Prophetic Musings

I'm still not going to identify the source of my feelings, but is it possible to feel so frustrated and angry by an event that it alters your way of thinking? Is it akin to the tsunami of a couple years ago, where the earthquake that caused it actually changed the axial tilt of the Earth? Can an event like that occur in someone's life that it changes your viewpoint entirely? I'm sure it can, but I would think that it would be something more traumatic than I experienced. Mine is emotional and spiritual more than physical, though that can cause the same issues. I just don't understand life. Right when I think it's about to get under control, everything craters at the same time. So frustrating. I commented to my wife this morning that I feel like I'm only here to serve as an example to others of what not to do.

I've been so angry today that I'm about to go scorched earth on everyone. Scorched earth is "military tactic which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area." Use only the "destroying everything" part and you have my feelings right now. I just want to level everything and start over. General Sherman in the Civil War used this tactic on his March to the Sea.

I'll get over it eventually. Always have. The sun still rises and sets. God is still in control. I just wish I'd get a little bit more of His long-range plan than I currently have.  

I was looking through some old pictures last night and thought it would be neat to compare pictures of our kids from a few years ago to now. There is actually only about two years difference in these pictures. The younger ones were taken when we moved into our house in 2004, the older ones were this last October. It's just fun to look at how they've grown.

I don't say much about my brother and his family for a couple of reasons. One, they value their privacy and rightly so. I stepped over that line on this site a few years ago and was sorry about that, so I"m a little gun shy when putting up anything with his name in it. Second, we live in totally different worlds. We just have different perspectives on things and that's just fine. Well, it's fine so long as he understands that I'm always right.

However, I'm going to post something about him today because he is still my older brother and I'm proud of him. It may seem like nothing, but he was interviewed for an article in Information Week. I knew about it before, but this morning a co-worker comes over to me and says "do you someone named Chris Ginn?" I said yes, but why are you asking? He said because he was reading Information Week and found an article in it where they talked to Chris and since our last name is somewhat rare, wondered if I knew him. I said, "yeah, I know him pretty well. I grew up with him." So, it was a pretty cool little exchange.

This is no secret since it's in a nationally published article so I don't feel any qualms about posting it. Chris works for H&R Block. He was lead engineer on a document management project and they interviewed him about it. I know what you're thinking. Computer geek, working for a tax company. Sounds like a barrel of laughs, right? It's actually worse. It was an open-source project. Yeah, uber-geek kind of stuff. But, he made it into the article and I'm proud of him. It's not every day someone from our little town, much less someone from my own family, gets interviewed for a national magazine. Click on the image below for the scanned article.

He's also got his name on a patent recently too. I've got a link to that somewhere, but can't find it right now.  

Chris, a special message for you. Don't get a big head about your new media career. If you will recall, Grandpa Chuck was in an advertisement for Great Plains drills quite a few years back. A quote and an actual picture. So until you get your picture published, Grandpa Chuck is still the family media star.  

I just got an email from Joe Carter at the Family Research Council (also of The Evangelical Outpost). Joe sent out a link to this story on the FRC blog about how funding was pulled from an infant HIV testing program, funding which was already in place in the federal budget. This language was included in a resolution attached to the Senate appropriations bill.

(b) None of the funds appropriated by this division may be used to: (1) implement section 2625 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300ff-33; relating to the Ryan White early diagnosis grant program)…

Is there a reason? Who knows? One of the reasons why our government doesn't work anymore is because of things like this. Nobody knows who put this in the bill. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) tried to amend the bill to restore the funding, but Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) would not allow it. It's this kind of secrecy that shows us that our politicians are not there to help their constituents, they are there to consolidate their own power.

From what little I've read of the grant program, it seems to be money well spent. Here's some more information about it.

Every year thousands of babies, predominately from poor African-American families, are born at risk of developing HIV. Many of these children develop HIV related infections that could have easily been prevented by prenatal testing and treatment. States that have implemented HIV testing for infants have seen their infections rates drop dramatically. Such success even inspired Congress to pass the Ryan White Early Diagnosis Grant Program. The program authorized $30 million in funding to states with infant HIV testing in order to ensure that these vulnerable children are protected.

Hopefully we can find out who decided this wasn't a good idea.  

Credit for this list goes to David Fairchild (h/t Evangelical Outpost). David writes:

Rodney Stark and other sociologists tell us there were 10 values of early Christians that stood in stark (no pun intended) contrast to the pluralistic pagan culture of Rome. Let’s prayferfully think through these values and match them to the witness of our own churches. Do we see the city existing for us or do we see our church and our lives existing for the city?

What are the 10 values?

1. They refused to attend blood thirsty entertainment. They wouldn’t go to gladiatorial events because they believed it defiled humans who were created in the image of God. This made them appear to be anti-social. Tertullian and Augustine both write about these events in a negative light.
2. They did not serve in the military to support Caesar’s wars of conquest, which made them appear weak.
3. They were against abortion and infanticide. In this culture, both were considered acceptable. To throw your baby out on the dung heap if you didn’t want it was not taboo.
4. They empowered women by showing their value and dignity in places of learning and service which had previously been exclusively for men. Christians held women in high regard and treasured them rather than viewing them as just a step above expendable children and servants.
5. They were against sex outside of marriage. This fidelity was considered odd and against culture. Sex was viewed as nothing more than a desire like eating or sleeping. Christians held a high view of the bed and kept it pure and would not engage in sex outside of marriage.
6. They were against homosexual relationships. This was odd in a time when same sex practice was not frowned upon.
7. They were exceptionally generous with their resources. They shared what they had with one another and welcomed others in with a hospitality that was unparalleled.
8. They were radically for the poor. In a time when the poor and downtrodden were viewed as getting what they deserved, they were aggressively committed to loving and serving people in the margins of society.
9. They mixed races and social classes in ways that were unseen in their gatherings, and for it they were considered scandalous.
10. They believed only Christ was the way to salvation. This was in a time when everyone had a god and could believe something entirely different and it was totally acceptable to be polytheists and pluralistic. Christians dared claim that Jesus was the only way and refused to bend to other gods.

How does this apply to us today? Think about each item in this list.

The early church refused to see entertainment that they felt defiled humans. Think hard about that for a minute. Their rationale was not that it defiled God, but that it defiled humans created in the image of God. How much entertainment do we take in today that defiles people? Ever seen most reality shows? They parade both the willing and the unsuspecting out for us to make fun of. It's not bloody like the gladiatorial matches, but in many ways it is exactly the same. The biggest difference is that we don't have to go to the Coliseum to see it. Today we have it beamed directly into our homes. Movies like Jackass or gross-out comedies are just as bad. Ogling people doing stupid things on YouTube also. Yes, our flesh thinks it's funny, but so does everyone else that is not Christian.

I'm not sure how I feel about the military. I really need to flesh out what I think before just throwing it up here. It's complicated and I don't want to offend anyone.

I completely agree with 3, 5, 6, and 10. I agree to the point that I will not discuss them here, because they are so clear cut.

Number 4 I really think that we need to work on, same as 9. Are we including people, or generally tolerating them. In our church, which I remind you is quite small, we are predominately middle class white people, with only two or three families that are minority. I've never talked to any of them about it because I see it as a non-issue, but then I'm white and have never known anything different. We're all just people, and we're the same color on the inside. The same goes for women. There are women in the church whose opinions I respect more than I do some men. I hold my wife in the highest regard because she is doing a job that I don't think I could, and that's staying home with our children and homeschooling them. I don't think that someone should be looked down upon because they are a woman.

The trickiest issue on this list is number 8. I think that we have a good heart (and if anyone from the church reads this, know I'm including myself in it) but I just feel like we get so consumed by people that don't live in the United States that we ignore those in our immediate area. I'm just as bad about this. I don't know anyone in the area that I don't go to church with or serve on some city board with, and the poor are typically not those people. There is one ministry that the church does which is absolutely wonderful, and it helps out children all over the area. We hopefully can do more soon.

One quick comment about number 7. I think that we are insanely generous with our resources as a church, considering the size we are. We provide money for people in need, but many of us put in a fair bit of time to things that we aren't getting anything in return for, nor do we expect it. For some of us, time and willingness is the best way we can provide resources. I know that I can do more though.

I'm currently reading "Basic Christianity" by John R. W. Stott. It's a fascinating look into the very tenets of faith we as Christians believe. While reading tonight, I came across a passage that really struck me.

The tendency of sin is centrifugal. It pulls us out of harmony with our neighbours. It estranges us not only from our Maker but from our fellow creatures too. We all know from experience how a community, whether a college, a hospital, a factory or an office, can become a hotbed of jealousy and animosity. We find it very difficult 'to dwell together in unity'.

How true is this? Because of our basic nature of sin. we tend to push away those around us. We let petty jealousies and disagreements come between us and our fellow believers.I see this happening in my own church, especially with me. I sometimes get feelings of jealousy about why I'm not picked for certain things, or why people don't seek me out for anything, or how someone seems to get praise for things and I don't. It's stupid, junior-high level thinking, and it sickens me when I recognize it. It's all pride and self-importance. That sin pushes me away from others and makes me feel more alone than I ever was.

Centrifugal is defined as "Tending or directed away from centralization, as of authority". Through our inherent sin nature, we are tending away from God and into the things of this world. That moving away from God's central authority leaves us to face our troubles alone, without Him. When we are pulled back into His orbit, we begin to associate again with His people. Which brings us to the next paragraph in the book.

But God's plan is to reconcile us to each other as well as to himself. So he does not save independent, unconnected individuals in isolation from one another; he is calling out a people for his own possession.

And there lies the solution. A people. Not us as individuals. It is our job as a corporate body to raise up each other, to pray for each other and to support each other. It's not up to us to make it by ourselves. We must bind ourselves together with others in the body.

For years my wife and I went from church to church and never really put down roots anywhere. After moving to the town we live in now, it took almost a year before we found a church we really enjoyed. God led us to this church through a series of circumstances and we've really put down stakes and stuck with it. I think part of it is Collette and I maturing as we entered our 30's, but we really have felt a calling to be here, now. We were allowed to lead a home group for a year, and now a youth group is starting.

The home group was successful not because of us or because of the curriculum we bought, but because of the people in it. Just like our church is successful not because we have a nice, big facility (we don't, it's a rented 47 year old bank building that's getting to be too small). We have great people in our church. People who are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to do what they know God has called them to do. People who truly try to be a people of God. I'm blessed that God has chosen us to serve in this church for a season, however long that season may be.

I received emails from the following people in the last week:

• Juice Longer
• Gemini D. Torments
• Sickening P. Chunky

While I'm sure that your stock tips are great and that you really can get me a good deal on Viagra, I'm really not interested. I would also like to extend an offer for my baby naming abilities to the entire Chunky family.

(Sickening P. Chunky is my favorite. Who thinks that is a good name?) 

Dan Edelen hit another home run with this post at Cerulean Sanctum. I just discovered Dan recently through Joe Carter and The Evangelical Outpost and he really has a lot of good stuff.

The crux of the article (and you should read it before continuing) is that we as the modern Christian church don't typically consider the pastor to be like the rest of us. When pastors make a mistake, especially big ones, we tend to send them off and make them someone else's problem. So many times the pastor is elevated to a holier-than-thou, near perfect being when in reality they are not and never will be. They are no more holy than those of us who are not pastors, yet we tend to think of them that way.

I think a typical pastor is someone who is trained specifically in the vocation of teaching, discipling, and dissecting Scripture. Through this training, they aren't given any special "No Sin" card, nor has Satan been given specific orders not to attack them. They are human, just like the rest of us. All of my formal training is in computer software design, but does that mean I'm less prone to aggravation at my computer? No, I'm probably more likely to get frustrated because I try to make my computer accomplish more things due to my knowledge in the area. In this same vein, pastors may be more prone to aggravation at their own sin, since that is what they are trained to try and bring people out of.

We're blessed in our church to have a pastor who is very open about this kind of thing. I consider him to be more of a partner than someone elevated above me. I think that if something were to come out about him that was especially shocking or scandalous, it would be our job as a church body to first, discipline in love, but second, to accept him back. Yes, he would be damaged goods, but so am I. Is my sin more tolerable than his because I'm not a pastor? Absolutely not. Paul himself says in I Timothy 1:15, "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst." If Paul is the worst, I think the rest of us rank right up there.

I know that some might think that pastors should be held to a higher standard, and I agree to an extent. Yes, publicly they are the face of the church they are pastoring. However, we are the face of Jesus to the world. Who has a higher responsibility? Let's hold ourselves to the higher standard first, and stop worrying about how those on this earth think of us.  

Super Bowl - Congratulations to Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy and the Colts on last night's Super Bowl victory. I've been a fan of Tony Dungy's since he was the head coach in Tampa Bay, mainly because of his faith and his understated way of displaying it. Manning and Dungy both seem to be great guys and it's good to see them pull out the victory in the rain.

Important Shaving News - I received a new Gillette Fusion razor in the mail this week. It was unsolicited and completely free. I was skeptical about it thinking that my current one works just fine. However, I am now a convert. What I'm not crazy about is that the blades cost approximately $72.50 each. (I'm kidding, but they are still expensive)

Our Government Doesn't Work - This should probably be part of a larger post, but it's something I've been thinking about for quite some time. The system in place currently is broken. It's not beyond repair, but fixing it would be painful. I've seen to much idiocy in federal, state, and local governments to think that it would be easy though. People are too hung up on power and money and material things. Just my $0.02.
 

As only a lawyer can, Glenn Reynolds points out many of the same things that I believe about global warming, but in a much better way. My favorite part:

Does this matter? Probably not. Regardless of what you think of the above, burning carbon is a lousy idea. Coal and oil are, over the long term, far more valuable as chemical feedstocks than as fuels anyway, and burning them is unacceptably filthy regardless of greenhouse issues. We should replace them as soon as possible with nice, clean, greenhouse-friendly nuclear plants and other environmentally friendly power technologies. Burning less carbon is good planetary hygiene, and good practice generally, regardless of what you think of global warming. So, I suppose, in a way we should be pursuing global warming remedies regardless of what you think about global warming.

He's right of course. There is no reason why we shouldn't be doing these things anyway, regardless of whether we all feel global warming is true or not. As he points out earlier in the piece though, there is no way that some of the heaviest polluters (private jets, stretch limos and their ilk) will stop doing what their doing. It makes sense for the common people to change, but not the rich and powerful. It would cramp their style too much.  

Looking at this I think we may get an inch or two of global warming today.

This cam is looking outside my office window. It updates every two minutes (I think, don't remember the settings now). It's a lovely view of my driveway. You can see it over on the sidebar to the left underneath the weather icons.