Sorry. I'm a Bad Blogger.

Yes. I'm alive. And I plan to do more posting. I've got a million things I could put on here, but the last month has been a series of challenges:

1) Sickness and a horrible "you sound like you're dying" cough
2) More preaching than I usually do
3) A Zondervan editing project
4) Selling Jen's car (or at least trying to)
5) Fixing our sump pump with my friend Craig
6) Getting our lawn looking decent and doing some gardening

Anyway...you get the picture. Plus, every free moment is spent with either my wife or son now.

But I'll be back. Soon. With something worth reading.

I promise.

Sin?

As a pastor, I've been convinced for awhile now that the real problem in presenting Christ to people in American culture is not getting them to believe that God loves them or that he has a plan for their life or that he wants to answer their prayers....

The real problem is speaking the truth in a way that helps people to see that they are sinners in need of God's mercy. Our culture has lost any sense of "sin".

USA Today has a great article on this topic as they reflect on Easter. It's worth a read.

One key thing to keep in mind...while many people may still believe in the idea of "sin" it's still a good idea to ask them what sin is to them. Most people tend to define it by their own standards--not as an offense against a Holy God.

Why does any of this matter?

Simply because you can't really grasp the significance of Easter if you don't understand the depravity of sin. It puts the "amazing" in amazing grace.

Where's All the Heat?

According to NPR, scientists are struggling to find signs that the oceans are actually getting warmer....the more evidence they uncover, the more they realize they really don't know what is going on.

Obama, Politics, and the Real Issue

The recent video of Obama's pastor, Rev. Wright, and his anti-American, racist comments have caused many to rethink their assessment of Obama.

But race isn't my primary concern when it comes to Senator Obama. There is something far worse. His stance on abortion. Obama is one of the most pro-abortion candidates we've seen. For two years in a row, as an Illinois Senator, Obama voted against a law that would have protected a child born alive during the course of an abortion (or other unexpected procedure). He stood up on the floor of the Senate and argued against allowing these children to live. In other words, he argued in support of infanticide--the killing of infants and children.

In his third year as Senator, he didn't have to bother arguing against it. Since he controlled the judiciary committee, he simply prevented the bill from getting to the Senate floor. You can find links to all of this as a matter of official record.

In many ways, it is sadly ironic that Obama, who many see as a champion of social justice and care for the oppressed, should be on the wrong side of the "slavery" issue of our generation.

You see, abortion, like slavery in the late 1800's, is all about who you consider to be a "person". Most everyone agrees that a fetus is human (if it isn't human, then what is it?). An unborn child differs from an infant only in size, level of development, location (outside the womb), and the degree to which it is dependent. None of these have any bearing on personhood (are small people less of a person than big people?). So why are the unborn denied the rights of other human beings?

Because they are considered the "property" of their mothers, in the plainest legal sense. Abortion is a modern-day version of slavery.

Abort73.com has a great article explaining the connections:

In 1857, the United States Supreme Court, through the majority opinion of Roger B. Taney, in the case, Dred Scott v. Sanford ruled that blacks, "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect; and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit. He was bought and sold and treated as an ordinary article of merchandise and traffic, whenever profit could be made by it." According to the Supreme Court, Dred Scott and the rest of the African-American population were not persons, they were property. It would be eight years before their ruling would be reversed, first through the 13th Amendment that outlawed slavery, and then expanded through the 14th Amendment which gave broad rights of citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S.

116 years after Dred Scott, the Supreme Court once again ruled that a specific group of human beings were not persons, but property under the law. Roe v. Wade, argued on much the same lines as Dred Scott, remains with us to this day.

For me, this isn't about one-issue politics or ignoring other issues. It's about the most fundamental things we believe--freedom, liberty, equality...basic human rights. Slavery was a great injustice, but it didn't always end in the death of the individual. Abortion, on the other hand, always kills. It is slavery of the worst kind.

Slavery was rightly opposed by the church, and though it took decades, it was eventually overthrown and black men, women, and children were given full rights as human beings--recognized as more than property and given the status of "personhood." My hope and prayer is that the church of our day will graciously but firmly stand for the rights of children of all racial backgrounds, all sizes, and all levels of development who are being treated as property and killed without a second thought. Opposing abortion is fundamentally about protecting the human rights of children. And we must seek justice for these young ones, through prayer, patience, and perseverance.

That's why you won't find me voting for Obama (or Hilary for that matter). Some issues DO matter more than others.

Beware Glasses at Hotels

You may have seen this news report before, but if not...just know you've been warned! :) Don't drink out of glasses at hotels! Use plastic, one-use cups or bring your own!

The Decline of Our Language

Here is an interesting article on the damage that feminism has done to our language...

We have a generation of young men and women who have been indoctrinated in the ways of bad writing.

Huck on Weekend Report

You've gotta love a guy who can laugh at himself...

Interesting Articles Of Recent Days

Since I'm catching up on some blog reading, here are some of the more "thoughtful" and "interesting" articles from the past week.

1. This article from the Washington Post talks about how American's are just getting dumber. The author picks up on the trend of anti-rationalism and anti-intellectualism in our country. Sadly, this is also true in the church. The article also picks up on the danger of a video vs. print focus in media, and how this reduces the ability of kids to concentrate for longer periods, which is often required for higher levels of thinking. Interesting.

2. This is a cool article about a "computer" that dates from before the time of Christ. It's amazing that such a complex mechanical object existed that long ago. It has astounded scientists and historians. They think that there may have been much that was lost over the years... I've often wondered if the ancients were smarter than we think. After all, the capacity for intellectual thought has only decreased since the fall. I'm quite sure that Adam and Even had intellectual abilities that far exceeded ours. After all, they lived in a world barely tainted by sin and lived over 800 years. Think of all the wisdom and experience they had! Something was certainly lost after the flood...our lifespans radically decreased and our ability to retain knowledge dropped drastically following those days.

Greetings from Guatemala

Howdy...

I've been a bit late in getting an update to all you folks back home about my trip to Guatemala. So here it is...in brief form.

We arrived in Guatemala City on Saturday evening, pretty late. Our flights and everything were great. We stayed at a comfortable hotel in the city and have spent the past three days working at a variety of orphanages. The focus of this trip is to get a sense of the different types of orphanages in the country and how the care for orphans differs from place to place. Our home base is an orphanage sponsored by All Gods Children International, and it is by far the best of the ones we visit. While most of the places we visit provide adequate care, AGCI gives a much-needed peronal element to the care of orphans. It's a great place.

At most of the orphanages we have games for the kiddos and at a few we've done some crafts. We visited the Guatemala City garbage dump and I had a chance to share the gospel with about 30 people hanging out there. We first handed out bread to them, and then I shared a message about our rebellion against God and how Jesus has made it possible for our sin and evil to be forgiven if we turn to him in forgiveness and repent, following him. I invited people to receive Christ, but urged them not to respond to please me. We offered them Bibles if they wanted to know more about this man, Jesus, and almost all of them took either a Bible or a devotional tract. It was awesome.

Today, we spent the morning traveling to a city in the mountains. Unfortunately, two of our team members (Kim and Taylor) were sick, and we had a number of pit stops along the way. Thankfully, they are feeling better now. After a brief lunch and some quick shopping (I didn't buy anything), we visited another orphanage filled with babies. I spent most of the afternoon holding little babies until I was exhausted. There were probably close to 50 or 60 kids there, and only about 10 workers. The kids were desperate for someone to hold them. Most of them were less than a year old. It was tiring, but very rewarding.

After returning back to town, we enjoyed a wonderful Italian dinner (yummy lasagna) and most of the team is now resting up for tomorrow.

I'm using this time to catch up on some blog reading, since we have a few hours free tonight. So hopefully I'll have some other posts tonight. :)

Anyway, thanks for all your prayers! It's been a great trip! I miss my wife and son alot (it's hard to be gone now), but I know that God has me here to serve him, and the joy of seeing God work in the hearts of the people on this trip is worth the sacrifice, for sure. Still, it will be good to be home soon.

I highly doubt I'll have another update from Guatemala, so if you want more details and pics, check out the blog of my co-worker and friend, Laura Smith.

Mapping the Emerging Church

Here's a helpful little map of the emerging movement and where it might compare to other spheres of evangelicalism.




I don't have time to interact with it since I'm getting ready to leave for Guatemala tomorrow morning to work with orphans!

I should have some time to post some updates from the trip over the next week, but I can't make any promises. Pray for Jen and Isaac while I'm gone.

Does Anyone Know the Bible?

NPR has an article out about Mike Huckabee, the former governor who is running for President. Mr. Huckabee is quite literate in the Bible, and he frequently uses biblical allusions in his speeches. Most of them are actually pretty sharp and witty...Huck is no dummy, that's for sure.

But what really gets me is the fact that almost no one understands what he is saying. NPR interviewed people, even some self-proclaimed evangelicals, and found that almost no one understood the biblical references.

Two thoughts come to mind.

1. What are people learning in church on Sundays? And what are they studying during the week? Do Christians know the Bible anymore? (These are pretty much rhetorical questions in case you are wondering...) :)

2. Shouldn't it be part of our school curriculum to learn even the bare bones stories of the Bible? How can a person grasp 90% of Western culture for the past 2000 years without at least knowing who David is or a rough outline of the life of Jesus? Our country and culture are becoming historically illiterate through our lack of biblical knowledge.

As much as I love the allusions that Huckabee uses...I think I have to agree with NPR. His words are falling on deaf ears. No one understands these things anymore....

Red is Illegal

Apparently, the color red is now illegal in Saudi Arabia.

At least for Valentine's Day, that is.

Of course, as soon as you make a law, people will find ways to break it:

Because of the ban on red roses, a black market has flowered ahead of Valentine's Day. Roses that normally go for five Saudi riyal ($1.30) fetch up to 30 riyal ($8) on February 14, the Saudi Gazette said.

"Sometimes we deliver the bouquets in the middle of the night or early morning, to avoid suspicion," one florist told the paper.