Gerry Charlotte Phelps

Sen. Clinton Did Not Lie

And this video proves it!  At http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHVEDq6RVXc

With McCain, You Get the Real Thing

                       Senator John McCain

(Image from professorsquared.wordpress.com)

"What you see is what you get" writes Benjamin Manaster about John McCain in the Wall Street Journal Tuesday, here.  He begins:

"The young need old men. They need men who are not ashamed of age, not pathetic imitations of themselves."
-- Peter Ustinov

Once upon a time there was a no-name generation that went about its business and did not call attention to itself. While the Greatest moved offstage and the Boomers ran amuck, it raised and educated families, laying the groundwork for a prosperous future. Overlooked, ignored by those who followed it, and alone among its peers, this generation may soon see one of its members become president.

Manaster notes that "the attack on John McCain's age has only just begun.

In our youth-obsessed society, newness trumps experience. Media central casting gives this older generation a thumbs down, favoring the novel and the different. But Sen. McCain, who will turn 72 in August, still goes about his business with the dogged determination that sustained him through long years in a North Vietnamese prison.

McCain's generation had a faint memory of the Great Depression, but a vivid memory of the country's battle for survival in WWII.

Mr. McCain's most intense early memories are likely of a time when most men under 40 wore the uniform; and there is a difference, I believe, between those who remember it and those who don't...McCain is the grandson and son of admirals, and Pearl Harbor and the great carrier battles in the South Pacific made a deep and lasting impression upon his childhood.

We remember when the German army had a stranglehold on Europe, and the Japanese on Asia. Those who lived through that eventful period understood the greatness of our nation -- our indispensable nation -- and knew that without it the future of mankind would be dark indeed.

The nightmare of a world at war and the ghastly revelations in its wake are deeply imbedded in Mr. McCain's psyche. Our generation recoiled at the depths of human cruelty -- we saw emaciated Jews liberated by our troops from Hitler's Belsen, and starved death-march survivors of Bataan emerging from incarceration in Japanese hellholes.

Those born later have barely an inkling of the impression those events made, and the deep bond it created with our country. At a time of reckoning, America rose up "in righteous wrath" against history's most evil villains. To have no pride in that significant accomplishment surely seems to John McCain, as it does to me, no less than moral blindness.

When the country entered the Cold War right after WWII,

In his formative years, Mr. McCain experienced the dawn of a frightening new age. Murderous dictators, with nuclear arms at their disposal, threatened to annihilate those who opposed them. This country, foremost among nations, paid the price to check them. He saw what ill-preparedness and hubris wrought in Korea: We could not withstand the initial incursion, and after finally overcoming it, provoked a Chinese invasion that led to our tragic winter retreat.

Troubled by American complacency in the mid-1950s, Mr. McCain...earned his flying wings, became a squadron leader on the carriers Forrestal and Oriskany, and was shot down in combat over North Vietnam.

His bones broken by a mob that beat him half to death, Mr. McCain was thrown into the Hanoi Hilton where Ho Chi Minh's sadistic henchmen tormented him unmercifully. In a display of character that boggles the imagination, he somehow managed to survive with his identity intact.

Others talk about courage, honor and dedication says Manester, but John McCain is the living example of them.

Afaer more than five years of imprisonment, he finally came hobbling home, and with a broad smile and a firm salute, took our collective breath away.

Manester points to the view of our society that age is a handicap, and says that means it is a society in trouble.

The no-name generation...may struggle for a "misremembered" name on occasion, but it knows far better than its juniors who it is, where it comes from, and for what it stands.

No one better represents this than Mr. McCain. His authenticity, unlike that of his Democratic Party counterparts, is beyond question. What you see is what you get, and what you get is the real thing.

Mr. Manaster is a Los Angeles-based writer

The Audacity of Rhetoric

Dr. Thomas Sowell, Economist and Senior Fellow, Hoover Institute, Stanford University

              (Image from tsowell.com)

Tom Sowell is the iconic economist famed for making complex things understandable to non-economists.  He writes this here in "The Audacity of Rhetoric" - an obvious referral to Obama's phrase "the audacity of hope."

First, about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright:

It is painful to watch defenders of Barack Obama tying themselves into knots trying to evade the obvious.

Some are saying that Senator Obama cannot be held responsible for what his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, said. In their version of events, Barack Obama just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time -- and a bunch of mean-spirited people are trying to make something out of it.

It makes a good story, but it won't stand up under scrutiny.

Sowell points out that Obama consciously sought out such people:

Barack Obama's own account of his life shows that he consciously sought out people on the far left fringe. In college, "I chose my friends carefully," he said in his first book, "Dreams From My Father."

These friends included "Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk rock performance poets" -- in Obama's own words -- as well as the "more politically active black students." He later visited a former member of the terrorist Weatherman underground, who endorsed him when he ran for state senator.

Obama didn't just happen to encounter Jeremiah Wright, who just happened to say some way out things. Jeremiah Wright is in the same mold as the kinds of people Barack Obama began seeking out in college -- members of the left, anti-American counter-culture.

Sowell points out Shelby Steele's assessment of Obama's background:

In Shelby Steele's brilliantly insightful book about Barack Obama -- "A Bound Man" -- it is painfully clear that Obama was one of those people seeking a racial identity that he had never really experienced in growing up in a white world. He was trying to become a convert to blackness, as it were -- and, like many converts, he went overboard.

Sowell on Obama's being the furthest left in all the Senate:

Nor has Obama changed in recent years. His voting record in the U.S. Senate is the furthest left of any Senator. There is a remarkable consistency in what Barack Obama has done over the years, despite inconsistencies in what he says.

The irony is that Obama's sudden rise politically to the level of being the leading contender for his party's presidential nomination has required him to project an entirely different persona, that of a post-racial leader who can heal divisiveness and bring us all together.

Sowell on Obama's character:

The ease with which he has accomplished this chameleon-like change, and entranced both white and black Democrats, is a tribute to the man's talent and a warning about his reliability.

There is no evidence that Obama ever sought to educate himself on the views of people on the other end of the political spectrum, much less reach out to them. He reached out from the left to the far left. That's bringing us all together?

On Obama's verbal audacity:

One sign of Obama's verbal virtuosity was his equating a passing comment by his grandmother -- "a typical white person," he says -- with an organized campaign of public vilification of America in general and white America in particular, by Jeremiah Wright.

Among the many desperate gambits by defenders of Senator Obama and Jeremiah Wright is to say that Wright's words have a "resonance" in the black community.

There was a time when the Ku Klux Klan's words had a resonance among whites, not only in the South but in other states. Some people joined the KKK in order to advance their political careers. Did that make it OK? Is it all just a matter of whose ox is gored?

Rev. Jeremiah Wright harms blacks, not whites:

While many whites may be annoyed by Jeremiah Wright's words, a year from now most of them will probably have forgotten about him. But many blacks who absorb his toxic message can still be paying for it, big-time, for decades to come.

Why should young blacks be expected to work to meet educational standards, or even behavioral standards, if they believe the message that all their problems are caused by whites, that the deck is stacked against them? That is ultimately a message of hopelessness, however much audacity it may have.

Is Obama A Marxist Mole?

                                Presidential Candidate Barack Obama

                                 (Image from washingtonpost.com)

Here is the link to the article, from Accuracy in Media.

If Bush Were To Resign

                              U.S. President George W. Bush

                         (Image from weblogs.nowsday.com)

Here's what he might say::

Normally, I start these things out by saying "My Fellow Americans." Not doing it this time. If the polls are any indication, I don't know who more than half of you are anymore. I do know something terrible has happened, and that you're really not fellow Americans any longer.

I'll cut right to the chase here: I quit. Now before anyone gets all in a lather about me quitting to avoid impeachment, or to avoid prosecution or something, let me assure you: There's been no breaking of laws or impeachable offenses in this office.

The reason I'm quitting is simple. I'm fed up with you people. I'm fed up because you have no understanding of what's really going on in the world. Or of what's going on in this once-great nation of ours. And the majority of you are too blasted lazy to do your homework and figure it out.

Let's start local. You've been sold a bill of goods by politicians and the news media. Polls show that the majority of you think the economy is in the tank. And that's despite record numbers of homeowners, including record numbers of MINORITY homeowners. And while we're mentioning minorities, I'll point out that minority business ownership is at an all-time high. Our unemployment rate is as low as it ever was during the Clinton administration. I've mentioned all those things before, but it doesn't seem to have sunk in.

Despite the shock to our economy of 9/11, the stock market has rebounded to record levels and more Americans than ever are participating in these markets. Meanwhile, all you can do is whine about gas prices, and most of you are too blasted stupid to realize that gas prices are high because there's increased demand in other parts of the world, and because a small handful of noisy idiots are more worried about polar bears and beachfront property than your economic security.

We face real threats in the world. Don't give me this "blood for oil" thing. If I were trading blood for oil I would've already seized Iraq's oil fields and let the rest of the country go to hell. And don't give me this 'Bush Lied; People Died' crap either. If I were the liar you morons take me for, I could've easily had chemical weapons planted in Iraq so they could be 'discovered.' Instead, I owned up to the fact that the intelligence was faulty.

Let me remind you that the rest of the world thought Saddam had the goods, same as me. Let me also remind you that regime change in Iraq was official US policy before I came into office. Some guy named 'Clinton' established that policy. Bet you didn't know that, did you?

You idiots need to understand that we face a unique enemy. Back during the cold war, there were two major competing political and economic models squaring off. We won that war, but we did so because fundamentally, the Communists wanted to survive, just as we do. We were simply able to out spend and out-tech them.

That's not the case this time. The soldiers of our new enemy don't care if they survive. In fact, they want to die. That'd be fine, as long as they weren't also committed to taking as many of you with them as they can. But they are. They want to kill you, and they're all over the globe.

You should be grateful that they haven't gotten any more of us here in the United States since September 11. But you're not. That's because you've got no idea how hard a small number of intelligence, military, law enforcement, and homeland security people have worked to make sure of that. When this whole mess started, I warned you that this would be a long and difficult fight. I'm disappointed how many of you people think a long and difficult fight amounts to a single season of 'Survivor.'

Instead, you've grown impatient. You're incapable of seeing things through the long lens of history, the way our enemies do. You think that wars should last a few months, a few years, tops. Making matters worse, you actively support those who help the enemy. Every time you buy the New York Times, every time you send a donation to a cut-and-run Democrat's political campaign, well, dang it, you might just as well FedEx a grenade launcher to a Jihadist. It amounts to the same thing.

In this day and age, it's easy enough to find the truth. It's all over the Internet. It just isn't on the pages of the New York Times or on NBC News. But even if it were, I doubt you'd be any smarter. Most of you would rather watch American Idol. I could say more about your expectations that the government will always be there to bail you out, even if you can't figure out that you should leave a city that's below sea level and has a hurricane approaching.

I could say more about your insane belief that government, not your own wallet, is where the money comes from. But I've come to the conclusion that were I to do so, it would sail right over your heads.

So I quit. I'm going back to Crawford. I've got an energy-efficient house down there (Al Gore could only dream) and the capability to be fully self-sufficient. No one ever heard of Crawford before I got elected, and as soon as I'm done here pretty much no one will ever hear of it again. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to die of old age before the last pillars of America fall.

Oh, and by the way, Cheney's quitting too. That means Pelosi is your new President. You asked for it. Watch what she does carefully, because I still have a glimmer of hope that there are just enough of you remaining who are smart enough to turn this thing around in 2008.

So that's it. God bless what's left of America. Some of you know what I mean. The rest of you, kiss off.

(Courtesy of Fred Hannah)

Do not be afraid!

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.  6 He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.  Come and see the place where He lay.  7 Then go quickly and tell His disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’  Now I have told you. Matthew 28:5-7 (NIV)

Good morning!

Are you afraid to talk about Jesus outside of church?  Do you worry that your faith might become an issue at work, within your circle of friends, or even amongst your own family? 

The women who went to the garden tomb had to be very frightened.  They knew the Romans were watching them. There were still plenty of angry Jews in Jerusalem, some of them were their own family members and friends.  They witnessed His miracles and learned from His teaching for three years.  They knew without a doubt He was God’s promised Messiah, and so they continued to walk, especially on a morning just like this.

The angel said, “Do not be afraid; He is not here; Come and see; Go quickly and tell.”   The women were looking for Christ’s physical body.  They did not yet see that they had been transformed to Christ’s living body of believers.  They were the body of Christ!  He was no longer in the tomb; Christ is alive and living within every believer’s heart.  Come and see for yourself; don’t take my word for it!  Open the Bible and read the evidence; weigh it against everything you know to be true.  I challenge you to ask God to reveal the truth of Christ to you.  Now go, and quickly tell.  As members of His body, we are responsible for spreading the Gospel message to all who will listen.  Some will reject Him, others will turn away.  Do not let that stop you from sharing what you know to be true.  Find new ways to share the truth of Christ by your words, deeds, behaviors, and simply loving people the way Christ continually loves you. 

This is your day not to be afraid!  Jesus Christ is alive!  Come and see it for yourself, and then go spread the Good News!   

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

Gorbachev Admits He Is A Christian

     (Image from staff.harrisonburg.k12.va.us)

By Malcolm Moore in London, Telegraph.co.uk., 3-19-09, here

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Communist leader of the Soviet Union, has acknowledged his Christian faith for the first time, paying a surprise visit to pray at the tomb of St Francis of Assisi.

Accompanied by his daughter Irina, Mr Gorbachev spent half an hour on his knees in silent prayer at the tomb.

His arrival in Assisi was described as "spiritual perestroika" by La Stampa, the Italian newspaper.

"St Francis is, for me, the alter Christus, the other Christ," said Mr Gorbachev. "His story fascinates me and has played a fundamental role in my life," he added.

Mr Gorbachev's surprise visit confirmed decades of rumours that, although he was forced to publicly pronounce himself an atheist, he was in fact a Christian, and casts a meeting with Pope John Paul II in 1989 in a new light.

Mr Gorbachev, 77, was baptised into the Russian Orthodox Church and his parents were Christians.

In addition, the parents of his wife Raisa were deeply religious and were killed during the Second World War for having religious icons in their home.

Ronald Reagan, the former United States president, allegedly told his close aides on a number of occasions that he felt his opponent during the Cold War was a "closet believer".

Mr Reagan held deep religious convictions himself. However, until now Mr Gorbachev has allowed himself to express only pantheistic views, saying in one interview "nature is my god".

After his prayers, Mr Gorbachev toured the Basilica of St Francis and asked in particular to be shown an icon of St Francis portraying his "dream at Spoleto".

St Francis, who lived in the 12th century, was a troubadour and a poet before the spiritual vision caused him to return to Assisi and contemplate a religious life.

Even in his early days, St Francis helped the poor, once giving all of his money to a beggar. As well as spending time in the wilderness, he also nursed lepers and eventually became a priest.

"It was through St Francis that I arrived at the Church, so it was important that I came to visit his tomb," said Mr Gorbachev.

"I feel very emotional to be here at such an important place not only for the Catholic faith, but for all humanity."

He also asked the monks for theological books to help him understand St Francis's life.

Father Miroslavo Anuskevic, who accompanied the former Soviet leader, said: "He was not recognised by any of the worshippers in the church, and silently meditated at the tomb for a while. He seemed a man deeply inspired by charity, and told me that he was involved in a project to help children with cancer.

"He talked a lot about Russia and said that even though the transition to democracy had been very important for the world, it was very painful for Russia. He said it was a country which has a great history, and also a great spirituality."

(Hat Tip to Belmont Club here,  from a comment.) 

The Theology Behind Rev. Jerehiah Wright's Beliefs

                             Dr. Jeremiah Wright

                       (Image from foxnews.com)

In the Wall Street Journal's Best of the Web Today, 3-18-08 James Tarranto describes how Rev. Jeremiah Wright describes his own theology as "Black Liberation Theology," and talks about its source in the writings of James Cone:

...from what Wright himself, in the "talking points" page of his congregation's Web site, describes as "systematized black liberation theology." As we noted yesterday, Wright credits James Cone of New York's Union Theological Seminary with having undertaken this systematization. Here again is Cone's description of black liberation theology:

Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill Gods who do not belong to the black community. . . . Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love.

Day of Preparation

41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb.  42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. John 19:41-42 (NIV)

There is nothing that prepares us adequately for the realities of death.  For loved ones left behind, regrets can become overwhelming.  Life is short.  Death will come touch every one of us someday, whether we are prepared for it or not.

The day of preparation had begun; Passover was eminent.  On a hill overlooking the city of Jerusalem, onlookers watched from the hillside below as three convicted criminals were hung high; their naked bodies impaled upon wooden crosses for the whole world to see.  Now it was time for the Jews to return home for Sabbath worship and rest. Just like their ancestors experienced long ago in Egypt, the angel of death had swept over their world once again.

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus could not bear to let Christ’s body hang on the cross over the Sabbath.  They felt compelled to properly prepare Jesus’ body for burial according to Jewish custom.  They laid His body in a garden tomb nearby.  They bathed Him with myrrh and aloes, wrapping His body in strips of cloth.  They were determined to finish the preparation before the Son completely disappeared in the western sky.  Even with their combined knowledge and sage wisdom, they were unable to comprehend the morbid events of the last twelve hours. With tears streaming down their cheeks, they expressed their own personal guilt for not having stopped this man’s murder.

Later that evening, Jewish families went through mindless acts of worship, all the while, wondering where hope had gone.  Could the cruel events of this week somehow have been changed?  Why did death come to our teacher?  He did nothing but share His Father's love with our world.  How could we have turned on Him after all He did to heal our people and restore the land?  If we only had one more day in the presence of Jesus…

The day of preparation is here.  The reality of death is passing over, whether we are ready or not.  Are you prepared for the night that is coming?  Do you know where hope has gone? 

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

www.songofdeborah.com

"Restless Retiree"

Today I received permission from World Magazine to post the following full article about myself, for which I thank them.  The article appeared in their January 26, 2008 magazine.  (I posted fragments of the article before.)

"Restless Retiree"

World Magazine, This Week, 'Signs and Wonders," January 26, 2008, Lifestyle/Technology: "Radical robber, Christian poverty-fighter Gerry Phelps is redeeming time" | Susan Olasky

Photo by David Phelps

Retirement for Gerry Phelps means reading through her Bible for the 45th time. From her 15th-floor apartment in the RBJ Towers, a low-income senior citizen complex founded by Lyndon Baines Johnson in honor of his mother Rebekah, Phelps can read and enjoy a panoramic view of downtown Austin: capitol dome, corporate towers, the University of Texas campus.

The LBJ connection is a nice touch. Phelps despised him and Richard Nixon, and in 1969 went to prison for her role in the botched armed robbery of a liquor store meant to raise funds for a radical, anti-war newspaper. At the time she committed the crime, Phelps was a leftist, working on her Ph.D. and teaching economics at the University of Houston.

In prison she became a Christian. In 1976, after serving seven years of a 35-year sentence, she gained parole to San Francisco. She attended there a Methodist seminary where fellow students shared her politics but didn't understand her prison-formed, Bible-based belief in Christ and His miracles.

"I knew I was called to minister to the poor," she says, so she founded and ran two homeless shelters, applying what she had learned in prison: Tough love works, handouts don't. When Phelps returned to Texas in 1992 to be closer to her grandson, she started a poverty-fighting charity along compassionate conservative principles.

Now that she's retired, life can be hard for a person who led an eventful life and has unfinished work. At age 76 besides Bible reading Phelps is trying to publish two books she has written, and working on two more. (Her practical book about helping poor people is on her website, gerrycharlottephelps.com.)

"My biggest struggle is trying to get to bed on time," Phelps says. Four stacks of books, nine and 10 volumes deep, sit on her coffee table as evidence of her current projects, continuations of her life interests in helping the poor and renewing the church. She sees poor people as canaries in the coal mine, evidence that we have a "poverty-producing, crime-producing culture" that can only be fixed by a revival of Christianity through evangelism and the discipling of new believers.

Newly diagnosed with macular degeneration, she uses a magnifier to see her computer screen. She winces as she gets up to fetch tea, yet says, "I have a lot of health for a person my age. . . . I've had such a good life. I'm content . . . I have friends and I have family." And yet she has a sense of things undone. "Each of us has our experiences. If you keep it all locked up in your head it's lost. If you want to share it, you have to write it. . . . It's not about being remembered, but having what you've learned be remembered beyond the walls of your mind."

Phelps is finding not enough time in her days for the work she has to do: "My time is too taken up with logistical work." She's a self-described "health nut" with a special diet, and that "takes a lot of preparation time. Cleaning and laundry . . . I don't mind doing any of that, but it doesn't leave me enough time to read and write, especially since I have some kind of time limit on me because of the eyes."

She's frustrated with her lack of success getting her books published beyond the web, "but I don't go around crying, except at prayer time. I might cry then. . . . I have a good, very frustrated life. You can quote me on that."

Troubleshooter

33 “I have told you these things, so that in me, you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV)

Good morning!

When I attended new employee orientation at work, the most important piece of information I received was the telephone number for the company’s Help Desk.  What a gift to know there is a caring heart at the other end of line, ready to help whenever I hit a speed bump on the motherboard of life.  We need someone out there who can troubleshoot for us, and I know an extremely talented computer guru whom I can call on whenever I need extreme help.

Trouble seems to lurk around every virtual corner of our lives.  Like the dust bunnies that silently gather underneath my sofa, they become a mass legion of dirt if I don’t occasionally sweep them out the door.   We all struggle with something.  Isn’t it good to know there is someone you can call, twenty-four hours a day, who loves you enough to go the distance for your very soul?  He is our personal troubleshooter, whose purpose is to fix the problem we could not change on our own.  He understands the issue far better than we do; and He will stop at nothing to remedy the problem, if we are willing to let Him help.

Jesus walked and talked with His disciples for three years.  He had given them His very best, and now it was time to fulfill the ultimate prophecy.  Christ came for one purpose – to take the sins of the world upon His shoulders, purchasing salvation for all who would believe and receive. 

Sometimes I get really confused.  I call the Help Desk when I don’t understand why my computer is locked up. It’s tough being disconnected. The fix is miraculous, especially when I’m up against a deadline and bouncing off a proverbial brick wall.  I know my troubleshooter.  We are on a first-name basis.  I count on Him to be right there with me, every minute of every day, and He is.

Jesus Christ gave His life’s blood so that He could troubleshoot your sin, fixing your disconnect once and for all.  Won’t you call on the Lord for heavenly help?  He is right here, ready and willing to save you now.

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

www.songofdeborah.com

Horse Show Girl Champion - No saddle, Bridle or Neck Rope

j         (Image from mtsu.edu)

Young Stacy Westfall won this 2006 American Quarter Horse Championship, riding without a saddle, bridle or neck-rope.  Rousing, stand-up-and-cheer-ride!  See video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-7v8Ck1crg&feature=related.      6 1/2 minutes.

(Hat Tip to Paul and Sonia Browder and their daughter Michaela)

The Most Beautiful Woman in the World

      The Chinese Circus Ballet - Again    

            (Image from ciskis-dk.dk)

Once again, the absolute perfection of this woman's form and movement, from the Chinese Circus Ballet, here . 7 minutes.   

(Hat Tip to Mike Thayer)

Sen. Obama Describes His Religious Beliefs

                   (Image from collegecandy.com)   

David Jeffers writes in "Losing My Religion" in the New Media Journal, 7-3-07:

Senator Barack Obama, Democratic presidential candidate, recently spoke at a United Church of Christ convention in Hardford, Connecticut where he said "faith got hijacked..."   I couldn't agree with him more, but for very different reasons.

As I watched Senator Obama's speech, it became apparent to me that it is the traditional evangelical beliefs that have been hijacked.  Obama believes faith has been hijacked because "faith stopped being used to bring us together and faith started  being used to drive us apart."  Therein lies the first of many confused statements the Senator from Illinois makes about traditional evangelical faith.

Jeffers notes that Obama says people need to get back to reading their Bibles, and Jeffers wants him to read it "in the context of its oroginal teaching instead of cherry-picking scripture to suit his political leanings.  Obama suggested that a literalist's view of the Bible is folly.  "If that is the case," says Jeffers, "now we know what 'drives us apart' as believers."  That "evangelicals have foundational truths, and those truths are based on how we view scripture.  And that so is the way evangelicals vote the way they do and believe as they do.

As to the issue of abortion, Obama states:

I believe we should give information about contraception that can prevent unwanted pregnancies and lower abortion rates, and assure every child is loved and cherished."

Jeffers notes that:

What Obama does not state is that his pro-choice stance will not allow him to advocate giving information about abstinence, about adoption as an option to unwanted pregnancies, to eliminate abortion altogether, or to assure the unborn child is loved and cherished.  These are issues that "...the so-called leaders of the Christian Right" take when they "are all too eager to exploit what divides us."  What Senator Obama describes as exploitation is what traditional evangelicals describe as standing in the gap for God.

Obama did warn progressives against their attempts to scrub all references to God fom the national debate.  That "secularists are wrong when they ask believers to leave their religion at the door before entering into the public swuare...to say men and women should not inject their 'personal morality' into the public policy debate is a practical absurdity."  But he believes that "democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal rather than religion-specific values."  That it "requires that their proposals be subject to argument and amenable to reason."

Senator Obama bemoans the "rhetoric that denounces progressives as immoral and godless."  Obama personally opposes the immoral lifestyle of homosexuality yet refuses to support a constitutional amendment banning homosexual marriage.

He personally opposes abortion but refuses to support the overturning of Roe v Wade.  And he denounced the Supreme Court decision against partial birth abortion. Such positions "cause much hesitation on the part of traditional evangelicals to be 'amenable to reason.'"

Jeffers concludes:

I came away from watching Senator Obama's speech believing that he is a genuine person; someone who truly believes what he says.  I also found him to be terribly conflicted in the role religion should play.  He seems to be advocating consensus that would require compromise on religious beliefs.  That is what separates him and other progressive Christians from traditional evangelicals.  Traditional evangelicals are not conflicted in the role religion plays in their lives, but they run into conflict with culture when they 'inject their personal morality' into the public policy debate."

To do otherwise would be losing my religion.

Dave Jeffers is a Sunday School teacher, Bible student, lay preacher and the author of "Understanding Evangelicals."  He has taught and preached at churches in Germany and BElgium, as well as his home church in Gulf Breeze, Florida.  He is a retired Army Master Sargeant and his 22 years of active duty allowed him to travel the world, as well as adopt a worldview based on Biblical principles and life experiences.

Who left the gate open?

3 “The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to His voice.  4 He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” John 10:3-4 (NIV)

“Who left the gate open?” I could hear the frustration in the voice of my grandmother as she ran down the path from the farm house to the animal pen. Someone fed the chickens and the pigs and didn’t get the gate shut, and now it was time to look for the ones who had wandered away. What a job! I visited my grandmother almost every weekend when I was a little girl, and it didn’t take long for me to realize I was not cut out to be a farmer. Those king snakes that curled up in the chicken coop next to the eggs were more than enough to keep me far away from the pen. I hate to blame everything on my little sister and my crazy cousins, but they were a whole lot braver than me. There is no way I would have left that gate open.

It was entertaining, watching my grandmother run around in her long apron and big black shoes, shaking her dish towel while making loud whooping noises, trying to coerce those carefree animals back inside the gate. The pigs came running when they saw the bucket of slop being dumped into the feeding trough. Those guys were always hungry! The chickens and goats were a little more persnickety. Granny would shout loud threats, while swinging that dish rag, as if they could understand her every word. “If you don’t get back in that pen right now, we’re having fried chicken for dinner!” Eventually, the animals would return to the fold. Grandma was the gatekeeper.

Just like those animals at the farm, His disciples couldn’t understand a word Jesus was saying to them. He is the Father’s gatekeeper! His sheep will recognize and listen closely to His voice. Jesus knows each one by name, loving them with a sacrificial love. He opens the gate and leads them into the world. They follow Him wherever He leads. The sheep are totally in love with the Shepherd.

Do you trust Jesus enough to step outside your box today and follow Him?

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

Saving People from Fire on the 101st Floor

The horrific scenes of people jumping from the fires of the Twin Towers on 9/11 are deeply etched into our memories.  But there is new hope now that in future sky-scraper fires, people on the top floors can be saved.  2 1/2 minutes.

(Go here for more information on this new rescue technology.)

(Hat Tip to Robert Martin)

What We Do Vs. Who We Are

    Former N.Y. Gov. Elliot Spitzer

    (Image from prblognews.com)

Public Figures and Not-So-Private Failings, 3-17-08, by guest blogger Rubel Shelly

The news stories come at a non-stop pace.  It's a baseball player called before Congress.  Then comes a big city mayor exposed for lying and infidelity.  Next is more bezarre behavior and rehab for a music star.  Now a governor steps down because of money-juggling to cover liaisons with a prostitute.

There will be more.  Count on it.  And one of the most common and off-putting responses we will hear in every case is this.  What so-and-so does in private has nothing to do with his or her public abilities.

At one level, that's right.  The ability to paint the corner of the plate with a fastball, belt out a mesmerizing concern, draw business to the state - all these abilities exist independently of dumb, criminal or evil things somebody does.  For a time anyway.  Until the next temptation or blackmail based on the last gaffe.

At a much deeper level, however, the connection between personal ethics and public persona is apparent.  If he will lie to and cheat on his wife, he is not trustworthy in anything he promises us.  If she is out of control, she is on the way to self-destruction and is going to take others down too.  And there are not enough laws or enforcement agents to make things work right.

Have we really come to a point in human history where results, advantage and effectiveness trump character - or the lack of it?  Will we tolerate anybody and anything that turns a profit - without regard to the harm done to others?

If this sounds like a diatribe against corrupt politicians, celebrities who muddy kids minds, and athletes who sully the legitimacy of sport, it is.  But it's the smaller part.  The much larger point is to remind all us moms, bosses and teachers that we are more than our jobs.  Who we are is at the heart of what we do.  Character either legitimates or undermines everything we claim to value.

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "By their fruit you will recognize them.  Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit." (Matthew 7:16-18)

To be an honorable human being is to be decent in the dark as well as before the cameras.  It is everyone's challenge these days..

(See related post, "Character Trumps Talent, Sooner or Later", here, Chapter 15 from "Up and Out: A Guide to True "Compassion for the Poor.")

Rubel  Shelly's free weekly email, "FAX of Life" is available from www.RubelShelly.com.

Reversing the lens

39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” John 9:39(NIV)

Good morning!

Yesterday at work, I was trying to focus my eyes on some printed material right in front of me, and I found myself struggling to read the text. I’ve worn corrective contact lenses for years, but it seemed like my vision had changed overnight. Have you ever had this experience? Out of sheer desperation, I went to the ladies’ room and switched my contact lenses, and what do you know - I could see clearly again! Have you ever put your contact lenses in the wrong eyes? I wish I could tell you this was the first time I’ve done it, but that would not be true. Sometimes, I need to experience a role reversal so I can see clearly.

The Pharisees were not happy with the man from Nazareth. He was stepping on toes, healing sinful people on the Sabbath, and making quite a stir in town. I think it is safe to say they did not like Him at all. They couldn’t understand His purpose for coming and they refused to try. A role reversal was occurring right before their very eyes, but the Pharisees simply couldn’t see it. They were blinded to the truth of Jesus Christ.

When we have difficulty reading and understanding God’s Word and how it speaks to our hearts, we need to stop and check our spiritual lens. Maybe we’ve unintentionally reversed it, which is why we cannot see the truth clearly. We get so bent on seeing things the way we want to see it, rather than trying to understand what God may actually be saying. Do you know what I mean?

It is easy to see things through our own personal lens. We need the help of the Holy Spirit to recognize the Truth. Jesus can heal our spiritual blindness, when we ask Him to help us see and understand His truth clearly. If you are struggling to see clearly today, try reversing the lens you are looking through. It may clear up your vision instantly!

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

 

 

Miraculous mud pack!

15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” John 9:15(NIV)

Good evening!

I sat on the edge of my bed last night, watching Kirk Cameron interview one of my favorite Christian groups, Avalon, while rubbing my tired, dry feet with moisturizing lotion. This is the time of year when dry skin gives me grief. Just like the tulips peeking through the crusty hard soil in my garden bed, these tiny toes are screaming to break out into some colorful spring sandals. Do you fight with patches of dry skin in the winter time?

The blind man’s neighbors assumed this boy was the byproduct of some lifelong sin that had occurred. He was tolerated in his hometown by the locals. Like a patch of dry, crusty, skin, they lived with him, much to their dismay. People would go out of their way to avoid him. A few kind souls had compassion on him. They would drop off a sack lunch – a few fish and some unleavened bread so he wouldn’t sit there and starve. Occasionally, he would receive a coin or two from a generous heart. No one wanted to be near the man with eyes that could not see. He was an eyesore to the righteous.

Jesus made miraculous mud packs from the dirt of the soil and with his saliva and placed it on the man’s eyes. The scales fell off in the water as he washed. The blind man was desperate for healing and desperate situations require total faith. He was tired of being the community’s callous; the flake that sat at the edge of the world hoping his life might one day be transformed. Jesus offered this man a fresh new life.

One would have thought the Pharisees would have been relieved to have seen such a miracle with their very own eyes. But they were more concerned that this man, who obviously didn’t deserve to be healed, was forever changed on their Sabbath, the most holy and high day of the week.

Who do you think had the driest skin of all: the man whose eyes were opened, or the ones who couldn’t accept the miracle that occurred? Precious Lord Jesus, please heal my hardened heart today. Amen.

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

www.songofdeborah.com

Michael Steele for Vice President!

                  Michael Steele

  (Image from harvestbankmd.com)

John McCain's best choice for Vice President?  Try Michael Steele, black Republican , Fox News contributor, Chair of GOPAC and former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland.  He is a genuine conservative.  He speaks well, courteously, and is good at give-and-take.  He writes well.  He is experienced.  He comes across well on TV.  And he thinks very, very well.

Just see the article he wrote last week on Fox News Online, here  (Excerpted below.)

"Why the Sky Isn't Falling: Republicans' Overreaction to McCain's Nomination" by Michael Steele, Wednesday March 5, 2008, Fox News.Com Home Opinion

My children have outgrown fairy tales, but I remember well the story of Chicken Little, who created mayhem as he tried to convince everyone that the sky was falling. The sky never fell. Yet, to listen to some within our own party on the selection of Sen. John McCain as the Republican Party’s nominee for president, one might think the sky was indeed falling.

Steele says that McCain will benefit the Republican Party in 2008 electons, saying "...down-ticket Republican candidates across the country should be encouraged by the prospect of having McCain lead their ticket this fall."

In the 2006 election, voters demonstrated frustration with the status quo. .. Republicans talked-the-talk of limited government and fiscal restraint, but they had failed when it came time to walk-the-walk...

On cutting government spending, Steele says:

Sen. McCain has been a consistent champion for true fiscal restraint... McCain has remained a vocal opponent of pork barrel projects. Further, Sen. McCain has been a staunch supporter of presidential Line Item Veto power to strike unnecessary pet-spending projects from bloated Congressional budgets.

On the War against Terrorism, Steele says,

Sen. McCain has the military training and experience to be the kind of powerful commander in chief our country needs. His experience made him willing to stand up when no one else would and urge a change in strategy in Iraq; a move that now even opponents are begrudgingly admitting is producing success on the ground.

Whether it's his determination to rein in uncontrolled government spending or his unambiguous and thoughtful determination to contain an elusive enemy, Sen. McCain and Republicans across the country will present to voters a clear alternative between themselves and their opponents on what matters most: keeping our country safe and our economy strong.

But read the whole thing for yourself.  See if you think McCain might do well with Michael Steele as his Vice Presidential candidate.

(Hat Tip to Joan Archibald)

Chinese Circus In "Swan Lake Ballet" - Incredible!

Absolutely gravity-defying!  As well as breath-takingly lovely.  You must see this!  Be sure to wait past the finish of their 'Nutcracker Suite," only 1 1/2 minutes.  Then - their Swan Lake ballet itself, just 4  minutes.

(Hat Tip to Joan Archibald.  Link at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOqxSaW05p4 )

GOP Obeys Rush, Votes for Hillary

                          (montgomerycollege.edu)

Rush LImbaugh notes that on Hardball last night, Chris Matthews said the "Rush Strategy" is working.  (Rush has been recommending that Republicans enter Democrat open primaries to vote for Hillary, in order to keep the turmoil in the Democrat party going longer.)  Matthews quoted an exit poll showing that Republicans accounted for 24% of the votes cast in Mississippi for Ilillary. 

How does Rush justify such maddling in the affairs of the Democrat party?  He says it is only fair, because Democrats and Independents voted in open primaries for McCain instead of more conservative candidates, in order to ensure that they could help pick the GOP's candidate.  That is, people from each party are crossing the party line to vote in primaries for what they consider the easiest candidate for their party to beat in the general elections.

This may be the most interesting election we have ever seen.

Wash up!

6 Having said this, [Jesus] spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. John 9:6-7(NIV)

Good morning!

“Wash up for supper!” We could hear Mom shouting from the open window by the kitchen sink. My sister and I would come running in from the back yard, famished and ready to sit down for our family meal. We had a small step stool by the sink in the bathroom so we could reach the faucets and wash our hands. Daddy often worked outside until dark, so our evening meals were late, especially in the summer time. Daddy’s hands were filthy from mowing grass, pulling weeds, and working on our family car. He kept a jar of Goop® next to the sink, just to remove those hard, set-in stains. 

“Scrub hard!” Mom would say as she heard the water running. Pammy and I would play around a little, slinging soapy water at each other. Occasionally, the water would splash in our faces. I was the family tattle tale. I cried, “Mommy, Pammy got soap in my eyes!” “Stop fooling around and come to the table right now,” she would say. We would run to the kitchen table, sliding into our designated seats. Before we said our table prayer, Mommy would look at our hands and faces to ensure we were actually clean. Often, we were sent back to the bathroom sink to wash again. 

Jesus knew a little dirt mixed in the Master’s hand is a powerful, healing balm. Touching the blind man’s eyes with His miraculous mudpack, Jesus sent him to the pool of Siloam to wash up for the rest of his life. Willingly, the blind man went to the Pool of Siloam and washed his face and hands. He returned home, seeing clearly for the very first time.

Amazing miracles happen when we allow the Lord of life to wash us in His precious, healing blood. He has the power to remove our set-in, sinful stains once and for all. He will clean up your life, if you will let Him. Will you choose to obey when He sends you to the Pool of Grace to wash up? 

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

www.songofdeborah.com

 

 

Daylight Saving Time

4 “As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:4-5(NIV)

Good morning!

Daylight savings time has occurred in the US, and we lost an hour of sleep last Saturday night in an attempt to “spring forward.” I do not understand why it is so hard to lose that extra hour of rest, yet so easy to “fall back” in the fall. My body tells me I have misplaced an entire night’s rest. I think this must be symptomatic of some deeper revelation. Maybe it’s because I’m in the last week of quarter classes and I’m trying to finish up projects that are due this weekend. Maybe that is why I’m feeling a little extra fatigued. Does the switch to daylight savings time affect you this way?

I enjoy the longer daylight hours. There is something delicious about not having to drive home from work at 6pm in total darkness. It means I can go outside and play for an hour – I can actually see my messy garden beds that are begging for a little extra attention and tender loving care. I can take a walk and still see where I’m walking. When the weather warms up, the days will grow longer and soon we will be mowing the grass and pulling weeds. I have come to enjoy the extra time outside while the daylight lasts.

Jesus understood the value of His light. His Father sent Him to be the light of life to a dark and disillusioned world. He only had so much time to do the work of the One who had sent Him. Jesus knew that the night would eventually come, when no one would be able to work.

This is our daylight saving time.  We have a window of opportunity to share the Gospel message with others right now! There is still a little daylight left outside. How will you choose to use the time God has given you to plant seeds for His kingdom?

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO 

www.songofdeborah.com

 

Female Teen Medic Gets Historic Silver Star

Army Spec. Monica LIn Brown, Lake Jackson, Texas

Texas Teen In Aghanistan Becomes Second Woman Since WWII to Win Silver Star

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, here

Sunday, March 9th 2008, 9:41 AM

CAMP SALERNO, Afghanistan - A 19-year-old medic from Texas will become the first woman in Afghanistan and only the second woman since World War II to receive the Silver Star, the nation's third-highest medal for valor.

Army Spc. Monica Lin Brown saved the lives of fellow soldiers after a roadside bomb tore through a convoy of Humvees in the eastern Paktia province in April 2007, the military said.

After the explosion, which wounded five soldiers in her unit, Brown ran through insurgent gunfire and used her body to shield wounded comrades as mortars fell less than 100 yards away, the military said.

"I did not really think about anything except for getting the guys to a safer location and getting them taken care of and getting them out of there," Brown told The Associated Press on Saturday at a U.S. base in the eastern province of Khost.

Brown, of Lake Jackson, Texas, is scheduled to receive the Silver Star later this month. She was part of a four-vehicle convoy patrolling near Jani Kheil in the eastern province of Paktia on April 25, 2007, when a bomb struck one of the Humvees.

"We stopped the convoy. I opened up my door and grabbed my aid bag," Brown said.

She started running toward the burning vehicle as insurgents opened fire. All five wounded soldiers had scrambled out.

"I assessed the patients to see how bad they were. We tried to move them to a safer location because we were still receiving incoming fire," Brown said.

Pentagon policy prohibits women from serving in frontline combat roles - in the infantry, armor or artillery, for example. But the nature of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, with no real front lines, has seen women soldiers take part in close-quarters combat more than previous conflicts.

Four Army nurses in World War II were the first women to receive the Silver Star, though three nurses serving in World War I were awarded the medal posthumously last year, according to the Army's Web site.

Brown, of the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, said ammunition going off inside the burning Humvee was sending shrapnel in all directions. She said they were sitting in a dangerous spot.

"So we dragged them for 100 or 200 meters, got them away from the Humvee a little bit," she said. "I was in a kind of a robot-mode, did not think about much but getting the guys taken care of."

For Brown, who knew all five wounded soldiers, it became a race to get them all to a safer location. Eventually, they moved the wounded some 500 yards away, treated them on site before putting them on a helicopter for evacuation.

"I did not really have time to be scared," Brown said. "Running back to the vehicle, I was nervous (since) I did not know how badly the guys were injured. That was scary."

The military said Brown's "bravery, unselfish actions and medical aid rendered under fire saved the lives of her comrades and represents the finest traditions of heroism in combat."

Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, of Nashville, Tenn., received the Silver Star in 2005 for gallantry during an insurgent ambush on a convoy in Iraq. Two men from her unit, the 617th Military Police Company of Richmond, Ky., also received the Silver Star for their roles in the same action.

(Hat tip to Norman Hooben, here )

Catching doubt in the palm of His hand

31 Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:31(NIV)

I’ve been asking myself that very question for the last couple of days. If Christ calls me to get out of the boat and walk across the water toward Him, shouldn’t I be able to do it without fear of sinking?

Last August, our twenty-eight year old daughter Rachel underwent surgery for cancer. In October, her physicians confirmed that she was cancer free! In December, Rachel’s medical tests produced questionable results. I weighed the medical test results against her present state of health and made a judgment call based upon what I could see. By the time Rachel had biopsies in February, I was convinced she was no longer well.

Sometimes we listen to God but we don’t hear what He is saying. We trust Him enough to let go of the security blanket, only to shrink back in fear, believing that what we see is what we get. When Simon Peter took a look at the water swirling beneath his feet, he couldn’t imagine having the human ability to walk on top of the water and not sink. When he looked down, Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, and began to drown in fear. It was at that moment our Lord pulled Peter up from the raging water and asked, “Why did you doubt?”

When Rachel called Thursday evening, I clearly heard the words she said over the telephone. I’m cancer free! Immediately, I heard the Word of the Lord speak to my heart. He asked, “Why did you doubt?” For a time, I diverted my gaze from the One who heals and was more focused on the deep swirling water beneath my feet. Even in the midst of our great joy, I realized that once again, I failed at Faith-Walking 101. It was high time to confess it and seek His forgiveness for not trusting Him all the more. I needed Jesus Christ to take my doubts into the palm of His nail-scarred palm and heal me once again.

Remind me today, dear Lord, to focus completely on Your Word, especially when I begin to doubt. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC -St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

Who is your daddy?

19 Then they asked Him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus replied, “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” John 8:19(NIV)

I’ve often wondered about who my biological parents are. You see, I was adopted as an infant, and I’ve never met them. I would love to thank them for giving me life. I cannot imagine the emotions that come with making a conscious decision to give up a newborn baby. I’ve been told that my biological mother was young and unmarried, and that my daddy played with a band. I’ve often thought about trying to trace my biological background. If I had the opportunity to thank my mother personally, I would tell her how grateful I am that she chose not to abort me. She chose to give me life! What a sacrifice of love she made in carrying me to term, then offering me to a family who was not able to have biological children. One sweet day, I believe I will be thanking her in heaven, face to face.

Do I look like my biological parents? Do I emulate their character and disposition? Is my love for music a direct link to my dad? Even though I’ve never met my biological parents, I believe they are part of who I am, and I carry pieces of each of them inside my heart. I’ve passed their traits along to my children and grandchildren. I may not physically be able to point them out in a crowd, but they are precious to me. My biological parents are a significant part of who I am.

When the Pharisees asked, “Where is your daddy?” Jesus replied, “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” When we fall in love with Jesus Christ, we begin to love and honor the Father who sent Him. You cannot help but love the Father when you really know the Son. We experience amazing relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Three in One!

If you’re looking for the Father, you will see Him in the Son. Take a closer look at Jesus Christ today. Do you know His Daddy?

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

 

Methodists Turning from Decline, Ossification and Splitting

      ( Image from joshuatreevillage.com)

At least, an effort is being made.  Apparently the leaders are beginning to draw back from the abyss  looming ahead -  the onrushing disappearance of the United Methodist Church, through long-term steady decline or through splitting.  After some 40 years of steady decline, and risk of splitting, some willingness is developing to do what it takes to avoid extinction.

Is this too harsh a summary?  Not when we consider that the average age of Methodists is an amazing 60 years old.  Why is that?  Because, like their secular friends, they were reluctant to have children.  Especially spiritual children, that is.  The "children" or offspring of a church are its new converts.  And enough new converts would make the average age much lower.

Methodists, however, largely quit doing what it took to make new converts a long time ago.  Now they say they are going to try to make converts again - to evangelize.  But they no longer know how.  Their evangelism committees go through contortions to avoid ever actually talking to anyone about their salvation.  Practicing avoidance of any such encounters, they often claim "evangelism" means things like compiling recipe books.  Anything to avoid actually doing evangelism.  Unfortunately, this includes many, maybe most, Methodist pastors as well.

The new compromise is to change to four major goals; two each for the conservatives and the liberals.  The two for the conservatives are the things that, if they are not done, the UMC will die.  They are, one, star