A Fool and his Words are Soon Parted

One of the most common slams I see against “The Church” (capitalization intended) is our willingness to throw lots of dollars into facilities that could be “better spent elsewhere.” To be frank (and you be Harold), this is not necessarily an unfair characterization.

What if, instead, we turned the process upside-down, and built a church in reverse? What would that look like? (more…)

Recently, Tiffany blogged about the hanging of Saddam Hussein, the culpability of the United States (and specifically, President Bush) for “war crimes.” While I am no fan of our current foreign policy (or lack thereof), and struggle greatly with the actions of my country in Iraq, I’ve been more inclined to look at the developing situation and ask “What do we do now?”

The hanging of Saddam brings new questions and new concerns, and clearly will not magically bring an end to violence in Iraq. What it does do, is bring closure to the reign of a tyrant. (more…)

It’s been a long time coming, and I suppose I should have stated this clearly earlier. I have a confession to make. I don’t know the exact value of Pi.

Oh, sure. I know an “approximate” value: 3.1415926535. I know that from memory. But I have to confess that I don’t know the exact value. (more…)

This morning, I was re-reading a friend’s blog, and her perspective on God. Her post was interesting, as were the comments that followed. It made me ask the question above.

Reading the comments reminded me that when I bump across people who feel they have it all figured out, that they’ve definitively answered every possible question about a creator or no creator (and I’m not suggesting that this applies to Tiffany, or any of the commentors on her blog entry), regardless of their educational background or religious affiliation (or non-affiliation), I smile. My smile is not the smug smile of someone who knows more, smiling at the cuteness of those less wise than me. It’s a smile that says “maybe someday I’ll have it figured out like you apparently do, but I’m not there yet.”

Recently, another friend of mine recently said to me, “Tim, if you don’t have questions… if you’ve got it all figured out, your god isn’t big enough.” It seems to me that we all have gods, whether we use a big “G” or a little “g,” and whether we have one, or many. We just choose different things, and sometimes ascribe to them different powers, authority, and ability, but ultimately, they all sound like gods to me.

Oddly enough, the “other friend” I mentioned above is also the senior pastor of my church. Weird thing for a Southern Baptist minister to say, huh?

Tonight, a good friend of mine was complimenting me on my speaking voice after I did some narration for my church’s Living Christmas Tree. (Note: The link is to a tree similar to what my church does. That’s not my church, or our tree.) In accepting his compliment, I acknowleged that I felt that God had blessed me with a voice for public speaking, and felt compelled to put forth my best effort.

He responded by saying “Collossians 3:23… Whatever you do, do it as you would do it unto the Lord and not for men.”

In spite of the fact that I have been active in the Baptist church all of my life (including my time “in utero”), there are times that someone quoting scripture rubs me the wrong way. “Why?” you might ask, since what my friend said seemed completely valid, and perfectly in-context.

The best way for me to describe my negative reaction, is to introduce you to the term that comes to mind, which is the title of this blog: Soundbite theology. It drives me absolutely nutty. (more…)

If you’re a fan of American Football, it’s hard to have missed Reggie Bush’s performance in last weekend’s preseason game against the Tennessee Titans. Beyond some deft moves on the field, Bush demonstrated that his marketing team is just as agile at dodging NFL marketing rules as he is at dodging would-be tacklers.

By wearing cleats that show a logo other than Nike or Reebok, Reggie Bush has violated one of the most important rules in the NFL: Thou shalt not market brands outside of our established relationships. (more…)

I have a few questions

• Why is it that so many of us who are Christians…

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Lately, I’ve been asking myself an odd question: What defines who I am? In other words, what single label best applies? Am I a Baptist? A Coach? A Republican? A Liberal? A Christian? A Father? A gun-toting, Bambi-shootin’, baby-spankin’, football-coachin’, church-goin’, pun-lovin’ fool?

Depending on who you ask, I might be any one of these (or something much less pleasant). Why is it that we have such a strong tendency to put labels on people, and why does this seem to be more of an issue in our current society than in years past? Does the label used to identify me also define me?

Recently, I have debated the relative merits of gun ownership, first person shooters, and the ethics of pacifism with a couple of close friends. In both cases, they were surprised to discover that I was a gun-owner, given that I have every indication of being a non-violent man.

The truth is, I am non-violent in nature. However, I see the goal of world peace and the realities of pacifism in a different light from my friends. (more…)

According to Yahoo News, Rush Limbaugh has recently been detained at an airport for trying to transport prescription medications without a valid prescription. The prescription in question was Viagra.
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