Hate Religion Love Jesus Video

There is a YouTube video that has gone viral.  It is a video put together by a young man who claims faith but has a lot of harsh things to say about religion in the church ( http://youtu.be/1IAhDGYlpqY – you may have to watch an ad first).

During the video the young man does state he loves the church.  This video has caused a lot of discussion (Baptists will most likely “discover” it in a month or two – I am amazed on how far behind we have gotten on using technology effectively).  This video can be used to generate discussions about the bureaucratization of the church and how the political right has hijacked the church for it own secular and philosophical agenda.

You may dislike what the young man has to say or you may love it.  What he has done has created a format for discussion.  I hope we seize the moment.

The opinions expressed on this blog are my own and do not represent the opinions of any individuals or entities I am affiliated with.

Note:  Please keep Pastor George Morrison in your prayers.

God was Wrong

Rick Perry has withdrawn from the Presidential Race.  Was God wrong?  Did not Perry and his wife come out and say that God had told him to run for president?

Maybe this is another case of a Jonah incident.  Remember, Jonah went to Nineveh and preached that God would destroy the city in 40 days.  However, the people of Nineveh (and their cattle – Nineveh was a fore-runner of Texas) repented in sack cloth and ash for their sins and God decided not to destroy the city (I guess it was predestined for God to change his mind in this instance).  Perhaps this country and its current president has repented enough for God to change his mind so Rick Perry was not longer needed.

Or maybe what Governor Perry and his wife engaged in was a bit of religious manipulation.

Unlike Jonah, who after he made his prophecy went and sent under a shady vine to contemplate and complain, Governor Perry will go back to his tax payer funded mansion, sip his wine, and figure out how he and his friend can make more money off of toll roads and illegal immigrants.  But then again, Perry has proved himself to be more interest in profit than prophet.

And then there is the Perry endorsement.  One cannot help but wonder after the convocation that Pressler put together decided to go with Rick Santorum if Governor Perry decided to endorse Newt Gingrich in an effort to get even.   Yes Rick Perry is quick to jump on a protect marriage bandwagon and then endorse unrepentant adultery.

Robert Jeffress, the pastor of FBC Dallas words (after he endorsed Perry) come to mind:

“I felt like I ought to use personally whatever influence I might have to try to elect a godly leader and place him in the White House,” the pastor said. “I believe that as Christians, individually we have responsibility to stand up and push back against evil.”  

Unless that evil is to swap one wife for another, an another, and or promote an “open” marriage where anything goes.

It is my deepest belief that Christians do the kingdom of God a great disservice when we focus on political persons or political parties rather than being prophetic to both.

The opinions expressed on this blog are my own and do not represent the opinions of any individuals or entities I am affiliated with.

Note:  Please keep Pastor George Morrison in your prayers.

Coloring Outside the Box

While using a brainstorm app on my tablet trying to think of new ways to reach out to our church saturated consumer driven community I came up with the following idea.  I would ask the workers at a particular place in our community who work on Sundays if they would be interested in having a worship service with the folks they worked with and their families and would they help me place the service?

The response was overwhelmingly positive.  Most of these folks have some kind of church background from their childhood days or from parents and grandparents and are reaching an age that they themselves are beginning to feel a need for a deeper sense of meaning and purpose.

So far, we have a general commitment to get this project rolling.  We have on person who does a good job on the guitar willing to help and another who is willing to do the promotion and contacting to keep the project on track.  I am putting together a series of question that will allow them to let me know what would be meaningful in a service, what kind of a sermon topic would them be interested in, etc..    I will post more on this project as it develops.

If they cannot come to the church, I am going to do my best to take the service of the church to them so they can become their own church if need be.

The opinions expressed on this blog are my own and do not represent the opinions of any individuals or entities I am affiliated with.

From, “It’s Our Turn” to “I Don’t Know”

David Hardage is now the Executive Director of the TBC/BGCT officially.  The Standard reported the vote was 69-1 (God bless the 1).

Who?

David Hardage, the compromise candidate now officially the ED.

Marv Knox immediately got to interview the new ED and (this is not a joke, Knox really wrote this) stated:

David Hardage said the right thing shortly after Texas Baptists’ Executive Board elected him executive director.

“I don’t know.”

Yes, Knox really printed this.  This is  just what the TBC/BGCT needs, someone who says, “I don’t know”.  Come to think of it, Hardage follows in the path of his two predecessors Wade and Everett.  When asked about the Valley, Wade did not know.  When asked about anything, Everett did not know.

Good job Marv, and you didn’t even have him write up his own news release like you did with Currie.

The opinions expressed on this blog are my own and do not represent the opinions of any individuals or entities I am affiliated with.

Putting a Bed on the Roof

(To my brother in the Valley, made sure you got on another church prayer list.  I believe the prayers are building!)

Yes, Baptists are autonomous.  Baptists are marketeers.  Baptists are whatever they want to be.  Baptists can  put a bed on a roof, proclaim how good made made sex and actual believe the world will take them seriously.

We really like people with issues and agendas.  We put them on committees and use them to control churches.  We don’t stand up for much (unless we are in a crowd) because we really don’t like people with backbones.

We cherish the autonomy of the local church.  We are proud that we can hire uneducated or pseudo educated clergy and we don’t have any written creeds (we can call them confessions with a straight face).  We believe in separation of church and state as long as the church can promote a civil religion.

We can have scandals and think we are doing good by covering them up.  We have “leaders” who manipulate boards and budgets to make themselves rich and call these leaders men blessed of God.  We can do whatever we think is right and judge anyone who dares question us or is not loyal to the party line.

We scream we are transparent but strive to make the process of selecting a new executive director a closed door secret.  We are proud that we were .06 percent above last year’s budget and hope no one remembers our budget is now less than half it was a decade ago.  We boast who we can evangelize with new computer technology but fail to show any real results from what we say.  We promote people who lie and stretch the numbers of people they “reach” because to tell the truth shows just how incompetent the folks we hire are.

Yep, we are baptists and we are proud of what we have done to the Lord’s church (and the money we have made).

The opinions expressed on this blog are my own and do not represent the opinions of any individuals or entities I am affiliated with.

A New, Short, but Powerful Book

I read George Hunter’s new book, The Recovery of a Contagious Methodist Movement, today.  Dr. Hunter offers incredible insight about the power of a movement in comparison to maintaining a bureaucracy.  Very good, short read that could change the direction of any convention.

This recommendation is my own.

How the Compromise Candidate Came About

More behind the scenes details are coming out about how David Hardage became the selection of the TBC/BGCT search committee.

Who?

David Hardage, the person the search committee has picked to oversee the decline of the former BGCT.

Oh…..

It seems the Jerry Carlisle really wanted the job.  I mean really, really, really wanted the job, so much that he had folks working (begging) hard to try and help him.  However, Jerry was very closely identified with the TBC and the committee had enough sense to not go with such an obvious TBC player.

The other person who was seriously consider was Tom Billings (we had really hope Tom was going to get the job and deliberately did not blog about his being interviewed knowing this would hurt him).  Billings was liked by several of the folks on the committee and for a time, it looked like he was going to get the job (one of my sources really did think he had it.  Tom was the candidate I thought would be named at the convention- I was wrong).  Tom Billings would likely have accepted the position but did not beg for it nor did he seek it.  For a time, the position sought him.  However since Tom was not actively identified with the TBC, the hard liners were afraid of him.

So, here comes the compromise.  Hardage was someone who the TBC insiders trusted because of his relationship with Baylor but one who was not noted for TBC activity.  Hardage was the best compromise candidate the committee could get.

When you focus on compromise, compromise is what you will get.  I am sure David Hardage will do as good a job as Everett or Wade.

Who?

David Hardage, the next Executive Director of the TBC/BGCT.

Oh.

The opinions expressed on this blog are my own and do not represent the opinions of any individuals or entities I am affiliated with.

Note:  To my brother in the Valley:  Hope you are doing OK.  Most folks have no idea just how much good you have accomplished in your service in the Valley.  I hope God will heal you and give you many more days of service to the folks you love and care for.

When Faith Trumps Fun

Samurai is going to post outstanding examples of those who choose the path of service to our Lord over that standards of the world.  The following is the first of 2012:

Here’s an inspiring story. Teens at St. Paul UMC in Amarillo, TX decided to cancel their annual ski trip. Instead, they donated the funds to help feed hungry children in their community. Do you know a similar story of sacrifice? Tell us about it.

Anthony Inman couldn’t believe his ears. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked. He looked around the room at about 30 students at St. Paul United Methodist Church, where Inman is the youth pastor. All 30 students nodded their heads.

It is not often one hears of such none staged behavior from a “youth group”.  To these young people I say, You practice spiritual “Oshi shinobu!”

The opinions expressed on this blog are my own and do not represent the opinions of any individuals or entities I am affiliated with.

Note:  To my brother in the Valley:  You were prayed for this morning.

Young Hard-of-Age?

The following recent comment followed one by a friend how has been diagnosed with Cancer.  Please pray for the faithful pastor who now walks the path of Job that God will cure him.

As for the following comment, his claim indicates he knows David Hardage well (Who? David Hardage, the new executive director of the TBC/BGCT) and seems feel about him as Samurai does about many of the current corrupt cozeners employed there now.

David,

Since the start of the War on BGCT by TBC, young hard of age has been a part of the process.  He worked hard to become the pastor of FBC Arlington, but the leadership would not call another person like Wade.  I disagree with our friend Rick, for he was at the meetings and in some of the key leadership meetings.  He was rewarded for his faithfulness when he was recommended for the DOM position in Waco.  BGCT was a part of the process of selection. He was moved to Truett to serve as the money man for the CBF, TBC, pastor and staff developing Truett Seminary. Let us not forget that he was a part of the leadership that was in the forefront of delivering BGCT from the Pinsonites.  I wept in the middle of the night upon realizing that the process of selection was skewed.  I wonder now what Lyles’ reward will be for delivering the prize.

Adam

Editor’s Note:  I do check IP addresses to make sure that the same people are not leaving comments under different names.  The above is a unique comment to this blog.

The opinions expressed on this blog are my own and do not represent the opinions of any individuals or entities I am affiliated with.

The Politics Factor

I work hard to keep my partisan political views out of the pulpit.  I doubt if anyone in the church I now serve could tell you if I voted Republican or Democrat.  I learned the hard way early in my ministry that the political process will use the church and then discard without a second of regret.

I recently encountered individual who asked me what I was doing to make sure our current president was one term president.  I asked this person why they asked me that question.  The person responded by telling me just how horrible a president our current one is.

“Oh”, replied, “What has he done that is so horrible?”

After a five minute diatribe of opinions and talk show rumors I was a finally able to ask this person, “Have you researched your information?”

“No, but that does not change the fact that he is a bad president,” the person fired back.

Don’t-confuse-me-with-the-facts-my-mind-is-made-up is the creed of far too many politically opinionated people.  I could only wish that people were as passionate for the lost as they are for who gets elected as president.

I am still wondering where the weapons of mass destruction are?

The opinions expressed on this blog are my own and do not represent the opinions of any individuals or entities I am affiliated with.