Freedom Contest

From the Press Release:



“Karen Harding Releases Brand New Single To Radio”

-Patriotic Song To Hit Airwaves For Independence Day-

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn- 6/30/09- The newest member of the Cross & Crown Music family, Karen Harding is set to release her first radio single on the Cross & Crown Records’ label this week. “Freedom, Oh What A Word!,” was written by Karen and accomplished songwriter, John Darin Rowsey and will hit radio airwaves just in time for Independence Day. The single features Karen’s unmistakable vocals alongside a special appearance by Mike Bowling. “Freedom, Oh What A Word!” is also available digitally on Itunes.com, Amazon.com and numerous other online music stores.

Cross & Crown Music has launched a contest in conjunction with the single release. Radio listeners can phone or e-mail their personal stories of what freedom means to them to their local radio stations from July 1^st until July 15^th. They will be entered into a contest and have the chance to win free DVDs and CDs from the “Memories From MorningStar” library. The winning stories will also be featured onwww.crossandcrownmusic.com. A national winner will be selected August 1^st. The Memories From MorningStar library includes classic recordings from the Perrys, the Crabb Family, the Isaacs, the Perry Sisters, the Bishops, the Wilburns, Carroll Roberson, Palmetto State and the Dixie Melody Boys.

Cross & Crown Music launched April 2009 just outside Nashville, Tennessee. Cross & Crown Records, 4 Square, Morning Star and Cedar Hill record labels are encompassed within the music company. The recording labels are currently home to Heirline, New Ground, Diane Rudd and a plethora of other well known Southern Gospel artists. The company plans to release classic favorites from the Morning Star label and are pursuing additional musicians to add to their ever growing roster. Cross & Crown Music offers custom projects for groups who desire the experience and excitement of recording in Nashville, Tennessee.

For more information on Cross & Crown Music, Memories From MorningStar and the “Freedom, Oh What A Word!” radio contest, visit www.crossandcrownmusic.com.

Happy Birthday U-S-A!

We've got more than our share of faults, but we're still the hope of the world! Let's keep earning that responsibility.

90&9 is on Facebook!

If you've got a profile, drop on by and give us a shout! We're still working toward a more robust site, but we'd love fans along the way!

Darrell W. Johns: New President of Gateway

The official Press Release (which, strangely, was released at 5 p.m. at the start of a holiday weekend. You would think they would want to make this part of every Pentecostal's conversation for days to come.):


SAINT LOUIS, MO - On June 19, 2009, Reverend Darrell W. Johns was unanimously elected by the Board of Trustees to become the eighth president of Gateway College of Evangelism. He formally commenced his presidential duties effective July 1, 2009.

Brother Johns currently serves as a board member for Gateway College, a pastoral board member of the Foreign Missions Board of the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI), and pastor of Atlanta West Pentecostal Church in Lithia Springs, Georgia. He will remain in these capacities and execute his presidential responsibilities at Gateway via telecommunication and by commuting to the campus on a monthly and as-needed basis.

An ordained minister of the United Pentecostal Church, President Johns is deeply committed to the Apostolic message including the articles of faith of the UPCI. He brings a wealth of experience to his role as president. Upon graduating salutatorian from Jackson College of Ministries, Darrell Johns worked in both faculty and administrative capacities there for nine years. During his years at Jackson, he was also Youth Pastor and Assistant Pastor at the First Pentecostal Church serving under Pastor T.L. Craft. He served as UPCI General Youth Secretary from 1988-1993 and UPCI General Youth President from 1993-1995. He most recently served as Secretary of the UPCI Division of Education from 2007-2009.

Brother Johns has invested his time, talent, and treasure in Gateway College as a Board member, Foundation partner, and by sending numerous students to the College from his church, including two of his sons.

Darrell Johns has been married to his wife Carol since 1978. They have three sons: Ryan, Joel, and Justin. Ryan holds a BBA in marketing from the University of West Georgia, is an accomplished musician and recording artist, and serves on the pastoral staff of Atlanta West Pentecostal Church. Joel graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Practical Theology degree from Gateway College of Evangelism and serves as youth pastor of The Pentecostals of Titusville, Florida. Justin graduated in 2009 with an Associate of Biblical and General Studies degree from Gateway College and will return to the campus in August to pursue a Bachelor of Christian Ministry degree.

President Johns accepted this new role at Gateway with a conviction that the college will positively affect the future of Apostolic leadership in the church. He has stated that his life goal is to develop leaders for the Kingdom of God and he will bring that sense of purpose to the office of president. His vision for Gateway is to see the College fulfill its mission "to train and biblically educate disciples for Christian ministry, church leadership, and world evangelism." Under his leadership, Gateway College will continue to seek regional accreditation while maintaining the biblical integrity and Oneness Pentecostal distinctives of the College.

We welcome Darrell Johns and his family to the Gateway team. Your prayer and support will help make the vision of Gateway a continuing reality.

Q: The Christian TED

Q is the Christian equivalent of the highly regarded TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference. The basic concept is cutting edge minds, in their respective callings, share talks of no more than 18 minutes. Both offer incredible content to ponder and apply.

For instance, listen to "Christianity in 1,000 Years" by the co-creator of Wired magazine. You'll be thinking about his points for quite a while.

Then tell us what you think!

My Calling: How Do You Encourage Others?

This week's cover story offers several opinions on the best way to help others pursue their calling from God.

You've read theirs, now let's hear what you do when you encourage other believers.

Twitter in Iran

"Twitter on the Barricades: Six Lessons Learned" is an even-handed analysis on the effects of Twitter on the Iranian demonstrations—and a peek into the future of its liabilities & assets for future movements and the media that covers them.

In The New York Times, Noam Cohen writes:

“But does the label Twitter Revolution, which has been slapped on the two most recent events, oversell the technology? Skeptics note that only a small number of people used Twitter to organize protests in Iran and that other means — individual text messaging, old-fashioned word of mouth and Farsi-language Web sites — were more influential. But Twitter did prove to be a crucial tool in the cat-and-mouse game between the opposition and the government over enlisting world opinion.”

It is interesting that is (somewhat) concludes that Twitter continues to be oversold in the West.

Timing Is Everything

To prove South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is an even bigger idiot than we thought yesterday, if he would have waited just 24 hours to make his adultery revelation, no one would have cared because the king of pop died of a heart attack. Timing is everything in politics!

We're gonna get Princess Di coverage for the next 2 weeks & an adulterous governor from a small state wouldn't have caught anyone's attention but political junkies. Probably no one would've been at the news conference.


Still True
"Always release bad news on Friday afternoons" (or in this case, Thursday afternoons), has never been truer.

So where were you when you heard Michael Jackson died? (My son called me from home while I was at work. Many co-workers were stunned into silence.) Is this a significant cultural moment?

I'd like to see what some Pentecostals think!

A Former Pentecostal, An African-American Woman, and a Jewish Rabbi Walk Into a Synagogue...

Alyssa Stanton is about to become the first African-American woman to be ordained as a rabbi by a mainstream Jewish seminary.  As if that were not an interesting enough combination, she is also a former Pentecostal.  Such a journey has been difficult to say the least.  "Most of my Christian friends thought I’d grown horns,” she said. “Many of my African-American friends thought I’d sold out. And the Jewish community was less than welcoming."  But such difficulty has, if nothing else, helped her to stay humble in spite of the historical nature of her appointment.  “I feel awe and a healthy dose of fear about being the first,” she said. “I try to keep it simple. I am a Jew, and I will die a Jew.”

 

josh r

Kid's Power Up!

Hi,

I’m Mike the Microphone, and I live at Hope Church with my friends, Melody the Keyboard, Pete the Pulpit, and Ben the Bible. We have some wonderful adventures at Hope Church. After everyone goes home from church, things (that’s us) really power up!

If you want to get in on the fun, all you have to do is go to www.kidspowerup.com and click on the stories listed there. You can join us any time and have your pick of stories. We’ll be looking for you.

++++++++

It might be what you're looking for for your 5-7 year-olds!

Does Your God Suck?

This article is not for every church, but it is very thought-provoking.  Does your god suck?  Is the god you serve truly the God of the Bible, or an American god of convenience?  Good read.  Let it challenge you.

 

For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

2 Corinthians 11:4

 

josh r

The End of Christian Media?

As the Internet makes everything more accessible, the bursting of the Christian/Evangelical sub-cultural bubble appears to be imminent.  Christian magazines are disappearing from print like believers in a Left Behind Rapture scene.  But, as this article from Newsweek points out, it goes deeper than the general trend away from print media. 

 

Christian magazines are having a difficult time staying cutting-edge because similar content can now be found in many popular magazines or websites.  Christian bookstores are also suffering because people can now purchase or read books online for much cheaper.  But these effects are being felt by magazines and bookstores everywhere.  Products that label themselves as "Christian" also have to deal with the breaking up of the Evangelical movement as a whole.  More and more Evangelicals are becoming less willing to identify themselves with the Evangelical movement as a whole.  Consequently, they are more open to other sources of information and advice.  "This next generation, they can read a marriage magazine or a parenting magazine and filter it through their Christian worldview..."

 

So what is happening to all the Christian artists?  Some of them are finding acceptance in the scary world of mainstream culture.  Christian singers, film-makers, and yes, even writers are finding a more welcoming environment for quality art, even what we have typically labeled "Christian."  Seems like a good time for APs to be pursuing "unusual" callings .

 

josh r

Facebook Status Updates and Youth Camp

I promise to blog about something other than Facebook and Twitter in the near future. But this is just too good.

My 17 year old daughter (really adopted niece for those of you who accurately pointed out that I'm not old enough to have a 17 year old) agreed to feed the neighbor's animals while they are on vacation this week.

Problem: this week is Louisiana Senior Camp and she is there. Solution: Daddy feeds the animals.

So all I did was update my Facebook status with a simple question about the trickle down effect of animal feeding duties.

My daughter texts me within two minutes because apparently they could have just as well made a special announcement during church.

I'm lovin' mobile technology.

My Weird Ministry

We asked a panel of Apostolic believers what to do if God seems to be calling you into an unusual, even a weird, ministry. Here's what they said.

Now we'd like to hear what you say. Comment here.

Pictures Of Tyranny

Want to see how confident Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in his "landlside" Iranian victory? In high-resolution?

Click the image to see what happens when one challenges the Imamic supremacy of a pint-sized, islamic nutcase with a members-only jacket. My only question is: was ACORN somehow involved with this?

I will invoke a content warning at the outset. The picture above is consistent with the series you're going to see, with a few very bloody photos blacked out--ones that require you to click them in an elective fashion. My advice? Click them. Click them and understand two things:

1. That the Obama administration wants roundtable talks with these people "without preconditions."
2. That he thinks nuclear technology is safe in the hands of these people.

-R

Lettermen Apologizes To Sarah Palin

The immediate thought says that it's the burgeoning protests outside his studio, along with a surprisingly-building snowball of outrage driving this, but it looks like David Lettermen apologized for his crass, disrespectful-and-worthy-of-a-father's-smackdown joke.

Maybe it's because even perpetually-outraged National Organization for Women--not known for acknowledging the humanity and femininity of women to the right of Margaret Sanger--also weighed in with a denunciation.

Either way, Dave's done the right thing--even if for the wrong reasons and even if he does try to initially create a gulf of triviality between targeting Bristol instead of Willow. Full text, as aired tonight:

All right, here - I’ve been thinking about this situation with Governor Palin and her family now for about a week - it was a week ago tonight, and maybe you know about it, maybe you don’t know about it. But there was a joke that I told, and I thought I was telling it about the older daughter being at Yankee Stadium. And it was kind of a coarse joke. There’s no getting around it, but I never thought it was anybody other than the older daughter, and before the show, I checked to make sure in fact that she is of legal age, 18. Yeah. But the joke really, in and of itself, can’t be defended. The next day, people are outraged. They’re angry at me because they said, ‘How could you make a lousy joke like that about the 14-year-old girl who was at the ball game?’ And I had, honestly, no idea that the 14-year-old girl, I had no idea that anybody was at the ball game except the Governor and I was told at the time she was there with Rudy Giuliani…And I really should have made the joke about Rudy…” (audience applauds) “But I didn’t, and now people are getting angry and they’re saying, ‘Well, how can you say something like that about a 14-year-old girl, and does that make you feel good to make those horrible jokes about a kid who’s completely innocent, minding her own business,’ and, turns out, she was at the ball game. I had no idea she was there. So she’s now at the ball game and people think that I made the joke about her. And, but still, I’m wondering, ‘Well, what can I do to help people understand that I would never make a joke like this?’ I’ve never made jokes like this as long as we’ve been on the air, 30 long years, and you can’t really be doing jokes like that. And I understand, of course, why people are upset. I would be upset myself.

“And then I was watching the Jim Lehrer ‘Newshour’ - this commentator, the columnist Mark Shields, was talking about how I had made this indefensible joke about the 14-year-old girl, and I thought, ‘Oh, boy, now I’m beginning to understand what the problem is here. It’s the perception rather than the intent.’ It doesn’t make any difference what my intent was, it’s the perception. And, as they say about jokes, if you have to explain the joke, it’s not a very good joke. And I’m certainly - ” (audience applause) “- thank you. Well, my responsibility - I take full blame for that. I told a bad joke. I told a joke that was beyond flawed, and my intent is completely meaningless compared to the perception. And since it was a joke I told, I feel that I need to do the right thing here and apologize for having told that joke. It’s not your fault that it was misunderstood, it’s my fault. That it was misunderstood.” (audience applauds) “Thank you. So I would like to apologize, especially to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, and also to the Governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke. I’m sorry about it and I’ll try to do better in the future. Thank you very much.” (audience applause)

-R

Pentecostal Job Opportunity

President Timothy A. Dugas Resigns

Trustees Begin Executive Search

SAINT LOUIS, MO - May 22, 2009 - Reverend Timothy A. Dugas has announced his decision to resign as president of Gateway College of Evangelism. His sixteen years of service as president mark the longest tenure in the history of the College. President Dugas is an alumnus of Gateway, and prior to serving as president, he was a member of the board of directors of the College.

Gateway has made significant progress in every area of operation during his tenure as president, including improvements to the campus buildings and property, enhancements in faculty retention and educational qualifications, and an aggressive pursuit of regional accreditation. President Dugas and Gateway remain committed to the challenging accreditation process, which has already resulted in across-the-board improvements in the operation of the college.

The board of trustees has appointed a presidential search committee to search for suitable candidates for the office of the presidency. Until this process is complete, Reverend Dugas will continue to serve the College as president. He remains committed to the mission of the College and has pledged his active support for Gateway College of Evangelism.

A Rejoinder Of Class

The video below, if it does nothing else, completely obliterates the aura of idiocy concerning Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Chalk it up to the constraints placed upon her by the woefully-inept McCain camp, and buttressed by the air-headed front-loading of her image by Saturday Night Live's Tina Fey, but neither image are in play as she graciously deflects Matt Lauer's tepid defense of David Lettermen.

First off, when it comes to Alaska energy policy, the woman's a Jedi. When it comes to a gracious defense of her family, even Lauer has to concede (albeit backing up to do it) that Lettermen comes off as some "aw-shucks, erstwhile supernova with a hankering for underage girls. Although, those are my words:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

And all done without waving off her opposition as peasants and building her rhetorical legacy on the teleprompter.

-R

Sarah Palin Derangement Syndrome

I blogged once, rather satirically, that the reason the hard political left hated Sarah Palin was because she didn't live up to Team Feminism's creeds about not allowing a Down Syndrome baby to see the light of day.

Now, I think that's part of it, but with some amendment.

I also blogged about how a flamboyantly gay man (Perez Hilton) was allowed to to refer to former Miss California titleholder , Carrie Prejean, in incendiary and sexually-degrading terms on a mainstream news outlet with not a single register of outrage from that same media strata. In their defence, they perhaps saw this as a fight between two women, but I doubt a hard, biological vetting would come to the same conclusion.

Either way, any and all press referrals to Miss California (including her recent title loss) always--always include her supposedly "controversial" imposition of her opinion in an otherwise static environment.

Let's look at this bit of stupidity in loose syllogistic form:

1. Over the top, effeminate dandy asks Miss California a question that requires her to disseminate between two viable options: "yes," and "no."
   
2. Under dressed, but far more-appealing than Hilton, Prejean, picks option number 2.
   
3. All the Western world erupts as if she picked a third option, outside the parameters of the question.

And it has become vogue to still continually trash her. I mean with palpable hate. All because she (graciously) allowed her conviction to be known--when solicited for it.

But is was David Letterman's recent, out-of-remission bout with Palin Derangement Syndrome that got me thinking about what Ravi Zacharias contends as the philosophical argument having the most effect at the visual and artistic level. To wit: Family values based on biblical principles seem to be at least perceived to have more impact when delivered by beautiful women with grounded principles. And they must be stopped dead cold.

Why else would Mr. Letterman need to refer to her as dressed like a "slutty flight attendant" in one monologue and then joke about her underage daughter being sexually assaulted by Alex Rodriguez in another? On his mainstream show?



Where along the road to discourse did the supposedly "tolerant" left get idea it was okay to blatantly assault the sexual virtue and purity of people who simply disagree with you on abortion and gay marriage? Or--go after their children? You hear a single person booing that joke? I didn't. I heard the applause from Nero's coliseums.

And people think the wholesale corralling of the Christian couldn't happen in this country. Think again. It will happen someday--with impunity--and Letterman will still manage a rim-shot punchline over lions and orphaned children.

If the world hates the virtues of Christ so much, and are willing to destroy the possessors of those virtues, then wait until they simply find it more convenient to eliminate the source of those virtues and the ones who possess Him.

Are you ready? Because it's getting cold in here. And fast.

-R

Calling: How Do You Know?

This week's cover story on 90&9 examines the pressing question: "How do you know what you’re called to do by God?"

We asked a host of believers in many walks of life from many geographic locations to share their thoughts. Happily, there is a fascinating set of answers.

Now we'd like to hear from you: "How do you know?"

Another Reason for Optimism

New Life Center in Bridgeton, MO has had a thriving Spanish work/church for several years now. They host services in our gymnasium, with socials, etc on their own schedule.

About 3 times a year, we have a joint Spanish-English Sunday night service w/the Spanish church hosting the service - leading songs in both languages, testimonies (w/translation), & of course the preaching with a translator. It's always a wonderful time w/a strong move of God. (Plus, 3-4 people received the Holy Ghost!)

Except Tonight . . .

CNN was there w/a cameraman and microphone guy (gaffer?) racing about service the entire time. Seems CNN is compiling footage for a special report on why so many Latinos in America are leaving the Catholic Church to become Pentecostals.

David vs Goliath

The May 11 issue of the New Yorker is especially meaty & juicy, w/fascinating articles on neuroscience, Gerard Manley Hopkins (the Catholic innovator of English poetry), China's first(?) great contemporary filmmaker, Eugene O'Neil's love triangles & more.

The best piece though is Malcolm Gladwell's fascinating "How David Beats Goliath," in which he dissects girl's basketball, Lawrence of Arabia, modern & ancient warfare, and yes, one reason young David beat the gigantic, professional warrior. Or as Gladwell writes:

"When they finally arrived at Aqaba, Lawrence’s band of several hundred warriors killed or captured twelve hundred Turks, and lost only two men. The Turks simply did not think that their opponent would be mad enough to come at them from the desert. This was Lawrence’s great insight. David can beat Goliath by substituting effort for ability—and substituting effort for ability turns out to be a winning formula for underdogs in all walks of life, including little blond-haired girls on the basketball court."

and

"Insurgents, though, operate in real time. Lawrence hit the Turks, in that stretch in the spring of 1917, nearly every day, because he knew that the more he accelerated the pace of combat the more the war became a battle of endurance—and endurance battles favor the insurgent. “And it happened as the Philistine arose and was drawing near David that David hastened and ran out from the lines toward the Philistine,” the Bible says. “And he reached his hand into the pouch and took from there a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead.” The second sentence—the slingshot part—is what made David famous. But the first sentence matters just as much. David broke the rhythm of the encounter. He speeded it up. “The sudden astonishment when David sprints forward must have frozen Goliath, making him a better target,” the poet and critic Robert Pinsky writes in “The Life of David.” Pinsky calls David a “point guard ready to flick the basketball here or there.” David pressed. That’s what Davids do when they want to beat Goliaths."

and

"We tell ourselves that skill is the precious resource and effort is the commodity. It’s the other way around. Effort can trump ability—legs, in Saxe’s formulation, can overpower arms—because relentless effort is in fact something rarer than the ability to engage in some finely tuned act of motor coördination."

Read it all, then read some response on Gladwell's blog. It'll make you rethink any type of leadership you're part of!

Obama's Blackberry

Excerpts from the hilarious upcoming book are here.

I think I like the Biden message best. No, the Clarence Thomas one. Nita likes the Schwarzenegger one best.

Enjoy!

Angels Singing With Eric Bibb

I know I've posted about him before, but I had the opportunity to take in a concert by one of my favorite blues/gospel singers, a one Mr. Eric Bibb. This time, I drove a few hours to see him. Last time, I was his courtesy driver.

To say that he a is a most gracious and humble human being would still be an understatement. If everyone in world had the spirit this man has in person, there would be little or no human abrasiveness. I've met many in show business, but Mr. Bibb goes on record as being the nicest in my experience.

Plus, he has the ability to turn a largely secular audience into a live church service with most of his stuff. While this clip is not from the show I was at (he was solo), I yelled "That'll preach, Eric at the end. He says, "looks like we've got a genuine holy roller sitting out there," as he smiled.

Enjoy the clip, with its room-ambient quality and all.

Abortion, Dialogues, And The Murder Of Dr. Tiller

Bruce Lee once said that "the greatest response to a punch is to not be there." In my life, being a guy who is considered reasonably funny, jovial with an opinionated backdrop, I have tried to apply this axiom when someone attempts to hem me in publicly over a hot button issue. What can be easily turfed off as dismissive sarcasm really acts as a valve; a sort of verbal disarmament that allows me to reduce the rancor to tolerable levels of audibility.

When I read that high-profile doctor and gleeful performer of partial birth abortions, Dr. George Tiller had been gunned down by an at-the-time-unknown assailant, I knew I would be called upon by a certain acquaintance to square my unequivocal opposition to abortion to the fact that Mr. Tiller was ushering in his house of worship. I was right on time about it, too.

"So, does the fact that Tiller was shot at church strike you as the least bit ironic?" he asked.

"Bet they had a small nursery," I said.

He just stared at me and then said "Man I hate you sometimes."

Now, left to itself, the acidic irony of my response alone is a shutter-upper. I did it precisely to stop what he thought would be a public garroting of me in front of others. But that wasn't my entire goal. I of course immediately condemned the murder of this man. But it allowed me the opportunity to take the lead. Because my pro-life position neither caused this, nor fomented an atmosphere that condones it. And they that obsess over killing babies are not going to get away with being that intellectually lazy about their obsession when using me as their whipping boy. If they're going to paint me as a supporter of violence on this level, then they simply are going to have to work for it. And that includes my friends.

"The problem is, between the two of us, I am the only one with a consistent belief about this situation." I said. "I believe Dr. Tiller was murdered. I also happen to believe he was a state-sanctioned killer himself. So I am valuing human life on both ends of the equation. You can't even solve for 'x' on this one."

He denied the inequality, on the usual grounds, but admitted I was more consistent. And really, his Darwinistic worldview would be more consistent if he simply found nothing wrong with doctor Tiller's murder, which of course, he doesn't (nor would I admire for consistency's sake). And I am becoming more and more convinced that the almost infernal fervor that surrounds the abortion advocacy can have much of its DNA traced to The Origin of the Species. Even Darwin himself complained of nausea, and cold chills by even contemplating the complexity of the human eye. Advocates take on a palpable tremor, a vociferating glottal fry to their passion that transcends a simple concern for the sovereignty of the body. Prostitution advocates, recreational drug-use advocates and the like do not raise the urgency of their causes to preposterous levels of spiritual gravity.

But then again, they are not staring right into the womb, and thus right into the face of God. Abortion is a futile attempt to nullify the creative process at the only place it can originate; a feckless and deadly attempt to burn down the Garden of Eden.

Some news organizations have said this occurrence has the pro-life community on edge about their latitude to discuss the issue. I happen to feel just the opposite is true. Despite Mr. Tiller's devout adherence to a Reformed Lutheran faith, he took a particular, Sweeny Todd-like joy in dispatching over 60,000 babies--many of them in fashions and at stages that made even many in his own camp wince.

It is therefore, the discomfort of the pro-choice community, to have to re-explain and re-convince an increasingly pro-life culture that a woman can contract a disease--incurable by any hippocratic medical standards, and unmanageable by any medicinal mitigation, that requires vacuuming the brains from a fully-developed infant, delivered breach save for it's head, in order to save a mother's life.

And this--is where the dialogue needs to stay.

California Politics And The Private Bible Study

I've gotten a few emails of late, wondering why I hardly ever post anymore.

I have to be truthful. I'm watching the American Experiment be trashed. I'm watching it be stolen. I'm watching the plane being deliberately flown into the hillside. And there's nothing I can do about it but watch it all go down in real time. And an America, one with the crow totally lodged in their throats, is ordering more crow in a take home container.

Such is why I just cannot muster enough motivation to vary my posts with chaff and oatmeal filler about Twitter, MySpace, or anything else that relfects an apostolic alumni better versed on Brad and Angelina than on an apologetic defence against secularism and its negative darwinistic theology. It's all going to burn. And to try and wrench some redeemable quality from any of it feels about like trying to throw helium down a hallway.

And on that note, I do have this fine bit of love, peace, and tolerance from those peace-loving, southern-Californians:

SAN DIEGO -- A local pastor and his wife claim they were interrogated by a San Diego County official, who then threatened them with escalating fines if they continued to hold Bible studies in their home, 10News reported.

Attorney Dean Broyles of The Western Center For Law & Policy was shocked with what happened to the pastor and his wife.

Broyles said, "The county asked, 'Do you have a regular meeting in your home?' She said, 'Yes.' 'Do you say amen?' 'Yes.' 'Do you pray?' 'Yes.' 'Do you say praise the Lord?' 'Yes.'"

Me too. I am shocked. SHOCKED that the same culture that celebrates The DaVinci Code would take umbrage with a group of people that didn't. This little confrontation is of course explained in the most pedestrian of terms by the local government:

The county employee notified the couple that the small Bible study, with an average of 15 people attending, was in violation of County regulations, according to Broyles.

So was Tiennemen Square. Nothing to see here folks. Move along.

-R

I Am Not a Preacher!

(From the 90&9 Cover Story)

A good teacher understands the value of a good curriculum. Good curriculum makes a good teacher’s job easier and more rewarding. The teacher’s job is to relay Scripture to the student in a way that will be unforgettable. Curriculum is the solid foundation they will modify and enhance for their class. A bad teacher does not know how to relate the material from a good curriculum in a relevant manner, so often makes up their own lessons that don’t fill the allotted class time. A preacher does not like any curriculum because they believe it quenches their freedom to hear from the Holy Spirit.

We want to hear your thoughts on the difference between preaching and teaching and their respective impacts on believers and unbelievers! Comment now!

Memorial Day Chuckle

I guess this has been circulating for quite some time, but an alert reader shared this with me for the first time.

Hope you laugh - & think about it...

Footprints in the Sand - The Sequel

"One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.

But then some stranger prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?
Those prints are large and round and neat,
But Lord, they are too big for feet."

"My child," He said in somber tones,
"For miles I carried you alone,
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait."

"You disobeyed, and would not grow,
The walk of faith you would not know,
So I got tired, I got fed up,
And there I dropped you on your butt."

"Because in life, there comes a time,
When one must fight, and one must climb,
When one must rise and take a stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand."

-author unknown

Why is it...

...that parents will get upset about Bibles being made available to kids at school, but not condoms?

Twitter = Wiki-Spam?

For all three of you out there who have not jumped on the Twitter bandwagon at least once (it's ok, I'm number four), Adam Sternbergh has an interesting article on its popularity and inevitable demise.  He quotes Nielsen in reporting that 60% of first-time Tweeters fail to return the following month.  Those who do seem to enjoy Twitter are people who "think that (a) their every stray thought is publishable poetry and (b) it’s crucial to constantly insert their name—their brand—into the conversation."  Most others, after using it, feel that the Twitter concept is "less like a communications breakthrough than a form of torture devised by Philip K. Dick."  His final analysis is that Twitter is nothing more than the newest tool to advertise your product to the public, whether that product is your newest book, or yourself.  In other words, spam.

 

Hmmm... guess I don't really need to see what all the fuss is about then.

 

josh r

Tackling Terrifying Topics (90&9 Cover)

(From the 90&9 Cover)

“Never discuss politics or religion.”

This advice is imparted on a regular basis with the implication that failure to heed this time-tested rule in any relationship may result in hard feelings and loss of friendship between the participants. We threw out the rulebook a couple Wednesday nights ago at Abundant Life Church and kicked off a series entitled, “Sects, Drugs and Rock-n-Roll,” with a discussion of the church’s role in politics.

What would you have said on the panel? Comment here.

And on the 8th Day Man Created God in His Own Image, After His Likeness...

           

 

We don't really know what Jesus looked like.  He didn't leave behind any photos, paintings, sculptures, or even detailed descriptions.  The closest we get to anything is a prophecy written hundreds of years before Jesus was even born describing him as having "no beauty that we should desire him." 

 

Consequently, artists have often portrayed Jesus as physically similar to themselves.  Bearded Jesus and clean-shaven Jesus, black Jesus and white Jesus, laughing Jesus, and somber Jesus, 20th-Century businessman Jesus, and now, 21st-Century casual Jesus !  I know the purpose of evangelism is to translate the Gospel into a language the culture understands, but do we sometimes go too far? 

 

 

In trying to make Jesus accessible to our culture, the danger of losing Jesus altogether is ever present (not that Father David Buckley et al have necessarily done that).  When the message of Jesus sounds too much like our own, when we are able to use Jesus to support all our views, when Jesus fails to challenge us we have probably strayed from who Jesus really is.  This is why we need to constantly examine ourselves in light of the Bible.  It is easier to remake Jesus in our image than to remake our lives in His image.

 

josh r

We shall endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit until we all come into the unity of the faith, at the same time admonishing all brethren that they shall not contend for their different views to the disunity of the body . 

 

This is the closing line of the Fundamental Doctrine of the UPCI.  The basis of our fellowship is our beliefs in the oneness of God and salvation.  In all else we are guided by the Articles of Faith and, more importantly, Romans 14 .  Or at least that was the way it was originally intended.  But since these words were originally penned, peripheral issues have become more and more important.  This is not just occurring in the AP movement, however.

 

In a challenging article about the Southern Baptist Convention's struggle with the issue of alcohol, Eric Reed discusses how different groups have responded to peripheral issues.  He quotes historian Mark Noll: "Some evangelicals have made opinion on liquor [insert television, casual preachers, or any other "AP issue" here] more important for fellowship and cooperation…than attitudes toward the person of Christ or the nature of salvation."  In other words, it's easy to make peripheral issues more important than Jesus.

 

in Paul's day, the primary holiness standard up for debate was circumcision.  There was even a faction that would refuse to fellowship with Gentile Christians who had not undergone this rite.  When Peter sought to please this faction by separating himself from Gentiles in Antioch , Paul famously got in his face and said that "their conduct was not in step with the truth of the Gospel."  Why?  Because they were elevating personal standards of holiness (not a bad thing to have) above love for their brothers and sisters in Christ. 

 

It is important to have personal convictions about holiness.  It is important for pastors to draw lines that are contextual to their communities.  But when these lines--when these convictions--turn into walls that keep out fellow Christians, then we have lost sight of the Gospel. 

 

Thanks to Toby Stevens for turning me on to this article.  For a different AP response to it, and a call back to mission, read his post here .

 

josh r

Is Church Too Girly?

 

Ok, maybe it's a British thing... After all, I don't recall ever seeing a church decorated with flowers and embroidered banners.  Maybe an understated arrangement in front of the pulpit, but embroidered banners?  No wonder an online survey of readers of the UK men's magazine Sorted showed that men would like church to be more manly.  "Sentimental lovey dovey songs," dancing in church, hugging, holding hands, and sitting in circles were also on the list of things the men felt uncomfortable with.   Put all of that together, and it sounds like a pretty feminine church. 

 

So what would a "manly" church look like?  Respondents suggested "proper, macho hymns" and doing more stuff together.  It should feel more like "the football (soccer) terraces" than "Laura Ashley showrooms." 

 

I guess the long-haired hippie version of Jesus doesn't help very much either.

 

josh r

The Holy Ghost Can't Be It: 90&9s Cover Story

(This is the final paragraph for 90&9's Cover Story)

It’s long overdue for us to get our graduates off the graduation platform and into their specific callings. It’s time we taught our best and brightest how to shine for Christ outside of the Pentecostal movement. It’s time we grew in crazy, Acts-like proportions because all of our graduates are working overtime to get outsiders into the spiritual graduation program while the church kept working overtime to get them trained to master their callings to go back into society. It’s time we stopped cheering about the same people re-receiving the Holy Ghost and got outside to turn our world upside down.


Agree? Disagree? Undecided? Comment now!

Sharing God's Grace: Yann Martel

I have to admit, I still get a thrill out of getting an article printed in another publication. Sometimes it can take a maddeningly long time, but then you see it and you fall in love again.

In this case, I did an interview in April, 2008 with Yann Martel, author of the Booker Award-winning Life of Pi. He's a fabulous story about an atheist writing a novel about a believer named Pi, and literally converting himself into belief. Now he speaks to lit conferences around the world about the importance of belief.

One interesting sidebar to this story, from my angle, was how few Christian publications were interested in this piece after they realized he didn't convert to their denomination. (Of course, the secular publications weren't interested either.) Don't get me wrong, he's still in the early stages of his walk with Christ, yet I was amazed at God's grace in his circumstances. I mean, he converted himself by writing fiction!

Thankfully, there were magazines as intrigued as I was, so here's the story (with fabulous artwork) in the latest issue of Relevant Magazine.

The Skeptic

Men have tried to turn "revolutionise" from a transitive to an intransitive verb. The Jacobin could tell you not only the system he would rebel against, but (what was more important) the system he would not rebel against, the system he would trust. But the new rebel is a Sceptic, and will not entirely trust anything. He has no loyalty; therefore he can never be really a revolutionist. And the fact that he doubts everything really gets in his way when he wants to denounce anything. For all denunciation implies a moral doctrine of some kind; and the modern revolutionist doubts not only the institution he denounces, but the doctrine by which he denounces it. Thus he writes one book complaining that imperial oppression insults the purity of women, and then he writes another book (about the sex problem) in which he insults it himself. He curses the Sultan because Christian girls lose their virginity, and then curses Mrs. Grundy because they keep it. As a politician, he will cry out that war is a waste of life, and then, as a philosopher, that all life is waste of time. A Russian pessimist will denounce a policeman for killing a peasant, and then prove by the highest philosophical principles that the peasant ought to have killed himself. A man denounces marriage as a lie, and then denounces aristocratic profligates for treating it as a lie. He calls a flag a bauble, and then blames the oppressors of Poland or Ireland because they take away that bauble. The man of this school goes first to a political meeting, where he complains that savages are treated as if they were beasts; then he takes his hat and umbrella and goes on to a scientific meeting, where he proves that they practically are beasts. In short, the modern revolutionist, being an infinite sceptic, is always engaged in undermining his own mines. In his book on politics he attacks men for trampling on morality; in his book on ethics he attacks morality for trampling on men. Therefore the modern man in revolt has become practically useless for all purposes of revolt. By rebelling against everything he has lost his right to rebel against anything.

G.K. Chesterton--Orthodoxy, "The Suicide Of Thought"

Perez Hilton And His Cowardly Sisterhood Of Traveling Two-Faces

Andrew Breitbart knocks this one out of the park. I don't know about anyone else, but I just don't have what it takes to cower under a table with this issue. How in the world Miss California's answer to the overtly-homosexual Perez Hilton's question became the issue instead of the vulgar, hateful, nasty tantrum from the effeminate diva, I have no idea. But Brietbart seems to to think maybe the gays are getting to play their queen's gambit en passant, as it were:

On display at the Miss USA event was the activist left's pageant of selective bullying, a concerted strategy to go after low-hanging fruit like Mormons. But the left leaves off its hit list members in good standing of its normal coalition - its "rainbow"coalition. In California, one of the gayest places on the map, blacks and Hispanics - who disproportionately disapprove of same-sex marriage - get a stunning pass from outraged proponents of gay marriage.

Since 9/11, the highly organized gay left has also been deafeningly silent on Islam's anti-modern approach to homosexuality - let alone same-sex unions. The mullahs in Iran somehow get a major pass while the director of the California Musical Theatre in Sacramento is targeted for ruin. This contradiction is not subtle. Indeed, it's obvious and pathetic.

Let's not forget, Perez Hilton went on MSNBC, and retracted a previous apology for calling her a demeaning pejorative we all know that starts with the letter "B," only to upgrade it to the even-taboo-by-the-standards-of-most--malevolent moniker that starts with "C."

Man. All for simply taking the same position on marriage President Obama took not too long ago. I'll bet he hasn't sustained veiled death threats from British governmental officials. Nor should he.

Had a heterosexual man with converse politics made this same statement, he would be finished. Forever. Chances are, Hilton's career will only be enhanced.

And thus, the continued cosmic battle for the soul of the country, and for mankind as well.

-R

Quote On Meaning And Evolution

I had motive for not wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. The philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with a problem in pure metaphysics, he is also concerned to prove that there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to do, or why his friends should not seize political power and govern in the way that they find most advantageous to themselves...For myself, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation, sexual and political.

Aldous Huxley - Ends and Means

90&9 Updates

Everett Gossard, one of our own Notes bloggers, is in Africa on a missions trip with his family this Summer. Please keep them in your prayers and check out his cool blog on their efforts!

FYI: The short version is our ISP was bought out by a bigger Internet Service Provider & somewhere along the way we stopped being able to publish both Notes & Word. I just spent 30+ mins on tech support, after emailing & the like. Short version is they're still working on it. So much for the month of April in Blogville. ARGH!

Welcome to the Fringe

Thank you, Jon Meacham, for bringing to light some fascinating statistics.  I have long sensed the declining influence of Christianity in American culture, but had no evidence to support that until reading your article in Newsweek .  Now I know, based on scientific studies, that "the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has nearly doubled since 1990."  More specifically, "the percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 percentage points since 1990, from 86 to 76 percent," and that the number of people willing to describe themselves as atheist or agnostic has increased about fourfold... to about 3.6 million." 

 

Of course, coming from a Oneness Pentecostal tradition, I am used to being on the fringe--being one of those who lacks any serious cultural influence.  Speaking as one on the fringe, I would suggest that it is the best place for Christianity to be in a culture.  Looking at the history of Christianity we see that the Church thrives when it is not in fashion, and suffers when it can take cultural influence for granted.  The explosive growth of the first church, the sweeping conversions in Ireland led by St. Patrick, even the renewal and Reformation of the church all grew out of oppressive environments.  On the other hand, the Christian-Hellenistic syncretism of the fourth and fifth centuries, the pre-Reformation excesses of the priesthood, and such Holy Wars as the Crusades grew out of a Christianity that was closely tied to the secular power structure.

 

For some reason, God seems to prefer the underdog.  He uses the weak to confound the strong, the foolish to bring to nothing the wise.  Perhaps an American Christianity that is lacking in cultural influence will be a better venue for God to bring more glory to Himself.  Perhaps it will be easier for Him to move when we don't feel like we can handle things so well on our own.  I look forward to a deeper revelation of His glory, not through political powerhouses in the media spotlight, but way out here on the fringe!

 

josh r

Jars of Clay: The Long Fall Back to Earth

Jars of Clay released their new record on Tuesday, and I hurried down to the local Best Buy and got my copy. I was not disappointed.

The guys continue to amaze me at how far they can stretch artistically. The lyrics are the usual solid, introspective themes that we've come to expect from the Christian-yet-relevant band, but the sound is (for the most part) new. While unlike any project to date, there are some echoes of the Christmas album released in 2007, which is to say the music is full of electronica/synth/hint of 80s - a far cry from the acoustic folk sounds of their beginnings.

But it works and after the first listen through you'll hear these songs like the voices of old friends telling new stories.

At a time when there are many bands that should have stopped making music a long time ago, Jars of Clay's latest offering has me hoping they still have many more songs left to share.

xBlog

Starting a new job is a little bit tricky. It's kind of like the first day of school when you're all full of anticipation and wonder about this wonderful stage of life that you are embarking upon. On the other hand, as an adult with a little bit of experience behind you, you know that all jobs (no matter how exciting they may seem at first) will eventually become routine.

Dave Ramsey's Townhall For Hope

By now, it should be the most understated fact that "Hope" in its most practical definition has merely been a utilitarian vehicle--a simple, yet effective dance of semantics that wants every single one of us to succumb to the state's protective "wing."

Money management expert, Dave Ramsey, is having none of it, and has decided to rally people to an actual and tangible sense of hope--not pessimism masquerading as hope:



More on the event, which is tomorrow, by clicking on this:



-R

Jonny Lang On Leno

Didn't even know about this until I referenced a web page looking for something completely unrelated. And since I'm not a "Notes" Blogger any more . . .not a bad sound considering the ambient soundboard mixes on these shows for live bands are notoriously substandard.

As a note, I've seen Jonny play live four times since his conversion, and this is the first time I've seen him playing a Gibson ES-335, but then again, I'm a guitarist and perseverate about these things.



-R

Quote For The Day

"Most disturbing of all, perhaps, is that not since Saturday has Susan Boyle been Susan Boyle. It's a permutation of the Heisenberg principle: That 30 million people have heard her, seen her, embraced her has already changed who she is. The shy churchgoer who said that her recently deceased mother encouraged her to "take the risk," who admitted in her audition that she has never been kissed, who has forever lived as something of an accidental outcast - she now seems too much of this world. "I've been for a meeting with Sony BMG, but I can't say much about it," she said this week. "It's early days." Susan Boyle is now one of us. And that is really a shame."

-R

A Nail In Cynicism's Coffin

Perhaps you are not one of the eighteen-gazillion people who've seen this already. If you haven't, get ready to have your "glass-is-half-empty" template completely obliterated by the following few minutes, as this British woman, devoid of any single trapping that would make her a contender for a cultural phenomenon that bedrocks itself on narcissism and facade, breaks every rule.

Worth noting the snarky girl at 1:23 who wouldn't step out of her Ashlee Simpson doppelganger hairdo if her life depended on it. I have a feeling she may have had her attitudes rearranged for a bit. Even better, the two British guys that are backstage, totally relishing the reaction to the human plutonium they knew they just escorted to the stage:

Anchoress: Jesus Finds Perhaps An Odd(?) Defender In Stephen Colbert

The Colbert Report is something I sometimes catch glimpses of while I'm at work (as the ambient noise of a juvenile detention center). I doubt I've seen any of it all the way through, but I got the premise nearly immediately: Stephen Colbert is a satirical take on the supposed "quintessential" Fox News Journalist (you know how the media is all overpopulated with big fans of George Bush and all). Aside from its 180-degree axio-perversion, Colbert is nonetheless a funny and quick-witted talent.

So I'd normally just sluff off the following story as part of Colbert's over-the-top portrayal of right-of-center, bible-thumping lunatics (that sentiment of course the bedrock for the delivery).

The reason I depart from ignoring it is because The Anchoress, a blogger for whom I have profound respect despite major doctrinal differences (she is a devoted Catholic), thinks there might be more to Colbert's roundly hard treatment of Bart Ehrman, an atheist who somehow manages to find himself as chair of the Religious Studies department at the University of North Carolina. Ehrman is on Colbert's show to defend his book, Jesus Interrupted.

In another situation, I'd be tempted to post the video as a stand-alone with my own commentary. But The Anchoress is brilliant herself, and should have the outlook that made me even take a second look at this promoted. I simply find myself thinking more deeply every single time I read her blog--and though she probably won't figure out who I am, she was a blogging acquaintance and traffic-buddy of mine once upon a time, in another blog incarnation. But I'll let that lay for now.

Go and check out the video at The Anchoress' site. Besides chortling why an atheist is concerned at all with presiding as a religious studies chair, you'll just come away going, "hmmmm." Especially as Colbert's "4 blind men" analogy at the end seems to go south into satire, until it (oddly) makes sense.

-R

He Is Risen

Katleen, a wonderful acquaintance and former co-worker, sent me the following photo:

This happens to be a few blocks from my house (Redding, Ca.)on the automotively-defunct Diestelhorst Bridge, and just up-river from the fame-gathering Sundial bridge (even closer to my house).

What pretends to rattle-can graffiti is actually minute etching into the mossy accumulation.

Oh, and it had since faded. But one thing is for sure. The family of a moments-ago freed ship captain will never see Easter in quite the same light as anybody else. Or at least as accurately as anybody else.

-R

Rick Warren Drives Metaphorical Evangelical Car Into The Crowd

If there's anything that high-profile Christians should figure out, it's this: that watering down one's beliefs in the name of achieving political expediency will only injure ones self, and leave one's wounds open and vascular to a world of jackals who will close in on them.

Such is the case with Saddleback Church's Rick Warren, who most recently offered the (I might add well delivered) prayer at President Obama's inauguration, but is perhaps most well known for his authorship of The Purpose-Driven Life.

Leave it to the bromidic truths in James 1:8, about the stabilities to be found in double-mindedness to be the rock against which Mr. warren's evangelical future will be dashed. Apparently, he isn't as against gay marriage as an institution as he once was. At least that's what he told Larry King:

Evangelical leaders say they are bewildered and stunned by the Rev. Rick Warren's apparent turnaround on gay marriage after the famous California pastor said earlier this week that he was not a proponent of California's Proposition 8.

Mr. Warren told CNN's Larry King on Monday that he "never once even gave an endorsement" of the proposition, which said marriage in the state could only involve one man and one woman. The measure won at the polls last November by a close margin, in effect negating an earlier California Supreme Court ruling allowing gay marriages.

Especially when that pesky video he sent to his congregation is quoted verbatim:

Now let me say this really clearly: We support Proposition 8," he said on the video, "and if you believe what the Bible says about marriage, you need to support Proposition 8. I never support a candidate, but on moral issues, I come
out very clear."

Mr. Warren "clarifies" this in the King interview:

In his conversation with Mr. King, Mr. Warren said, "All of a sudden out of it[opponents] made me something that I really wasn't. And I actually — there were a number of things that were put out. I wrote to all my gay friends — the leaders that I knew — and actually apologized to them. That never got out."

Apologize for what? I have gay friends as well, and they at least appreciate that my conversational opposition to gay marriage doesn't change when they walk into the room. I'm always confused by this. Apparently, I'm not the only one confused by Mr. Warren's bobbing and weaving on the narrow road--which of course leads to this run over the median right before flipping the entire vehicle during an over correction:"

It was a pastor talking to his own people," he replied. "I've never said anything about it since. I don't know how you can take one video newsletter to your own church and turn that into — all of a sudden I'm the poster boy for anti-gay marriage."

Which, of course, leads to:

Saddleback Church, where Mr. Warren is pastor, released a clarification on April 9 to the evangelical-oriented CBN.com, saying the pastor's remarks on CNN were not in reference to the video but "to not participating in the official two-year organized advocacy effort specific to the ballot initiative in that state."

Don't know about you, but I'm tired from just reading it. Imagine trying to hold two opinions at once.

Sad. Mr. Warren should just, as they say, pick a team and play.

-R

An Interesting (And Brief) Talk On Postmodernism

Not sure how much of the Ninety and Nine readership has ever heard of Dr. Ravi Zacharias, but I personally discovered this amazing apologist while taking in the Truth Project series, which I blogged about here.

If I was to ever offer a public criticism of the apostolic arena, it would be that we don't have enough of this kind of thing--an unabashed and fearless willingness to take this life headlong into the devil's camp--or as it is called now--mainstream academic circles:



-R

Weirdly . . .

. . . Blogger isn't publishing anything on Word or Notes, so please know we've been trying to post since Thursday on both.

Stay tuned.