Yearly Archives: 2007

The Intrusive March of Technology

Does anyone else find musical ringtones annoying? You’re in a meeting, or a church service, and somebody’s phone goes off with a a vaguely familiar tune. It’s loud, and the person takes forever to silence the thing. A few weeks ago in church, we heard Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” several times (since the phone’s owner was out of the sanctuary at the time). Ringtones are like fonts–there are zillions available, and you’ve got to try them all. So the theory evidently goes.

But the advance of technology has now created something even more annoying. At BP stations, when you start pumping gas, a voice from a speaker at the pump intrudes into my personal space with verbal advertisements. Thankfully, you can hit a “mute” button to silence the voice, an option I always take (as I did this morning). But I find this intrusion to be entirely diabolical and evil.

I thought nothing could be more annoying than pop-up ads. Then along came ringtones, and now these spoken ads at BP stations. I can hardly wait to see what’s next.

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He Sounds Like a Democrat

I now officially like Mike Huckabee, who is running for President. I don’t endorse him, and may not vote for him. But I like him. Why? Because he plays bass in his church’s praise band.

Time magazine has a very interesting column by Joe Klein called The Second Commandment Republicans. Klein contrasts what he calls the “grace” views of Huckabee and Sam Brownbeck with the “condemnation” proclivities of Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, and Pat Robertson. I think that’s a bit simplistic and unfair, but there’s only so much you can do in a short column. And it does point out something worth pointing out.

Huckabee attends a church in Little Rock, Ark., which he describes as “very similar to Rick Warren’s. We’ve gone from 25 members to 5000 in eight years. Our focus has been to minister to people who were otherwise neglected….We are a multicultural, multiracial congregation, with rich and poor.”

I like that. I feel like Huckabee is a lot like me, and a lot like the new wave of Christian leaders, who emphasize causes that previously were the habitation of Democrats–concern for the poor, the environment, AIDS, etc. Rick Warren is perhaps the foremost person in this movement of new leaders, though he’s not particularly leading anything (except by example). It’ll take a long time for displace Falwell, Dobson, Robertson, et al, but the day is coming.

Klein mentions heaing Huckabee speak to the National Review’s Conservative Summit, and stressing his views on feeding the hungry and healthcare. A person told Klein, “I think he’s in the wrong party.”

We’ve got a highly committed Christian interested in the poor, and Republicans are saying he sounds ilke a Democrat–that he doesn’t belong in a Republican setting. Yes, there’s a change coming, and it’s a good one.

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Pink Panther, American Dragon, Easter Bunny

This really made me laugh. It’s from my brother Rick’s blog, Rick’s (not so) Deep Thoughts, and it concerns his young son, Cameron.

I was home alone with Cameron the other night and Dorene called. When I hung up the phone, Cameron asked me who it was. I said, “It was the Pink Panther.” Cameron said, “He’s not real, who was it?” I said, “It was the American Dragon” (a cartoon Cameron likes). Again, Cameron said, “He’s not real, who were you talking to?” I then said, “The Easter Bunny,” to which Cameron replied, “He’s real, but you weren’t talking to him.”

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Messing with Genes for a Good Cause

R. Albert Mohler Jr., the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky, opened up a can of worms. He said that if a gene is found that controls sexual orientation, he would support efforts to alter that gene inside the mother’s womb, thereby changing a person from a homosexual to a heterosexual. He likened it to supporting “any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin.”

So is he saying that homosexuality is genetically based? That that’s how “God made me”? Such an admission will upset some Christians, who view homosexuality as changeable behavior. (Please, I’m not making any personal statement on the subject–just reporting what I read.)

But beyond that, it raises lots of ethical questions. What about doing other gene tampering with unborn fetuses–increasing intelligence, enhancing athletic ability, decreasing any disposition to violence? All kinds of possibilities arise. Since the avoidance of temptation is an issue, how about cutting the sex drive of all humans, regardless of sex or sexual orientation, while they are still in the womb?

The thing is, before I depart this earth, these issues will have gone beyond theory. People will actually have listings in the phone book as “Meddler in Human Genetics.”

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Among the Mennonites

Tonight we held our fourth community Lenten service, this one at the Mennonite church. I had never before really noticed the Church of Christ, the Presbyterian church, or this Mennonite church. Nor have I noticed the Methodist church where we’ll be next week. That’s pretty sad. These are fellow churches trying to reach our community, and I’ve been insulated from them. Sad.

But we’re getting past that. We’re learning a lot about each other, and that we have much in common.

I appreciated the Mennonite pastor and what he told us about Mennonite history and beliefs. Their pacifist stand is, obviously, a central piece of their puzzle. I do appreciate how the Mennonites are consistent in their pro-life ethic, as opposed to us “Republican evangelicals” who mix-and-match, depending on what our religious leaders tell us to believe–be anti-abortion but pro-death penalty, for instance. The Mennonites are consistent.

We United Brethren, with half of our roots being in the Mennonite tradition and half in the German Reformed, like it both ways when it comes to military service: it’s okay to fight, and it’s okay to be a conscientious objector. Me? There are aspects of pacifism that I just can’t reconcile (like: “How should we have responded to Pearl Harbor?” and other questions that Mennonites probably get tired of hearing). I’m fine with “just war” scenarios (yes to Afghanistan, no to Iraq, though I favored going there initially). I guess if I spent more time with Mennonites and heard their responses to my objections, understanding might occur. Heaven forbid.

I didn’t realize the “diaspora” element of being a Mennonite. To avoid compulsory military service, their people have moved from country to country. One nation might exempt them from military service, but a century later, some new regime takes over that “knows not Joseph.” And so, they have to either find a new country, or accept military service. That was very interesting to me.

These five churches are holding a joint Vacation Bible School for the second year. Last year it was at the Presbyterian church. This year the Mennonites will host it.

As we all ate together in their downstairs fellowship hall, it struck me that many people, particularly fundamentalists, would be highly suspect of what we’re doing. That amidst ecumenicalism, compromise and watering-down inevitably happens. Even some of you readers are looking at this warily. Aren’t you?

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My First Ping Pong Tournament

Today I played in my first table tennis tournament, a big annual tourney in South Bend, Ind. Since I am unrated (you need to play in a sanctioned tournament to get a rating with the USA Table Tennis association), I played in the two lower categories, for persons rated under 1000 and under 1200.

They put you in groups of four, and you play a round robin–three matches, best of five games each. Whoever wins that table advances to the next round. Unless you’re unrated, in which case you can’t advance. Such was my lot. I won my table in both categories, the under 1000 and under 1200 (actually had much tougher competition in the under 1000). So I felt quite pleased with myself.

My toughest competition came from two girls–or, one teenage girl (who beat me) and a thirty-something woman who took me to a fifth game and I had to come from behind. We don’t have any females in the Fort Wayne club.

So it was an interesting, fun experience for me. Next tournament, I’ll be able to advance after winning my table (should that happen again).

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Some Good Celebrity Attention on Refugees

TravelsBook.jpgYou may be surprised by the author I am about to recommend: Angelina Jolie. Yes, that Angelina, the Hollywood wild-child. Lately she’s been getting some attention because of her role as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees. I’ve been aware of that for some time. Her movie “Beyond Borders,” with Clive Owen co-starring, involved UNHCR work in Ethiopia, Cambodia, and Chechnya. The DVD extras, spotlighting refugee crises in the world, were illuminating.

Then I read her 2003 book, Notes from My Travels. It’s wonderful–just observations, journal-style, from travels to Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan, and Ecuador. She travels without an entourage–just herself, meeting up with UN people, and often finding herself in potentially dangerous places. Her eye for meaningful detail is impressive. She doesn’t take potshots at America, as you expect celebrities to do. She doesn’t pontificate, doesn’t act like an expert. She just writes what she sees, and with great humility and compassion. And it’s fascinating.

jolie.jpgIn the book’s third paragraph, as she prepares for her first foreign visit–to Sierra Leone, in West Africa–she writes:

“I honestly want to help. I don’t believe I am different from other people. I think we all want justice and equality. We all want a chance for a life with meaning. All of us would like to believe that if we were in a bad situation, someone would help us….I don’t know why I think I can make any kind of difference. All I know is that I want to.”

I was skeptical initially. But she won me over with this passage from a stopover in the Ivory Coast, while en route to Sierra Leone. She is standing in a marketplace, watching people.

“Contrary to our image of this country, it’s people are civilized, strong, proud, stunning people. Any aggressive feeling is pure survival. There is no time for casual or lazy behavior.

“As I wrote that, I realized I am writing as if I am studying people in a zoo.

“I feel stupid and arrogant to think I know anything about these people and their struggles.”

I think of church people I’ve heard, returning from a two-week trip to build a church in Honduras or Jamaica, talking as if they are now experts on that country and have the people thoroughly psycho-analyzed. Jolie avoids any such pretense throughout the book.

Here are some other excerpts.

  • After noting that many of the children in one African refugee camp have scabies: “I would rather get infected than to ever think about pulling my hands away from these little children.”
  • “I can’t imagine what a mother or father or even a husband or wife feels when the people they love most in the world are suffering, and there is nothing they can do. When a mother can’t feed a child. When a father can’t provide for his family. When a husband can’t protect his wife.”
  • While starting her second trip, this one to Cambodia: “I am embarrassed to realize (and to admit) how much I was able to return to my life after Africa….It’s easy to make phone calls and send letters and funds from the comfort and safety of your own home. Maybe I think I should feel guilty for my ability to come and go from these places when others have no choice. I know one thing. I know I appreciate everything more. I am so grateful for my life.”
  • In Cambodia: “We drive beside horse-drawn carts. The horses seem little and skinny. It makes me wonder if animal-rights activists would be upset–probably just sad. It’s strange how sometimes it seems some people care more for their animals than the poor family next door.”
  • In Pakistan, commenting on women wearing full-body burkas. “No one can make eye contact with each other. Children cannot see their mother’s expressions. No individuality–no self–and it is very hot. I bought one and tried it on. I felt like I was in a cage. They are horrible.”
  • In Pakistan: “Some people complain and say UNHCR should do more to help the refugees. This is hard for the staff to hear. These people simply don’t understand the limited funds and cutbacks. As one staff member said, ‘People can complain about us around the world, and governments can criticize our programs. But every day we continue to come face-to-face with hungry, sick people who feel it is up to us to help them.”

She tells the heart-breaking stories of dozens of refugees, with detail that you only pick up when you’re listening intently. Stories of dedicated UN workers, stories of refugee camps. Her observations from Cambodia’s “Genocide Museum” were gut-wrenching.

The book also reminded me of the importance of the United Nations. In the US, right-wing pundits continually say the UN is worthless, that the US should get out. Yes, the UN is seriously flawed and idiotic things happen (just as idiotic things happen in the US Congress). But the UNHCR works in 120 countries, serving 20 million people who are invisible to the rest of the world, people who depend on the UN (including US dollars) for survival. Would God be pleased if America pulled out of the UN, and left so many dispossessed people without any advocates?

Anyway, it’s quite a book. Angelina Jolie doesn’t pretend to be a Christian, but the type of stuff she does, and her spirit amidst it, certainly shows the attitude a Christian should have. And then we just have to figure out the other side, the Hollywood marriage-busting vixen. People often have two sides, I guess, including us church-goers. I just know that I’d gladly hear her speak, but wouldn’t walk across the street to hear Sean Penn or Michael Moore.

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Poor Sanjayah

I feel downright sad for Sanjayah. The poor kid knows he shoulda been gone a long time ago, and that he’s only in because of jokesters. He’s trying his best, but he just doesn’t have it. Yet he keeps getting voted to the next round. I’m guessing he’ll be greatly relieved when he’s finally let go…or IF he’s finally let go. I’m sure Simon’s nightmare is that his record company would have to try to make a star out of Sanjayah if he won the whole thing. It’s nice, at least, that tonight the cameras weren’t turned to Simon, Randy, and Paula when Sanjayah was told he’s staying once again; we had two weeks of their open-mouthed gasps, and that was enough.

I wish the people who vote for Sanjayah would take this more seriously. And yet, It’s sad, even pathetic, that Steve Dennie takes American Idol so seriously.

So much for this week’s fluff report.

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Ministry Disappointments

Last night was one of those disappointing ministry experiences. I talked to five young men in our church, all twenty-something, about getting together to talk about things related to the Christian life. They all said they were interested.

I was very excited about this. For the first meeting, I just planned to walk them through the bridge illustration, to determine their understanding of the gospel message.

I showed up at the church at 6 pm, anxious but a bit nervous. And waited. And waited. Nobody showed up.

I’ve had this happen before in ministry. You get all excited about something, and nobody shows. Or the one person you really wanted to be there doesn’t show up. This stuff just goes with the territory. You realize that after it happens so many times, but you never enjoy it.

At our previous church, after Pam and I moved out of our apartment and bought a house, we were excited about hosting our Sunday night small group, which had about eight couples. We spent the weekend cleaning, bought plenty of snacks, and had everything ready, anxious to show off our new abode. And nobody showed up. Every couple in the group found something else to do that night. Yeah, that one stung big-time.

But last night–that didn’t sting. It was just a huge disappointment. The stakes are high on this one, much higher than just showing off a new house. So I’ll connect with the guys again, and we’ll try next Monday night. Again. I really want this to happen. And maybe I’ll spend a bit more time in prayer about it this week. That wouldn’t hurt.

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Sharing Dessert with Our Presbyterian Brethren

We just got back from Grace Presbyterian Church. Five churches in our community are hosting a Sunday night get-together during the Lenten season, and tonight–the third week–was Grace’s turn. They’re part of the Presbyterian Church USA.

They have a woman minister, which is a problem with a lot of people in my denomination. But not with me, and not with my church. Pastor Barb is a wonderful person with a sharp sense of humor. During the question and answer time, she gave a superb answer to the question, “How to Presbyterians explain pre-destination?” (It was evidently a planted question designed to stump her, but she was game.)

The Presbyterians also put out the biggest spread. This is supposed to be just a soup supper, to keep it simple. But they pulled out the stops with the dessert table. Wow, what a feast! I had one bowl of vegetable barley soup, and then hit the dessert table several times.

I thoroughly enjoy these folks. My denomination began when a German Reformed minister and a Mennonite minister, sensing that they shared the same heart for God, embraced and said, “We are brethren.” Well, that’s how I feel about these Presbyterians.

It’s tragic that in so many communities, churches located near each other don’t make any efforts to get acquainted. The pastors may get together, but the congregations keep their distance. But as we’ve discovered with these five heretofore-unknown quantities in our neighborhood, churches of different denominations are much more alike than they realize. Pastor Barb talked about their structure, how they have elders and deacons who serve for life, and all of this was totally foreign to me–very different ways of doing things. But nothing I found disagreeable. They have a strong process for identifying and shepherding persons who feel called to the ministry–something that is a huge weakness in my denomination.

And as Barb talked about God’s Word, and about people coming to faith in Christ–this is what it’s all about, and, indeed, “We are brethren.”

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