On Planned Parenthood and the Sale of Baby Parts

A pic of PP Medical Director Debora Nucatola

I have no idea what to say about this story.  By all verifiable sources, it is true that Planned Parenthood is taking body parts of aborted babies and selling them to increase their profits.

I don't even...

I can't even...

On the one hand, it's wicked enough to kill the unborn.  As an adoptive dad, I've put my money where my mouth is twice.  And I commend that route to birth moms and parents who can adopt.

On the other hand, to turn a profit twice over by this murderous act is heinous beyond imagination.  What kind of wickedness is this?  As one said, "It's not only that they were deprived of their lives, but also that their corpses were desecrated for profit."

Some thoughts...

1.  If there is any justice left in the U.S. justice system, people like this will go to jail.

2.  The justice of God, though potentially unseen now, will indeed prevail.  They are set in slippery places; they will fall to ruin - destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors (Ps. 73.18-19).

3.   If the church is to have any moral voice in the world, we darn sure better speak up here and now and to this issue.  Furthermore, we better darn sure step up our game for orphan care and advocacy.  If we can't get angry about this (without sinning, as instructed), then we should become monks and wait on the Second Coming.

4.  If the word "evil" isn't in your vocabulary, it should be.  We shouldn't surrender that in the name of political correctness or cultural relevance.  In days of old, the people living around the Israelites would sacrifice their children by fire to the god Molech by rolling them down into a ramp into a pit.  God spoke about it multiple times in the OT.  And this is worse.

May God have mercy on us all.

On Lines in the Sand

There's a relatively new book out that talks about the holiness of not judging another (upfront disclaimer:  I have not read the book nor am I commenting on any particular content of it).  I appreciate the thrust of that as Jesus is pretty clear on what that means and looks like.  What I have significant concern about is the lack of discernment that often comes with it when applied in our cultural moment.

One description of the book talks about ways we can erase lines in the sand that keep people from coming to Jesus, or even coming to us and then to Jesus.  Again, I appreciate the thrust of that.  I think any barrier that can be removed should.

But some can't.

And frankly, it's not lines in the sand that keep people from coming to Jesus.  It's the line that is drawn right through the human heart that bends it toward selfishness and rebellion and ends in brokenness and...wait for it...judgment.

Away with the manmade, line-in-the-sand barriers.  I'm all for that.  But some heartmade barriers cannot be put aside.

If anyone wants to be my apprentice, let he or she live self-denyingly, take up a cross everyday, and follow Me. ~ Jesus

If anyone comes to Me and the other relationships of parents, family, and even his or her own life don't look like hate in comparison to following Me, then that person is not really a follower at all. ~ Jesus (again)

The people who deny that Jesus is who He says He is and say He didn't come in the flesh:  they aren't followers of Christ but the antiChrist. ~ John

Like children following the example of their father, don't wrap your life around or give room to desires you used to do, but be holy like God is holy. ~ Peter

There are things to put to death, there are things to put away, and there are things to put on.  Be careful to do all of that as the Word of Christ instructs you. ~ Paul

On and on we could go.  Those just can't be taken away which is where so many end up, even though they never intend to get there, when they start talking about removing barriers to the Gospel.  And that approach is long on tolerance but weighed and found wanting on discernment.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

4 Thoughts on the SCOTUS ruling while sitting in an airport

In light of the SCOTUS ruling today (and a delayed flight), I thought I’d take a minute and jot down a few thoughts, especially for our church family.

First, you’re not surprised, are you?  I’m not.  I’m saddened but not surprised.

Second, if you’re in panic mode, you can relax.  It’s not panic time.  Not even a little bit.  But that’s not because the SCOTUS ruling wasn’t so off-the-wall and myopic.  It’s because yesterday God was in control of the world and everything was held together by Him and today is the same.  Yesterday the Gospel was Good News for broken people who are enslaved to their sin (all kinds!) because Jesus paid for their sin and purchased favor with God on their behalf and He willingly and joyfully forgives and gives new life to those who turn from their sin and to Him – and today is the same.  Yesterday the Church that Jesus purchased by His death and empowers by His Spirit was the light of the world and salt of the earth, and today it’s the same.

Third, watch for more and more religious freedom questions to get answered in light of this ruling.  I think it’ll break against Christian institutions (colleges, universities, hospitals, adoption agencies, etc.) and ultimately against churches.  Why?  Because it appears that SCOTUS has preferred the 14^th amendment over the 1^st.  That will cost us as a nation down the road.  The Constitution speaks of religious freedom but the Bible never does.  And that leads to…

Fourth, it won’t get easier to be a follower of Jesus in this country.  Faithfulness is what is required of us and ease is never promised us. The temptation to compromise or be silent will grow stronger.  So get ready.  But I can also say that there came a time when the persecution came upon a consolidated body of followers of Jesus in Jerusalem, resulting in them scattering to cities, nations, and lands abroad.  That let them live as missionaries and the Gospel spread like wildfire.  It may very well happen again.

It’s a different world we live in today.  But that’s okay.  Jesus is still in charge of it.  He still reigns over everything.

Report of Death is an Exaggeration

Mark Twain famously wrote in a note:  "Reports of my death are an exaggeration."

That's about right when it comes to the Pew study too.  If you saw any of the news regarding the report, you know that the "Nones" are on the rise and the "Christians" are in significant decline.  Some of the reports stopped short of including a smiley face, but it seemed the glee was there.

But what is actually there in the report?  Consider the following graphic (you can click on it to enlarge it):

What you see displayed is a study from 1972 to 2014 charting the percentage of the population of the U.S. that is considered church-attending.  The green line is evangelical, the red line is Protestant Mainline.  The last time the Mainline congregations had a greater percentage of attendance that evangelical church was 1972.  The line explains itself.

There's no glee.  Either in the demise of the Christianity generally or the precipitous decline of the mainline congregations.  But there is hope.  What I consider nominal and cultural Christianity seems to be shrinking (and no, I'm not saying all those Mainline churches are nominal or cultural Christians, though their denominations have shifted away from biblical teaching and standards officially).  Churches that are committed to the Gospel, to the declaration of God's Word, and to the standards found therein seem to be very much holding their own.

Is there room for improvement?  Goodness, yes.  But the sky isn't falling, Chicken Little.

6 Reasons we Invest in Public Schools

I referenced this in a post last week about the cheating scandal among Atlanta Public Schools and the trial, convictions, and sentencing that followed.

So here's the question again:  what if every evangelical church looked at a school in their geographic locale and did what they could to seek the welfare of that place and those people?

Here are my top six reasons our church is invested in a local school (an elementary school in our case):

1.  We have families with kids there.

2.  We have families with kids there that we want to reach with the Gospel.

3.  We want to do "cup of cold water" and evangelistic ministries as a part of our church-wide effort to Proclaim the Kingdom.  Our adopted school, in particular, is fertile ground for both.  We do the former through a great relationship with the school nurse and counselor (more below).  We do the latter through our sponsorship and hosting of a Good News Club.

4.  It gives us an opportunity to invest in people who are pouring out their lives for others.  The teachers and staff there are generally glad to see us coming.

5.  Our church family practices generosity (and fights suburbia-induced greed) by doing something at Christmas and at the end of school for families in need.  These families are often classified by the school district as homeless and are assigned to us by the counselor and nurse.  We buy and wrap gifts at Christmas.  We pack summer survival kits in May.

6.  It reminds us that the Kingdom is bigger and broader and better than just our little expression of it.  One grandmother pulled up to pick up her kid from Good News Club and excitedly expressed her gratitude that we had invested in her grandson who had just been baptized at their church the weekend before.  Awesome.

I don't assume that we can fix everything or presume that all is well simply because we're there.  Far from it.  But, I do know we're making a difference.  And that really does matter in the lives of some kids.

Judge Baxter, Education, and Cheating in Georgia

If you've missed the terrible cheating scandal in the Atlanta Public Schools and the court drama that followed, you've missed something that's a travesty.  Alleged educators were breaking rules for the sake of grades.  Full story here from CNN.

In his sentencing (all were found guilty of one crime or another), Judge Baxter noted that many of the kids in APS, because of their family situation and/or living conditions, had no chance for a better life except for the public education system, which failed them miserably.

First, he's right from a societal perspective.  Too many kids are stuck in tough situations with a pathetically narrow escape hatch.  I just read a statistic that 71% of African-American children are born out of wedlock!  When you consider the statistics that testify to the struggle of single moms, that's awful.

Second, there's more to it than their family, their living situation, and the failure of school administrators who loved bonuses more than they loved kids.  There's also the church, the hope of earth.

What if every church in metro Atlanta took responsibility for one school, it's welfare, it's teachers, it's "What do you need, Mrs. Counselor?"  What about your church?

If the church is the greatest institution in the world, then we can be about the greatest good in the world.  It's true that the church has been and done great good in the world at multiple times and in multiple places.  Atlanta seems like a great opportunity (and so is your neighborhood).

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Weeping while the world rejoices

I read a verse this morning that has just stuck with me and I can't shake it.  It describes so much of what goes on in our world.

Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice.  You will be sorrowful but your sorrow will turn into joy. (John 16.20)

You think about the world around us.  You think about how it rejoices over things that should bring tears.  The World Politic is fodder for late night comedians instead of the cause of weeping (and, as Christians, are we laughing along with them?).  Offhand and off-color jokes get forwarded not just to email accounts, but through them.  Cultural norms and ethics crumble while the world throws a party.

In the midst of this, I'm challenged two ways:

1.  To stay sad - my mentor at seminary used to tell me to be shocked by nothing and saddened by everything.  That's a tough balance.  Losing sadness means I'm writing people off.  I don't want to be guilty of that.

2.  Don't rejoice with them - there are some things that are funny.  Jimmy Fallon is one of them.  There are other things that are not.  Either way, there ought to linger in the atmosphere of our souls the tinge of sadness that things aren't supposed to be this way.  To do otherwise is to misspend our joy.

And the true, real, lasting joy is coming:  "But your sorrow will turn into joy."

Houston, we have a (Constitutional) problem

There are multiple reports from across the nation about the insanity that is unfolding in my metropolitan area (Try:  Here or Here or Here or Here).  I pastor a suburban church, so until this blew up I was basically unaware.

Here is one man's perspective:

1.  This is a constitutional issue at its roots.  No government entity or representative should be able to demand, subpoena, or stomp their feet until churches do what they want.  The whole idea of the First Amendment is to let churches continue to be and do as churches see fit.

2.  The whole Separation of Church and State bit is a treasured Baptist principle (one of the good ones, as opposed another one like pronouncing their own names with two 'b's instead of a 'b' and a 'p').  But man, it needs some clarity these days.  The church is separated from the state so it can continue its important work of being the conscience of both culture and government.  Furthermore, by all accounts, IRS regulations allow tax-exempt organizations like churches weigh in on issue-related politics and even participate in petition drives.  So what's the problem in Houston?

3.  The Mayor's and City Attorney's stories keep changing.  Uh...no, it wasn't me.  It wasn't my hand in the cookie jar.  My hand was in the bubble gum jar.  Uh...wait, it one time was in the cookie jar.  I took a selfie while doing it.  Uh...hey, did you see the Texans game?  My bet is that they continue to hedge until the story falls below the fold.  Then people will basically forget.

4.  In our social media culture, I think winsome responses win more often than angry responses.  What if (as a few did but a little too late) the narrative of response to the subpoena was, "@AnniseParker can get my sermons anytime. I preach almost every Sunday and she's welcome! #InviteAnnise."  Being winsome so often wins (think internet memes).

5.  Being winsome isn't enough though and I'm glad the Alliance Defense Fund has stepped in to call the government of Houston to account.

6.  No one from the Mayor's office wanted the sermons and private correspondence pieces of liberal-leaning churches who supported their HERO issue.  Churches advertised for the HERO issue (like this one).  So yes, it was 100% about vengeance politics.  Let's not pretend otherwise.

7.  Ultimately, there are still various people of various stripes, persuasions, and orientations who need to hear the Gospel.  I hope none fall prey to the temptation to ride this outrage to a very temporary fifteen minutes of fame.  I hope instead we all speak to the First Amendment issue (like Paul appealing to Caesar, so we appeal to the Constitution) and then just get up and go about our business of sharing the Gospel.

There will come a day when preaching the Gospel will cost us a lot more.  I don't think that's today...but it's coming.

My hopes for the SBC gathering this week

The denomination to which I belong, the Southern Baptist Convention, is gathering in its annual meeting this week in Baltimore, MD.  I'm not there for multiple reasons, but I do have some hopes for that gathering.

I'm just a pastor of a medium-ish-sized church in Texas.  So, you can take these or leave them.  But here we go...

1.  I hope they don't embarrass themselves.  No resolutions or commitments that give the media fodder.  I'm not talking about being biblically unfaithful.  Far from it.  But I am talking about not passing a resolution that is inflammatory without need or without consequence.  Sometimes I think they pass stuff because someone brings it to the floor and no one wants to vote against it.  But that's just it:  someone please say out loud, "Hey, I think we're all on the same page here.  And this resolution has no teeth, no consequence or binding authority on any church / entity / individual that breaks it.  Therefore, let's shut up and sit down and not spend time on inconsequential things like this."

2.  I hope they questions that need to get asked actually get asked and then get answered.  There are some big ones, I think, that are lingering in Southern Baptist life.  They need answers, even if it's, "Man, we really screwed up there and don't see a good out, so we're going to stay the course for the next 12 months until we figure it out."  Humility seems to buy a lot of goodwill and patience.

3.  I hope they don't do anything that further restricts the autonomy of the local church.  Previously, entities have acted in such a way that the action was seemingly outside an entity's purview and without Convention approval.  As a for instance, the IMB restricted the circle of applicants by denying certain spiritual gifts (and the individuals who were given them by God) and tightening the definition of Christian baptism.  But in Baptist life, it should be the churches telling the IMB who they are sending, not the IMB telling the churches who they can send.  The top-down stuff has to stop.  More examples are readily available.

4.  I hope the people who invited James MacDonald to the SBC Pastor's Conference check their heads and their hearts.  He, along with some other prominent evangelical pastors, seem to be a little big for their britches these days.  Controversy about character issues should at least deserve a second look before an invitation is extended.

5.  I hope some genuine pastors have some time for genuine encouragement and genuine refreshment.  I hope there are some genuine moments of prayer.  And I hope God genuinely continues to use this group to advance His Kingdom, however falteringly, for the glory of Jesus.

I can almost gloat

With the quite stunning reversal of World Vision's original decision to hire people in homosexual marriages in states that have deemed them legal, I could almost gloat.

Not because I had much to do with it.  I didn't.  You can measure my impact with a ridiculously long list of zeroes to the right of the decimal point.

Frankly, not because I invested all this prayer into it.  I didn't.  I remember muttering something like, "Et tu, Brute?" to the Throne Room when I heard about it.  I remember praying before posting.  I have to call that about it.

Not because I'm a stakeholder in World Vision.  We did sponsor a child through them about 3 years ago.  When our sponsored child left the program, we chose not to renew.  We were donor-fatigued from the extra mailings and phone calls we got from them.  Previously, we had sponsored a child through Compassion International.  Our experience was very different with them, which is why I continually recommend them.

None of those reasons.

I could almost gloat because I was on the "winning" side.

Even typing that into words makes me not particularly like the guy typing it.  It's pride.  That thing God actively, present-tense opposes.  Ugh.

I don't get to gloat when the Kingdom advances because it's not my Kingdom.  I don't get to gloat when Truth wins the day because I'm not its author.  I don't get to gloat when prayers are answered in the way I pray them because they aren't my answers (and there have been a Library-of-Congress-size catalog of prayers that haven't been answered in the way I prayed).

And I don't get to gloat in this moment either (though the temptation is admittedly there).

Here's where I am this morning and I hope it's helpful to someone:  when the right thing is done and you're on that side, don't gloat.  Go on about your business and keep doing right.  There will be a day when you are on the side of right but the wrong thing is done.  Go on about your business and keep doing right.

Because the measure isn't whether you won or lost - it's whether or not you remained faithful.

World Vision chooses by not choosing

For those of you who haven't heard, World Vision, the child-sponsor organization whose president wrote a pretty dang good book called The Hole in our Gospel, has chosen to hire practicing homosexuals, thereby lifting a prior ban on this particular form of immorality.  Please note, the hiring ban against practicing adulterers and other immoral people still stands.

So why did they choose to do so?

It's simple surrender.  Capitulation.  Thinking they're not choosing but actually choosing.

In their illogical logic, they say they are not choosing sides on an important cultural issue and then by their actions choose a side.  Their argument goes like this:  this is an important but contentious issue.  So we're not going to get in the middle of it.  Therefore, we're going to lift the ban on hiring practicing homosexuals who are in a marriage relationship in states (like Washington, where World Vision is headquartered) that have legalized it.

By lifting the ban, they have chosen sides.

They have sided against the teaching of Scripture.  They have sided against 2000 years of church history.  They have sided against Bible-believing people who have supported children through them.

Sound harsh?

All the believers in Jesus who follow His teachings now have to make a decision.  That's actually how I heard about this case.  A friend called and asked what his family should do about their support of a family through World Vision.  For the record, I think people have the legitimate ethical option of completing their sponsorship without any problem from Jesus.  I think they also have the legitimate ethical option of supporting a different child through a different agency like Compassion International.

Progressive and mainline denominations will applaud it.  And they will call folks like me less-than-biblical or mis-priortized because I care about something like this rather than children in need around the world.  I'm not a prophet, but my guess is that they will see 30% shrinkage in their revenue in the next several months.  How many families in need of support will that impact?  So, if I'm right - which is a big if, they have moved away from biblical morality and the social justice they care about so much.

Before you pick up the ad hominem rock of "You're mean like the Scribes and Pharisees," just know I would've written this about any self-proclaimed Christian organization who made such a foolish moral call on another moral issue.

So, Fred Phelps is dead. Should I be happy?

Fred Phelps, the founding pastor, and lead hate-inspirer at the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas and apparent keeper of the super-helpful website god hates fags dot com (I write it out so as not to give it any linkage) has died.  He has led the "church" to protest funerals of soldiers and others, claiming the country ought not be mourning because that is the judgment of god (little 'g' on purpose so as not to give it credence) upon a nation that has forsaken basic morality.

They even protested my alma mater, Baylor for something I can't remember.  I think it was for Baylor hosting the memorial services for the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion.

For clarity, I consider him a pastor like I consider my lab-beagle mix a wolf.  And I consider their "church" as much a church as I consider the Buddhists to be Baptists.  If you work hard enough, you can find similarities.  But no one would naturally associate the two.

He's dead.  He's facing his Maker - not the one of his own making, but the real deal, the genuine article.  God.  The Righteous Judge.  The King.

Should I be happy about this?  Like when UBL was killed.  Is there rejoicing in me?  Should there be?

No.

No.  There's no rejoicing in the death of the wicked.  And there's no glee in a person who showed no mercy now desperately in need of some.  A man who so often pronounced God's judgment is now facing it.  I don't claim to know his eternal state.  That's not my job.

But this is haunting:  "Be merciful as your Father is merciful."

And then I wonder how to apply it today.  To my friends.  To my kids.  To my wife.  To my co-laborers.

That command stands.  No matter what the Phelps family says.

Last one, I promise: Louisiana College

I write about these things this week just to point out that there is stuff going on in the evangelical world that needs attention, and not just from the secular press.

So it is with Louisiana College.

Joe Aguillard, the current president of LC, has apparently misappropriated funds, cost the college a $10M donation, removed more than a few faculty members, and covered up and then paid off the kind of actions that get you fired.  There might have been other issues with investigations, barely survived votes of confidence, leaks from the board of trustees, and relations to the state convention.

I have friends in Louisiana.  I have other friends with degrees from LC.  I've known a faculty member there. It's all ugly.

And for pastors and the president to hide behind theological controversy in order to cover up the leadership issues is organizational and spiritual hubris of the worst kind.  Yuck.  Now the students are "on strike," refusing to attend class until the president goes.

And Jesus wept.

You can look at the local paper, the Town Talk, for more info.

The Problem with Ergun Caner

I have posted (here and other related posts) before about the problems with the evangelist-apologist-dean-provost-now-college-president named Ergun Caner.  Before 9/11, he was known as Butch Caner.  Since, he has been Ergun Mehemet Caner.  And he's made quite a life and name for himself playing himself up as a person who was "trained at a Madrasa" to commit similar acts as the 9/11 hijackers.  But he was saved by Jesus and all is well.

The only problem is, none of it is true.  He immigrated to the U.S. as a small child, growing up in Ohio, and doesn't even speak fluent Arabic.

It's a sham.  Or a scam.  Or both.

And now he leads Brewton-Parker College in Georgia, a small Baptist college just on the edge of losing its accreditation with SACS.

I'm enough of an autonomy of Baptist institutions guy to let them hire who they want to.  They have every right to hire someone who has intentionally and consistently misrepresented himself before teens, adults, U.S. Marines, and thousands of others.  But I also have the compulsion to say that it's a terrible choice.

While he's stirring up the red-meat appetites of the older Baptists in Georgia with comments like, "We don't have a problem [at the college] that a good old-fashioned revival couldn't fix," it remains to be seen how accreditation for basic standards at an institution and revival go together.  It preaches well but the practice is...let's say it's not so great.

I bring this up, I guess, to add my voice to the chorus of people who are asking, "What the heck is going on?"

I can't fix it.  I know.  And God does indeed know there are times when my mouth has gotten me in trouble.  But even in a losing battle against apathetic leadership among some Baptist institutions, people ought to stand up and say that it's not right.

It just reflects so poorly on Christian leaders and the Christian church.  It's not enough that the world increasingly hates us, that Satan is steadily against us.  Now we're shooting ourselves in the foot too with our tolerance of this?

Controversy Week: Mark Driscoll (now Updated)

I have been mulling some comments about some things happening in conservative evangelical life in the U.S.  All three of the circumstances have some controversy surrounding them.  I'd like to weigh in for a moment.

Let's start with the lightning rod, Mark Driscoll.  He's planted a church in Seattle, seen thousands come to Christ, been a part of controversy before, and has, in my estimation, been a pretty good guy who has done good Kingdom work.  Some disagree with that last phrase (which they have the right to do), but God forbid my life being under the same scrutiny as his.

The problem, as I see it, is he started believing his own press.  In the South, you might say he was getting a little big for his britches.

First, there were plenty of controversial sermons.  Just Google "Mark Driscoll controversial sermon" and you'll have enough material, a good portion of which is not worth your time.

Second, there were plagiarism issues.  He, pretty clearly, plagiarized a chapter in one of his books.  I'm in a doctoral program where not citing sources gets you kicked out.  I'm not sure that publishing a book should get a pass either.  Then there was plagiarized material in a study guide the church sold.  Then more material in another book.  Then a sermon, more or less.

Now, here's the deal on some of this.  I have ingested several books in my lifetime that have had such impact on me that I can quote them without knowing that I am quoting them because it has become part of my thinking.  He gets a pass from me on stuff like this.

Here's the difference:  when someone says, "Hey Trent, that's from Dallas Willard's Divine Conspiracy, right?"  I typically think for a second (to make sure that's right), and then say, "Yep.  You should read that book again!  It's just that good!"  If someone asks, "Hey, why didn't you give him credit in your sermon?"  I look at them, and yes I have done this, and say, "You know, some of his writings have soaked into me and they just come out at various times.  But you're right - I should have said it was Willard's material.  Spread the word that the good part came from him, okay?"

Driscoll hasn't done that to my knowledge.  He's berated a talk show host.  He's backpedaled on some of his claims.  And he's blamed an unnamed research assistant who conveniently no longer works for the church.

Lastly, there is the New York Times Bestseller issue.  His church (!) paid over $200,000 to get his book on the NYT list, some of that going to a company that specializes in gaming the system and some of it going to purchase books per that company's recommendation.

Confession:  I've never written a book, though some day I hope to, so I don't know the pressure that comes along with actually selling the stuff.  However, gaming the system to make the NYT list seems to go way beyond "getting the message out" and "all things to all people in order that I might win a few."  Long past contextualization, it seems like cheating.

To his credit, he has withdrawn his moniker as a NYT bestselling author and taken some other steps.  But the deal is that the church still paid for it and it undoubtedly profits Driscoll, something the IRS calls inurement and frowns upon with penalties.

** Update ** Driscoll has written a letter of apology that gets a solid 'B' from me.  It specifically addresses the NYT issue and vaguely addresses some other stuff.  Link here.

Here's why all this crud matters (at least to me, and I hope to you).

We gripe about politicians who don't do what they say, do the opposite of what they say, or cut a deal that's good for them and bad for everyone else.  We fuss when our boss messes us over and takes credit for something he had the tip of his pinky in, but no other investment.

But we have nothing to say when one of the more famous pastors in America (is that the problem in a phrase?) has all this happen in a matter of a few months and gets called on the carpet for it, with barely a word of explanation but lots of excuses?

Shame on us.

If God withdraws His hand from what appears to be a substantial, theologically informed, Spirit-driven movement among the younger generation, it may be because we tolerated the celebrity instead of loving the Truth.

I'm not on a witch hunt here.  Again, God forbid my life be under the same scrutiny.  But we have to speak to our own.  Judgment begins with the house of God.

Sadness for Philip Seymour Hoffman

I have one primary thought about the passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman's passing.  I have other thoughts, secondary ones about the media coverage surrounding him and his circumstances.  Those I will save for another post.

The primary thought I have had as I reflect on him is the terrible hole in his heart that created the need to feed heroin into his veins.

We all have the same issue.  It's a vacuum in there, something like a black hole that keeps consuming and consuming and consuming.  Some need affection, so they feed the vacuum with relationship after relationship.  Some need significance, so they throw status symbol after status symbol into the hole to see if it will fill.  Some need purpose, so they go running from cause to cause and often wear themselves out.

On and on we could go.

The secret of this pursuit is its vanity.  It's as ridiculous as you individually throwing one grain of sand into the Grand Canyon at a time, claiming you're going to fill it.  The Bible says it's like that because eternity as been placed in our hearts and, therefore, nothing temporal can fill it.  Nothing.

Not a new job.  Not a new relationship.  Not a new possession.  Not anything.

Certainly not heroin.  It may numb us - anything can sate for a moment.  But it can't satisfy.

I'm sad for PSH because of the hole in his heart that caused him to put heroin in his veins.  And I know that's a human epidemic.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

A Letter to Kacey Musgraves

Dear Kacey,

I like country music.  A lot.  You kind of strike me as positioning yourself as the Alanis Morisette of country music, though I'm not sure that will work out so well in the end.  However, I want to do my best to give you the benefit of the doubt without sounding like that guy.  But your song really stinks.  It's no good.

[Editorial Note:  in case you don't know the song I'm talking about (for readers, not Kacey, obviously):

Make lots of noise and kiss lots of boys
Kiss lots of girls if that's what your into
When the straight and narrow gets a little too straight light up a joint, or don't
Just follow your arrow wherever it points]

If I were to truly follow my arrow wherever it points and everyone else did the same, we'd have anarchy.  If my arrow pointed to me robbing a bank, that would certainly be bad.  And the argument gets made back that goes something like this: "Well, as long as you're not hurting anyone it's okay."  The problem with that is our actions and inactions always have consequences on those around us.  So your exhortation to the young women who like your music is seriously detrimental to their lives and to the world they live in.  If a young woman followed her heart to roll up a joint and smoke it if she wanted to, ended up in jail, and stood before the judge, "Following your arrow" is not a defense acceptable in that situation.  But more than that, if they followed their arrow to any number of desires, it turns into bad news in a hurry.

The problem, Kacey, is that the human heart is tragically and deceitfully broken.  Tragically because of the potential that it holds and yet is marred.  Deceitfully because lines like "Follow your arrow wherever it points" actually make sense to the broken human heart even though it's terrible advice and the heart is socially incapable of actually living that way.  Again, if everyone truly followed their arrow, you can easily envision how a mom would up and leave her kids because she wanted to go rock climbing for a month.  It really is impossible.

Here's what I do appreciate about your song.  You have it right in a powerful way:  it's damned if you do and damned if you don't.  If you try to live on the aforementioned straight and narrow, you can end up in bad shape just as easily as if you threw constraint to the wind and became the best hedonist you could.  Your diagnosis is absolutely right.  Your cure is worse than the disease though.

Instead, there's a God who loves you and wants to heal, mend, and unify that fragmented heart of yours.  I know because He's done that for mine.  Instead of following the arrow, I'm following Jesus.  And He's a much better leader.

Sincerely,
Trent

Reflections on MLK Day as a Dad in a Transracial Family

I have waited most of the day to try to put this to words because I wasn't sure I wanted to at first.  But it just kept nagging me and so I'm here at my keyboard to type.

This is the current make-up of our family:  The Queen and I are caucasian, as are our two biological boys, the Bear and the Ninja.  Then comes Peanut, the adopted princess from China.  And we currently have Squirmy, an energetic little African-American boy who is our foster child.

MLK Day means something different to me this year.

I have sat down at restaurants with my family and no one has asked us why we aren't sitting in the Non-Whites section of the restaurant.  Italian restaurants.  Mexican restaurants.  Home-cooking restaurants.  Not one has tried to move us because of our family's transracial mix.

I have gone to the mall and been welcomed into every store with all of my kids in tow.  No one has said that I can't shop there or jacked up the price because of the skin color of the ankle-biters around me.

I have been in and around law enforcement officers and no one has threatened me or called me names because of the children around me.

I haven't lost a job because of them either.

We've garnered a few stares - but they are few.  And I dare even to believe that some were stares of admiration or pity instead of judgment and racism.

So yes.  MLK Day means something different to me this year.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Dennis Rodman and the Lie of Individuality

Dennis Rodman is a basketball freak.  He grabbed more rebounds in his NBA career than anyone else.  And apparently, all those piercings and tattoos have turned him into just a plain ol' freak.  I told the Queen that I didn't think I'd get on Rodman's lifeboat if I was on the Titanic.  He's fruit loops.

He recently visited North Korea, much to the chagrin and frustration of basically everyone in the thinking world who processes oxygen through respiration.  In doing so, he pretty much bit the head off of Chris Cuomo in an interview that left everyone scratching their non-bit-off head.  But don't worry, he was drinking.  That's why he was crazy with Cuomo. [Story Here]

His essential message related to a North Korean prisoner named Kenneth Bae is that he wasn't messenger or emissary of the United States, but a personal friend of the potentate of NK.  Therefore, it wasn't his problem (and the guy was probably guilty anyway).  This is Charles Barkley's "I'm not a role model" on international steroids.

The problem with this line of thinking is it assumes that evil / sin / bad stuff in the world is contained in some spiritual flask or moral beaker with a Bible verse stopper in the top.  Nice.  Tidy.  Isolated.

But the evil / sin / bad stuff in the world isn't contained like that.  It's more like a consistent, toxic sludge dripping into the water supply for years upon years.  Poisoning is widespread and nobody gets away from it.

For a moment, let's get off the crazy train that is Dennis Rodman and bring it down to where we live. Because I have - and you have too - thought to yourself that the opportunity to sin or the missed opportunity to do good didn't really have a connection with anyone else.  It's isolated.  Contained.  Call it the lie of individual sin.  We've thought it.

And we're dead wrong.

Sin, whether of the Rodman variety or something a heck of a lot closer to home (like the computer screen you're reading this on?), always has consequences.  Always.  And they're not solely contained in the heart of the man or woman who commits the sin.  There are repercussions.  Some are slow drips.  Some are failed dams.

A wife leaves her family because of her adultery and blames her husband.  Dam.

A college student tells himself it's just videos on the computer and no one knows and it doesn't matter anyway.  Drip.

A dad always has emails to answer and phone calls to take, and a son who doesn't know how to dribble a basketball.  Drip.

A women's small group at church is the generator and promulgator of much of the church's gossip, all in the name of prayer.  Dam.

Dennis Rodman can't get around that.  We can't either.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

The Irony of Affluenza

If you have had your head under a rock for the past few days, you missed the Affluenza Defense set out by the defense attorneys of 16-year old Ethan Couch, who was found guilty of going for more beer (they had already stolen some from Walmart) in his dad's pickup whereafter he crashed and killed four people.  Here's a NY Times piece on it.

It's terrible.

Here's what's worse.  The judge in the case bought the defense's argument for a lesser sentence because poor Ethan Couch hadn't had a mommy and daddy who snatched him up and busted his tail every so often when he got mouthy or out of line.  Because his parents didn't set boundaries, they argued, Ethan Couch didn't know how to act in society.

And the judge bought it.  Judge Jean Boyd sentenced him to probation and a stay at a long-term rehab facility.

And the irony:  by letting the kid off with probation and rehab, the judge has participated in and perpetuated whatever state of stupidity and irresponsibility Ethan Couch lives in.

And that's just wrong.  Four people are dead.  And a rehab facility has another celebrity-ish client.

Wrong.  Wrong.  Wrong.