Labor Day Weekend Sucks

Seriously.

One of the things that sucks about working in the “Hospitality” business is that you have to work all the hours no one else is working so that the people who are not working can enjoy their time off.

Servanthood?

Yeah, and mokeys will fly out of my butt!

12-11:30pm Friday night.

Saturday off (Laura works, though, and the kids are gone..blah)

7-4 Sunday

5-3 Labor Day

And, while I’m complaining, why the heck do they call it “Labor” Day when just about every friggin American has it O F F !!??  Shouldn’t it be manditory that NO ONE work this day?  Can’t Big Gov help me on this one?  Everyone gets a paid day off on L A B O R day?

Oh well, at least I have Thanksgiving to look forward too…oh wait, I’ll be working then too!!

Christmas, though…yeah, I get that day off, but not Christmas Eve and not the day after either!  Nice.

New Years Eve?  Nope.

Easter!  Surely I will have Resurrection Sunday…No?  Oh, okay, guess I should work then too, so all the worshippers will have a place to friggin eat!

Arrggghhh!!!

Anyway, just whinnin a little before I end my evening.  It’s my job.  I enjoy it (at times) and for now it’s paying the bills (sort of).

Obama’s Acceptance Speech

Did you see it?

Did you wish you were there?

85,000+ in attendance.

This man has started a movement.

I think I want to be apart of it.

C H A N G E

H O P E

OBAMA 08

What If?

When I was a kid there used to be a comic book series that was called “What If?” And they would do “what if” stories like, “What If Norman Osborne had been bit by the radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker?”  They were cool.

So, while thinking about a conversation that Corey and I had at lunch the other day, as well as religious talk at work, I wondered “What if someone took the Bible, ignored the religious movements of America, and just followed, to the best of their understanding, what Jesus had to say?”

What would that look like?

What would this person do?

Etc??

I used to wonder this all the time, even out loud, when I was pastoring.  And, the conclusion I came to and still come to is that it would look radically different than what we see as modern Evangelical Christianity today (or ever).

I don’t even think it would look like First Century Christianity, for that matter.

Why?  Two words: Apostle Paul

The early church was shaped, to much, like him.  Instead of Christianity, Paul created, implemented, and oversaw, Paulianity.

Or, did Paul just contextualize Jesus’ teachings in a Roman/Greek society that was expanding and changing faster than it ever had?

Just thinking outloud tonight, I think.

So, what do you think?  What if?  What if people just took the words of Jesus and ran with them?  What if church people did this?  What if Christians thought of their Christianity outside of the context of their Christianity?  What if people made Jesus their Rabi and followed him?

Hysteria

Someone commented on the new header pic for my blog.

Right straight from the cover of Def Leppard’s 4th album (sorry, I’m old), Hysteria.  Hysteria is one of the top selling albums of all time, and had 7 top 10 hits!  It truly is one of the greatest albums I have ever heard.

My favorite track is “Hysteria”.  It’s a song that I can hear every day and not get sick of.  It’s a song that when I hear it it takes me back to my teen years, and just fills me with all sorts of weird, fun, fantastic feelings and memories.

It is also the song that Laura and will dance to at our wedding.

It’s our song.

Hysteria when you’re near…

Blame Game: It’s YOUR Fault!

I worked with someone once who’s parent had to go to jail for their drinking.  This parent had a serious drinking problem, multpul DUIs, etc.  So, he ended up doing a lot of time for it.  Here’s the catch:

My co-workers testimony about this person’s drinking helped land him the prison sentence.

This co-worker told me once, feeling guilty, that her parent blamed this person for their being in prison.

It’s YOUR fault, my co-worker was informed.  This co-worker semi-believed it.  After all, it was their parent saying this.

I said to my co-worker, “How in the hell coult it be your fault!?  Did you hold the drink to their mouth and make them drink?  Did you give them the keys and make them drive drunk, multipul times?”

NO.  That was their answer, repeatedly.  NO.

“Then,” I asked, “How can it be your fault?”

“I guess it isn’t,” the co-worker replied.

“You guess..?”

“It isn’t my fault,” was the confident response.

See, people who have done wrong some times loose site of the fact that they did the wrong.  Especially if others are involved in their being busted, caught, exposed, detoxed, pulled over, picked up, etc.  They try to blame someone else for their wrong.  Because they got caught, because they are now feeling the consequences of their actions, they blame the ones whom they feel are responsible.

Too, bad, because, I think true healing only begins when you become honest and blame the real culprit.

8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. (1 John 1:8-10)

I believe this parent would be more free, and could be forgiven, and redeemed if he were to be absolutely honest with himself and with those whom he sinned against.  He should have said, “I have sinned.  I drank.  I drove.  I have ruined my kids life.  I have done these things.  What happens to me I fully deserve and probably more.”

When there is honesty there is healing.

When there is honesty there is forgiveness.

When there is honesty there is mercy.

None of these things exsist without honesty.

Fantasy Football: Draft Night

Corey and I met at Big B’s in Gaylord to facilitate our leagues draft night.  We linked up with the Fruitport guys via Google Docs and away we went.

I drafted 4th.

We did ten rounds and it took 2 hours and changing location to McDonald’s to get it done, but we did it!  (Note: Why don’t places that serve BEER have WIFI!???)  Anyway, I tried to follow Brian’s advice about “doing the opposite” but ended up going RB, WR, QB.  I figured if I could grab one of the top two QB’s in round 1 I was going to do it.  Well, the two guys in front of me had the same mentality (who doesn’t).

So here’s how I drafted:

Round 1 – B. Westbrook

Round 2 – T.O.

Round 3 – M. Hasselback (again!  Agrhh – actually, Hassle was very solid for me last year)

And from there I don’t remember.  Here’s how I ended up:

QB: Hassleback, K. Warner, T. Edwards

RB: B. Westbrook, T. Jones, J. Norwood

WR: T.O., Coles, D. Mason, Toomer

TE: Witten, D. Clark

K: Stover

DST: Indie, Detroit

As it stands right now I have a much better team then I did last year.  I think I’ll probably be up for some trades here after weeks 1 & 2 and then settle in for the long hall.  Brent, I have you in my sites…

Jesus fails to qualify as our Sacrifice or as our Messiah

To get Jesus to a point where he can be both a human sacrifice and a retuning Messiah Warrior-King (as in the book of Revelation); the Jewish concepts of both Messiah and sacrifice had to be totally degraded and forcibly hooked together.

Says Harry McCall, contributer to the blog, Debunking Christianity, which has been created

for the purpose of debunking Evangelical Christianity. We are ex-Christians, ex-ministers, and even ex-apologists for the Christian faith. We are now freethinkers, skeptics, agnostics, and atheists. With the diversity of our combined strengths we seek to debunk Christianity.

McCall lays out four main arguements based on Hebrew sacrifical law as to why Jesus as a sacrifice would not be acceptable.  His sacrifice does not fit the pattern, nor practice of the sacrfices in the Pentatuch.

the theology and concept of Jesus as a sacrifice to God to atone for all the world’s sin is a totally a foreign and perverted concept to the Hebrew Torah.

The Apostle Paul is made out to be the author, or one forceable hooking these two ideas of Jesus both being a sacrifice (while ignoring sacrifical laws) and the Messiah-King.  McCall says in his conclusion,

the whole concept of Jesus as either a sacrifice or the Messiah is a total perversion of both historical Jewish concepts. It’s little wonder the disciples really never could figure out just who Jesus was or what he was up to.  By contrast, it was Paul, a man who most likely never saw or heard Jesus in the flesh, who systematized the theology of the early church in order to save it and make it function

While laying out the Hebrew laws and rituals and how Jesus’ death follows none of them, McCall also details the Hebrew mindset of a Messiah/King, and how Jesus’ teachings would not have fit that, but rather leaned more toward the outcast Hebrews, the Hellistic Jews, way of thinking, which was modern by account.  He also shows that because of how Paul merged, and deformed, these ways of thinking in order to make them work, the Gospel can only be presented with the usage of the New Testament writings, and not the Synoptic Gospels alone.

By contrast, it was Paul, a man who most likely never saw or heard Jesus in the flesh, who systematized the theology of the early church in order to save it and make it function. Thus, no “Plain of Salvation” can be taught from the Synoptic Gospels, but certainly from Paul’s letters (especially his final account of Romans) that are load with a systematic theology of salvation.

The whole article can be considered here.

Quickies

I don’t have time to blog like I’d want to lately, so here’s a couple quickies to look through…

First, David Philip is rockin!  He’s so funny.  The noises and faces he makes are hilarious.  The kids and Laura and I have so much fun with him.  He’s 12 pounds now, and so we’ve moved up in diaper size.  Let the spending being.

Enjoyed the beach for the first time with the kids this summer last week.  I didn’t enjoy the cries of “beached whale” when I laid down on the blanket, but who does.

Speaking of weight.  Several people at work were amazed to find out that I was 255 pounds.  A lot of them throught I was about 210-215.  Either their are being nice or they are nieve.  I’ll pick nice.  Nice pondo people.

Hosting our poker league game at mi casa tonight.  Should be fun.  Hoping to have home court advantage.  If that doesn’t work I have 4.6 hours of good ole eighties hair-band music to cause everyone to loose interest and fold to me, the eventual winner of tonights contest!  Yesss!!!

Performed a wedding last Friday for two people I used to work with a BK.  Ah, the ole BK days… Ron and Ashley, I wish you nothing but joy and happiness!  Wish I could have made to your party tonight, but alas, I must answer the swan song of my mistress, Texas Hold-em.

Work has been work lately.

I have been pondering becoming a teacher.  I can’t shake it.  I want to do it.  But, I have come to realize that I’m not sure what I want to do.  Actually, if there was a sure subject I’d like to teach, then I think I would jump on in.  But, I also have Laura’s dreams to consider, and right now all she’s wanting is another kid!!!

Seriously, why do women do this.  They have a kid and then for the next several months they talk about having “another one”.  What!?  You just got this one!  If I bought my kid a new car and in a month he said he wanted a new one I’m not sure if he’d make it to his next birthday!  She wants to have another kid after we are married.  To quote her, “I want to have at least one legitimate child in my life!”  Hilarious.  I love her sense of humor…

…you were joking, right baby?

Oh, and a quick rant before I go.

Why do so many people think Christianity can be reformed?  I’m hearing so much of this it makes me sick.  Seriously.  Sick.  The church is bad, but…NO!  There is no buts!  The church is bad.  Period.  It may have some good things in it.  Hell, my shit has corn in it some times, but that doesn’t make it eatable!  (Did I just say that?!)  My point is: the only way it’s going to get better is if you follow your heart, leave it behind, and do what Jesus said.  Afterall, didn’t HE come to reform…?

August…4 years ago I began to blog

Yup, 4 years ago I began this blog.

What  has August held for me over the last four years…

August 07′:

- Adultery

- Justice

August 06′

- Lots of church planting stuff cause I was in the middle of The Prodigal Project

August 05′

- Bloody Sunday

- Dirty Little Secret

- Silklantern Pictures (anyone remember Silklantern???)

August 04′

- The post that started it all…