The Black Horse Inn

Glory

2011-03-23T23:26:00.000-06:00

My wife has a saying that she says anytime she sees someone naked running through the house. She says they are "in all their glory." Now I must clarify that naked people running through our house doesn't happen often and now that the kids are older it hasn't happened recently. Of course the typical situation where this would occur would be a child escaping a diaper changing or an unwanted bath. You know, NORMAL situations that occur in a NORMAL family. It's all very NORMAL. Just sayin'.

But the point I wanted to make is not about streakers but more about this idea of a person being "in all their glory" when they are unclothed. As I thought about the oddity of that statement, it struck me that it might be closer to the truth than we would care to think.

It is interesting to me that Mankind was created by God "in our image" and that it wasn't until after the Fall Mankind was clothed in any way. There is much in the Bible about the Glory of God and it seems to be a much more tangible thing than how we typically view glory in our world. What if we also had Glory when we were created and that Glory was so diminished by our sin that it had to be hid, and we have been hiding it ever since? We dress ourselves up, we style our hair, we "make up" our faces, and we spend billions modifying our bodies and those of us who are good enough at it often become "glorified" at some level.

Imagine; being glorified for covering up our Glory.

To wrap it all up, I also found it interesting that in Scripture when it talks about our re-uniting with our bodies, they are referred to as our glorified bodies. It seems we are being restored to our previous state that is in a much closer relationship with God than we are capable of now. And maybe at even a more basic level that has been lost for so long, we have forgotten it ever existed. I find it intriguing that we might be considering as shameful, our very God-given Glory.

Now, I am not bringing this up to advocate some crazy idea that nudity should be celebrated not covered as our society seems more and more comfortable in doing. Not at all. I am throwing out these speculations (and speculations are what they are, I have done 0 research, I am writing as I am thinking about it) because what has come to my mind while considering this idea is that this might just be a physical presentation of what has happened to us spiritually through the Fall. Just think about the last time you paused for a moment in front of the mirror stepping out of the shower. And think of the thoughts that went through your mind. What if what you were looking at was your Glory? How humiliating would that be, that the thing that should bring you the most praise of anything you have done or possess is that thing that was staring back at you from that mirror? I don't know, maybe you have the perfect body by society's standards and maybe you are just vain enough to think you are just that amazing, but I would imagine that the other 99.9% of us would find this idea appalling.

What a devastatingly sad state we are in and how desperately do we need God's Glory to shine through our lives while we remain in this diminished state. To think that this image in the mirror is the best we have to offer is truly humbling. But equally humbling is the thought that the most beautiful example of a human being is so diminished from its intended Glory that is should be covered in shame. Wow. That makes the thought of what awaits us in Heaven quite inconceivable. And then to think that even as unbelievable that will be, it will be so overwhelmed by God's Glory that we may not even notice it.

Who are we to consider equality with God something to be grasped at any level? So maybe the next time you find yourself entertaining the idea that you might know better than God or that you can accomplish something without Him, you should take a peak at yourself "in all your glory". That should snap you back to reality rather quickly I would think.

How about you?

Rob Bell In His Own Words

2011-03-22T00:19:00.000-06:00

Of course you know by now of Rob Bell's new book, "Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, blah blah blah". The biggest problem with Bell is that he never actually says anything. He writes a lot and talks even more and it all sounds rather pretty but he never really says anything.

Until now.

The other night I stumbled upon an article written by one of Rob Bell's long time friends. The nice thing about that is she didn't filter Rob's thoughts and writings through her own perception (much) but relayed to us a personal conversation she had with him one afternoon on the phone. Why is that nice? It is nice because Rob, apparently feeling safe and secure within the confines of a conversation with an old friend actually says stuff. Real stuff. Stuff he actually thinks.

And yeah, the writer throws in a bit of her own statements that she feels more clearly makes the point that Rob is teaching. But that's nice too because she isn't abstract like he tries to be. So if we can take what she says as coinciding what Rob really believes but is too "smart" to actually say, then this is an important piece to read to learn just a little bit more of what's really going on behind those square, black glasses of Rob's. A couple more "nails" for the "coffin" as it were.

So go read it and come on back to comment and let me know your thoughts.

http://huff.to/gCkPde

Nyk

The Truth of Being an Agent of Reconciliation

2011-03-03T16:53:00.002-06:00

I must start this post with an admission of guilt. I have been kicking myself in the face all day (figuratively of course, I am far too portly to literally kick myself in the face) because as I have dealt with this idea of the “Gospel of Reconciliation” I have consistently argued against it using my knowledge of Scripture and reason which was easy enough to do, any fifth grader who had read the Bible could have done it, but never once did I actually go to the Bible to read what is actually says about reconciliation! And that is shameful! How can I accuse others of not reading the passages about it when I haven’t done it either? But now that I have taken the plank out of my own eye and have committed myself to not inserting it again, I can write this post about the truth of what the Bible really says about reconciliation. So here we go.

I just finished listening to a recent chapel service from the MidAmerica Nazarene University, the college I attended, as well as my wife, my brother, my wife’s sister, and now my son and other’s from my church and district. They had guests speaking about being “missional” and that all of us are called to be “agents of reconciliation”. Now, one point that was made was that as Christians we can no longer sit back and expect the missionaries to be the one’s taking part in God’s mission in the world while we remain cozy in our world of tasteless salt and dim light. (my words not his) And in this I am in full agreement with him. However, it seemed as though no one on that stage had even the slightest clue what God’s mission actually is and what being an “agent of reconciliation” means. How 7 or 8 Christians could sit on a stage for over a half an hour and talk about how they are doing God’s mission and living out being His agents of reconciliation without once mentioning the Gospel amazes me. So the following is a look at the primary passages where this concept of reconciliation is revealed in Scripture.

Romans 5:1-11

¹ Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God's glory. ³Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance, character, and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

⁶For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷(For rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person perhaps someone might possibly dare to die.) ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹Much more then, because we have now been declared righteous by his blood, we will be saved through him from God's wrath. ¹⁰For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life? ¹¹Not only this, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.

“This entire passage is about the Hope that we have in Christ and that is our inclusion in God’s glory at our resurrection. The point of the cross is laid out clearly. That is to be made righteous and to be spared His wrath. The words “reconciled” and “reconciliation” here refer to our Salvation from His wrath and the forgiveness of our sins. Notice that it is only AFTER our reconciliation that we are “saved by His life”. This phrase means that our hope of the resurrection and God’s glory are secured by the reality of Jesus’ life after His resurrection. This is a great promise for us. In this passage, reconciliation is synonymous with salvation.”

Romans 11:11-15:

¹¹I ask then, they did not stumble into an irrevocable fall, did they? Absolutely not! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make

Israel

jealous. ¹²Now if their transgression means riches for the world and their defeat means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full restoration bring?

¹³Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Seeing that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, ¹⁴if somehow I could provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them. ¹⁵For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

“Here again we see that the word “reconciliation” is synonymous with the word “salvation”. Additionally, the word “world” is referring to the people called the Gentiles, or all peoples who are not Jewish. So Paul’s point is that by the Jews rejecting Christ as Messiah, the opportunity for salvation was afforded to the rest of the people of the world. And salvation can safely be defined by Paul’s earlier definition in Romans 5 as being saved from God’s wrath, having sins forgiven and having a hope for a resurrection into God’s glory.”

II Corinthians 5:1-21:

¹For we know that if our earthly house, the tent we live in, is dismantled, we have a building from God, a house not built by human hands, that is eternal in the heavens. ²For in this earthly house we groan, because we desire to put on our heavenly dwelling, ³if indeed, after we have put on our heavenly house, we will not be found naked. ⁴For we groan while we are in this tent, since we are weighed down, because we do not want to be unclothed, but clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment. ⁶Therefore we are always full of courage, and we know that as long as we are alive here on earth we are absent from the Lord - ⁷for we live by faith, not by sight. ⁸Thus we are full of courage and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹So then whether we are alive or away, we make it our ambition to please him. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil.

¹¹Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people, but we are well known to God, and I hope we are well known to your consciences too. ¹²We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may be able to answer those who take pride in outward appearance and not in what is in the heart. ¹³For if we are out of our minds, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. ¹⁴For the love of Christ controls us, since we have concluded this, that Christ died for all; therefore all have died. ¹⁵And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised. ¹⁶So then from now on we acknowledge no one from an outward human point of view. Even though we have known Christ from such a human point of view, now we do not know him in that way any longer. ¹⁷So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away - look, what is new has come! ¹⁸And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. ¹⁹In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people's trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His plea through us. We plead with you on Christ's behalf, "Be reconciled to God!" ²¹God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.

“Here we have an entire chapter highlighting the very points made in Romans 5 and 11 but this time written to the Corinthians. The first part of the chapter is stating the fact that we do not belong here on this earth and that all of our longing should be for Heaven. But we are able to have courage in this life and can be content in this life while God’s will is for us to remain here because God has given us the Holy Spirit as a promise that one day we will be with Him in Heaven. Paul then proceeds to reiterate again what it means to be saved and that it is not just something offered a select few but it is offered to every person in the world.

One thing to point put is that Paul is clear that the reconciliation proceeds from God NOT from us. Reconciliation is not something we do, ever. It is something God does. Paul also defines reconciliation again for us with very clear and precise language. Here he defines it as “not counting people’s trespasses against them”. To restate that in more modern language, that is the forgiveness of sins. Immediately following that definition, Paul then says that God has given them that very message, the forgiveness of sins, reconciliation.

Finally, to make sure his point is well taken, Paul again defines what he means and likewise what Christ means, by reconciliation when he says, “God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.” This entire chapter is about the forgiveness of sins in order that people can someday be with God in Heaven! And THAT is the message of reconciliation that we are to take to the people of the world

Ephesians 2

¹And although you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ²in which you formerly lived according to this world's present path, according to the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience, ³among whom all of us also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest...

⁴But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, ⁵even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you are saved! - ⁶and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹it is not from works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.

¹¹Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh - who are called "uncircumcision" by the so-called "circumcision" that is performed on the body by human hands - ¹²that you were at that time without the Messiah, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴For he is our peace, the one who made both groups into one and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility, ¹⁵when he nullified in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace, ¹⁶and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed. ¹⁷And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, ¹⁸so that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household, ²⁰because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. ²¹In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²²in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

"Once again, just as in Romans 11, Paul makes the point that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles and that through the cross, both are equally reconciled to God, so much so that they are to become one body and that the Church. The point is clear; the cross of Christ reconciles us to God."

Colossians 1:9-23

⁹For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects - bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints' inheritance in the light. ¹³He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,

¹⁶for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him - all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers - all things were created through him and for him.

¹⁷He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him.

¹⁸He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.

¹⁹For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son

²⁰and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross - through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

²¹And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds, ²²but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him - ²³if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, without shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

“And again, we have Paul writing the same points to the Colossians that he had written to the Ephesians and Romans before. We should not expect that this rendition would be any different than his previous two writings nor that the definitions of the words used would be different. In this part of the letter Paul does specify that they should bear fruit in good deeds but that in order to please Him, saying nothing about those fruits attributing to their redemption which he clearly states in verse 14 is “the forgiveness of sins.”

Further on Paul describes Jesus Christ in great detail culminating in His purpose which is reconciling “all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross - through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” The language here is slightly different than what is used in the other letter’s but the idea being expressed is identical; we are reconciled to Christ by His death on the cross.

If there is any question, Paul continues by stating the fact that they are reconciled by Jesus’ physical death so that they might be presented “holy, without blemish, and blameless…”. Paul leaves no question as to what he means when he uses the words “reconcile” or “reconciliation”. He is the only one to use these words in the New Testament and he clearly defines them each time they are used as the forgiveness of sins.

Its amazing how deceived Christians have become. The “Gospel of Reconciliation” that is being preached from our pulpits and taught on our universities is directly from the mind of Satan and it is time to cut away the sheep skin from the wolves who have invaded our churches and school.”

Romans 8:18-23

¹⁸For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²²For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. ²³And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

“Finally, I must include this passage from Romans because it is used in combination with the verses about reconciliation to create this impression that Scripture teaches that we, as agents of reconciliation, are to bring about this redemption of creation. I have already explained fully the passages regarding true reconciliation so it seems this passage should be moot but let’s look at it anyway.

This passage first begins with stating that the things we go through, the suffering, ‘are not worth comparing with the glory’ to be revealed. And what is the ‘glory’? It is our entrance to Heaven. Paul further describes this glory as the ‘revealing of the sons of God’, ‘adoption as sons’, ‘the redemption of our bodies’. Additional clues that Paul is strictly talking about Heaven comes when he refers to this glory as ‘this hope’. And not simply “this hope” but that in this hope we were saved. This language matches the other passages exactly. Paul is consistent in his presentation of the Gospel as being the forgiveness of sins which saves us from God’s wrath and gives us the hope of Heaven. He says the same thing here in regards to those who are to be adopted as sons. Then he makes a connection that we see nowhere else in Scripture. He tells us that all of creation longs for the day of our final redemption so that it too may be set free from its bondage to decay wrought on it by Adam’s sin. Yet it is clear that creation’s hope does not lie in us but in our redemption by God.

He also makes clear that this will take place at the redemption of our bodies which will take place upon Christ’s return. So in the end anything we do to attempt to redeem or reconcile creation to God is an effort in futility. It isn’t pure vanity since we are called to be stewards of what God has given us and made us rulers over but if we expect our work for the planet or even for our fellow man to somehow be a part of their redemption, we are being duped.”

It's All O.K.

2011-01-16T23:01:00.000-06:00

I have been a Youth Pastor since 2005 and it has been the best position I have ever held in my life. However, over the past several months I have been going through the process of resigning my position. I will still be involved in the Youth Group and even more with the Young Adult group at my church. My final Sunday as a Pastor will be in the next couple weeks but the Youth Group has been aware this day was coming for a couple months now and they have been going through this process with me.
I have had many conversations about my leaving with the teens and have received many nice comments and I have appreciated them all. But this morning a conversation I had really made it all very real.
A young girl asked, as we were about to begin Sunday School, when I was leaving. I told her that I was going to be the Youth Pastor a few more weeks but I wasn't leaving. So she asked when I was moving. I told her that I wasn't moving. A little confused, she qualified her question and asked if I was still going to be attending our church. I responded that yes, I was still going to be a part of the church. To this she settled into her seat and said, "Oh, that's ok then." And with that it was done.
To realize that your presence attributes to the "o.k.ness" of a young person's life is a truly life changing thing. It is a humbling thing. It is something that until that moment I hadn't really understood. Well, I am not sure I still fully understand it but it will be something I will never forget for as long as I live. Deserved or not, in someone's life it's all o.k. because I am around. Wow. What else is there to say? It's all o.k. And I am forever thankful for that.

My Top Ten List For 2010

2011-01-01T17:09:00.004-06:00

This year I decided to make my own Top Ten List. I see them all the time and some of them are good but some are a waste of time. Mainly because they are just a copy of most of the other lists. So I wanted to make something different. These are ten of my favorite things for this year. I hope you give some of them a try and maybe, just maybe they will become one of your favorite things for 2011. (These are in no particular order)

Tapatio

www.tapatiohotsauce.com

I have always enjoyed spicy or hot foods but I am also one for bold flavors so most of the time, hot sauces have left me wanting. And not just wanting of a cold glass of water. Rather, I was left wanting flavor. I found the source of this problem was in the main ingrediant for most hot sauces...vinegar. Vinegar is powerful and runs rough shot over the other flavors trying desparately not to completely become buried in it's wake. And this is where Tapatio shines. It is void of vinegar and therefore lets the flavors burst through with their own pleasure-giving heat. In small quantities it is not super hot but it seems to increase exponentially in intensity with each additional drop. And it tastes and smells great.

How do I use Tapatio? I have put it into chili to give it a little kick without the vinegar side affects or mostly on top of tacos, burritos, enchiladas or tostadas. And it is the perfect compliment to Tamales. Tapatio is a great sauce, so much so that it garnered its own music video by an LA rapper named Red Cloud. Check it out and then go to the market and buy some!

Nutella

www.nutellausa.com

Take the spreadable nature of peanut butter, the wonderful sweetness of cocoa and just a little (actually theres a lot, they put 55 hazelnuts in each jar!) nutty goodness of hazelnuts and you have Nutella (pronounce 'NEW-tell-ah'). I first had it in Florida as a part of a Strawberry Bannana Crepe and I fell in love immediately. It is a little creamier than most peanut butters but it still us the perfect substitute for peanut butter if you are a person with peanut allergies. If you are not, like me, then it is simply perfect.

How do I use Nutella? I spread it on breads or bagels or even any sweet crackers. and of course it is amazing on crepes and pancakes. If you like chocolate, and who doesn't, you will like Nutella. Its as simple as that!

King Of Shaves Azor

www.shave.com

If you have followed me on Twitter or Facebook for any length of time I am sure you have seen me mention King of Shaves a time or two. I apparently have a lot of explaining to do. King Of Shaves is a British wet shave company who fairly recently introduced a razor to go along with its fantastic and unique shaving "software". (In the shaving world "software" refers to the products such as gels, creams and oils) This year I was fortunate to connect with Diane Wood, a rep for KoS out of NYC through Twitter. Consequently I was priviledged to attain the Azor razor and coupled with KoS' excellent gels, oils and hybrids I experienced the best shave of my life. All my top end razors (and I had them ALL) went to the back of the drawer and the Azor became my new best freind. Why? For a number of reasons. The Azor is light. Its not as light as a disposable but it is much lighter than the battery powered competition. In fact, it may be lighter than the battery itself. At first this was odd because for me weight denoted quality but after a few uses I realized that was a myth. The light weight of the Azor brings an ease of use that I didnt know I was missing. They do have an semi-alloy version now that provides slightly more weight but doesn't hinder the benefits of it being a lighter razor.
Another highly touted feature is what KoS coins as "Bendology Technology". To this I scoffed. Every razor I had in the drawer had a flexible head. And the Azor's seemed so stiff as to cause flaying of skin as opposed to comfort. But once again I was ill-informed. What I mistook for stiffness was actually the perfect tension that the others completely lacked which allowed the Azor to lay properly flat against my skin with the appropriate pressure to give me the closest and most even shave ever without a hint of razor burn. Wow, who knew "Bendology" was so important?!? The Azor also has a unique design which allows me to see what I am shaving so I shave where I want to shave and don't shave where I don't want to shave. And lastly, the cost is much less than it's competitors while the blades last longer. This is cool.

How do I use the Azor? I have to shave daily and so I use the Azor daily in the shower to shave and to acheive baby smooth skin that isn't dried out and that never is in fear of razor burn. My "problem areas" are no longer a problem. And for the first time in my life I am actually excited to shave in the morning rather than the dread I felt before. Currently, only a few of the "software" items are available in the USA. You can find them at Target and CVS. In 2011, KoS plans to introduce it's entire line in the USA so watch for that! But for now, you can purchase the Azor at their online shop.
The King of Shaves Azor is truly the King of Razors and there is one that is perfect for you...even if you are a woman. :)

Evernote

www.evernote.com

This app has been THE best app I have used on my Blackberry. The basic concept is that as a person who is typically on the go and may at any moment throughout the "going" of any particular day need to make a note of an idea, phone number, future appointment, copy a web link and even log a picture, video or record a vocal melody, I need somewhere to put all that stuff in my phone. Now, I can hear you saying, "my smart phone can do all those things." And I wouldn't disagree. However, they would be spread out over many apps and locales inside your phone and they certainly wouldn't be waiting for you on your computer when you got back to the office or your home. But when I do all of those things, not only will they be in one place on my phone but they will be waiting for me on my laptop and desktop. I use Evernote. From Evernote I can take notes, but I can do so much more than that. I can take a photo and attach notes to it. I can make a voice note and upload any file. I can also attach tags to all of these items so they are completely searchable in the future.

How do I use Evernote? Here is one tiny example: This Christmas I was determined to get the items my wife had put on her Christmas list. That may sound like a simple task, but my wife's list is compiled by showing me the items as we happen through random stores on other errands. I'm a guy. No way I am remembering any of those items. But with Evernote I can. Each time she would point out something I would open up Evernote on my Blackberry and select "Snapshot" which then automatically opens my camera. I would snap the photo and it then opens up in Evernote. I can then title it, make a note, and even tag it. Then I select to save the note and it is uploaded. Immediately I can view it again on my phone or I can open it on my laptop. I tagged them all and the day I went shopping, I merged all those tagged notes together and opened it on my Blackberry. Now I had a list of everything she ever pointed out to me over all those weeks. And not just a list but a photo of each item, where it could be found and other info. And when I am on my computer using Evernote, I don't even have to save it. It assumes that if I began a note or edited an older one that I would want it saved and it saves it automatically and uploads it without needing to be told. Evernote can do so much more than that and I have only scratched the surface of its capabilities and there are still a few things that could be improved but even so, this is an app I could not live without. In fact, I typed this entire post with the links and photos in Evernote on my Blackberry! So get it!

Poynt

www.poynt.com

Poynt is an app for your smart phone that allows you to search for businesses, people, restaurants, gas stations, movies and even weather. I realize that doesn't sound terribly exciting and it is pretty basic but Poynt does it as perfectly as any other app out there. It can use your phone's built in GPS or use cell-site location (if you are on Verizon who stupidly blocks you from using your own GPS unless approved by them) to focus your searches automatically or it will allow you to type in a location different from where you currently are. This speeds up the search process immensely. And once you find what you are looking for the options you have are amazing.

You can browse their website if it is available, call it's phone number, save the location for later, map it using whatever gps app you want, add it to you address book or email it and even tweet it. Poynt connects seamlessly to your phone, your mapping or gps apps, your browsers, etc. Again, I thought this app was just a simple thing that, you know, was nice to have but whatever. That is until I switched phones and didn't have it for about a week. I didn't realize how often I turned to Poynt to point me in the right direction. I found that I could NOT live without this app. Finding the same information using other means is such a chore.

How do I use Poynt? Every time I need to call a business but don't have the number, I open up Poynt. I click on Businesses, type in the name or type of business and a list pops up almost immediately. It tells me the name of the business and how far it is from my current location. And I can call that business right from the app with only two clicks. And I won't even go into the Gas Stations with gas prices or the Movies with reviews and even a synopsis with the option to purchase a ticket. If you have a smart phone and ever leave your living room, you need Poynt.

Ubertwitter

www.ubertwitter.com

There are many Twitter apps for your smart phone and computer and I have tried most of them. Ubertwitter conquers all. It has a great yet simple interface and it does almost everything you want to do with Twitter. It is easy to attach a photo or a video to your tweet and you can even access your camera from the app itself which is very nice. You can find trending topics and even have multiple accounts accessible in a few clicks. Dealing with your followers is pretty limited but other than that you can rule the Twitter universe directly from your smart phone using Ubertwitter.

How do I use Ubertwitter? If you asked people that I know, they may claim that I seem to always be on Facebook. But the truth is that I am rarely on Facebook. But I am on Ubertwitter and I have Ubertwitter linked to my Facebook page so that whatever I tweet updates my Facebook status automatically including photos and videos. What would I do without my Ubertwitter? Well, my Facebook page would be a very lonely place, I tell you that! If you are on Twitter and use a smart phone, try out Ubertwitter, I think you'll fall in love.

Opera Unite

http://unite.opera.com/overview/

I have written about the Opera Browser before here and about Opera Unite here. I have not written about Opera Mini though it is a mobile browser that I use everyday on my Blackberry. But for this list I wanted to write specifically about Opera Unite again because it is a feature of the Opera Browser that no other browser can boast. Most of the cool things you may like about another browser was probably stolen from the Opera browser. The others have come up with scant little on their own. But none of them have anything that compares with Opera Unite yet. The very basic concept of Opera Unite is that it enables you to use your desktop or laptop as a server. This means that you no longer have to rely on a website to host and share your photos, music, videos, or any other file. You don't need to upload anything to the Web because your friends can just come right to your computer and view the files and then download them, full sized, directly from your computer. The possibilities are endless.

How do I use Opera Unite? I want to highlight two ways that I am using Opera Unite almost daily. First is personal. I have set up Opera Unite to stream my entire iTunes library to any computer in the world. It is password protected so I am the only one who can log in and use it but this means that no matter where I am in the world and no matter what computer I am using, if I have internet access, I can listen to any song from my library instantly and in real time. It has been fantastic for me. The other way I use Opera Unite is for the Church where I work. We did not have a website that could provide streaming of the sermons each week so I set up Opera Unite to be accessed through a link on our home page. People could listen to a sermon in real time any time of the day or night just by clicking the link, and selecting which sermon to play. And all our sound engineers had to do was save the recorded sermon into the proper folder. Super easy and super fast. This just scratches the surface of what Opera Unite can do for you. It is a wonderful thing and my hope is that it continues to be developed to be even more sleek and more powerful. I think connecting to the mobile web is key so we will see what 2011 holds for Opera Unite. Try it out and if you need help, don't hesitate to ask. :)

Sunbutter

www.sunbutter.com

I like peanut butter as much as the next guy but sometimes you want something different. Something that is a little more exciting. And that something is Sunbutter. Ooooohhhh, Sunbutter is wonderful, in fact, I dare say that I enjoy it more than peanut butter now. Which is great news for me and even better news for those who are allergic to peanuts. This is the best alternative for the peanut allergy not just because its an adequate substitute but in my opinion, it is actually better.

How do I use Sunbutter? I use it just the same as I would use peanut butter. On bread, or toast or a bagel, Sunbutter is something you need to try before you die. You know that bucket list thing? Yeah, Sunbutter better be on it.

And that best part is that it is made right here in North Dakota. Granted, it's Fargo, but still it's North Dakota...kinda. ;-)

Here's a coupon for Sunbutter

180s

www.180s.com

180s claim to fame is the main proprietor of ear warmers. These are not to be mistaken with ear muffs that go over the top of one's head but rather ear warmers that wraps around the back of the head. But that is not why they are on my list. Last year while shopping at TJ Maxx, I came across a glove that was more unique than any glove I had ever seen. The design was modern and unique.

It had two very interesting features that I had not seen before. The first one that caught my eye was a small dot of additional fabric on the thumb and pointer finger of each glove. I couldn't quite grasp what they were for. The other feature was a little more obvious. It was a valve in the backhand of the glove covered by a magnetic flap. One would open this flap and place one's mouth over the valve and exhale. The warm breath would fill the glove, making your hands wonderfully toasty instantly. That was cool. I hopped on my Opera Mini browser on my Blackberry and searched for the glove and discovered that the small dots of fabric were material that allowed the electricity of the human body to travel through it, thus allowing the wearer to use touch screens without removing his/her gloves. Very cool. I bought them. They were too small for me so they became the property of my youngest son, who they were too big for and who didn't own any electronic device with a touch screen. But no matter, he would grow into them and who knew what he would own by that time. They were too cool to pass up. So this year, with a gift certificate I got for coaching soccer, I found myself a pair of these awesome gloves. They have a fantastic design, match my coat perfectly even down to the fabric used and they work great with my Blackberry. I even purchased a pair for my brother for Christmas.

I love companies like 180s. They take the time to come up with fantastic innovations but they don't just throw it into a normal, run of the mill product, no, they design a product worthy of the innovations. There are lots of imitators out there but none can compare with the class and quality of 180s.

How do I use my 180s? I wear them of course but I USE them by being able to answer a quick text or read a new email as I am walking to or from the car or even out on the slopes, riding the ski lift to the top. So the next time you need a new glove, try them out. You will be happy and you will be the envy of all your freinds who's hands are freezing while yours are nice and toasty and look great as well.

Kashi

http://kashi.com/

I realize there is quite a bit of food in this list but I just can't help it. It is one of my dilemmas. I really like to eat but I despise cooking. Hence, things like spreads and breakfast cereals are important to me. And in the breakfast cereal category, there is no equal to Kashi. Kashi is a natural, whole foods type of company. But that is not why I eat their products. Normally, when you hear the word "natural" or "organic" it may as well say "tastes like lark's vomit" on the label. However, Kashi has somehow come up with a way to take natural and organic foods and make them taste outstanding. Every product I have eaten from Kashi, from it's breakfast cereals to it's bars has been a wonderful experience. I have been eating Kashi for years and it really wasn't on the radar to be included here but I bought a new cereal from them just the other day that was so fantastic that I opened up Evernote and made some changes just to fit them in. It's called Strawberry Fields which is annoying as I don't care for the Beatles at all but that's not why I liked the cereal. I love fruit in cereals and usually the ones that work best are raisins and dates because of the process they go through to be able to sit in a cardboard box for weeks and still taste amazing. But when it comes to other fruits such as are found in Strawberry Fields specifically Strawberries and Raspberries, it is tough to maintain the freshness and taste because usually they are dried. But Kashi freeze dries these fruits and they come out looking and tasting like the real things. Combine that with the sweetness of the rice and whole wheat flakes and this cereal is not just something to eat because that's what you have for breakfast, it is something to look forward to. Something that you eat for lunch just because it's that good, like I did today!

How do I use Kashi? Well, I eat it. I'm sure there are much more creative things to do with it but then, again, I don't cook. Try some, you won't be disappointed.

Thank you for reading my Top Ten List. Feel free to share it with others and comment of course!

Nyk

The Amazing World of Twitter

2010-12-14T01:24:00.001-06:00

Twitter has begun to begin to become a serious part of a lot of people's lives, not only in the USA but all around the world. It is probably the first software/application to have caught on with adults before it did with the youth. I was tweeting before any of the twenty somethings or teens I know even knew the name. And they were amazingly slow to catch on. In fact, I don't think even now, any of the young people I know have become avid Twits. (That's my little word for all of us Twitter users) Which is strange because they were very quick to jump on Myspace and Facebook and Youtube despite those socmed sites being far more complicated than Twitter. Maybe Twitter seems so simple as to hide it's immense potential impact.
If most people under 30 haven't even started using Twitter on a regular basis then the potential is huge. And not just in growth but in the impact that Twitter interaction will have on every part of our lives.

Twitter is not just me answering the question, "What are you doing now?" It is so much more than that. And it is not just a duplication of my Facebook status. (Actually my Facebook status is a duplication of my Tweets) With Twitter's connectivity, it has become a way to share thoughts and links to any place on the web, a way to learn, to get news updates and follow nearly play by play action of live sports events and actually build relationships with people you would have never met, not even on Facebook.
The brilliance behind Twitter is the symbols used to connect people to topics and to others instantly, on the fly. And enable them to connect back to you in the same fashion. And I am not simply talking about random strangers, I am talking about people we have all dreamt about being able to ask a question or share a thought.
Actors, musicians, politicians, writers, sports broadcasters, CEOs, they are all here and willing to dialogue with the average joes like me.
Let me share with you two short stories that example this assertion. I try to follow the German Bundesliga and the EPL as much as possible through the TV and the web but because of the time difference between here and Europe I miss most of the action on TV, at least live. But through Twitter I am able to get live updates from all the matches right to my Blackberry. Getting that commentary live is exciting enough but one day I wanted to ask the FSC commentator a question so I Tweeted him. And much to my amazement he answered my question almost instantly while he was broadcasting live! When has something like that ever been a possibility before?
Another amazing thing happened to me via Twitter. I have a certain product that I use daily and love. I decided to get some of this product as part of our Christmas gifts for some of our relatives. The American spokesperson for this British company is a fairly out in front of the camera sort of person so I thought it would be cool if I could get a short note from this person to put in my gifts. So I Tweeted this person my request and got an immediate response that they could make this happen. I was excited to say the least. But what happened next is what Twitter is all about, I noticed within minutes of my request, a Tweet went out from this spokesperson suggesting that others should give their product for Christmas. Wow, that's flattering. And then a few minutes later the CEO of the company in the UK Tweets the same thing! Within ten minutes, an idea conceived in my head had traveled around the world to tens of thousands of fans of this brand.
THAT'S the power of Twitter. I read where the CEO of that company said that socmed sites like Twitter has allowed him to connect directly with his end users in a way never before possible. It won't just bring him sales, it will bring him loyalty. And that is more valuable than anything.
If you aren't a Twit yet, no matter your age, you are missing out on a whole new world and its a wonderful world. And as my son and I like to say, "That's so Tweetable!"

Nyk
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

It's Not Opera, Dad.

2010-11-27T22:48:00.001-06:00

This is the type of person I am; I spend a lot of time and daring searching out the best things in the world (though I am somewhat considerably limited by money in many areas!) and when I discover them, I am almost fanatical in my devotion to them. I choose some things for their uniqueness to me such as the Kansas City Wizards (or Sporting Kansas City, I mean) or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Hannover 96. They certainly couldn't be considered the best in the world by any stretch of even a biased imagination. But other things, like Mac computers, uhlsport soccer gear or King of Shaves shaving supplies are certainly in the upper echelon of their respective areas of expertise. All of which brings me to Opera Browser. The Opera Browser is one of those things that fit into the latter of the two categories. I have been using it since the mid-nineties, back when I actually had to pay for it. In fact, because of a hard drive failure I purchased it twice! And its revolutionary features have been ingrained in how I use the Internet. Just how much was revealed to me yesterday.

I was working on my son's Macbook yesterday and needed to search for a solution to a problem on the Web so, forgetting that I had installed Opera on his Macbook, I clicked on Safari. Now Safari is a fine browser, just like Firefox or Chrome but its no Opera. As I began my search with Safari, I clicked in the address field and typed my search question. I hit enter, and much to my shock I was taken to an error page. My son, seeing my utter confusion, informed me, "It's not Opera, Dad." Then I remembered, not all browsers measure up to Opera. Actually, none do. See, with Opera, I no longer need a separate search field for searches. I just type it into my address field and to Google I go. (or whatever search engine I prefer) This might not seem like a big deal and I guess on its own it isn't huge but when you spend significant time on the web that takes you around the world in seconds, every second counts and features like this one cuts those seconds and simplifies the whole process.

This is where the Opera Browser excels. It has been at the forefront of making this thing we call "surfing the web" a more simple place to live, work and play. If Safari, Firefox or Chrome has it, most likely, Opera was the one who developed it. And Opera isn't slowing down. The goal is for this single piece of software to become the only program you will need to have open for all your Internet needs. It is not there yet, but on the rare occasion that I am forced to use a browser other than Opera I am reminded of how far Opera is on the journey to that goal. And when I am using those "other" browsers and my son sees the look of dismay wash across my face and reminds me, "it's not Opera, Dad" my only response is...no, no it's not.

KC Wizards Change Their Name To Sporting KC, O The Emotions...

2010-11-18T14:29:00.001-06:00

Well, yesterday at 5:30 pm, my Club, the Kansas City Wizards, officially changed their name to Sporting Kansas City. I have taken last night and part of today to mull over the emotions and thoughts that I have concerning this unexpected situation. I say unexpected because as of even a few weeks ago, there was not even a hint in the air that something like this was going to happen. Quite a lot to grasp in such a short amount of time. By the time this started to leak out to the fans, it was a forgone decision, really leaving us feeling a bit out in the cold.

First let me discuss the name a little. The original name was the Kansas City Wiz. Which, at the time, they were not even willing to admit was short for Wizards. Honestly, with so much anticipation of Kansas City getting a professional soccer team, when I heard that name I literally became sick to my stomach. And it was lost on no one that we were going to be playing our matches at Arrowhead stadium which quickly became known as "The 'Head". And to top it all off, one of the major supporters was Roger The Plumber. I never found out whether Roger was actually a huge soccer fan as he obviously was a huge Monty Python fan or if he just had a great business sense and saw the amazing opportunity unzipping right in front of him. Either way, it was disappointing to me.
The very next year, due to a dispute with an electronics store out on the east coast, the Wiz were forced to changed their name to the Wizards, which I think I would have not really cared for either had the name not already been The Wiz and had other teams not had even worse names like the New York New Jersey Metro Stars. The thing with the Wizards moniker is that it supposedly hearkened back to the Wizard of Oz, which is fine except that there was only 1 wizard in the Wizard of Oz and the team was from Missouri not Kansas. So it just didn't make any sense. But, whatever, at least we weren't the Wiz anymore.

So with the Wizards we went and for the past 13 years it really has been great. They have changed our colors at least once if not more. The first few years though they said our color was Carolina Blue, we didn't really wear uniforms reflecting that. We had black ones with rainbows and white ones with rainbows. But we did settle into a nice few years of a unique blue. But that changed and now it is changing again. But I digress. Back to the name.

Names are a strange thing. No matter how dumb, or awful, or strange, they become our identity. I remember stumbling on a name in a phone book one day, Waldemer Duckwitz. I bet he wouldn't change it if he could.

Before soccer came to the professional leagues in the US I was an American Football fan. And my team was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They were Orange and White, had a squinting pirate with a knife in his teeth as a mascot, played in a giant cement dish called the Big Sombrero and were terrible. I suffered through the first few winnless seasons, a heart breaking loss to the Rams in the NFC Championship and then 14 consecutive losing seasons only to be crushed by a re-branding of the team upon the construction of the new stadium. True, the new colors were better, the new logo was better, the new stadium was outstanding but they weren't the Buccaneers anymore. They weren't the team I suffered with for nearly two decades. And as I watched them win a Super Bowl(something I had dreamt about for years as a child and teen), I felt kind of apathetic. I wanted to sport the Orange and fly the flag with the squinting pirate and scream at the top of my lungs that we were the best team in the world! But, there was no orange and no squinting pirate and no true enthusiasm at finally reaching the dream. After that season I never watched the Buccaneers again. You see, it didn't matter how dreadful all those things about the Bucs were, it was MY team. It didn't matter that every single change that was made was for the better. Because once it changed, it was no longer my team. Now it may have been a little different for me if I actually lived in Tampa. I can't say. I just know what happened.

Will the same thing happen with the team from Kansas City? I hope not. I hope I will still feel that devotion and excitement. It helps that I lived in KC for so long. It helps that they moved to Kansas, MY side of the river. It helps that I still have family and friends there and will be able to attend matches in that new stadium. So I think I will be ok but there will be some that won't, and that is sad, because I know just how they feel.

To make myself feel a little better, I checked out a couple teams that I like from around the world and that others here kinda look up to as being the epitome of what a soccer club should be and what I found was interesting. Just two examples for you: My favorite Bundesliga team is Hannover 96. The 96 is short for 1896 and is the year they were formed. They are called "Die Roten" or "The Reds" because the team wears red on the field despite their team colors being Black, White and Green. (though they are inexplicably wearing maroon this season) Hannover was formed as Hannover FC 1896 and played in Blue for 7 seasons. They changed there name to Hannover Sporting 1896 and the kit color to red after those first 7 seasons and then later they dropped the 1896 and just became HSV (Hannover Sporting). It stayed that way for the next 40 years until they changed their name back to Hannover Sporting 1896 or Hannover 96 for short. That's alot of changing over alot of years and yet they are still one of the best supported clubs in Germany despite usually finishing mid-table.

Manchester United has a similar story. They were formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR FC and their colors were Green and Gold. After 14 seasons (sound familiar) they changed the name to Newton Heath FC but after 10 more seasons they changed their name to Manchester United. They played as Newton Heath for a total of 24 years.

I say all that to say that even though I know how important a name becomes regardless of how awful it might be, this re-branding is not the end of the world, or the team. Some of the teams we most look up to weren't always as we know them now. If the world still exists, Kansas City soccer might turn 100 years old and the world won't know anything about the Wizards (unless we keep the nickname which I would encourage everyone to do) and it won't matter. We will be Sporting and we will have a rich history. So Sporting Kansas City it is and maybe the Wizards they will remain (you know, we can stitch our own scarves and keep that name alive and still have a Cauldron, that is purely up to us).

The news about expanding the club to include Lacrosse and Rugby is truly exciting and the beginning of true youth leagues through Sporting would be amazing and the name then would begin to make more sense. That prospect I really like.

Now about that Crest. It simply doesn't make any sense. According to the crest, we are now Kansas City Sporting Sporting Club. Huh? The Kansas City is far too small and if you look at it on the new jerseys, it cannot be seen due to it being gray on light blue or dark blue. It disappears completely. The bulb design is ok at the edges but the top makes it look like its falling over backwards perpetually. Its annoying. The eleven stripes are just stupid. Why on earth would you commemorate on a crest something that is a part of every team in the world for the past 100 years? Who cares? That is nothing to do with Kansas City or our team or our history that sets us apart. I kind of like the angled shape of the stripes because it does pay tribute to the to States that comprise the Kansas City Metro area and that confuse outsiders so much. I would have liked it to be slightly closer to the real border shape than being so very corporate and clean looking. The Sporting is fine, whatever. But the SC, oh the SC. I don't even understand it at all. And yes, I listened to the live announcement yesterday and the video by Rob and went to the flash site that explained in detail each element of the crest and it still doesn't make any sense. In fact, when reading about the SC, I don't even know what they are talking about. And even if I did, there is no way on earth I would ever get that out of what is presented on the crest.

Here is what they wrote about the SC on the crest:

"The stylized "SC" ligature on the right side of the shield is an iconic image serving to link the team to its parent organization, Sporting Club. The interlock was designed to reflect a variety of historical influences within an innovative, contemporary design. These inspirations include: the rod of the Greek god Asclepius (health and fitness), the Hellenistic statue of Winged Victory (strength and movement) and the Spanish architecture of Kansas City's renowned Country Club Plaza."

First, I don't understand how something can be referred to as iconic when it has no history and no one has ever seen it before. What aspect of the SC exactly is "iconic"? I don't have a clue. And iconic and innovative rarely go together and certainly don't in this case. Its hardly innovative and it doesn't need to be. Thats one of the annoying things about it, that they think it needs to be innovative and then tell us that it is when it is clearly not. I mean, how could a design consisting of two letter ever be innovative in this day and age? Are they aware of what innovative actually means? I wonder. So its not iconic nor innovative, how about clearly reflecting historical influences? The Greek god Asclepius? The Hellenistic statue of Winged Victory? Maybe I am completely lacking in any concept of Kansas City history (and I might entirely be, to be sure) but when did Asclepius and Wing Victory historically influence Kansas City? If anyone can fill me in, please do. And then to the Spanish architecture of the Country Club Plaza. Now, I love the Plaza as much as anyone else, but the team is now in Kansas. The stadium is no where near the Plaza. Swope Park has no intelligible connection to the Plaza as far as I can see. I just don't see the relation. It is ironic to me that all the years that the Kansas City Wizards were playing in Missouri and located in Kansas City, Missouri, they had a name reflecting Kansas. And as soon as they are about to find a permanent home in Kansas where their name would for once make some sort of sense, they drop it and highlight a crest pointing to something in Missouri. And even if all of the things purportedly represented in the SC were legitimate, which I just don't see, how would you ever get any of that from this design of the SC? Would anyone look at it and say, "Hey! It's the rod of Asclepius!" Or "Oh how seeing this crest makes me long for the lights of the Plaza!" I doubt it. I HATE the SC. I understand the need for a logo to represent the parent club as it were. But it should be much less prominent on the crest than it is. It will have to be a part of the crest for the future Lacrosse team and the Rugby team as well. It needs to be a small part of them so that the important part comes through. The arrangement of "Kansas City" and "Sporting" need to reflect the actual name of the team which is Sporting Kansas City, not Kansas City Sporting. And there needs to be some hint that this particular "Sporting" is actually the soccer team, not the Rugby team or the Lacrosse team.

But the thing that hurts the most about all of this is the absolute slap in the face to the fans by completely keeping us in the dark, not asking for our input as to what things we find important as supporters of the club and as Kansas Citians, and then telling us that a part of your goal as a club is to connect with the fans (that they now refer to as members) all the while shoving a horrendous crest down our throats that means nothing to us, even after it is explained in great detail. That just stinks. I think they would have found the fans to be an amazing partner to work with in the development of a new brand. I think it would have turned out better and nearly everyone would have been on board and excited about it. We all knew the crest needed to change. We wouldn't have all been opposed to changing the name if it had been reasonable. We would have fought to keep the colors. (Now, Colorado, Vancouver and potentially Phili all have an extremely similar shade of blue in their uniforms)

So in the end, because of the plan to develop the first true sports club in America, I can live with the name. However, the crest is an abomination and needs to be changed, and I will forever lament the loss of our Wizards blue. My prayer is that the front office will listen to us and be willing to make some changes in the future. Its still a long time til the new season starts and a while til the stadium begins to get outfitted with colors and crests. Maybe there is still hope...but I, for one, will not be holding my breath.

Go Wizards!

The Twisted Nature of the Liberal Mind

2010-11-01T11:24:00.001-06:00

As I drove through Bismarck on my errands Saturday, I was listening to NPR. (only God knows why) Actually, the reason I stopped on that station which I usually avoid like the plague (in reality I have never really avoided the plague as it were so maybe it should be "avoid like a pair of Nike shoes") was because the person being interviewed was talking about his travels around the world using the lowest forms of "conveyance" (his word) in the world. Having recently visited Guatemala and experiencing some similar travel situations, it peeked my interest. But as I listened, I began to realize that there was something more to his story than simply revealing these sad stories of destitution to the general public who may never experience them firsthand.

My first inclination that something was amiss was when he was describing his trip over the Andes mountains in Peru. Without going into all the details, he described traveling in a packed bus(he was sitting in the stairwell with his legs hanging out of the bus)down steep mountain roads made of mud, with cliffs rising and falling mere inches from the bus at times. There were no bathroom facilities because a man was using the bathroom to store the crates of fruit he was selling to the passengers and the man next to him had a sick child who was vomiting on the bus and defecating out the windows during the terrifying ride down the mountain. All of that is horrible enough but what he said after that description was what made my ears perk up. He said (and I am paraphrasing here) that after he just accepted all of the dirt and filth and discomfort, it was one of the most invigorating and heartening trips he ever took. He went on to describe some of the positive things of the trip such as that the passengers were kind and people brought him food (the host had to point out that they were SELLING him the food, a fact that he deliberately left out and we will see why in a moment).

After discussing this part of his trip a little more, he went on to describe returning to the United States and how he took a Greyhound bus from the West coast to his home in the East. I am guessing that this was his idea of the lowest form of "conveyance" in the U.S. He described this leg of his journey as the most depressing and discouraging part of his travels. Why? Because the people were not very open, and he had to buy food from a vending machine. It was clear now what his message was as he continued to describe the shortcomings of the United States. His message was that no matter how bad things may be in Third World countries, the United States is much worse.

This reveals the corruption of the Liberal Mind. In order to twist reality to to fit the liberal way of thought he had to disregard all the negative aspects of the horrific conditions in which he was traveling, and there, in this world of his own creation, he could find utopia of liberal thought, people living in harmony. That is the ideal of the liberal mindset. It doesn't matter if those harmonious people are starving to death, or plummeting off mountain passes to their deaths as long as they were living in harmony. So, instead of being concerned about the suffering of the child who was vomiting on the bus, or the indignity of being forced to defecate out the window of a public bus, or the humiliation of needing to purchase food stored in the toilet of a bus, or living in constant fear of death every time they had to take to the road, the liberal mind is concerned about the impersonal nature of buying food from a vending machine or the unwillingness of strangers on a bus to speak openly to each other. You see, America's goal is not harmony, it is freedom and prosperity. That is anathema to the liberal mind.

As I listened, this all played out in front of me. He would not have been so candid if he had not thought he was speaking to friends, which is why he was on NPR. He was honest about ignoring the negatives in order to bolster his position, yet he was caught in his dishonesty by an only slightly more honest host when talking about people bringing him food on the bus. He would have been just as well with giving us the impression that he was being fed free of charge out of the kindness of their hearts because it lent itself to his point. If a person is willing to lie to support his position, it makes me question the validity of that position. He complained about the vending machines as if it were the only food offered to the passengers of this bus on their 72 hour trip across the U.S. I simply don't believe that. And somehow he found vending machine sandwiches more repulsive than unrefrigerated fruit stored in a public toilet. He complained about the "standoffishness" of the passengers of the bus on Grey Hound when I can imagine he made no effort to strike up a conversation. If he had, he may have found things very different. And finally, while I am sure the Peruvian Andes are more breathtaking than the deserts of the Southwest U.S., he made no mention of the natural beauty of the country side he experienced in that last leg of his journey. I am sure there was beauty somewhere along the line. But that is the liberal mind. It is a twisted view that requires a twisted reality. Remember this as you vote tomorrow. Would you rather live in America, or take a Peruvian bus to work each day? Providing you have a job at all.

Guatemala Day Eleven - Thirteen

2010-07-24T11:44:00.000-06:00

Day Eleven Wednesday morning we headed back the Scheel center (the short route) and met the Psychologist there who offered to take us to the poorest families on the mountain. He had three female long term volunteers that were to come with us to document life on the mountain and because they had not been able to go up the mountain yet. We parked at the Scheel Center at the base of the mountain called Vista Hermosa which means beautiful view. And the view was to be beautiful but nothing on the mountain was beautiful. It took us two hours to climb the mountain and visit 10 families. The climb was exhausting, slippery, dangerous and often disgusting. The path was very steep and very narrow in places. There were many places where only one person could pass and there would be a hundred foot drop off at the edge. The path was at times crossed or bordered by small streams of water and raw sewage and garbage. Some families had make shift outhouses but many didn’t. There was garbage everywhere and feces strewn throughout the pathway. The smells varied from feces, rotting garbage, death and smoke from burning wood and charcoal used for cooking. The families lived in small shacks, normally one room, made of sheet metal, bamboo and other vegetation. Some of the rooms had beds but others did not. One family we visited had one bed for four people. Most of the families consisted of at least 5 people. There are many tales to be told but two I want to highlight right now. One woman we visited was very glad we came and she was willing to answer a lot of questions. She was actually living in a one room house that was built by volunteers from the Scheel Center. She had an outdoor concrete washing basin, access to water, and a separate outhouse (which was simply a hole surrounded by a wood framed, sheet metal roofed structure whose walls were just tarps tied together). But what she told us was that she was so grateful for the food we brought because that day she had run out of food, so her and her 5 children would have not had anything to eat that day or maybe even for several days. When we left that home the reality of their situation set in for me and it was very difficult to deal with. Then there was a family we had stopped to see on the way up and we passed by them again only a few minutes later on our long trek back down the mountain and they came running out to greet us. They were all smiling brightly and I immediately spotted the reason why. Each of the children and the mother as well had a candy sucker in their mouth and they were so happy and excited. Those were the last thing we purchased the night before and it was kind of a spur of the moment thing. We had spent a lot of time developing healthy staples to provide them the most we could and at the last moment I the thought came to my mind that it might be nice to give them something that was sweet to break up the monotony of the beans, rice and tortillas they exist on daily. So we found the suckers. And at that moment on the mountain I felt like we gave them something a little more than just sustenance. Something that made them a little more human. We are not meant just to live. Humans were created to live life abundantly and it is the creative things, the beautiful things and the sweet things that make us so very different than the animals, the way God intended. And in an extremely small and brief way I think we brought a moment of that to the lives of these families. We all wish we could have done it to the full for every family on that mountain and we pray that God will bring that about someday, in this life. After arriving at the bottom of the mountain, we thanked those from the Scheel Center who helped us and headed back to the house. It seemed odd this time, as I sat parked in front of a beautiful and secure villa that was worth a lot of money here in Antigua and lifted my head to the mountain directly above me which had become a monument to human suffering and poverty. Often times I hear peple come back from missions trips to third world countries and they tell us that though these people had nothing they still had such a happiness about them. Maybe that is true. But the two places that I have been where severe poverty was the norm, there was little happiness. The people of Vista Hermosa were not happy. In fact, one of the women related how sad she was that she could not provide for her family. There is no happiness on that mountain, only misery accented by fleeting moments of relief brought about by small things like a piece of hard candy on a stick. We cleaned up, packed up and headed to eat and hit the market one more time before we left. After we finished at the market, we dropped off our friends from Guatemala City near the bus stop and made our way out of Antigua to our next adventure on our way to Panajachel. The first part of this 3 hour drive went pretty smoothly in terms of driving in Guatemala at least. I have become almost used to the style of driving here. Or lack thereof. We had some issues getting through Chimaltenango. The city was constructing a new road through the city center and so it was down to one lane. This meant that one direction of traffic had to wait for the other direction to go for a while until the police let us go. Thankfully we hit it at just the right time and didn’t have to wait too long. But as dusk set in, we began the ascent up the mountain and the higher we got, the thicker the clouds became. I would call this fog but it really isn’t fog, it was the actual clouds. That is how high we were. We were passing through the first level of clouds. The road was two lanes each direction but had a turn every 100 meters or so and the turns were often extremely sharp. The incline was trying for our over packed car and there were many places where there were fresh landslides that at time blocked both of our lanes so we had to pass on the oncoming lanes. These were all marked by arrows and cones so there was not danger for the most part but as the night grew darker and the clouds grew thicker, the ability to see was at times down to a few feet. I had drawn close to a car in front of me and decided to stay close to him in order to better make my way through the clouds since I couldn’t see anything really. We passed another landslide that sent us into the opposite lanes and we slowely made our way up the steep incline. Suddenly, the car in front of me pulled all the way to the left into the far lane of the oncoming traffic and there was nothing for me to do than to follow him because I couldn’t see what he was driving around or why he had made that move. So I did. But as we moved farther along, I came to the realization that what he had moved over for was the sign that told us that we needed to go back to our lanes. The clouds were so thick that I didn’t even see them. What this meant was that we were now traveling the wrong way on the highway and the cars coming down the mountain had no warning that there would be cars coming the opposite direction in their lanes. Panic set in but there was nothing that could be done as there was a large cement curb that prevented me from returning to our lanes. As we rounded a curve I realized what had happened. There were two semis who were directly ahead of us traveling the same direction as us. The first semi must have not seen the return in the clouds and continued when he should have crossed back over and the truck and cars that followed, not being able to see either just followed the one in front of them, resulting in two semis and about five cars driving the wrong way on a mountain pass, at night, in the clouds. I felt a little safer knowing that someone would have to plow through two semis and tow cars before they got to us but I wanted desperately to get back on the right side of the road. After several miles we came to a return and we were able to all cross safely to the proper lanes. What a relief. Little did I know this was just the beginning. As we reached the peak of the mountain I recalled that what goes up, must come down. And so we did. I had been on many steep roads on this trip but never had there been a warning sign. All of the sudden we were barraged with signs warning of extremely steep inclines and warnings to downshift. So we began the descent. It was so steep that at one point I had my brakes fully on and there was no way we were stopping. We wound around sharp curves and giant waterfalls, occasionally catching glimpses of the cities far below us and even lightning. The lightening was below us. It was a very strange feeling being on the ground yet looking at a thunderstorm from above. The steepest portion of the road down to the lake was only 6 miles but it took us a very long time. We traveled an average of about 5 miles an hour all the way. So after over 4 hours we finally pulled into Panajachel. It was packed with people and cars and street side food carts. I was a bit surprised because in both Guatemala City and even Antigua things closed very early and once it was dark the streets emptied rather quickly. Not so in Panajachel. I would describe the city as a more trashy Guatemala City by a lake. We had a hotel that we were planning to stay at which however we did not know where it was in the city. We passed by the city center that was absolutely packed with people, and cars and motorcycles. I felt that we might be in trouble when a guy came running up to our window and began shouting and pointing toward a hotel that was in front of us. After we had moved away from him I asked what he wanted and it turned out he was a guy from that hotel whose job it was to get people to stay there. The troubling part was that part of his effort to draw us in was highlighting the fact that this hotel (unlike others?) had hot running water. That was disconcerting. Asking directions from strangers is a normal way of getting around any city in Guatemala but the results can be iffy. And Panajachel was worse than normal. After being sent in every direction multiple time, we finally found the hotel. It looked nice enough from the outside. They came out and directed us to their “parking garage” which turned out to be more of cellar large enough to park cars. From there we went up to our rooms. They were concrete and tile just as everywhere else we had been. They looked nice enough though the entire room was lit by a single light bulb and the lights went from dim to bright and back to dim every few minutes. There was no air conditioning and no heat and it was vented to the hallway and to the alley out the back of the hotel. The hallway was really a covered but open balcony. So this hotel kept the theme of very open construction that you find throughout the cities we had been. One other interesting item was a sign above the toilet asking to please not throw toilet paper in the toilet. The alternative was not very pleasant. We had not eaten supper yet so after disqualifying the hotel restaurant we went out to the street to find a suitable restaurant. Most of what we found were food vendor carts. They had raw meats piled onto an upright skewer from which they would carve a piece when ordered, grill it and place it in a tortilla. We decided against any of those. We did find a restaurant that had a number of foreigners leaving it so we thought it may be safe but as we tried to enter, we were told they were just closing. After commenting on the beauty of the girls in our group, asking them how old they were and if they wanted to come back for a party later (men here are much more aggressive in showing attraction to women in public, this sort of thing was more the norm than an exception everywhere we went) they directed us to a good restaurant down the street. However after arriving and seeing 3 stray dogs lying about the floor of the dining area we decided to buy some chips and cookies from a small convenience shop we had passed and turn in for the night. Day Twelve The morning came quickly and we showered and packed, retrieved our car and headed down to the lake front to acquire a restaurant for breakfast. We found a paid parking spot and were immediately accosted by men and women shoving menus in our faces and assuring us that their restaurant was the best. We decided on one that one of the members of our group had eaten at the previous year. The view was breathtaking. A very large lake surrounded by green mountains, three of which were volcanoes. The sky was clear but the volcanoes create their own clouds so the tops of each were covered. There was much activity along the lake with tour boats and fishing boats. There was a small concrete soccer field right next to the lake where some guys were shooting a small, plastic soccer ball. On wrong kick and the ball would be in the lake. One wrong challenge and you could be flying off a 25 foot concrete wall. We sat down for a wonderful Guatemalan breakfast with fresh papaya juice, plantains, eggs, chorizo, tortillas, frijoles and a spicy sauce full of flavor. After breakfast we were asked if we wanted a boat tour. The full day tour was too much money for us and we did not have the time either. So we chose a short, one hour tour that would take us to a hot springs on the side of the lake and to one of the lake villages where we could buy crafts from the actual people who make them. We pulled into the dock made of two simple planks hovering just above the water. We balanced along the planks, to another set of planks that crossed in front of a flooded restaurant a tree stump, across a small sandy area and up a mud bank to a mud and concrete littered lot next to a muddy soccer field strewn with trash where kids from the local school were just finishing recess. We aimlessly wandered down a narrow ally way and finally emptied out onto a street with some shops. We were able to watch a lady actually making a scarf which would take forever. It increased my appreciation of the items they had. We passed five native ladies who were making hand-made tortillas and we asked if we could take a photo but they sternly said no. Then we asked if we could purchase some fresh tortillas, and again we were met with a glare and another stern no. So we put our collective tails between our legs and sulked away down the street. After the village experience we went back to Panajachel and spent a little time in the market there and then made our way out of town. I was very concerned that we would not make it out but there was not much traffic and I was able to accelerate enough on the lighter inclines to make it up the steeper one. We stopped to take pictures of an amazing waterfall and to take picture of the city and lake from high above. The rest of the trip back was uneventful aside from the construction mentioned before. This time it took a very long time to get through which was annoying. We arrived back in Guatemala City with time to spare for once and made our way to a restaurant where we would be dining with the Guatemalan relatives. It was a beautiful restaurant serving true Guatemalan cuisine to the sounds of a Marimba band hired specifically for our dinner. We enjoyed classic Guatemalan dishes and desserts. It was a wonderful night. We turned in early, ready for our second free day of the trip and our last full day in Guatemala. Day Thirteen We awoke on our last full day in Guatemala and headed out to the Nazarene School to take photos with the children. We arrived pretty quickly and it was amazing getting to spend time with the kids. They were so excited and it was difficult to leave them. We then went and got the food that I was the most excited to try. Shukos. It is a small hotdog or Chorizo on a grilled hoagie bun with cabbage, mayo, mustard, Guacamole and a variety of sauces and onions and cilantro. We went to a cross street that that had about 15 Shukos restaurants. There was only one lane to drive on the four streets that converged at this intersection. And there were guys running everywhere to the cars driving through asking them how many shukos they wanted. It was a rudimentary drive through system. There were small areas to sit inside each restaurant but most people simply drove through, ordered from the street and waited for the guys to bring the sandwiches back to them. We wanted to eat inside so we found a guy that said he would clear a table for us and we parked about a block away and walked back to his locale. It was a small concrete room, open to the street with a small cooking area in the corner and the remainder of the room filled with plastic tables and chairs. We ordered and I enjoyed the shukos. Most of the others did not. I think they were really more concerned with the sanitary situation so it colored their opinions. I would have liked more meat because it was a bit like eating a cabbage sandwich due to the very small size of Guatemalan hotdogs. When we paid, we were shocked to find that eat sandwich was only seventy cents. So with our drinks we each spent just little over one dollar. We then got the car we had borrowed, serviced and then stopped at a very large mall to meet some other friends. I met with some fans of my band from Guatemala City and it was absolutely wonderful to sit with them for about an hour and a half and just talk. They presented me with some great gifts from Guatemala and I signed some autographs and we took some pictures. After that our other friends arrived and we went to eat at a favorite restaurant called Friends which was like a Hard Rock Café but with a movie theme. It was pretty good and a great way to end our trip, saying thanks to the guys that really helped us out in the services. It was a sad departing. Tomorrow we leave Guatemala and fly back to Chicago where I will take a nap and then we will drive back to Bismarck. My last updates will be from home. Thanks for following our trip Pray for us.

Guatemala Day Nine - Ten

2010-07-23T09:36:00.000-06:00

Day Nine Monday morning, we were able to check out the house more. It was a wonderful little two story villa at the base of a large mountain, within a secured complex. Now, when I say secured, we all think of having a gate around the area we are living but in Guatemala, secured means not only the gate but armed guards at the gates and strolling through the complex, 24/7. The villa had three bedrooms and a bath up stairs. All the bedrooms had large windows that fully opened to the outside. There are no screens here. One bedroom had a door that opened to a small balcony and also had a loft with a hammock. The main area between the bedrooms and the bathroom had a door that lead to a large rooftop sitting area that offered a good view of the surrounding area. There was a wonderful courtyard off of the dining room that was accessed through French doors. The courtyard was surrounded by 15 foot walls and was a combination of grass and tile with a large tree in the center, a small fountain on the left and several flowering plants along the wall, where humming birds would come to every morning. The first floor had a kitchen and dining area separated by a beautiful wood counter and a small living room just inside the front door. The living room had three wooden benches with pillows and a small TV. There was also a very small bathroom and shower down a few stairs off of the living room. The shower was so short that it would have sprayed my chest only if I had attempted to use it. The entire place had tile floors and concrete walls just as the majority of the building here. Directly above the house was a large mountain which was covered by small shacks piled on top of each other all the way up the steep sides. We decided immediately, we wanted to go there. The city of Antigua is an old city so there is much great architecture but since it was built using cobble stone streets and those were intended for horses or mules, it is a very tight squeeze to get around with all the cars, trucks and busses that are now used. It is situated at the foot of a Volcano named Agua which has already destroyed the city once but is now sitting dormant. The volcano towers above the city and is mostly covered with clouds, even when the rest of the sky is clear. We were there to volunteer for the God’s Child project which is a project of schools, clinics and shelters started by a man from Bismarck, North Dakota. The main offices are in Bismarck and that is where we got connected. We went to the Dreamer Center Monday morning. This is the main center for the God’s Child project. Despite my attempts to let them know we were coming, it still caught them by surprise. So after a tour and filling out some forms, we were sent home because the director of the location we would be working at was in Guatemala City for the day. So we went back home and got some much need sleep. We then went to a market that is housed in a section of ruins of a large cathedral that was destroyed when Agua buried the city in the 1700’s. The market was a unique and surreal place. It was very compact with little room for two people to pass at the same time. It was dark but very colorful with all the handmade Guatemalan purses, scarves, shirts, skirts and crafts. The people at each table immediately began trying to bargain with you but of course in Spanish. Some spoke a little English and they were very helpful. The concept here was to find what you wanted and then try to get them to the lowest price you could. That went very much against my German—American sensibilities and since things were very reasonable to begin with and since I knew many of these people had almost nothing, I didn’t bargain as you were expected to do. I brought a couple things down a little but for the most part I just paid them and went on my way. I found everything I wanted in a very short time so I was very excited. We stopped at an Italian restaurant and had pasta for supper and then headed back to the house. Day Ten Tuesday we headed out bright and early to the Scheel Center which is an elementary school and clinic for the poorest of the poor in Antigua. We had got directions from the Dreamer Center which was on te other side of town from where we were so we went there and flowed the directions that took us closer and closer to the mountain above our house. The Scheel center turned out to be at the base of that mountain and only about 3 blocks from our house. So the twenty minute drive to get there was completely unnecessary. The Scheel center is a four story building that houses a school, a clinic and soon a pharmacy. Its main benefactors come from the mountain directly above it though some come from Antigua below. They are chosen by their poverty level and only the poorest children are allowed entrance to the school. This school goes entire days and serves two meals a day while the public schools only go half days and only serve breakfast each day. The method of the Scheel center is not just to be a place for the children but for the entire family and if the families pay the 12 to 24 cent fee per month tuition, they get access to the clinic and medicines for free for their entire family and well as classes for the mothers and fathers on many different subjects from hygiene to cooking and nutrition to even make up application. In addition to schooling, the children all get trained in one of two vocations. These are cooking and carpentry. They all get certification in typing and Microsoft Office as well. We spent are time sweeping the tile floors which get dirty very quickly, preparing for lunch and cleaning up after lunch, clearing some drainage issues and installing sound panels in order to cut the immense reverb caused by having tile floors and cement walls and ceilings. The difference the panels make is really quite drastic. After we left the Scheel center for the day, we cleaned up and headed to pick up some friends from Guatemala City who had rode the bus out to Antigua to assist us in our project for Wednesday morning. We went to a grocery and used money that the Worship Team had earned while leading several retreats and services in the States and purchased enough food to feed 10 families for 3 days. Each bag contained Rice, Corn Flour, Sugar, Noodles, Salt, Black Beans, Coffee, Cooking Oil and Candy Suckers. We went back to the house and separated out the food into 10 bags and then went to bed, excited to head up the mountain in the morning to distribute the food. We did not know what to expect. Pray for us.

Guatemala Day Seven – Eight

2010-07-23T09:30:00.000-06:00

Guatemala Day Seven – Eight I am sitting in a hotel open-air lobby in Panajachen, Guatemala waiting for the others to be ready to go on our second quest to find foreigner edible food for breakfast. I have not been able to post any blogs since Saturday because of little time Saturday and Sunday and then extremely limited internet access Monday until today while being in Antigua. We have driven many, many Kilometers since then and have done, seen and experienced a large variety of things since then; from the awe inspiring, to the terrifying, from the “awwwwwwww” moments to the very sad moments. Since this will be split into a couple large updates, I will try to stream line a synopsis of each day so you can get an idea of where we’ve been and what we have been doing. I will try to blog later about specific, major events on this section of the trip. Day Seven After a great service Friday night, we got up Saturday with great expectations for that evening’s service. We got up and began preparing for the service as we had plans to meet some of the family at a local restaurant for lunch and then head over to the church. Have I mentioned the traffic? There is a running joke amongst us about “Guatemalan time”. Just add an hour to whatever time is established and you will be close. Well, to be fair, I am beginning to realize that a big part of that issue is due to the immensity and unpredictability of traffic in Guatemala. There is simply no way to accurately determine how long it will take to get anywhere and this was never more evident than during our attempt to meet the family for lunch. A drive that should have taken no more than 30 minutes ended when we gave up after over 2 hours. We had run out of time and needed to be at the church, so we stopped at the next restaurant we saw which was a Dominos Pizza and we ate there. (It was an eat in shop which we don’t typically see in the States). We then proceeded to the church and made it just on time. Of course, no one else was there and after close to another hour we were finally in the church.. From the start, nothing worked right. The sound system that worked flawlessly the days prior just wouldn’t come together. Frustration was high and what added to that was another band that it was decided would play with us had to be worked into the evening which was something we had not planned on. They also needed time to practice and that was not available, mostly due to the sound problems. We finally got the sound working adequately, and only a half an hour late (the people didn’t care much because they are used to that and they were playing football up on the roof) we began the service. This was a typical N.O.W. service like we had held in Mandan several times. It consists of songs of worship and praise, a little talking, some Scripture readings and a time of group prayer. These aspects of the service are interspersed throughout the service, not in any particular order. The singing was great. The people here really sing out and love clapping (in time, I might add) and so that was a nice thing for us. When we got into the prayer time, the power of the night was really revealed. Of course all the prayers were in Spanish but we were informed later that they were amazing prayers of dedication of lives to God and a focusing on living every moment as worship to God. It ended up being a great night. Day Eight The next day was Sunday and we were in charge of the morning service. We arrived early and turned everything on and everything worked perfectly. This was such a drastic contrast from the night before. I fully believe that Satan had tried to thwart Saturday night’s service by messing things up but in the end God was victorious as always and this morning had a very peaceful start. We had arrived before Sunday school but since only one of us spoke Spanish well enough to really be able to follow a lesson, we took that time to get some breakfast. It was a quick run and we were back and ready for the service. Things went very well, though the crowd was smaller and older than the night before. People responded well to the music and to my sermon which had to be given through an interpreter. That was a unique experience but I know that the message got across so that was good. They had a potluck planned after the service but we had already scheduled a dinner with one of the Grandmother’s of the Guatemalan member of the team so we waited a while to speak with people and as we were about to leave, an older man came up and began speaking to me. I called over someone who could speak both languages and the man basically said he really enjoyed what I spoke about and the need for obedience in our lives as Christians and it really had an impact on him. That was a great conformation that the message had been delivered. We left the church and headed to the grandmother’s home. She laid out an amazing meal for us that consisted of so many different foods, in such great quantity that I didn’t know how all of that could have possibly come from the incredibly small kitchen. There was chicken and cream, whole, cooked carrots, potatoes, two types of rice, two other vegetables that I could not identify as they are not common in the U.S. and the requisite corn tortillas. To drink, she made a rice and cinnamon beverage, served cold. It had a very unique flavor. Very sweet. The cinnamon was not the brown type that we would typically put into foods but the red type that we would more often use in hot beverages, or as candy. It was really good but I would prefer it as a drink to be drank on its own, not as part of a meal. But it was a great experience. We had an awesome time hearing the stories of the family and then she broke out what was possibly the most amazing dessert any of us have ever tasted. It was made from fresh pineapples and was topped with freshly sliced strawberries. I wish I could describe it but though I have thought of it often, I cannot find the right words to use. The consistency was something that I haven’t really experienced before so I can’t compare it to anything familiar and though it was called a cake, it was not anything like what we would consider a cake. I will post a picture later and maybe exact assistance form the others in giving a good description. One of our team members asked if we thought it might be able to withstand mailing to the United States. I think that sums up all of our reaction to this magnificent dessert. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the mall and then headed to Antigua. The distance is not far but the drive is. We arrived after dark and so we acclimated ourselves to the new home we would stay in for the next couple days and we went to bed. Pray for us.

Guatemala Day Six (BEEP BEEP BEEEP BEEEP BEEP BEEP)

2010-07-17T12:14:00.000-06:00

When we awoke this morning all was well in the gastric systems of our fallen comrades. We got a little of a slow start but we were fortunate that my phone keeps changing back to North Dakota time for some reason which is an hour ahead of Guatemalan time so we ended up on time anyway. Everyone was feeling much better and the rest from yesterday was much needed even if you didn't consider the sickness. We were supposed to have gone into Guatemala City in the morning to the Nazarene School to take a picture with all of the school children but in all the excitement and a little anxiety I think as well, all of us forgot completely about that. :( When we remembered finally, the school was already out of session as they only go to about 12pm here in Guatemala. A system more similar to European systems than America and its probably the single thing that I think might be better in Europe than the United States. Not the quality or other aspects of it, just simply the schedule. But that is for another post. We spent the morning putting finishing touches on the service for that evening and enjoyed a great breakfast of eggs with onions and tomatoes mixed in. Again, most everyone ate it with that Guatemalan bread that they have at every meal but I chose to eat it the Puerto Rican way with those hand-made corn tortillas. It was amazing for me. The others still hadn't fully got their appetites back and honestly were a little gun shy about eating anything. For this day we decided to switch our vehicle with an SUV owned by the family that we are staying with. We knew that we would be hauling alot of equipment tonight and two additional guys on the over an hour long trip from the church ion Guatemala City to the place where the first service would be held so we thought the SUV would offer more space for us. We thought wrong. Somehow, the SUV actually had less cabin space that our sportster though it did offer a little more cargo space in the back. I was also a little nervous about driving a larger vehicle through Guatemalan traffic. And to be sure, we had many very close calls. I even had to make a left at that same 6 lane intersection from the other day! This time someone was kind enough to let me into the first lane which was great until he realized that I was not going to go the same direction as he was but rather was cutting across all the lanes to go the opposite direction, at which point he became very irate. But that is Guatemalan driving. The other significant issue with the SUV was that it had a security system that was confusing to say the least and outright belligerent and abusive to be more accurate. You might think that is overstating the fact but it is not I assure you. At this moment I cannot even fully explain to you with any certainty the ritual that must be performed to assure the alarm will not sound as you start the car, open a door or simply drive down the street. I will do my best. From the remote, you press the unlock button. Then you can get in the the car but need to shut the doors quickly, lock them, put the key in the ignition (but don't dare try to start it yet!), then you have to reach under the dash and find the small button that you have to push multiple times. At every move the car beeps different commands at you which you of course do not understand. Felt kind of like the soccer match the other night. (ha ha) So now you are free to try to start the car, save that no one has at anytime entered or exited the car during this entire process. If all goes well, the car will start and you will be on your way but it will still start beeping at you indiscriminately while you are driving, I guess just to make sure the car hadn't been stolen while the alarm system wasn't looking. When this happens you have to reach under the dash and push the little button multiple times no matter how fast you are driving, what corner you are taking or what motorcycle guy you are trying to avoid killing. Oh, we were so sick of the beeping by the time we finally parked the at 1:30AM Saturday morning. To make matters worse, the controls for the wipers and the signals were all reversed in every way. Signal was actually wipers and off was actually on and I would accidentally turn on the back wiper without any knowledge of how to turn it off. It became a running joke that my back wiper was still on as I would continually explain that i had no idea how to turn it off. Never did figure that out. Back to the day, we left the house a little later than we had wanted. One of our team members was having a birthday today so we had planned on going out to eat for lunch to celebrate his birthday. But getting things together took longer than expected and so we had to look for a quick place to eat. That very same team member had been craving donuts ever since he had seen that the chicken place we ate one of the first days served them. We had gone there last night but to his dismay they were all out of donuts. So when we spotted a roadside open air shop called "American Donuts" we immediately pulled over to the McDonald's next to the Donut shop. We decided to eat there and it was a very different experience than when you go to the ones in the States. It was very large and the McCafe was in its own area, nearly as large as a Starbucks. Most of what they had was the same though they pan fried their buns and the had a bun and cheese sandwich that looked interesting. They did not have milkshakes however. The sizes of drinks were all messed up. The mediums were the size of our smalls and they did not have refills. They brought you ketchup to your table and they emptied your trays for you. One of our guys tried to empty his himself and was nearly accosted and had the tray ripped from his hands. It was the first restaurant in Guatemala where we experienced any sort of customer service whatsoever. After finishing our meal we walked down the street to "American Donuts". We were very excited and ordered our donuts with great anticipation. It was interesting because though it was called "American Donuts" there were many donuts we had never seen before. I chose one that was round and tall like a cup cake but with flat top. It had either powdered sugar or chocolate on the top and it was filled with either Bavarian cream or an interesting Guatemalan concoction which no one could adequately describe to me so I decided to go with the safety of Bavarian Cream. For me, it was a wonderful, unique experience. The bread of the donut was almost more cake like or muffin like than what we would think of as a donut. Much more dense and flavorful. Everyone else hated theirs. I don't know that I have ever met a pastry that I have hated. I'm going back. So after the disappointment of the donuts we went on to the church to load up equipment and pick up our two additional guys. We loaded everything and were on our way to the city where the service would be held. As we made our way out of Guatemala City there was a clear change in the landscape and the buildings. The roads were more winding and only three lanes with a center lane that was one direction during certain hours of the day and the other direction the other hours. On our way in it was in our direction yet the traffic was still bumper to bumper most of the time. The mountains and volcanoes rose high above us on all sides and the homes became nothing more that sheet metal shacks stacked one on top of the other up the steep sides of the mountains. To me it looked much worse than the city but it was actually more safe than the city, we were told. There were many more stray dogs here as well. We finally made it to the location and this street was like all the others, buildings and concrete walls and steel doors right up to the road with what amounted to a half width side walk running between the buildings and the street. We stopped in from of one of the steel doors and waited there for our Guatemalans to find the door we would enter and talk to the people who owned the place. From the street everything looked small, with some buildings being no wider than the door used to get in it. across the way we saw a small white poodle sitting in a window ledge, sticking his head through the bars and looking one way down the street and then the other. When he finally got up we could see that he was missing large patches of fur on his back and hind end. There were no healthy dogs that I saw. We were then instructed to pull the SUV into a garage that is part of the complex so I lined it up the best I could. I was not convinced that it was wide enough nor tall enough for me to fit but they assured me it was and I pulled up over the steep incline into the small garage. I had to angle it slightly to one side in order for there to be enough room for me to open my door to get out. It wasn't until later when we were about to leave and a steady rain had begun falling that I realized that this garage was actually outside. It was a room with a garage door but no roof at all. As a North Dakotan this seemed pointless but I suppose it served its purpose of keeping the vehicle off the street and locked up safely. As we unloaded, the two girls in our group were carrying some of the stuff down the street to the entrance from the garage and a man walking by slipped a gun from his pocket. One of the girls gave him what was described as a weird look (I suspect it was a stern look) and he quickly put it back from where it came and proceeded down the street. They hurriedly came back to the garage to tell me but when I stepped out he was nearly at the end of the street, rounded the corner and was gone. So maybe "safe" is a relative term in Guatemala. Walking through the entrance to the complex where we would be holding the service was an unreal experience. Immediately you were transported from the dangerous third world slums of the street into what one of the students described as "Eden". And I can say that the effect was certainly that dramatic. You entered through a rusted steel door to a beautiful garden with spacious green grass, arched stone entries, exotic tropical trees and flowers and vines flowing over lattice covered stone and wood benches. It was breathtaking. On the right was a small building and cement wall that I guess lead to where the owners of this complex lived. Farther down the right past the one story building was on open yard with immaculately manicured grass surrounded by a 10 foot wall, offset by large tropical trees and shrubs. The grass is certainly different from what we are used to. It is large bladed and rough and grows more horizontally. It crunches when you step on it and it feels like you are walking on a cushion. What made this yard even more unique was the dirt was pitch black and I am guessing that it is really from the volcano that is very close by. Stepping on the soil adds to the crunching sound and it actually moves underfoot like very thick grained sand. Very fascinating. To the left of that yard was a small rectangular building that housed the bathrooms for guys and girls and showers as well. Between the front gate and that building was stone walkways and flowering trees and several benches that stretched all the way to the wall on the left of the complex. Immediately to the left from gate was a stone path that lead through an archway into a small cement floored meeting area. It was supplied with about 70 plastic chairs. It was covered with an arched metal roof and had a wall on the left and one on the far end which was actually the wall of another small building that was part of the complex. On the right there was a short 3 foot cement wall and then white, metal bars that configured the rest of the wall to the roof. The architecture in Guatemala is very open and so this room was typical. Past this room was the other small building I mentioned before which had a small wooden covered porch off the front which was pointing out the same direction as the open wall of the meeting area. All the sound system had been delivered for us and we went to work putting it all together. The space was tight. We had a projector that had to shine on the wall, two guitarists, drums, three singers, the piano and the sound board that all had to fit in the front. We made it work. One thing that we take for granted but have found lacking here is music stands. We use many music stand for the piano and singers and musicians but there are none to be found here, so we have had to be very creative with how we lay out our music in order to play. Memorization would have been a wise choice. It was dusk by the time we arrived so it was rather dark there despite the lights being on. The sun rises very early here and sets very early as well. Really messes with my sense of time. We set up and began to practice as more teens made there way into the complex. Our favorite person there however was a little girl names Rosa who was about 7 years old and cute as can be. Those who spoke Spanish were able to sit with her and talk, those of us who couldn't were simply enamored with her beautiful smile and that spoke to us just as much. She was alot of fun. Moments before we were to begin there was still only about 10 people there and I was beginning to wonder if this would be a much smaller crowd than expected. But as the call went out that we were about to begin, teenagers began pouring into the complex and in the end we had at least 50 teens of all ages there. We started with three fun songs and the teens sand in full volume and even did the actions and clapped where we had instructed them to. So very different than the teens from America. They applauded after every song, listened intently as we spoke through a translator and some even broke down to tears as we talked about bringing worship into every part of our lives not just at church on Sunday. I could feel the Spirit moving in many of them. I could write for a long time all the details of the service but that might be better a conversation to have in person. After we finished and prayed together, the pastor there brought us all up front and had everyone pray for us. It was a powerful and moving experience to say the least. Then the entire crowd bunched together with us for a huge group picture. It was fun. Of course I just love pictures ha ha. Then people came around with cups and others with koolaid containers with a dark brown liquid in them. The air there was hotter and much more humid than where we were staying so I was anticipating a cold drink, especially considering the container being used however as he filled my cup the heat from the drink emanated through the sides of the cup to my hand lead me to be utterly confused as to what it was he was actually pouring into my cup. Of course I couldn't ask so I did the next best thing, I sniffed it. It turned out to be fresh Guatemalan coffee. It smelled very different than what we have in the US and though I do not like coffee and I was wary of drinking anything that was not store bought I gave it a try just the same. I was pleasantly surprised. The flavor was more roasted but yet very sweet and contrastingly light. It was a plethora of flavors and sensations all rolled together. It was honestly the first cup of coffee I have ever enjoyed in my life. They also served a hard sugar cookie which most of the teens dunked in their coffee but I just ate because I like cookies. Granted, after a long and humid service, the last thing I wanted was hot coffee but it was a great experience all the same. After saying our extended good byes and snapping many more photos we loaded up the SUV, piled our 7 people into our 5 seater and made our way back to Guatemala City. The way back was very fast because it was very late and there was no traffic. We headed down to the Live Zone where the grandfather had gotten us lost before and decided to eat at Applebees. The club on the roof of one of the adjacent hotels was so loud with dance music that we literally had to yell to be able to hear each other in the parking lot. Being surrounded by skyscrapers probably didn't help either. After the wonderful service at McDonald's we were sorely disappointed with the service at Applebees. But it is really just how it is here I think. In the end we had the staff bring a dessert for our birthday boy and they sang him a boisterous happy birthday song and we all clapped along. We had a good time together. On the way home I got to pass by the front of the National Football Stadium where the Guatemalan National Team plays there home matches. That was great. I wanted to stop but, oh well. We dropped off the guys, sped home through the rain without any traffic, bid a farewell to our beeping friend, the SUV and went to bed. It was a great day and tomorrow will be more of the same. Pray for us. Nyk

Guatemala Day Five

2010-07-16T09:12:00.000-06:00

I awoke this morning to three of the team members having been up most of the night with a stomach sickness. The thing we had been waiting to happen finally happened. It really wasn't unexpected but was still a disappointment. So then a decision had to be made about the days activities. We were supposed to be at the church by 2:30pm to load up instruments and head to the smaller church where our first service was to take place. It wasn't that everyone was laying in bed groaning but no one dared be far from the bathroom and in Guatemala City the car rides are often over and hour or more and bathrooms are not in ready supply. After calling both pastors and coming to the conclusion that their wouldn't be more than 10 people at this service we decided it would be best to let everyone get throiugh this illness in order to be ready for the much larger services the next three days. The reason it was such a small service was because it is a very small church of less than 10 people and it is located within a red light district in the worst zone of Guatemala City. They had wanted us to go door to door to invite people to the service but everyone we spoke with had strongly advised against that. In fact most suggested that we don't even go out of the building once there. There has been much made of the fact, also, that we drive a car without tinted windows and that wasn't even a good idea in that zone. It really was frustrating for everyone. We wanted to do the service but weighing everything we just thought it was best to try to get people healthy. So that made for a very dull day. I really wanted to get out in the car and drive but I knew that I would never find my way back. The complete lack of road signs and an adequate map has relegated me to relying on our Guatemalan team member for all navigation while driving. I also didn't feel right about taking him with me and leaving everyone to their discomfort. So they spent the day sleeping for the most part. For breakfast I had cereal again but after I finished the maid made eggs and onions which typically we would eat in a tortilla if I were at home with my wife making it the Puerto Rican way. They ate it with a Guatemalan type of bread which look like very small hamburger buns when they are still connected in the bag. They do not have the consistancy of hamburger buns however, more like a biscuit or a more dense and drier bread. For lunch (ha ha the highlights of our day) we were prepared a magnificant meal of chicken breast soup, steamed vegetables (potatoe, carrots and one that no one knew what it was but it was actually good), steamed, white rice (the first time we have had rice since we have been here which surprised me), and hand made corn tortillas. I enjoyed it very much but I think it was wasted on the rest since they were not in the mood to eat anything at all. In the evening we decided to invite a couple of the other worship team members from the Guatemalan church to come up to the house so we could really get to know how they view worship and where they are with God. Three of us headed into the city to pick them up. We parked at the church and our Guatemalan team member walked the three blocks to their house to get them. I don't know why we didn't just drive to their house and I didn't ask. As we were waiting for them to return, we heard many sirens behind us and as we watched, 10 truckloads of armed military police flew down the street. I wanted to follow them so bad, ha ha. But we stayed put, with the doors locked, keeping an open eye. On the way home we stopped at the same chicken place we had the other day. This time we went to the take out counter to order. I chose shrimp this time and also noticed they had Flan (a favorite hispanic dessert of mine) and so I ordered that as well. We took our orders back to the house and we discussed worship and God and church life while we ate. The night continued as they started trying to teach us more Spanish and we taught them a little English. It was a fun time. Some other of the family members came by to say hi and they offered to drive the guys back to the city which we greatly appreciated. We got to bed about 11:30pm and I think we will be ready for a busy but great day tomorrow. Pray for us. Nyk

Guatemala Day Four (Drive, Drive and Drive Some More)

2010-07-15T12:25:00.000-06:00

Today started early at 6:30am because we had to be to the Church by 9am for rehearsal. So we awoke and had breakfast (frijoles negro and bread) and then set out on our drive into Guatemala City to the Church. Our daily or sometimes multiple times a day drive to the church takes us through an area with many prostitutes on every corner. Prostitution is legal here so they are all along the street without fear of arrest. That has been a source of many discussions with the group as they have not seen a real prostitute before. I mention this because even as we drove in this morning, there were prostitutes out on the corners which surprised me because you tend to think of it as more of a night activity. But I guess it is 24/7 with those poor women. We arrived at the church and set everything back up and began to have a real productive practice. The spanish songs are coming along great and I had some time to work more on my sermon for Sunday. Its funny that though this was only the second time we have been inside the Church it was already becoming more familiar to me and more comfortable even. Today, since we were there early, the ajoining Nazarene Elementary School was in full swing and the sounds of the children were so loud at times it nearly drowned out the music. I felt bad for the teachers because I know how distracting it can be when things out of the ordinary are happening around the school (like four Americans playing music). The staircase that leads from the other end of the building where the school is located to the rooftop playground area passes right next to the stage in the church. There isn't so much of a wall there as a bunch of bars with semi-transparent glass that can open like a venetian blind. These were open to allow air to flow through and today, more than yesterday, the air had a very pungent odor to it. It wasn't really foul just powerful and thick and it turned out to be the smell of burnt coffee beans. Coffee is the number one industry in Guatemala just before Tourism. And the church is near a coffee plant and the roasting of the beans do not give off the wonderful aroma that we are so used to when we think of coffee, rather the smell is that which eminates from the carafe at work when someone leaves a tiny amount of coffee in the bottom yet still on the burner and it begins to burn. The opening in the ceiling that I described earlier actually opened to this rooftop, caged-in playground area. It seemed during recess the children, dressed in their school uniforms, were much more interested in looking at us than playing soccer and basketball on the roof. So I looked up at one point and a group of young girls were sitting on the steps with their faces pressed between the bars watching our worship team practice. And during some of the more lively songs they even began to move with the music a little. It was such a cute scene that I had to take some pictures. But when the flash went off the girls screamed and covered their faces and some ran up the stairs. Kind of startled me. I am not sure why they were so frightened of the flash but they quickly returned and the many other pictures that were taken didn't seem to bother them as much. After practice the guys helping us on guitar had to leave because they are also still in school this time of year so they had to go to school. We then were brought over into the school to be treated to a Guatemalan breakfast of Frijoles Negro, bread and made from scratch Limeade. We had already had this breakfast but we had eaten at American breakfast time and it was now Guatemalan breakfast time so we sat down to eat again. Yesterday it was two lunches due to the timing issue and today it was two breakfasts. Tomorrow I was hoping for two suppers but with the service going through what we would consider supper time I don't see that happening. Anyway, I digress. We have enjoyed the Frijoles Negro quite a bit but we have had alot of it (nearly every meal) and as we understand it is actually a part of every meal. In America, we have such variety of foods and they do here as well but we are beyond having a staple food anymore I think. We might have pasta and then potatoes and then rice and another time beans but here as in many many other places around the world they still stick to staples pretty strongly. And so I think we might be Frijoles Nergoed out by the end of this two weeks, ha ha. After breakfast we then had a tour of the school. The building was all tiled floors with concrete walls, similar to the church which seems to be the norm here. With torrential rain storms and hurricanes this makes sense. Its no wonder students from UMary like it here so much as it must make them feel like they are back on campus. (a little cement humor there). The main room is long and high with two classrooms off to the side and the school office and a bathroom. We couldn't help from peeking into the classrooms and waving at the excited children. I'm sure to the teachers dispair. The upstairs had 6 rooms; a computer room, a kitchen, a classroom, two playrooms for the younger children and a spare room. Up on the roof there is a cement area about the size of a basketball court. Before we left we needed to use the school phone to call some of the soccer complexes and reserve a feild for our soccer night with the teens from the Church. We ran into a problem however when we found out that every soccer complex in the city (and there are alot of them) was booked for the time we wanted due to tournement time in their city leagues. We finally found one feild available for the hour before we had wanted so we booked it. We then invited the Sixth Grade class at the school and they seemed very excited. Not many of the young people get to use the fields in the city because they are expensive to them. For us it was very inexpensive, about $30 and hour compared to $50 per hour that I would have paid for a field in Kansas City. We were also excited to give them the two very nice balls that we had purchased for the night. We left the church and headed back to the house to clean up and then we went off to another mall to meet the Grandparents (who are actually the owners and principle of the school) for lunch. We went to Oakland Mall in Guatemala City, a four story mega mall with a four story cut out of Kaka shooting a ball on the outside. My kind of mall! We didn't have much time so we went straight to the restaurant. It was a themed restaurant called Nais Aquarium. It had very unique booths that surround a huge aquarium in the center of the restaurant filled with many tropical fish including very cool rays. Each booth had its own screen showing a documentary about tropical fish and the many lights shining on the ceiling would change colors from red to blue to green. We ordered a special lunch combo which contained a salad, a soup, a sandwich, fries and a coke, all for about $9. The coolest thing though that fascinated everyone was a soda fountain spout built right into the table so we could refill our beverages at will. Very nice for everyone except the person unfortunate enough to have sat next to it. What we have noticed about Guatemalan restaurants is that the servers take your order, bring your food and then you will never see them again unless you call for them by raising your hand and yelling out to them. We surmise that this fact was the impetus for the developement of the table soda dispenser because bringing people refills would certainly go against all known Guatemalan serving etiquette. Eating was a nice respite from the chaos of driving through the city but just as it had begun, it was over and we again had to head back to the church to meet everyone who was playing soccer with us. When we got there, late as we were, the other driver had still not arrived. We had to leave right aaway because if we did not get to the fields on time the reservation would be cancelled. So our crew left with the addition of two of the sixth grade boys who had come, 7 people in a small sportster, fun, but apparently not at all out of the norm here. We set off and immediately came to a 6 lane street which I need to take a left on across traffic which was bumper to bumper both directions. The way you accomplish this in Guatemala is to continue to inch out into the street until the cars feel as though they can't continue without hitting you at which point they will stop. This is bad enough with one lane but with three lanes it is even worse. But the worst part is the motorcycles who do not use lanes at all and are traveling much faster than the flow of traffic and are very hard to see. So now after pulling out into the street and blocking three lanes of traffic I needed to insert myself from a dead stop into flowing traffic of the other three lanes. Fortunately, there was immediately a small break in the cars and if there is one thing I have learned since being here is that if you snooze you lose. Unfortunately, there was a motorcycle coming very fast and I had no choice but to pull out right in front of him. This gave my little sixth graders a slight heart attack. Fortunately the motorcycles are used to this and he managed to hit the brakes and swerve just enough to miss us. But we were on our way. We were going pretty well and quickly when I needed to exit the roadway on the right but I was all the way on the left and there was a car next to me. I accelerated to get past him but my lane was ending in a row of parked cars. For an intense second we were not sure we would make it. But at the last moment I was able to cut across in front of the car and make the exit. This actually caused everyone to scream so it must have been quite a move cuz no one had screamed to this point and we had already been through some very tight spots. I don't know how people deal with this stress of driving here day in and day out. My only hope is the reality that someday I will once again get to drive the calm and orderly streets of North Dakota. Or even Chicago for that matter. After our hearts calmed and everyone was assured that I was in control we finally arrived at the complex. We went through some of the poorest parts of Guatemala City to get there and it amazed me how literally one turn can transport you into a whole new world. We went from destitution into a shopping district that would rival any in the US with literally one turn. It was like driving through a wormhole or something. The soccer complex was magnificant. It was perched on the very edge of a tree covered canyon that dropped straight down hundreds of feet. In fact, though we tried, we could not see the bottom. The feilds were each surrounded by about forty foot fences and nets to keep the balls from dissappearing into the abyss. There were sitting areas with tables in between the feilds. I don't know how many feilds there were but I could see three from where we were allowed to go. There were probably more. Fields in Guatemala are not like ours in America. The play on a futsal field which is similar in size to a full size hockey rink. It has smaller goals but still require a keeper. The fields are made of either the newer style of artificial turf (which is what the ones we were playing on had) or actually grass and the fields are all outside not inside. We had about 15 guys finally come to play and we split up the teams and played non-stop for the next hour. It was an amazing time. It truly is a sport that can bring all people together even if they can't communicate. Yet the biggest frustration was the fact that I didn't know any of the spanish words they used to let them know where I was or where I wanted the ball. By the end of the match I was able to pick up a few commands but still, it was a source of frustration for me. It's hard when everyone else can communicate on the field except you. But the night was a huge success and a great experience. After, we gathered to say our goodbyes, take a few pictures and present them with the balls. They really did not have the reaction I was expecting. They were very reserved and really didn't say anything that I could tell. They took the balls and we all parted ways and that was that. I asked our Guatemalan team member about it later and he said that the reason for that response was that they were literally in shock. They didn't know how to react. He said, it was unheard of for someone to give away an expensive ball like that and for it to be a brand new ball as well, they were just stunned that it was happening. They couldn't really believe it. I felt better about it all after that. We just want to be a blessing to them and I hope that they will get hundreds of hours of enjoyment in the future and maybe even have their hearts turned to Christ through the testimony of how they got to have a nice soccer ball to use. After leaving the complex we took the boys back to their neighborhood, drove past the Presidential House, Palace, Cathedral and National fountain. It was amazing. We so wanted to get out and walk around and take some pictures but like most places here, it was far too dangerous to do so. We asked if we could come back in the daytime but were told it was even to dangerous during the day for us. So we will just have to remember the sight of it as we drove past in the night. It was grand and yet such a shame that it can't be enjoyed. We drove back to the house and ate supper which was ham and cheese quesadillas and frijoles negro and then we went straight back out in order to take advantage of the first clear night and stop at a restaurant along the road where you can view virtually the entire city. There was an outdoor patio that sat at the edge of a hill that sloped down to a cliff that dropped hundreds of feet no doubt. We sat there and could see the lights of the city that stretched as far as the eye could see to the left, to the right and straight ahead. We could start recognizing some of the landmarks that we had been driving past everyday. And we could also see, as we asked where each of the places we had been were located why it took so incredably long to get there. They were so far away from each other and some were actually out of sight. I was amazed at how far I had driven through this city and the places I had not yet been. But as the fog quickly descended from the mountain tops into the city below, already obscuring the veiw of the volcanoes surrounding the city we decided to head back up the mountain to the house. The way back was pretty open until it all stopped completely. Yet another landslide to be cleared off the road. They made quick work of it and we went home. Since I was working on 13 hours of sleep for the past four days I went straight to bed. The others weren't so lucky, but you will have to wait til the next post to find out why. :) Pray for us. Nyk

Guatemala Day Three

2010-07-14T02:26:00.000-06:00

After a nice and refreshing 10 hours sleep in the surprisingly cool Guatemalan air we awoke to breakfast having been set on the dining room table by the Maid. We decided to relax most of the day today to try to recover from the trip down but there were a few things we needed to get done today in preparation for the rest of the week. So it was nice to have breakfast waiting. When we had showered, we sat down to some fresh Guatemalan fruit juice (sorry, I can't remember the name, I will try to get it for tomorrow's post), bread and black beans, cereals and leche (milk), and cinnimon rolls. I wish I could say that I tried the black beans and bread but I was still pretty shot from the trip down and wasn't in the most andventurous mood so I had Sugar Puffs. After breakfast we headed out to find a bank in order to get some money changed over to Guatemalan currency. This sounded easy but turned out to be quite the task. I will only relate my efforts and not the others' in order to spare humiliating them. We went to a large, three story shopping mall that is in the town we are staying in outside of Guatemala City. There were two banks on the outside of the mall so we tried the first only to find out that they could not do the transaction I needed which was getting money from my business Visa card. The bank that holds my card assured us last week when we called to advise them I would be using the card in Guatemala that getting money would be as simple as going into any bank and showing two forms of ID. Turns out that wasn't true. And it wasn't going to be the last of the statements they made to us that turned out to be less than truthful. So we went to the next bank, they told us they could not do it either but a bank inside the mall could. So we went inside to find this bank of all banks apparently. I should digress and mention what it was like entering a bank in Guatemala. Each bank had multiple armed guards at the doors which is not terribly unusual even in the US but these guys meant business. They weren't sitting in the corner playing cards, no these guys were on high alert. At the first bank the doors could only be opened by the guard from the inside and he let you in. At the second bank, a man wearing a black jacket walked in before me and tried to walk past the guard who found that to be a highly offensive move and promptly grabbed the man and pushed him back into a wall demanding, it seemed. to see what might be in his jacket. The man was clearly frightened and quickly opened his jacket. It was a little disconcerting to say the least. I was not bothered as I made my way into the bank. So at the third bank we stood in line only to be told that while this bank could indeed do the transaction we needed, they would not be able to do it at these service counters. So we had to move to another area of the bank and get back in line for those tellers. We finally got to the person we thought would be able to help us but when we told her what we wanted, she seemed a little confused. And then she got up and went in to speak with her supervisor. From the completely confused and slightly disgusted look on the supervisor's face, I began to doubt that I was ever going to be able to get the cash I needed. However, when the teller returned she did in fact verify that she could do it. When everthing seemed to be in order, instead of handing me cash, she handed me a reciept which, we were informed, we had to take back to the first counter we had waited in line for when we first walked into this bank. So we got back in line and finally had the cash in hand. This turned out to be both a blessing and a curse. We headed into the mall in search of a soccer shop in order to purchase a couple of balls to be used at a soccer scrimmage we were hosting for the Nazarene teens the following night in Guatemala City. We weren't able to pack any balls with us so the idea arose to purchase a couple really nice ones and then after we finish playing that night we would present them as a gift to the youth group at the Nazarene church. Everyone here plays soccer but very few have the money to rent the feilds to play on (so they play in the streets or empty lots, both of which we have already witnessed yesterday) or to buy a decent ball. So we thought this would be a nice gesture, especially since the price for things here is significantly lower than in the States. We found two great balls for a quarter of the price they are in the States and we were very excited about that. However, when I tried to use the credit card for the purchase, it was denied. Somehow, in the 15 minutes it took us to get from the bank to the soccer shop, my card had been cut off. I wasn't completely surprised because this happens nearly every trip I take with the Youth Group. As soon as the card company notices a transaction outside of North Dakota it raises some automatic red flag and they stop the card. On the other hand, I was a bit surprised because in anticipation of that very issue, we called the company last week to specifically inform them to expect that very transaction in Guatemala. Apparently that made no difference to them and as soon as I made my first transaction in Guatemala they cut the card. Previously when this has happened I was able to simply call our secretary and she would call them and get it sorted out, however, for this trip I needed a special phone that was able to be used in Guatemala and it hadn't worked since we arrived. I discovered after much searching that the SIM card had been inserted backwards into the phone. This was done by employees in Bismarck so I can't completely blame them because North Dakota does not use SIM cards in their phones on this particular network and therefore the employees were not familiar with them at all and there was not way to test it since we do not have a network that uses them in ND. So after inserting the card the correct way, WALA! service! That only lasted about an hour and then the Data service became disconnected which, despite calling customer service has still not been restored. But back to the card issue. Thankfully I had the cash from the earlier transaction that caused all this trouble in the first place so I was able to make the purchase. We shopped around a bit and then decided to go eat lunch and then head back to where we are staying until it was time to go to the church in Guatemala City to meet the Pastor and begin to practice for our upcoming services. We decided to eat at a local chicken restaurant similar to KFC or Churches. The restaurant was very nice inside and you actually took a seat and the waitresses came out to your table to take your order. One member of our group simply assumed that we would order the same as our fast food restaurants so she just walked up to the counter where all the waiters and waitresses were standing but we caught her before she started giving her order and informed her that we need to sit down not walk up and order. The selection at the restaurant was also different. The typical things you would expect to find at a chicken place were all there such as different varieties of fried chicken, fries, mashed potatoes, and cole slaw but there were other things that were quite different. Each table was supplied with a bottle of green hot sauce for your chicken and fries. We saw some who mixed it with the ketchup and ate it with their fries. They also had amazing ice cream cones and donuts for dessert. Everything was very good and we enjoyed it alot. After lunch we went back to the house and relaxed until it was time to leave for the church. The problem with figuring out when the actual time to leave for anything is that the traffic is extremely bad and extremely unpredictable. The church wasn't in the best part of the city (for instance, it really wasn't advised to walk outside the church) so we didn't want to get there too early and have to sit outside but at the same time we didn't want to be very late either so we left with about 40 minutes til the time we were to be there. Normally it was a 20 minute drive so we figured we had plenty of time. Turns out we were wrong and it took us over and hour to get there. The Pastor and worship leader had waited for us so that was nice and we were able to check out he church and the sound and projector systems to make sure it would work for us. Everything turned out to be fine as far as equipment and sound went and later some more friends came who will be helping us out on acoustic, electric and bass guitars as well as some singing. They practiced for a while and then we closed it all back up. This church was one long room with tile floors and cement block walls and cement ceilings. It has a stage on the far end from the door. The doors are like most that I have seen here and that being a large steel door with peep hole type windows so you can see and speak with someone outside without opening the door. The door cannot be opened from the outside without a key. Everything inside was locked in cages. All the speakers were surrounded by cages and bolted to the floors or ceilings. Everything else except the drums were locked in a room on the side of the main room. This room also doubled as the sound booth. To the side of the stage there was a door through which you could access two sets of stairs. One set led to the basement which seemed to be only one very small room and the other which was secured by yet another chained and locked steel door led upstairs which you could see from the main room through windows built into the ceiling. All were covered by steel bars but through those windows I could see a large chain link cage that house a small basketball court. This, I was told was actually on the roof of the church and was open outside. We left the church and headed to our Guatemalan team member's grandparents' home but gave the worship leader a ride home on the way. One of our female team members, in an attempt to ask him in spanish something about loving something (we never did find out exactly) instead informed him that she loved him. This caused quite an uproar in the car to say the least. Even I who does not speak any spanish understood that phrase. After dropping off the worship leader we made our way to the grandparents' house. The house is protected by a large steel gate about 15 ft high topped by twisted razor wire which is is seen alot here. The gate has two smaller doors within it which allow people to be able to enter without opening the entire gate. After going through the gate there is a small cement courtyard and a place to park a car. Continuing into the home through another steel door we entered a small living room with tile floors and cement block walls. Passing through that room we entered an adjacent dining room/kitchen a little smaller than the living room. I would guess about 15 ft long and 10 ft wide. To the right of the dining area was a single bedroom and to the left between the living room and the kitchen was the bathroom. This is where our next andventure began. One of our female team members (the very same who expressed her love for the worship leader) who was wearing flip flops had stepped off the curb of the street while getting into the car at the church. Unfortunately she stepped into a puddle of fresh urine. Apparently urinating on the street is a very common thing here. This disgusted her to say the least and she went straight to the bathroom in order to wash her soiled foot. Upon entering the bathroom everyone noticed the shower head. This shower head was electrified in order to heat the water right at the shower head eliminating the need for a hot water heater to heat the water for the shower. What made it even more exciting for us is that our paster had just described such a shower head in his sermon the previous week and now here we were looking at one in person. Of course all the cameras came out and it was a pretty exciting scene for a few moments. After the foot washing we got back in the car and followed the grandfather to a Pizza Hut where we would have supper. They wanted to show us the club district first however so we followed them through many streets with many discos, restaurants and clubs. After passing through the same streets several times it became clear that we had gotten lost. The grandfather finally stopped and our Guatemalan team member asked for directions. He informed the grandfather of the proper route but after only two blocks the grandfather turned the opposite direction he was supposed to and we passed many of the same clubs once again. This time the grandfather stopped for directions and we were on our way again. But after seeing several of the same clubs again it was clear that we were still lost. The grandfather stopped once again to ask directions but our endless circling of the club district continued until he finally pulled over and proclaimed the fact that we were lost and he had given up. So we decided to stop trying to get to the restaurant we had planned on going to and finding another that he was more familiar with. We found that one easily and sat down for a wonderful time eating pizza and talking. Then we headed for the house which was going great until we hit stopped traffic on the way up the mountain. Eventually we discovered the reason for the back up was several landslides which had buried half of the road. The landslides are an ever present danger here. We even saw a sign warning of landslides actually crushed by a landslide. Everthing about this place is serious and at least a little, if not alot dangerous. Tomorrow's another day in which we plan to practice more in the morning and play some soccer at night. I am excited. Now for sleep! Nyk

Guatemala Day Two (or Guatemala, oh man! I gotta watch out for those motorcycle guys!)

2010-07-13T11:13:00.001-06:00

Well, I left myself sitting at the airport awaiting our flight to Mexico City. That flight, the hour and a half wait in Mexico City and the flight on to Guatemala City went on without a hitch aside from the final leg being about 15 minutes late. But after traveling for about 24 hours straight, that was no big deal. (I must add that we flew Mexicana and they did a great job and even fed us a nice, hot meal with unlimited beverages on both flights which was awesome!) So we arrived in Guatemala City about 2:30pm Monday afternoon and this is where the fun begins. There is no way for me to properly describe to you the immensity of the differences between the USA and Guatemala but I will try to describe my experience for the past 8 hours. The first thing you notice flying into Guatemala City was the red color of the roofs of the endless buildings that surround the amazingly small airport. As we closed in on the ground I could see the very small homes stacked together on top of each other, many with roofs caving, or completely caved in. And then, as with most cities, I saw the opposite sight; tall, new, grand and colorful buildings that constituted an area for tourists. We are not tourists so we will be seeing all parts of the city and surrounding area. Little did I know how soon I would be seeing ALL of it. We landed and made it through the airport, a new and shiny airport at that. Then we noticed the Police officers who were everywhere. But these officers were dressed more as military with shotguns and machine guns and you could tell they take their jobs very, very seriously. Though they were there for our protection, they made us nervous just the same. Our ride was a few minutes late and it turned out ours plans began to change at this point. Instead of all of us riding to our place of boarding, it was decided that I and one of our Guatemalan team members would ride with his aunt and uncle and three cousins in a normal sized car (you do the math) to Antigua (a mere 21 miles away) to pick up the car we would be driving during our time here. So I left the airport on my next journey and into my first experience in Guatemalan traffic. In preparation for this trip I spoke with one of the Uncles from Guatemala about the traffic and laws, etc. in Guatemala City. He assured me that they had Stop Signs and lines on the roads and traffic lights, but he failed to mention the fact that NO ONE OBEYS ANY traffic laws! Sometimes people would stop at the lights but not everyone even then. No attention to the lines, or the speed limits or turn signals, changing lanes, turning across traffic and certainly not the stop signs was given. And then the motorcycle guys. They drive freely between the lanes of cars and over sidewalks to turn and on the shoulders of the roads. After exclaiming this several times it became a running joke (which is what my post is titled after) "Man! I gotta watch out for those motorcycle guys!" Jaywalkers forced you to slam on the brakes or become the author of the latest homocide in the city. And everywhere you look, police with machine guns and shotguns are everywhere. It took us about an hour to get to Antigua which I now know was actually pretty good. Antigua is hard to describe. It is a colonial city and still holds to that style throughout. It still boasts cobblestone streets, which are very tough to drive on I might add. The streets were designed for horses and mules and barely fit two cars aside down them. And it is nestled at the foot of a huge and very much alive volcano. You can tell it is alive by the pailes of ash along the streets throughout the city. We got to our place of lodging for next week (a beautiful old house) and collected the car. It was brand new and sporty but it had a stick shift. It has been years since I have driven one of these and in a whole new place, with utter chaos traffic-wise and the very steep climbs and drops that come with driving over a volcano I was not looking forward to it. Not to mention that I was going on 34 hours with no sleep. But I hopped in just the same. As we departed the complex, torrential rain began to fall and as we wound our way through Antigua the streets filled up fast and turned into raging rivers, to wit everyone simply ignored and went on their way as did I. But I began getting frightened when the water was flowing nearly to my headlights! Still we plowed on and eventually we made it out of that potential disaster to begin our climb out of the valley. Everything was slow going due to the rain. The water was flowing so greatly off of the steep cliffs that at points it collapsed walls of rock, slid land and trees onto the road and even catapulted 7 feet in the air when it hit a bit of resistance flowing down the road. At one point I had a solid cliff rising on one side of the road with a drop off of hundreds of feet on the other side with no guard rails and the water flowing so feircely across the road I was fearful that I would be able to make it across. But traffic was waiting behind and I made it through. It is here that I will point out that in Guatemala the word "straight" means something completely different than in North Dakota. Once we headed out of Antigua, my navigator in the passenger seat continually would tell me, just go straight". And he continued making this misnomer of a statement throughout the 500 turns we made through the city. What a different world, ha ha. To try to explain the steep slope of the roads is difficult because I haven't been to a place in the US that compares. I would say they have the steepness of highways in Colorado but more narrow and then combined with the winding of the highways in Missouri or Arkansas. We continued our drive out of Antigua and into Guatemala City. Because it was late in the afternoon/early evening, most of the traffic was heading the opposite direction which was great for us. Things went smoothly until just before the midway point in our journey the lane we were in unexpectedly departed from our route sending us in a completely different direction. So now we had two choices; turn around and deal with literally stand-still traffic or wind our way blindly through the city streets in hopes of connecting with our route further down the way. We chose the second. I forgot to mention that in Antigua there are not even any street names or signs and in Guatemala City many streets are not named and many more are not labeled. So we continued to make turns that seemed to go in the direction we wanted to go and then came upon a fairly large street that would connect us to a street we knew would get us back on route. In fact, as we turned we could see down the hill, the street we needed to be on. But halfway down the hill our hopes were dashed as we realized the street we were on was completely closed to traffic, keeping us from reaching the street within our sight. So we had to turn onto side streets again in hopes of finding another route. Difficulty is added because there are so many people walking, bicycling and riding motorcycles in the streets even in the pouring rain and they are all IN the streets with complete disregard for cars trying to make their way through. Fortunately, after only a few turns we got to the street we wanted and were back on our way. We passed through the very center of Guatemala City which is demarked by a huge tower that resembles the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It isn't nearly as large but it is large enough for all the traffic to pass underneath it. Then we passed a large statue that was the center of a very large round about and this marked for us the midway point through the city. The city is a contrast between Third World shacks piled one upon the other and magnificent old colonial styled complexes and modern and elegant shopping malls that tower above you in every side. Quite discombobulating for someone used to the uniformity of North Dakota. We continued through the city with a few issues here and there but eventually made it to the road that would take us up yet another mountain to the complex of townhomes where we would be staying. This road was quite steep and winding as the others were, with the right side of the road being straight up cliffs that rose higher than you could see out of the car windows. And it was at this point that we transitioned from going against traffic to being enveloped in it. We never were traveling faster than 5 mph and had to stop often. Eventually we found the reason for the traffic and this was a huge construction project that would result in an elevated highway, directly above the road we were on. So, many lanes in the center were blocked for this construction. The absolutely torrential downpour didn't help matters either. We finally arrived at the top of the mountain and I was surprised to be in a huge shopping district, the entrance of which was marked by a huge stone arch over the entire roadway with the name emblazened upon it. There were huge shopping centers and a store likened unto Walmart yet many times larger and movie theaters boasting IMAX as well. This rivaled any shopping district I have been in anywhere in the States. We passed through this and then turned off onto small, nearly one lane side streets that wound through many turns to finally bring us to a gate guarded by several guards with shotguns and pistols. They demanded our names, the name of who were were visiting, the house number and our IDs. They checked everyhting out and then are required to call the person we were visiting and only upon their approval were we going to allowed into the complex. It took us longer to get through because we had the wrong house number, but after a few tense moments they cleared us, gave us the correct house number and opened the gates for us to pass through. We found the townhome and we had finally arrived at our first destination of the trip (31.5 hours after starting) and 3 and a half hours after leaving Antigua. The townhome is a very nice two story home with fully tiled floors, lots of windows and skylights. There is plenty of room for all of us to stay with comfort and there is a live in Maid who does all the cleaning and cooking for this family. That is the weirdest thing to get used to. She speaks no english at all and is very hesitant to respond in any way when we try to speak with her. Of course, coming from North Dakota, we treat everyone the same as far as visiting with them and speaking to them but it must not be quite that way here as she seems very uncomfortable when we try to communicate with her in the same way that we do everyone else here. I hope that in the time we are here we will be able to become friends with her just the same. For those of us who do not speak any Spanish that will be difficult but I hope the others can break through. Tomorrow begins our real trip here in Guatemala City as we meet the pastor of one of the churches and another musician who is helping us with our services. We might play a little soccer at the soccer field that this complex has as well. If it ever stops raining that is. Pray for us. Nyk

Guatemala Day One

2010-07-12T06:03:00.002-06:00

A quick recap of what brought me to these next series of updates. One each day for the next 14 days, I hope.
My Youth Worship Team, two of which are Guatemalan, decided they wanted to go to Guatemala to help show the teens of our Nazarene Churches in Guatemala City how Worship of God should impact every part of our lives, not just an hour on Sunday each week.
Which brings me to Day One of this trip.
We left Mandan, North Dakota just before 1pm Sunday afternoon. We made our first stop about 100 miles east at Jamestown to sit down to an amazing meal at one of our team member's Grandmother's home. We caught most of the second half of the World Cup Final between the Netherlands and Spain. After leaving Jamestown, we drove to Minneapolis without much drama. Minneapolis changed all that.
Our route through the Twin Cities was to be I-94. However, I-94 was closed at the West end of Downtown. We proceeded into the detour which took us miles out of our way. The signs were not adequate and at one point the sign that the detour was to take the next exit was literally about 15 yards from the exit. If you were lucky enough to be in the correct lane you might have had a chance to slam on your brakes and drift onto the exit. We were not that lucky. Being in the next lane over made the attempt a near impossibilty but having a car between us and the exit guaranteed its impossibility. So we took our first detour from our detour. After returning to our proper route we again experienced signage sabotage when the sign failed to revealed which direction of the fork to take. We chose the wrong one. This detour required GPS to get us back on track. In all, the detour took us through downtown three times. We were pleased to get pictures of downtown from 3 distinct viewpoints but after over an hour of time wasted to get out of Minneapolis we were behind schedule and not terribly happy. Won't be taking that route on the way home!
Through dense fog that nearly caused us to drive straight into the first Toll Booth we finally arrived in Chicago at about 4:30am Monday. We decided to head straight to O'Hare to be ready to board our flight to Mexico City only a mere three hours later.
As I sit here awaiting our flight and passing the 24 hour mark of being awake I am getting a little sleepy. Not a good way to start 2 weeks away from home. Oh, well.

Nyk
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

USMNT's World Cup Run

2010-06-26T23:17:00.000-06:00

I don't know if I have completely comes to terms with the fact that the US Men's National Team lost to Ghana AGAIN, for the second straight World Cup but there are a few thoughts that I think need to be thought by more people than just myself. Ghana were bigger, faster, stronger and more driven than the US was during their Round of 16 match but they were not better. The US is a better team. But that did not translate into a win. What resulted from a superior US team playing a sub-par Ghana side was the US giving up an early goal for the fourth time in as many matches. The USMNT allowed Ghana to score their first two goals in the run of play in the entire World Cup to that point. (Ghana's other two goals coming from penalty kicks). The USMNT scored only when given a penalty kick. And Ghana looked like a better team. They are not, but they looked it. All of that is neither here nor there in the scheme of things. Every team has those days no matter who they are. Brazil nearly had a day like that in the Final of the Confederation's Cup. Spain had one of those days earlier in that same tournament. Both at the hands of the US. However, the thing that bothers me the most about this defeat is that the USMNT is no longer a team that should be expected to drop out of the World Cup. An often quoted goal of the team was to get out of their group. But that is far too small a goal for this team. Obviously, depending on the team they had to play, the goal might be slightly different. For instance, if we had finished second in our group instead of winning it, we would have had to play Germany. The US is not a better team than Germany. Yet, on a good US day and a bad Germany day, they could have pulled out a victory. So there is no reason to expect this team to reach less than the Semi-finals of the World Cup. And here is where we, the fans, and our media are letting down our team. I will admit not reading every story or comment out there about the result of the Ghana match but of those I have read and heard the common theme is that they played hard, played well and we are proud of our boys. Now, if I lived near the airport where the team will return to the States, I would be in the front row welcoming them home. But that doesn't change the fact that this result is a huge disappointment, it is embarrassing and frankly, it is unacceptable. As fans, we must begin to let the USMNT know that these sorts of performances are no longer going to be met with "good job" and "you played well". It wasn't a good job. They lost to Ghana. They were not even close to winning that match. They let Slovenia take a two goal lead, they let England score in under 5 minutes, they took 91 minutes to score on Algeria and they only lead for 2 minutes of the 4 matches we played. That is pitiful. It wouldn't be any big deal if this was the team of 1990. But the USMNT is not the team of 1990. They are the team of the 21st Century. And THAT team is one of the best in the world and should be expected to play like it. We should expect them to play like it. Yes, there are many things about this team of which we can be proud. They never give up. They don't dive. (except maybe Altidore). They don't whine. They are tough. They can create chances, chances and more chances. They can attack. Still, in the end, they need to win the matches that they should win and they need to play hard in the matches where they are the underdog. And they should have won the Ghana match. And they should have played Uruguay and they should have beat them and they should have made it to the Semis. And as fans, we need to be there for them to push them to realize their potential. Not like the English or the French or unnamed Central American countries that shoot at their players but like Americans. This is our American team, this is our American soccer and as Americans, we need to demand the best from our team. Let's push them, support them, pick them up when they are down but let's not make excuses for them. The World Cup 2010 was a failure for the USMNT. Let's voice our disappointment and then let's show up at their next match and cheer them on to the heights we know and expect they can achieve. USMNT, if I didn't love you, I wouldn't care. And in so many ways, despite the disappointment, I, too, am very proud of you.

Opera Unite. The New Web.

2009-09-14T12:28:00.004-06:00

Many times there are things that wow and amaze me. Sometimes they make me smile. Sometimes they are things I wish I could use but for one reason or another I can't. Sometimes they are things that, while amazing, they are of no interest or use to me. But every once in a great while something comes along that is not only amazing, but revolutionary and at the same time extremely useful and available for me to use. Today is a day that the latter has come true. Enter: Opera Unite. First, if you don't know what Opera is or are not using it, it is time for you to catch up with the most advanced software in the world, bar none. I have been using Opera since 1996 and I have also tried virtually all other browsers ever made. So I am no newbie to the browser world. Opera is an internet browser. While that doesn't sound terribly exciting, it is also a bit of an understatement. Unfortunately, there isn't a word coined yet that accurately describes what Opera is. Opera is very close to become the only program you will need or use in any of your ventures that include the internet. Opera has desktop versions for both PC and Mac and virtually every web enabled cell phone, smart phone and PDA, including Wii. Opera is a browser but it also is an email client, an rss feed reader, a torrent downloader, a messenger client and a web development tool. No need to have five or more separate programs running, just use Opera. And that was all before Opera Unite. Now you can turn your computer into your own personal web server! That's right. Opera now is a built in web server. You can share any file on your computer directly with out the need to be connected with another server. You can share any photo. You can have friends leave you notes. You can host chats. You can host your own website. You can listen to your own music library from any computer in the world. And you can upload any file to your computer from any computer in the world. I have tried most of these services this afternoon(That's how easy this is!)and they all work flawlessly and securely. They are password protected to your specifications. If you are not grasping what this potentially means, here it is: Soon you may not need an iPod, chat program, net meeting program, file sharing service, or even email. Think about it, a world with no media players, no Skype, no MSN, no Gmail, no Hotmail, no Yahoo! Messenger, no Twitter, no Myspace or Facebook. With Opera Unite, all you need is Opera. Get on board now and step into the future. Download Opera with Opera Unite and start experiencing true freedom on the Web for the first time in history. Oh and did I mention it's FREE? Well, now I did. www.opera.com http://unite.opera.com/ Please use the following link to download. Thanks!! http://my.opera.com/Nyk/affiliate

The Latest Tripe in the Nazarene/Emergent Mess

2009-09-12T19:50:00.002-06:00

So here is a link to an editorial in our Nazarene publication, Holiness Today: http://www.nph.com/nphweb/html/h2ol/articleDisplay.jsp?mediaId=2402180&nid=lcol David J. Felter, editor in chief, concludes his flowery editorial with these words referring to emergent nazarenes; [Just]"Because they are different does not mean they are aberrant." Here is my response; "Just because you can wax eloquent doesn't mean your words are less the lie." Again, you can no sooner have a "post-modern Christian" as you can have a "Satanic Christian" and I pray that the leadership in our Denomination realize this before people will begin to add "Nazarene Christian" to this list of oxymora.

Nazarene Universities publically promote Evolution

2009-08-13T08:26:00.001-06:00

Not much I can say about what you will find if you follow this link but that the lies and misrepresentations should be obvious to any thinking person and there should be immediate calls for the removal of these professors, withholding of funds from these Universities and immense pressure on our GS's to gain control over our spiraling Denomination. http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/08/we-believe-in-evolution-and-god-.html

Emerging Theology?

2009-07-17T15:38:00.005-06:00

Admittedly, this is a post born out of utter frustration and dismay. So take it as you may.

Here are some lyrics that just seem to sum up emerging thought and theology:

"The top becomes the bottom

The fantasy becomes reality

The conceptions change

The landmarks dissolve

And all becomes intermingled

To flirt with the despicable

In a trance without end

Where the ice burns

Like glowing embers I've always ignored the doubt

Answers are in the questions"

Especially the last line. It is such a summary statement that seems to fit the "conversation" so well. At every turn "everything must change" is put into practice. Definitions, doctrines, theology, methods of biblical interpretation, the very nature of God and man. These lyrics make the statement well. They spell out the emergent movement perfectly. If I had the time I could match a quote from an emergent leader, even an emergent nazarene for that matter, with each line of these lyrics. I love the line, "I've always ignored the doubt". It is so ironic.

The thing about these lyrics that is the most frightening, outside of what they actually say, is that they are taken from the band Samael and the album Ceremony of Opposites. Samael is held to be the most authentically satanic band of all time. If the pastor of my church has more in common with the people who emulate these lyrics than he/she does to the historical Christian Faith then its time for a new pastor.

We can no longer sit by and allow the "intellectuals" in our denomination to lead us down the left hand path. The difference between the Swiss brothers in Samael and the brothers in the emerging movement are that the Swiss brothers come out and tell us that the result of this philosophy is death, while the emerging brothers blindly walk the same path to the same result.

I use the word brothers though they are not my brothers, they are their own.

Do Nazarenes Teach Biblical Inerrency?

2009-06-03T15:57:00.003-06:00

The following is an excerpt from an email exchange I had with some pastors regarding the Church of the Nazarene's Statement of Belief regarding The Holy Scriptures. At the time I was only aware of a resolution circulated by the Joplin/Missouri District NYI. Since then I am now aware of a resolution put forward by the Indianapolis and SW Indiana Districts. Both resolutions are simply trying to make our Statement of Belief clearer and stronger. Having read both resolutions, I think they both misunderstand what our statement already says and miss the problem with our statement. Therefore I wanted to elaborate on both of these issues.

Here are the link to the resolution:

http://www.gacorlando.com/images/resolutions/JUD/jud-805.png

The wording in our Articles of Faith, while not untrue, confuses what the Scripture tells us. Our wording seems to state that the Word of God, while inspired, is only to be considered inerrant in "things necessary to our salvation". Scripture states something different even within the passages used to support our own statement.

Example: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 "16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." "All Scripture is inspired by God" - "All" meaning all not only selected verses; "inspired by God" meaning coming directly from God though written by humans in human languages; "from God" meaning it is true since God is Truth and everything that comes from Him is true. So logic and common sense would tell us that everything we consider Scripture is true. (there are many Scriptures supporting this but I won't list them here) Now I wouldn't say this means that every period, spelling and comma are inerrant as some would say because I don't see any Biblical support for that but that doesn't change the fact that everything found in Scripture is true. "All Scripture is...profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;" - "teaching" means doctrinal teaching; "reproof" means refutation of adversaries; "correction" means to set right again; "teaching" is as in discipleship; and "righteousness" refers to our disposition or conduct in common life. NONE of these things have to do with "things necessary for salvation". I think profitable can equate to true because if it weren't true it wouldn't be profitable and likewise if it is true then by definition it is inerrant.

So what I see is a statement that, while not untrue in and of itself, is confusing.

I found it interesting that in Chapter Four of 2 Timothy the writer goes on to command us to preach the Word and warns us of a time when people would not tolerate sound doctrine. The writer makes a clear statement about Scripture, tells us to preach it and then warns us of those who would call it into question and turn from it. We see that happening now and perhaps we, as a church, have become victims of our own failure to communicate a sufficiently strong statement about the Scriptures. We need to make it clear in our language that we hold to the inerrancy of the Scriptures, period. In the end, I don't see the need for our statement to contain a phrase mentioning "things necessary to our salvation" specificallly. Rather than enhance our statement it does more to confuse it really. It is a very confusing statement. First it says that we believe that all Scripture is inerrant (plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures) and then we go on to expound and thus throw into question our initial statement (inerrantly revealing the will of God concerning us in all things necessary to our salvation). If the first statement is true, the second one is true by default and need not be specified. However, if the second one is true then the first one isn't necessarily true. Therein lies the problem with this wording. This wording would be much more accurate and clear I think; "We believe in the divine and plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, that being the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, so that whatever is not contained therein is not to be enjoined as an article of faith."

Tiller...

2009-06-01T11:46:00.004-06:00

Yesterday and today have been for me, days of hatred.

Hatred for political correctness and people's unwillingness to have serious discussions. Because of these two things, I, and any one else who values their freedom, are unable to even comment about the events that took place Sunday morning in Wichita. So I am going to link to a typical op ed piece to show the complete lack of thinking that is being employed among those who are still free to speak in this so called "free" country of ours. Comment at your own risk.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/columnists/mike_hendricks/story/1226548.html

A Response to "John Wesley and The Emerging Church"

2007-12-02T01:02:00.000-06:00

This is the full text of a letter I sent to Preacher's Magazine concerning an article they printed by Hal Knight, entitled "John Wesley and The Emerging Church". http://www.nph.com/nphweb/html/pmol/emerging.htm The letter sent to the editor was an abridged version of this what is printed below. (End Notes will be added soon) To the Editor, My utter anguish was ever so slightly assuaged when I discovered that Hal Knight was not a Nazarene but rather a United Methodist. This fact renewed my hope, however feeble it may be, that our Denominational leaders have not “gone off the deep end”. Still, another fact remained; this article was published in a Nazarene publication. And so my anguish continues. Mr. Knight begins by claiming that the emerging churches’ vision of discipleship, church and mission is congruent with those of the Wesleyan tradition. He then attempts to prove that statement true to abysmal results. I first would ask Mr. Knight what is the emergent definition of discipleship, church and most importantly, mission? Definitions are of utmost importance when dealing with emergents as they have left no common word untwisted, unmodified or uncreated (as we shall see later). Coming up with answers to these questions is nearly impossible because of the decentralized nature of this movement but we certainly can arrive at what the definitions are not, if not what they are. Mr. Knight describes emergents as “deeply committed persons”. Committed to what, I wonder? Committed to Scripture? Committed to seeing lost souls saved? Committed to personal holiness? I would propose, none of the above. They are committed indeed, but to their own individual interpretations of Christianity. Mr. Knight also tries to equate this emergent movement with earlier “awakenings” such as the Wesleys were involved. Only, he forgets to point out a major difference. That being, in the past, reformations and awakenings drew the church back to Biblical truth, unlike this movement away from it. As Mr. Knight continues to characterize emergents, he states that “Pervasive rationalism…compromised mission” and “Individualism impoverished community.” In a Denomination such as the Church of the Nazarene, we find ourselves driven toward missions on every level and “impoverished community” would seem to be reserved for larger churches. However, I have been in large churches that had wonderful community. I think this statement is broad and over-reaching; therefore, it is unreliable as a foundation to reject an entire mindset and culture. Mr. Knight does manage to raise one concern about the movement, however oversimplified and generic it is, and then spends three paragraphs attempting to refute it though never actually addressing the issue at hand, the fact that the emerging church abandons truth and embrace relativism. Which is not surprising really, since it is a difficult endeavor to refute the truth. It is much easier to distract and confuse until everyone forgets what the refutation was about in the first place, which is precisely what Mr. Knight does. His first of four responses to this concern about emerging churches is remarkable. Mr. Knight asserts that “a commitment to truth does not necessitate a commitment to modernity or a rejection of post-modernism.” Yet, the opposite is true. A commitment to truth absolutely necessitates a rejection of post-modernism since post-moderns (emergents) whole heartedly reject truth or at least our ability to know it, which effectively eliminates truth, regardless of its existence. Mr. Knight’s second response is that “unorthodox” (i.e. heresy) may be needed for the “health of the church”. Since when has heresy been acceptable or healthy for the church to where it should be welcomed? How did the early church deal with heresy? They rejected it. Mr. Knight wants us to believe that the heresies found in the emerging church are somehow on the “fringe” but that the center of the movement is orthodox. This could not be further from the truth. The heretical “fringe” (or “unorthodox fringe” as Mr. Knight coins them) are not the fringe element at all. They are the leaders, the foundation, the inspiration and the driving force behind the emergent movement. And the few adherents to the emerging movement who still hold to some aspect of orthodoxy are far more inclined to dispense with sound Biblical doctrine than to address a heresy within their ranks. Continuing to his third point, Mr. Knight claims that “enlightenment rationalism is itself no guarantee of orthodoxy…” So what? This point does absolutely nothing to address the issue. Pointing out that heresy has existed at other times in church history is a non-point. Let’s address how the church dealt with heresy then compared to how the emerging church does so today. Let’s talk about the fact that heresy was never at the center of those prior movements while it is at the very core of the emerging church movement. Luther, Arminius, Calvin, Wesley all rejected heresy when it reared its ugly head. Emergents embrace it. Mr. Knight’s final response (or non-response) is an outright lie. He claims the emerging church has a “highly faithful appropriation of Christian tradition…” based on not much more than a couple emergent book subtitles. He lauds their “exult(ation) in traditional spiritual practices and imagery” and “respect for tradition”. But he fails to mention that their exultation of “imagery” is just that, an image. Images and traditions gutted of their very substance. What the emerging church practices is nothing more than ritual, ironically, the very thing they claim to detest in orthodox churches. From here, his last vain attempt to make us believe that emergents love truth as we do, Mr. Knight moves on to comparing supposed similarities between emergents and Wesley. The misrepresentations are vast and many. 1. Emerging churches “understand discipleship as ‘following closely and emulating the person and ministry of Jesus.’” Emerging churches have a complete disregard for doctrine and the prerequisite to discipleship, which is salvation. Does the above definition of discipleship reflect our Denominations’ definition or the Bible’s for that matter? Scripture and sound doctrine are the very foundation of discipleship. Neither of which are held with regard in emerging circles. 2. Emerging churches “seek to follow Jesus as Lord as well as trust Him as Savior.” Emerging churches disregard the need for a personal savior and view Jesus (even) if He is actually God) as nothing more than a model – certainly not a being to subject oneself to, certainly not Lord. 3. Emerging churches “announce…a promise of a world to come.” Now, I am assuming by the phrase “a world to come” he means Heaven, though I admit this might be a huge leap of faith on my part. He might be referring to the promise of a world to come without the oppression of Christianity and Capitalism, in which case, he would be right for once. But I am going with the first interpretation, in which case, he is wrong, again. Emergents not only ignore the promise of Heaven but ridicule those of us who mention it. In fact, the Christians’ focus on Heaven is one of the emergents biggest complaints, which Mr. Knight actually points out later on. He can’t have it both ways. 4. Emerging churches “understand the Gospel to encompass social transformation as well as personal salvation.” Where is this definition of the Gospel found in Scripture? The Biblical Gospel is very clear and simple, repentance and forgiveness of sins. Everything else, Entire Sanctification, Holiness, Love, comes from that starting point. Mr. Knight wants us to believe that Wesley held this same, unscriptural view of the Gospel. He states “John Wesley emphasized that salvation is ‘a present thing’ and entails not only forgiveness of sins but also the living of a new life.” Despite the fact that he mentions Wesley’s view of salvation not the Gospel which is what the discussion is about, it is an inaccurate representation of what Wesley taught concerning salvation. Wesley, in his comments referring to salvation being “a present thing” was delineating between a Scriptural view of salvation and one that stated salvation only truly occurred when one was glorified in Heaven. In other words – the forgiveness of and freedom from sin is not something merely to look forward to upon death but could be grasped immediately by the one repentant, thereby empowering the new Christian to a life of Holiness, Love and Service. This is right in line with Scripture, which tells us we are “saved to good works”. TO good works, not BY them, which is what emerging churches teach. The dirty little secret is that emerging churches preach a completely different gospel than that of Scripture – even Jesus Christ, whom they claim to so closely emulate. 5. Mr. Knight also claims that emerging churches are “rooted in Wesley’s vision of Holiness of heart and life.” Again, a falsehood of the highest degree. Emergents have an open disdain for personal Holiness (or “personal piety” as they call it). It is one point on which they dissolve often to verbal violence, hatred and vulgarity. Yet, this “personal piety” is exactly what Wesley is referring to when he speaks of Holiness of heart and life. Wesley’s point is that it must come from salvation by faith not be a means to salvation which was the contemporary mindset to which he was so opposed. Mr. Knight’s misrepresentation is unfortunate. He then comments that this “vision of Holiness of heart and life” has “never disappeared”. Which begs the question; why the need for an emerging movement? Why not just join with the people who have continued to hold true to this vision? Namely, the Nazarenes. I can answer the question. It is because the emerging church has changed the definition of Holiness and it is not what Wesley taught. It isn’t that the Nazarene Denomination has somehow wandered away from Wesleyan Holiness; rather it is that emerging churches do not teach Wesleyan Holiness – but some gutted, perverted shell of it, which hold resemblance in the spelling of the word only. Next, Mr. Knight references Dieter Zander who claims that “most church people have an understanding of the gospel something like this: Give a little, do a little, pay membership dues, get a “going to Heaven” ticket (through accepting the gospel)”. This statement doesn’t even make sense in and of itself. He said that people think the gospel is do X, do Y, do Z, and then accept the gospel. But he just finished saying the gospel was X, Y, Z yet on top of that one must accept the gospel which is do X, Y, Z. Nonsense. And it is nonsense that this is what most Christians believe. Just speaking from the perspective of the Nazarene Church (since that is my main concern here) we do not, nor have we ever taught a works based salvation. If anyone in our churches believed what is stated above then our leadership have gone terribly wrong somewhere. But I am more inclined to think that Mr. Knight ad Mr. Zander would be hard pressed to find even one person in our churches who believe what was stated, much less a majority. Ironically, though this quote is attempting to disparage nearly all current Christians for believing in a works based salvation, it is the emerging church itself which whole heartedly promotes a works based salvation. Strange. But I digress. Mr. Knight tries to connect Wesley’s view of contemporary churchmen with Zander’s fabricated view of current churchmen. However, amazingly, Wesley’s quote describes emergent churchmen far more accurately than it does Nazarenes! He describes a “religious man” who tries to live “honestly” and “fairly”, who is regularly at church involved in rituals, gives much and does good, in order to gain salvation. That’s an emergent if I have ever met one! Granted, there are people in our churches with the same mentality but it is not preached from our pulpits nor supported in our writings. Yet, it is exactly what is taught in the emerging churches. In fact, Mr. Knight inadvertently makes this case when he points out that the “only thing missing from Wesley’s account and Zander’s is the point about accepting the Gospel!” This inclusion by Zander is very telling about the emerging church. Acceptance of the Gospel (in this case meaning repentance and forgiveness of sins) is as abhorrent to them as is not giving enough, or not doing enough. Wesley’s point was that the contemporary religious man had no acceptance of the Gospel behind his good works. Zander includes acceptance of the Gospel as something of which to be ashamed. The two statements are not only incongruent but they couldn’t be more different! As Mr. Knight continues trying to compare Wesley with emergents, he comes to a central theme in the emerging churches, being missional. He describes emerging churches as “Pre-eminently missional”. I can’t help but wonder if that is what a church should be Biblically but that is a “conversation” for another time. Mr. Knight tries to equate emergents’ idea of God’s mission in the world and Wesley’s God-given mission for the Methodists. My questions are as follows; what is God’s mission in the world according to Scriptures? What do the emergents say their god’s mission is in the world? What was Wesley’s God-given mission for the Methodists? How do they compare? Wesley’s stated mission was to “spread Scriptural Holiness over the land.” “Scriptural Holiness” assumes two things; first, it is based in Scripture. Second, is salvation which is a pre-requisite to Holiness. Emergents’ mission is a little sketchy. I think that it is fair to say that it is to live as close to how their version of Jesus supposedly lived. Since they reject the authority of Scripture and only hold loosely to Jesus’ words, there is no need for this emulation to be based on Scripture. There is no pre-requisite of salvation either. God’s mission in the world, according to Scripture is to reconcile people to Himself by eliminating the thing separating people from Him, sin. This is accomplished through salvation – that is repentance and forgiveness of sin, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Wesley’s mission for the Methodists matches up well with Scripture and Jesus’ own description of the Gospel and the Great Commission. The emergents come nowhere close on any level. Mr. Knight says that emergents see all of the life as “potentially sacred”. I would say they see all of life as already sacred. He quotes Bolger and Gibbs as saying “for emerging churches, there are no longer any bad places, bad people or bad times…” this, I think, is a true description of emergent churches. If all is sacred and no one is “bad” then what need is there for salvation or the Cross? None. And they are not timid in saying so. Mr. Knight, then, strangely, militates against the concept of the “elect and the dammed (sic).” I say this is strange, as coming from a Wesleyan background, there is no such doctrine in the Methodist church or the Nazarene Church. Still, he feels the need to misrepresent once again, Wesley’s position by claiming that to Wesley, all people are in one category – sinners. Of course, everyone begins life in this state of being a sinner but Scripture and Wesley both make a distinction between regenerate and unregenerate persons. Regardless, Mr. Knight just got done telling us that for emergents there are no “bad people” and then he follows that with Wesley saying that everyone is sinful and wants us to somehow come to the conclusion that emergents and Wesley agree. Amazing. Even if what Mr. Knight says about Wesley were true, which it isn’t, that would effectively make Wesley incongruent with emerging churches – exactly the opposite of Mr. Knight’s point for writing this article in the first place! Mr. Knight continues with a series of statements that, if they were not so serious, would be laughable. He claims that, while leaders like Tony Jones travel the world explaining why the Bible has no authority, emergents “hold(ing) strongly to the authority and primacy of Scripture.” This is a bold face lie. He highlights their sacrilege of the Eucharist as “being very traditional” – though it is gutted of its meaning and purpose and often as far from “traditional” as one could imagine. So, again, an untrue statement. Now Mr. Knight takes on emergents' championed phrase, “generous orthodoxy,” which simply means anything goes, except orthodoxy, of course. He mentions that Wesley distinguished essential doctrines from opinions yet is remiss in leaving out that emergents hold no such list of essentials. He lists Wesley’s essentials as “The Trinity, the deity of Christ, the Authority of Scripture, Original Sin, Grace, Justification and Sanctification.” The only one of these that emergents may hold to is the Deity of Jesus and that I can say with no serious amount of certainty. He goes on to say that Wesley believed that “one could not be a Christian and have that life apart from belief in the essentials.” At this point I am not really sure where Mr. Knight is trying to go because he just proved that Wesley would not consider emergents as Christians at all. Maybe one can have too much education. Finally, we reach the end of this as Mr. Knight introduces some “emergebabble” that they are so known for. He brings up some convoluted argument about orthodoxy, orthopraxy, and orthopathy. Orthopraxy turns out to be a medical term referring to treatment of deformities by use of mechanics and “orthopathy” doesn’t seem to actually be a real word. At least I could find no reference to it outside of emergent circles where it was not clearly defined. But beyond this, he makes this statement which should be clear in its error to any Christian. He states: “our beliefs and hearts are shaped by our experience of serving God and our neighbor…” This is the heart of what is wrong with the emerging church. Beliefs are shaped by the shifting sands of experience not the solid rock of Scripture. A house built on sand will surely fall and this emerging house cannot fall soon enough! The end finally arrives with Mr. Knight saying that “generous orthodoxy must be not only generous, it must also be orthodox.” Finally, with this I can agree and again shake my head, wondering what the point of this whole exercise was. Mr. Knight set out to show the congruence of Wesleyan theology with emerging church ideals and in the end proves just the opposite. I am glad I could assist him in his endeavor. But, seriously, my concern about this article being printed in a Nazarene Publication is heart rending. If this cancer called the emerging church is allowed to infiltrate our denomination – the end of our church as we know it will come within the next decade. It was totally irresponsible for this to be allowed into print. I pray to God for better leadership in the future. In His Majesty’s Service, Nicholas Edinger

Repuclican YouTube Debate...What would Jesus Do?

2007-11-28T20:29:00.000-06:00

There were alot of subjects addressed tonight in the debate which, in fact, is still going on as I type. However, there were two questions that were presented by YouTube users concerning Christianity and the Bible. Both questions reeked of emerging types. The first question regarding Capital Punishment, asked "What would Jesus do?" What I wish was that Huckabee had the quick thinking or guts to answer the question properly which is that Jesus has put to death more people than any government ever and possibly than all governments in history combined. And there is no where that He has ever suggested that governments should not have that authority or should not exercise it. You want to know what Jesus would do? Why not try reading the Bible? It is very clear.The question that followed the first was, I suspect, a back handed attempt to pigeon hole the candidents as "fundies". The question was "Do you believe every word of this book?" He was holding up the Bible in front of the camera. All of them understood the the trap but did not have the proper answer. The answer to that trap is that, as a true Christian, we should interpret the Bible exactly as the writers intended it to be. And that is what the word "literal" means, to take the writings just as the writers intended them, whether that be as history, allegory, prophetic, etc. And it is easy to understand. Emergents are ruining Christianity and it is about time we wake up and begin to fight back...

The Metaphysics of Science

2007-10-16T23:35:00.000-06:00

Here is a very interesting quote which applies to the "conversation" at the "Natural Selection" post. Michael Ruse, professor of zoology and philosophy, University of Guelph; transcript of the speech given at the 1993 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science [AAAS] February 13/93; "an evolutionist, is metaphysically based at some level just as much as ...some creationist...And to a certain extent, I must confess, in the ten years since I performed, or I appeared, in the creationism trial in Arkansas, I must say that I've been coming to this kind of position myself.....I mean I realize that when one is dealing with people, say, at the school level, or these sorts of things, certain sorts of arguments are appropriate. But those of us who are academics, or for other reasons pulling back and trying to think about these things, I think that we should recognize, both historically and perhaps philosophically, certainly that the science side has certain metaphysical assumptions built into doing science, which---it may not be a good thing to admit in a court of law---but I think that in honesty that we should recognize, and that we should be thinking about some of these sorts of things. ...And certainly, there's no doubt about it, that in the past, and I think also in the present, for many evolutionists, evolution has functioned as something with elements which are, let us say, akin to being a secular religion ... And it seems to me very clear that at some very basic level, evolution as a scientific theory makes a commitment to a kind of naturalism, namely, that at some level one is going to exclude miracles and these sorts of things come what may." Ruse, Michael "Nonliteralist Antievolution" AAAS Symposium: "The New Antievolutionism," February 13, 1993, Boston, MA "...come what may" means: regardless of the facts. How true, how true indeed.

NYC - The End

2007-10-15T12:44:00.000-06:00

I had started out attempting to blog each day of NYC in hopes of letting people back home hear what was happening in as close to real time as possible. After day three, I was so exhausted that I stopped writing reports. I needed every minute of sleep I could manage to keep up with the schedule. I also have been meaning, since then, to comment on the event as a whole but that has sat on the back burner for months now. As I began to get back into the emergent "conversation", I was reminded of how much I dreaded NYC after hearing who was in charge of it. I was very harsh in my preparation for the trip and after my negative experience at this year's MAX event at MNU in Kansas City. So I figured it was time to make a brief comment about how NYC measured up to my expectations. In most areas, NYC exceeded my expectations! Brian Hull is to be commended for arranging solid and sound speakers. There were speakers that were not the best but when you have to arrange for that many high quality speakers it would be nearly impossible to hit the nail on the head with every one of them. Maybe a few had off nights, who knows. All of them had good messages and solid, Biblical points. That was a HUGE relief. Only one started drifting off to the left slightly and he didn't go far so it didn't dimish from the service. They could not have picked a better worship band than Starfield. They were amazing at every level. The quality of music and the set up at the Arena was top notch. Brian and his staff did an incredible job. Of course there were things that could have gone better and I offer these things up only as places for improvement not to be critical as many of the things that were done at NYC were new ideas and with new ideas come new problems. It is to be expected. The first musical performer was tobyMac. This was a great kickoff to the event and they tried to keep that energy throughout the entire week but truthfully, outside of Crowder, there is only one direction to go from tobyMac and that is down. And that is what happened, especially towards the end of the week with everyone getting tired and a lineup of obscure artists with very narrow niches of musical influence. Starting out with Crowder and ending with tobyMac might have been a better. Refraining from having artists that have a narrow following like the African-American ensemble and the Hispanic group and even Family Force Five (though I personally enjoyed each of those groups greatly) would have been a wiser choice. Encouraging performers to understand their purpose in the service would have helped keep artists like Kendalland Barlow from bombing like they did. I saw Kendall only a few months earlier in L.A. and she nearly stole the entire event with her performance but at NYC she opted for a series of slow songs that lacked energy. Barlow spoke more than they played which is always bad for a band. Too bad really. I will say, however, that both Barlow Girl and Family Force Five were victims of some bizarre deal concerning the lighting in the arena. Both of them were forced to play with nearly full arena lights on which effectively destroyed any chance they had of really performing well. It was a great disservice to the artists and a theft of the audiences' and crews' time, effort and money. It was sad to witness. Moving on, the food was really lacking. I cannot imagine the task of feeding that many people in a very limited timeframe. The set up for distributing the food and moving people through was outstanding. I was totally impressed. Still, the choice of food was confusing. They could have gone with the staples of the American diet and done fine yet each day was some dish that I can imagine only a very small handful of students would ever pick on their own. And while I appreciated the concept of the African corn meal soup, it wasn't the best idea in the world. This idea of teaching people to be sympathetic of malnourished people by malnourishing them , this concept that we need to bring people who are up, down for them to understand how the downtrodden should be treated just doesn't make sense and it certainly didn't in this setting where teens and adults were expending high levels of energy with limited rest. Clear thinking did not prevail, but I am sure it saved a TON of money. Lastly, the tracks, I think were a good idea though they were, in many cases, executed poorly. Students in the music track never touched an instrument. Students in Drama did very little drama. And the track of which I was a part, Boy's Soccer, was terribly organized. Our location was changed (in fact several locations were changed without the sponsors being alerted which lead to some students missing tracks and some sponsors missing students) without informing us until we arrived at the location. We were moved into an area that was literally a dangerous place to be and subjected our players to vulgarity, verbal assaults and threats of physical violence. That tension remained throughout the rest of the week. We played on a field without lines or goals. The field, itself was in terrible shape. Basically any empty lot in the city would have been about the same. There was actually a manhole ON the feild! When the lines were finally put onto the field on the final day (we never did get goals), they were crooked. Now I don't mean "not straight", I mean the entire field was crooked. The goal posts at each end of the field were around ten yards off from each other. The coaches and players from Trevecca were amazing and handled the problems very well. Making the most of a bad situation. The week was a success entirely because of them. I will say that the lunches provided to the players each day were very good. That was done very well. In all, I want to thank Brian Hull for a job well done and I hope it was as positive an experience for him as it was for me.

Natural Selection

2007-09-21T10:52:00.000-06:00

Evolution is based on a process called Natural Selection-in other words, Nature chooses. Creation is based on the idea that God chooses. Which seems more foolish, believing that God, and entity that could possibly exist, designed the universe or believing that Nature, a concept that we know doesn't exist as an intelligent entity, designed the universe? For me, I am going with the one that is at least possible. So you may call me a fool but I will find solace in the fact that I am at least a step above you.

I Guess I Never Thought of This...

2007-09-21T10:21:00.000-06:00

A point about Evolution was brought to my attention today for the very first time. Romans 5 states that through one man, Adam, sin entered the world and through sin, death. If this is true, then how could one explain the deaths of billions of living things required in the evolutionary process BEFORE Adam's existance? If evolutionists and especially "christian" evolutionists are to be believed, death was around since the very beginning, long before Adam. That passage continues with Salvation entering the world through one man, Jesus. If the first part of this passage isn't true, and if you accept evolution then it isn't, the second can't be true. What does this mean for me as a Christian? Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15 that if Christ didn't rise from the dead then we are all fools to be pitied. This has been a great example for me that when one dismisses any part of Scripture-the entirety of Scripture is undermined-even the parts you WANT to believe.

NYC Day Three

2007-07-10T23:08:00.000-06:00

Toby Mac. I am a headbanger by trait but man, TM put on a powerful show. He opened up the evening session but more about that in a sec. We started the day by enjoying an amazing breakfast bar down in the lobby. Now you may think, "lobby", but you are not thinking of this lobby. It is something that a fine restaurant would be proud of. The food was great as well. That got us off to a good start and we needed it for the day was full. We walked over interstate 55 to the Arch and piled five apiece into the tiny pods that would take us to the top of the 630 foot Arch. The view was awesome but the pods freaked out the students pretty good. All I could hear on the way up and back were the girls screaming my name from a pod two pods away. Quite flattering but still a little unnerving I must say. Anyway, we then walked into downtown and ate at TGI Fridays, returned to the hotel and then headed off to the stadium for the first time. Our first task was registering which took quite awhile. Then we had to haul our food for the homeless through the entire stadium, and out onto the football field where we opened the bags and boxes and sorted out the food. The teens were then unleashed into the exhibition hall and got the cool backpacks they will be using the rest of the week, while the sponsors attended another meeting, though this one was very informative. After we finished, we went back to the hotel which is ten blocks away from the stadium and had Imo's Pizza which most of the teens found humorous if you catch the pronunciation. We then treked back to the stadium in a freak but heavy thunderstorm. Arriving soaked and hot we awaited entrance into the stadium. Once inside the DJ started pumping the jams and as the place filled up the energy level rose, as you can imagine. Finally, the lights dimmed and the large screens at the front began getting static as an news anchor woman spoke of a huge storm brewing in St. Louis and then lightning begins to flash and the thunder crashing and then sparks began raining from the ceiling and all the sponsors stood up with multiple bottles of water that were handed out during our afternoon meeting and they showered the entire crowd of 9,000+ teens with the "rain". Then Toby Mac explodes onto the stage....and thus began NYC2007. I am not going to go into the details of the service, find a teen that attended and have them describe it to you, but I will say that the Gospel was presented powerfully and lives were changed from the start. That was very good to see. I was relieved. We arrived back a the hotel at 10:18pm, had another meeting and hit the rooms. We are ready for things to kick into full gear tomorrow. I will get to play some football (real football, not American football) and the day should hold many interesting things for all of us. I am excited to here the stories when I get back with our teens at day's end. Until tomorrow night I bid you good night!!

NYC Day Two

2007-07-10T00:16:00.000-06:00

Wow, what a drive! Wow, what a BUS!, Wow, what an amazing group of teens! We met at the Nazarene Church at 8am this morning and boarded our HUGE charter bus. 49 Teens and about 4 sponsors on the bus and a van and trailer behind with the rest of the sponsors. We left South Dakota about 10:45. We had dvd screens throughout the bus so many a movie was veiwed. I attempted to listen to a book that my guitarist requested I listen to, despite the many distractions. Its a great book, actually. But the trip was even better. We had smooth sailing, and then a faulty air conditioner began blasting heat rather than cool air. That was as we entered KC. Which was hot and humid. Our Dakota teens were not used to the humidity and were quite concerned that they would be able to handle it. I just chuckled, remembering my 17 years in KC. It turned out that the many pillows laying on the vents by the windows caused the air conditioner to freeze up. Hmmm. So we remedied that and the rest of the time was grand. We drove through some very heavy rain, Olathe getting more than 3 inches in less than an hour! We saw Royals stadium and Arrowhead. Then we arrived in St. Louis. We ended up at a hotel directly across the street from the Arch...I am actually looking at it form my window as I type. I am also in the building right next to the KMOV TV and Radio station where my Father in Law worked for many years. So that is cool. Tomorrow we head early to the Arch and then on to registration. That should be interesting. The teens have been amazing the whole trip and I know will continue to be. Please keep them in your prayers for safety in this new enviroment that can be overwhelming if you are not used to it, and forthe Holy Spirit to cut through it all and make a serious change in their lives. I want a different 49 teens coming home than I came with. They will look the same ont he outside but my hope is that the inside will resemble Jesus Christ a little bit more. Talk at you tomorrow night!

NYC Day One

2007-07-08T21:22:00.000-06:00

Well, we left Mandan this afternoon about 1pm to start our trek to NYC in St. Louis. By us I mean, 10 teens, Suandra Boehm and myself. We began by discovering a pretty significant oil leak in the Dodge van. We poured some leak stopping solution which has failed to work at this point. About 30 miles out from our first day's destination the front tire of the Ford van blew out at about 75 miles an hour. I was able to keep it under control and Ben Boehm and Titus Gietzen were able to change the tire in under 11 minutes. I was happy for that. We continued on our way and arrived in Souix Falls, SD a little late but no worse for the wear. Although we are cramming 6 people into each room. We will see how it goes. We are enjoying the air conditioning, however, since the Ford has no air in the back of the van and the Dodge had to run the heat the entire trip to keep from over heating. Aaaah, but tomorrow we meet up with the other 50 people from North and South Dakota and board a tour bus for the remainder ofthe trip. Air Conditioning, DVD players and bathrooms....should be nice. Check in tomorrow night for the next exciting installment of NYC 2007....keep us in your prayers!!

Open Letter to the Editor of the Journal of Student Ministries

2007-05-21T17:19:00.000-06:00

In reference to: http://rapidshare.com/files/32808618/Archive.zip Mr. Penner, When I read the first issue of this journal, I was excited to see a differently styled and interesting publication directed toward Youth Ministers. Even in that first issue though, there were little red flags popping up. I addressed those in a letter to the Journal, which never saw the light of day nor a response. As each subsequent issue has arrived, those little red flags have become huge banners blotting out the sun (or Son, which ever you prefer). With this latest issue and the article entitled “The Irritating Truth”, you have successfully proven that there remains no discerning spirit within your publication and all precepts of Biblical integrity have seemingly been thrown to the wind amidst your proud, red banners. As such, I am compelled to cancel my subscription and ask for a refund of the remaining amount paid. This article on illegal immigration is one of the worst written, worst documented and worst twisting of Scripture that I have read anywhere, including in your pages, (which has had quite a few contenders over the months). And worst of all, you presented it with no alternate view expressed. Essentially saying that if you support any law that requires any prerequisite for any person from any nation to enter this country and enjoy full rights of citizenship, you are bound for the burning fires of Hell. Let’s begin with the Scriptures that Mr. Fletcher posited as undeniable proof that we Jesus, Himself, wants us to cease being a country called the United States of America. First, I can’t see anywhere in any of these verses where ILLEGAL immigration is mentioned or even eluded to. These passages are all speaking of the mistreatment of foreigners within a country. I ask who is advocating cheating or murdering foreigners who are in the USA? No one. Mr. Fletcher is trying to suggest that having a requirement to enter the USA is paramount to stealing from and murdering these people. Wow. Additionally, equating the “aliens” referred to in these passages with illegal aliens in the United States is one of the worst misapplications of Scripture I have ever seen. It’s apples and oranges at it’s best. Mr. Fletcher also quotes a few passages about justice. My question is, what is just and who gets to decide? Later on Mr. Fletcher makes a comment that God is more interested in justice for the poor and downtrodden than for the rich. Again, wow. He has just made God the worst kind of cosmic Robin Hood. News flash for Mr. Fletcher, God is concerned about justice period, whether that falls on the side of the rich or the poor. Scripture is clear about that. (Leviticus 19:15; Job 34:12; Isaiah 11:1-4) He goes on to quote Proverbs 31:8-9 which doesn’t mention aliens at all, not even the unrelated kind that the previous passages referred to. It tells us to stand up for the rights of the needy and destitute. What are the rights of illegal immigrants in the U.S.? Well, they have basic human rights that all but the unborn have in this country (I would be curious to see where Mr. Fletcher stands on that issue, but I digress). But that is not what Mr. Fletcher is implying by inclusion of this passage. I don’t think it is. Is he saying that it is the right of every illegal alien to be a full fledged American, no questions asked? Where does it say that in Scripture? He finally ends his mutilation of the Holy Scriptures by quoting from Ezekiel 47. This is an isolated incident in the history of Israel. And Mr. Fletcher seems to forget that God referred to these very same people as “detestable” in chapter 44, not allowing them to even enter the future Temple. The Israelites were reprimanded by God for allowing these people into the land at all. Even so, is Mr. Fletcher really suggesting that the United States divvy up all the land in the country equally among all people who live here whether American or not? And who gets the portions that were to be set aside for God? The Church? Which church? Mr. Fletcher’s Church? The whole thing is ridiculous. Mr. Fletcher then dives into the absurd, declaring, among other things, that the USA is directly to blame for the failure of other countries to prosper (it has nothing to do with government corruption, Socialism, and Communism apparently), that Christians, as a whole, were pro-racism, pro-slavery (despite the fact that Christians were THE driving force behind the elimination of these evils in American society, inasmuch as they have been eliminated), it is un-Christian to expect people to obey the laws of a nation, and the “pièce de résistance”, America’s borders are closed to LEGAL immigration. Finally, Mr. Fletcher’s twisting of Scripture in his use of the story of Jesus and the adulterer found in John 8 is something Satan would be proud of. It is so asinine that I really can’t even comment on it. He ends by claiming that Jesus and Scripture demand open borders in America. In the end, I am not so much concerned that Mr. Fletcher believes and writes this sort of tripe but I am amazed that you printed it. And all along I thought I was a Christian...I guess I was wrong. I hope there is room in Mr. Fletcher’s heaven for me...come to think of it, there should be since God demands that we open citizenship to everyone regardless, I would expect no less of Him. If that is the case, heaven isn’t going to be much different that earth, is it? That’s a bit of a let down. Please, cancel my subscription and refund the remaining amount. Thank you. Nyk Edinger

War Is Not The Answer

2007-05-10T18:39:00.000-06:00

I saw that bumper sticker yesterday and again today. "War is not the answer". Of course, I have seen it a hundred times before and it always did ring a sour note in my mind but I guess I never really thought much about it. Yesterday, while I was continuing on my journey after seeing it, I was able to put some thought to it. Why did it seem like such an odd statement to me? First, the logical thought for me at least, was that if war is not the answer, peace must be. Peace is the opposite of war, right? But that didn't make sense. "Peace is the answer." That statement doesn't make sense. Peace is not the opposite of war. War is an action, whereas peace is a state of being. Someone could certainly be at peace and at war simultaniously. Regardless, peace is not the opposite of war, negotiation and compromise is the opposite of war. So were the makers or bearers of the bumper sticker meaning to tell me that compromise is the answer? Maybe. But that begs the question...what IS the question? If we are talking about war, and a war that presumably (since we are in the U.S.A.) the United States in involved in, then, maybe the question is this; "How can we defeat tyrrany and oppression?" If that is the question, then what is the answer? Well, we can count out peace because peace is a state of being free of tyrrany and oppression not a means of defeating it. I think that is a fair definition for the sake of this argument. So peace is the goal or the desired end result of the answer, not the answer itself. So with peace being out of the equation, what is left? Compromise and war. Let me ask a rhetorical question. Has there ever been a tyrranical and oppressive regime defeated by compromising with them? I went through, in my mind, the major, oppressive regimes of the last two thousand years and there seems to be a common theme to their demise... and it's not negotiation and compromise. It's war. Maybe there is one out there somewhere but it would certainly be an exception not the rule. Can you negotiate with evil and ever win? No. Every compromise that good makes with evil results in evil winning. The only method that has ever proven to be effective throughout history in defeating evil has been forcebly removing power from those who govern with an evil hand. Turns out, if I have the question right, then war IS the answer. But we must be dedicated to victory and a proper execution of that war. I can hear a bunch of voices rising in unison, demanding to know how a Christian can think war is the answer. My first suggestion is to really read your Bible, in context. God seemed to think that war was the answer to many questions throughout the history of Israel. He did try negotiation with Egypt but only to prove it wouldn't work and to show blameless the supernatural war He then inflicted upon them for not surrendering. And even in the New Testament, there were many members of government and the military that became followers of Christ and never did a request of them be made to stop attending to their jobs. A military person in the Roman Empire was not a peace keeper. He was a warrior. You would think if war were such a huge offense against God, something would have been mentioned. You see, God understands evil and understands what is required to defeat it. War. It will be that way until the final blow in the final battle of the final war and the warrior serving that blow will be Jesus, Himself. So talk all you want but when the time comes to pick up that gun and defend good and freedom, I hope each of you will be willing to do it. I will be. If you want peace, win the war. It really is that simple.

The New "F" Word

2007-03-05T12:37:00.000-06:00

I have been wanting to write about this topic for quite sometime. In fact, it may be the topic that caused me to start this blog in the first place. And I guess I have had opportunity before but a recent article from WND (I know, I know) got me thinking about it again. Now, the new "F" word is "faggot" which was uttered by the infamous Ann Coulter, which I am sure all have heard about. That isn't really what I want to talk about because in this case you have a person who is simply trying to shock to make a point. Unfortunately the point gets lost because of the shock. While I, as a Follower of Christ, would see fit to refrain from degrading names, the point that was trying to be made was a good one nonetheless. If you don't know what it is then read up on it a bit and figure it out, it isn't what I want to comment on right now. In this article they referenced Tim Hardaway and his comments that he "...hates gay people...". Again, as a Follower of Christ, I do my best not to hate anyone. And I would guess that maybe Tim simply mis- stated his feeling and would clarify that he hates the idea of homosexuality not the people specifically. But that really doesn't matter either way. What matters is what happened to him and the comments that people made about what he said. Here is a portion of the article pertaining to this: "Then retired NBA star Tim Hardaway told a radio interviewer last month: "I hate gay people ... I don't like it [homosexuality]. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States." He, too, was forced to repent in sackcloth and ashes after he was banned from NBA All-Star Game activities, lost a national endorsement deal and was subjected to relentless nationwide criticism." The reality of this situation is that we had a person banned, chastised, penalized, ridiculed, and ostricized simply because of his personal thoughts. Are we in America really free anymore? I was watching a documentary following the attempted rehab of a convicted pedophile. He had finished his sentence and was a perfect inmate during his incarceration. After he was released, he wasn't allowed to move back into society, rather, he was forced to live in a trailer surrounded by huge steel fencing with barbwire on the grounds of the prison. Sounds like solitary. They were able to get him a job in the nearby town and he followed every requirement of his release even when the idiot owner of the business he was working at, brought the grandkids to work knowing full well that the ex-con couldn't be anywhere near kids. The ex-con, as soon as he realized the kids were there, grabbed his coat and literally ran from the building. Part of his release terms required that he continue seeing a shrink. Understandable. However, when the man told the shrink that he still struggled with thoughts of children (which would be expected, I would think) the shrink told the prison officials and he was arrested in his barbed wire confined trailer and sentenced to prison indefinately. Remember, he not once had violated the terms of his release, he only shared his thoughts with the person that was supposed to help him work through his situation. He was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to what is the equivilent of life for nothing more than his thoughts. (SideBar: What affect do you think this action has on people who struggle in these type of areas? This guy gets sentenced for life for being honest with the person who is supposed to help him. Will there ever be a person who is dumb enough to be honest about such a struggle again? And can they ever hope to overcome it alone? Doubtful. So this attempt at making society safer, results in making society infinitely more dreadful. And millions of people hopeless.) The immediate reaction by most of you will be pointing out that we are talking about a pedophile here and no one will show sympathy for such a person. That is fine. However, when you begin to tie together what happened to that man with what happened to Tim and countless others in this country and abroad, it should be glaringly obvious that we are not talking about the horrors of pedophilia here, we are talking about whatever the powers that control this country deem as offensive. The Scriptures call the Gospel a "rock of offense" and we are seeing that this is showing itself true more and more everyday. Today, it is the pedophile and the Tims and the Anns but tomorrow it will be the preacher, the sunday school teacher and eventually the Bible itself. Its happening now in Canada and the UK and Germany. It is happening HERE. It is called "HATE" legislation. And it should be fought at every step, at every level, no matter the offensivness of the thought. There are hundreds of people sitting in prison for what they think and nothing more. True, many of them, none of us want out on the streets, but if that is how we feel then make the punishment for their crimes more harsh, don't keep them locked away for their thoughts! As you continue to live out your days in this free country of America, pay attention to "HATE' speech and "HATE" crimes and "HATE" legislation and what they really mean. Because someday it won't be the pedophile locked in the trailer behind barbed wire, it won't be the Basketball star banned from society, it will be you. And then there will be no one left to defend your freedoms. Heed this warning and let's keep our freedom to share the "Rock of Offense" with the world. For without it, all are lost.

Principle vs Specifics

2007-02-27T14:18:00.000-06:00

Well, I have a ton to write about and I have really not had the time to be here as much as I would have liked...I am trying to get my MySpace page going. It is an amazingly inefficient format. But, I will make due. So I had a question roaming the dark depths of my mind this week pertaining to the subject matter that I talk about to my Youth Group and our Young Adult Discussion Group. I have to this point, tried to focus on principles of Christian living. Not just that but Christianity itself. I felt that if the students could grasp a Biblical principle, then as the need arises, they could apply it to their situation. Yet, I hear things that direct me to speak to more specific issues like drugs, or profanity and other such symptoms of a sinful heart. I just struggle with the benefit of such discussions to the group as a whole. What does everyone think about whether to focus on principles or get more specific? Several of you are pastors so it would be awesome to find out what you do and what you think are the benefits of each. Thanks for reading and especially for commenting. I would encourage all who come here to make a comment, for surely you have an opinion or insight. Thanks! Nyk

A Little Frustration

2007-02-23T13:41:00.000-06:00

I have been a little frustrated over the past few days. I just returned from an overwhelmingly successful winter retreat and should have an equal sense of joy and satisfaction yet I seem to be torn by a sort of depression. Can someone prove to me that there is a God? And moreover, is there anyone out there who is really living a sinless life? If not, what the point? Comments welcome.

The Criminalization of Christianity

2007-02-15T23:51:00.000-06:00

NOTE: I will be heading North to the Canadian Border for the next four days and will be without internet access (surprise, surprise) but Tuesday I will be back so feel free to discuss away while I am away. I was sent several writings today about the hatred and criminalizing of Christianity and with something that happened to a personal aquaintance of mine yesterday, it seemed worthy of note. First, an aquaintance of mine whose son is in my son's class (or was until yesterday) was in the middle of a custody battle when out of the blue, the authorities came and took her son from her home with only a small bag of clothing. The case was decided without her in attendance based on the fact that when the Psychiatrists for the Father asked the boy what he did when he was scared or sad, etc. he responded that he prayed. They used this and the fact that he attends a Christian school and attends church regularly to show that his mother was a Christian "fanatic" and it was a danger for him to stay in her home. He was taken from her home entirely based on the fact that she was a Christian! So then I see these three articles: www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54260 www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54265 www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54257 The last one dovetails on the evolution discussion but it also highlights the complete disregard for the truth and the utter deception leveled onto society by these so called scientists. And their absolute hatred for Christianity. Children are being taken away from parents, people are being fired, and others placed in jail right now simply because they are Christians. This is no longer a premonition the same as I sounded nearly two decades ago to those few people who would listen to a young long hair. It is here and it is now and all Christians need to evaluate if they are willing to go to jail for the truth. Remember, Jesus said that if we are not willing to stand up for Him, He won't be standing up for us, and that is a sentence to Hell not just county jail. Please read these articles and let me know your thoughts!! Tell a friend.

List vs List

2007-02-12T11:20:00.000-06:00

Several writings that I came across this morning in regards to Evolution/Creation Sunday 2007 I found interesting. They show the battle that is raging out there about this topic and how much more involved it is than most people would think. First, this one ( http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54176 ) about this list ( http://www.dissentfromdarwin.org ) that just brought to my mind about how strange it is that as Pastors from many denominations are placing their names on a list denying the Bible and supporting Evolution, there are Scientists from around the world placing their names on a list raising doubts about the validity of that same evolution. Why is it that the church always seems to be 50 to 100 years behind? Not that I would have supported the Church supporting evolution 100 years ago any more than today but it just seems that in every area of society, music, media, societal issues of any kind, the church waits until something is out of vogue with the rest of society (somehow then making it ok for the church to be involved in it) until it decides that maybe they should look into this thing. I just don't get it. I dread the day when society finally champions sexual abstinance and the church takes up the virtues of promiscuity...oh, wait...its already happening. The church really needs to get a clue. And this evolution debate would be a great place to start. Finally, Scientists are bowing to science instead of giving it lip service and bowing instead to their religion (evolution is a religion) and what does the church do? Well, we start bowing to the religion of evolution of course. For those of us who can see this, let's raise a voice to start supporting science as we should have done all along. Science supports the Bible and Christianity and now that Scientists are finally admitting it, let's not fail God and the people of the world who have been so devastated by the effects of the evolution religion by dropping the ball and embracing another religion. Second was this ( http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/science/12geologist.html?ei=5065&en=4f4a020a32419ff4&ex=1171861200&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print ) which details something that I had not even considered before. The sickening fact that our Universities are actively discriminating and censuring Christians for being Christians! These people openly say that being a Christian automatically disqualifies a person from getting a degree in any scientific field. This is outrageous and if there is any better reason to attend a Christian University if there is one that effectively deals with the field you are entering, I don't know what is. I firmly believe that within my lifetime Christianity will be illegal in this country but still, we must do whatever we can to keep that day from arriving for as long as we can. If you are a Christian who is all concerned about being accepted by this world and this society and your deepest desire is to be friends with the world, I have some depressing news for you. They hate you. And they will always hate you, until that time when you devoid yourself of enough Christianity to where you no longer can be considered one, even if you still call yourself one. Jesus PROMISED that the world would hate us (Mt 10:16-22; 24:9; Mark 13:13; John 15:18-21) and we, in America, have been relaxing and wallowing in this false idea that we can make the world love us. Are we calling Jesus a liar? We need to wake up and start living in a manner worthy of Christ and to hell with selling out Christ for the sake of the love of the world! Are we so dim as to think that a world ruled by the the Prince of the Air, Satan himself, is ever going to accept and love us? Who are we kidding? The day Satan loves you is the day the world will...and not a moment sooner. Only a fool will hold his breath for that day to come. Love your Brethren and love your enemies, be in the world but not of it. And do not trample the Blood of Chirst under foot for without valuing the Sacrifice of Christ for you with all your heart, you will be unable to value others, even unto your enemies.

Happy Evolution Sunday!

2007-02-10T22:32:00.000-06:00

Well, in just a few hours it will be Evolution Sunday, celebrating the birth of Darwin. Only a little over 500 churches are taking part in this event so its not too big a deal yet. But I still felt compelled to dub tomorrow Creation Sunday at our Youth Group. Maybe it will catch on. Who knows? I have already posted on this subject before but in reading a little more about it, I stumbled upon an argument that I had not thought of and it was rather interesting. Here is a quote from David Kupelian: "(By the way, if you call yourself a Christian and believe you evolved from a lower life form to a higher form, as evolution preaches – I mean, teaches – you are denying the very heart of your faith. Jesus Christ, whom you claim to follow, taught that man fell from a higher estate into sin, and is therefore in need of salvation. If we have evolved from a lower life form, improving constantly over the eons to our present advanced state, there is no possible need for salvation through the substitutionary death of the Son of God. There's absolutely no wiggle-room here, friends. You're busted.)" This idea just shows how far you have to twist Scripture in order to accept a theory that more and more scientists are rejecting. As I have said time and time again, once you start rejecting one part of Scripture, the rest eventually falls by the wayside. The false idea through all of this is that we must choose between Science and Religion and the only way for the two to coincide within a person is for Religion to take a bow. This is a lie of Satan himself. If a person seriously looks at the scientific facts, they go right along with Christianity and not with evolution. Evolution isn't scientific, it isn't logical, or reasonable, nor is it even statistically possible, or moral. What dealings should we as Christians have with such tripe? Only to expose it to the light of Truth. For all of you who accept evolution and who call yourselves Christians, I challenge you to evaluate what part of of your relationship with God, the Creator of the Universe, you are willing to give up. Because you will have to give up something, and I pray that it isn't your very soul. Happy Creation Sunday! Enjoy!

Something To Die For...

2007-02-01T16:24:00.000-06:00

Last night I was listening to my iPod and on came a song whose chorus stated, "Give me something to die for..." We often hear the phrase, "Give me something to live for," but this other way of saying it seems more profound. There are plenty of things out there to live for, there is no short supply, but that rarely seems to be enough for most people. I remember reading a book about the English Hooligans. The conclusion of the book was that these English males (mostly) needed a sense of belonging which, in the past, was supplied by National pride during times of war such as WWI and II. With the lengthening time since those wars, men in England looked to something else to bring back that National pride. They found it in their football clubs. But it wasn't enough to just go to the matches and support their clubs. They had to move it to a feeling of war. With all the prejudices that arise in war and the colors and violence. We have often focused on the English but there are smaller versions of this all around Europe. It seems that a club worth living for wasn't enough. These people needed a club worth dying for. So they raised their support up to a level that certainly could bring the possibility of death. And are these football fanatics an isolated example? I am beginning to wonder. We see it in the military, in militias, on the roads, in gangs, in the political realm, in religious conflicts, and even in pacifists. When I started to think it through it was quite amazing to me how pervasive this idea is throughout all of culture. It manifests itself in many different ways. There are violent gangs, there are militias and warlords, there are homicide bombers, there are vigilanties, and there are even peace protesters who put themselves in harms way. What do all of these people have in common? They all seem to have a need for something more, something to die for. If a leader asks his people to live for him, some follow and some don't but nobody does it with much vigor, but when a leader asks his people to die for him, the support is overwhelming and intense. We see this most often at times of war. When a speech is made by a president or a prime minister and the people rally around the cause. When a country goes a long time without some life and death situation the people seem to loose the passion for life. Things get dull. Then I thought about the fact that we are all created in God's image and wondered about what this idea said about God. Is He interested only in having something that is so important that it is worth dying for? And is that the sort of passion that He instills in us? That we have this inner desire to be involved in something so important that it is worth dying for? And what happens when there isn't anything like that? I can see two things ending up happening. Either people become self absorbed and ultimately depressed and live in a sense of hopelessness and apathy or they begin to attribute greater importance to lesser things. The classic example would be the English Hooligans. They, without a real thing of value in their lives to pour their passion into, elevated football to a thing of utmost importance. Important enough to die for. And many did. Some people increase risk through dangerous activities. And some take usually mundane protests to the extreme. I think that all of these things point to an inner passion that drives us to finding something in our lives of such paramount importance that it is worthy of death itself. Somehow it seems that death is more important to us than life. And life, without the threat of death does not interest us. To the point where we will go to great lengths to invent things that involve the threat of death. Ultimately, for some, choosing to die by suicide rather than live life without that thing that is worthy of dying for. Of course it is not that I am saying we want to be oppressed and live under the threat of death such as what might occur in an abusive relationship or slavery or tyrrany. No one desires that, but what I am talking about is a positive thing that we can believe in, get behind and support to the point of death if necessary. You might ask how gangs or drug cartels can be positive. To most of us they are not positive but when you hear the people involved in them talk, they view it as positive. A family sort of system. They belong to something bigger than themselves. I think that is the key to the whole thing. Each one of us knows within that we are not the biggest thing in the universe. We all know that there is something bigger than us out there. And it is a burning desire within each of us to belong to that thing that is bigger than we are. There are millions of things that people choose to be a part of but, as a Christian, I believe the thing we are desiring so deeply is God, Himself. That thing inside us is really desiring to be a part of God. And don't think that isn't dangerous. Don't think that is void of the possibility of death. In fact, it requires standing against evil. Evil that certainly is not remiss in killing when the opportunity presents itself. And actually, belonging to God requires death. And in death, victory. It seems to be what we are made for. So how do we work that into what we do? Without turning it into some new "holy war". How do we keep it positive? Or, maybe it is God's plan to change our propensity towards death to a deep desire for life. And if it is, I can only imagine that happening in a place completely different from this place. Someplace like Heaven, maybe? I haven't finished thinking about this and don't have any conclusions to offer you in closing. So please bring your own comments to the table. I think this could be very interesting.

Major League Soccer Ten Year Plan

2007-01-26T10:50:00.000-06:00

I was watching Fox Soccer Channel's Fox Soccer Report last night and they told the story of a Boca Jr fan who was sueing a River Plate fan. It turned out that the Boca fan wanted a huge Boca tattoo on his back but the Tattoo artist was a River fan. Being an avid fan to say the least, the River Tattoo Artist tattooed a huge genitalia onto the Boca fan's back. The Boca fan didn't realize it until he proudly displayed his new "Boca" tattoo to his parents! That would be a shock! All this somehow got me thinking of what I would set forth as a 10 year plan if I was the MLS Commissioner and was allowed to take whatever means necessary (save wholesale brainwashing) to build the MLS into the #2 Major League sport in the United States. (Don't ask me how I made that transition) Anyway, here is my list: 1. I would stop or significately reduce the MLS' attempts at wooing the Spanish speaking population. Spanish speaking fans are already fans of soccer (herto referred to as football). And they are extremely dedicated to their home club.(As seen in the story above) While they might, eventually adopt an American team as their own, they will never replace their home clubwith an American one. No amount of propaganda will cause them to become fans of a certain MLS club. They will respond to good football on the pitch. Therefore, I would refocus the efforts of the MLS to building support in the English speaking portion of the United States. The vast majority of those people are not currently football fans, yet they are the ones who will eventually cause football to leap frog over the NHL, NBA and MLB into second place behind the NFL. Spanish speaking fans may help fill stadiums (although I am not even convinced about that) but they will not accomplish the larger goal of nationwide interest. 2. I would begin making plans to move the MLS season to August through May with a one month Holiday break from the weekend of December 15th to the weekend of January 15th. This would require that retractable ceilings be added to every stadium in the MLS except Houston and LA. 3. I would increase the cooperation between the lower leagues and the MLS with player loans. This would give the opportunity to certain players to play year round and would develop players more quickly. It would bring some MLS players to the lower leagues, thus increasing the level of play and the potential development of those players. It would allow good players in the lower leagues to train and possibly come off the bench in MLS matches or Tournement matches during their off season. (Since the lower leagues would still play during the summer) And it would give added incentive for fans of the lower league teams to follow an MLS team that has a player from their club on loan or who has had an MLS player on loan to them. Just more reasons to attend matches and watch them on television. 4. I would add at least three more teams to the MLS. Two being in the States (St. Louis and Minneapolis being my favorites) and one in Cananda (Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver or Quebec City {the French aspect of Quebec might be very interesting from a fan perspective} being possible locations). 5. I would begin to plan for changing the format of the MLS seaason to a system that would begin with Qualifiers where each team plays the others two times (eliminating East and West). The top 8 teams would then be entered in the MLS Cup Finals where they would be drawn into two, four team groups, playing a round robin tournament. The winners of the two groups would then play a home and away series to determine the MLS Cup Champion. This combines aspects from the World Cup, the Champions League and typical American structures. I truly feel that having the MLS Cup at neutral locations has the same debilitating affect that we see in the Super Bowl. If we want this sport to be a sport of the fans similar to how Baseball used to be then we must eliminate the one off MLS Cup at a neutral site concept. If we want it to become the sport of the elite (which it may never become) then keep doing things like we are. Life-long memories of Championships are made to a degree by watching it on the television but they are really life-changing events when they are experienced in person. And even moreso if it would happen in your home stadium. Wow! Think of the memories! My Kansas City Wizards won the MLS Cup. But the memory that still gives me goose-bumps was the match that got us there which I attended at our home stadium, Arrowhead. That is what I think of when I remember that amazing season, not the Final. 6. I would work out an exclusive television deal with ABC for at least 20 years. With the requirement that the matches would be shown on ABC, live. At least two each week with two others being shown on ESPN and ESPN2. And all Finals matches being shown live on ABC. MLS matches must be shown live, weekly on free TV for the mass public to have any chance at becoming fans. Fox Soccer Channel, GolTV and the others are great channels but the only way to reach the the American viewer is to have the matches live on free TV. There is no other way. 7. I would change the schedule of the matches to one Thursday night match to be carried live on ESPN or ESPN2. One Saturday night match to be carried live on ESPN or ESPN2 and six Sunday afternoon matches, two of which would be carried live on ABC. The first would begin at 1pm Central Time and the second at 4pm Central Time. The hour in between would be a show that would highlight the Thursday, Saturday and other Sunday matches and would provide previews of the upcoming Sunday matches. There would be at least six teams that would have no scheduling problems with NFL teams since their cities do not have NFL teams. These would be the Galaxy, Chivas, Real, Columbus, Toronto and the other Canadian team. And by balancing the start times to be opposite any conflicting matches and games this schedule should have no problem of working. Americans are used to setting aside Sunday afternoons to watch sports. The MLS must use this to attract American fans. Trying to get them to add yet another day to their sports schedule is not the best choice. We also should not be trying to syphon off NFL fans specifically anyway (as far as those who attend games). Most of them will not make the transition. And that is fine. There are plenty others out there. But I truly feel that when there is a dull American football game on and the typical fan is channel surfing, he/she may stop and watch a bit of a MLS match if it were on. And after getting to know the sport, it makes watching football very difficult. American football is painfully slow and people generally hate commercials. But the MLS must have its product there, ready and available. These fans are not going to go out searching for a football match to watch. The MLS must provide them the opportunity, and that will be best provided on a Major Television Network (ABC is the one that has a huge sports heritage and does not carry any NFL games) on Sunday afternoons when they are already watching or available to attend a sporting event. 8. I would work out a television deal for the lower leagues to at least get the away matches shown on local television. Even if that means cable access to begin with. I would outfit every stadium with multiple professional cameras and crews and make sure that every away match is shown live for the fans of the away team to contnue to cheer on their club in their homes or at the local sports bar. Most of these teams are in much smaller cities and the fans are more likely to get together and support their club than would be fans from a larger metro area. 9. I would have the MLS invest more money into the lower leagues in order to increase interest in football throughout the nation and in as many cities as possible on a professional level. This will only help the MLS in the long run via fan base and player development. 10. I would start soccer academies at every MLS club and work toward the reduction of college soccer in the United States. There would be no need to eliminate it but the goal would be for every potential player to forego college and attend an MLS Academy. I would stress the educational part of college through the many local universities in each of the MLS cities but if they are serious about football, they should be trained by the best and not wasted on the college game. Until we have better player development starting by at least by 12 years of age, we will never rise to the top as a league or as a national side. The goal would be to advance an MLS team to the club team World Cup and have a serious run at winning the World Cup in 2014. Those are my ten suggestions for the next ten years concerning the MLS. Your comments would be greatly appreciated. Day-dreaming is fun sometimes. Nicholas

The New Nazarene An Apology

2007-01-19T22:19:00.000-06:00

Guys, After reading and re-reading everything here and on the other blogs regarding my interactions I want to apologize for coming into this conversation with a wrong attitude and not much positive input. I have associating certain people together that shouldn't be. Often times I have lowered the conversation by stepping over the lines of propiety and I apologize for that as well. I am not God by any stretch of even my own imagination and I have learned and need to continue to learn to leave much more up to Him. My prayer is that all of those who entered my blog will accept this apology with the sincerity it is offered. I am posting this in place of "New Nazarene" previously posted. God be with you. Nicholas Edinger http://theblackhorseinn.blogspot.com

Beckham to LA!

2007-01-11T12:41:00.000-06:00

I don't have many thoughts on this yet but David Beckham has agreed to sign with the LA Galaxy for about $250 Million. The largest in sporting history. Here is a link to the story: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=399465&cc=5901

Happy Birthday To Me!

2007-01-08T17:10:00.000-06:00

Well, this may sound like a fairly self-absorbed thing to be posting but it really isn't as it seems. I actually don't really care much about my birthday, the same as most 38 year old males, I would guess. In fact,until my 8 year old (who does still care about birthdays) remindedme as I woke him from his sleep, I had forgotten. It had also notbeen in the forefront of my mind when a family called to requesthosting our monthly teen fun night, which I had been remiss toschedule at less than a week away. I simply thought I had againbeen rather fortunate. I also was not thinking of it as I was askedgive a ride to a couple of the girls in our youth group to theirschool to retrieve a homework assignment (late, evening, on aSunday, no less). So my son, the two young ladies and myself began the journey to the school and then out to the location of our Fun Night for January. It wasn't until I noticed the darkness of the dining romm and heard whispered tones coming from within, that it dawned on me. But it was too late to run. "SURPRISE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Well, I was surprised. And greatful. And humbled. Here were 20+ teens, a number of parents, my wife and younger son, several young adult sponsers and even the Church Secretary and her family presenting me with a cake decorated with a soccer ball and a Puma soccer boot. In that moment I was reminded once again, not about how amazing I must be as leader and teacher to warrent such adoration and praise, rather, how fortunate I am to be serving such gracious people who, despite all my shortcomings (and there are many) still find the time and energy to celebrate a day that even I had not remembered. So, thank you to all of them for a wonderful night. This event does allow me to delve into something a little more theologically deeper. :) In order to postpone my arrival to the house long enough to get ready, two wonderful young ladies had to devise a plan to stall me. Their choice was to concocted a story about needing a book from school. I bit, hook, line and sinker. And, outside of a few hardcore Baptists, I would doubt anyone would raise much of a fuss about their devious techniques. But I will. Just for sake of discussion. (I love you both!!) Commandment number 9 states; "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." We, more often, just state it as "Do not lie." But is that what this Commandment really means? Did the young ladies who lead me to the school break the 9th Commandment? Let me relate a few stories from the Bible to you. In Genesis 22 we have the story of Abraham and Isaac. Some would say that God, Himself, was deceptive because He never intended that Abraham would actually sacrifice Isaac in the first place. But we don't know that. If Abraham's heart had not been right, God may have let him go through with it. We don't know. Also, some say that Abraham was deceptive when he told Isaac that the Lord would provide a lamb when he was assured of no such thing. They would say that Abraham lead Isaac up to the mountian under false pretense. Was this a breaking of the 9th Commandment? (obviously, they hadn't been given yet but right and wrong isn't based on the Ten Commandments but on God Himself.) Then, in II Kings 6, Elisha has God strike the Arameans blind and then tells them that they are on the wrong road and in the wrong city, when in fact they were on the right road and in the right city. Then he tells them he will lead them to the man they were looking for when in fact he is the man they were looking for and he leads them to the King of Israel instead. God doesn't ever condemn these actions and in fact, one could argue, actually fascilitates them and is complicit in the lie of Elisha by causing the blindness in the first place. Did Elisha, and God, break the 9th Commandment? Then in Joshua 2 we have the story of Rahab who was a prostitute, which is quite controversial to begin with. She hides the spies in her brothel and tells the soldiers that they had been there but she didn't know who they were and at dusk they left the city and she didn't know where they had gone. All the while they were hiding in her pad. She lied on three different counts, yet, when Jericho fell, God saved her from the destruction and Joshua honored her. Did God and Joshua honor Rahab for breaking the 9th Commandment? And, of course you have the more modern story of Corrie Ten Boom who saved many Jews from the Nazis through deceit very similar to Rahab. Has Corrie been lifted high as an example of being a true Christian in a very difficult situation all based on breaking the 9th Commandment? Or could it be that we have over simplified or maybe even complicated this command of God? We have done this with the 6th Commandment. It reads 'You shall not murder." but many mistakenly state it as "You shall not kill." Two completely different statements with completely different implications. Have we done this with the 9th Commandment as well? You may now expect a brilliant dissertation on the true meaning of this commandment. However, the fact is that I don't know. I have thought about it in the past but never more closely as I have this past week after using the Elisha passage in my Wednesday night talk and then being a "victim" of deceit last night. My initial thoughts are that bearing false witness is something much different than what we have made it out to be. If I play the time-honored joke on someone where I say "Hey, what's that on your shirt?" while pointing to a spot close under the chin, duping them to look down and then flicking their nose, is that breaking the 9th Commandment? I just can't imagine that is what God had in mind. And I do not believe that God is one who would break His own commands nor do I think He would honor someone who had, without repenting. So what does the 9th Commandment actually mean? I hope someone out there will help me out here. I would hate to think that I would have to punish nearly everyone in my youth group, church and family for breaking the 9th Commandment in the execution of my surprise party! I don't intend to but it begs the question, nonetheless. So, what say you?

Pelosi and the Children

2007-01-04T17:58:00.000-06:00

Well, Pelosi has been sworn in as Speaker and with it she exploited
her grandkids stating that everything they would do in the new
Congress would be for the children. As if we really beleive that.

But that brought to mind my least favorite bumber sticker.

"Is it good for the children?"

The only way this is even a relevant question is if you are not a
Christian. If you are a Christian then the question is moot. But
it feels good so people take it seriously. If you do take it
seriously, then you are essentially saying that what is Christian
is not necessarily good for children, which is dumb.

Anyway, Pelosi has to make this point today, precisely because
she knows that what they will do may not be good for the
children. It is a pre-emptive strike. Hmmm.

The Need For Change

2007-01-02T12:50:00.000-06:00

I am not sure when the Nazarene Church began to consider
themselves an Evangelical Church. At its inception at the beginning
of the 20th Century, The Church of the Nazarene considered itself
a Holiness Church. This seemed to be a church closer to the New
Testament model than the current Evangelical model. And now
with the insurgence of the seeker churches, that model is being
driven farther from a Biblical construct than ever before.

By looking into the expressed and realized purposes of the
current church in the United States we should be able to
evaluate if we are acting Biblically in this area or not. Now, I am
not addressing the form of church government or control or even
issues pertaining to pastor lead or congregational lead services.
The thing I am concerned with first is whether the Church knows
it objectives or not and whether they are achieving those objectives.

From here on I will refer to individuals as Christians and the
organized church as the church. For the Bible gives different
commands to each.

Also, this is a thought process that I have decided to put out in the
open. It is something that i am still working through so you will
not get a bunch Scripture references at this time though I have
many written down and all analysis is derived directly from
Scripture or sources who have derived their analysis directly
from Scripture. Therefore, your comments are highly valued
for this discussion.

Here is a list of what I see the typical Evangelical church feels
is their objectives as a church. (I am attempting to refrain from
using the term 'purposes') These are not in any particular order
because I believe that every individual church emphasizes one
above another but that it is not universal.

Fellowship
Worship (corporate)
Instruction (equipping)
Missions
Charity (Ministering to the needs of the poor, sick, and elderly)
Evangelism
Politics

Some of these are certainly called for in Scripture, while some
are but not for the church but for the individual and others are
called for but may be applied differently today than when they
were first issued and some are not ever mentioned but all are
hindered by our misapplication of the call to "go into all the
world..." which has become the foundation of the Evangelical
Church, leading to churches filled with more non-Christians
than Christians.

So, if this is the case, then what direction should a church go?
What changes in model or philosophy should a church make?
One that many churches are taking to heart either entirely or at
least in part is the 'purposes' outlined in "The Purpose Driven
Church". Here is a list of the 'purposes' Pastor Rick Warren feels
the church is called to fulfill;

Worship (Know and Love God)
Fellowship (Love Others)
Discipleship (Grow Spiritually)
Ministry (Serve Others)
Evangelism (Share the Gospel)

Of these, some match the first list of the typical Evangelical
Church, although, his definitions of these are not Biblical. Some
are not called of the church but rather, the Christian. This is an
error with Warren but also with the current Evangelical Church.
The only one on his list that I can see as a Biblical objective of the
church and that is defined correctly is the third 'purpose'.
Discipleship - Growing Spiritually.

Instead of going through each one of these objectives listed so
far and pointing out the errors as I see through my studies, I am
going to list what I see as the Biblical objectives for the church
and through that you should be able to see where that differs with
what I have already listed. This is not specifically about the
"purpose driven" concept because what got me into this study
was not that but simply seeing first hand and trying to work
within the objectives of a typical Evangelical Church. As I found
conflict with what the Holy Spirit was directing and what we were
actually doing, the whole picture seemed to come into focus. I only
include "purpose driven" because he attempted to address this
same issue but has moved the church to a direction farther from
Biblical truth than it was to begin with.

Here is my list of what I see as the stripped down Biblical
objectives of the church. I have not gone far enough to actually put
them in a particular order;

Fellowship among Christians
Worship through song
Instruction/Equipping
Charity within the church
Missions

Fellowship among Christians:
The church is to be a place where Christians are able to develop
close relationships with others and where each one can use his/her
talent in order to build up the other. If we are called to develop
close relationships with people within our church, then it stands to
reason that the people within the church should be Christians. Not
that we are not to have relationships with any one who is not a
Christian but the relationships that are close and that we rely upon
should be with persons who are Christians. So how are we supposed
to build relationships that are proper with those at church if many
who are there are not even Christians?

Worship in Song:
Narrowing the definition of Worship to merely music is a
destructive mistake, however, this does not mean that Worship
through music through music is not important. In fact, it is the
only time that I can find Worship specifically mentioned in
reference the the church. All other objectives are for the edification
of the Saints (which in itself is Worship in the proper use of the
term). So having a time to Worship God through song is necessary.
How we do this is certainly open as far as I can tell. There is a list
of specific instruments but to limit the church to use of these
instruments alone, I think is a misuse of Scripture. Besides, even
the churches who claim that music needs to adhere to a specific
style (church music) ignores the very Scripture on which they base
their convictions. Apparently, we can't use drums because they are
not in "the list" yet neither is the organ or the piano. Regardless,
the point is not the style but the fact that God is being Worshiped
through music. But this does bring us to the subject matter in the
songs we sing. Clearly, if they are meant to be Worship to God then
they should be praise TO him or songs about HIM. Singing a song
ABOUT Worship seems a bit daft to me. This is an area that
should be seriously evaluated.

Instruction/Equipping:
If I were to list these in order of importance, I would certainly list
this one either at the top or close to it. There is no other place that
proper equipping can take place better. Personal devotions, parents
teaching children are also methods of equipping. However, due to
different people having different gifts, the best place for this to
happen is in the church where the Holy Spirit has positioned people
to perform these tasks. This is not confining this area to the pastors
at all. All who have the gift of prophesy and teaching should be
involved in the instruction that happens in the church. This seems
to be the area that is of least importance in today's Evangelical
church. Which stands to reason when many of the members of the
church are not even Christians yet. You are stuck at evangelism
and conversion, not able to move to equipping the saints. This is
the area we fall the shortest.

Missions:
Here is an interesting area. While I would consider the Great
Commission to be strictly for the Christian, there is precedent
for churches to send out missionaries and support missionaries to
places where no church exists. And this can be accomplished must
more efficiently through the larger church than through individual
churches So a church needs to be actively supporting missions work
around the world through whatever mechanism their church
provides. But this is not simply a humanitarian effort. If churches
are not being planted and the preaching of the Gospel not the first
and foremost objective, then an evaluation of the missions of the
church needs to be made. Paul, Silas, and Barnabus amongst the
others preached the Gospel and were ministered to by the
churches. They weren't out there planting soup kitchens,
orphanages, or hospitals, they were planting churches. Which
brings us to the last objective of the church.

Charity:
This is possibly the most misapplied objective of all of them. The
church as far as I can find, was never called to assist the poor,
the sick, the elderly, the widows or orphans in general. When the
church is called to these sorts of activities, it is to those WITHIN
the church to whom they are called to minister. And, again, how
are we to do this when many in our churches are not Christians?
We, in this area also continue to apply commands meant for
Christians to the church. The more the church spends time
and resources doing things the church is not supposed to do, the
less it will spend its time and resources on the things that it is
supposed to do. The result from that is Christians who are not
equipped to do the things they are called to do. The very things
the church is doing that it isn't supposed to do! So, we can see that
it is not the church's objective to help the homeless, the poor, the
sick, the orphans, or the elderly, it is the calling of certain
Christians to do those things as God has equipped them and as He
has provided the opportunity. It is the Church's objective to equip
the saints to do these things. Now, if a church has the resources
and Christians want to use the organization of the church to help
accomplish some of these things that an individual would never be
able to accomplish alone, then that is proper. But for a church to
make it an expressed objective of the church itself is not Biblical.

What I don't see as an objective for the church is Evangelism. No
where is the church called to evangelize. All Christians are,
missionaries are, but the church is not. And since evangelism is
the root of the Evangelistic Church, there needs to be a major
change in focus. It is the church's Biblical objective to equip the
saints to evangelize. Only AFTER a person comes to the saving
knowledge of Jesus Christ should he/she be welcomed into the
church. This doesn't mean that we keep non-Christians from
entering our churches but if they do come it should be from their
own valition, not because they were invited. We have diluted
the Christian's responsibility from "making disciples" (leading
people to Christ personally) to simply inviting people to church
where the pastor can lead them to Christ. Only once in the Bible
is it mentioned that a person might come to know Christ at
church. ALL other times it is somewhere other than church. Even
as bizarre a place as a hill dedicated to a pagan god! And the
reality, even today, is that most people who are Christians were
not saved at church despite our best Evangelistic efforts. In a
rudimentary poll of the young people at my own church, not even
one was saved at church, not one! 0% is a pretty good indictment
of that method of evangelism! That is not to say that our church
is a total failure, its just to say that the conversions through our
church were happening the way God intended despite our focus
on doing it our way.

Therefore, why should we keep fighting for doing it our way
instead of trying to change back to what God intended and what
obviously works? I say we shouldn't, everyone who the Holy Spirit
touches about this subject should use the power they have to begin
to make the shift back to the Biblical objectives of the church. This
will be painful and will take a long time, even on the local level,
much less the national and international level but it needs to be
done nonetheless.

In closing, there was an article that I found very useful. You can
read it here:
http://www.solidrock.net/library/anderson/essays/discovering.the.purpose.of.church.meetings.php

The final two paragraphs sum it up so nicely. He also touches on
the idea that Worship is 24/7/365 in the life of a Christian through
obedience. This is the main focus of 2007 for my Youth Ministry.
This church is from a Calvinist background so they may consider
Nazarenes as heretics but if you can get past that, the main points
are awesome and there are lots of great Scripture references to
use in your consideration of this topic.

Please comment about this topic, as there is much to hash out as
far as what this should look like in the 21st Century. All I know, is
that the Holy Spirit has been bringing this back to me over and
over again, from many different angles and perspectives and the
urgency I feel from the direction of the church and the impact that
will have on this country and therefore the world is no longer
ignorable.

Thanks.

A Great New Year!

2006-12-31T15:45:00.000-06:00

I just returned from my planning meeting in Rapid City. Bismarck
received over a foot of snow on Saturday so the driving last night was
a little rough but we made it.

Myself and others from around North and South Dakota were in
Rapid City to plan the events for the next two years. 2007 is set and
2008 in the preliminary stages.

The entire experience was very good but the best point came late
Thursday night when the directors in charge of teen camp for 2007
met to discuss the theme of the camp. The direction brought to the
table by our District NYI President, Pastor Eric Bonness was
groundbreaking. He is fully in tune with the way teens are thinking
in this era and has began the design of a camp that should speak
directly to them in a new way, the way they think. There has been a paradigm shift in how teens and young adults view the world and
the need to change how we approach them and how we share the
Gospel is now more important than ever before. Pastor Eric not only
recognizes this but also has the courageto implement it. This may
be the most cutting edge camp in the USA this summer. Cutting edge
in steering teens towards orthodox Christianity.

I praised God that night for providing us in the Dakotas
with leadership that is in tune with the Holy Spirit and not afraid to
do something new with courage. As this idea developes over the next
couple months, I will keep posting about this topic with some
insights as to what we have planned for this summer's camp. It will
be one not to miss, for all the right reasons.

Spread the news.

Rapid City

2006-12-28T09:22:00.000-06:00

Today, I leave for Rapid City to attend a planning meeting for the
Nazarene Youth International Dakota District.  We will plan the
events for 2007.  I do not know what kind of time I will have or if
I will have access to the internet so I will post as soon as I can.

Enjoy the snow!

Review - The Nativity Story

2006-12-27T11:09:00.000-06:00

Being a Christian, I wanted to love this movie. However, being a Christian, there are lots of "Christian" things I want to love, but few that I do. The Nativity Story is one for the latter catagory. The landscape, productions, costumes, cinematography is all brilliant. Unfortunately, in this day and age, most movies can be lauded for this if any serious attempt is made. We are too far along in history for Christian films to be excused for poor quality because they are Christian so having these parts of the movie be brilliant does not give it points, only reaches to what is expected of every movie. So we must look at the acting, the story line and the script. The story line is, well, rather hemmed in since it is a story that we all know backwards and forwards and one where there is no allowance for departing from it. So that makes that task of making it exciting and compelling, that much harder. A bonus was that they did maintain a story line that was true to the actual story. Although, why they started with the murder of the innocents, I do not know. Well, I assume it was to get the movie moving with a scene that included some suspense but it seemed out of place and it didn't really have any suspense if you don't know what is happening or why. This is the one part of the story that most people probably don't get to when reading it at Christmas and most likely ignore because of its unsavory nature. So, to use it at the beginning seems to waste it and also dimishes it when we actually get to it again at the end of the movie. They really didn't tie it together well either. Which brings us to the screen play. It starts out, like I said, with the murder of the innocents but what is happening and why is vague so the tension that is desired is lacking. It doesn't last nearly long enough either. Which is a common theme throughout ths movie. They needed to cut down on pretty scenary and lengthen the dramatic and suspensful parts. By the time your emotions catch up with what is happening on the screen, the scene is over, leaving you bored. And we didn't really need to see Mary and Joseph traveling through every possible landscape and weather condition. One or two would have given us a good idea of the difficult nature of the journey and this could have been accomplished through the scenes that included an actual event such as the river crossing or the family with weak mule or several others. To try to make it seem as though the journey they were on was any more difficult than any journey that any person would take on a normal day in that period of time is a little disingenuous to me. The need for lengthening of a dramatic scenes happened time and time again. The opening scene, the scene where the kids are playing in the field, the scene when Mary is leaving to go to Elizabeth and the soldiers come through, the scene on the path with the weak mule, the scene of the river crossing, the scene when they arrive in Bethlehem, the scene when she gives birth, the scene with the shepherds and the final scene with the slaughter of the innocents. All of these scenes needed to be much longer and more suspenseful. The scenes with the angel were dreadful as well. These should have been almost frightening encounters. It seems to me that they wanted to keep this a movie that children could watch so they limited anything extreme. But they missed a great opportunity to graphically show the story as it was lived out. If Gibson had made this movie it would have been an R but it would have been moving, life changing and worth watching. As it is, it will be hard for me to get my kids to sit through it again each Christmas. Take the slaughter of the innocents, this event would have taken a large amount of soldiers, it would have totally disrupted the city and it would have taken quite a bit of time. It also would have affected, even the hardened Roman soldiers. Mary and Joseph would have needed a bit of time to leave since they had been there a couple years already or they would have needed to be much more secretive when they left if it had been while the soldiers were already in the town. The fear would have been immeasurable and the anguish from the town uncontrolled but none of this was shown at the end. It was the height of an anti-climax. And this attitude towards dramatic scenes permeated the entire film. The only scenes I felt went long enough were the tax collecting scene (although the extremely poor character developement up to that point made you miss all the drama concerning her father because you are not even sure who the guy is at that point), the scene where Mary is confronted by her parents and Joseph, and the scene when Mary and Joseph leave town. This last scene provides one of the best lines from a movie I have heard in a long time. I won't ruin it for you by telling you but listen for it. The scenes with the wisemen work well and bring some needed emotion (by way of humor) to the movie. Although, there are things that don't make sense even with these characters. When they are going through the narrow city streets they are devoid of the servants accompanying them. And, it seems to me that they would need a much larger party, including some military if they were to make such a long journey. The scene with the Pharisees in Jerusalem was a hugely missed opportunity for insight into the religious leaders mentality about the whole thing as well. I could go on forever, but let's get to the actors. I felt all the actors (accept the angel) did a decent job although often they were not given much to work with as far as the script was concerned. Everthing was too subdued. Mary had almost no emotion show on her face ever. Partly this could be due to the idea of her piety but mostly I think it was due to the words she was saying. They just didn't elicit emotion. There were only a few times where there was some fire to what was being said. In her discussion with her parents about the pregnancy, and when she told Elizabeth that she was nothing. That was a scene that escaped nearly everyone I spoke to about the movie, maybe because her face reflected none of the anguish she felt inside when she said it, which was a problem for Mary the entire movie. She seemed like a deer in the headlights most of the time. If that line had been uttered with more conviction and emotion it would have brought me to tears. The other part that I felt Mary did well was whe she came to the realization of what an amazing man Joseph was. You could see the love growing in her heart for this man she hardly knew. The wisemen were amazing, the highlight of the movie. Herod was drab and his son was, well, odd. And the scene when the wisemen bypassed Jerusalem on their way home reminded me of Monty Python's Holy Grail "On second thought, let's not go there...tis a silly place." But I digress. Overall it was hugely dissappointing and could have been so much more. Hopefully this will be a lesson to future Christian film makers to forego "family freindly" and stick to making a good movie. "The Passion of the Christ" this movie is not...and more passion is what we need.

Evolution, Calling God a Liar.

2006-12-26T09:13:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of Genesis we have a story that is presented to us
as literal.  That is the language that is used and it is what the writer
intended.  Yet, there are many, many people who call themselves
Christians who are taking on this idea that evolution, as explained
by Darwin (meaning evolution from one species to a different species)
is acceptable and that God started the process and here we are today.
And they are a lot of them. On a Christian forum recently, I read a
thread about evolution and outside of the guys in my band, there was
only one person who believed in the Creation Story as written in Genesis.
And these were all supposedly Chrisitans.

If someone comes to you and presents a story to you about an event
as fact, and you do not believe them, then you are effectively calling
that person a liar. Or at the very least, misinformed. Since MOST Christians wouldn't say that God is misinformed then the only
conclusion is that they feel God is a liar.  What they will say is that
they don't trust the people who wrote Genesis or the people who have
translated it over the years.  But God guarantees the keeping of His
Word and that His Word is true so again we get back to calling God
a liar.

They will bring up the existance of coal and oil as examples of the
earth being millions if not billions of years old. (I will not attempt to
disassemble every evolutionary argument, just that this one is used
often by Christians and applies to God specifically) But what they are
really saying is that while God is powerful enough to create the
universe and the planet and maybe even life, there is no way He could have created oil or coal in its present form. That is assinine. If we take Genesis at its word then everything that God created was in a certain state of developement to begin with. Adam, years into developement, likewise Eve. Plants and animals and the earth as a whole developed enough to sustain them.

Here is the crux of the issue. When a Christian starts out by saying
that the VERY FIRST story in the Bible is a total lie, then the rest of
the Bible becomes highly suspect and the judge is no longer God but
the reader. And when the reader becomes the ultimate authority,
then you have humanism/satanism. I am going to be so bold as to
say that Christians who beleive in the theory of evolution, regardless
of how they want to include God in the process, are actually worse
than humanists or satanists because these "christians" are not only
believing a lie but lieing to themselves about what they really believe. At least humanists and satanists are being intellectually honest about what they believe. They will say "I am on the throne of my life." but a "christian" will lie and say "God is on the throne of my life." when the things they espouse as truth prove that God isn't on the throne but they are.

If, somehow, someday, we find out irrefutably that evolution is true,
then that is the day I no longer believe in God and I throw the Bible
in the trash, for the two are not compatable with evolution. But I
am firm in my belief that day will never come, rather, the day will
come when all these "christians" will find out that God isn't a liar and
they will bend their knees and bow and then be met with the words
"I never knew you. Away from me you evildoers."
Then we will know who the REAL liar is.

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T14:17:00.000-06:00

That's really all I wanted to say today. I pray that this day will
cause you to strengthen your commitment to Christ.

It's Christmas!

2006-12-24T22:55:00.000-06:00

Well, today has been a very busy day.  And it is
not quite done yet but I thought I should wish
everyone a Merry Christmas.  While most of the
people I know celebrate Christmas on
Christmas Eve, for reasons which escape me,
my family still celebrates Christmas on Christmas
so tomorrow will start early and should be fun as
usual.  There is nothing like waking from our
dreamy little dreams and wandering into the
living room to find all the presents wrapped
under the tree.  We will start a new tradition
tomorrow of listening to the Christmas story from
a new set of dramatic MP3's of the New Testament.
Hopefully it will carry on for years to come.
Whether you celebrated Christmas tonight or you
will tomorrow, Merry Christmas to you.
Have a good night.

Don't Celebrate Christmas

2006-12-23T22:41:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and my Youth group will be performing
a drama in the morning in front of hundreds of people.  It will tell
the true meaning of Christmas as it is applicable to us now through
a couple of Old Testament characters.  When it is all said and done
there will be a Christmas Eve night service as well which will be
attended by even more people.  I am in charge of both services with
the absence of our Senior Pastor.  What I wish I could say is this:
If you are not a Christian, meaning that you have never accepted
God's free gift of Jesus Christ's sacrifice to pay the penalty of your
sins, then why are you celebrating Christmas?  If you have never
accepted the gift that was brought to you by the birth, death and
resurrection of Jesus then what exactly are you celebrating? A
good man? A cool teacher? What? If Jesus did not bring us salvation
from the penalty of our sin which is death and eternal seperation
from God, then He has brought us nothing and His birth is not worth
celebrating. So decide for yourself what you are celebrating in two
days. Are you celebrating the birth of your PERSONAL Saviour or
something else? If it is not the first but the latter, do everyone a
favor and don't celebrate Christmas this year. God tells us that He
desires obedience not sacrifice. Yeilding your life to Christ is
obedience, celebrating Christmas is sacrifice. But better yet, confess
your sin tonight, accept His payment of your debt and put your
Faith in God and then tomorrow begin the first real celebration
of Christmas of your life! What a Christmas present! And the
Angels will be celebrating with you!

Merry Christmas.

The Nativity Story, Pedophilia, and Holiness

2006-12-22T09:09:00.000-06:00

Now that I have your attention...
I figured I would start this thing out with a bang. I recently attended a showing of The Nativity Story (I will be posting
a review later).
One part got me thinking.  It got me thinking, of course, about
something I had thought about before but it made it relevant for the
moment. There was a scene towards the beginning where Mary is
coming from the fields through town and pass by Joseph and another
man of similar age (they looked to be upper twenties or early
thirties) and as she passes by, she catches their attention. They both
follow her with their gaze as she moves on down the street. The
man working with Joseph gives him some look and he is lightly
repremanded non-verbally by Joseph. It isn't quite clear whether
the man was relaying the message, "She sure is a pretty girl" or
something like "You're in love, aren't you?" My initial reaction
was the first but then I figured it must have been the second because
of the context of the movie but at the time it was difficult to
perceive correctly because you didn't know yet that was Joseph.
But what got me thinking immediately was that if that had happened
today, both of them would have been labeled as pedophiles.
Remember, Mary was about 14 years old.
That depends, of course, on what the age of consent is in your state
or country. I am only writing from a view or the US since I don't
know what the rest of the world thinks about this. But I digress.
Questions that have been raised to me before are things such as;
what is the difference between a girl who is 18 and a girl who is
one day shy of being 18? Or what is the difference between a 16
year old in Kansas and a 13 year old in Arkansas?
In observing men in many different situations, especially in the
warehouses or on the sales crews where the men seem to have less
scruples about this sort of thing and are more open to talk about it,
I have come to the conclusion that the majority of men in the US are
sexually attracted to teenage girls and younger.
A common refrain heard in these circles is the phrase "If she's old
enough to bleed, she's old enough for me." And I have heard on more
than one occassion someone chime in with the fact that she wouldn't
even have to be that old. There are never any rebuttals to this idea
from these groups of guys. In ages past (example: when Mary and
Joseph were around) societies readily accepted pre-teen and teenage girls suitable for marraige.  Some parts of the
world still work in this way.
So what has changed in a place like the US to make what was and is
in some places normal a crime so vile that one offense will affectively
ban a person from society for the remainder of his life?
You might be thinking 'This guy's a loon' even if you know me but hear
me out before making judgements like that.
The argument goes that girls are too young at that age to make a
proper choice and that may well be true. Certainly, life in the USA
in the 21st Century is a far more advanced and complicated society
than the world has ever known. And in the majority of these younger
marraiges the girls are not the ones making the decision. The
decision is made by an adult. So we have handed over the right to
decide to the girls but realize that girls that young are not able to
make a decision of that magnitude. Sounds reasonable.
However, if that is the case, why is the age 12 in some places yet
never older than 18 anywhere? If we are truly concerned about
maturity in big life decisions, shouldn't that age be set at 25? Or at
the very least 21? It is funny to me that the drinking age is 21 but
the age of consent is at the most 18. A girl can go and dance in an all nude strip club when they are 18 but if alchohal is served then
they have to wear cloths and they have to be 21.  A guy can go into
an all nude strip club when he is 18 but the other
club which is much less explicit, he cannot set foot in until he is 21.
Does any of that make any sense?
So we end up with a huge amount of guys in this country who are
naturally attracted to young girls from a young age themselves but
are villified for this normal attraction.
And we as a society develope these appitites. We dress our little
girls provocativley from a very early age with halter tops, mini skirts,
thigh high leggings, high heels, bikinis and shirts, sweats and panties
and thongs with phrases like"Eye Candy" or "Don't Touch" printed
on them.  We place our little girls on dance teams in skin tight
spandex and have them perform suggestive dance moves in front of
arenas full of teenage boys and men, young and old.  We release movie
after movie with kids speaking vulgarities, making jokes about sex and some even having sexual encounters (off screen) and movies with
as many bare breasted teens as possible.  We, at every level, from
Hollywood, to the music industry, to media, to clothing manufacturers, to marketing companies,
to our colleges, to our schools and even down to their very parents,
train these girls to be sexual objects and then these very same people
are shocked when sting operations bag hundreds of guys desiring sex
with a beautiful teenage girl.
I truly believe that if people knew the hearts of every man in
the world they would be stunned by the amount that would fall
into our definition of pedophile.

THE POINT

I understand that I took a long time to get here but I wanted to lay
out a very complicated situation to you.
We must, as a society, get back to holiness as a standard for our
young girls. From looking at history and accepted practices in other
parts of the world and indeed in this very country in the fairly recent
past, it is the purest of vanity to try to change men's attraction to
teenage girls. What needs to change is our view of sexuality and
our treatment of young girls and young women. We must return to
teaching our young girls their value beyond sex, modesty in dress
and actions, purity in thought, language and actions, the value of sex
in the safety of marraige, and the sacredness of the bonds of marraige.
And we must do this not only for the sake of our girls but also the
sake of our men.
How can we continue to preach to our children that sex whenever
and with whomever is is not only ok but desirable and parade our
young girls in front of men like so many peices of cake in front of a
diabetic and then become outraged when the outcome is pedophilia?
Our society is creating pedophiles and the scary part is that if history
is any kind of prognosticator, society will eventually view pedophilia
as an acceptable form of sexual activity because it refuses to part
with its own sexual perversions. We did away with a Creator because
Christianity subdued Darwin and his apprentice's sexual morays, we
did away with marraige because it hindered women's
rights, and we are doing away with heterosexuality because it
infringes upon the few who no longer want to live out their own
perversions of sexuality in the dark. Despite the almost violent
opposition that pedophiles face in today's society, even around the world,  I can hear the whispers of change coming.  It is too large of a
problem for law enforcement to deal with and there are millions
of men in this country who, when they read or see a report on a sting
know in their hearts that presented with the same opportunity, they
would give in as well.  And when that recognition turns into sympathy,
our society will be one huge step closer to Rome and one huge step
closer to our Fall.  In your own hearts, turn to Christ and seek a life
of Holiness and start standing up for holiness in the areas where
you have influence. The ways are far too extensive for me to list or
even possibly contemplate but that is for you to come up with.
Threatening legal action will not be effective.
A truth that everyone must learn (and it has taken me most of my
life to realize this) is that the only way to effectively change behaviour
is to change the heart.  So come at it from that angle.  Be kind, be
understanding but be firm.
Thank you for reading and your comments are valued.

p.s. I know that someone will be thinking that above, I
made an argument that men's attraction to young girls is
normal, the very thing I went on to warn against but when
the lifestyle of Biblical Holiness is applied, then no woman should be the object of lust in a man's heart
regardless of age.  A man will set aside these things for his
eventual wife.  Men's attractions are not the issue,
men's lust is.  So how then does that affect age of consent laws?
That is something I will touch on in another writing.