Interesting Times

May you live in interesting times.
                  --Ancient Chinese Curse

It seems the curse has been fulfilled.

You may be left at the end of the day, scratching your head and wondering, "What is happening to our world?" Welcome to the club.

Notice a common theme. From the riots in Athens, Greece, to the riots in London, England, to the (near) riots in Madison, Wisconsin, to bailouts and bank failures and bankruptcies, people are beginning to confront the ugly reality that we don't have as much money as we thought we did.

For generations, politicians have entered elected office bound and determined to convince everyone how generous and compassionate they are. So, they promise generous benefits to today's voters while deferring the bills for those benefits to people who are too young to vote.

And there is abundant talk of not "kicking the can down the road." In political discourse, a cliche has a very long shelf life. So we're told, "We must not kick the can down the road." "We should not kick the can down the road." "We will not kick the can down the road." Our leaders got together, compromised, and, you guessed it, decided to "kick the can down the road." Someone should flatten the can so it can be disposed of.

But hey, that's how we like it. Once a constituency starts receiving a benefit, they don't want to give it up. When pressed, you get riots.Nobody wants to pay more taxes, get less Social Security, or pay higher Medicare premiums. We want what we feel we're entitled to. So, in the first 10 months of this fiscal year alone, the federal government has borrowed over $ 1 trillion dollars (that's 1,000 billion). This year alone.

Here's a simple, godly principle for individuals and nations:
                                         --There is great dignity in living within your means.

Taking on large amounts of debt changes you. It changes you from a free man or woman into a slave. The Bible says, "The borrower is servant to the lender" (Pr.22:7). And you were made to be free, not a slave.

Well, you might guess there is an exception. You're right. Paul said it like this, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another" (Rm.13:8).

Should We Make Purple?



Let's do it MY way!



My first ministry out of seminary was in suburban Washington, D.C. The D.C. metro area is some kind of political town! I guess it was here, in the early 80s, that I really cultivated an interest in all things political. I can't remember a time when Washington was more entertaining than it is right now.

And, by the way, don't get too excited about any headlines that finally come out about the debt ceiling and reduced spending. No proposal is going to do anything about insane, indefensible spending. "Shall we cut off half an inch of the lion's tail, or a whole inch?" Be sure, either way, the lion will still have a very long tail and he will be exceedingly annoyed.

People will complain, "Why can't they just get along and compromise?" The thinking is, "You prefer Red and you prefer Blue. Just get together and make some Purple!"

But that's not the nature of our system. We have, by design, an adversarial form of government. And it is absolutely terrible. That's right. We have a terrible form of government. It's just that it's so much better than whatever is second best.

The leaders in our government are not going to "get along." And they shouldn't. They are adversaries. Our system is not about compromise; it is about prevailing. People want to say the government is broken. I think it's working exactly as it was designed.The left and the right represent two very different views of the role of government and have two very different visions for the future.  Now, I won't bore you with my description of these distinctions because I'm really on the way to making another point.

In the spiritual realm, we live in an adversarial system. Our adversary (Satan) has a different view for our future than does God. The Apostle Peter warns us, "Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion as he looks for someone to devour" (1P5:8,GW). Are we to get along with our adversary and just compromise? Of course not. Rather, Peter says, "Be firm in the faith and resist him" (1P5:9,GW).

Please understand. I'm not urging the demonizing of political opponents. Our grasp of political truth is not nearly as clear as is our grasp of spiritual truth. But when it comes to the matter of the spiritual walk, our attitude should be the same as the politician running for office, "I'm in it to win it." We do this by trusting our advocate, Jesus Christ, not compromising with our adversary.

Jim Wallace Steps Down

July 10 is Jim Wallace’s last day with us. He has served as our Minister of Music for 32 years. He and I have served together for 20 years. Twenty years!

I can almost say that he (and Dean) has been an institution. But that wouldn’t be quite accurate or fair. I think of institutions as immovable and unchanging. Jim has proved to be neither.

Church music has changed profoundly in the last 30 years. It may not be an overstatement to say that there has never been a 30 year period in all of the history of the church that has seen more change in church music than has the last 30 year period. And the fact of the matter is, many church musicians simply got stuck in whatever type of music they were trained in. They couldn’t adapt. Couldn’t change. And couldn’t lead their people to adapt and change.



Jim Wallace



Jim has.

He should be respected for that. He has taught us to worship and encounter God in so many new and fresh ways. We have been exposed to so many different kinds of music and worship styles because Jim never stopped learning and never stopped teaching us about worship.

Thank you Jim! You will be missed.

Timberrr!



I hate that when that happens.



Dale and I live in an older neighborhood with a lot of mature trees. The trees are beautiful and provide wonderfully refreshing shade through these brutal summers. But they can be menacing, too.



What a storm we had last week! Last Wednesday we came home to find a tree toppled over against our house. It was a beautiful, 30', silver maple. And it decided it was tired of standing! Fortunately, only the very top of the tree hit the edge of the roof. The damage was minimal.

OBSERVATION:



I have an observation. Trees fall. It's what they do. Eventually.



Are you kidding me?



     Troubles come.





          Eventually.

               To all of us.

The only real variable is, how will we respond to them when they come?

CONCLUSION:



I don't think so.

I have a conclusion. It makes a difference what resources you bring to the troubles that come into your life. In my situation, the combination of the right tools, a great neighbor, Dave Mayo, my friend Weldon Price (Weldon knows how to do EVERYTHING!), and several hours of manual labor took care of the problem.



The word of God teaches us that we have to have the right resources at our disposal to deal with the threats and dangers of life. Paul wrote, "So use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up. But to do this, you will need the strong belt of truth and the breastplate of God's approval.  Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of peace with God.  In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan.  And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit--which is the Word of God" (Eph 6:13-17,LB).

Don't go out there alone. Trees fall.



Now that's more like it.



Father-In-Law



Rick, Eloise, Dale, Steve



Dale and I are on the north shore of Lake Ponchatrain in Abita Springs, LA, visiting my father-in- law (also known as Dale's father). He is an interesting guy with a great story. He grew up in New Orleans, was a star running back for Tulane University.

He was a high school history teacher by profession, but his real passion was high school football. He was the head coach of the largest high school in the metro area for many years--and he was very good at it.
After he retired he began training and racing thoroughbred horses. Turns out there are a lot of similarities between training athletes and training thoroughbreds. Again, he was very good at it. He'll turn 83 next month. Today his pursuits take a more pedestrian turn.

He was married to Dale's mother for 47 years, until her death 15 years ago. Two years after she died he reconnected with a wonderful lady he'd known and dated when they were high school students. They've now been married for 13 years. She's pictured with us.

My father died when I was 14. Six years later I married Dale and married into her family. I have a lot of experience being a son-in-law. I've been doing that for 34 years now. What I don't have any experience at is being a father-in-law.

That's going to change, however. Next month my son is getting married and I'll take on a new role. And we'll do it again in December when my daughter gets married.

In response to Congress' effort to define obscenity, former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously said, "I don't know how to define it [obscenity], but I know it when I see it."



Steve and Rick



Father-in-law is a unique role. It's not a mini-father or dad-lite. It's its own role. I don't know how to define a good father-in-law, but I know one when I see one. I can already anticipate many times to come when I'll have to pause and ask myself, "Now what would Rick do?" He is steadfast in his commitments and optimistic in his spirit. I'm glad to have a model to draw on. I really have a great father-in-law.

I'm Rich! Rich!



Me and the Benjamins



I have great news to share! Through no real credit of my own I’ve just learned that I am going to receive 2.5 million dollars! It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Dale will probably quit work and we may buy a little place at the beach. I just can’t believe how wonderfully fortunate we are. Two and a half million is a lot of money. Life is really going to be different now.

I just got an email from Mrs. Veronica Amadi. I don’t know how this happened, but there is a fund in my name at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong. This is no scam. Mrs. Amadi has assured me that it is all legitimate. She is reaching out to me because she is a Christian. All I have to do is send a few hundred dollars to cover some paperwork. Seems reasonable to me!

Upon further reflection, I won’t spend any of this money just yet. When it all comes through, though, I’ll be happy to buy you lunch.

The fact is, we tend to overestimate what money can do for us. Paul reminds us that contentment is a gift from God, not something accomplished by circumstances. “I've learned to be content in whatever situation I’m in. I know how to live in poverty or prosperity. No matter what the situation, I’ve learned the secret of how to live when I’m full or when I’m hungry, when I have too much or when I have too little. I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me” (Ph. 4:11-13,GW).

When is enough enough?

Probably sooner than you think.

I Was Hungry



Workers on the assembly line



Who believes hungry kids should have something to eat?

Who believes hungry kids in Cobb County should have something to eat?

Who wants to help feed a hungry child in Cobb County?

Who wants to help feed a hungry child in Cobb County every day this summer?

Who wants to help feed 650 hungry children in Cobb County every day this summer?

Who’s available in the morning?

Those are the questions we put to our church, our Weekday Education parents, and our Upward parents. And even though the questions got progressively harder and closer to home, people didn’t put down their hands!



Susan Shay being interviewed by CNN



Our summer lunch program is going great. In fact, CNN was here last week to interview our Children’s Minister, Susan Shay, observe the mechanics of putting this many lunches together at one time, and ride along on one of the delivery routes. We’re looking forward to a feature story later this summer.



Our church is not the building. The building’s just the place we come for marching orders. Thank you to all of you who are helping us get our church into our community. I am proud of First Baptist.

For Christ,

Steve