Baptists Today Blogs

Believe it or not

2009-07-09T06:10:00.004-04:00

You can call me lots of things — but gullible is not one of them. I have never assumed that new products work as magically as the late pitchman Billy Mays said they did.

One adage I've long taken to heart: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

TV-pushed products, through 60-second ads or 30-minute infomercials, probably vary in quality. (Don't think I've ever order one.) But there is one aspect that always turns me away — aside from the announcer's intensity.

It's the added: "And that's not all." After making great claims for a new product, an offer of another great product "for free" is thrown in. The "bonus" always makes me think the primary product must come up short of its claims.

One approach to being a wise consumer involves references. We find out what kind of experiences others have had with a product or service.

The emergence of the Internet widened the circle for feedback. Various forums allow for a wide range of individuals to offer praise or condemnation of just about anything being offered for sale.

But now this:

A recent article in Parade magazine (if you can believe them!) claims that companies now pay about $1.6 billion a year to get persons to post positive views about their products in online forums.

You mean the guy in Jersey who just put the best set of tires he has ever owned on his Mustang may have been paid by the tire manufacturer for saying so? You mean the cruise line may have paid the well-traveled couple to claim that their ship surpasses the competition by many knots?

Social websites like Facebook are also formats where paid-endorsers readily sing the praises of particular products and services, according to the article. The Federal Trade Commission is considering its regulation options.

"When you're being paid to promote a product, you usually have to disclose the relationship between you and the advertiser," an FTC official is quoted as saying.

Hmmm. That must be why infomercials put "paid endorser" on the bottom of the screen when an aging TV or movie star pumps their goods.

Oh, well. Even in the more trivial aspects of life, belief is not so easy.

Belief is an important part of our lives. The challenge is in the discernment — making wise choices about what to believe.

[PS: Travel through Israel with Tony here.]

A blog about blogging

2009-07-07T06:48:00.004-04:00

Online editor Bruce Gourley urged me for years to add a blog to the Baptists Today website. He found an ally when Tony Cartledge became a contributing editor.

Tony had been blogging as editor of the Biblical Recorder in North Carolina. So he was ready to keep writing web logs.

I reluctantly agreed to write two blogs a week. Tony suggested that I do them on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. (Math never was my strong suit, so I fell for it.)

Alternating blogs with Tony has been an enjoyable experience over the past couple of years. He is more faithful than me to post new material even in the midst of vacations or other travel.

Here are a few observations about this unique communications outlet that has gained some of my attention since Aug. 14, 2007.

One, blogging three times a week is the maximum. My original goal of two would be preferred. My friend Ed Grisamore, a newspaper columnist, tried a daily blog. It lasted for a year before burnout got him. Now he is back at a more reasonable pace.

Two, blogging is a lot like preaching. Sometimes you have something to say and sometimes you just have to say something. (Like today when a publishing deadline is breathing down my neck.)

Three, the feedback, even when limited is appreciated. It is interesting that responses come in the form of posted remarks, private emails and discussion in other online forums.

There is also joy in bumping into people who tell me they read the blog regularly but have never responded.

So many thanks to all who visit this blog regularly and occasionally. I enjoy this creative outlet (on most Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays) and appreciate those who dare to respond.

Especially, I'm grateful for those who post responses to my blog — even those who think I'm Tony, or post in Chinese, or strongly disagree with my conclusions. Even my friend in Collinsville, Ala., who always tells me what to read and do — just in case all my ideas have dried up.

How we work today

2009-07-02T08:02:00.003-04:00

With widespread Internet access and hand-held communication devices, the good news is many of can work just about anytime and anyplace.

The bad news, of course, is that we can work just about anytime and anyplace.

One summer, as a mid-teen, I was offered work salvaging building materials. The long-haired Vietnam vet who hired me would buy and tear down old government buildings to sell the lumber, copper, windows, doors and other usable materials.

Two strapping men — about twice my age and size — were already on the job. They could swing sledgehammers, back out nails and stack reclaimed materials at blazing speed.

So at the end of the first day, my new employer — who paid those two men a whopping $3 an hour — told me I was worth about $1.50 an hour to him. My self-esteem crashed.

In hindsight, however, I saw his point. He was not talking about my value as a human being, but my value to his business. The other guys could simply produce more of what he needed in a given hour.

Though I have worked many jobs at an hourly wage, my professional career has been salary based. But, even then, success was often measured by the number of hours “at work.”

The late pastor Brantley Seymour, with whom I worked at the First Baptist Church of Roswell, Ga., in the summer of 1978, taught me much. He had a gifted staff of creative and capable ministers.

“I never tell a professional to get to work,” Brantley told me one day. “Professionals should be self-starters.”

A professional who is lazy, undependable or irresponsible should no longer be an employee, he explained. As a recent college graduate headed to seminary, I took his point to heart.

Over the years, my own supervisory style has become one that focuses on effectiveness, efficiency and productivity over busyness. And my personal approach to work causes me to be more demanding of myself than those to whom I am accountable.

But advanced communications technology is impacting the daily work habits of many in ways not previously known. It creates both wonderful opportunities — as well as new challenges.

Instant communication increases the expectation that a message — regardless of what day or time of day it is sent — deserves an immediate response. And, even when “off” from work, it is hard for many of us to have devices like BlackBerrys out of our reach.

Cell phone and email messages are often a mixture of personal and professional correspondence — making it hard to give attention to one while ignoring the other.

So the lines between work and personal time get blurred — requiring our careful attention to finding the right balance in our daily lives. Even vacations — times that refresh us to be more productive workers — can get cluttered with attention to work no matter how far we roam from home.

Yet being able to work in coffee shops, or airports (as I’m doing at this moment), or late at night in the comfort of a recliner is a great advantage. But it does seem filled with potential for abuse.

Being keenly aware of this dilemma created by growing communication technology and seeking a proper balance in our management of time seem to be the right course of action to me.

But for those who don’t clock in at 9 and out at 5 on weekdays — or can leave work behind on evenings and weekends — there is more consideration to be given to the important question of how we work. Everything from health to priorities becomes part of the equation.

What does "M Night" mean to you?

2009-06-30T07:24:00.006-04:00

Suppose you have made it to "Final Jeopardy" and the answer is "M Night." What would you scribble down as your question?

Alex Trebek would nod approvingly if you offered: "Who is the Indian-American writer and director of such films as The Sixth Sense?" (That would be M. Night Shyamalan.)

But "M Night" means "Mirth, Music, Mondays and Merrymaking" (see photo) to those who gather at the Yellow Deli in Chattanooga for weekly Israeli folk dancing. (If you're not into Israeli folk dancing, just show up anytime for a great sandwich and papaya juice, and to gaze at the '60s-'70s inspired decor.)

But for those of us bred in the deepest traditions of Southern Baptist life, "M Night" — no matter how widely used today — means only one thing.

Associations of Southern Baptist churches would host an annual event called "M (Mobilization) Night" that brought out the competitive nature of neighboring congregations unlike anything other than church-league softball.

Tied to Sunday evening educational programs (known as Training Union and then Discipleship Training, with roots in BYPU), congregations rallied to be well represented at the annual event — and, ultimately, to bring home the M Night banner that would be proudly displayed on a church wall until the next M Night when they would have to defend the crown.

For example, the Oct. 29, 1971 edition of the Rome News-Tribune reported that the Floyd County Baptist Association drew nearly 1,000 persons to the First Baptist Church of Rome, Ga., for the annual M Night.

Park Avenue Baptist Church took home the banner with 80 members in attendance. And Mount Vernon Baptist Church was recognized for having 33 percent of its Church Training members present.

Oh, it was a different time and place. But for those of us who grew up in such environments, the mark never leaves us.

With apologies to Jeff Foxworthy, you were probably raised Southern Baptist if "M Night" means going to an annual association meeting.

Or:

-If Saturday nights involved polishing shoes and studying Sunday school lessons.

-If you made ashtrays in Vacation Bible School that lasted for two weeks each summer.

-If you measured your faithfulness in terms of the little boxes you could check on your offering envelope each Sunday.

-If you've heard hundreds of different persons pray that God would "lead, guide and direct us."

-If as a young person you "rededicated your life" occasionally on Sunday morning for something you did (or thought about doing) on Saturday night.

Deleting millions

2009-06-27T07:23:00.002-04:00

Some people send me the nicest emails. Like Rosemary, who addressed me as “dearest one,” and James who called me “beloved friend.”

Although we’ve never met, they trust me to be “a good, honest and reliable person” and seek my trust in return. They also prayed and sensed divine direction before contacting me.

Rosemary’s late father was a wealthy gold and diamond dealer in Sierra Leone who was poisoned by a business associate. She wants me to have 20 percent of the more than $18 million dollars her father left in a secret bank account.

James, a 58-year-old widower suffering from brain cancer, wants me to have the same percentage of his more than $10 million dollars being held in the Ivory Coast. His email assured that he is a “true Christian.”

Getting this money into my hands is his last wish. Such generosity astounds me.

Unbelievably, Rosemary and James are not alone. Such opportunities come often.

Yet, week after week, I keep deleting these offers — even after taking my daughter to the orthodontist and hearing the price of braces.

But money is not everything. Just the nice things they say about me in their emails make me feel special. I’m sure they would not send such sweet words and offers of easy wealth to just anyone.

What image is being protected?

2009-06-25T07:17:00.003-04:00

On Tuesday, messengers to the annual Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) meeting in Louisville were quick to toss out Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth for being too inclusive of homosexuals in their congregation.

The decision was based on Southern Baptist leaders' investigations and perceptions rather than any policy decisions by the Texas congregation that asked to continue their 125-year connection with the denominational group.

SBC leaders, however, wanted stronger/clearer anti-homosexual assurances from the church in order to "protect the reputation of the Convention," said attorney August Boto, executive vice president of the SBC's Executive Committee, according to an ABP report.

That's where Boto and those he represents keep missing the boat. Either SBC leaders can't step back far enough to see how they are truly perceived or they relish being known for their smug, quick-to-judge, self-assured, log-in-the-eye reputation.

A little New Testament reading could be of help. Jesus had a soiled reputation for hanging around with the "wrong people."

The Pharisees, on the other hand, were intent on staying pure in reputation by avoiding association with anyone who did not think or act exactly like them. (In fact the name "Pharisee" is derived from a word meaning "pure.")

Boto and other SBC leaders should have no fear. Their widespread reputation is secure.

Oh, well. Here we go again. Another year of explaining to friends, colleagues and casual acquaintances: "No, no. I'm not that kind of Baptist."

Would it make you proud?

2009-06-23T07:10:00.005-04:00

The recent LG U.S. National Texting Championship in New York required contestants to send a text in 60 seconds while running on a treadmill, translate text-message abbreviations and text the alphabet while blindfolded.

A 14-year-old Georgia girl, the youngest in the competition, came in second with her older stepsister in third place. The nimble-fingered skills come from hours and hours of sending text messages (in the hundreds) each day.

Which raises the question in my mind: Should such acclaim make a parent proud?

No, thanks. I want my daughters to see the world with their heads up on occasion.

But it is a challenge in a hi-tech culture. And no one wants to be left behind by a failure to effectively use available communication technology.

Like everything else, however, it is a matter of balance.

With school out for the summer, my daughters spend a lot more time engaged with a computer. I fear too much stimulation from simulation games.

So they often hear from me: "Off the computer" — followed by an unwelcome announcement that bikes, hikes and ballgames are on the agenda as well.

I want them to exercise more than their thumbs and to actually talk face-to-face with another human being.

Texting is a good communication tool — in moderation. But for many teens, and perhaps others, it has become an obsession 4COL (for crying out loud).

Eyewitness to history

2009-06-17T08:31:00.003-04:00

My friend Marshall Kerlin was knelt down in the aisle behind home plate in old Atlanta Stadium on April 8, 1974 when Hank Aaron hit home run #715 to surpass Babe Ruth. I've heard about it over and over again for more than 30 years.

While I watched it on TV, Marshall reminds me, he was an eyewitness to baseball history.

Someday I may see something equally memorable, but it's doubtful. Nothing seems to stack up. World series and six-hit games (by Cal Ripkin and Willie Harris) were unusual, but pale in historical comparison.

The closest I can get to making Marshall jealous is the fact that I was among the few gathered in Chattanooga two years ago when Mississippi Braves (and former Lookouts) manager Phillip Wellman put on a remarkable display of displeasure with an umpire's call.

Does it compare to Hank's feat? Not even close.

But it was one to remember. Crawling up behind the pitcher's mound, Wellman tossed the rosin bag toward the umpire like a grenade.

My case has been strengthened by the fact that millions have viewed the episode on YouTube and ESPN placed it as number one in its all-time top sports meltdowns.

Even with high-tech video, there is something unique about being an eyewitness to something others have not seen in person.

This is quite a leap, I know. But whenever I read the writings of Paul in the New Testament, I get a sense that he knew just how historically close he had come to (yet narrowly missed) witnessing Jesus in person.

That is why the Gospels are so important to us. We value the firsthand accounts of those who witnessed something significant with their very own eyes. And nothing could have been more significant than to have seen and heard Jesus.

Yet the disciples never seemed to rub it in. They just had very important stories to tell - ones that benefit those throughout history who are wise enough read and heed them.

CAUTION: Demolition work continues

2009-06-13T14:35:00.002-04:00

An Atlanta man learned Monday that his family home in Carrollton, Ga., had been demolished. Apparently the destruction crew showed at the wrong address.

According to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution report, the house had been built by the man’s father and was filled with wonderful memories.

“It’s where all 10 Byrd children grew up, where they gathered to pray, where they lined up youngest to oldest for Christmas gifts, where they recall dad dispensing life lessons from the front porch,” the newspaper reported. “It’s where neighbors would walk over to eat watermelons, peanuts and sweet potatoes, and rehearse for the choir.”

Such is the case for many who once called the Southern Baptist Convention home. It is where many of us grew up, gathered to pray, shared joy and learned life lessons.

But that home is long gone too — although the demolition efforts will continue in Louisville later this month. Bring your own crowbar or sledgehammer.

The focus will be on such important Kingdom causes as whether to change or retain the current failed bureaucracy and whether it is essential to be baptized by a “true Baptist” in a “true Baptist” church in order to be a “true Baptist.”

And, of course, they will have to decide what to do with the California nut they laughed with for years, and even elected as SBC vice president, who recently told Fox News that he is praying for the death of President Obama. Even Southern Baptists can only embrace extremism so far.

However, it is encouraging to hear some new voices recognizing that what was sold as a conservative resurgence turned out to be a demolition derby.

But, for most of us, seeing our former house destroyed is no longer deeply emotional like it must have been for the Georgia man and his family this week. We are living comfortably somewhere else.

So swing away.

Misused words

2009-06-11T06:46:00.002-04:00

The bright yellow "Clearance" sign at Lowe's was affixed to a replacement exterior door — when I was in need of one. I hustled over to check out the "deal."

The total price deduction was 5 percent. Excuse me, Lowe's management, but that is not a "Clearance" price.

When I am finally put in charge of the world, putting the word "Clearance' on anything that is not marked down by at least 50 percent will be a punishable crime. In this case, I would sentence the person at Lowe's who came up with this deceptive practice to a month of daily mopping floors at the Home Depot.

The Atlanta Braves have announced that cash will not be accepted in the Turner Field parking lots during the upcoming series with the New York Yankees — which is expected to draw huge crowds. Instead, attendees must purchase a "discounted" parking permit online.

The cost of stadium parking is $12. At the Braves website, I was given the wonderful opportunity to purchase the parking pass at the "discount" price of $10.

However, the Braves hold the slimy online hands of Ticketmaster — who tacked on three, yes, THREE different fees. There was a "service" fee, a "convenience" fee and then one for the privilege of printing out my own pass using my own paper and my own expensive color copier ink.

The "discount" price resulted in my cost for parking for the upcoming Braves-Yankees game to change from the usual $12 to $16.55. Thanks a ton!

With deals like those at Lowe's and the Braves, who can resist putting money back into the economy?

The intentional misuse of words for financial gain is offensive. But the business world is not the only offender.

While usually less intentional, we routinely misrepresent even more important words that we claim — like love, commitment, justice, understanding, caring and patience.

For me, especially patience.

What's left in the SBC pond?

2009-06-09T08:01:00.004-04:00

Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) leadership is as confusing to me as a sleeveless turtleneck. The contradictions are staggering.

Stan Hastey just retired after 20 years with the admittedly small, left-leaning Alliance of Baptists. He explained that the Alliance's openness to women in ministry and (more so) to gays and lesbians ensured a niche market at best.

In a Religion News Service article on Hastey's retirement, SBC Ethics leader Richard Land said the Alliance — the first to come out of the SBC after the fundamentalist takeover began in 1979 — had no potential for growth.

Why? Drumbeat please.

“The reason they stayed small is they got very few fish to fish for,” said Land. “In the very large Southern Baptist pond, there weren't very many liberal fish.”

Really? That's not what we were told during the takeover years. "Liberals" were everywhere. In the seminaries, on the mission field, infiltrating every agency and institution.

Just question the hard-nose tactics of fundamentalists and you could be tagged a "liberal" before you finished your sentence.

Interesting, one of the excuses SBC leaders used for pulling out of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA)a few years ago was that they couldn't partner with "liberal" Baptist groups like the American Baptist Churches, USA, who they called "pro-homosexual."

Yet a recent poll by Public Religion Research showed that 80 percent of American Baptist ministers oppose gay marriage and only 28 percent would approve of civil unions for gay couples. But, of course, in the SBC mindset, even associating with someone who holds a different opinion means you embrace that opinion as well.

With the handful of liberals, many moderates and many conservatives (tagged as "liberals") gone from the SBC, what is swimming around in that pond now?

Well the upcoming gathering in Louisville might reveal what's left — as the ever decreasing group divides into two new schools.

One group supports SBC Executive Committee leader Morris Chapman's call to keep things as they are. The other is represented by Georgia pastor and SBC President Johnny Hunt who wants the denominational group to reconsider its organizational efficiency in hopes of directing more church funds to mission and ministries.

Let's see, MoChap wants to "conserve" the current SBC system. So I guess that makes Hunt and his supporters, oh, yeah, the "liberals."

Like algae, you just can't keep the pond clear of them.

Life is like a piano recital

2009-06-06T17:19:00.002-04:00

Three o'clock. Saturday afternoon. Piano recital. On my calendar. In ink.

After days and hours of writing, copy-editing and proofreading, the couch felt good. But the piano recital called me from my comfort.

A trumpet player opened the show with "Holy, Holy, Holy." The teacher told the audience: "Piano is a stepping stone to other instruments."

Mercifully, the list of performers was short — just 15 — compared to past recital experiences.My interest was in number 12.

The countdown began. Performers varied widely in age and skill. Selections ranged from "Old MacDonald" and "Hot Dog Stand" to "Midnight Rhapsody" and "Waltz in A Flat Major."

We smiled and applauded each effort — and concealed most yawns. Finally, the 12th performer gave her excellent rendering of Elaine Lebar's "Slavic Dance" The end was near.

Life is like a piano recital: part endurance, part joy.

But both are worth attending.

Now back to couch before the next proof arrives.

Chill out

2009-06-04T07:03:00.004-04:00

With more deadline than time today, this 2005 photo from William Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford-upon- Avon prompts me to believe that contemplation and a more deliberate pace will be found on the other side of my busyness.

Rest and restoration are a part of God's design. Occasionally, our most challenging choices should have to do with ice cream flavors.

In fact, such times should be placed on our schedules just like appointments. Now let me flip over in my calendar and find a place to practice what I preach — after the deadline.

'Gotta have a friend in Jesus'

2009-06-02T06:49:00.002-04:00

It only took two or three notes of Norman Greenbaum’s 1969 hit “Spirit in the Sky” to appear on the car radio before my teenage daughter had reached the volume dial and turned it up high.

A special satisfaction comes when she enjoys the same music that I embraced when it originally hit the charts. My "current" music is her golden oldies.

“Spirit in the Sky” has such a great sound that Rolling Stone magazine named it one of the 500 greatest songs of all time. It is one of those tunes that keeps showing up everywhere from baseball games to the movie screen.

For example, in Anaheim, California, the Angels’ play it while introducing their lineup. And my daughters associate the song with the wonderful Denzel Washington movie, “Remember the Titans” — filmed on the beautiful Berry College campus I might add.

As a young teen when the song first hit the radio, I was pleased that the popular rock song affirmed my faith: “Gotta Have a Friend in Jesus.” (We ignored the doctrinal weakness of another line claiming: “Never been a sinner; I never sinned.”)

A Wikipedia article says that Greenbaum, a Jew, wrote the hit song in about 15 minutes after hearing country crooner Porter Wagoner do a gospel number on TV — and wondering if he could come up with one. So it’s not like he read a few volumes of Barth, Tillich or Bultmann first.

However, I have learned not to expect every aspect of the culture to affirm my narrow perspectives on life and God.

There are times for theological debate. And there are times to just rock out a little while driving down the road — especially if the joy of a 40-year-old song is being shared with someone you love.

Sitting for the cycle

2009-05-30T07:05:00.011-04:00

You could call it a fan's version of a grand slam — or perhaps a round- tripper. By whatever name, my friend Marshall Kerlin of Americus, Ga., and I took in baseball games at all four professional levels last weekend.

When my wife and daughters announced they would be going out of town for a family wedding over Memorial Day weekend, I began the search for reasonably close baseball games. The planets and schedules aligned miraculously.

We began last Saturday night (which means the timespan fits any normal weekend) in Atlanta where Marshall and I have watched hundreds of games together over three decades. Then we backtracked to Macon, Ga., so I could carry out Sunday morning pinch-hitting duties at Vineville Baptist Church.

After the last "Amen" at the second service, we headed for Chattanooga. The Lookouts — now the L.A. Dodgers AA team — had scheduled an unusual Sunday evening game with fireworks to follow.

A perfect night for baseball. We sat in the general admission seats down the right field line for a good view of the field, Signal Mountain and the Tennessee River.

The next morning we jumped on U.S. Hwy. 27 (which runs behind the home run fence of AT&T Field — now known as "Dodgertown, Tenn.") and drove south to Rome, Ga. Both Marshall and I had attended college in that town; he at a Baptist school called Shorter and I on the expansive and unequally beautiful Berry campus.

The Braves' single-A team (previously in Macon) is there now. Nice field and good food. Much cheaper than the 'dogs in Atlanta.

Our last stop was northeast of Atlanta where the former Richmond AAA team is now the Gwinnett Braves. It was an enjoyable experience as well.

Having lost the Macon Braves, however, I have empathy for the fans in Richmond who supported the AAA team for so long.

Marshall and I also enjoyed the additional benefits of well-done Memorial Day observances at each of the four ballparks last weekend. Moments of silence for those who died in defense of nation and other tributes were appropriate and moving.

However, someone needs to tell all singers that the purpose of the National Anthem is "to honor America," not to stretch it into five minutes of painful modulations.

Despite constant threats of rain, we pulled off our amazing baseball weekend perfectly. It is one we will talk about for years to come.

On the rare occasion a player gets a single, double, triple and homer in the same game,it is called hitting for the cycle. For us, then, it was a weekend of sitting for the cycle.

Has it been done before — attending A, AA, AAA and MLB games in one weekend? Perhaps. Doing so and not missing church? Very doubtful.

My assessment of the weekend: Too much baseball food — but there is no such thing as too much baseball.

[Photo 1: Marshall Kerlin and "the Chief" at Turner Field where the one in the headdress — if he makes it to the end of this season — will have attended 1,000 consecutive Braves home games. "Chief" (real name is Robert) is also catching the Braves at Fenway Park this summer while in Boston to play tennis in the Special Olympics. Photo 2: Marshall and other fans gather on the outfield of AT&T Field in Chattanooga to watch a post-game fireworks show.]

When things don't work

2009-05-26T07:31:00.004-04:00

In an earlier era, my friends and I drove high-mileage, less-reliable cars that bounced along on "May-Pop" tires.

We didn’t take for granted that our cars would start or get us to every intended destination. We just hoped and prayed and checked the air pressure and fuel levels regularly.

Back then I heard someone say that cars were “both our slaves and masters.” They could take us to wonderful places or leave us stranded on the side of the road. And that was before cell phones could bring easy rescue.

Computer technology has brought us into new slave-master relationships. We boot up each day with the assumption that our computers will function properly, that web sites will appear and that email will function.

When it doesn’t happen as expected … well, patience gets tested.

The Baptists Today web site and, more importantly, our staff emails disappeared last Thursday — and didn't return for nearly a week — thanks to the lousy customer service from "ValueWeb — a Hostway Company."

It is amazing how much of our daily work depends on computer technology. And most days our computers are our servants.

On this occasion, however, we are at the mercy of some unknown others (who apparently feel that our use of email and our web presence are not that important).

My frustration is greater than in the olden days when a "previously-owned" car broke down or would not start. For apparently our Internet provider doesn't know how to drag something over to a shade-tree mechanic who will keep working until the thing he is working on is working again.

With patience gone, I'm searching for a silver lining in this dark cloud that continues to hang around after five days.

Perhaps it the awareness that there are so many things that we take for granted routinely — when we should be expressing gratitude for their presence in our daily lives.

From the outside looking in

2009-05-21T07:28:00.002-04:00

My only view of congregational life has been from the inside. Having never lived apart from a "church family," my unvarnished perspective is vastly different from those who view the church from the outside.

Like many, I've seen the church up close — in all its ugliness and beauty.

The downside is disappointing: division, pettiness ("Making mountains out of molehills") and the repeated failure to "rightly divide the Word of Truth" on very basic issues of equality and justice.

Some have become ex-insiders, disillusioned by the church's failures. But congregations are made of humans; so what should we expect?

The upside keeps many of us faithfully engaged: spiritual nurture, genuine concern for others, acts of reconciliation, and being buoyed by congregational care during a time of personal loss. So I'm sticking with it.

But, sadly, I understand why the church is unattractive to many who see only the image we (not the media or any other scapegoat) have created.

We are marked by inflexibility and an unwillingness to address the complexities of hot-button moral issues. Easy answers to tough questions leave us looking unintelligent or arrogant or both.

We get dragged along by the rest of culture when it comes to simply affirming basic issues of human rights and equality — even though the Bible compels us in that direction. And the theological defenses of our positions tend to sound more like radio talkers than Jesus.

The more we are polled, the worse we look. Frequent churchgoers support the use of torture and preemptive war to a greater degree than the public at large.

We seem to be last to ever change our minds and say we are sorry for our errant ways of thinking and acting. Instead we make excuses, blame outsiders or falsely claim to have held to the newly accepted position all along.

And, as if we need something else to soil our image, the worst examples of "Christianity" find the brightest public spotlights.

Within the church today, most of our debates are about worship styles, leadership models and doctrinal positioning. Perhaps we should be more concerned about the view from the outside looking in.

Five ways to enliven the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting this year

2009-05-19T07:18:00.007-04:00

1. As a point of order, ask if Louisville, Ky., was freely chosen by a planning committee — at Al Mohler’s urging — or predetermined by God before the formation of earth to be the 2009 meeting site.

2. Hang around the Southwestern Seminary booth until you can identify a true Baptist all by yourself.

3. Repeatedly and excitedly ask LifeWay bookstore workers when and where the book signing by Wade Burleson will be held.

4. Make a motion to boycott AT&T for having a logo similar to CBF.

5. Imagine Will Campbell is sitting beside you — and what he might say.

After midnight

2009-05-16T07:17:00.006-04:00

Aging is a dirty trick in that behavioral changes occur without one's intent or permission. For example, "sleeping in" now means I'm not at the coffee shop when the doors swing open at 6:30 AM.

Staying up late means I catch the last inning of the baseball game on TV — unless there was a significant rain delay or some "free baseball" (as the late Skip Carey called extra innings) stretching things out too far. Then I just check the score early the next morning.

As a teen and young adult, staying up late was routine. That's when all the real fun happened, we convinced ourselves.

My dad, however, had this assessment: "The only people out past midnight are hoodlums."

He could have paid my college tuition with ease if he'd tossed in a dollar every time he made that proclamation to me or one of my brothers.

Dad's words resurface on occasion. Such as this morning when I read in the local news where a gunman tried to rob a woman sitting in her car "just after midnight" last night. She should have gone home earlier before hoodlums come out.

Though my own young-fool mischief was mild (no details, Dale Newman, we have a pact) by hoodlum standards, getting in by midnight rarely occurred on weekends. Turning off my headlights before reaching our home and tiptoeing in worked most nights.

"What time did you get in last night?" Dad would ask the next day.

"I think it was a little before midnight," I'd respond, missing the truth by nearly two hours.

But somehow his words continue to ring in my ears. Even recently, I returned from an out-of-town speaking engagement and pulled into my garage at 11:54 PM.

Looking at the clock in my dashboard, there was a feeling of accomplishment — that I had come in under the hoodlum deadline by six whole minutes.

There is something about the teen and young adult years that calls for late nights. But it sure does fade decades later.

Now with one teen and another approaching, there will be a great clock challenge just ahead. But they need to know: I've changed my mind; Dad was right.

Translating the faith to our time

2009-05-14T07:15:00.002-04:00

Rarely do we find honest public confessions from U.S. Christian leaders about the state of our faith practice. That's why a line from Gary Gunderson's 2004 book, Boundary Leaders, has stuck with me.

Gary is a Baptist minister who has worked for many years in interfaith health programs at Emory University. The memorable line in his book is:

“I’m trying to follow Jesus as best as a middle-class white male can, which is to say, not very well. I could add other adjectives for myself, but none would make mine sound anything remotely like the lifestyle of the first-century itinerant carpenter whose example I choose to emulate.”

While Bible scholars have the challenge of translating scripture into familiar languages, individual Christians and congregations face the challenge of translating the Christian calling into our culture and lifestyle.

And, honestly, our tendency is to downplay those parts that don't suit our tastes — especially Jesus' strongest calls for personal sacrifice and love of enemy.

Our common practice is to "translate" the teachings of Jesus to fit — and even support — our comfortable ways of living.

Gunderson rightly notes that our culture is radically different from the one in which Jesus lived and taught. That acknowledgment raises the important but difficult question: How do we follow Jesus in this fast-moving, technologically advanced world that early Christians would not recognize?

Any assumption that we have figured that out is folly. Perhaps the best we can do is admit to giving a lot of time and energy to this effort — even though we continually come up short of the mark.

Even at our best, we are practicing Christianity with loopholes.

Do you want to be you?

2009-05-12T06:51:00.004-04:00

While watching the Atlanta Braves defeat the rival New York Mets ... with their ace pitcher, Johan Santana, on the mound ...in their new ballpark named for a bailed-out bank ... on television last night, I flipped through the Official Souvenir Program a Braves employee had given me at a recent home game.

Personal tidbits about the players were interesting. Longtime buddies Jeff Francoeur and Brian McCann enjoying listening to country signers Kenny Chesney and Jason Aldean, respectively. Somebody needs to take those boys to a Merle Haggard concert.

Future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones likes Rascal Flatts — although the last note of every song, to me, sounds like someone sat on a screech owl. The other Braves veteran, Tom Glavine, listens to James Taylor. That's more like it.

Pitchers Jair Jurrgens of Curacao likes Lil Wayne and Japanese import Kenshin Kawakami tunes in Beyonce.

Most interesting, however, was the large number of players (including Francoeur, Chipper, Yunel Escobar, Tim Hudson, Casey Kotchman, Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez) who mentioned golfing sensation Tiger Woods in one or more responses. More than any other, Tiger was the one person with whom players would most like to trade places for a day.

Since so many of us dreamed of playing big-time baseball when we were growing up (and, OK, after growing up too), it was intriguing to see what players listed as their "dream jobs."

For Glavine, it was as a hockey general manager. And professional golfer was Vazquez's response. Closer Mike Gonzalez affirmed, however: "I'm doing it right now."

There were other signs of contentment such as pitcher Jurrjens' response to his dream vacation: "I don't have a dream vacation because I'm from an island."

While most of this stuff is quite trivial, there was some wisdom passed along as well. Former Braves catcher and current bullpen coach Eddie Perez was asked about the best advice he ever received as a player.

"There is a camera watching you all the time," he responded. Pass it on, Eddie, pass it on.

In D.C. on the National Day of Prayer

2009-05-07T19:34:00.010-04:00

The National Day of Prayer has been around for decades. But during the eight-year tenure of former President George W. Bush, it took on a different flavor. He hosted an annual observance in the East Room of the White House coordinated by Shirley Dobson, chairperson of the privately-funded National Day of Prayer Task Force and wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson.

As one might expect, that prayer event took on a distinctive flavor of the Religious Right.

The Dobsons were not invited to the White House on this National Day of Prayer, but held a three-hour-plus service in the Cannon House Office Building.

Being in D.C., I decided to check it all out.

I expected to see various gatherings or other expressions related to the Day of Prayer all around D.C., but did not. There has been a good bit of news coverage though.

Brent Walker, executive director the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, was fielding calls from reporters and on hold for a possible CNN interview when I dropped by.

At the conclusion of the Dobson-directed service, a press conference was held featuring several members of Congress. Rob Marus covered it for Associated Baptist Press while I took photos.

Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.), who is co-chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, led the post-service press conference. (Like me, you may not have known that such a caucus exists.)

President Obama — like his long line of predecessors sans the most recent — did not hold a prayer service in the White House today. This decision, of course, made him ripe for comments from his political opponents like James Dobson (who was "disappointed") and Rep. Forbes (who felt the president "missed an opportunity").

After a good lunch (salmon, corn and asparagus salad, hazelnut and blueberry dressing) at the National Museum of the American Indian, I received an email from the White House Office of the Press Secretary noting that President Obama had signed a proclamation — as has been the long tradition — designating this as a National Day of Prayer.

He called for unity and respect for our varied faith traditions, and then concluded: "I call upon Americans to pray in thanksgiving for our freedoms and blessings and to ask for God’s continued guidance, grace, and protection for this land that we love."

For the old soldiers of the Religious Right, however, only special favor for their narrow view of religious faith seems good enough. Which is one of the reasons why finding unity in the United States is increasingly difficult.

(These photos were taken by me today except for the official White House photo of President Obama signing the proclamation while Joshua DuBois, director of the White House Office for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, looks on. Like the Dobsons, I was not invited over to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. either,)

The radio and mom's discernment

2009-05-05T07:01:00.006-04:00

The early morning radio voice of Luther Masingill — with Mom clanging around the kitchen — was the background music of my childhood and youth.

After six decades, Luther is still on the air in Chattanooga to eagerly promote a benefit pancake supper in Flintstone, Ga., or help a family in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., find their lost dog.

On non-school days, I heard other WDEF Radio personalities throughout the day — who, unlike Luther,came and went. One was called "Jolly Charlie," I recall.

Songs like Petula Clark's "Downtown" and Red Foley's "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy" (a local favorite) seeped into my young head.

But just around dinnertime, a voice without that comforting Southeast Tennessee/ Northwest Georgia drawl would come on the air announcing: "The World Tomorrow with Dr. Garner Ted Armstrong..."

CLICK. Without comment, Mom would turn off the radio that had played since before she cracked the first egg.

With some sense of spiritual discernment that she never explained, my mother — a Baptist from Cradle Roll to the grave — didn't want us to hear the teachings of this radio minister who succeeded his father, Herbert W. Armstrong, and later had conflicts with the elder Armstrong over his prophetic views. Both are gone now.

But for some strange reason all of those childhood memories came rushing back yesterday when I read an article from Religion News Service. According to the report, the ministry started by Herbert W. Armstrong is now to be known as Grace Communion International.

The group renounced the teachings of its founder after his death in 1986 and seems intent on staking out a place in the mainstream of evangelical Christianity. Becoming known as Grace Communion International appears to be another step away from the teachings of Armstrong that apparently included denial of the Trinity and an emphasis on Old Testament law.

But I'm really not sure what the Armstrongs taught — since Mom was quick to reach for the dial each evening.

In fact, the radio in our kitchen stayed off until the next morning — except on spring or summer nights from 1966 on. Then a voice we could believe in came to us with a quick click to the "on" position:

"This is Milo Hamilton along with Ernie Johnson and Braves baseball is on the air, brought to you by the people in your town who bottle Coca-Cola and by Union 76. Any rebroadcast of the descriptions or accounts of this game without express written consent of the Atlanta Braves is prohibited..."

Mom protected us from wayward theology but not from the pain of losing.

It's just money...lots of it

2009-05-02T06:47:00.002-04:00

News reports indicate that Chrysler is filing for bankruptcy and Ford's sales number are even lower than expected. Some economists, however, see signs that the economy is turning around.

My understanding of economic principles is so limited that I must rely on someone else's expertise. But it doesn't take a genius to see that many (if not most) Americans feel less secure financially.

What is the silver lining in this dark sky? That is a good question for people of faith to consider.

Churches are acting more like "communities of faith" than before the dollar crunch. Taking care of one another — and those beyond the fold — in times of need is a vital part of being church.

Personal reflection is leading many to realize that we put too much stock in stocks and our self-reliance. Our trust must be built on something more reliable than portfolios.

A few months ago I passed through Phipps Plaza — a trendy mall in Atlanta's Buckhead community. On display was a eye-catching Bentley Continental GTC convertible.

Its mileage rating was 10 city and 17 highway. It carried a gas guzzler tax of $3,700.

The "suggested retail price" was $222,765 — but I bet you could take it home for closer to 200 grand.

It hard to believe there is — or ever was — a market for a vehicle with such statistics. But then it's just money. Or is it?

Southern Baptists and evangelism

2009-04-29T07:59:00.011-04:00

It was hard not to laugh when reading the Baptist Press story about Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) president Johnny Hunt issuing a new declaration — with hundreds of signatures from other SBC leaders — calling for a "Great Commission Resurgence" within the denominational group.

Apparently, it has something to do with the dipping statistics about dipping new believers.Of course, they could just put evangelist and former SBC president Bailey Smith back on the mega-church trail to rebaptize deacons, Sunday school teachers and choir members along with near-infants to get the numbers back up.

Instead, Hunt and others think this declaration might do the trick. The best punchline in the lengthy document was this one:

"The promise of the Conservative Resurgence was that eventually we would find enough common biblical and theological ground that we could focus on the Great Commission."

Perhaps "eventually" is the operative word. For those who don't see the humor, you should have been around these guys a quarter-century or so ago.

All we heard during the red-hot days of the Fundamentalist Takeover of the SBC was that "liberalism" had infiltrated the convention. And if these true Bible believers were in charge, then evangelism would reign supreme.

The irony, of course, is two-fold:

One, Southern Baptists were in the midst of Bold Mission Thrust, the largest (and admittedly arrogant) worldwide evangelism effort ever tried when the takeover was launched.

Two, these guys who took over the convention have been running it for decades now with continuous infighting that keeps narrowing the circle of participation and with public proclamations that alienate large segments of society.

I'm sure the messengers to the SBC meeting in Louisville this summer will adopt this new document and feel proud that they are doing a good thing for the great cause of evangelism. Maybe it will work this time — eventually.

But I suspect Southern Baptists will have better success with the Great Commission when they start taking seriously the Great Commandment — instead of condemning and rejecting everyone who does not think just like them.