Category: religion

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gratitude and prayers on veterans day

Let me begin by sharing my appreciation for all veterans and their service and sacrifice for this country.  I am able to enjoy certain blessings, privileges, freedoms, and benefits because of those that sought to preserve such liberties.  The world has witnessed the rise of those who would seek to destroy the gift of freedom and liberties and there were those who sacrficed to oppose such forces.   May our country, in our righteousness and power, distinguish between aggressors and protectors. 

My parents were children of the Korean War.  The stories they share are as hard to believe as the “When I was a kid, I used to walk 12 miles to school” stories.  My father served in the US Army.  We have several folks that are currently serving in the military in our church community.  Couple have already served stints in Iraq and may need to return in the near future.  I hide no reservations in my stance of being against this war but despite my opposition to the war, I do not want my support and appreciation for our troops to be feint.  And through our “merger” with Interbay Church 1.5 years ago, I have personally heard the stories of several who served in the military through both World War II and Vietnam.  I am thankful for them; Words cannot capture. 

How about you?  Do you have loved ones that are currently serving in the military?  Where?  How many of your parents and grandparents are veterans? 

Share your stories. Continue reading “gratitude and prayers on veterans day”

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how i’m voting

My ballot still sits on my desk but I’ll be completing it soon and walking it in on Tuesday to my local polling place.  As I shared last week and again, yesterday during my sermon at Quest, I will not be divulging who I am voting for various reasons. 

Side question: Do you think “active” pastors [currently serving congregations] should publicly share who they are voting for?

Politics can get heated and messy.  You don’t just have to watch the various media and news outlets to know this.  You can also sense the tension within the Christian community which I think is perfectly normal and okay as long as we 1] engage in the rules of civility and 2] get off our righteous soapboxes and consider what it means for us to live out our faith and convictions beyond the election season.  Continue reading “how i’m voting”

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the book that influenced you?

It’s been a busy week on this blog with two fairly intense posts dealing with abortion and the election.  I want to thank folks for engaging in such a thoughtful and respectful dialogue.  One of my hopes in blogging is to create a level of Community – even via the internet.

So, I want to take a minute to thank you folks for a] reading the blog, b] engaging in dialogue, and c] growing in a level of ‘community.’  Since it’s been an intense week, I thought it would be good to ask a simple question.  In addition to “regulars” sharing their answers, I am inviting the lurkers and quiet blog readers to chime in.  No one will bite your head off. 

Here’s the question: 

What is the book that has influenced you the most and why? Continue reading “the book that influenced you?”

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the abortion conversation

Every presidential election, abortion becomes a tense issue and I suspect that will never change.  Let me first say I respect those whose commitment to the unborn extends beyond the election rhetoric.  I have a friend whose life long calling and job is to fight for the unborn.  Unlike her, I confess that while I am Pro-Life and against abortion, I am more talk than walk, more preach than do, more blog than [can’t find a good word here].  But I still struggle with it.  While I was genuine in my quote in Sojourners that

“I don’t want to be defined by one or two issues”

I still care much about those one or two issues.  While I can’t honestly  come to agree that abortion is the greatest moral issue of our day as some are proned to say, I know that God cares immensely for the unborn and thus, we must care as well.  God also cares for the born and thus my “womb to tomb” ethic of pro-life.

Couple people [I know of] left our church because they disagreed with my view on abortion and I suspect that it may be possible that couple more may leave after they read this.  Like most Christians I know, I am against abortion.  However, I just do not believe we can legislate it.  Without going into all the details, the layers over abortion is so complex that even after extensive research, I can’t understand how a country like the United States can enforce abortion and pay for the enforcement – if it were to be turned illegal. Furthermore, I think we are fooling ourselves if we think abortion rates will be reduced significantly if Roe v. Wade was overturned.  I can certainly be wrong. Rather than legislating it, I wonder how abortions can be reduced by speaking and appealing to the Heart and Soul of a person and to make all necessary provisions if a person decides to have that baby.  In short, can we maintain choice but do all that we can to preserve and ensure the life of an unborn?  This is where most of us fall short. Continue reading “the abortion conversation”

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the next president of the united states?

Alright folks.  I’d love to hear from you.  On this blog, I would love to host an engaging, passionate, but respectful conversation on who YOU are voting for as the next President of the United States.  Since the elections are exactly a week away, I thought this would be great timing.  Some of your answers will likely be helpful for me as I prepare my sermon for this upcoming Sunday on the topic of ‘Faith & Politics.’ 

If you don’t mind sharing, share WHO you are voting for and WHY and for some of you, reasons why you are NOT voting.  [If you don’t mind, tell us where you’re from.] And let’s try to refrain ourselves from the ‘Obama is a terrorist,’ ‘Palin is moosehunter,’ ‘Biden is a plagiarist,’ and ‘McCain is so old that he farts out dust’ comments. Continue reading “the next president of the united states?”

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faith and money [4]: blessed and vulnerable

This is Part 4 of the series on Faith and Money.  You can the previous entries here:  [1] Where is Your Treasure, [2] What is Money, and [3] Control or Controlled.

The last few months – locally and globally – have certainly been like a bad roller coaster ride that leaves one disoriented and vomitaceous.  And unless you’re completely detached from the money machine, you’re likely impacted on some personal level and feeling pretty anxious.   Another reason why I’m talking about Money?  Because, in short, it is the prevailing idolatry in our world. 

In this post, I want to share two simple thoughts:  You are Blessed and Remember the Vulnerable. Continue reading “faith and money [4]: blessed and vulnerable”