Today I came across this article in the NY Times paper.  The title "Flock is Now a Fight Team in some Ministries".  The article lays out the details of several ministries oriented around the idea of fighting.  They promote the idea that Jesus was a fighter, not a wimpy boy. 

To be honest, I am a fan of MMA fighting.  Perhaps it is a weakness of mine, a character flaw.  But I grew up as a huge Pro Wrestling fan, and when I discovered this later in life as an adult, I instantly gravitated toward it. 

However, I do have my concerns.

Is this sport pushing the boundaries too far?  When I think about MMA fighting, and I think about the push to have a certain serial killer executed on Pay Per View a few years back, I wonder if we are becoming almost a Roman culture of death in the arena.  How far is it before something like MMA gets pushed to a further limit?  Will it happen?  I certainly hope not.  While I enjoy the technique and aggression of MMA, I often find myself wondering whether this is an indulgence of my flesh.

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Have you seen the new Nextel Blackberry commercial?  This commercial is brilliant.  It is not brilliant because it is made so well (although the production value seems good to me).  It is not brilliant because of the product (although I hear Blackberrys are great phones).  It is brilliant because of the story it tells.

Have you noticed all of the best or most memorable commercials tell a story.  There is the old Nextel commercial where people get married quickly utilizing their Nextel phones or the one where the businessmen cut a deal quickly because of their phones.  But this one is even more brilliant.

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Yesterday, I noticed some commentary floating around Facebook about The Manhattan Declaration, and how several conservative theologians are unwilling to sign it (R.C. Sproul, John Piper, and John Macarthur).  In case you are unaware of the Manhattan Declaration, it is essentially a statement that affirms the sanctity of life, the meaning of marriage, and the nature of religious liberty. 

The attempt of this document is to unite believers from Evangelical, Catholic, and Orthodox backgrounds together to affirm that the aforementioned are values we affirm and are common to these various branches of Christianity.

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During the Holidays from Thanksgiving to Christmas, we are typically very aware of the needs of the poor.  We often utilize this time to help those with extra needs.  I applaud this sense of desiring to help.  But the other day, as I was reading in Matthew, I began to think a bit about another kind of poverty.
Jesus states in Matthew 5, “blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”

As I think through this, I have to wonder, what is “poor in Spirit?”  I found some commentary here, and I begin thinking that poverty of spirit has more to do with what one thinks they have rather than poverty in finances, etc.

In other words, when we think we have it all together spiritually, that we are a spiritual leader, when we have a good understanding or mastery of the Gospel, we may actually be far from God. However, when we are humbled, knowing that we are not “the stuff”, we are able to see some glimpses of God’s Kingdom, the one on earth here and now.  

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If you have read any of my previous posts as of late, you will realize that not long ago, my wife and I left Southern California in order to move to the wonderful land of Boise, Idaho.  We love it here so far, but it is really hard to change.  So many times, I have looked back (as if to Egypt) remembering all of the good things I had, and how good I had it.

Although my desire is not to go back, it is easy to remember the good, and forget the bad, while focusing as much on the hard things where I am at.  When I really think about it, I just don't care for discomfort.  Anyone relate?  There are times when I just would much rather be complacent and comfortable.

We miss our friends and the familiarity of the old place.  And it is hard to learn new ways around, find new stores and restaurants, etc.  It is hard to make new friends.  It is hard to stretch ourselves.

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It is a tough flu season this year, and many are going to get their shots.  My family is just getting over two weeks straight of the flu.  But what does a shot do anyway?  Basically, in non-technical terms, the vaccine shot introduces a bit of the flu into your system so that your system can build up immunities to the flu.  Seems like a good idea, kind of a “fight fire with fire” type of thing.  Give them a bit of the bad stuff that you don’t want them to get.

But there is another way to get vaccinated (at least partially).  Get the Flu.  Some would advise one to get a flu shot even if you have had the flu, but many others would ask, “why bother?”  Most would agree that if one has had the flu this season, they have a fairly decent chance of not getting it again, because their system has built up the necessary anti-bodies to fight off a second flu attack.

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Today I began a task that I have procrastinating on for a long time.  Today I began to go through my dad’s sermon files.  Since most of you do not know much about me personally, please let me briefly explain.  About seventeen and a half years ago, my dad died.  He was only 43 years old, and died very unexpectedly in a single car accident.  He was also the senior pastor of our church.  Aside from the obvious difficulty this had on our church, it also tore a hole in me personally.

After his death, my mom and I packed up his sermons in a file cabinet (which was later transferred into filing boxes).  Those sermons have sat essentially untouched until today.  I am only halfway through the first of eight boxes, and am already blessed, amazed and drained.

My dad left a legacy packed up in these boxes.  Reading stories of my own life used in illustrations, most of which I don’t remember, was very surreal and took me back to times and places I haven’t thought of in years.  Reading through sermons on discipleship, prayer, heaven, hell, love, and marriage reminded me of the depth of faith and love my dad had in Jesus whom he served.

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Hello faithful few who read my blog.  I will be beginning a couple different series of blog entries in the next week (one on church signage and one on theology of children’s stories) but I wanted to share a cool story from this last weekend first.

This last weekend, I had a very unique privilege.  I had the opportunity to officiate a wedding for a couple people I didn’t really know.  We met in an unusual circumstance.  Since moving to Boise, I have found myself visiting the Craigslist site a bit more than previously.  One day I happened upon someone requesting someone to officiate their wedding.

I responded to the ad in the affirmative and said I would love to do it.   I then talked on the phone to Katy (the woman who had posted the craigslist ad) several times to iron out details of the ceremony.  However, we never met in person prior to the wedding.

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In this world, within each religious system, there are various shades of believers, who have different theologies from each other.  For example, within the tradition I have grown up in, there is a huge debate about the necessity of baptism.  Some would believe that one is saved at the moment of baptism and some believe it is simply an outward sign of what has already transpired in a believers heart.

I don’t want to hijack my own blog by going into a debate on baptism, but I do want to use this as an example.  Ecumenism, the desire to make peace between differing denominations of Christianity so as to work together for a common goal, is a bit more difficult than one might imagine.  The above example illustrates why this is the case.  For one side, they view baptism as symbolic, for the other it is essential.

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The other day, as my children and I walked up to our local park, I saw an unusual person at the park.  Well, unusual for what I am used to.  We now live in Idaho, and so things are different here.  The person I saw was dressed in hunting attire, and had in his hands a bow and was drawing it back attempting to hit a target he had set up in the park.

After the children and I quickly got a distance from him, I decided to watch him for a bit.  He was dressed as a professional, in his camo attire, and his bow looked very nice.  As he pulled out an arrow to take a shot, he stood there in amazing form, intently focused on the target.  Then he did it, he let the arrow go!  It flew through the air, missing the target by a longshot, and then proceeding to entrench itself deeply in the field behind the target.  I turned my attention back to my kids, but after a couple minutes looked back over to see him on all fours trying to dig his precious arrow out of the ground.

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