It also reminds me to stop with the pity parties for myself because my problems are small compared with most of these people.

I talked with a gentleman yesterday who is separated from his wife.  This is the good part because then it all goes down hill from there. I can’t get too specific but it involves drug use, drug dealing, multiple jail times, unfaithful spouse, you get the picture.

The good part to this story? He tells me that God found Him while he was in jail.  Not him finally believing and following, but God got him.  He hasn’t used, hasn’t been around his old friends, and is seeking how to do this life right.  I love hearing about how the God of the universe chooses to love us by reaching down, picking us up out of the dirt, brushes us off  and makes us one of His!

Now here’s the funny thing.  I have heard this before.  Seriously, like a month earlier I almost heard the same story from another guy.  Then the wheels starts to turn in my head.  God is getting ready to redeem a people!

There is a part of our town here that God is about to call home.  He is about to destroy old habits, stop generational sin, rescue the fatherless, deliver the users, and care for the destitute.

That’s why a few months a go God puts in my head to start some type of recovery group this year.

This fall we will have two recovery groups begin.  They are the beginning of of something that I think God is going to bless over time.  There are so many people out there with, as I like to say, “junk in their trunk” that they need something like this to begin unpacking all of it.

Please pray for this with me.  Pray that we can become a church that will become the lighthouse in our community.  That we will be able to go to bat for those that need us the most.

To think that that there was an eye witness to voter intimidation AND he was a civil rights lawyer. Then to top it off they dismiss the whole thing!?

It seems to me now the we have seen the interpretation of the law by the government. Law is only good if it works for you. It is call postmodernism.  It is a way of thinking that quite honestly doesn’t make sense.  Read that definition of that word and then watch the news for a while.  Then give me your honest opinion of how Washington works.

If you want to know how I think we need to get back to reality you can watch an old post/message of mine here.

Wake up now. We need to show up in droves and vote for the way we want the country to go at the next election.

Catching up on some news today I came across the following video. I wanted to share it with you all because this is the type of thing that will go unnoticed because of the oil spill or what’s going on in Afghanistan. It was a major precedent upheld (remember our talk about doctrine) in the Supreme Court about our Second Amendment rights.

In this piece of information we find that in a 5 to 4 decision that again it was decided that you cannot take away the right for citizens to bear arms.  No big deal because it is a pretty cut and dry wording in that particular amendment.

Although, here is what I found to be interesting.

• Justice Sonia Sotomayor is nominated by the left and yet she sides with the right, whoops bad choice there.
• Congress is actually accusing the courts or Judicial Activism saying that it is putting their political interests above making fair decisions based on law.
• They are accusing John Roberts of being a ring leader?  Seriously?  Common man…
• Mr Schumer and Mr. Frankin (still can’t get over him being in there ) state that the courts are denying the rights of citizens and going on the sides of special interests.  Are they reading the same Bill of Rights I am?

So we ask why?  Well I think our commentator kind of hit it on the head.  Could it be a threat?  Can people actually try to intimidate the Supreme Court?

We shall see because like it was reported in the end all the Obama Care trials are coming.  I wonder if we shall see a balance of power actually come into play?

Should be interesting…

1.   The Patriot – reminds me of a lot of stuff.  Fighting for freedom, good   triumphing over evil, and what it takes to be a passionate dad.  And yes, it makes me cry evry time his little girl runs up to dad and begs him not to go.   But it also makes me more determined to keep the faith and live like I should.

2.  Jaws – Oh yeah!  Real patriotic right?  Nah, but there is something about watching this movie in summer because that’s when all the craziness goes down in this town during the opening of a holiday season.  By the way the water is still too cold to swim up there in the summer time. Been there done that, Crazy!

3.  Star Wars – By this I mean the original 1977 Episode IV A New Hope.  I remember the summer release of this movie and unfortunately so did my mother.  It was the first time I ever made her take me to see a movie twice.  Miss you mom!

4.  Meatballs – Oh the memories of summer camp (by the way I hated summer camp but Heather’s dad was an actual camp director, she loved it! Go figure…)  If you are a Bill Muray fan then you would like this film.

5.  Any type of John Wayne Western.  Why?  Because he’s American and cowboys is about as American you can get!  You won’t go wrong with one of these choices and you just might introduce your family to an old icon.

Well there you go, my top 5 movies I like to watch this time of year. Do you have something you like to watch in the summer?  Got some holiday traditions for the 4th?

Whatever your holiday traditions are do them with friends and family and remember God is the reason that America is great.

Happy 4th of July!

I was listening to some of the Elena Kagan confirmation hearings. At one point Senator Dianne Feinstein asked her how could the Supreme Court over turn gun legislation based on decades of litigation based on a 5 to 4 decision.

Basically (and I am summarizing here so if I am misquoting please forgive me) Kagan stated that doctrine can be changed.  That if the precedents set are found not to be useful or the doctrinal foundations begin to erode then change will happen.  Also if some of the original facts that established the doctrinal beliefs are found to be misgiving then it can change.

Meaning, that the beliefs of the High court can change when they find it no longer useful for what they are trying to do.  Although, they should respect precedents.

In Honor of God at the Movies Oak Leaf Style

Now, funny thought comes to mind.  I think it’s important to understand something here.

Culture reacts the same way with Biblical Doctrine.  Culture will accept long standing biblical doctrine as long as they like it and it helps them in what they want to do.  When it stops working for them it is time to change.

Questions that come to mind:

Is it ok to change doctrine?

When is it ok to switch from one doctrine to another?

Can everyone be right?  If not, then who has the right answer?

These are just some of the questions that I have been asking myself over the last couple of years.  Because, I have found myself changing lately?  Am I changing to help myself cope with culture?  Or, is God showing me how it really is?

What about you?

Hmmm, what was I trying to say?

I think what I meant was, “Look, everyone has doubts about things in their life.  By not talking about them it isolates you and makes the doubts stronger.”

What do you mean you don't know where we're going!?

I don’t think I have ever counseled with anyone that was doubting a decision they made, their relationships, their own self worth or even their faith and thought, “You Idiot!”.  Want to know why?  Because, I’ve been there.  And so has everyone else in the Universe.  We all have doubts.  We all have times in our lives where we are always questioning ‘why’.

Doubts come from a lack of faith in what you think should be the accepted norm.

That means WE are interpreting a set of circumstances and have judged it on predetermined data.  The problem is many times the way WE interpret things is based on past evidences and faulty human judgments.  [By the way a great book on this is Blink.]

By discussing these things out with others we are able to hear the thoughts in our heads out loud.  Someone else is then able to help you see where you are struggling.  Then WE can make a better judgment call on what WE are doubting about.

Social Media along with blogging has allowed people the ability to process out loud just be careful of who you are listening to.  Personal conversations are still the best way to wrestle with your doubts.

If you are a Christian here’s a great example for you.

Jesus Appears to Thomas

24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.

25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Thomas the apostle was no idiot.  And it just might be that if you are brave enough to talk out your doubts that God just might show up and give you the 411 through someone.

Try it and find out…

Being an ex therapist I about cried when I saw this clip on Jason’s blog.

I can’t tell you how many times I have wanted to do this

Michael, don’t get any ideas!

On the serious side counseling is very important.  If you are having problems I would love to talk with you but I want you to know something.  God wants you to “Stop it” because He loves you. So get help and be what you were called to be.

Bless ya’ll!

Helping people become like Jesus.

Yeah, not a complicated definition huh?

So what I have been thinking about is how do I help people get from point A to point B.  If you are a Leafer that means “Leading People from where they are to where God wants them to be.” It’s what keeps me up at night and ticks me off when I see some of our attenders/members walk away from God even though they were going through the motions of discipleship.

That might mean they were in a group, taking a class through Oak Leaf University, or involved in a Volunteer Team.  Whatever it is, it reminds me of the mind set “here’s what we have to offer, you need to find your own way.”  It’s kind of passing someone the Duct Tape and sayin, “Knock yourself out.”

You know, in education Billions of dollars are spent on Exceptional Students (ESE).  They (the government) realize that a regular classroom & regular resources is not enough for everyone.  It is the same for the field of Psychiatric Medicine.  The book I was trained with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM 4) has 3Xs as many disorders as there are different divisions of Special Education. That means everyone does not do well with the same treatments and everyone needs to be seen as an individual.

So what does that mean for the church?

I got a hunch.  In the words of Gary Hamel, a brilliant guy,  he says, “Why in an economic downturn are businesses changing but the church is not?” According to Gary the church will die out if we do not change and address the needs of the people.

Now before you start to write something I fully believe that everyone needs to be changed by the gospel first.  Jesus has to take up the residency in us as Lord and our souls must be regenerated by the Holy Spirit.  But it is the process of what happens before & after that, which concerns me at the moment.

This is an ongoing thing that I will be writing about periodically but I would love to hear what you think?

Are we missing something in the church today when it comes to Discipleship?

In this short video he talks about the issue of pride lacking in America. Something that I hit on the sermon a couple of weeks a go. Have a listen and see what it says to you.

Then ask yourself the question. “What is it to be American?”

Old Time Religion – Honor Your Country from Oak Leaf Church on Vimeo.

So I want to take a minute and ask you guys something.  What are you willing to give up so that you can honor God?

I know that many of us went home on Saturday/Sunday and tried to put out of our minds that thing which we worship.  But it’s not going to go away because God is faithful and if you belong to Him He is going to keep reminding you of that Asherah Pole, that thing that gets between you and Him.

Remember to Honor your country you first have to honor God.

So what is it? I shared with you all that mine was the tv.  Here’s how t.v. was disrupting our life.

• It became the focus after the family meal at night.  Maybe it was a kid program but it was always, “What are we gonna watch tonight?”.
• It became our kid watcher when we were busy cleaning the kitchen or getting ready in the morning.
• It competed for reading time with the family.
• Instead of looking for ways to engage our kids it was easier pawning them off on the tv.

In the end it kept us from engaging with the family about God.  Now our children’s attention is not something we have to compete for.

Heather and I were really putting our needs first over what God wanted for our family.  So, on suggestion of my wise wife,  we tour down our Asherah Pole.

Now we spend time talking, playing games, and engaging our children in conversations about God.

SO,

What are you willing to tear down in order to put God first again?