This morning as I sat in a dentist chair, I looked out upon some really big, fancy houses in one of Fort Wayne’s upscale developments. I always wonder, “Who lives there? How do they make their money? Lawyer? Doctor? Business executive?”

I used to want a house like that. Now that we could actually afford one, I don’t want one. I think that may be a mark of some measure of maturity. Who woulda thunk.

We could make it work, if we really tried (and wanted to). We could tighten belts. We could give away far less money (all God really cares about is 10%, right? So why give more?). Don’t worry about staying out of debt. Right now, house and cars are our only debts. We’ve kept even with credit cards for over ten years now, paying off our balances every month, and it’s a great feeling and a stress-releaver. But hey–we could loosen up there, like everybody else.

Houses are seductive. They entice you to get just a little bit more (“That room is so nice, and after all, this is where we spend most of our time. We’ll be able to handle the extra cost,” you rationalize).

But attending a low-income church has put so many things in perspective, and now Pam and I are often embarrassed by the “extravagance” of our simple ranch-style home with the basement and two-car garage. It’s very ordinary, but to many people, it’s like one of those homes on the golf course.

So I looked out at those homes from the dentist’s chair, and I thanked God for my contentment. Contentment doesn’t come easily when you live in Aboite, surrounded by wealth. Or when you live in America, period. But the only discontent I feel is that we’re living too high, and I’m glad I feel that way.

Every day I receive requests to be put on our denominational email list, so that people can receive news updates. These come through the denominational website which I manage. The thing is, most of these requests come from places like Nigeria, Pakistan, Namibia, and Zambia. In earlier years, I would respond nicely to such requests. Now I simply delete them. Cold, I know.

Today I received a request from a fellow in Louisiana who wanted to be put on our email list. He explained his desire with this note: “I’m looking for a honest lady. its not the reason i go to church. but its better then going to any bars, ect.”

I hadn’t considered the idea of creating a denominational dating service. That seems like a worthy tool for a conservative evangelical denomination as it pursues fulfilling the Great Commission. I’m sure that we do have, in our churches, a good many honest ladies.

The latest Time magazine included a “God Vs. Science” dialogue between Richard Dawkins, an atheist, and Francis Collins (right), a Christian who headed up the human genome mapping project. Collins is an interesting fellow. He’s not a literal seven-day creationist and holds old-earth views, which places him in opposition to our fundamentalist brethren (and perhaps a majority of UBs). I’m very intrigued with and drawn to his views, and I appreciated his spirit in this dialogue. Dawkins came off as very combative and close-minded, whereas the Christian was courteous and more open-minded on things. Interesting.

At one point, Dawkins suggests that Collins “cease to give [Fundamentalists] the time of day. Why bother with these clowns?”

Collins responds, “I think we don’t do a service to dialogue between science and faith to characterize sincere people by calling them names. That inspires an even more dug-in position. Atheists sometimes come across as a bit arrogant in this regard, and characterizing faith as something only an idiot would attach themselves to is not likely to help your case.” Touche!

A bit later, Dawkins suggests that Christians are lazy and lacking in scientific credibility. Collins replies, “I would challenge the statement that my scientific instincts are any less rigorous than yours. The difference is that my presumption of the possibility of God and therefore the supernatural is not zero, and yours is.”

I loved it! Collins was showing that the atheist was the close-minded, dug-in person because he refused to accept the possibility of a supernatural world. Elsewhere, he said because scientists are restricted to the physical world–what they can see, hold, and measure–they can’t truly weigh-in regarding God, because God isn’t restricted to the physical world.

It’s great seeing a Christian like Francis Collins show, to hard-core scientists, that God and science are not incompatible. Unfortunately, many Christians would shun Collins because he accepts the idea that God might have created the world through evolution. I, too, hold that view. The difference is that I would get demolished if asked to defend that view around anyone with a halfway decent IQ.

• Little yappy dogs.
• Spicy hot food.
• Putting up Christmas lights.
• Hockey.
• Tank tops.
• Movies involving the occult.
• Stupid subdivision rules, like you can’t have a shed.
• Prepositional phrases.
• Fussing over biblical prophecy.
• Winters with snow. I loved living in Arizona.
• FOX News (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bush Administration).
• People who chew with their mouth open.
• Splash pages on websites.
• Upscale Christian colleges. Like the Bush Administration, they broaden the gap between the rich and poor, haves and have-nots.
• Drummers who try to sing (Ringo, Phil Collins, Don Henley…).
• Clams.
• Nancy Grace. Like fingernails on a blackboard.
• People who drive Hummers. They shouldn’t be allowed to breed.
• Obnoxious ringtones. The cuteness factor wore off years ago.
• Mail-in rebates. Don’t make me jump through hoops to get a discount.
• Dress shoes.
• Blood tests. I’m a wimp.
• Anything but the aisle seat on airplanes.
• Dress shoes.
• Singing choruses over and over.
• Tomato juice.
• Restrictions on how women can serve in a church.
• Choosing teams. Requires that someone get chosen last.
• Gas stations that make you pay inside. I won’t use them.
• KMart and CVS Pharmacies.
• Hotels with outdoor access to rooms.
• Pipe organs.
• Email forwards which still contain all the header crap from previous senders.
• Call waiting. It’s just plain rude.
• Taco pizza.
• Attending Sunday school in a church I’m visiting.
• People who talk on cell phones in restaurants.

On my flight from Chicago to Phoenix last Wednesday, I sat next to an early-twentysomething couple who spoke to each other in a language which I tentatively guessed was Italian. Which turned out to be right (I asked the guy at the end of the flight). The guy was an American from Chicago, but he and his wife now live outside of Milan, and she’s Italian. She read an English magazine during the flight, and he helped her with some words.

At one point she stopped reading, turned to him, held up the magazine while pointing to a paragraph of text, and asked, “What does ‘the heebee-jeebies’ mean?” He had an immediate response in Italian. I couldn’t come up with a response in English. The willies? Something that freaks you out?