Michael Moore: Anti-Bush, Anti-Arab

Interesting Article on Michael Moore and Fahrenheit 911 in the Daily Star. Link.

Why the Dems Will Lose

I know the National Review is hardly an unbiased look at politics, but they have an interesting article that contains 6 reasons why the Kerry/Edwards ticket will lose come November. Link.

Proverbs, Romans, and the Democratic National Convention

When I was a senior at High School Summer Camp at Hume Lake I made a commitment to the Lord to read the book of Proverbs and the book of Romans every month.  Somewhere along the line I added the book of Psalms, but it is so long that I split it up over five months.  Well, I have kept pretty faithful in my reading almost every month for the last 30 years.  It amazes me how each month as I read these books I find something comletely new to me in each reading.  This month I am reading for the first time in The Message, which, with its contemporary wording, brings a lot of new thoughts to my reading.  I came across Proverbs 28:2 a couple of days ago.  It says,

2  When the country is in chaos, everybody has a plan to fix it--But it takes a leader of real understanding to straighten things out. 

As I watched the highlights of the Democratic National Convention I can't think of a more appropriate verse as it applies to our nation.  We are a fragmented country right now.  Everyone has a different plan to fix what they believe is wrong with the country.  I believe that what we really need right now is a leader who can bring us all together and help us work as one.  As I watched the convention I am very concerned with the fragmentation of the Democratic Party itself.  They are trying to bring together all the different splintered groups representing the liberal side of the political system under the Democratic Party umbrella by focusing them on what they have in common: their intense hatred for the Republican Party and George W. Bush.  I tried to go into the Democratic National Convention with an open mind, to see what good might come out of the convention, but I'm afraid that rallying around a hatred for the Republican Party and George W. Bush just isn't good enough for me.  There is just too much out and out hatred on the Democratic side of the ticket this election.  Also, each splinter of the Democratic Party has its own agenda that it wants fixed, but there is no overall cohesive plan to integrate these and make this happen.  The have several lofty goals, such as providing health care for everyone, inproving education, and forming a real coalition with the UN forces in Iraq.  But, there are no details available for how the ticket plans to do this, and frankly the Democrats may win the election, but I don't believe Kerry can pull off any type of a cohesive plan.  I will wait to see what the Republican National Convention accomplishes before I make up my mind who to vote for, but right now it doesn't look like I will endorse the Kerry/Edwards ticket. 

As far as Proverbs, Romans, and Psalms go, I'll still be faithful to the commitment I made to the Lord.  Lately I have been feeling convicted to go deeper; the concepts of justification, grace, and sanctification in the book of Romans have been tugging on my soul very hard over the last few months.  Along those lines, I have 3 friends that memorized the entire book of Romans.  One of them (David Yong)  is a friend I met while living in SongTan, Korea who memorized all of Romans in English (his second language).   Now if David can do it in his second language maybe I should at least try to tackle it in my primary language.

Romans 1:1  Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.........      

Orangejack Added To The List of Blogs I Read

Through one of those 7 steps to Kevin Bacon type of links Rob of the Orangejack blog and I ran across each other in the blogosphere.  He works for Campus Crusade for Christ and is a fellow worker in campus ministries.  Anyhow, it was great to run across you Rob.  You are linked out to the right and although I don't understand your love of Clemson (I'm still mad at them for beating Nebraska in the 1980 Orange bowl), I'll still read your blog.  

An Evening at the Muny and Ted Drewe's

The 1904 World's Fair was held in St Louis and was such a success that it forever changed the landscape of the city.  Today St Louis, and the country in general, are left with several vestiges of the fair.  The 1904 Fair featured the first introduction of the Hamburger and the Ice Cream Cone to American culture.  These two American delicacies have not only come to dominate American cuisine, but have spred all over the world.   As important as the Hamburger and the Ice Cream Cone are to American pop culture, the most visible vestige of the 1904 Fair in St Louis is the site where the fair was hosted, St Louis' Forest Park.   I compare forest Park to New York's Central Park, except that Forest park is about 50% larger and has so much more to do.  The St Louis Zoo (one of the only free zoos left in the US), Science Center (also free), the Missouri History Museum and Historical Society (they have an unbelievable exhibit on Lewis and Clark to celebrate the 200th anniversary of their departure from St Louis), Art Museum (free), The Muny (an outdoor theater for Broadway-type shows that seats 11,000), a nice public golf course, ball fields, a tennis stadium where the St Louis Aces play, outdoor ice skating rink, and the giant ferris wheel all are located within the park's boundaries. 

Last night Marilyn and I took the kids to the Muny's presentation of The Music Man.  It was a solid performance.  The weather was perfect, dry and about 65 degrees.  It was very nice. 

After the Muny we visited another St Louis tradition, Ted Drewe's Frozen Custard.  If there is a better place to eat a concrete (similar to Dairy Queen's blizzard) I haven't found it yet.  Ted Drewe's has been here for around 75 years and is one of our favorite places to hang out.  We hung out until about 1:00am and then headed for home.  It was awesome!   What a perfect night.  It made for a hard time getting up and heading off to work this morning. 

Reaching New Religions

The OOZE.com has a super article on how we need to develop a new missional strategy for witnessing.  We have done a good job of training missionaries to head on off to Asia or Africa in order to reach Hindus, Buddhists, and Moslems, but what about those new religious movements that have been brewing in our own bakyard?  How do we reach those people?  Here's the link to the article.  Link.  Thanks go out to Andrew Careaga.

Andrew Careaga's e-vangelism.com Website

Jordon Cooper had a link on his blog to evangelism.com, a website by Andrew Careaga.  What an awesome website.  I have read Andrew's blog for the last couple of years and have read his books, e-ministry, and Hooked On the Net, and highly recommend each of them.  Andrew shows how we are capable of changing people's lives through how we use the electronic media.  Andrew also documents the changes in our culture that are taking form with the emergence of a generation raised on the internet.  It is compelling.  I particularly like his ideas in e-ministry regarding using the electronic media to help create community in our Christian life.  I guess I need to order his book e-vangelism and start pouring through it too.  If the e-vangelism website continues down the path that Andrew has gone so far it will be top notch, innovative, and a must read.  I've added it to the right column under the list of blogs I read.   Plus, Andrew is a local, from Rolla, Missouri, only about 2 hours away and I think he is a Cardinals fan! 

Bloggers At The Democratic Convention

The Wall Street Journal has a good article on bloggers at the Democratic convention.  It is located here.  Link.  There are about 35 blogs that have been accredited by the convention.  There's a very interesting list of bloggers at the end of the article.  Should make for some fun reading.

Hussein and Bin Laden Tie

Thanks again to Rudy Carrasco posting this link on his website.  George Bush has been pretty silent on all the Democrat's charges against him of acting without cause in the War on Iraq.  I imagine as we get closer to the election more news like this will be released that shows he acted on intelligence pointing to a tie between Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden.  Here's the link.  Link.

Good News Coming Out of Iraq

I have had a couple of posts over the last month where I believe the good news coming ot of Iraq isn't being reported.  The liberal media "latches onto" the bad news coming out of Iraq because they know it serves their purpose to shock the public and push the liberal agenda.  Rudy Carrasco has a post on his weblog where he links to the Wall Street Journal's documentig 12 pages of good news in Iraq.  Rudy has it in a PDF format.  Thanks Rudy for the post.  It is located here.  Link. 

The Ricky Williams Story

Yahoo News is running this article on Ricky Williams choice to retire from the NFL at age 27.    Link.  So, what would cause Ricky Williams to give up $3.5 million per year to retire at the age of 27?

I have always considered Ricky Williams to have great superstar potential.  As a diehard Nebraska Cornhusker fan I hated it when the Huskers would play Texas.  When Ricky would run against Nebraska he would kill them.  I thought he had unlimited potential.  But, he has some personality issues that I believe made him what I call a "fragile" superstar.  And, I believe that these had a big effect on him.  CBS Sportsonline has a good article on Rick Williams' decision.  Link.   One paragraph in particular I appreciate.  The article states,

In some ways Williams' decision to retire in his prime was not a surprise, because he was never the stereotypical football player. His passions include shopping and photography, and in 2001 he was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, a condition contributing to his extreme shyness. While with the Saints, he often conducted interviews while wearing his helmet. He said he felt like a weirdo in New Orleans but professed to be happy during his two seasons with Miami. 
 
Ricky's social anxiety disorder is something I can understand.   I have some issues with shyness myself.  Let me give you an example: I worked a good job from June 2003 through June 2004.  The pay was great, the co-workers were unbelievble (I knew most of them from my military career and never thought I would be considered equal with them in the work environment, so I was flattered to get the job), the job was meaningful, but for some reason that I can't figure out, I wasn't comfortable there.  I ended up resigning and moving on to another job that paid 20% less.  My co-workers thought I was crazy for quitting.  No one could understand why I would go to work for another company for less money, and sometimes I had trouble sorting it out in my head also.  All I knew was that I wasn't happy in the old job, and I knew the Lord had something different out there for me and I wanted His best.  Not a very rational decision in most people's eyes, but sometimes you just have to go with what you feel deep down inside is right.  So, I won't criticize Ricky Williams for leaving Miami to travel, who wouldn't want to do that.  To quote another famous Ricky, Ricky Nelson, "You can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself."  Sometimes you just have to do what doesn't make sense to others.   Go for it Ricky.  Enjoy life!  Life is too short to now enjoy what you're doing. 

Proverbs 24: The Message

I love the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases Proverbs 24:5-6.  He says:

It is better to be wise than strong;
intelligence outranks muscle any day.
Strategic planning is the key to warfare;
to win, you need a lot of good counsel

I like the way Petersen paraphrases many of the passages I've been reading in The Message to help bring today's culture to Biblical passages.  It adds so much to what we normally get with some of the other translations.  You just have to remember that this is one man's impression of the Word.  I think Peterson is right on with Proverbs 24.  Wisdom is better than strength!  But, what a combination to be both strong and wise.

This couple of verses reminds me of last season's Survivor All Stars.  Last season one of the teams was made of of the physically dominating members and the other team was much less physical, but wiser and older.  The wiser and older team kicked around the physically dominating team throughout most of the competition.  Even on Survivor the strongest team wasn't the best team.  A member of the stronger team (Amber) ended up winning the competition, but only because the wiser and older team let down their guard and felt compassion for the stronger team captain (Rob).  The wiser/older team had their own destiny in control until that happened.  They had the competition all but won when Rob convinced them to vote one of their own members off the island.  I guess they maybe weren't the wiser team after all.  They needed to seek good counsel and strategically plan their warfare.  They only completed the first half of Proverbs 24:5-6.  It doesn't do you any good to be wiser and older if you don't use wise counsel.  

ETREK Update

Spencer Burke of THEOOZE.com  has an incredible experiential learning journey called ETREK.  It sounds great!  I highly recommend you attend.  For more information here is a link to the ETREK page.  Link.

It basically runs for about a college semester.  The topic is "Leadership and Our Emerging Culture". 3 credits of accredited Seminary coursework from two top Seminaries (Fuller Theological Seminary in California, or Biblical Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania) are granted after completion.

Here's Spencer's summary paragraph:
  

So please consider joining me - face to face - September 14-15 and December 14-15 on the Biblical Seminary Campus in Hatfield, PA or September 29-30 and December 1-2 gathering on the Fuller Campus in Pasadena, CA. Along with conference calls with "Faculty Experts" Brian McLaren, Leonard Sweet, Sally Morgenthaller, Frederica Matthews-Green, Andrew Jones, Karen Ward and Dan Kimball, in between our face to face gatherings (our topic is "Leadership and our Emerging Culture"), AND forward this email along to your networks, friends and co-workers.
For more information please visit http://www.ETREK.com or email me at Spencer@TheOoze.com, deadlines to sign-up; September 1st for Biblical
(http://www.biblical.edu/pages/whatsnew/spencer-burke.htm) and
September 14th for Fuller
(http://www.fuller.edu/cll/ce/ETREKregistration.html).
Your fellow-traveler,
Spencer Burke

Please prayerfully consider, along with me, whether the ETREK experience is for you.

Where's the Media Coverage When Good News Comes Out Of Iraq? Part 2

Rudy Carrasco has a link to this USA Today article on how George bush may have been correct on the link to Iraq trying to purchase uranium in Africa.  Link.  It came out on July 18, but I haven't heard anything else about it from either the media or the Democrats.  Today's media is just looking for reasons to bash George Bush, whether or not they are correct.  I'm only trying to find balanced news coverage!  This is the second post I have had on the lack of media coverage when something good comes out of Iraq.  The first was here.  Link.  It is appalling to me how biased the media is! 

Who Is To Blame For Global Warming?

Rudy Carrasco had a link to this London Daily Telegraph article on his weblog.  Link.

I consider myself an environmental activist.  I believe that when God created man and placed him in Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:7-8, 15) to cultivate it that the responsibility he gave Adam has been passed down to us today.  We should be the ones who look after God's creation, and we have the responsibility to ensure that our home is treated with respect.  Along those lines, I have been concerned with global warming for many years now, but I am a little uneasy about focusing the blame for global warming solely on humans.  We do use way too much petroleum based fuel that pollutes and contaminates the air, but I believe global warming is a much bigger problem than can be accounted for by the use of petroleum.  I was happy to see this post in Rudy's weblog and to hear that at least someone is doing research on other possible causes for global warming.

 

AFCEA Conference

I apologize for not blogging over the last couple of days.  On Monday afternoon I was given the opportunity to represent Northrop Grumman Tuesday and Wednesday at the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) Technology Forum (a conference) at the St Louis Gateway Center here locally.  Although I didn't have much notice the conference was a blast.  I was able to meet a lot of brilliant people who are all trying to help the Armed Forces maintain electronic and communications superiority in an everchanging world.  There were about 100 different technology companies attending at the convention.  We had a great display and were crowded during the entire convention.  We had 5 of us there from Northrop Grumman and it is amazing how much of a difference it makes to have a couple of people who really loved being there. 

I represented Northrop Grumman by demonstrating our Consolidated Air Mobility Planning System (CAMPS) that I teach customers how to use.  CAMPS was developed when our company was still named Logicon, (prior to being purchassed by Northrop Grumman) and is used to plan the Air Mobility Command's cargo aircraft missions that support the movement of troops, supplies, humanitarian cargo, and air refuelings. 

Northrop Grumman is an amazing company.  It is one of the only large ship building companies left in North America, in fact last year we completed building the USS Ronald Reagan (a nuclear powered aircraft carrier), we currently are building numerous frigates for the US Navy, large container ships, the Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft, several different types of manned aircraft, unmanned spacecraft, and we are heavily involved in the mission systems used to plan (such as CAMPS), monitor, and control the missions of each of these products.

It was a humbling experience the last couple of days to be surrounded by so many Einsteins at a convention.  I felt very intellectually small.  So, the Lord used it to put me in my place and help me to remain humble.  Praise God!  It was a good couple of days.

 

Diversity or Division?

Some light afternoon reading...
forwarded from a person doing research in TX. 
 
I am working on a Troops to teachers program for Texas, and am doing some research on the differences in teaching to teenage boys and teenage girls.   In "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" is a prime example of some subtle differences offered by an English professor from the University of Phoenix:
 
Class Assignment for Wednesday

"Today we will experiment with a new form called the tandem story. The process is simple. Each person will pair off with the person sitting to his or her immediate right. As homework tonight, one of you will write the first paragraph of a short story.   You will e-mail your partner that paragraph and send another copy to me.   The partner will read the first paragraph and then add another paragraph to the story and send it back also sending another copy to me. The first person will then add a third paragraph, and so on back and forth.   Remember to re-read what has been written each time in order to keep the story coherent. There is to be absolutely NO talking outside of the e-mails and anything you wish to say must be written in the e-mail. The story is over when both agree a conclusion has been reached."

The following was actually turned in by two of my English students: 
********************************************** 

THE STORY:
 
(first paragraph by Rebecca) 
At first, Laurie couldn't decide which kind of tea she wanted. The chamomile, which used to be her favorite for lazy evenings at home, now reminded her too much of Carl, who once said, in happier times, that he liked chamomile. But she felt she must now, at all costs, keep her mind  off Carl. His possessiveness was suffocating, and if she thought about him too much her asthma started acting up again. So chamomile was out of the question.

(second paragraph by Gary) 
Meanwhile, Advance Sergeant Carl Harris, leader of the attack squadron now in orbit over Skylon 4, had more important things to think about than the neuroses of an air-headed asthmatic @@@@@ named Laurie with whom he had spent one sweaty night over a year ago. "A.S. Harris to Geostation 17,....", he said into his transgalactic communicator. "Polar orbit established. No sign of resistance so far..." But before he could sign off a bluish particle beam flashed out of nowhere and blasted a hole through his ship's cargo bay. The jolt from the direct hit sent him flying out of his seat and across the cockpit.

(Rebecca) 
He bumped his head and died almost immediately, but not before he felt one last pang of regret for psychically brutalizing the one woman who had ever had feelings for him. Soon afterwards, Earth stopped its pointless hostilities. "Permanently Abolishing War and Space Travel," Laurie read in her newspaper one morning. The news simultaneously excited her and bored her. She stared out the window, dreaming of her youth, when the days had passed unhurriedly and carefree, with no newspapers to read, no television to distract her from her sense of innocent wonder at all the beautiful things around her. "Why must one lose one's innocence to become a woman?" she pondered wistfully.

(Gary) 
Little did she know, but she had less than 10 seconds to live.  Thousands of miles above the city, the Anu'udrian mothership launched the first of its lithium fusion missiles.  The dim-witted wimpy peaceniks who pushed the Unilateral Aerospace Disarmament Treaty through the congress had left Earth a defenseless target for the hostile alien empires who were determined to destroy the human race.  Within two hours after the passage of the treaty the Anu'udrian ships were on course for Earth, carrying enough firepower to pulverize the entire planet. With no one to stop them, they swiftly initiated their diabolical plan. The lithium fusion missile  entered the atmosphere unimpeded. The President, in his top-secret Mobile submarine headquarters on the ocean floor off the coast of Guam, felt the inconceivably massive explosion, which vaporized poor, stupid, Laurie and 85 million other Americans. The President slammed his fist on the conference table. "We can't allow this! I'm going to veto that treaty!  Let's blow 'em out of the sky!"

(Rebecca) 
This is absurd. I refuse to continue this mockery of literature. My writing partner is a violent, chauvinistic semi-literate adolescent.

(Gary) 
Yeah? Well, you're a self-centered tedious neurotic whose attempts at writing are the literary equivalent of Valium. "Oh shall I have chamomile tea? Or shall I have some other sort of @@@@@@@ TEA??? Oh no, I'm such an air headed @@@@@ who reads too many Danielle Steele novels."
 
(Rebecca) 
@@@@@@@.

(Gary) 
@@@@@. 
********************************************** 
(TEACHER) A+ -- I really liked this one. Only group to get an A!
**********************************************
 
Isn't this exactly what is going on in our society today?  Whether it is in our schools, our politics, or our churches we seem to be more divided than ever.  Instead of embracing diversity and understanding the strength it brings to life we decide to let it divide us even more, just like Rebecca and Gary.  What Rebecca and Gary don't understand is that there is an audience for each of their styles out there; they both need to be heard.  It is the same with the Body of Christ.  If we are made in the image of God, just think about how diverse God must be.  It isn't shameful to be different, or to even have disagreements.  But it is shameful when we let it stop us from living the life the Lord gives us.  Instead of fighting among ourselves we should be showing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, and living them out for the Lord.  There is room for each of us in the Body of Christ.  
 
 
 

Cheney Says He'll Stay on Ticket

The Republicans may win the election this Fall, but I believe they just lost the 2008 election.  Fox News is running an article that quotes Dick Cheney as saying he will remain on the ticket this year.  Here's a link to the story.  Link. 
 
I guess I was hoping that Cheney would drop off the ticket and Bush could use the opportunity to pick a young moderate Republican to solidify the party and groom for the 2008 election.  I see Cheney, and his ties to Halliburton, as a big liability for Bush this year.  I don't think Cheney is clean, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him get into more trouble before the election.  I was hoping his knowledge of what was going on in Abu Ghraib might force him out.  I think the bigger problem is, if they don't replace Cheney, who will take over the party leadership after Bush is gone?  There will be a leadership void that could be filled by a younger and more appealing vice-Presidential candidate.  Cheney will be too old to run for President, and Arnold is ineligible.  I guess we can always hold out for Mike Ditka! 

John Edwards Interview With Fox News

Here's a link to John Edwards interview with Fox News.  Link.   I find Edwards' answers to the questions in the interview very telling and inconsistent. 
 
In the prelude it discusses Edwards' pre Gulf War belief that we should "go to war with Iraq even without the backing of the U.N.".  But then in the first paragraph he blasts Bush because "He did not in a serious way put together the kind of international coalition that could have been put together".  If Edwards felt we should have go to war without the UN, then how can he criticize Bush for not putting together a more firm coalition?  I agree with Edwards when he states that Bush "had no thoughtful detailed plan about how to win the peace".  Which I interpret to mean we had no exit strategy.  But, I'm not sure anyone could have come up with a good exit strategy.  There wasn't one in Kosovo, Bosnia/Hercegovina, or the first Gulf War.  Too much is in a state of flux to have a good exit strategy in a conflict of this size.
 
On the Gay Marraige question Edwards says, "I believe this is an issue that ought to be decided in the states, and I think we as a national government ought to recognize whatever the states decide.  See, under existing law today no state is required to recognize another state’s marriage, as a public policy exception to the full faith and credit, and the result of that is we don't — there’s no need to do anything."
 
But I disagree, under the full faith and credit clause, states do recognize marraiges from other states as legal and binding.  So, if Massachussetts lets marraige be defined as including the union of homosexual partners, then it does affect all other states.  What if Utah says it will no longer recognize Massachussetts' marraiges?  How can it be a state's choice, when it affects relationships within other states?  I believe one way or the other it should be addressed nationwide.  Edwards choice to "leave it to the states to decide" I think is a cop out that means he is noncommittal on the issue.  He states that "there is no need for a constitutional amendment, but what’s happening is the president and the administration are using it as a political tool."  What is happening is that the President and the administrtion are trying to solve the issue.  It is a political issue, just as Edwards and Kerry are using it as a political tool on the other side.
 
Pretty interesting interview, but full of campaign doubletalk.  It comes from both sides.  I love having the freedom to be able to elect our top executive every 4 years.  I just hate the campaign leading up to it.

A New Version of Blogger Is Out

It looks like a new version of Blogger was rolled out today.  It is now easier to:

1. add numbered and/or

•      bulleted lists

    2.  post pictures

    3.  use color, and

    4.  add

blockquotes

to your post.  So far I like it.  I need to play with it for a while to see how it works while I reserve judgment.  I noticed that I have trouble copying and pasting from one post to another, but it is only day 1.  The problem has been fixed, and I think it was operator error!  Hopefully it will get better. 

I like the direction Blogger is headed.  They seem to have added quite a bit of functionality lately and are becoming more user friendly after Google bought them (must have somthing to do with the ability to spend some of Google's money).  It is a free service, so I won't complain even if I don't like it.  But, I like where Blogger is going.  It seems as though every time I get to the point where I am thinking about spending the money to buy my own domain and personal webpage Blogger makes another investment that keeps me around.  Good timing!

Life Expectancy In Some Parts Of Africa Has Dropped To Below 33 Years

Scott Williams and Jordon Cooper are drawing attention to this article in Medical News Today. Link.

In our country and in most of the developed countries we have it made. But in Africa AIDS is robbing children of their Moms and Dads. I am on the adjunct faculty at Southwestern Illinois College where I teach a yearly World Regional Geography course. One of the statistics I quote from the United Nations (I apologize for not having the source with me right now) was that in places like Zambia and Rwanda nearly 50% of the children under the age of 18 are orphaned. We can't even grasp that concept here. AIDS affects us here, but nothing like in the developing world.

Sentate Rejects Bid for Federal Marraige Amendment

Fox News has a balanced coverage of the Senate rejection here. Link.

Man Must Be Retrained After Being Raised As a Chicken

Wendy Cooper has a link to the most unusual story I have heard in a long time. This man grew up as a chicken and must be retrained to be a human. Wow, that is incredible. Link. Sounds like something I would have read on the National Enquirer while waiting to check out at the grocery store.

Is The Emerging Church Still Emerging?

Jordon Cooper has an awesome post on the Emerging Church located at his weblog. Link. The Emerging Church has made some huge strides in trying to make the evangelical church think through its philosophy of ministry and how religion and culture relate. It is well worth the read!

Where's the Media Coverage When Good News Comes Out of Iraq?

Where is the media coverage when a story like this one comes along? I haven't heard much coverage on it. Link.

I know most of the media is biased against our Iraq effort, mostly fueled out of their intense hate for George Bush, but we should expect them to cover the news objectively occasionally. I would have expected them to take this news and run with it at least a little bit.

Another Day of Thunderstorms

We have been getting pounded with warm weather and thunderstorms for the last week or so. The 2, 3, 5, and 6th of July were washed out. It has been hard to finish the landscaping work I started a week or so ago, and my lawn is really long. Sounds like a normal summer week in St Louis! In the summer it feels like Miami and in the winter it feels like Saskatoon! It isn't actually too hot today, but the thunderstorms are on there way for this evening. Here's today's weather. Link.

Restoring Believers to Fellowship

In my last post I think I discussed Scott Williams' post on insecurity in a very theoretical way, probably way too theoritical and not very practical. Theoretically, we are forgiven and thus we should act like it. But that doesn't look at the practical side that there are lots of people out there that are still suffering because of their past. As Scott said,

The sad fact is that few of us need a visit by a spirit to reount our past failings. We are masters at remembering our shortcomings. It is not necessary for most of us that someone points out our faults, we are keenly aware of our failings, often keeping a mental list, exhaustive in it’s scope and subjectivity. We replay the past, again and again. We see it projected on the screen of our minds. We live with regrets.

We are haunted by our past even though we are forgiven for it. It is easy to quote how we should be acting, but how do we react to those with a long list of regrets? How does the church restore fellowship with those who are already forgiven by Christ?

In John 8:3-4 The Bible says,

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, (4) they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act."

What was Jesus' response?

John 8:7, 10-11 the Bible says,

(7) But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

(10) Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?" (11) She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you either, Go. From now on sin no more."

I believe it is our responsibility to restore people to fellowship with the Body of Christ. Jesus pointed out the woman's sin, but did not condemn her. Then He commanded her to go and sin no more. It obviously hurts the Body of Christ if we condone sin, but for too long we have been condemning the sinner, instead of dealing with sin compassionately. Going back to John 8:7, who among the Body of Christ should be throwing stones? The only one who was qualified to throw the first stone was Jesus, and he chose to forgive and restore fellowship with the woman. We should be following His example. Instead of being critical and throwing stones, we need to be welcoming our brothers and sisters with open arms and helping them walk through the deep valleys of their life.

Scott mentions many regrets people in the church have:

· Regret over divorce. Regret over broken relationships of all kinds.
· Regret over mistakes you made raising your kids.
· Regret over bad career moves, missed business opportunities, poor vocational choices.
· Regret at not following God’s call to the ministry, or His call to become a missionary.
· In general, regret over all kinds of sins and their consequences. [You fill in the blank].

We, as a collective Body of Christ, should be embracing these people, patting them on the back, telling them everything will be alright, and reminding them that Christ died so that they are pure and holy in God's sight. Then we need to walk them hand in hand through the good and bad, helping them to live a life characterized by the fruit of the Spirit rather than missing the mark because of the consequences of bad decisions they have made in their past. Praise the Lord that we serve a God of second chances. I truly believe this should be one of the core values of the church today. There are so many broken people that could be living victorious lives in Christ if we choose to respond to them in a non-condemning, but compassionate way.

Christ's Sacrifice is Our Gain!

Scott Williams has some incredible posts on his website. Today he has one on the effect guilt has in our lifes, how it makes us so insecure. It is located here. Link. I totally agree with Scott. When I read his post I started thinking about the mission of the church.

A couple of years ago, while I was still in the Air Force, I had a friend Dave that was Episcopalian. I asked him once what the difference was between the Episcopalian and Catholic churches. Dave answered that the Episcopalian church is the same as the Catholic church minus the guilt. Maybe he wasn't totally correct theologically, but I have thought about his response on and off for the last couple of years. Why does the church lay such a guilt trip on Christians? Scott's post got me going again on the subject of guilt.

In Luke 5:30-32 it says,

The Pharisees and their sribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus answered and said to them, "It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance".

Praise the Lord that He came to call sinners to repentance, because each and every one of us is a sinner. We would be completely lost if not for Christ. It is only due Christ's death on the cross that God's grace has been extended to me. Because of Christ's sacrifice an insignificant worm like me who is just a bug splat on the windscreen of eternity can have a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe. Through Christ's death God has justified me; he has made me clean just as if I'd never sinned. Christ's death has justified me for every sin I have ever committed or will commit. To believe that it is due to something I have accomplished in my life is pretty self-centered. We are all sinners, and as far as God is concerned, how big or small the sin is doesn't matter. The Lord doesn't categorize sins as big or small, only we do that. The guilt trip isn't the doing of God, it is our own making. The restoration trip is what God is all about.

So if the Lord restores and justifies us, then why are we all so insecure? I think it is because sometimes we have a problem believing how God's grace works. We are insecure because we try to live out our sanctification in our earthly lives and we link that to justification. As long as I am on this earth I will sin, but God's grace through Christ's sacrifice still continues to cover my sins for all eternity.

I think Scott's post is so linked to his earlier one on being a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17). We are eternally forgiven for everything we have done, do, and will do. That's the easy part. The hard part is waking up each morning and choosing to believe it and act it out. It is something we need to do for ourlseves and something we need to commit to collectively as the body of Christ. We have to believe we are forgiven deep within our selves and then also treat our brothers and sisters like we believe God's grace and forgiveness has changed everything in their lives also. We aren't perfect, but we are fogiven!

Saturday Night Live! Video Clips

A co-worker showed me this Saturday Night Live! video clips website last week. I have been a SNL fan since it came on the air in 1975. I don't think I have missed more than 1 or 2 episodes since. This site contains video clips from many of the great SNL moments. The "Celebrity Jeopardy" clips are some of the funniest things I have seen. I just wish there were clips from the Weekend Update or the SNL news. SNL has been a great running commentary on American society and reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously.

Here's the link. Link.

Refreshing Water For My Soul

Proverbs 25:25 says,

"Like cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a distant land."

Today I got a great E-Mail from one of my best friends in Korea. This has been a long summer. I have been working hard at a new job, my family has been gone to California all summer to help my Mother-in-Law recover from knee replacement surgery (Shirley is doing well and my family should be back in a week or so), and I have been a little down lately.

I haven't heard from Marcy in a year and a half, so Marcy's E-Mail was very refreshing and perked me up. It let me know what she has been up to (getting married and moving to Virginia). Thanks Marcy for sending it and your timing couldn't have been better. It truly was cold water to a weary soul.

Prayer Requests for Our Ministry Teams

We have a lot of our bothers and sisters out on the road ministering overseas this holdiay. Please remember them in your prayers.

From FBCOF:

Pastor Doug and the FBCOF ministry team in Peru

From FBCOF College and Career and the McKendree BCM:

Chris on a summer mission trip to Lebanon
Gwen serving with Athletes in Action in Spain
Allison leaving tomorrow for a summer mission trip to Bulgaria

Each one can use your prayers to effectively represent Christ to the lost. God will use them while they are gone and they will come back forever changed. I know the Lord will use them to forever change the lives of those they encounter while they are gone.

Praise God we have so many stepping out in faith to serve the Lord in the ministry.

An Unusual Interleague Baseball Game

I stumbled across this game on Yahoo.com. Link. The Montreal Expos are playing the Toronto Blue Jays. Both teams are from Canada, but look at where they're playing, in Puerto Rico. I know atendance isn't very good in Montreal, but you would think they would play an all-Canada home game for the Expos in Montreal. I seems to me to be a slap in the face to Montreal fans, and Canada in general. I hope the Puerto Ricans are enjoying the game.

FBC O'Fallon College and Career/McKendree BCM Update

Brothers and Sisters,

I just wanted to remind you that we are having a special day tomorrow at church. With the celebration of the 4th of July we will not be having any Sunday Morning Small Group Bible Study at either 9:45 or 11:00. We will be having one Church-wide worship service in the Main Wordhip Center at 10:00. I don't know how we will fit all those people in the worship center for one big service, so I suggest that you arrive early because it will be a busy time and the seats will go quickly.

Sunday evening from 5:00-7:00 we will be having a 4th of July celebration at O'Fallon Park. There will be food available (a hotdog, or brautwurst, chips, and something to drink, and knowing the way our church likes to eat I'm sure there will lots of dessert, all for $3) for our all-church picnic in the park. Its a great park for a picnic, and I hear that Jack Turner will take on all comers in the three-legged-race! I wonder if he needs a partner for that?

For your prayers:

- Pastor Doug has been leading the ministry team in Peru this last week and next week, so please keep them in your prayers. If you know Pastor Doug you know he will be in the thick of serving the people in Peru in order to show them God's love and plan for their lives. Pray that the Lord will provide the ministry team with opportunities to make a difference in people's lives.

Here's what we have planned for the next week or so:

Tuesday July 6

Tuesday Night Movie Night at 7:30pm at the Anderson's house . Here is a link to a map to find their house. Link. They live at 1108 Far Oaks (about a 2 miles north of Interstate 64 just off of Old Collinsville Road). The food is great and if you have a movie you want to share please bring it. The Anderson's are superb hosts and the last 2 years of Tuesday Night Movie Night has been a solid time of getting to know each other.

October 8/9

FBCOF is hosting AXIOM04, the Illinois Baptist State Association's big annual College and Career conference on October 8 and 9. Students from all over Illinois will be attending. We are expecting around 300 students to be here for that Friday and Saturday! We have an incredible opportunity to show off our church and our department to those who come from all over the state. If you are interested in being a part of the planning team for this conference please let me know. So far, we have a couple of students who are involved in the planning, and we could always use your help. We definitely have a need for more help. If you would like to help, please don't feel shy to volunteer. It will be a great conference. Our headliner speaker, named Aubrey Speers, is coming all the way from England to share with us and the conference will include other top notch speakers and awesome music. We'll have more information available as we get closer.

FBC O'Fallon Website Help Needed:

Check out the new FBC O'Fallon church website located here. Link. It looks prety good. Whoever designed it did a great job! But, the College and Career portion of the website isn't built yet and we could use your help if you are technologically gifted, or if you are willing to learn how to build the College and Career website. Imagine a website created in your own image! If you are interested in helping please let me know via E-Mail at GideonsHorn@yahoo.com, or in person when you see me next time.

Blog/Website of the week:

JordonCooper.com

Jordon Cooper, a young Pastor in Sasketchewan, has a great Blog located here. Link. I have talked to many of you about Blogging, but if you are not sure what a Blog is, the best way to describe it is as a weblog or an online journal that people can comment on. Blogs are taking off as a way to establish community with fresh dialog. I've been reading Jordon's blog daily for about 2 years now, and find it very refreshing. It is a wonderful mixture of religion, politics, art, relationships, and all the other pieces of our life that make up our faith. Each time I read Jordon's blog I come away challenged, because he looks at things from a different perspective than I do. His perspective is valid, just as mine is, so when I read his Blog I feel challenged and come away re-thinking the perceptions that I have built in my life. There are lots of websites and Blogs out there that are trying to establish true community among believers. Each week I will introduce you to another of the Blogs that I have found that help keep me stay grounded in the community of Christ.

If you are interested in Blogging please contact me. I have been blogging for about 2 years now and find it a great way let others know what is going on in my life, share information, build some lasting relationships, and stretch my thinking. And it is all free. If you haven't stopped by yet, my blog is located here. Link.

God bless you all and hope to see you Sunday. Your brother in the Lord,

Rick Marshall

GideonsHorn@yahoo.com

Rick's Bio: Nov 1, 2008

Our Lives Are Dynamic, So Our Biographies Are Forever Changing

That's why I did my bio as a blog. It is something that will constantly be changing and as a result it will never be complete.

I was born in Altadena, California and grew up in Santa Barbara, Glendale, and La Crescenta, California. Southern California was a great place to grow up in the 1960s and 1970s. My parents raised me in the church and I have never known a time that I did not love Jesus from the bottom of my heart. I didn't have a dramatic conversion experience like the Apostle Paul's, I just remember growing up loving Jesus from day one.

I was a stellar (not!) student in High School and somehow managed to graduate. I wasn't exactly college material and I guess I just wasn't interested in school while I was a teenager. The next two years were filled with an intensifying desire to serve the Lord, and resulted in a year of indepth discipleship work with Mike Derr in The Band of Men at First Baptist Church of La Crescenta, and a couple of years working for a friend, Dr Larry Ward, at a faith based international relief and development agency called Food For the Hungry.

I came to the realization that I could never do the things I wanted to do in life without a college education. So I started at the local community college, Glendale College. During Christmas Break of my first year at Glendale College my High School sweetheart Marilyn and I got married. We've been married since 1977 and it just keeps getting better and better.

After finishing Glendale College I continued on at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). At UCLA I was in way over my head. I spent a couple of years stumbling through UCLA and somehow graduated with a BA.

The low point of my time at UCLA was my Junior year. My Mom had suffered from Multiple Sclerosis for 13 years and was diagnosed with a rare form of Lung Cancer on Thanksgiving Day of 1980. 3 Weeks later on December 10th she passed away. She was the glue that kept our family together and we have lived a fragmented life since her passing.

I graduated from UCLA and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. After about a year at Navigator training in Sacramento and survival school in Spokane I headed off to Little Rock Air Force Base to learn to fly the C-130 Hercules. The "Herk" was great, but my next assignment at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, was horrible. We liked the Carolina mountains, the beach, and the flying was awesome, but living in the town of Fayetteville (about an hour drive south of Raleigh) was miserable. Marilyn and I used this as an opportunity to go back to school, so she completed her BA at Methodist College in Fayetteville and I completed an MBA from Webster University. We stayed in North Carolina for 5 years, hated every minute of it, and then thankfully it was time to move on again. North Carolina was a beautiful state and the people are wonderful people, but the town we lived in was a military town that we didn't enjoy.

We moved from a horrible assignment at Pope to a great assignment at Mather Air Force Base, California. Mather was on the east edge of Sacramento which is my favorite place to live so far. At Mather I was an Instructor Navigator at Specialized Undergraduate Navigator Training. I flew the T-43 flying navigation classroom. We lived in the Sierra Foothills in the small town of Placerville. It was an incredible 3 years and life was fun again!

After Mather we headed back to the east coast. After living in North Carolina we didn't want to live on the east coast any longer, but we decided to give the Air Force one more assignment and moved to Dover, Delaware, which turned out to be another great place to live. At Dover Air Force Base I flew the C-5 Galaxy, the world's largest aircraft. We fell in love with Dover and didn't want to leave 4 years later. Our two children were born there, and Delaware's rural lifestyle and the friends we met will always keep a soft spot in our heart for Dover.

In 1995 We left Dover and headed to Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, located in a suburb of St Louis, Missouri. At Scott I took a non-flying staff assignment. We stayed 5 years and didn't want to leave. While we were at Scott AFB I finished up a Master of Arts Degree in Geographic Information Systems from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and began my PhD work in American Studies at Saint Louis University.

Then the Air Force realized that although I had flown all over the world, I had never lived overseas and decided it was time for us to move overseas. No one in our family wanted to leave St Louis, so the Air Force sent me on an assignment to Korea so that I would only be separated from my family for a year. It was a very long year being away from those you love the most. I was stationed at Osan Air Base, South Korea, about 35 miles from Seoul. It was a bitter/sweet assignment. Osan was a wonderful place and professionally I grew more in Korea than any other assignment I have had before, but it was terrible being separated from my family for a year.

My year at Osan was spent working, making daily phone calls home (it is cheaper to call the US from Korea than itis to make a state to state phone call here), and serving the Lord at Mission Baptist Church, in SongTan, Korea and as a part of the worship team at the Base Chapel on Osan Air Base. I was able to lead the Thursday night Contemporary Worship service at Mission Baptist. The service had about 40 Korean and American brothers and sisters attend, and it was a great experience to lead the worship service and to meet lots of American and Korean brothers and sisters in the Lord. I made an effort to not hang out with American GI's but to hang out with Korean brothers and sisters in Christ and actively participate in their culture. I came away with a deep love of Asian culture, particularly Korean food! I kept myself busy and the time flew by quickly, at least for me. I don't think Marilyn would agree it was quick.

After Osan I came back to Scott Air Force Base, Illinois again, was reunited with my family and co-workers and worked for another year and a half until I retired in 2003. After retirement I took a job as a Department of Defense technology consultant working on base. I started my own company, called Vertical Geosolutions, Inc. and still work for the Air Force today as a consultant.

Before I left for Korea I had felt God calling me to work with college students and young adults . Our church, First Baptist Church of O'Fallon is a big Southern Baptist Church that didn't have a ministry targeted to College Students. We started the College and Career ministry on Easter Sunday of 2002 and have been going strong ever since. In 2002 I also felt the Lord's calling to expand the ministry to McKendree University students and the result is The Gate. I am impressed with the spiritual maturity of our core of students and their desire to know the Lord deeper. I don't know if I have helped them grow or not, but watching them do peer ministry has had a deep impact on me.

This January The Gate will take on a new role as a satellite site for FBC O'Fallon. We will begin Sunday services on January 13, 2008. We will host a video-taped sermon from FBC O'Fallon and we will provide live music and a Campus Pastor. I am excited at the possibilities that the Lord has presented us and look forward to seeing where the Lord leads.

I am still working on my PhD dissertation which is titled: A Consuming View: The Northern California Cultural Landscape As Viewed Through John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. I plan to complete it sometime in early 2008, but my life is far from complete. That's is as far as my bio goes today. I know it is way too long, but the Lord has blessed me with a long life so far.

The Door Magazine Added to My Links section

I've been a Door Magazine reader for many years. I don't want to date myself, but I began my subscription back when it was called The Wittenburg Door. It is a great tongue-in-cheek look at the excesses in Christianity with some critical thinking attached. There's even an article in this months Door on St Louis' Rev. Larry Rice (founder of the New Life Evangelistic Center). He is deeply involved in social justice and messy Christianity as he runs one of St Louis' and the nations largest homeless shelters. Have a challenging time reading The Door.

Test Picture #2

Here's some volunteers helping to make a flower planter outside the McKendree College BCM Building.


Making a Flower Planter 

Test of Posting Pictures Using BloggerBot

I haven't tried this before, so I thought I try posting some pictures to my Blog using BloggerBot. I wanted to post 4 pictures, but only 1 came through. This picture is of some volunteers helping out at the McKendree College Baptist Collegiate Ministry building in Lebanon, Illinois. They are painting the baptistry inside the building. They all did an awesome job!


Workday at the McKendree Ministry Building 

Rick's Bio

Our Lives Are Dynamic, So Our Biographies Are Forever Changing

That's why I did my bio as a blog. It is something that will constantly be changing and as a result it will never be complete.

I grew up in Santa Barbara, Glendale, and La Crescenta, California. Southern California was a great place to grow up in the 1960s and 1970s. My parents raised me in the church and I have never known a time that I did not love Jesus from the bottom of my heart. I didn't have a dramatic conversion experience like the Apostle Paul's, I just remember growing up loving Jesus from day one.

I was a stellar (not!) student in High School and somehow managed to graduate. I didn't want to go to college, and the next two years were filled with an intensifying desire to serve the Lord, and resulted in a year of indepth discipleship work with Mike Derr in The Band of Men at First Baptist Church of La Crescenta, and a couple of years working for a friend, Dr Larry Ward, at a faith based international relief and development agency called Food For the Hungry.

I came to the realization that I could never do the things I wanted to do in life without a college education. So I started at the local community college, Glendale College. During Christmas Break of my first year at Glendale College my High School sweetheart Marilyn and I got married. We've been married since 1977 and it just keeps getting better and better.

After finishing Glendale College I continued on at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). At UCLA I was in way over my head. But, I stumbled through UCLA and somehow graduated.

The low point of my time at UCLA was my Junior year. My Mom had suffered from Multiple Sclerosis for 13 years and was diagnosed with a rare form of Lung Cancer on Thanksgiving Day of 1980. 3 Weeks later on December 10th she passed away. She was the glue that kept our family together and we have lived a fragmented life since her passing.

I graduated from UCLA and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. After about a year at Navigator training in Sacramento and survival school in Spokane I headed off to Little Rock Air Force Base to learn to fly the C-130 Hercules. The "Herk" was great, but my next assignment at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, was horrible. Living in the town of Fayetteville (about an hour drive south of Raleigh) was miserable. Marilyn and I used this as an opportunity to go back to school, so she completed her BA at Methodist College in Fayetteville and I completed an MBA from Webster University. We stayed in North Carolina for 5 years, hated every minute of it, and then thankfully it was time to move on again.

We moved from a horrible assignment at Pope to a great assignment at Mather Air Force Base, California. Mather was on the east edge of Sacramento which is my favorite place I've lived. At Mather I was an Instructor Navigator at Specialized Undergraduate Navigator Training. I flew the T-43 flying navigation classroom. We lived in the Sierra Foothills in the small town of Placerville. It was an incredible 3 years and life was fun again!

After Mather we headed back to the east coast to Dover, Delaware, which turned out to be another great place to live. At Dover Air Force Base I flew the C-5 Galaxy, the world's largest aircraft. We fell in love with Dover and didn't want to leave 4 years later. Our two children were born there, and Delaware's rural lifestyle and the friends we met will always keep a soft spot in our heart for Dover.

We left Dover and headed to Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, located in a suburb of St Louis, Missouri. At Scott I took a non-flying staff assignment. We stayed 5 years and again didn't want to leave. While we were at Scott AFB I finished up a Master of Arts Degree in Geographic Information Systems from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and began my PhD work in American Studies at Saint Louis University.

Then the Air Force decided it was time for us to move overseas. No one in our family wanted to leave St Louis, so I volunteered for an assignment to Korea so that I would only be separated from my family for a year. It was a very long year being away from those you love the most. I was stationed at Osan Air Base, South Korea, about 35 miles from Seoul. It was a bitter/sweet assignment. Osan was a wonderful place and professionally I grew more in Korea than any other assignment I have had before, but it was terrible being separated from my family for a year.

My year at Osan was spent working, making daily phone calls home (it is cheaper to call the US from Korea than it is to make a state to state phone call here), serving the Lord at Mission Baptist Church, in SongTan, Korea and as a part of the worship team at the Base Chapel on Osan Air Base. I was able to lead the Thursday night Contemporary Worship service at Mission Baptist. The service had about 40 Korean and American brothers and sisters attend, and it was a great experience to lead the worship service and to meet lots of American and Korean brothers and sisters in the Lord. I made an effort to not hang out with American GI's but to hang out with Korean brothers and sisters in Christ and actively participate in their culture. I came away with a deep love of Asian culture, particularly Korean food! I kept myself busy and the time flew by quickly, at least for me. I don't think Marilyn would agree it was quick.

After Osan I came back to Scott Air Force Base, Illinois again, was reunited with my family and co-workers and worked for another year and a half until I retired in 2003. I took a job as a Department of Defense technology consultant working on base. I still work as a consultant for Northrop Grumman today.

Before I left for Korea I had felt God calling me to work with college students and young adults . Our church, First Baptist Church of O'Fallon is a big Southern Baptist Church that didn't have a ministry targeted to College Students. We started the College and Career ministry on Easter Sunday of 2002 and have been going strong ever since. Last year I felt the calling to expand the ministry to McKendree College students and the result is The Gate. I am impressed with the spiritual maturity of our core of students and their desire to know the Lord deeper. I don't know if I have helped them grow or not, but watching them do peer ministry has had a deep impact on me. I look forward to starting up again in the fall and know that the Lord has some great things in store for us.

I am still working on my PhD dissertation which is titled: A Consuming View: The Northern California Cultural Landscape As Viewed Through John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. I plan to complete it sometime in the next year, but my life is far from complete.

That's is as far as my bio goes today. I know it is way too long, but the Lord has blessed me with a long life.

Wednesday Night Bible Study at the River Bend Calvary Chapel

I tried out the Wednesday Night Bible Study at the River Bend Calvary Chapel in East Alton, Illinois last night. We studied Luke Chapter 21. Most Calvary's use the New King James version, so I included it in the link. It was a small, very well led Bible Study and I had the opportunity to talk with Pastor Dan Johnson afterward. Dan seems like a very dedicted servant of God. The Bible Study was the Calvay Chapel standard of verse by verse, chapter by chapter through a book of the Bible. I find it very refreshing to hear the Bible explained without having to work it into a 3 point sermon. Anyhow, I met several nice people, heard the Bible explained in an understandable and unthreatening way, and shared a worship gathering with some brothers and sisters in the Lord that I hadn't met before last night. All in all it was a wonderful evening.