A bold fresh piece of blasphemy

(Image disclaimer: This is merely to catch your attention & peak your interest, we don't hate Bill O'Reilly, we just disagree with him as this blog entry will point out.)

The title of this post is modified and borrowed from Bill O'Reilly's lastest book entitled, "Bold fresh piece of humanity." To be perfectly honest, I have not read the book in it's entirety. And I don't think I will. Based on what I have read, the book in my opinion borders on blasphemy. The only bold fresh piece of humanity to come along over the last 2,000 years is Jesus not Bill O'Reilly. O'Reilly continually refers to himself as the bold fresh guy. He also touts a need for self reliance and independence. "Accept nothing from anyone else, do it yourself," O Reilly says. Ideas that are in complete contrast to the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus taught us to depend on God. He said, "Apart from me you can't do squat!" (My translation of John 15:5) To live any other way is delusional at best. Many have tried, and yes some succeed in the world's eyes. But we'll never make it very far without God.

The boldest and freshest piece of humanity to ever come along is of course Jesus. If we want to know what it means to be truly human than we should get to know Jesus. He was the most human and humane person who ever lived. Bill O'Reilly often brags about how smart he is. Consider this: Jesus was the smartest guy who ever lived. There is something about this man that we cannot escape. There is a reason why people are obsessed with Jesus. Once he gets into your mind, it is awful hard to get him out, not that you would want to. And did you know that Jesus is as popular as ever? Yeah! There are Jesus action figures, Jesus bobble heads, Jesus seminars, Jesus movies. In fact, there are more movies made about Jesus than any other figure in history, over 100 and counting.

There is nary a mention of Jesus in O'Reilly's book. The only thing that even comes close are refereences to O'Reilly's childhood in a parochial School where he gained the reputation of being an antagonist. Nope no Jesus, just Bill. Maybe that explains O'Reilly's self disclosed lack of patience for people.

So here is what I think is going to happen when Bill O'Reilly passes from this life to the next. He will approach heaven's gate, where St. Peter will politely ask him to have a seat and wait for a minute, or two, or three...

What you can learn from a Rottweiler

For quite some time now I have had two Akita dogs. They are an inseparable brother -sister pair who were literally rescued from the wilderness in Northern Idaho. About 10 months ago, I was given a 5 month old female Rottweiler puppy. The puppy came from a very bad home and was not house trained. We reluctantly took her in and began training her. I was concerned whether or not the Akitas would accept her. Akitas tend to be very pack oriented and only accept their own. Nonetheless, we assimilated the Rottweiler into our home. Before long the Akitas accepted her into the pack. They made it very clear to her that she was in, but not one of them. From there the Rottweiler began to establish her own identity. She did not try to become an Akita. I made a bed for her in the corner of our living room where she resides. She found activities that were unique to her. Like swimming, fetch and keep away. Even when the Akitas sneer at her, she shrugs it off and goes about her business. She has never harbored any resentment or sought to retaliate. In my mind, she is the perfect picture of a well-balanced secure dog. She realizes that she is a Rottweiler not an Akita and nothing holds her back. She is who she is, no apologies, no regrets. In a manner of speaking she has differentiated herself by cultivating her own sense of identity and strength. She is a rival to no one. In off leash parks, she socializes well and stays within the sound of my voice. She shares her bones and respects the boundaries of the Akitas. I am impressed with her sense of confidence and security. In fact, she is an inspiration to watch. She is clearly a misfit in our pack, but what a wonderful blessing she has become! Whenever I am tempted to just go along with the rest of the pack, I think of our Rottweiler, Lulu. She reminds me that it is okay to be yourself. She inspires me to be who God created me to be.

Lameness

George Bush has really got to be feeling it. He's a lame duck in Washington these days- suffering from the lowest approval ratings of any president in recent history. Nobody wants to be seen with him. Photo ops are rare. The media has all but written him off. Even the Republican establishment is keeping their distance. How sad. A presidency once filled with hope and promise of uniting the country ends with the nation more divided than it has ever been. For Bush 43, it just has turned out as he thought.

I know something about lameness these days. I've been struggling to heal a sprained ankle. Quite honestly, I've had days of feeling completely worthless. And lets face it, I'm not 24 anymore, I'm 29 (uhum....39). Anyway, being lame sucks. Under normal healthy circumstances I can run circles around people half my age. But lately, I've been feeling like a lame duck president. Just can't do much.

This is where we Christ followers have to settle into being instead of doing. Most of our self worth is tied up in doing and not being. So along comes a sprained ankle and all the doing is put on hold. As believers we must strike the balance of between being and doing. As John Wesley once said, there is no personal holiness without social holiness. So I'm learning to value this down time as an opportunity to put the doing on hold in favor of just being a child of God. And in some ways, it's long over due. The being has given me a chance to reflect on some things that I wouldn't otherwise have a chance to reflect on. Slowing it down is almost a good thing. I almost wonder sometimes if God didn't have something to do with it. So when things don't turn out as you would like them to on the doing front, take a deep breath and just BE for a while. And I hope you'll find it as refreshing as I do.

Baseball brewhaha

I used to think that Church politics were pretty bad. And they are, but what happens in the Church is nothing compared to baseball. I've been out of pastoral ministry for a year, and I have to say that it has been a blessing to be free of all the political manuevering and backbiting. But then out of the frying pan and into the fire. I jumped headfirst into Junior Baseball and I can honestly say that baseball is more cutthroat than what you see in the Church. Put a bunch of parents, coaches and egos together on the same field and watch what happens.

Case in point. My team, the Bluesox, played a team from David Douglas that has a reputation for harsh competitiveness. We played this team hard in a hotly contested game. The outcome of the game was a tie. And that's when the politics began. To make a long story short, they were upset with the umpire we selected. From there, they proceeded to take issue with everything including me. In the end, they had the game overturned in their favor on an technicality. UGGHH! To say that I was upset is an understatement. Actually, I think it was more shock and dismay than anything else. What is it about midget baseball that posesses people to the point that they almost lose thier minds? Numerous incidences occur each year that involve overly zealous parents and out of control coaches who allow the competitiveness to take over.

Before I point any fingers, I just want to say that I have struggled with this. At times, I find myself going a little overboard with matters on the baseball diamond. I have actually had to pray that God will help me keep it all in check. On occasion I have come down to hard a player, or snapped at people. I can't imagine being involved in this sport without God. I think I would be completely out of control! No wonder so many little league game descend into chaos! Once a spirit of competitiveness takes over there is little anyone can do to stop it. Apart from God, I just don't see much hope.

If anything, my coaching adventures have taught me that my life is nothing without Christ. I would be so lost, so out of control and so completely hopeless without the savior. Apart from God there is nothing to live for, not even baseball. The sport of baseball is very unforgiving and unkind. In fact, I've discovered that it doesn't take much to corrupt an innocent game of baseball. Just throw some human beings in the mix and watch how quickly it can go down hill...

Hey, if there is something in your life that trips you up, like baseball does me, what do you plan to do about it? Are you crying out to God for help? Have you allowed Jesus to enter into that place of struggle? Let's pray for each other and hold each other accountable. I don't know about you, but I need all the help I can get.

Into the Deep

I'm very excited about introducing our new study titled, "Into the Deep" (Aka 'Deep'). Deep was conceived two years ago when I was a Pastor at Springwater Church. It was written for discussion oriented small groups. Based on Acts 1-9, Deep covers the following topics: healing, freedom, faith, community, etc. Along the way, so many people helped out. Lets face it, when writing anything, I need as much help as I can get. I want to personally thank the following people: Joy Moreland, Paulette Wakeman, Cambria Hunter, Elaine Hunter, Amy Davis, Paul Campbell, and Jenny Bruton. Everybody was awesome! Hopefully, we have created something that will be useful to the Kingdom. As always, I think I got the most out of preparing it. Writing Deep changed my life. If it was only for me, then the effort was worth it. I am growing in the process.

While we were hard at work with Deep, we also took some time to revise "Taking the Plunge." We went through it and totally reworked some the verbage and implemented some new ideas and suggestions made. I'm much more confident in this version. It's amazing how these projects are never done, they are evergreen documents; always changing.

I also want you to hear from my heart. We have no delusions of granduer. I am personally humbled by the opportunity to do this. And believe me, writing anything for an audience calls for humility! You never feel like its completely right and there is always that lingering fear of criticism. In any case, Plunge & Deep are both offerings that we hope will encourage growth and transformation. If nothing else, it will be a great Doctor of Ministry project.

I am willing to be as generous as I possibly can with copies of both studies. If you know of some one, a church, a small group, an individual that would like a copy, don't hesitate to have them contact us. If they cannot afford it, I will send them a copy for free. God will provide, and thats all that matters. I also have Leader guides for both studies. And with our material you can slice & dice and not have to worry about offending anyone. And no fretting over copyright either!

I have updated my website to make both studies available by request. Simply make the request using this e-mail: orders@plungefaith.com From there we can send a request for funds through Paypal assuming it's a person who can pay. And at that, only to cover materials and shipping, nothing else. For now, Paypal will serve a store function. It's cheaper and it works just fine.

I'm also looking for a couple of small groups that will use the 'Deep' study and give me some feedback. Additionally, I am available to personally mentor people through the Plunge study. Especially if they are new to the faith. This can be done from a distance-ONLINE! Yup, you heard it. Online discipleship. A growing number of people live in rural areas where local Church involvement is difficult. This is especially true given the fact, so many rural churches are closing. Or maybe travel schedules disallow consistent involvement in a healthy Church. Whatever the case, I am willing to work with people online to help them develop spiritually.

B.T.W. If you feel led to donate to our cause, you are welcome. We cannot give tax deductible receipts, sorry. Your gifts would be appreciated though and help us help others. check out the updated website at: www.plungefaith.com

Going Deep,

Bob

bob@plungefaith.com
cambria@plungefaith.com

Can Mike Huckabee save us?

I just hate it when Christians do this. They get all hyped up & starry eyed when a candidate rings all the right political bells singaling a savior has arrived. It happened with George Bush in two elections. The big story coming out of the 2004 Presidential election was how 'values' voters propelled "W" to a second term. It's a dangerous thing to have power. And sadly I think some in the evangelical right have become enamored with it.

Here we ago again with Mike Huckabee. He won the Iowa caucuses because of the Christian conservatives. Huckabee came in as a savior from what some perceived as a moderately liberal field of candidates. And I guess it doesn't hurt to have Baptist miniserial credentials in your background. Not to mention a winsome personality and a socially conservative track record. Huckabee wooed the conservative voting block and boy did they suck it up.

Anyway, I just thought it might be fun to mention a few things that typically make some people mad. Number one, Mike Huckabee is not savior. No more than George Bush was and is. He's just a man. The political realities of Washington are not conducive to Savior activity. Washington D.C. is a place for martydom not the Savior syndrome. They call it the Washington meat grinder and it indiscriminately chews people up whether they are republican or democrat. Think about it.

Number two, we have to cool down instead of getting hyped up. The political scene is prone to hype. The big story out of Iowa and N.H. is the hype. I mean you wouldn't believe it, they hype these political rallies up like high school pep rallies. And amid all the rah, rah, you find right wing christians praying for God to bless the outcome. Pardon me, but I fail to see the point. How do we justify all that hype in light of scripture anyway? I'd like to where scripture condones it?

Number three, even if the 'wrong' candidate gets elected, it's not the end of the world. When Bill Clinton got elected with less than a majority vote in 1992, I thought I would never hear the end of it. Conservative commentators were heralding the end of the world. Yeah, some damage was done, but also some good. Anyway, it's the same crap I heard from the other side when Bush got elected in 2000. The sky is going to fall, it's the end of the world, blah, blah, blah... a bunch of hooey! The last time I checked, God was still in control. He's not unaware of politcal misteps and musings. I'm sure God has a belly laugh everytime someone spews that crap. Because it's totally false.

I'll leave you with this last thought, Jesus said, "I am A to Z. I'm the God who is, the God who was, and the God about to arrive" Revelation 1:8 The Message Who can argue with that?

Anyway, your turn. I'd like to hear about your political gripes and spiritual struggles with our great democracy.

Christmas Crashers

Do you remember the movie, "Wedding Crashers" from a couple of years ago? It was a big hit. And didn't they do a reality show by the same name? The definition of a 'crasher' is someone who attends an event as an uninvited guest. So I was just wondering if it was possible to have a Christmas Crasher? Maybe not the ones your thinking of. Yeah, there were definately some Christmas crashers around on the first Christmas. Like maybe... Herod, he sort of tried to crash the party I guess you could say...But then there were other things that got in the way. Like busyness, materialism, politics, etc. All the same things we struggle with today. (Don't worry we're keeping politics out of the discussion this time!)

Have you ever had an uninvited guest show up for Christmas? Like a relative that you haven't spoken to, or how about your old friend depression? Neither ask to come, they just show up when you least expect it. And surprise, they crash the party!

Maybe I'm not alone in this, but it sure seems that Christmas is an opportune time for our spiritual enemy to show up...uninvited! You see, the ultimate Christmas crasher is the devil. And in case you're wondering, I still believe there is a devil and that he wants to crash everyones party! Yeah, we have a spiritual enemy that shows up uninvited from time to time. And that's why we have to make sure that we officially univite him when he arrives. Yup, that's what we need to do. Open the door up and kick his freaking butt out in the cold where he belongs. In other words, don't let the devil pull a fast one on you this year. He'll come when you least expect it and steal the presents right out from under the Christmas Tree. And he'll do it right under your big fat nose! That's why you need to get aggressive and send him back to hell where he belongs. Because let's face it, there is nothing worse than a Holiday that gets poo hooed by an uninvited guest.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to wish each one of you a very Merry "Plunge Faith" Christmas. But I want to challenge you to recognize the battle we are in and limit your celebrations to invited guests only!!!

O.K. you faithful bloggers get your backs off the wall and dance!