Just When You Thought....

Just when you thought we've gone about as low as we can go come two stories that make you do a double take. The mayor (Sam Adams) of Portland is back on the job this week after admitting last week that he lied about having a sexual relationship with a male teenager. Click on this link from the Seattle Times for more on the story. According to the story: The police union and four Portland newspapers had called for his resignation, but Adams found strong support to remain, including a Friday rally at City Hall that drew more than 400 backers.

Rumors of the affair dogged Adams throughout his 2007 campaign for mayor. The teenager, Beau Breedlove, told The Oregonian that he and the mayor did not have sex until he turned 18, the legal age of consent in Oregon, but the mayor had twice kissed him while he was 17 years old.
Now the shake your head part. People and the media were outraged that the mayor lied about the affair. No one seemed upset that it was a homosexual relationship with a teenager!

It doesn't get any better with the next one. A Sacramento State grad is trying to auction off her virginity to help pay for graduate school. I'm not making this up! From the Sacramento CBS affiliate's website comes this story:

The 22-year-old who is using the pseudonym Natalie Dylan for safety reasons is going through a legal brothel in Nevada to sell her virginity. "The main purpose of this is to finance a couple things in my life," Dylan told CBS13. "I think empowerment of women is picking yourself up and doing something on your own to better yourself."

Dylan says she's already taken a polygraph test to prove her virginal status, and is also willing to undergo a medical exam.

The auction will take place at the Bunny Ranch in Carson City, Nevada with bids coming in through their website. Owner Dennis Hof tells CBS13 that eBay rejected the auction, so he'll handle the entire process.

Apparently the Internet based auction is legal because prostitution is legal in Carson City, Nevada. Kudos to eBay for rejecting the auction! Apparently 10,000 bids have been submitted in the auction for flesh and one of them was reported to be as high as $4,000,000!

These events are simply sad. It's hard to point a finger when you've got a 4x4 log in your own eye, but the words of Jesus seem appropriate. Many non-Christ followers love to cite Jesus' relative silence on sins of the flesh and quote his words to the condemning Pharisees toward the woman caught in adultery in John 8. I don't share their interpretation of Jesus' stand on morality (because the Bible is the Word of God, and Jesus too), but I'm saying this is a popular argument for people who need to justify their behavior. However, they seem to overlook Jesus' words to the woman in verse 11, when he says he does not condemn her but warns: "go and from now on sin no more." No doubt the Apostle Paul understood what drives stuff like this (1 Corinthians 6:18-20; Romans 7:13-24).

And notice I've resisted the temptation to add the recent and bizarre defense mounted by the now impeached Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted by his own legislature of trying to sell his state's Senate seat. He's gotten way too much air time already.

All of these are signs of depravity. These are not new sins. The sale of flesh has been going on way before any of us were occupying earth space. However, the blatant, willful disregard for morality seems to be getting worse. We are digging deeper and deeper in a pit with no escape. We have become more arrogant in our sin. We are simply reaping what we've sown. None of us is above sin, but those who are trying to order their steps after the teachings and example of Jesus should remember that the Father sent Him to rescue us from our depravity. Only Christ offers redemption from our continued path toward darkness. And He left the church to point the way by providing hope, clarity, a voice in the darkness, direction, help, and leadership to salvation through Him.

In Isaiah's prophetic word about the suffering Jesus we find these chilling words for our times: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;" The urgency for imperfect, but redeemed Christ-followers to model, share and talk about a different way has never been greater! One day it will be too late. As the old Apostle says at the end of his Hymn to Christ: "so at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Church, we've got a lot of work to do if we are to reach more people and impact their lives for Christ, so at His name they will bow obediently and willingly instead of by the force of eternal judgment.

Victory Without Honor Is a Great Loss!

A good friend sent me a link to a story on the Rivals High website about a Texas high school girls basketball team that has decided to forfeit a game they legitimately won. Here's part of the story:

DALLAS -- A Texas high school girls basketball team on the winning end of a 100-0 game has a case of blowout remorse.

Now officials from The Covenant School say they are trying to do the right thing by seeking a forfeit and apologizing for the margin of victory.

"It is shameful and an embarrassment that this happened," Kyle Queal, the head of the school, said in a statement, adding the forfeit was requested because "a victory without honor is a great loss."

The private Christian school defeated Dallas Academy last week. Covenant was up 59-0 at halftime.

A parent who attended the game told The Associated Press that Covenant continued to make 3-pointers -- even in the fourth quarter. She praised the Covenant players but said spectators and an assistant coach were cheering wildly as their team edged closer to 100 points.

Now I know some die-hard sports fans are saying, "So what? It's our job to score and it's your job to defend." A paraphrase by the way of the Old Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier when he was coaching Florida and they scored a record blow out of my Kentucky Wildcats in football. If it's only about the final score then I will concede the argument. However, if it's about teaching young athletes character, dignity and honor, then we've got a whole different ballgame. Now there's another part of the story I need to share about the losing team:

Dallas Academy has eight girls on its varsity team and about 20 girls in its high school. It is winless over the last four seasons. The academy boasts of its small class sizes and specializes in teaching students struggling with "learning differences," such as short attention spans or dyslexia.

What a refreshing story in a day and age when the emphasis seems to be winning at all costs. These young women need not apologize for doing what they were trained to do, but it would seem they have learned an even more valuable lesson about compassion and character. So now the small in numbers girls team from Dallas Academy has a victory and will not finish this season like the previous four with no wins. What a gift from the larger and obviously more athletic Covenant School! If you would like to read the full story click on Rivals.

By all means sports, academic and character fans give me your take on this story.

A Dream Fulfilled?

The swearing-in of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States is indeed a historical benchmark and event. Members of the Boomer and Builder generations seem to echo a mutual refrain, "I never thought I would see this in my life time." Succeeding generations aren't always sure what to make of that comment. For the most part, regardless of their gender, religious or ethnic background they have lived most of their lives in an age of unlimited potential with few glass ceilings. Their memories of race riots, civil rights marches, and segragated schools are confined to history books and the stories of their parents and grandparents.

My generation knows this event did not come about with ease. Many lost their lives, suffered physical, economic and emotional wounds to make this happen. Racial tension improved during our formative years with the Civil Rights Act and other legislation, but the struggle was still taking place. In 1969 the U.S. Supreme Court squashed any lingering opposition to the landmark 1955 decision against racial segregation in public schools (Brown v.s. Board of Education). However, the High Court's 1969 decision ordered immediate action in the segregation of public schools. It put teeth in the 1955 ruling. Finally there was no legal argument left for those favoring segregation. But racial division was still alive in our country. Congress can legislate and courts can rule, but changing the heart takes much more.

My point is not a history lesson in Civil Rights. I'm not qualified to give that lecture. However as a white, middle-aged male, I do have a great deal of appreciation for the significance surrounding our 44th president. Whether you voted for him or not, is a moot point. On Tuesday, January 20th, all Americans can celebrate another historical event in our ongoing national narrative. While the innauguration of "44" is a major milestone in our strife for equality, the truth remains that there is still much work to be done in fulfilling Dr. King's dream.

Consider that most of Wall Street's big guns are led by middle-aged white males. Consider that the majority of the U.S. Congress are white men. It's not just politics and business. Richard Lapchick co-authored a report that shows how much work we've got left to do in the world of collegiate athletics. In his report, "The Buck Stops Here: Assessing Diversity among Campus and Conference Leaders for Division I-A” found that, “the leadership in which the power structure in college sport remains overwhelmingly white.” The stats don't lie either:

In Division I-A, “92.5 percent of university presidents, 87.5 percent of athletic directors, 92.6 percent of faculty athletics representatives and 100 percent of conference commissioners are white. Only 3.5 percent of the faculty are African-American and 3.4 percent Latino,” Lapchick said. Only 12 African American coaches have been hired for the 199 Division I-A coaching vacancies since 1996.

We still have a long way to go. This is a great step for our nation. However, perhaps too many are placing the role of savior on the shoulders of our 44th president, a role that is humanly impossible and unfair regardless of your faith. He needs our prayers, ideas, support and commitment to make the necessary sacrifices it's going to take to restore our global leadership status. I believe much of the dream has been fulfilled, but there is still more. Imagine the hopes and visions an Obama presidency can launch in the hearts and minds of Americans of Asian, and Hispanic descent, not to mention those of women. If anything our nation's children need to cling to the words of the great poet, Shel Silverstein:

Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child,
Listen to the DON'TS
Listen to the SHOULDN'TS The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me---
Anything can happen, child
ANYTHING can be.

Contemplations of a Strained Heart, or A Full Wagon

Sometimes stuff just piles up inside me. I don’t know about you, but physical exercise, prayer and journaling help me, but sometimes even that’s not enough. My mind and heart get overloaded a lot. Concerns for friends, family, church members, and the world at large can be weighty. Add in our jobs, the economy, our favorite ball team, personal finances, and relational struggles, and pretty soon your heart is going to charge you for extra baggage. Like an airline you can only carry so much extra baggage.

A good friend often reminds me that we can’t tote around the baggage of others and our own. He’s quick to point out that each of us has enough trouble carrying around our own baggage. And ultimately we decide what we put it in our personal wagon, and if we’re going to let it hold us back from living freely. My friend’s point is a simple one: We are responsible for our own stuff and how we deal with it.

Lot’s of folks have overloaded wagons. Heck, I spend most of my time helping people unload their wagon’s, and I have to work really hard to make sure I don’t just pile it in my own Red Flyer! I like the red wagon theology. But it has occurred to me that it’s not always that simple or easy to unload junk as soon as someone else dumps it. It takes time to process, think, reflect, pray, and act. I really admire people who are wired in a way that it appears absolutely nothing bothers them. That’s a gift. However, it’s very rare because that stuff has to go somewhere. There are only three responses to extra baggage: you repress, suppress or process. I guess it’s just that some are better at processing so they always appear to be in control, or unaffected by it.

A friend of mine is like that. He plays it all close to the vest, never lets down his guard, no risks, no vulnerability. For the longest time I was so impressed by his ability to not let this stuff get to him. And yet I now know it’s backed up into his throat and he’s now paying the price. He’s a great guy, smart, compassionate and a strong leader. Not a light weight if you get my point. Better people than me are helping him unload his wagon and I’m glad because he’s a real keeper in my book. This isn’t about my friend so let’s move on.

I would never put any of us in the league of Jesus, but I think heavy hearts give us just a very slight appreciation for how he must have felt all those times in Scripture it references that he had “compassion on them,” or that he was moved. We need to take a cue from our leader during these times and get further in the Word and spend more time with the Father. Will it make all of the stuff go away? Probably not, but it gives us a different perspective and we know we’re not alone. 1 Peter 5:7 would be a good place to start: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Now that’s a great place to begin unloading the wagon!

Drawing Circles

I think our culture is hurting from drawing circles. Left alone circles are not a serious problem. However, once you step inside and start drawing them you can't stop. Pretty soon no one else can fit in the circle except for the person drawing. A circle mentality to life inevitably excludes others. People draw all kinds of circles: racial, economic, gender related, faith-based, ethnic, education, geographic and much more.

The term fundamentalism didn't really take hold until the early-20th Century in connection with a major theological schism in the Presbyterian Church. Over time, the term spread to include other Christian denominations and the term was loosely applied to describe those who held conservative views in the conservative-liberal debate among Christ-followers. However, the term fundamentalism can be applied to just about anything or anyone today who holds extreme views and seeks to exclude those who don't. Fundamentalism eventually leads to drawing circles, which I would term extreme fundamentalism.

There are Jewish fundamentalists, Christian fundamentalists and Islamic fundamentalists. There are also homosexual, feminine, national, political, racial, and even electronic fundamentalists. The latter for example, holds a high disdain for anyone who can't or won't communicate strictly through electronic means like email, Face book, a Blackberry, texting, etc.

There's nothing wrong with being passionate about your faith, political, cultural views, college team, etc. However, it should never be a license to punish, assassinate character, or physically harm those who do not share the same view. There's another circle drawn. Take politics for example. I live in a county with a strong Republican majority. I have heard many well-meaning people who even profess to follow Christ offer strong words of judgment and condemnation toward anyone supporting or voting for a Democratic candidate. Many of the comments I've heard were even racial, or sexist. Major circle just drawn. The last time I checked, neither of America's major political parties are in the Bible, or endorsed by Jesus. Easy this is just one example and not a blog on politics, I blogged about that during the Fall elections.

You can apply this to college teams, neighborhoods, social issues like health care, abortion, private v.s. public education, tattoos, dress, and on and on. We keep drawing circles (notice the one with the marker determines what's right, wrong, good, bad, etc.) and pretty soon we've excluded everyone. Someone hurts or offends us and we draw a circle. Someone disagrees with us and we draw a circle. I'm not saying we have to adopt or even accept views that clash with some of our deepest thoughts, views, beliefs or opinions and sit by a campfire holding hands and singing Kum Ba Yah. But I am saying we can be civil. We can listen. We can respect. We can even disagree without being punitive, or mad.

Christ-followers of all people need to remember that our leader was the victim of circle drawing. He embraced the broken, weak, sinful, and social outcasts. He even talked to people with whom he disagreed or did not share their beliefs. In fact in one circle-drawing event, He was accused of being a drunk and a "friend of sinners". The circle-drawer's presumed to know his heart and motives. How many times have I done that with those with whom I disagree? Perhaps that's the most dangerous part of drawing circles. We presume we're right and our myopic view not only excludes those with whom we disagree, but it pronounces judgment. Something I believe Jesus said was not even His role, but God's.

Circle drawer's put down your markers. Not every Muslim is out to strap explosives to his/her body and blow up Americans. Not every Hispanic is lazy, drunk or "cashing in" on the system. Not every African American group of boys in a blighted neighborhood is out to rob us, or highjack our car. Not every doctor or attorney is strictly out for profit. Not every Christian is mean and close-minded. Not every person with a tatoo is some sort of freak beneath human dignity. Not every prisoner is without a set of morals. Not every priest is a pedophile. Not every person battling an addiction is beyond hope. Not every NFL, or NBA player is in a night club with a gun, or a thug. Not every person who doesn't speak English is somehow inferior. You get the idea.

Isn't it amazing that the earth is round? One big circle with people who are red, and yellow, black and white, ALL precious in God's sight.

P.S. I never said you can't be passionate, or share your views, beliefs and faith with others. It's how we do it.

Behind the Bars

I have a friend who came to Christ in a nearby county jail while awaiting a felony trial. He has been in prison for six years now. No, this was no jailhouse confession, but the real deal. He is a completely different man than the angry man I met when I visited him in that county jail upon his initial arrest. He has peace and a genuine concern for others, especially other inmates and their families. I've watched him grow in God's Word and heard his precious prayers for many fellow inmates who don't know Christ, struggle or have serious problems. He has an incredible burden for anyone who does not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Prison was never intended to be a pleasant place. I realize there are serious, repeat, felony offenders who have demonstrated a continual bent for crime and have no earthly intention of becoming a better human. I personally believe these repeat felony offenders should be isolated from general prison populations. But what about those who made a mistake and are trying to serve their time so they can get out and never go back? We need to ask ourselves is the goal to simply to punish them, or to help rehabilitate them so they can contribute to society and make our cities, towns and counties a better place upon their release? If it's to correct/rehabilitate then something needs to change.

From food to health care, employment opportunities, education and basic needs, our prisons are struggling. State governments across the nation are being asked to house more inmates with significantly fewer resources. State revenues are down across the nation and prisons are often the first place cuts are made. Most are so underfunded that asking them to cut is like asking a starving man for a meal. Some systems deny older prisoners education and vocational training opportunities because they reason these inmates are too old to learn. Other systems where prisoners must serve 85% of a felony sentence are denied the opportunity to work which promotes apathy and laziness. "Idleness is the devil's workshop!"

Most prisons have a store where inmates can purchase personal hygiene items, clothing, shoes and even snacks through money they earn working inside, or from funds friends and family deposit in their Pay Pal account. A pair of shoes that costs under $30 on the outside can cost as much as $60 on the inside. Deodorant you can purchase at a dollar store for under a buck can cost as much as $3! Fruit is removed from many prison cafeterias because inmates have been known to stash it in a cell and ferment it to make wine. However, this deprives the prison population of some daily nutritional basics. And many other foods are off the list because they don't want the inmates to "bulk up" on carbs and proteins. This is understandable but what about the simple distribution of a daily multi-vitamin?

Overcrowded prisons + Lower State Funds + Stressed Guards & Inmates = A Time Bomb.

Let's be honest. Most of the people in correctional facilities are there because they made a bad choice and they are reaping the consequences. Whether the sentence is just, or not is nearly always subjective and best left to the judicial system. But what about those who really want to improve their life circumstance and be contributors to society upon their release instead of taker's? The old saying that everyone in prison gets religion may be true, but the authentic are known by their fruit and devotion on the inside just as those of us on the outside who profess Christ are known by our fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). Think about exercising: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control within the confines of a prison? Now that will test the most sincere person of faith! I'm proud to say I know one man who has not backed down one inch from his profession and love for Christ while serving a long sentence. To this day he continues to grow in Christ. Would to God that I would be as faithful given the same circumstances!

Read again the words of Psalm 146:7:

7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free,

P.S. If you come away thinking I'm against the penal system you missed the whole point! I just think it needs a lot of attention from people who are a lot smarter than me.