY
http://www.gmi.org/ow/index.html

     DAILY BLESSING PACT
Use the following list as your daily prayer guide. Think of a brother or situation that applies and lift them up in prayer.

I am agreeing in prayer with you for God’s blessings to overtake you!

PERSONAL
Marital harmony
Family unity
Children saved
Faithful pastor
Spirit-filled church
Real friendships
Relatives redeemed
Educational benefits
Recreational time
Fulfilling career
Favor with God and man
Be in God’s will

FINANCIAL
Better Jobs
Raises or bonuses
Benefits
Sales & commissions
Business Growth

Settlements
Estates & inheritances
Investment increase
Rebates & returns
Checks in the mail
Gifts & surprises
Money to be found
Bills decrease while blessings increase

"And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God" (Deut. 28:2).

[As you travel on business or vacation, let me know if you'd like the church guys to pray for your safety and spiritual effectiveness. I'll add your name to the list for the time you'll be away.]

     CLASSIFIEDS

Are you looking for something or do you have something to sell?  Let me know and I'll put it in this newsletter.

     SHARE YOUR FAVORITE WEBSITES

Tell us what sites you find enjoyable and why.

Church Leader Internet Portal

http://www.zondervan.com/cultures/en-US/ZCS/CLIP

All links to websites are provided as a service, and do not imply endorsement by our church.

(BTW: whenever the URLs in this newsletter are too long to turn into links on your e-mail program, just copy the entire URL (two lines or more) and paste it into a temporary email message.  Then delete the return in the middle of it and copy it again.  Then paste it into your web browser and hit enter.)

Life is fragile.  Handle with prayer.

Min. Frank Coleman, Editor

[email protected]

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