Pattishub

Who Is Kevin Willing?

2009-05-13T06:33:00.006-05:00

How much can you truly know about the background of people you come into contact with each and every day? Do you ever wonder where they came from, or what they've done in the past? Take, for example the case of Kevin Willing, a man who, last I knew, was living in the Chicago Suburbs and worked for a comapany called Traffic Control & Protection. How many co-workers, friends, and customers of the company know that when they deal with Kevin Willing they are in the presence of a man who brutally beat to death a 4 year old child?

Back in 1993, Willing was at home babysitting his fiance's two children when Samantha wet her bed. Willing began to beat the child, who eventually died from the injuries she sustained. In court, the defense managed to convince the jury that Willing never intended to hurt the child seriously and that her injuries were accidental (perhaps Kevin is unable to control his fists). Rather than first degree murder, he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to a pathetic 10 years, of which he served three.

Now he is free and living a normal life. He comes and goes to work. He gets together with family. He can enjoy a summer afternoon. All of these are things he denied to Samantha and her family for ever.

Recently I was told by a friend that our society has "courts of law, not courts of justice," and that is certainly true. Kevin escaped justice, serving only a few years for beating the life out of a defenseless child. He was ordered to pay restitution to his former fiance and some other family members, but the court allowed him a very generous payment plan in which he made periodic installments of less than $30 until the balance was paid. Talk about adding insult to injury; the court ensured that for several years the family would be reminded of their loss and the lack of justice in the form of checks (some members share of each payment was less than $5).

The defense attorneys seem rather proud of their role in denying justice to a dead child. They have reprinted news articles of the case on their website: here, and here.

During the trial Kevin was portrayed as stressed by financial obligations of his new wife and kids, the defense brought in psychologists who testified that Kevin Willing was "mentally slow" based on an evaluation when he applied to be a St.Charles, IL police officer. So, if you are stressed and an idiot you are allowed to kill someone! Perhaps that's how Ted Kennedy got away with it.

Samantha would be a young woman today. Perhaps in college, perhaps married. We will never know, because all the potential she posessed was robbed from her and those who loved her by Kevin Willing. Kevin Willing, who today is free to marry, to raise children even; children who are in danger of being treated by their father the way he treated an innocent child more than a decade ago. I guess we can only pray that Kevin Willing is not stressed the next time he is around children - as for the mentally slow part- I doubt there's much hope.

Meanwhile, the family has been through hell; on the anniversary of every birthday they feel their loss. On the anniversary of her death, they relive the pain and recall how they were denied justice. For them there was no first day of school, no visits to the zoo, no school photos, no park district soccer team, no prom, no graduation, no giving away the bride, no waiting for the arrival of grandchildren. All the while, Kevin Willing goes about his business each and every day and I wonder if he tells those he meets what kind of man (or sub-human rather) he really is. How many suspect that when they shake hands with Kevin Willing, there is blood on those hands?

Doesn't seem fair does it? But, who said life was fair? So, if you happen to meet a mentally slow man, currently around 40 years old, whose name is Kevin Willing, who may be putting out road construction barriers labeled "Traffic Control & Protection" (if he still works for them); introduce yourself and congratulate him; after all not many of us can list on our roll of achievements the item "I got away with murder."

Hang 'em!

2009-03-31T21:22:00.003-05:00

Some new news about the pirates in the Gulf of Aden. Seems six of them were captured after they fired on a German naval ship they mistook for a commercial vessel. Read more here.

Silly, stupid pirates. I say, since we are dealing with a group of people who, like the terrorists, live in a fantasy world that has yet to catch up to the 20th century; let's deal with them the old fashioned way. In the good old days, captured pirates were hanged aboard ship!

Thomas Jefferson certainly knew how to handle the Barbary Coast pirates - build a navy, sail into their home ports, bombard their cities, sink their ships and kill them until they stopped their nonsense.

Respect For the Arts in Palestine

2009-03-31T13:42:00.003-05:00

A group of Palestinian musicians playing in a concert to honor Holocaust survivors in Israel. Ahhh, that sounds like a liberal's dream. A symbol of hope and reconciliation.

Well, that's not how the powers that be in Palestine see it. According to this Jerusalem Post article authorities of the Jenin refuge camp have disolved the orchestra (aptly named the Strings of Freedom) and barred their orchestra teacher from returning to the camp. Her apartment has been boarded up.

According to the article, Palestinian authorities distributed leaflets throughout the camp condemning the event and calling the participation of the children an act of exploitation. One thing's for sure, the Palestinians would never dream of exploiting children. Never, ever, EVER!

An Arab-Israeli woman who helped organize the concert has also been banned from entering the camp. Funny how the left goes nuts when Israel erects a wall and checkpoints to keep out suicide bombers, but the Palestinians restrict freedom of movement for those guilty of much more terrible crimes; like organizaing cross-cultural music concerts.

Open your eyes people, the terrorists are Islamofascists and do not want peace - they want submission. Reaching out, understanding, empaty and idiotic video appeals with Farsi subtitles won't change that.

Proud Dad

2008-10-21T06:14:00.002-05:00

So it's been ages since I have posted to this blog. Life is way too busy. But I just have to post about my son Josh. This is his Senior year and after a tumultuous Junior year we have seen Josh mature by leaps and bounds. A teenager who quarrelled with us incessantly about "living in the moment" when we tried to discuss his need to be preparing for the future came to us a few months ago with a big dream for the future. He wanted to be a U.S. Marine.

We visited the recruiter and learned about the Delayed Entry Program and Josh is signed up and ready to go. He is focused and committed like I've never known a kid his age to be. Needless to say, I couldn't be prouder.

Just one problem, and it is heartbreaking. During our first meeting with the recruiter the issue of Josh's asthma came up. I soon found out this could be a major hurdle in his ambitions to become a Marine. We met with his doctor and he passed a pulmonary function test with flying colors. We had high hopes that this would be the end of it.

Well, Sunday night Josh went up to Milwaukee for his physical and ASVAB at MEPS. The ASVAB went well and he exceeded his score on the practice test he took at the recruiter's office. But the asthma issue reared its ugly head again. The doctors want to see more medical records.

Josh is worried, and we are worried for him. He will be sorely disappointed if he cannot pursue this dream and as a parent that is a hard thing to watch. We are, of course praying that all goes well. But, from everything I am reading this asthma issue is a big one for aspiring enlistees. Best case scenario, all goes well and after graduation we will see our boy go off to boot camp and three months later we will see a Marine emerge at a graduation ceremony in San Diego. Worst case scenario, we do our best to teach him that disappointment can build character and that God has other plans - and that his plans are good.

In the meantime, we pray that Josh can pursue this noble passion that he has to serve his country. Then we will start praying for his safety once he has obtained that goal.

What's Happening?

2008-05-27T10:03:00.003-05:00

Well, I have written several posts alluding to the fact that I have been feeling a growing calling regarding school and young people in our community, but I haven't written anything in awhile. So, here is a bit about what has been going on.

Chesebro Elementary School in DeKalb is the school with the highest percentage of low income families and poorest academic performance. That seemed like a good place to start. But how? Several months ago I attended a men's breakfast at our church where the topic of a panel discussion was service. One of the speakers was Tony Danhelka who runs a ministry for kids from high-poverty neigborhoods along the Fox River. Riverwoods Christian Center started as a camp ministry but has grown so much. Now the ministry supports community advocates who work in these communities year round and the summer camp program reinforces and supports the work of these advocates.

After hearing Tony speak I contacted him and set up a meeting. From that meeting I was introduced to the concept of Christian Community Development ministries and was informed of the work being done by Community Christian Church in Naperville through it's Community 4:12 ministry. I met with Kirsten Strand from that ministry because her model of doing community development through a school seemed like a good fit for what we wanted to do here in our town.

Tony and Kirsten were so kind in sharing their advice and stories of how God has worked in the communities they minister to. The next step was to speak with the Pastor of the DeKalb Campus of Christ Community Church Larry Breeden. Larry was also very supportive of starting a ministry to serve this school's population. Larry introduced me to Cory Webster, who is in charge of Community Impact for our campus and things really started to move.

Our first project was a pancake breakfast at the beginning of April. Our church donated all the food and working with school staff we offered the families a very inexpensive breakfast with all the funds going to support a fifth grade field trip. The church also pitched in matching funds and it was a big success. Not only did money get raised so that all kids could participate in the overnight trip regardless of their families' resources. But the school community and the church were introduced to each other, laying the foundation for more projects.

Earlier this month the church organized a bike rally at the school on a Saturday morning. North Central Cyclery pitched in to help with free bike tune-ups for the kids and we had a bike raffle and a skills course. It was a fun event for the kids.

While all this was going on the school had a couple of families that had some pretty serious needs. One family was having financial problems and the school referred them to our church for some assistance. Later, there was a family that recently had a fire in their home and the church has been collecting supplies to help them replace some of the household things that were lost.

I also met with Larry Stratton, the head of Community Impact for Christ Community as a whole. I cannot begin to express how grateful I am to be part of a church that values outreach to the community as a top priority. As Larry Stratton puts it "good deeds lead to good will, which leads to the opportunity to share the good news."

God is so good! For years I had a helpless perspective that nothing could be done and these problems were all too big for us to make a difference. In a way I was right. But they are not too big for God! Once we started to take a few steps it was amazing how God provided the advice, the resources and all that was needed to do the work! I can't wait to see what He has planned next as we continue to work with Chesebro!

Talkin' Bout My Generation

2008-05-14T21:11:00.003-05:00

In November of 2006 I wrote a post about
The Gay Lobby's Plan B. Basically I argued that the debate over marriage being between a man and a woman could become obsolete, because the transgender movement is out to eliminate man and woman as a way to identify people at all. Now here is an article by Patrick Finnessy, director of the Office of the UIC ( University of Illinois at Chicago ) Gender and Sexuality Center.

In it he claims:

I'm still not certain I understand why not. Why be so headstrong and insist upon living in a dichotomous world? Black/white, gay/straight, male/female. Certainly, real life is grayer.

He is referring to the pregnant man. Mr. Finnessy sees all of our gender identities as social constructs rather than an issue of nature. Now, you can go read my earlier post to see where I stand on this politically. I'm feeling in a silly mood and want, instead, to resurrect an idea I first put forth in that post.

Nature says I was born in 1969. But I feel I truly identify better with people of an earlier generation. In fact, I identify with the Greatest Generation. One of the most fulfilling parts of my professional career in the museum field was interviewing WWII vets for an exhibit I worked on in 1995.

My values are not always in step with "my generation." According to the media and social scientists, I am part of "Generation X." I remember when Kurt Cobain put a shotgun in his face and pulled the trigger. Media types said that the spokesperson of Generation X had died. Thing is, I was pretty unaffected by his suicide. I certainly didn't feel my role model and spokesperson had died. I pretty much felt, "well, there goes another drug-addled, idiot celebrity."

So, if people can change their gender identity in spite of nature, why can't I change my generational identity? Isn't the calendar just a social construct? Why should I be forced to conform my aspirations, hopes, dreams, etc. to the whims of my birth year?

I call on others to rise up and join me. You know who you are. You look back to the good old days and wish you had been part of them. Well, I say we demand that society give us that recognition.

Therefore, I demand the following:

1. That I be accepted as having been born not in 1969 but in 1919, and that my birth certificate be so altered to reflect my generational identity.
2. That I therefore be permitted to draw full social security benefits due a person who is 89 years of age.
3. That I be given a senior citizen discount at restaurants and any other retail establishment offering such discounts.
4. That I be eligible for medicare to pay for one of those nifty scooter things that they advertise on TV.
5. That employers, government agencies and others stop demanding that we disclose the utterly meaningless and highly offensive dates of our birth on job applications and other official forms.

I will add to this list of demands soon, but it is nearly time for my nap. But before I go, I call on those in the transgender movement to recognize the plight of all of us who are oppressed by the tyranny of generationalism and the generational discrimination that runs rampant in our society. Our cause has no celebrity spokespeople and we suffer largely in silence. No doubt there are many who will ridicule our plight. But I am confident that our cause is just! There are some in our movement who are multi-generational, identifying with several generational groups. Theirs is the right to live as they feel they are meant to be, not as society would force them to be!

Who will join with me?

Quick Post

2008-03-27T20:33:00.002-05:00

Ok, with regard to Obama and Rev. Wright. Would the media coverage be any different if it were a candidate who turned out to be a 20 year member of the Westboro Baptist Church? Especially troubling are the recent revelation that the Church gave space in it's bulletin for a piece of Hamas propoganda. I think Obama has to answer for why he has been part of congregation whose leadership seems very cozy with a bunch of throat-slitting, suicide bombing jihadists. How many times will we have to hear Obama over the next few months have to denounce specific comments/actions by his church? I have a feeling we've only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the radicalism and hatred that poured out of that pulpit. As far as I am concerned, to listen to it for 20 years is to endorse it. The Bible warns us to turn away from false teaching and hold to the true gospel of Christ. If Obama takes his faith seriously he should have left that church when it became evident that it's leader had deviated so far from the truth; for his church is at least as errant as Westboro and loyalty to it is just as repulsive.

Can we question their patriotism when it turns out that three liberal democrats had their trip to Iraq prior to the war funded by Saddam's intelligence service? Read more here. Jim McDermott has been referred to as "Baghdad Jim" for years and now we all know that while he has ranted about our nation committing acts of alleged torture, he was the guest of the very intelligence service that it is known beyond doubt ran human beings through industrial shredders, beat and mutilated women and children and raped women while their husbands watched. How dare he? American history has no equals for this level of treason by a sitting member of our Congress. These are not patriotic Americans. These three were willing agents of a tyrant, giving aid and comfort to the enemy while using their positions to do harm to our own foreign policy. Sadly, they are not the only members of what is a fifth column in this nation. We have CAIR, Hamas supporting pastors (see above), celebrities, and many more who desire to see our cause suffer while ignoring the threat that jihadism poses to our nation. It is disgusting.

Here We Go Again

2008-03-09T08:50:00.003-05:00

Yet another gang-related act of violence in our community! The problems seem so overwhelming. We've had a massive fight at the high school during a fire evacuation a couple of years ago. Later, one of those involved shot and killed another gang member in town. There have been tons of smaller fights. We've had drive-bys, a mid-day stabbing next door to where my two youngest kids go to school.

A week ago I was so encouraged by the fact that things are starting to move on the effort to get something going in the local school that has the highest rate of low-income students and a high level of social and behavioral problems. I had recently met with several people involved in really great community development ministries and was inspired. But today I'm slipping into a what's the use attitude. Have to fight that.

This latest incident needs to be one more reason to press on, not a reason to throw in the towel. Have to remind myself of the Love In The Name Of Christ training last weekend and remember that God is putting the pieces in place for community development to take place. It's hard sometimes, and sometimes I feel like being Jonah, and climb the hill to watch Nineveh go up in flames. Difference is, I live in this Nineveh and so do my kids.

Corrected and Reflecting

2008-03-09T07:54:00.004-05:00

I have deleted a post, actually more of a rant, on the Avery Doninger case, which you can read more about
here. This is yet another case of litigation between parents and schools over disciplinary action taken by the schools. Anyway, I slammed the parents in this case pretty hard. A commenter pointed out that the news articles I had based my post on left out some important facts. And, in a number of areas, he was right. Worse, my tone was harsh and unfair.

I still do not feel this should be viewed as a censorship case. A dispute at school over a battle of the bands event spilled over into a blog post in which a child threw an online tantrum calling school officials "douchebags" and asking people to send mass emails to administration officials. The school responded to the disrspect shown and now it is in litigation - which seems to be the new American way.

My frustration with such issues stems from recent efforts to try to organize volunteers to help out in a local school where discipline is a major problem (think knives, gang assualts, arrests, threats against staff and epidemic rudeness and disrespect). I am hoping to start up after school programs and eventually mentoring type programs.

My emotions on this swing back and forth wildly. On the one hand my heart aches for these kids who are obviously not taught simple manners and civility and have so many problems at home. On the other, I can't resist the urge to think these kids need a good swift kick at times. What is worse is we are a fairly small midwest communtity and you wouldn't think we'd have to deal with so much of this. As for the teachers and school staff, how can they do their real jobs when they are constantly dealing with disrespect, abuse, and even violence? And this is an elementary school.

Sometime's I want to throw up my hands and scream "If the parents would just parent, the school's wouldn't have to." Of course, we are talking about parents who themselves were from less than ideal homes, who deal with economic hardship, addictions, and some are just plain too selfish to invest in their offspring. Government gets involved: courts, family services, social workers, etc, but they cannot hope to deal with the basic moral root of the problem.

For years I've heard people say "you can't legislate morality" and yet that is exactly what we are being forced to do. It seems that without morality, you have no choice but to legislate it, or litigate it. But the moral compass that guides free people to live responsibly and in a civil manner cannot be imposed. So "freedom" becomes divorced from self control and we see the government forced to deal with things that people should have worked out on their own.

In my liberal days I felt that government programs could solve things, and elevate people to a better life. Wealth needed to be redistributed and then we'd see all sorts of social ills disappear. Well, that hasn't happened. Decades of such programs have destroyed families, neighborhoods and schools. Then I became a hard-core conservative and felt that government had failed (still believe that) to deal with these issues and that people need to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and if they fail, too bad for them, they had their chance.

Now, I find myself moving into a new perspective. Communities need to solve their own problems by addressing issues government can't and shouldn't. Churches need to take the lead, because they can mobilized the physical and economic resources to meet immediate needs. But, and more importantly, they can build relationships to address the spiritual, emotional and moral needs that are at the heart of poverty, addiction and self gratification without responsibility that leads people to wrongly execute their rights to the detriment of themselves and others.

Well, that pretty much became another rant I guess. I need to keep on guard and not fall back into the judgmental stuff, which is all too easy to do.

Sitting Out

2008-03-08T11:14:00.004-06:00

Today is the special election to replace our Congressman; former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. Hastert's resignation led to a special primary last month. It also led to today's election to determine who will hold Hastert's seat until January when we get to have yet another election between the same two candidates we are voting for today(aren't we lucky). So, ever since the Illinois primary we here in this district have been treated to endless mailings, automated telephone solicitations and radio spots for (or should I say more appropriately - against) Jim Oberweis and Bill Foster.

I've heard lots of people, in apparent frustration with politics, say there is no difference between this candidate and that. Well, when it comes to tactics, that is sure true in our race. The negative campaigning is utterly disgusting and the millions that both of these self-serving, power hungry men are spending so they can take and spend our money is nearly criminal. If either of these men actually gave a hoot for the people they hope to represent, they would show some honor in their public rhetoric. I'm not exaggerating here folks, the ads these two are running sound an awful lot like the kind of bickering and name calling that went on between my kids when they were younger (only their arguments actually had merit).

What I can't understand is how the people they hire to be voice talent in their radio spots are willing to prostitute themselves for such ridiculous tripe. These things aren't too far from the types of parodies of campaign ads I recall from Saturday Night Live back when I still allowed cable television into my home. I don't want either of these low characters representing me.

So far I can sum up their campaign material with the following:

Jim Oberweis: Bill Foster wants to personally kill our soldiers, fund Al Qaeda and has even made a pact with Satan to raise your taxes to pay for public works projects in Hell.

Bill Foster: Jim Oberweis is secretly an agent of the Chinese communist regime and all of the milk in his dairy business comes from illegal immigrant cows; and further more, he's a really mean, big fat liar

I've actually received three calls within a 15 minute time span today from the Illinois Republican party reminding me how important it was for me to go out and vote for Oberweis in the special election today.

The way I see it, there is no lesser of two evils to vote for in this race. So, instead of voting, I will spend today on other pursuits. This morning several of us from church prepared breakfast for folks at our local homeless shelter, I have some work to do on another church project, I want to spend time with my kids, and then I don't know what else. But the thought of wasting even half a minute casting a ballot for either Jim Oberweis or Bill Foster is about as appealing aswatching Michael Moore eat.

Pure Evil

2008-03-08T07:27:00.005-06:00

In Matthew 7:20 Jesus warns against false teachers by saying we will know them by the fruit they bear. Here in DeKalb we saw false religion this past month when Westboro Baptist church proclaimed their gratitude to their god for the NIU massacre. No one would doubt that their words and deeds constitute bad fruit.

Now, see the fruit of another hate group, one that the MSM has a little harder time portraying as hateful:

Who are these people and why are they celebrating? These are Palestinians, and they are jubilant over the murder of 8 and wounding of 10 at a Jerusalem religious school. Like NIU this was a school shooting. Unlike NIU, this was not a "senseless act" but a planned act of political/religious terror. Like Westboro Baptist, the act was celebrated by some. Unlike the Westboro Baptist band of cretins who turn out by the dozen, the Palestinians mustered celebrants by the thousands who hailed the attacks and called for more!

Yet, I know many who would criticise WBC but would have less harsh words for the Palestinians. Look at the picture closely. Notice the absolute glee on the faces of these people over innocent blood shed on behalf of their faith. Look at the poor child in the arms of the man with the pistol, doesn't your heart break for a child raised in such a culture of evil, violence and death?

Westboro is universally condemned by civilized people and do not have the backing of any Political leaders. But in Palestine, religious and political leaders joined the celebration and leaders of nations expressed their support. The massacre was not even condemned by the UN Security council (remember, it should be pronounced phonetically as in "unsecurity council") could not bring itself to condemn the Jerusalem murder because Libya blocked the resolution.

Westboro receives no funding from our government, but we send millions to fund the Palestinian terrorists via the "Palestinian Government."

How long before we recognize evil and treat it accordingly?

God's Up To Something!

2008-03-03T05:52:00.002-06:00

Wow! It's been an incredible couple of months here in our area and this past weekend all kinds of pieces fell into place, involving so many people that the only conclusion is that God is on the move in DeKalb!

To lay the ground work for all this I have to go back two years to a gang shooting that occurred in our town. We are a university-town stuck in the midst of Illinois farm country and everything seems pretty rural. But we are only 60 miles from Chicago and about 30 miles from the edges of the Western Suburbs. Along the Fox River there are some cities like Elgin and Aurora which clearly struggle with some poverty and gang issues. But when a 15 year old boy shot and killed a nineteen year old in downtown DeKalb, it took many of us by surprise.

The school district and police department held a community forum on the gang issue and attendance was high. It was informative but not much action took place. I had stumbled on the MySpace site of the victim's girlfriend and after clicking on the links to some of her friends I was shocked and deeply saddened by the attitudes and actions they wrote of.

At church I would speak of this new awareness of this need in our community. But, all I knew was that the church (and here I mean the collective church, not one building) needed to get out beyond the walls of our buildings and minister. There were needs here I had never seen before.

At this same time I began to hear more and more from a co-worker who also worked with BD kids at our high school, the stories of broken homes and abuse were gut-wrenching. Then, there was a stabbing in the afternoon right on a main thoroughfare through town. This was a block away from my two youngest kids' elementary school, where my wife worked at the time. The building was on lock down as a result.

With my two oldest are in the high school and we hear of fights occasionally. My wife now works at another elementary school, and it turns out to be the school with the highest percentage of low income students in our district. More heartbreaking stories, more awareness of the need and more helplessness.

In my men's group I would speak of these things often. Asking for prayer seemed the only thing I could do because knowing what to do seemed impossible. Then came a men's power breakfast at the main campus of our church, which is located in those Western burbs. One of the speakers was the director of Riverwoods Christian Center. This ministry works in the poverty stricken areas of the far western suburbs, dealing with the plight of the poor, broken homes and gangs. That evening I called to schedule a meeting.

Since that January meeting I have become more aware of poverty and of community development ministries. Tony at Riverwoods put me in touch with Kirsten of Community Christian Church in Naperville who heads up that church's ministry in the East Aurora School District: Community 4:12.

The ball was rolling now and there was no stopping it! With the support of Dan and Larry on our pastoral staff I was connected with Cory, who heads up Community Impact ministry at our campus. We met with the principal of my wife's school and within the next two months we will begin partnering with that school to serve these kids who are "the least of these" in our community!

But it gets even better! While all this was going on I was unaware that God was moving amongst the other churches in our community. For months now a group of more than 20 churches have been working to start a DeKalb/Sycamore affiliate of Love In The Name Of Christ. This ministry will pool the resources of Christ's Body in our communities to reach out to those in need, develop relationships with them and eventually seek to implement comprehensive community development.

Friday night and Saturday we had training for this ministry and over the next few months the board will be formed and an executive director hired. At the training I heard from people over and over again "there are so many needs in this community" and "we've needed this for a long time."

Well, it is clear to me that while I was praying and grappling with this issue in my own heart, God had others out there doing the same thing. With all those people praying and thinking and seeking, God began to put pieces into place and now we are seeing the work He has been up to! I cannot even describe how wonderful the feeling was to be in room with people from dozens of churches all responding to this need and pulling together to serve the One Lord we all worship separately each week in our churches.

This is going to change DeKalb, I believe and know that. A month ago I wrote about how this process has changed my attitudes and even my old focus on politics. This morning I found this in I Samuel 10:6-7:

The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

I have changed, and clearly the collective Body of Christ in DeKalb and Sycamore has been experiencing similar things. God has stirred His people to action and I can't wait to see what He's going to do next. This is going to be awesome!

At the Friday night Love INC training, Pastor Larry Breeden prepared to close us in prayer and he said something to this effect: "It is leap day today. What kind of image does that create in your mind? Imagine leap day, 2012 and this room filled with community leaders and them saying 'thank goodness for Love In The Name of Christ, where would we be without it.'"

Come and see the works of the Lord,
the desolations he has brought on the earth,
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.
"Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
---Psalm 46:8-11

News Where I Live

2008-02-16T07:14:00.009-06:00

How strange to see the town where I live and my kids go to school in the national and international news. The NIU shooting took place while I was at work, some thirty miles away but my family was only a few miles from the scene when it happened. Here in DeKalb NIU is the largest single employer and its safe to say that virtually everyone knows someone who works on campus, so our thoughts immediately went to them.

We also knew students. A woman whose family we are close to is completing a law degree at NIU, her family moved to town from out of state to pursue her education and our daughters are very good friends. A co-worker of mine was locked down inside Reavis Hall, just southwest of Cole, where the shooting took place. She tells me that students were already packing up their things and that within moments she would have walked directly past Cole's South entrance. But as they were locked in their classroom some students took up positions near the door, brandishing heavy objects to challenge any would-be shooter who may enter. Others in the class became emotional. From the window of the class, which faced west, students watched emergency vehicles arrive and watched as paramedics wheeled the wounded and dying to waiting ambulances. Attempts at humor were made to break the tension. The class had just written essays on their "moment of truth" moment in life and one student asked the prof, "can I re-write mine."

I had heard the tail end of a news broadcast as I left work and had just spoken to my wife. I was on my way to a night class I am taking close to work. Patti told me she was planning on taking the kids to eat at The Junction, a favorite restaurant of locals, situated just south of NIU accross Lincoln Hwy. In the broadcast I only heard there were injured being evacuated from the campus. I called my wife to let her know she may want to pick a different restaurant as there was something going on at NIU and she may want to stay out of the area. She informed me that it had been a shooting.

All the way to class I listened for more information. I thought of who I knew and prayed for their safety. Fortunately I was in a computer class so while the professor spoke, I logged onto my work email and thankfully my co-worker had emailed all of her contacts to let us know she was well.

On the drive home from class, my town was the topic of radio call in shows. On Friday morning as I left for my men's Bible study, I drove past Kishwaukee Hospital and saw the news broadcast vans parked in the lot, with their antennae extended skyward. The shooting, of course, was the topic of conversation that morning as we wondered how Christians should answer the questions of why such things happen and how a loving God can allow it. We talked of a member of our congregation who was a surgeon at Kish and later that day I saw him at a press conference and this morning he is pictured in our paper surrounded by cameras and microphones. Our church serves NIU students through some of our ministries and those staff members emailed asking for prayer as they reach out to those students.

It is all so strange to be living in today's Littleton, CO; Springfield, OR; Conyers, GA; Santee, CA; Blacksburg, VA. Just one more location to add to the growing timeline of school shootings. Only this time it's home, it's people we know and care deeply about. Evil showed its face in our town this time. When the politicians talk of "deepest thoughts are with the families," they are talking about here and about people who are part of this community. Someone told me that when you see it on the news it feels like it must be someplace else, but it isn't.

Well, I guess that's it for a few random thoughts on the events of the last couple of days. Please do pray for those involved, from the victims and their loved ones to the paramedics, doctors, witnesses, community members, ministers, and even the clean up crews who must deal with the aftermath. Pray for the NIU faculty and administration and students who must eventually return to class. It's not just nameless, faceless people on the TV standing on a wind-blown campus speaking into cell phones. It is place just like the place you live with families and community. And it could have been your community that is now asking questions like, "why here?"

The Latest From Londonistan

2008-02-05T06:28:00.000-06:00

A volunteer at work reported this to me yesterday afternoon. Apparently the Labour government in jolly old England has gone completely dhimi (as if they could go any more). The government of PM Gordon Brown has decided that men married to multiple wives (in other words Muslim men who violate English law by practicing polygamy) are entitled to extra welfare benefits. What's worse is that the payments can go directly into the man's bank account meaning the poor woman will never see it.

Is there no end to which the British will go to bow down before the Islamists who seek to destroy all semblance of Western culture in that nation? This is the once pround nation that stood alone in a desperate fight against fascism until America came to its aid. But something has happened in the character of the people so that now in the face of cultural collapse they are willing to see their institutions and way of life supplanted by a foreign ideology.

I wish I could say "unbelievable," but sadly this is not surprising. The English who gave us the Magna Carta and so much of our own legal tradition has now surrendered to a practice that brutalizes and denies human rights to women. Sharia law is replacing human rights in the UK, other rights and freedoms will be sure to follow. Unless the people of that land re-discover their heritage of freedom, we could see the final demise of Britania in our lifetime.

The Change

2008-02-03T07:06:00.000-06:00

I find myself losing interest in the world of politics. It's probably been happening for awhile, but lately it has grown into an outright disdain for it all. This is not the "what's the use, they're all the same..." type of anti-politics we've all seen (although I have uttered those words occassionally of late). This is more of a growing realization that neither the "liberals" nor the "conservatives" hold any answers to the problems that face our society. Both seem to be fiddling while Rome burns.

Signs have been there for awhile, but the fact became clear when I realized my wife was more animated about the upcoming primary and local elections than I was. Furthermore, I find myself less inclined to enter into political discussions when I am at family gatherings. Instead, my energies are being pulled in a new direction.

During my college years I was deffinitely a rabid liberal while shortly after I transformed into a hardcore conservative somewhere to the right of Rush Limbaugh. During the last couple years, as I have become more focused on my Christian identity, I have come to realize that my conservatism had taken on a deffinite Pharisaical streak of righteous indignation, judgmentalism and devoid of mecy, compassion and forgiveness.

Increasingly, as I spent time with my men's community group and studying more on my own I felt God's Spirit pointing at those judgmental attitudes as deep rooted sins that needed to be dealt with.

During this same time, our town experienced a shooting that brought, at least temporarily, the issue of gangs to the forefront of the community's thoughts. I did a bit of digging and came upon some information about some of those involved in the shooting and other young people involved in our local gangs. Additionally, I had frequent conversations with a co-worker who also worked with BD children in our high school. My wife also took a new job that placed her in what turns out to be the lowest performing elementary school with the highest rate of low income students in our district. The stories of broken homes, uncertainty and hardship opened my eyes to several realities.

Clearly, the government programs and class warfare outlook of my liberal years had failed. Decades of welfare had only resulted in moral decay and generations of dependence with no real hope for change. But what of my conversion to conservatism? That "pull youself up by your bootstraps" and "serves them right" attitude certainly is not in keeping with an honest look at the teachings of Jesus.

Change has deffinitely taken place and is taking place. And I am utterly psyched about that change! For months I have spoken of my growing concern for the disadvantaged kids in our area and my sense of hopelessness at what could be done. Then, a month ago I attended a men's breakfast at the main campus of our church. The focus was on serving the community and one of the speakers was Tony Danhelka of Riverwoods Christian Center, a remarkable ministry serving those living in poverty. God had opened a door and I set up a meeting with Tony and the leader of my community group.

That got the ball rolling and I will soon meet with Kirsten Strand of Community 4:12, a ministry serving kids in East Aurora, Illinois. I am hoping from these two meetings to get some direction as to a model for how our church, in cooperation with other churches in the community can begin to take real action to share God's love in tangible ways.

This is really stretching my politics. Words like "social justice" and "compassion" have been so perverted by the left that I have tended to be repulsed by them. But in light of Jesus' teaching, we cannot ignore them simply because they have been misused in the political sphere. Nor can we simply spout old conservative talking points about "self-reliance" when speaking of people in need. That only excuses ourselves of our responsibility to help.

In short, neither side of the political debate can fix this through any political solution. The solution is community. It is neighbors who take the time and use their resources to heal and to care for the hurting all around us, with the ultimate goal of not just meeting physical needs but also to bring them to the One who can heal their spiritual hurts as well.

Meanwhile, in the world of politics, the same old debate rages on and I am saddened to see the resources wasted on that which will not last. I heard on the radio that the Obama campaign raised in excess of $30 million in January alone (not to pick on Obama, he's just the one mentioned in the story). And it is estimated that the various presidential candidates will spend $20 million on TV advertising for Super Tuesday. So much to gain power, yet that power cannot possibly solve the real problems in our society.

Well, there it is. I'm not sure where these changes will lead, I guess that is not really up to me anyway.

Sometimes Work Doesn't Feel Like Work

2008-01-28T05:55:00.000-06:00

A good time this past weekend at the 1890s living history farm where I am on staff. It's always great when we have a fun event planned to draw visitors in, and when I arrived Sunday I was looking forward to a third day of our ice harvest event. But the walk down the farm lane; which is beautiful most of the time, was absolutely glorious on Sunday. The place was absolutely covered in frost that sparkled under the bright morning sun. I took a bit of the morning to snap a few views of the farm before we had to get to work on the ice.

We had already had two very good days of ice cutting. As an 1890s farm we try to portray daily life on a typical Northern Illinois farm. Ice was cut from ponds, lakes and rivers every winter and stored in an ice house. On a farm the ice was used to cool the water in the milk storage tanks where cans of milk were stored before being taken into town or shipped on the railroad. Blocks of ice were also needed to put into the family's ice box to keep food cold and prevent spoiling.

For me, the best use of the ice is when we have children take ice out of the ice house during our July 4 celebration and chop it up to use in our ice cream freezers. With hundreds of kids and parents standing there in the heat of summer, they can see how people living in the 1890s provided for something as basic as ice. We talk about how the ice was packed into the ice house back in the winter and they are always amazed it lasts until we dig some out six months later.

This year we had bitter cold on our first day of harvesting (Jan. 24), but the warm up on the weekend along with sunny skies brought out more visitors to participate in the harvest than we've ever had. To be honest, the colder days were better from the perspective of getting ice cut. The sawing and other harvesting work keeps you active enough to keep you warm, but the warmth on Sunday afternoon made the job sloppy as the ice became covered with water and the ice blocks were wet due to the melting.

First the ice is scored with ice plows to create a grid of lines that will guide the cutting. Ice saws are used cut open a channel along which ice blocks can be floated to shore for loading onto the wagons and sleds used to take the ice back to the ice house. Once the channel is open, blocks are cut out along the two sides that run perpendicular to the open water in the channel. Then a break off bar is used to chip away at the line running parallel to the open water. This breaks the block free of the ice field and the block floats into the channel. There it is guided, using pike poles to the loading ramp.

We use a grapple attached to a rope and pulley to lift the blocks up the ramp and onto the wagons. Our team of percherons got a work out this weekend as they hauled nearly ten loads of ice to the ice house. Where it was unloaded and packed in straw to await its use this summer.

Working with great co-workers and volunteers in a beautiful winter setting; sharing a love of history with hundreds of eager guests; and putting in a day of good, old-fashioned hard work. All in all, not a bad way to spend the weekend.

Let The Riots Begin!

2008-01-21T19:40:00.000-06:00

As you read this post, just think what the story would be like if it were a play about Mohamed and those reacting to it were Muslim.

This story is about a play set to open in Sydney soon in which Jesus is portrayed as gay and is seduced by Judas. The gay Christ also performs a gay marriage involving two of the apostles.

Christians are understandably upset that their Lord and Savior is being portrayed in a manner that is entirely inconsistent with the teachings of the faith that bears His name. So, is the director of the play hiding in fear of reprisals by radical Christians? No, on the contrary, it turns out that Leigh Rowney is not feeling the need to hide. He is giving media interviews and, according to gay website Angel City's Devil, hoping all the controversy will sell tickets. Of course the article also points out that those evil Christian extremists have called the production "blasphemous." They also point out, without citing specifics, that the American run of the play received "consistent bomb threats."

But, go back to my instructions at the beginning of this post. You know darn well that were this a play about Mohamed that we would be hearing about riots and protests and several people already dead. Some of our so-called leaders would be condemning the playwright, the director, the cast and perhaps even the stage hands for "insulting a proud and peace loving faith" or some such drivel.

Consider, for example the case of Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders who is under state protection for his stance opposing the Islamization of Europe. Wilders is set to release a short film critical of Islam's attacks on Western values? Iran, by the way is threatening the Netherlands with reprisals (and I think we all know what they really mean by that) if they allow the film to be shown.

But, once again, we see that the pseudo-intellectual left feels safest when it attacks Christianity. Perhaps that's because deep down inside they are cowards and they know a true religion of peace when they see it. They know what happens to those who attack Islam by making movies, writing books, or naming a teddy bear mohammed. They know and so they won't go there.

Instead they attack Christianity and Jesus Christ himself. But, you will not see Christians ranting in the streets for the head of anyone in this matter. The best Christians respond to such attacks Biblically:

Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. -Romans 12:14

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect. -Matthew 5:44-48

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. -Matthew 5:10-12

We are not surprised when our faith and our God are attacked by this world:

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. -II Timothy 3:12-13

We also know that our God does not need us to fight His battle against evil for Him:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. -Romans 1:18-32

In fact, nowhere in the Bible will you find it said to Christians that they are to go forth and conquer evil on God's behalf. And that is why you will not see riots, murder and mayhem over this.

New Sermon Series

2008-01-14T15:52:00.000-06:00

I am excited about Pastor Jim Nicodem's new sermon series "Text Messages From God." The series will focus on how to read, interpret and apply the Bible. The first was presented this past weekend and was on the Bible itself and how we can depend on its reliability and authenticity. The video is available here. It was a great message, and the introductory video was hiliarious.

Huckabee and Submissive Wives

2008-01-14T14:27:00.000-06:00

I have been away from the blog for some time and this may no longer be a timely topic, but it has been floating around in my head for several weeks. By now almost everyone has seen the way Mike Huckabee is being criticised for signing onto 1998 Statement On the Family from the SBC. Liberals are trying to paint Huckabee, and by association all who hold similar views, as dangerous throwbacks trying to oppress women. Take for example, this from Bill Press:

Were Huckabee ever to become president, American women would have to prepare to be treated as second-class citizens. But they’re not the only ones. So would all non-Christians.

Wow! Sounds like a pretty bad dude! Let's look at some facts.

First, there is a lot to legitimately criticise with regard to Huckabee. That said, I agree 100 percent with his support of a Biblical view of the family.

The section of the statement getting all the attention is this: "You are right because you called wives to graciously submit to their husband's sacrificial leadership." But, as with many criticisms of Christians, this is taken out of context and without any understanding. I actually dealt with some of this in an earlier post. It was in that post that I expressed the belief that it is the secular world, not Christianity that demeans women. Let's dig into it a bit deeper.

First of all, Huckabee and his wife were among more than 130 to sign onto the ad, expressing their support. Among the other signatories: Dennis Rainey, Franklin Graham, Anne Graham-Lotz, Tony Evans, T.D. Jakes, Joseph Stowell. All of them well within the mainstream of the evangelical community and many of these were accompanied by their spouses in showing support.

Second, the ad also included these lines, which the media and critics largely ignore:
You are right because you called husbands to sacrificially love and lead their wives.
You are right because you affirmed that the husband and wife are of equal worth before God.

I think that is of key importance. I find it interesting that Joe Stowell (one of my personal favorite Bible teachers) signed the ad, because I actually heard him preach on this very topic at a marriage conference. His words to husbands cut me to the core then, and still do: "Husbands, are you willing, every day, to go to the cross for your wives?"

That is an important thing to understand. Because in Ephesians 5 the love of a husband for his wife is compared to Christ's love of the church. Christ submitted to beating, torture, ridicule and crucifixion for His church. Husbands are called to love their wives that much. The burden of Ephesians 5 falls heavily on any man who truly wishes to be obedient to God. Indeed, Paul devotes 3 verses to the woman's relationship to her husband, but more than double that to the man's relationship to his wife.

Notice too, that the SBC ad refers to the husbands role as that of a servant leader. The fact is, Paul called on all Christians to serve one another. Slaves were told to submit to their masters, but masters were likewise told to treat their slaves "in the same way." The standard here is that no matter what our earthly station, all in the church are equal before God. As Paul writes in Galatians:

You are all sons of God through faith in Chirst Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

There is no second-class citizenship here, despite what Bill Press may think. There is (or rather, should be)in the church an equality among the members in which service to one another is a high priority. In Romans Paul writes:

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

In this area of criticism, truth is on Huckabee's side.

Moral Child Abuse

2007-12-29T07:10:00.000-06:00

"Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him." - Proverbs 22:13

How often do we hear it said when there are incidents of children doing wrong that it is the fault of the parents? So often that is has become almost cliche; but it is also the truth. Parents are supposed to be the moral teachers of the young, raising them to strive for something more than self-gratification at all costs. Sadly, too many children either have parents who are so self-absorbed themselves that they do not care enough to provide moral direction. On the other hand, we also see parents who are so bent on indulging their children out of a warped sense of love, that they give the child the impression that the world does indeed revolve around them.

Regardless of which type of failing a parent possesses, the result can be harmful not only for the child, but for society. Usually, it is easier to see the results of the neglectful parent in the form of children who are literally uncared for, ignored or even openly abused. The child who is over-indulged, however, is usually less noticed except in rare cases. Perhaps you can recall the
cheerleader mom who in the 1990's tried to hire a hit man to kill the mother of one of the other girls competing for a position on a cheerleading squad.

Now we have another case of mother who has gone to obscene lengths to spoil her child and in the process has set an extremely poor example for a child who needs her mother to be a moral role model.

The gist of the story is this: Mom wants her 6 year old daughter to win an essay contest to win a Hanna Montana makeover and four tickets to a sold out concert. Nothing wrong with that right? But, they submit an essay about the girl's father being killed in Iraq and it turns out to be a lie. Good coverage can be found here. You can hear the mom's desperate attempts to justify herself to a reporter here.

Clearly this mom intended to present an essay that would use sympathy to increase her daughter's chances of winning. But, now that she has been caught she is using the childish argument that she never claimed it was true, it was just an essay - a story.

It's easy to go off on a tirade and say things like "what a scum bag!" I know it's easy because that was my first reaction. But the lesson here is how important it is for parents to be moral teachers. My teenage son, upon hearing of this said he wasn't surprised and "that's what the world is coming to." Sadly, he's right.

First, we must realize that what this woman did is something that any of us could have done. It is part of our nature to be selfish and willing to gratify our wants in ways that are immoral. In Christian theology we call that possessing a sinful nature. All of us have that nature and all of us have acted wrongly (i.e. sinned) because of it.

Self-discipline is required to control the sinful nature and to act according to moral (i.e. God's) truth when our impulse is to ignore that truth. In this incident, the mother failed to exercise such discipline; just as all of us have and will fail at times.

We can all learn from this incident. This effort to win tickets was a great teaching moment that was squandered. In writing the essay, mom could have taught lessons in doing your best and being fair when we are in competition with others. Instead, she indulged the sinful nature by teaching her daughter a "do whatever it takes to win" ethic. Then, when the lie was exposed, she taught her daughter about denial and self-justification rather than taking responsibility and making things right.

Parents are the key to moral training, as Proverbs 22:6 says: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Parents who indulge their children's every desire fail to provide such training just as surely as parents who neglect their children outright. The evidence of that failure in our society is everywhere. Quite simply, we have too many adults who never learned to stop acting like children because their parents failed to teach them right from wrong.

So, while it is easy to condemn and vilify, the important thing here is to call for doing what is right after that which was done wrong. Sometimes that involves the humbling experience of admitting, even to your own child, that you have done wrong. After all, when they see us struggling against our sinful natures in order to do what is right, they learn the lesson that morality is a life-long struggle for excellence and that failure, when it comes, can be dealt with properly or improperly. In confession there is forgiveness, in repentance there is a commitment to do better.

This mother can still salvage the lesson in all this. For her daughter's sake and hers, let's pray that she finds the strength to do it. For ourselves, let's pray that when we fail, we have the clarity of judgement to admit it and rely on God, the source not only of the moral truth we sin against, but also the source of forgiveness when we fall. For more on that go here.

The War On Christmas

2007-12-25T08:32:00.000-06:00

First off, let me wish you a Merry Christmas!

Every year it seems we are treated (or subjected to) claims that there is "War on Christmas" and vehement denials that such a war exists. Some Christians bemoan the fact that the word Christmas itself has been removed from the season in order to dilute the fact that we celebrate the birth of the Savior. Also bemoaned are efforts to drop traditional carols from school plays (or the dropping of all such pageants), the banning of nativity scenes from the public square and the on-going efforts to mask the Christian nature of the holiday.

Clearly, there are those who want to push all mention of religion out of the public sphere. But, why do Christians get so upset over this? This is exactly what our Lord told us would happen.

Go back to that first Christmas. We know from the Biblical account that most of the world missed the significance of the birth of Jesus. Indeed, when the Magi came to Jerusalem and asked about "the one born King of the Jews" it took the people, the religious leaders, and Herod by surprise and they were "disturbed" by the Magi's inquiries. Other translations use such words as "agitated," "troubled," and "deeply disturbed." The fulfillment of the promise the Jewish world had awaited for centuries was not celebrated but feared!

Herod goes so far as to consult the priests and the teachers of the law regarding the prophesies concerning the Messiah. He is told where the child was to be born according to God's Word. Yet neither he nor the religious leaders bother to follow the Magi in welcoming the Messiah. Instead, out of jealously Herod plots to kill the Christ child and asks the Magi to report the child's location to him. When God foils his plan by warning the Magi not to report back to Herod, the evil ruler has all the male children in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were under the age of 2. Of course there is a war on Christmas, and it has been waged since the very first Christmas.

There are three things we as Christians must recall during these times. First, that the world is fallen and full of sin. It does not welcome God or His Son. It didn't then and we should not be so surprised when it doesn't today. Jesus himself warned us of this again and again. The Christian is to expect rejection just as the world rejected Christ:

All men will hate you because of me... (Mt. 10:22)

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. that is why the world hates you...They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that i warned you... (John 15:18-16:4)

Put another way; and I wish I could remember the exact quote and the citation, "why do we act surprised and offended when the darkness is dark?"

Second, this isn't our fight alone. God did not allow evil men to destroy his salvation plan when they sought to kill the infant Jesus, and he is still in control today. As Job said: "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted" (Job 42:2). This is not to say we will not have troubles and hard times. Again, Jesus warned us, but he also reassures us:

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33

Finally, our mission is to be like a light in the darkness and to reach those who are lost. In this we must be very careful. When Christians focus on "protecting our rights" in the political arena, we miss the mission we are called to. Such an adversarial relationship is usually not a very good witness to those who need to hear about Jesus. You don't find the early church staging protest marches, writing letters to the editor, or demanding their rights when they were persecuted. Instead they boldly carried out the Great Commission.

I say all this, because I am often as guilty as anyone of focusing on the the wrong part of this issue. Too often, I would rather win the argument than the soul. Too often, I take offense at the world and rage against it, rather than trying to be like Jesus, who lovingly entered darkness in order to save as many as possible.

As Christians, our focus is often too narrow and worldly when it comes to matters such as the "War On Christmas." Those battles are merely part of the ongoing war of a sinful world against its God. We who are Christians are on the front line and our mission is not to protect manger scenes or see school kids sing carols or have the store clerks say "Merry Christmas" rather than "Happy Holidays." Our mission is the same as Jesus'; to love those in darkness and to help bring them to the Messiah whose birth we celebrate today.

A Surrender

2007-12-04T06:57:00.000-06:00

You simply must read this post at Gates of Vienna. It is in regard to the Sudanese imprisonment of the English teacher over the naming of a teddy bear Muhammad.

You know the story. She faced imprisonment because this is classified as disrespect for religion (why do I suspect that disrespecting non-Muslim faiths would be OK in the Sudan?). The masses in the streets demanded execution and brandished swords as if they were ready to carry it out. Now she is going home because the Brittish government intervened and secured a pardon for her.

All well and good for her, but as is pointed out over at Gates of Vienna, we should be shocked by the words of those who are not on the backward, medieval, barbarian side of this issue. The behavior of the Sudanese was an absolute travesty and yet Gates of Vienna quotes from this AP story:

Lord Nazir Ahmed, who met with al-Bashir earlier Monday along with Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, said the case was an “unfortunate misunderstanding” and stressed that Britain respected Islam.

He hoped “the relations between our two countries will not be damaged by this incident,” Ahmed told reporters at the presidential palace after Monday’s meeting.

Just what, pray tell, is all this conciliatory comment about? Why the kowtowing to these brutish thugs. Why do the representatives of the West have to practically beg forgiveness and express an attitude that in the end endorses the behavior of a bunch of Islamofascists? No one ever says to them that their laws are too harsh, that their extremism is dangerous, that they violated the human rights of this woman. Instead we see the pathetic spectacle of Western governments bowing before the Islamists and assuming a subservient position. It is disgusting!

Now, that said, there is the issue of all of this being under durress. England wanted to get one of their citizens out of the hands of a cabal of murderers and the teacher cannot be blamed for saying in her written statement:

I have a great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone.

If saying that to the President of a backward nation like Sudan would get you the heck out of their pathetic excuse for a nation, then I can't blame her much. But it is high time we stop this as a culture. We see it all the time and it is nothing less than appeasement in the face of absolute brutality. Danish cartoons, teddy bears, forbidding a peaceful demonstration for fear of upsetting "immigrants" [aka Islamofascists],authors changing their books and art museums pulling exhibits, and on and on it goes.

This is not about respecting a religion, this is about caving in to tyranny! When the west does this it only strengthens the radicals and tells the moderates who may desire reform that they have no allies on our side of the world. This is madness, hasn't anybody read their history of what went on before WWII?

We need a leader with the courage to stand up and call this behavior unacceptable, to call it offensive, to call it barbarism, to proclaim that such governments and faiths deserve no respect and will receive none. To say that relations have been harmed because we expect better from them and owe them no explanations or apologies. Unfortunately there seems to be a big shortage of such leaders throughout the West, including sadly, here.

UPDATE: A good post by Jason Hayes links to an interview of several terrorist leaders by Aaron Kline published on WND. Read their take on the teddy bear incident and other actions committed by the adherants of the religion of peace in regard to Jewish and Christian holy sites and you will realize just how little respect it deserves from the West.

Warped Logic

2007-11-29T20:56:00.000-06:00

So a coworker and I were discussing the recent vegan/animal rights exploits of Heather Mills, read more here. I actually heard about her diatribe against livestock agriculture and the dairy industry on a talk show a few days ago, but I hadn't given it much thought until my conversation today.

So Mills wants us all to stop eating meat and using dairy because all the animals are contributing to global warming (and what doesn't these days). I particularly liked this quote:

We are the only species that drinks another person's milk, so why aren't we drinking rat's milk, or dog's milk, or cat's milk, that's how crazy it is,"

If the behavior of other species is to be our standard for behavior, then consider this Ms. Mills. We are the only species to develop and use artificial limbs when some of our fellow humans lose the use of their natural parts. If we were like other species you would have been left behind at the back of the herd to be eaten by a jaguar!

The fact is that modern agriculture has allowed more people to enjoy a sure, safe, and inexpensive source of food than ever before in history. Today, one farmer provides enough food for 130 other people. That frees up tremendous human resources to develop things such as iPods, airplane engines, computers, cars, alternate fuel sources, missile defense systems, life saving drugs, energy drinks, cancer treatments, and even better prosthetic legs for those who need them. We enjoy a much higher standard of living thanks to modern agriculture.

Now sure, there are drawbacks. For example, some of the people who are freed from the drudgery of working the soil to feed their own faces choose to use that extra time to become activists for stupid causes. Oh well, that gives me something to ponder as I enjoy my steak dinner...

A Good Sermon and A Good Book

2007-11-25T07:47:00.000-06:00

Well, the latest sermon by Pastor Jim Nicodem was very poigniant and worth a listen or a view. My family attends the DeKalb Campus of Christ Community Church and Pastor Nicodem is in the midst of a series entitled "Give It A Rest: Taking A Break From the Things That Control Us." At last evening's service, the topic was "Taking a Break From Media." The sermon text was from Romans 12:2:

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will.

Pastor Jim discussed how the media is a constant source of pressure exerting a worldly influence in our lives and that it is difficult to hear and be influenced by God's word through all that noise.

You can listen or even view the sermon here along with the others in the series. Each message is posted after they run at all the campuses, so this particular message should be up sometime Monday and is well worth the time.

As a Christian and as a father, it is hard to know how best to counter much of what the media throws at my family and how to help my children navigate the cultural cesspool we live in. Pastor Jim gives some great Biblical advice in this message.

Now, for the book reccommendation. I just finished reading a little book, which you could easily get through in a day. It is an older book, published back in 1996 and titled Away With the Manger. The author is Chris Fabry, who I used to love to listen to years ago when he was one of the morning hosts on Moody Broadcasting's flagship station WMBI.

Anyway, the plot is about a battle in a small town over putting a nativity scene on the lawn of City Hall. The town's Christians become incensed and pull their children from the school's PC Winter Holiday Program and stage protests, etc. In essence, the fictitious town of Hartville becomes a microcosm for the Christmas wars we see pop up in the media every year at this time. Fabry's wit makes the story as fun as it is insightful.

The narrator in the story is a local newspaper columnist, who is by no means on the side of the Christians, which allows Fabry to take some pretty pointed jabs at Christians who too often stop being salt and light and become overly adversarial in the culture wars:

It was curious to me that the religious community was angry with the culture they had retreated from so many years earlier. They had constructed their own Christian ghetto inside America with Chrisitan bookstores, Christian radio stations, Christian workout videos, Christian recordian artists, Christian comedians, Christian workout videos, Christian antioxidants and Christian aluminum siding complete with fish symbols.

In the end, the pastor of the Hartville Community Church delivers an apology to the town for the confrontational nature of their stand.

"Sorry for what?" Karlsen continued. "I think that's what every member of this congregation is asking right now. We put our hearts and souls into getting that manger back in the public square, and we fought till the very end. So what are we sorry for? Sorry for standing up for what's right? Sorry for trying to get God back in the schools where he belongs? No. There's a time to take a stand and a way to take a stand, and I'm telling you here today, on this Christmas morning, that our cause was right.

"But Jesus said, 'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,' and that's where we were wrong. We did it wrong and we're sorry...

"I don't have any of this written down," he said. "But I want to tell you all something. You can have the best intentions, you can have truth and God on your side, and still be wrong."

"The message of Christmas is this, friends. The same little baby who felt the straw in the manger felt the nails on the cross. The same baby those smelly old shepherds came to see was the very Lamb of God who came to take away our sins. And if we can sit here being forgiven by the holy God of the universe, and turn around and spit venom at the people who don't know him, then God help us. We've missed it, friends. We've missed the whole reason for Christmas.

As one who is often guilty of having, at times, more zeal than love, Fabry's message was one I needed to hear. Pick up the book if you can find it. As I said, it was published more than ten years ago. I secured it through an inter-library loan. It's a fun and valuable little Christmas treasure.

ACLU At It Again

2007-11-24T08:09:00.000-06:00

So it's the long Thanksgiving weekend, (made longer by the fact that I had back surgery on Tuesday) and I opened my local paper to read This AP Story headlined Firerfighters take on new role as anti-terrorism eyes of the government.

Essentially, the story is about the testing of a program by Homeland Security in which security information is shared with the New York City Fire Department and to train firefighters in identifying materials and behaviors which may indicate terrorist activities. The idea, clearly is that if a firefighter sees something suspicious he (or she if we are trying to be politically correct) can report it to the appropriate authorities who can then investigate.

Sounds reasonable enough. A firefighter is conducting a fire safety inspection and notices that an apartment contains jihad-related literature, supplies that could be used in constructing a bomb and the blueprints of a Jewish Community Center. (Please note that in the Hollywood version, the home would contain bomb making supplies and the blue prints of an abortion clinic as well as paintings of Jesus and a Confederate flag).

In any case, the alert firefighter completes his inspection then reports the suspicious materials to law enforcement. Sounds reasonable to me.

But, enter the ACLU (cue the Emperor's March from Star Wars or the song "They're Coming to Take Me Away- HaHa!). According to the story's opening paragraph:

Firefighters in major U.S. cities are being trained to take on a new role as lookouts for terrorism, raising concerns of eroding their standing as trusted American icons and infringing on people's privacy.

That's right people, the fire fighters, who were our heroes after 9/11 are the new gestapo!

The International Herald Tribune's version of the story tells us:

There are fears, however, that they could lose the faith of a skeptical public by becoming the eyes of the government, looking for suspicious items like building blueprints or bomb-making manuals or materials.

I know I live in fear that someone might be prowling around looking for my bomb making supplies! In fact, I may become so skeptical that I think I will stay inside a burning building rather than follow a fire fighter outside. I am quaking with fear that the fire department is becoming an agency of rerpression and infringing on my personal liberties.

Only in the warped mind of ACLU and 9/11 truthers could this be a concern.

The American Civil Liberties Union says using firefighters to gather intelligence is another step in that direction. Mike German, a former FBI agent who now is national security policy counsel to the ACLU, said the concept is dangerously close to the Bush administration's 2002 proposal to have workers with access to private homes, such as postal carriers and telephone repairmen, report suspicious behavior to the FBI.

"Americans universally abhorred that idea," German said.

First of all, thank God German is a former FBI agent. I want people who will aggressively follow terrorism leads not wring their hands over the source of the reports. No doubt German was a big proponent of "The Wall" between those involved in intelligence and criminal investigations that played a role in keeping alarm bells silent prior to 9/11! I would say more Americans abhorred the wall than abhorred the idea that postal workers should report suspicious behavior noticed while conducting their jobs.

Just who is guilty of the fear mongering here? For years the left has told us that we will slide down a slippery slope of government intrusion and loss of our freedoms and liberties if we give law enforcement the power to more closely monitor terrorist activities. They also accused the government and those concerned with national security of inflating the threat of terrorism to justify military spending and increasing the intelligence gathering capacity of our security agencies.

Well it's been six years since 9/11 and I've seen terrorist plots foiled and others succeed and people have died at the hands of jihadists. But I haven't noticed the dark specter of government intrusion creeping into any aspect of my life. Of course, I should admit here that I haven't flown on an airline since my honeymoon in 1995. Seems to me it is the left that has been fear mongering.

Maybe we should start throwing that argument back in their faces. Next time an ACLU spokesman starts decrying the erosion of our liberties, call it fear mongering unless they can produce some names. Our side can name several thousand who were negatively impacted by terrorism.

One last thing. When I was young and took Civics in high school we learned about rights and responsibilities of citizens. Among those responsibilities was cooperating with law enforcement, including reporting crimes. Maybe we need to teach that again. The mantra for all citizens should be "If You See Something, Say Something," just like the heroic Circuit City Employee who helped foil the Ft. Dix plot. Or, should we live in fear of electronics store workers who are eroding our precious freedoms?