Church is boring

I was reading an article in Homelife by a guy that was in my college/youth group and he was talking about how men are leaving the church in throngs. His basic premise was that men are bored.

I agree with him to some degree. It is boring because it has become too feminine.

Do you ever watch kids play? What are the girls playing? In general they are practicing to be nurturing adults. They play house or they play with dolls. They want to be beautiful.

What do the boys play? All war games all the time. They want to be dangerous. They want to be brave. They live for blood and glory.

Church has become girly.

It is so uncomfortable (for a guy like me) to be in a worship service where some breathful sensitive guy is leading you to sing stuff like:
"I'm desperate for you.. I'm lost without you... you are the air I breathe"
"I love you with an undying love"
"I want to hear your voice, know you more, touch you, see your face"
"I neeeeeeed you"
"Jesus o Jesus you are beautiful"

I could go on and on.

Warriors do not say these kinds of things to their commanding officer.
Worship leaders are expecting warriors to become gushing girlies when they come to church... "OOOO Jesus.. you are sooo wonderful.. you are soooo beautiful."
This is not appropriate. (would Warf on StarTrek EVER tell his captain how beautiful he looks in that crisp red uniform?)

Guys are made to be warriors.
"As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free...His truth is marching on"
"Onward Christian soldiers.. marching as to war..."
"A mighty fortress is our God.....and He will win the battle... one little word shall fail him (the devil)...."
"There is power in the blood..."
"Victory in Jesus..."

If I understand the story correctly, Jesus is coming back soon.

He is not coming back to cuddle or to listen to us tell him how wonderful and beautiful He is.

He is coming back as a conquering king.

There is going to be blood, sweat, gore, fighting, glory, honor. Extreme good versus extreme evil. An epic battle. A battle in which men will gladly lay down their lives.

There is going to be victory - and rewards.

Let's get past this mushy girly idea of who Jesus is and see him for what he claims to be.

Swords coming out of mouth and slaying thousands. A conqueror of death and hell.

A leader that is worthy to be followed into battle.

A conquering hero.

Lord of lords.

King of kings.

When the battle is over, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is the victor - the Lord of all.

The time that we spend on this earth is a battle. Its not a love in.

When the church realizes this truth and begins to equip warriors for battle (rather than asking them to tell another warrior how beautiful he is), the men will return.

New Blog

I created a new blog yesterday 'RCJAM Devotions' about the stuff we tell our kids about God.

I wanted to keep the good stuff all in one place - rather than intersperse it with my political rants and stupid stories.

Here is the link: RCJAM Devotions

My goal is to post 3 to 5 times a week.

Shotgun Healthcare

I just suffered the agony of paying some pretty hefty health care bills last month.

Fortunately, I have pretty good insurance, so the bulk was paid by the insurance company.

Interestingly, the amount of insurance premiums paid jointly by me and my employer is MORE than my total medical expenses for the past 12 months.

It occurred to me today that health insurance is really just a savings account - a savings account that loses money. Your statistics rich insurance company knows (on average) how much it is going to cost them to pay your bills. Double it, divide by 12, collect the monthly premium, and you have a business model.

If my employer would just pay me extra money instead of paying my health insurance premium I think we would both be better off. I could get some really cheap "major catastrophe" insurance and pocket the difference. When medical needs arise, I could either pay for or finance the costs - just like financing a car purchase (not that you should ever finance a car... but thats another subject). Having a baby? $150 per month for 36 months. Heart bypass? $450 per month for 60 months. If you don't pay, we repossess your heart (ok.. the system has a kink or two).

Charities and churches should handle the people that "fall through the cracks." I think it was Jesus himself who said something about "true religion" being taking care of widows and orphans.

What if I decide that I do not want to have health insurance AND I do not want to pay for my own medical bills? I have another alternative.

I could go to my nice neighbors and force them at gunpoint to "contribute" to my medical bills. I want them to feel like they are making a voluntary contribution rather than being robbed at gunpoint. Therefore, the choice of weapon is very important. What says "you are making a voluntary contribution" better? A cute little "Saturday night special" or a double barrel sawed off shotgun? Automatic weapons are definitely too bullyish... want to keep it simple. I just don't know... I am still working on this part of the theory.

Maybe a better idea is to appeal to my government. If I could only get congress and a willing McBama** to forcibly extract my neighbor's income under the threat of imprisonment... that would certainly feel more like a voluntary contribution than an armed robbery. Problem solved! None of my neighbors have to look down the barrel of a gun (unless they don't pay -but even then its a government gun and not my gun).

We can vote to take involuntary "contributions" from one American and then give the money that is "collected" to another (more deserving) American. Of course we can't present this idea as one group of Americans stealing from another group of Americans. We have to be a little less truthful than that. We have to make it sound more appealing.

How about "universal health care." That has a nice ring to it.





** President McBama - two candidates- two liberals - just different shades of brown.

Change you can believe in.

Have you ever been to Disney? I love Disney, but I get so sick of the "you have to believe in the dream" thing. The Magic Kingdom Princess show, the electric light parade... you just have to believe! I have never been real clear on what exactly you were supposed to believe in, but I know that you are supposed to believe with all your heart and your dream will come true. Just believe. Thats the gospel of Disney.

There is another character that is asking us to "just believe."

Believe in what?

Believe in change.

Believe what can be.

What will you change?

We're going to change the country.

I feel like I am going to pull my hair out listening to this guy. A great orator - but no substance. Just believe in the change!

I have no idea what he stands for or what kind of change he is advocating.

All change is not good.

This character seems to have a lot of Marxist (communist) friends and ties. Is THAT the change we are in for? He has the most liberal voting record in the senate - to the left of Ted Kennedy. Will his election be like Christmas morning for the extreme left socialists? I just don't know.

I must do some research. Find a tangible position.

From his web site:

"Obama believes the disparity between sentencing crack and powder-based cocaine is wrong and should be completely eliminated."

Finally, a change that I can believe in. Something of substance.... or should I say something involving a controlled substance....

I need to do some more research...

We are so proud

I heard that the "Atlanta Pride" festival was to be held at the AtlantaCivic center. There are so many things that Atlantans have to be proud of, I was sure this was going to be a huge event. There's the Braves, Georgia Tech, Coca Cola, Martin Luther King Junior, historic epics, architectural marvels, the arts, the theater, culinary delights, etc. It is a pretty long list.

As it turns out, this festival was about none of that.

What are we proud of? We are proud of what we do with our genitalia. Isn't that special?

We are so proud that there are people in our community that have sexual desires and sexual fantasies. We are so proud that there are people in our community that copulate without the bondage of a marriage contract. We are so proud that there are men in our community that put on dresses. We are proud that there are women in our community that look and act like men. We are very proud that there are people in our community that have had relations with both men and women. We are proud that we have men in our community that want everyone to know what they like to do with their genitalia. We are proud that these men have "come out" in the open to reveal to a breathless public what they do behind closed doors.

If I described to ANYone (except Lea Marshall) what I did with my wife this weekend, they would call me a pervert for talking about it public. We didn't even read Song of Solomon - I'm just talking about normal husband/wife relations. I would probably be fired from my job if I even joked about it with my students. If I talk about it in mixed company its harassment - and rightly so. No human should have to endure another human flaunting their sexuality.

Sexuality is a private thing between private people. It is right that most people keep it that way. When a person makes their sexuality a public spectacle, people are uncomfortable - they are harassed.

I felt extremely harassed for having to endure a week's worth of "pride" signage and imagery that is about nothing - except what people do with their private parts. I feel harassed for having to endure a week's worth images and language that are about nothing - except a person's sexual desires.

I felt harassed for being forced to view people in terms of their sexuality rather than in terms of their contributions to society. He's not just a scientist that cured cancer - he's GAY! Like the decisions he makes about what goes on in his underwear is the most important thing we should know about this person.

If you are LGBTorQ, I really don't want to hear about it. The only person that needs to know about your sexuality is your lover. My knowing where you like to put your private parts adds nothing to our relationship. I just want a good decorator. I really don't care what goes on in your bedroom. I just want to know that you know your way around a color wheel.

Then there was the parade. Let's march around downtown and let all our neighbors have a little peek inside our bedroom. Look neighbors! We're going to parade around in our underwear and tell you what we like to do with our private parts.

Isn't that special?

Aren't we so proud?

First Fruits

Our first veggies started trickling in this week. We planted peas, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, green beans, watermelons, bell peppers, and cantaloupes.

The cucumbers were especially productive.

I am so proud of my children. They planted, weeded, watered, picked, and SOLD the cucumbers. They stood at a 4-way stop near our house and unloaded everything that they harvested. At fifty cents each, they almost earned enough to buy a Six-Flags ticket - that is why they are selling veggies.

When we have enough veggie proceeds, we are all going to go ride roller coasters!

This is my version of building self-esteem. They complete a hard task, reach a goal, and they feel good about themselves. They KNOW that they earned it. They know how to achieve a goal and they know that they could do it again.

In contrast, I believe that the kind of self-esteem building where everyone gets a trophy or a certificate for just showing up is pointless. I love the line from The Incredibles, (paraphrased) "if everyone is special, then no one is special." I think that rewards should be earned. Different kids are going to be good (or special) in different areas. It is OK that they didn't get the choir trophy this year (they never memorized the songs). When you reward a kid for something that they know that they did not accomplish, I think it has the unintended affect of actually lowering their self esteem. They know that they did not earn it and I believe that the message received is that "you are not capable actual accomplishment."

I want my children to learn to value discipline, hard work, and actual accomplishment. Things like selling the cucumbers provides them a vivid image of the fact that hard work results in money earned. They (hopefully) develop an understanding of how to get the things that they want (like a Six Flags ticket) and they (hopefully) develop a grateful heart because they come to understand that someone had to work hard for all the nice things that they have (or eat). They cherish the reward - they earned it. This is one of the reasons that I loved taking my boys to Jack Morris Karate in Tallahassee - he never gave them a belt that they did not earn. Their self esteem and confidence soared as they grunted and sweated to earn the prize.

Later that night I take a trip to Wal*Mart and I am confronted by a local baseball team that is raising money to go to the "World Series" (I have come to understand that there are lots of these "World Series" tournaments.. but that is another peeve for another blog). I pull out my wallet and I ask them what they were selling. (I always buy what the kids are selling because I know it takes a lot of guts to peddle Do-si-dos and Tagalongs to strangers. ) It turns out that they are selling nothing. They were just asking for money. Big strapping kids that I would gladly pay to come pick up sticks in my yard or wash my car. Their team mother has reduced them to beggars. That HAS to be damaging to their self esteem, I think to myself.

I put my wallet away. No lectures (I resist the urge), and I walk into Wal*Mart shaking my sad head.