Search results for: “good news”

  • Racism in the Church

    Ever read something that just leaves you in shock? I just read this and could not believe the intense racism that exists in some places. Perhaps my eyes are not open wide enough, but I’ve never experienced anything quite like this. It is a travesty.

    Two excepts from the news article (Source)

    The Rev. John Stevens says Fellowship
    Baptist Church in Saltillo voted not to approve blacks as members
    during a scheduled Sunday night business meeting Aug. 6. Because of the
    decision, Stevens stepped down from the Baptist Missionary Alliance
    congregation that has an average Sunday morning attendance of 30 people.

    According
    to Stevens, the church made race an issue after a biracial 12-year-old
    boy, Joe, began attending Fellowship Baptist with his temporary
    guardians.

    The church was "afraid Joe might come with his
    people and have blacks in the church," Stevens said. "I could not go
    along with that. There would always be a wall between us, so I resigned
    that night."

    Insert my jaw dropping face. I couldn’t believe this and I applaud John for walking away from that place. Words cannot express accurately what I’m thinking.

    After being told of the vote, Cliff Hardy,
    an officer with the Tupelo Police Department, left the church. He and
    his family had been going to Fellowship Baptist for about a year and
    had been praying about becoming members there.

    "I was asking the Lord to lead us," Hardy said.

    The police officer says there are good people at Fellowship Baptist, and the Bible was preached there.

    However,
    "You see, my best friend is a black man," he said. "I wouldn’t be
    comfortable going to a place where I couldn’t ask my best friend to go
    to church with me."

    I don’t believe in leaving churches over flippant reasoning. But this is a valid reason to go. I pray I am never at a place in my life where people exclude others from fellowship in the body over clearly non-biblical standards. Absolutely sickening. It’s my hope that I am doing the opposite in my life… widening room at the table for people of all backgrounds for a seat at the table with Christ. I hope we are united in our differences by the shed blood of Jesus.

    If this is true, how could anyone justify staying there? Where in the Bible are people getting this idea that we should not allow people of different races to worship together?

  • I don’t think I mattered

    I’m not sure I even want to talk about this. But it has to come out somewhere and I think it has a good purpose.

    (more…)

  • Don’t Ban LaShish

    LashishA few weeks ago I posted an entry about the ownership of the LaShish Restaurant chain being investigated for possible ties to terrorism. Here in Detroit, this has been an ongoing story with regular updates and tabloid quality reporting.

    This Saturday we had our annual June Birthday and Anniversary Towerpic_1Celebration for everyone in our family. (I think there are 10 or more celebrations combined into that single meal.) As usual, everyone got together and we devoured the infamous "Flaming Tower." This tower of Palestinian goodness packs beef, chicken, lamb, shrimp, and vegetable skewers together… all piled high and topped with a ridiculous bowl of fire. It’s so tacky that you have to get excited about it.  As my beloved wife mentioned a few weeks ago, I don’t like holidays or celebrations all that much. But for once, I love this thing. It’s just a lot of fun and the flaming tower is the center piece to our day.

    But, this is what bothered me with this trip. The place was empty. The sad thing is that I think the place was vacant because of the investigation into the ownership. And, it was really sad to see such a great place so empty. Now, I’m as red-blooded as everyone else… but I just don’t get why people would stay away from LaShish. Here’s a couple of things I thought of.

    1. It’s one of the best places to eat in town. In fact, I can’t think of a better place to eat for the money.
    2. The wait staff is now and always is fantastic. They are knowledgeable about their products and overly polite to "stupid Americans" who say all the wrong things culturally.
    3. The ownership is under investigation. Last time I read the constitution there was something in there about "Being innocent until proven guilty." Does this somehow not apply to people of Middle Eastern decent? Have Americans gotten that dumb?
    4. Even if they are guilty… you would think that the place would be packed full of Bush haters.
    5. Even if they are guilty, you would think every Presbyterian in town would be required to eat there to "not support Israel."

    So, if you’ve been staying away from the place because of this investigation… cut it out! The place is still fantastic.

    Man, I’m so positive you would think I were hired to endorse them or something? I can see that headline "Baptist pastor signs endorsement deal with Palestinian restaurant" Bring it on.

  • Inside Man

    InsidemanLast night Kristen and I went to watch Inside Man, the new Spike Lee joint. Let’s just say it was far better than I was expecting it to be. It had a psychological component that was unanticipated.

    It’s a story about the perfect crime. The detective, played by Denzel Washington, is called in to negotiate with the bank robbers as they have taken about 40 hostages. During the course of the film, the viewer is left wondering who is who. Who is the victim? Who is the criminal? Who is the investigator. You have an arrogant robber versus an arrogant detective. Then there is the wild card. It turns out that they are not robbing the bank afterall, they are after a secret locked in the banks vault. Jodie Foster plays a wild card character that is also after the same thing in the bank vault… but she used her strong arm tactics to do what the theives use guns and guts doing.

    At the end of the day, it’s one of those movies that leaves you scratching your head. Think the Sixth Sense meets Oceans 11 meets Ransom. Overall, I highly recommend it despite it’s language problem. Not for kids, but 15 and up?

    Next up? Looks like a good summer for action thrillers. I am actually looking forward to the DaVinci Code movie. I know it presents a serious problem for Christians… but the movie looks quite good. This may be one of those things the church would be better off looking for the redeemable opportunities and discussion as opposed to fighting this movie.

  • finally making money?

    Siriuslogoblu_img_lrg_3After my last investment in Sirius (SIRI) the stock promptly lost another $.75. Thankfully, due to two great bits of news, Sirius made a nice rebound. First, it was announced Friday that Volkswagen and Audi will install Sirius radios exclusively in their cars. Previously, some were also shipped with XM. Second, they announced that they’ve passed the 4 million subscriber number. My feeling since the beginning that Sirius will win the satellite radio race. I make the comparison between Sirius and upstart America Online back in the early 1990’s when they were chasing CompuServe. Remember them? They were the "big dog" who brought the ISP to the national stage… but they got swallowed by AOL in the mid-1990’s.

    Texas_roadhouse_1A lot less news on Texas Roadhouse. (TXRH) Things are looking up, the stock… like Sirius… has been making some big gains. As the Roadhouse continues to grow in popularity it my hope that the franchise will surge forward in many new locations.

    What’s next? I’m keeping an eye on the IPO of Tim Horton’s. Since I’m not a hard core investor and this is a new hobby for me, I don’t have a lot of access to IPO’s, but I like to see one of my favorite businesses going public. There is nearly infinite growth potential for this place. Growth is good!

  • Light Force doesn’t do retreats?

    RaitzBack a several weeks ago I had lunch with Jason Raitz. It seems like in this conversation we talked about 100 things. Last week I saw him again at the Detroit Metro Youth Workers lunch, I really like him. He’s a cool guy with a great heart for students.

    So, here is a part of our conversation he recorded in his ministry’s newsletter:


        I was having lunch with a youth worker not to long ago who
    said something that really got me thinking: "my kids really
    aren’t into to retreats anymore, so we don’t do
    them". REALLY?!?? Seriously, I could not stop thinking about
    that statement for weeks and here’s why, and get ready for the
    depth of this answer; I love retreats! I do, I always have,
    and I think I will till Christ returns. But more important than
    my personal feelings, I believe that retreats can become, dare
    I say, ebeneezer moments for your ministry. Because of
    that, I believe we should invest a great amount of our time
    and energy into them. [Project 311 March Newsletter]

    Later he wrote: "        I don’t even have enough space to convince you why you
    should you put a large amount of your energy into the
    planning, preparation, and execution of your retreats"

    First off, I’m not mad that he used this private conversation to make a point publically. Heck, I do this all the time. But I do think his idea bears some feedback.

    I’ve asked Jason to write an article for YMX talking about the importance of retreats in student ministry. I will write an article called "Why I kissed retreats goodbye." I am looking forward to this not because I think I have a superior opinion, and not because Jason will represent the majority opinion and I will represent the minority opinion… but because this is something that we need to be thinking about. In most student ministries I know, the bi-annual retreats are major peices of the ministry philosophy. The question is "Do you know why it is or isn’t part of your ministry philosophy?" For many out there, it is the single most expensive thing (time and money-wise) that they do. But should it be?

    Of course, this leads directly into my larger "Pastor Adam rant" about events and evangelism. [Shivering just thinking about it!]

  • Paralyzed by Fear

    GarmishThe following is an article I wrote for the Romeo Peach. (Our church newsletter)

    We’ve just completed our first week of 3 Story Life groups here at church. Our goal has always been bold. We want to equip 100 people with skills for sharing their faith in 2006. With the groups we have going right now, the number is already nearing 50.

    It is an accident that we’re starting 3 Story during the Olympics, but I’ve also gotten caught up in its symbolism. I’ve had the pleasure of traveling in the Swiss and Austrian Alps, I’ve been on some great ski mountains, and I have to be honest and say that I was terrified by the challenges I faced. The very first time I went skiing I got on the wrong lift and ended up on a very steep ridge, far beyond my skill level. (You can’t snowplow down something nearly vertical!) It was a beautiful trip to the top of the hill but when I got to the top and looked at all the skiers hurriedly gliding to the edge so they could start their descent… I had to stop to catch my breath. Reality had just smacked me in the face. Of all the times I had watched skiing on television it never sunk in how high or steep the hills might be. I was very afraid of what would happen. It was at that moment that I realized that since I had no idea what I was doing, I was taking a huge risk. My mind raced with pending realities. I could get hurt! I would likely get laughed at. I would fall; it was just a matter of how hard I would fall and how much it would hurt to fall.

    With no way out but going down the hill I had to swallow my fears and head down the mountain. Just as I had imagined I fell several times on my way down the mountain. I was laughed at, I got some bruises, and I learned some hard lessons the hard way. But I also lived to tell the story. Oddly enough I even found that while it wasn’t easy, it was worth it. When I made it to the bottom I found that, while I still had a healthy fear of the mountain, it was exhilarating to swallow the fear and take the chance!

    This is the same look I’ve seen in our 3 Story groups. A little bit of fear, a lot of excitement and some expectations that learning to share our faith with people we already know may come with bumps along the way. Paul writes, "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:6)

    For those who are now in 3 Story groups, thank you for counting the cost, swallowing your fears, and heading down the mountain! For those who haven’t "headed up the mountain" yet, there will be more opportunities later this spring.

  • Paralyzed by Fear

    Below is an article that I’ve written for our churches newsletter, the Romeo Peach

    Ski We’ve just completed our first week of 3 Story Life groups here at church. Our goal has always been bold. We want to equip 100 people with skills for sharing their faith in 2006. With the groups we have going right now, the number is already nearing 50.

    It is an accident that we’re starting 3 Story during the Olympics, but I’ve also gotten caught up in it’s symbolism. I’ve had the pleasure of traveling in the Swiss and Austrian alps, I’ve been on some great ski mountains, and I have to be honest and say that I was terrified by the challenges I faced. The very first time I went skiing I got on the wrong lift and ended up on a very steep ridge, far beyond my skill level. (You can’t snowplow down something nearly vertical!) It was a beautiful trip to the top of the hill but when I got to the top and looked at all the skiers hurriedly gliding to the edge so they could start their decent… I had to stop to catch my breathe. Reality had just smacked me in the face. Of all the times I had watched skiing on television it never sunk in how high or steep the hills might be. I was very afraid of what would happen. It was at that moment that I realized that since I had no idea what I was doing, I was taking a huge risk. My mind raced with pending realities. I could get hurt! I would likely get laughed at. I would fall, it was just a matter of how hard I would fall and how much it would hurt to fall.

    With no way out but going down the hill I had to swallow my fears and head down the mountain. Just as I had imagined I fell several times on my way down the mountain. I was laughed at, I got some bruises, and I learned some hard lessons the hard way. But I also lived to tell the story. Oddly enough I even found that while it wasn’t easy, it was worth it. When I made it to the bottom I found that, while I still had a healthy fear of the mountain, it was exhilarating to swallow the fear and take the chance!

    This is the same look I’ve seen in our 3 Story groups. A little bit of fear, a lot of excitement, and some expectations that learning to share our faith with people we already know may come with bumps along the way. Paul writes, "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:6-8)

    For those who are now in 3 Story groups, thank you for counting the cost, swallowing your fears, and heading down the mountain! For those who haven’t "headed up the mountain" yet, there will be more opportunities later this spring.

  • Haitian Elections

    Haiti_electionWe’ve not heard from our people on the ground in Haiti, but new reports have yesterday’s national elections as "satisfactory." For Haiti, that’s excellent.

    In a similar story I was listening to NPR in the car yesterday when a senator was talking about his failed 1988 run for President of the United States. When they asked him how he handled his failuure their and his upcoming running on the Republican ticket he said, "You have to keep it all in context. In most countries if you are defeated in an election you are likely to get killed, in the US your party gives you a pension." Good point.

  • When life just makes sense

    How come we don’t see people write articles about how great life is? How come everyone wants to talk about "what sucks" and doesn’t want to talk about things being great, or even just normal.

    Can I be honest? Life is pretty good for me right now. I know that isn’t newsworthy, but it is what it is! Light Force is going well. Church is going well. Relationships are going well. My kids are doing good. Kristen is happy. The dog and cat are getting along. YMX is going good… yeah, so that’s it Mr. Journal. Life is good.

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