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A Guy to Handle Money

Every Wednesday we get to go to Liberty's convocation. They actually hold convo every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but employees like us-- who are important-- only go Wednesday. This is because it used to be the day that Jerry always spoke. Well, he's dead now, so other people speak in his place.
Last Wednesday they asked the co-founder of Liberty University, Elmer Towns, to speak. He's written a lot of books and he teaches theology here. He also wrote the theology book which many student's at Liberty use. Let me tell you-- they shouldn't! This is an aside to my main point, but Town's theology book is so clearly biased against what Town's believes it's ridiculous. He does a poor job explaining theories, writes badly, and chose just as bad of an editor. I believe that one of his students became reformed simply by reading the book, and Elmer Towns is so opposed to reformed theology it makes me mad!
To move on to my main point, he was talking about some of the pastor's Towns sent out to plant churches in America. He was particularly favorable toward Dave Early, founder of New Life Church, in Gahanna, OH. When Dr. Falwell asked him why he thought Dave would plant a great church, Towns responded with, "Because he knows what to do with money."
So there it is everybody! Are you struggling to grow your church? Take a financial planning class! Are your church numbers declining? Hire a dude with an MBA! Hey, if we make enough money, we could even convert the mafia, and won't that be a glorious day in heaven?!
There is something definitely wrong with associating money and church growth. I might even say it's "UnChristlike?"

My Passion Experience

I think I've taken so long to write this post because I felt a little stupid about my feelings regarding last year's Passion week. And the year before that. My husband and I attended with the intention of worshiping. We were sorely disappointed. What used to be a rally for worshiping youths to really lay it out there in front of God had become, for most intents and purposes, a way to make money. The hip, cool artists like Chris Tomlin and Charlie Hall played songs from their unreleased albums and Louis Giglio encouraged us all to go on i-tunes to download the new Passion album and really storm i-tunes for Jesus. People were raising their hands to lines which said nothing to God. For most of the week, I sat there trying to make up my own words while the music raged. I prayed, I cried, but the music hindered me from reaching Jesus.

Maybe I let it. Maybe I was frustrated by the celebrity status of the new "it" bands. Maybe I thought most of the lyrics were ridiculous. I should have taken the week to spend alone with my Bible and a journal. I would have worshiped more.

"Mama Day" and Reality

My roommate Danielle is Haitian, although she grew up in America and only lived in Haiti briefly. Nevertheless, she heard enough stories and experienced enough of the effects of voodoo that I think she can get angry about our (American Christians') lack of sensitivity to spiritual warfare.

We were discussing the spiritual gifts the other day-- particularly those which many Baptists believe have "passed away." I don't know how we got there, but we started discussing her background. I remembered how a year ago I was finishing up Gloria Naylor's novel Mama Day and telling her about the book. She shivered at some of the parts I described and explained, "I can read or watch pretty much anything-- Harry Potter, Rush Hour, etc.,-- but books like this, where it's real, truly bother me. I don't know if that book is something I can read." [The novel is a strange love story with parts that focus on the hereditary "voodoo" powers of Mama Day and her rival, Ruby]

So I asked her about it. She started by explaining that Haitians dedicated the country to Satan when they received their freedom (in a gruesome way, as she tells it). In Haiti, "Catholicism" might be synonymous with "voodoo", and one of their last national leaders was on a hunt for 2000 human hearts in order to rededicate the country to Satan. According to Danielle, people were disappearing left and right until he was kicked out of office.

Even though I feel more and more horrified every time I think about it, now I know what to pray for. I hope, if you care, this helps! It's not just poverty and strife that afflict this country-- it's spiritual warfare!

Another Oswald morning

Exhaustion means that the vital forces are worn right out. Spiritual exhaustion never comes through sin but only through service, and whether or not you are exhausted will depend upon where you get your supplies. Jesus said to Peter - "Feed My sheep," but He gave him nothing to feed them with. The process of being made broken bread and poured out wine means that you have to be the nourishment for other souls until they learn to feed on God. They must drain you to the dregs. Be careful that you get your supply, or before long you will be utterly exhausted. Before other souls learn to draw on the life of the Lord Jesus direct, they have to draw on it through you; you have to be literally "sucked," until they learn to take their nourishment from God. We owe it to God to be our best for His lambs and His sheep as well as for Himself.

Swearing is my Special Ability

Please Click Here! I can barely resist the urge to display my scathing satirical wit on this one. Suffice it to say that sometimes, Christians are just stupid. Why? See my title.

A Little Humor for my Reformed Friends

Opinions on American Poverty

    I was reading our school paper today-- which I don't read that often because I suppose I don't really care. But inside I found an opinion article on poverty....

    Interesting...

    I turned to A5 and first scanned the opinions-- six students polled on the question: "Why does poverty still exist in America today?" (a poorly constructed sentence but I'll forgive it.)

Six answers:

    1. "I think it is a combination of a lack of genuine love and care for our fellow man and an attitude of laziness by those who could make their own lives better."

    2. "Because some people are too lazy to go out and get jobs." (just because some people are too lazy, doesn't mean other poor people are.)

    3. "It is a combination of laziness and missed opportunities." (what opportunities? for work? for the lottery?)

    4. "The answer is simple: pure selfishness." (yes, but selfishness on the part of whom? The lazy people or the wealthy people?)

    5. "Because the govenment spends money on wasteful research and projects rather than investing into worthwhile preventative measures against poverty." (ummm...like welfare?)

    6. "It doesn't...(WHAT!?) The welfare system in the US creates dependent people rather than an able-bodied workforce. Even the poorest in the US are wealthier than the third-world middle class." (And this ignorance from a senior!)

Any thoughts?