It's been another week and an half since I made a post because we still are between internet providers. I canceled Charter when they continued to screw up correcting our problem and call AT&T. And, of course, they started the relationship off by screwing up the switch-over. Hence, we were stuck waiting an extra week to get them hooked up; and the story isn't over yet because tomorrow is the day they are supposed to get it done...finally. It's even money with the Vegas bookies that it still won't be done. *&!*
I'm traveling today--currently sitting in the Salt Lake City airport waiting for a connecting flight that has, to this point, been delayed 2 hours. It was coming from Chicago and I guess the storm in the Midwest has everything screwed up. Although we did leave St. Louis right on time. I'm trying to get to Seattle for a couple of days of interviewing for a new job. I'll write more about it if I get it. No reason to bore anyone with details if it doesn't work out--I'll only bore you if it does work out.
I'm reading a book by Margaret Feinberg called The Organic God. I've gotten through 4 chapters and so far it's been great. I just finished a book by Dan Merchant called Lord, Save Us from Your Followers--it was excellent. I recommend both of them if you feel like there's something missing in how the church approaches non-believers and difficult social and ethical problems. In fact, I recommend them even more if you DON'T feel that way. We (the church) have to realize that the U.S. is the way it is in large part because we have created battle lines and demanded black and white choices be made when the issues don't support that kind of reaction.
One example is homosexuality. Now, I have no misunderstanding about what the Bible has to say on this subject. God considers it a sin. But he also considers adultery a sin, drunkenness, pornography, extra-marital sex, oppression, etc.--all things that are much more prevalent and, I believe, dangerous (because the people in our churches are just as guilty of these things as the people outside our churches). But we ignore the latter, refusing to preach on them except with rare exceptions and often refusing to discuss them. But we constantly hear sermons condemning homosexuals, churches post websites claiming to hate them, we condemn them to hell and refuse fellowship with them. Guess where Jesus would be spending time if he were here today? Yep...with the sinners, the sick, the lonely and outcast. Not because he approved of what they were doing but because he loves them and won't abandon them. The hypocrites get the boot and the sinners get the relationship.
I'm sure this won't be the last time I get off on this subject (it certainly isn't the first). In the meantime, pray for peace.
Mike
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Charter Sucks
This won't be a very long post, but I wanted to get something on here since it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post. Why so long, you ask? Because Charter Communications has the absolute worst customer service process of any corporation with which I have dealt. The people with whom I spoke were nice, and it's likely not their fault that their company sucks--they've been set up for failure by the idiots who run the place. Anyway, I digress...our service went out and rather than the 24-48 hour return we were promised it's been over a week and still nothing...I cancelled the peckerwoods and we will be switching. In the meantime, I guess I'll be making periodic trips to local joints with free wi-fi.
Since my last post several things have happened. Liz went to and returned from NYC with her high school choir. Apparently they had a great time. She still loves NY and claims she wants to live there some day, but it was gratifying to see that she was also excited to be home.
Sandi and Becca left this morning for an overnighted to Springfield, IL. They took the train and they're going to visit the Lincoln Museum with a friend and her daughter.
I am in the final run-up to changing jobs again--only this time changing companies as well--scary but exciting. I should hear something early next week.
That's all for now; keep praying.
Peace
Mike
Since my last post several things have happened. Liz went to and returned from NYC with her high school choir. Apparently they had a great time. She still loves NY and claims she wants to live there some day, but it was gratifying to see that she was also excited to be home.
Sandi and Becca left this morning for an overnighted to Springfield, IL. They took the train and they're going to visit the Lincoln Museum with a friend and her daughter.
I am in the final run-up to changing jobs again--only this time changing companies as well--scary but exciting. I should hear something early next week.
That's all for now; keep praying.
Peace
Mike
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Special Day
Sandi and I celebrated our 19th anniversary today. Amazing. It's not easy and it's not always fun; but it's worth it. I think that's what you have to keep your eyes on to have a marriage that lasts. We've had chances to give up on it, but that would be the easy way out. I love her and she loves me back (Lord only knows why). We enjoy the good times and love through the hard ones--we persist. I guess that's all pretty cheesy, and not terribly eloquent, but it's honest. Would we do it again? Yeah. And I guess that's the most important question...and answer.
And having God right in the middle of it all is the key.
Peace.
And having God right in the middle of it all is the key.
Peace.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Fear and Loathing in STL
Another one of those days marked by self-loathing. I don't have many of them, and thank goodness for that. I'm not very good at it.
I found out some more stuff today that just serves to convince me that I got the message wrong when I thought God was calling me to something more than volunteer service. The depression is wearing off. I'm not good at that either. I like to laugh too much; but it hurts beneath the surface. I imagine that 'this, too, shall pass'.
I was just thinking about a radio talk show that I was listening to the other day. Now, as a rule, I don't listen to talk radio, for a million reasons; most of which have to do with the unbridled rancor and crass attitudes of the hosts. But in a moment of weakness I paused on one of them long enough to be drawn in by the sheer lunacy of the topic--is Barak Obama the anti-christ? Obviously, it was a Christian themed station and the callers were (possibly) well-meaning souls desiring to express their concerns about someone who doesn't meet their criteria of a qualified candidate. (Holy crap...I kept a straight face almost all the way through that last sentence.) I just wish that for 10 minutes these ultra conservative types would pull their heads out of their behinds and look around at what's going on around them. In defense of the host, he seemed to be pretty fair-minded and didn't really believe that Obama was the devil's chosen, but he could have shut it all down and moved on.
Jesus gave us 2 things to do that would show the world who he is and how much we care about him and his teachings: love God and love each other. And then he even told us how to do that: take care of the people who can't take care of themselves. Feed the hungry; cloth the naked; support the poor--get them back on their feet; give drink to the thirsty; visit the prisoners. And, guess what...if we don't follow through on these instructions he's going to look us right in the eye and say that he doesn't know us. It will make him sad; he won't like doing it; but he's going to show us the door. Read it for yourself in Matthew. He told John to write in one of his letters that any one of us who claims to love God, but hates a fellow human being is a liar! We are so full of hate in the name of God that people are turning away from the church because of it. The souls that Jesus holds so dear are turning away from him because of what they see in the church.
While this isn't true of all Christians or all churches, the people who have the loudest voices in this country--who claim to represent us and God--are sending this message. I have a message for these guys: Stop pretending to speak for me! I don't need or want your help!
I read some cool things that Tony Campolo had to say about all of this in a book I'm reading right now. I'll try to reproduce some of it in a future post. Great insight into the true nature of what the church should be and what we should expect from our government.
If you think Obama or Clinton or McCain or anyone else in our God-forsaken political system is the anti-christ: please get into therapy.
Read the Beatitudes (in Luke) and resolve to be humble, merciful, makers of peace. God loves us all--even those of us who blow ourselves up in Jewish shopping malls. Our sin is his sadness. The mercy and grace of the cross are our only claims to who he created us to be.
Mike
I found out some more stuff today that just serves to convince me that I got the message wrong when I thought God was calling me to something more than volunteer service. The depression is wearing off. I'm not good at that either. I like to laugh too much; but it hurts beneath the surface. I imagine that 'this, too, shall pass'.
I was just thinking about a radio talk show that I was listening to the other day. Now, as a rule, I don't listen to talk radio, for a million reasons; most of which have to do with the unbridled rancor and crass attitudes of the hosts. But in a moment of weakness I paused on one of them long enough to be drawn in by the sheer lunacy of the topic--is Barak Obama the anti-christ? Obviously, it was a Christian themed station and the callers were (possibly) well-meaning souls desiring to express their concerns about someone who doesn't meet their criteria of a qualified candidate. (Holy crap...I kept a straight face almost all the way through that last sentence.) I just wish that for 10 minutes these ultra conservative types would pull their heads out of their behinds and look around at what's going on around them. In defense of the host, he seemed to be pretty fair-minded and didn't really believe that Obama was the devil's chosen, but he could have shut it all down and moved on.
Jesus gave us 2 things to do that would show the world who he is and how much we care about him and his teachings: love God and love each other. And then he even told us how to do that: take care of the people who can't take care of themselves. Feed the hungry; cloth the naked; support the poor--get them back on their feet; give drink to the thirsty; visit the prisoners. And, guess what...if we don't follow through on these instructions he's going to look us right in the eye and say that he doesn't know us. It will make him sad; he won't like doing it; but he's going to show us the door. Read it for yourself in Matthew. He told John to write in one of his letters that any one of us who claims to love God, but hates a fellow human being is a liar! We are so full of hate in the name of God that people are turning away from the church because of it. The souls that Jesus holds so dear are turning away from him because of what they see in the church.
While this isn't true of all Christians or all churches, the people who have the loudest voices in this country--who claim to represent us and God--are sending this message. I have a message for these guys: Stop pretending to speak for me! I don't need or want your help!
I read some cool things that Tony Campolo had to say about all of this in a book I'm reading right now. I'll try to reproduce some of it in a future post. Great insight into the true nature of what the church should be and what we should expect from our government.
If you think Obama or Clinton or McCain or anyone else in our God-forsaken political system is the anti-christ: please get into therapy.
Read the Beatitudes (in Luke) and resolve to be humble, merciful, makers of peace. God loves us all--even those of us who blow ourselves up in Jewish shopping malls. Our sin is his sadness. The mercy and grace of the cross are our only claims to who he created us to be.
Mike
Saturday, March 8, 2008
What color is envy?
I guess one of the harder lessons in life is how to deal with friends' success. And maybe it's especially harder if it's a faith lesson to boot. Maybe that comment needs a little background.
I have several friends who were just out there doing life, with regular jobs and all the regular stuff that goes along with that. About the same time (relatively speaking--like, within a couple of years of each other) we all were called into ministry--in a vocational sense. Of the 5 of us, 4 made the transition relatively quickly; in a way that made it almost seem easy, although nothing like that ever really is easy. But offers from churches came pretty soon after they started to seek an opportunity. In fact, in 3 out of the 4 the offer came from our church (we all attended the same place); and the one who didn't get his start at our church is now back there. (Worth noting is that 2 of the others who started at our church are now on to other churches--their choice; not kicked out or anything.) It should be obvious by now that I'm the one that didn't get the ministry job.
They are all still friends of mine and I'm glad they are. They are great guys; committed to God and to his ministry and very good at what they do. I guess what's hard for me is when some of us are together and they talk about all the stuff that's going on for them and comparing notes on ministry strategy and logistics, etc. I really feel like an outsider. Now I know that that is my problem and not theirs. And I know they don't intend to make me feel that way; but it's hard nonetheless. I make a very honest effort not to be jealous but it creeps in. And there are always the feelings of self-doubt. Have I lived in some way that makes me less worthy? Am I not doing enough to impress God (as if any of us can do a crapping thing that will impress God)? Did I completely misread what I thought was a calling?
More self-pity? I guess--don't know for sure. I suppose some of it has to be. The real point, ultimately, is that I'm through waiting and hoping; especially on our current church. If they, or God, don't want me on the staff then that's fine. I have a shot at a new job and if it pans out maybe we'll be moving back down south in a couple of years (Lord knows I'm sick of living in the Midwest). If God throws something my way in the mean time then he does. If not, screw it. I have a good job and a great family. We have good friends and a place to serve. It's not perfect, but none of them are--nor will they ever be. I'll keep plowing through the anger and bitterness and just try to keep it all real. It all boils down to the fact that, no matter what we do or how holy we might think we are, none of us are worthy of what Christ did for us. We just have to love him as much as we can and keep trying to live the best life we can.
Pray for peace and pray for the poor.
Mike
I have several friends who were just out there doing life, with regular jobs and all the regular stuff that goes along with that. About the same time (relatively speaking--like, within a couple of years of each other) we all were called into ministry--in a vocational sense. Of the 5 of us, 4 made the transition relatively quickly; in a way that made it almost seem easy, although nothing like that ever really is easy. But offers from churches came pretty soon after they started to seek an opportunity. In fact, in 3 out of the 4 the offer came from our church (we all attended the same place); and the one who didn't get his start at our church is now back there. (Worth noting is that 2 of the others who started at our church are now on to other churches--their choice; not kicked out or anything.) It should be obvious by now that I'm the one that didn't get the ministry job.
They are all still friends of mine and I'm glad they are. They are great guys; committed to God and to his ministry and very good at what they do. I guess what's hard for me is when some of us are together and they talk about all the stuff that's going on for them and comparing notes on ministry strategy and logistics, etc. I really feel like an outsider. Now I know that that is my problem and not theirs. And I know they don't intend to make me feel that way; but it's hard nonetheless. I make a very honest effort not to be jealous but it creeps in. And there are always the feelings of self-doubt. Have I lived in some way that makes me less worthy? Am I not doing enough to impress God (as if any of us can do a crapping thing that will impress God)? Did I completely misread what I thought was a calling?
More self-pity? I guess--don't know for sure. I suppose some of it has to be. The real point, ultimately, is that I'm through waiting and hoping; especially on our current church. If they, or God, don't want me on the staff then that's fine. I have a shot at a new job and if it pans out maybe we'll be moving back down south in a couple of years (Lord knows I'm sick of living in the Midwest). If God throws something my way in the mean time then he does. If not, screw it. I have a good job and a great family. We have good friends and a place to serve. It's not perfect, but none of them are--nor will they ever be. I'll keep plowing through the anger and bitterness and just try to keep it all real. It all boils down to the fact that, no matter what we do or how holy we might think we are, none of us are worthy of what Christ did for us. We just have to love him as much as we can and keep trying to live the best life we can.
Pray for peace and pray for the poor.
Mike
Friday, March 7, 2008
Ch,ch,ch, changes
Well, tonight was Infusion for the middle schoolers; pretty good fun. The theme was Thrift Store Fashion Show. Some of the kids had some pretty funny get-ups. Mine wasn't bad either--sort of a south Florida retirement village sort of thing. It's fun to watch Josh with the kids now that he's back. He really connects with them. He's got a great gift for the kind of story telling they really engage in.
Liz had auditions for Les Miserables this week. Call-backs were this afternoon so she won't know if she got the part or not until tomorrow--fingers crossed for her.
The job thing is getting kind of interesting for me. I got an email early this week from a company based out of Washington (state) that is looking for a safety supervisor in the Midwest. They treat underground cables with an injection system that extends the life of the cable by about 20 years. They have crews all over the country, and even internationally. It will be a significant change for us because I'll have to travel a pretty good bit. But there's a company car and good benefits--as good or better than I have now--and the same or better salary. The details have yet to be worked out; one big one being that they haven't offered me the job yet, but I'll be very surprised if they don't. Sandi's cool with the change so if they come up with the right offer I'll probably take it, although there's still some trepidation associated with it. After all, I've been where I am now for over 15 years so there's a lot of security in that. But I guess security has never been my highest priority. Plus, they have operations in the deep south so we might get lucky and be able to transfer down there one of these days--fingers crossed.
Liz had auditions for Les Miserables this week. Call-backs were this afternoon so she won't know if she got the part or not until tomorrow--fingers crossed for her.
The job thing is getting kind of interesting for me. I got an email early this week from a company based out of Washington (state) that is looking for a safety supervisor in the Midwest. They treat underground cables with an injection system that extends the life of the cable by about 20 years. They have crews all over the country, and even internationally. It will be a significant change for us because I'll have to travel a pretty good bit. But there's a company car and good benefits--as good or better than I have now--and the same or better salary. The details have yet to be worked out; one big one being that they haven't offered me the job yet, but I'll be very surprised if they don't. Sandi's cool with the change so if they come up with the right offer I'll probably take it, although there's still some trepidation associated with it. After all, I've been where I am now for over 15 years so there's a lot of security in that. But I guess security has never been my highest priority. Plus, they have operations in the deep south so we might get lucky and be able to transfer down there one of these days--fingers crossed.
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