Serendipitous Ruminations

There have been several thoughts banging around in this empty head of mine; I need to get them in print. Here they are in no particular order:

• Any attempt to gain revenue by normalizing or legalizing a vice has proved counter-productive in the State of Oklahoma. First it was "Liquor by the drink", then para-mutual horse racing, then Indian casinos, then the lottery. They are looking at legalizing marijuana. What's next legalized prostitution?
• I visited the Jewish Art Museum in Tulsa yesterday. In their holocaust exhibition, they noted that Henry Ford was antisemitic and for a time, place antisemitic literature in the glove box of each new car he sold.
• The birth certificate that the White House presented as Obama's ORIGINAL birth certificate doesn't look anything like my original birth certificate. (He was born two years before me) It does, however, look like a copy of my birth certificate that I got back in the 1980's. We are being lied to.
• I am appalled at the attempt to normalize homosexuality.  Anyone who stands against this abomination is labeled as a homophobe or a bigot.  I have felt more hate directed at me for my views on homosexuality (which are in line with the Bible) than for any of my other opinions. For those who tout tolerance, they aren't very tolerant of me.
• The gun control issue isn't about guns; it's about control. The cities with the highest homicide rates are those with the strictest gun control. I really think they are afraid that they might lose their tyrannical power by allowing us to maintain our 2nd Amendment right. Wait a minute! Isn't that what the 2nd Amendment is all about?
• If it wasn't so pitiful and sad, I would find it hysterically amusing that homosexual "couples", especially lesbian couples, must have one partner who assumes the male role and one who assumes the female role. I've seen numerous "wedding" pictures where one of the women is dressed as a man and the other in a bridal dress. 
• Islam is NOT a religion of peace. It is a religion of hate and violence. Allah is not the same as the One true God of the Bible. It embodies the spirit of the antichrist. 
• I find it interesting that Hollywood's portrayal of lesbians is very very different from reality. Hollywood shows two slim, hot women who are extremely feminine and sensual; Walmart and the news show two obese decidedly butch and unattractive women. Then again, Hollywood has never been good at portraying reality.
• National Democratic politicians scream "racism" at every opportunity, but their own policies and programs are extremely racist, especially against African Americans. Their support of Planned Parenthood has killed more African Americans than the KKK could have ever imagined.
• I don't trust anyone in the current administration. Something is afoot.
• GENERALLY, churches with the words Liberty, Grace, Free, or Abundant are filled with anything but grace. It OFTEN denotes extreme legalism.
• I'll bet that the missing Malaysian Airlines plane is in Pakistan.
• One of the things that irk me most is church people who do something wrong, get caught, then lie about it, usually implicating someone else (often the preacher). Pride is so evil.
• Smokers are generally, some of the most selfish people you will ever meet. There is nothing worse than an angry militant smoker who demands their right to smoke, no matter the place or present company. They don't recognize that their addiction truly makes a slave of them to nicotine. And there is no way to hide it. You can't smoke at home or in the car and then cover it up with perfume; that doesn't work.
• I believe the Return of Jesus is eminent. Possibly by the end of next year.  Are you ready?

How to Leave a Church the WRONG Way

DISCLAIMER: I have NOT written this post with any individual or incident in mind; it is a general observation only!

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I've been attending church since 9 months before I was born. I've seen church attenders come and go. I've seen church splits. I've witnessed people leaving with grace and I've witnessed people leaving with their panties in a wad.

Here's how to leave a church the WRONG way:

• Make a scene - be sure to damage your witness, the church's witness, and the pastor's witness with everyone within earshot. OR - 
• Don't tell the pastor your leaving. Just quietly quit coming.
• Talk about the pastor - pretend to be his friend, then stab him in the back with everyone you meet for the next couple of years.
• Take as many people as you can with you - whether they were involved or not, make sure they never set foot in church again, ANYWHERE.
• Financially cripple the church - make sure they know you were a giver and you're taking it all away.
• Keep friends with the newer members of the church - and try to drive a wedge between them and the pastor.
• Call the pastor all kinds of names - "sticks and stones" is only a nursery rhyme anyway.
• Hold a grudge -  eventually, the taste of bile in your mouth won't taste as bitter; at least that's the story going around.
• Make snarky remarks to and about the pastor's family - that's the best way to get back at the preacher.
• Blame everyone else, especially the pastor - he's an easy target anyway and, after all, dodging personal responsibility IS the American Way!
• Be the victim - your behavior had absolutely NOTHING to do with the problem.
• Take your problem with you to the next church - after all, running away solves everything, doesn't it?
• Call the pastor and tell him off - he doesn't have anything better to do than to listen to your rant, and he probably had it coming.
• Completely ignore the pastor and his family - especially if you see them in a restaurant or Walmart.
• Exaggerate and embellish your story to others - be sure to leave out the parts about how you said or did this or that; that might make YOU look bad.
• Don't pray about leaving - just do it on impulse.
• Stop going to church completely - never again enter a church building; that'll show 'em!

I, personally, have left 13 churches in the past nearly 50 years. Only one of them was over a disagreement (theological in nature), and that's when I changed denominations to become Southern Baptist. (during college) The rest were because I moved away.  Even when I didn't like the pastor or when I had disagreements with other members, I never once considered leaving.

I have not experienced each of the above scenarios, but I have been on the receiving end of several.

From a pastor's point of view, it isn't fun. Not fun at all.

Pastors take a hard rap for everything that goes wrong in the church. Quite frankly, it's like trying to herd cats. With a few bobcats thrown in for excitement.

Believe it or not, but pastors are NOT perfect. I know a few of them THINK they are, but they aren't. Most of us are WELL acquainted with the fact that we are indeed fallible. We make bad decisions. We make decisions on what we believe to be God's will for the church as a whole.  We make people mad by not giving into their silly whims or even sillier arguments.  We make people mad by not kowtowing to their every beck and call.  And God FORBID that you don't go visit someone in the hospital or miss greeting them at church!

Undoubtedly, this post will upset some people. Some people will immediately think I've written it about them.  Well, I haven't..

Part of the problem with people getting mad and leaving a church has to do with the fact that they've lost their focus. They start believing church is for them and about them, instead of having anything to do with serving God and serving others.

There is, indeed, a time to leave a church. I certainly understand this. There is a proper way to leave a church, too. Don't burn bridges! You never know when you just might need your church family, especially if you haven't found a new church to attend.

Can you add any more wrong ways to leave a church?

My 30 Year High School Reunion

Can it really be 30 years since I graduated from high school? It simply doesn't seem possible.

Facebook made the reunion better, in my estimation. In the first place, I was able to recognize many more people because I've been staring at their profile pic for the past several months.

Second, it let me be acquainted with people before I met them again for the first time.

I didn't make it to my 20 year reunion. We were in West Africa at the time and I couldn't make it home.

I did go to my 10 year reunion. It was like all the cliques and nonsense of high school was still in place.

But the 30 year reunion was a bit different.

There didn't seem to be the same cliques, and if there were, I didn't seem to notice. 

Actually, I left the reunion feeling pretty good about myself.  I'm at a very good place in my life. I have a wonderful family and a great career.  My life is not a wreck.

I'm not judging, but just making observations here, so don't get bent out of shape if your life IS a wreck. This isn't about you.

At nearly 50 years old, so many of my former classmates still don't have their lives together. Let me say it this way; I'm grateful to God for a loving wife and a faithful relationship with her. I'm grateful that I don't "party" - I must seem awfully boring to most of my former Chieftains. I'm grateful, I guess, to be boring in the world's eyes.

One particularly interesting tidbit is that I was honored to be asked to give a blessing for the meal.  I was asked with the caveat to remember that there were church-goers and non-church goers; believers and atheists. I was asked to pray in a manner that wouldn't offend people.

Well, they were in luck, because I was hungry and the barbeque looked and smelled delicious, so it was short, sweet and to the point, all in the name of Jesus.  Several folks later thanked me for blessing the meal.

We had a wonderful meal with good company. My best friend, Martin Whipple, and I were the only men at a table full of women, my wife included. It was fun catching up with old friends.

They handed out awards and I won the award for "Most Countries Traveled" with 27. (Although I later recounted and discovered it was actually 30)  Everyone "ooohed" and "ahhhhed" and I had my picture taken with the presenter.  The award was a 3" gold-colored plastic loving cup.  But, hey! It was an award!

The least pleasant part (putting it nicely) of the evening was a local comedienne they hired to "entertain" us. She apologized to me BEFORE she started and again afterward. It was the single most vulgar assault of the senses I have ever endured. Everyone at my table was aghast. My wife got up and walked out.  I'll bet SHE wasn't given the caveat about "not offending people!"

They had a live band, which was good, but was better for a crowd of 20 or 30 Somethings instead of a bunch of nearly 50's who wanted to talk.  My wife and I left early due to the volume of the band.

The organizers worked very, very hard to make this reunion happen, and for that, I am grateful!  It was a good venue. The food was excellent. The price was good. The company was excellent.

I hear they are possibly planning a 50th Birthday Party for all of us in 2 years. Perhaps a murder-mystery-dinner is in the makes. I think that would be fun.

In any case, I enjoyed seeing everyone again. There were some there with whom I do not see eye to eye, but we put our differences away and really enjoyed each others' company for the evening.

Most interestingly, I walked away feeling pretty good about the life that God has given me.  Not with a feeling of superiority; for I'm not superior to anyone. Not with a feeling of being better off than others; for life is not about "stuff." (and a whole lot more people have a whole lot more stuff than me!)  But with the feeling that I'm very happy I've made the decisions I've made and that I'm very happy with the direction my life is heading. And I praise God for it!

July 1st?

How in the world can it already be July 1?  Where did June go?  Where has 2010 gone?

I often realize how fast my life is going when I turn over each new month on the calendar.  The Bible says,

As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away. (Psalms 90:10 NASB)

 
I have another birthday this month.  Even if I take the "eighty years due to strength," my life is more than half over.  My children are still young and have their whole lives ahead of them.  I fear the world in which they will live.

So, more than half-way through my life, I need to take an assessment.  Not one for public scrutiny, but one to make sure I'm on track.  My goal, my mission in life is to "Know God and to make Him known."  I think I'm doing that satisfactorily.  But there is room for improvement.

I look at older men and women whom I have respected for many years and wonder if I am to be like them.  Will younger men look up to me and respect me, not necessarily for what I've done, but for what God has made me.

Yes, turning the calendar is a time for reflection.  Are you on track for where you want to be in YOUR life?